A Story of Ignorance - How to spend an (EU) aid budget

No really, over the past week the EU has been having what it calls its Development days.

Here is Commissioner Piebalgs baffling on about how wonderful they are. What he fails to mention is the terribly important fashion show, (pic right) which has fed thousands, and cured hordes as it took place at the Royal Museum in in Brussels, centre of poverty.

Then you have this list of suckers on the public teat, all sitting in the "Development Village". All after taxpayer funded contracts.

And they all do it in a nice warm moral glow, of course sponsored by you and me, everything you do at the Development days can be offset for carbon. Good, feel better about yourselves?

These days you don't pay for a stand, you offset your stand,

The organisers are therefore inviting exhibitors and organisers of events to make a contribution to a carbon-offset scheme of their choice (see links on the right), in the following amounts:

- € 500 (excluding VAT) for a standard stand

- € 1000 (excluding VAT) for an ad-hoc stand 

- € 1000 (excluding VAT) for a seminar

- € 3000 (excluding VAT) for a high level panel

Proof of this contribution should be provided at the time of online registration.

Please note that emissions generated in Belgium can be offset anywhere in the world. Since energy-saving projects can have a positive social impact, the EDD organisers recommend buying carbon offsets from organisations funding projects in partner countries.

Feeling better about yourselves, well stop it because I present you with what has to be a satire. Back to Piebags again,

During the same ceremony I also handed over an Award to the winners of the Music against Poverty contest! Antonia (17) and Mareike (18) from Germany are the winners of the Prize of the Jury and their song “A story of ignorance” was selected among the 200 submissions we’ve received.

Here it is


Here are its lyrics, I kid you not.

A story of ignorance

Since this song started,
every 2 seconds, it's a fact,
10 children have left us,
but it's a fact: it's not really your fault.
The views on the news are
"we love to entertain you".

The policy-makers need to do something.
But you will not rest longer,
choose right now and radically,
anything else would be so ordinary.
At Christmas you give your money into black hands,
the poverty remains in the poor country.

Chorus
How much longer will we continue with ignorance?
Apart from compassionate looks, there's nothing more.
How often do we shut our ears,
so that the cries will rest more quickly.
Our consumption is killing the others,
but who passes sleepless nights about this?
We could all do more.

And your child is learning at school,
but must not hear about poverty, the hungry and gays.
The shape of the curve is what you discuss,
too much questioning is quickly resolved.

Chorus

Sometimes I get the question,
what if I was born in another country,
but I quickly push it aside
I cannot help it,
that I walk into pure happiness.

They had 200 entries and they selected this. Quite how bad, how trite how frankly self hating and stupid were the others?

What, I wonder were the judges looking for? The song is called 'A story of ignorance'.

Oh and all this is costing thousands and thousands.

Update
I underestimated the cost

The European Commission has been condemned for spending three million euros hosting a lavish anti-poverty development conference for 6,000 people in Brussels.