"Tell me what I want to hear and I will give you other people's money"

The deal seems tpo be that as fewer and fewer people seem to be suckered by the alarmist agenda over the possibility of mankind's influence on the climate then those that wish to change our lives need to do more and more to convince us.

Thus it comes as no surprise when we discover that the EU is pouring money down the throats of climate alarmists. This answer to some question's by Godfrey Bloom can givce you a flavour of the extent by which we are paying to be propagandised to on the subject.

The question was this,

Can the Commission provide details about the amount of money that the EU has given to ‘Climate Action Network Europe’ for their campaign against climate change?

Bloom asked the same question about Friends of the Earth and the WWF.

The answer came back, only a couple of months late.

"The three organisations referred to in the question all benefit from operating grants from the Commission in 2009 through the programme for financial support to European non-governmental organisations primarily active in the field of environmental protection under the LIFE+ Regulation , managed by Directorate General Environment....
Beneficiaries of the operating grants must show that they contribute to the EU policy process in the priority areas of the 6th Environmental Action Programme, i.e. climate change, nature and biodiversity, environment and health, natural resources and waste and cross-cutting issues. The work programme of Climate Action Network Europe presents activities mainly under the climate change priority. The other two organisations cover almost all the priority policy fields...

Name of organisation Maximum amount 2009
Friends of the Earth Europe € 813.721
WWF European Policy Office € 661.878
Climate Action Network Europe € 259.762

As a charming little adition they added this,

"Under the "Youth in Action" programme, delegated by the Commission to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), the organisation Friends of the Earth Europe has been awarded two grants:

- one grant under the action 1.3 "Youth democracy projects". The project, "The Countdown to Copenhagen: The European Youth Voice on the Future of Climate Change" has been contractualised in 2008 and takes place in 2009. The amount of the grant is EUR 38.000.

- a second grant under the action 4.3 "Training and networking of those active in youth work and youth organisations". The project "Building capacity for youth participation in friends of the Earth Europe" has been contractualised in 2009 and will take place in 2010. The amount of the grant is of EUR 45.814,90.

Oh the taxpayer is so generous. Yes the taxpayer is funding a pressure group to proselytise and gain youth members. Who see it as their task to lobby the EU for policies set by the EU. Magic

And just look at the finacial disclaimer on the FoE Europe website. Yup they get money from all these groups.

EU Commission DG Environment, EU DG Employment and Social Affairs, EU DG
Development, German Ministry of Environment - UBA, Dutch Ministry of Environment - VROM, James M Goldsmith Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, European Climate Foundation, Oak Foundation, Isvara Foundation, Heinrich Boll Foundation, Humanitarian Group Social Development, OxfamNovib, Trocaire, Friends of the Earth International and Friends of the Earth Europe's member groups.

ow I don't know, but as this list is far from alphabetical, whats to be that that is is done in a decending order of size of grant?

I note as an aside that the European Cliamte Foundation has wandered into the cross hairs of a certain Richard North.

Update
The Express picks up the story

UKIP's increase seems to be stable

Interesting poll by Angus Reid/Political Betting

In the tables we have question 10

If a General Election were held tomorrow, which one of the following parties would you be most likely to support in your constituency?

Which has UKIP polling 5% nationally with a couple of high spots, the South (not London) at 7% and at 6% at the North. We are doing particularly badly in London at only 3%. The figures get more interesting when you factor in likely to vote where UKIP is now at 7% nationally the South and 8% in the South.

Small beer I might agree, when the Tories are looking at 40% in the same graph, but given that the much vaunted Greens languish at 3% in the poll it begins to look quite good. Now I ahve no idea what this does to Tory/Labour marginals and/or Tory/Lib Dem marginals but I would expect that the campaign team in Tory HQ might be looking at the figures with a certain queasiness.

Particularly given the generally accepted figures of 27 seats lost to UKIP last time on far smaller figures. And even more so when only 2% of those questioned for this poll voted for UKIP in 2005.

Cameron's evasions, dissembling and so on on the Lisbon Treaty, and immigration and his head in the sand approach to the way that the man made global warming debate is heading may well have something to do with this.

How Euroscepticism can kill millions

No really it can. That is if you take the latest propaganda wheeze from the European Parliament office in London, launching tomorrow at the BETT trade fair it Olympia, at face value. Called 'Crisis Point' it is an interactive whole school program by which a children are encouraged to pretend to be EU Commissioners or MEPs for a day. This way they learn vital citizenship lessons.

The day starts with a news report. Xtreme Drug Resistant TB has claimed a life in England, and Europe goes into scare meltdown.

We must have new legislation to stop this horrid disease today...

Of course this just exemplifies the way in which the EU now propagandises itself. As we know from their own 'Communication Strategy' a key target demographic is kiddiewinks,

"It has to be seen as complementary to the already existing or proposed initiatives and programmes such as those in the field of education, youth, culture and promoting active European citizenship".

First they see a target audience, then they commission somebody to produce something that targets that audience. In this case to the tune of 70,000 Euros through a subsidiary of Bell Pottinger/Chime. Then launch.

If you go to the website there are all the things that you as a teacher need to have a fun day promoting the efficacy of EU action in public health. Oh yes it claims to be 'impartial', well given the strictures of the Education Act it could hardly do otherwise now could it? After all the Act states,

"407. - (1) The local education authority, governing body and head teacher shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that where political issues are brought to the attention of pupils while they are- (a) in attendance at a maintained school, or (b) taking part in extra-curricular activities which are provided or organised for registered pupils at the school by or on behalf of the school, they are offered a balanced presentation of opposing views."

But if you play with the rather spiffing flash program available to download from the site, then what do we find. If you put in that you want to retain national control over policies the outcomes include tens of millions of deaths, and a 60% likelihood of civil unrest. Now if you take a communitarian approach you can bring down the deaths to the low teens (best I have managed) and have no civil unrest.

Genius.

Now apart from the basic propaganda aspect of this is the point that this sort of exercise ties into another major issue facing us, an issue that is dealt with today in the Daily Mail by Chris Booker, and is a reprise of his excellent book (with Richard North) 'Scared to death'.

Those that purport to govern us are past masters in the use of the 'Doctrine of Beneficial Crisis'. Pick up an incident, exaggerate the situation, position government action as our saviour and produce centralising legislation, giving themselves more power. Of course this is all done at breakneck speed with the concomitant that it is done badly and ends up costing a packet of our money.

Result, more central power, and massively increased costs.

More genius.

Optimism or contempt?

The New York Times takes a look at the EU in 2010 and isn't particularly impressed. An interesting if rather depressing external observation,

In December, the United States and China brushed aside the E.U.’s soft power approach at the world climate conference in Copenhagen, leaving Europe with the appearance of a second-tier player on a matter where it achingly wanted to shine.
A little later last month, the European Commission warned that half of the 16 countries making up the E.U.’s common currency risked unsustainable debt and deficit levels. For the first time since its creation in 2000, the euro group’s fiscal responsibility seemed in question.

Which looks like a harsh but fair appraisal.

In spite of joblessness at an E.U.-worst of 19.3 percent, a negative rating on its sovereign debt, and a deficit close to 11 percent, Spain, no kidding, is supposed to provide impetus for a new 10-year E.U. growth strategy in time for an inaugural meeting in Valencia at the end of March.

It is a follow-up to the Lisbon Agenda of 2000, meant to make the E.U. economy “the most competitive and dynamic” in the world, but officially described since as “a synonym for missed objectives and failed promises.”

Against its record — no serious corrective action in two years of sharp economic decline and marginalization as a foreign affairs player under Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s Socialist government — how will this Spain function with its eagerly assumed lion’s share of Europe’s management?

So far, there are indications of incoherence.

Ouch.