back to article FCO splashes millions on Johnny Foreigner's energy 'awareness'

John Stuart Mill described the British Empire as "outdoor relief for the middle classes". The phrase "indoor relief", at the time, referred to the state-sponsored workhouse programme, which invented jobs for the poor to prevent them being idle. Mill was implying that the Empire was a gigantic job creation scheme. But in the …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Oh our PR could be alot worse

    Oh our PR could be alot worse. We could of got RIM to organise it for us.

  2. Pete 2 Silver badge

    The "b" word

    CYNIC, n.

    A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision. [ Devil's dictionary ]

    Since most western countries have passed laws making bribery of officials illegal (sidenote: I wonder how many palms were greased to get those laws through?) You can't just bung a wad of dosh at a purchasing manager and hope for the best. No, you have to make it all look official, above board and thoroughly respectable. What could be more respectable than a government backed scheme to tell the russians how to use their oil reserves more efficiently?

    Obviously it's not an inducement, as it's all out in the open - or at least it is now. And if the russians, or the indians or the chinese or anyone else was to just happen to decide to award some "consultancy" contracts to british firms? Well that just goes to show how effective government "grants" can be.

    Corrupt? Moi?

  3. frank ly

    Just seen that video ...

    ... It shows the poster being ripped off the wall. It's as if the spokesperson for the BHC hadn't even seen the video, couldn't be bothered to watch it and didn't check any of their own PR output.

    Why am I not surprised?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just seen that video ...

      I didn't watch it, Having been linked here it will probably get more views now than it has ever done.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Project: Energy trading

    Purpose: Create a framework document that will serve as the basis for future schemes offsetting carbon emissions against growth in renewable energy means. Ensure it is of sufficient complexity to permit extensive graft opportunities when implemented.

    Cost: My G&T fund, £38,000 - plus first dibs on implementation, cushy directorships in strategic roles with little oversight, you know the sort of thing old boy...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wahoooo

    Keyword Bingo!

    Another Andrew article, another "middle class" mention again.

    Chip meet shoulder!

    1. h4rm0ny

      Re: Wahoooo

      Is there anything in the article that you think is factually false or an inappropriate conclusion? Or do you just not like being told about these things?

  6. Yamal Dodgy Data
    WTF?

    Why are we funding PR?

    The rhetorical answer:

    Wasn't that unemployable plonker Cameron a PR spiv before he bought his rotten borough with daddy's money ?

    1. Martin Gregorie

      Cameroonian work experience

      Between graduation in 1988 and the present, i.e. 24 years, the only time that Cameron wasn't working for the Conservative party or in Parliament as an MP was the 7 years from 1994 until 2001 when he was a PR flack for Carlton Communications.

  7. John A Blackley

    A little investigation is called for

    To find out exactly who, in our government, applied for each grant and how the recipient of each grant is related to the applicant.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A little investigation is called for

      Fits with my latest (lame) social idea is to throw FoI parties, get a group of people with similar goals and organise an FoI submission en-masse.

  8. Rob
    Unhappy

    Nice work if you can get...

    ... you shut one government slush fund down with public awareness and another springs up with a different trending title.

    Someone please tell me when we have a government with at least 1 individual that thinks rationally and I can come out of hiding and stop weeping.

  9. Cameron Colley

    The propoganda is irrelevant.

    These people aren't been payed to try to persuade the Russians, or any other country or government, to change their policy. These people are being paid because they're mates with someone who has access to our tax money.

    This is nothing but blatent theft of tax money.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What?

    "a perpetual and endless job creation scheme for the British middle classes - are quite uncanny"

    Every first world economy is a perpetual and endless job creation scheme.

    Oh sorry, I forgot that t'internet is a basic human right now.

  11. ChrisM

    God forbid

    That anything that may actually tackle energy insecurity, climate change or fuel poverty should actually be funded...

    It's a bit hard to read the pamphlets after dark with no lights on

    1. hplasm
      Thumb Down

      Re: God forbid

      God forbid these things should be funded by anyone else but us! What would the neighbours think?

      The Empire days are gone. Stop giving all our cash away to assuage a guilty conscience nobody actually has.

  12. itzman
    Pirate

    Remeber next time you strangle a green...

    To use a natural renewable hemp rope, and not a synthetic nylon one.

  13. James Pickett

    Wahoooo

    >another "middle class" mention

    I think you'll find it was a quotation. That means someone else said it...

  14. Nebulo
    Stop

    Johnny Foreigner's energy awareness?

    The average energy-poor (and, generally, poor) foreigner is aware of only one relevant thing. The rich West has energy; he doesn't. He doesn't want "advice", he wants energy because he's seen how it lifts a society out of poverty. Give the Gov a few more years to screw up our energy infrastructure, and we'll start re-learning that lesson ourselves.

  15. Timmo

    Kickback

    I agree with Pete 2. These are just dressed up kickbacks to encourage business to be thrown the UK's way. It's how the world works and no amount of moral indignation will make a damn bit of difference.

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