Let Me 'Educate' You, Said the Brussels Spider to the Irish Fly

There is a famous poem, authored by 19th Century English poet Mary Howitt, which holds as important a lesson for adults as it does for children. It is entitled, The Spider and the Fly.

The Spider and the Fly

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Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,

'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;

The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,

And I've a many curious things to shew when you are there."

Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,

For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

-----

"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;

Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly.

"There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,

And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!"

Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "for I've often heard it said,

They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!"

-----

Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, "Dear friend what can I do,

To prove the warm affection I 've always felt for you?

I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;

I'm sure you're very welcome -- will you please to take a slice?"

"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "kind Sir, that cannot be,

I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!"

-----

"Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise,

How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!

I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,

If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."

"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you 're pleased to say,

And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."

----

The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,

For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:

So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,

And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.

Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,

"Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;

Your robes are green and purple -- there's a crest upon your head;

Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"

-----

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,

Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;

With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,

Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue --

Thinking only of her crested head -- poor foolish thing! At last,

Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.

He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,

Within his little parlour -- but she ne'er came out again!

-----

And now dear little children, who may this story read,

To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:

Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,

And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.

-----

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http://euobserver.com/9/26979/?rk=1

Brussels to 'educate' Ireland on EU realities


VALENTINA POP


22.10.2008 @ 18:58 CET

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - The European Commission plans to help the Irish government communicate "Europe" better to citizens after June's shock No vote on the Lisbon treaty, with a new inter-institutional agreement to pull together the PR efforts of the main EU institutions.

"It's not about the European Commission interfering with the procedures and referenda on the Treaty, but it is investing in trying to correct the situation where so many people said they didn't know anything about the EU, or didn't know enough to take a position when they were asked," communication commissioner Margot Wallstrom said on Wednesday (22 October) in Strasbourg.

[THIS IS MOST LIKELY THE CASE SINCE THE BRUSSELS BUREAUCRATIC AGENCIES ARE NOT REALLY TRANSPARENT OR INCLUSIVE, EXCEPT TO THE FAVORED FEW ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL NGOs AND INDUSTRY GROUPS WITH SUFFICIENT POWER & INFLUENCE. THE PEOPLE OF THE EU, HOWEVER, ARE LARGELY DISENFRANCHISED. THIS HAS BEEN REFERRED TO WIDELY WITHIN EUROPE AS THE EU'S 'DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT.']

Commissioner Margot Wallstrom says the citizen's right to know should be enshrined in the EU Treaty.

[THIS IS AKIN TO THE SPIDER 'FLATTERING'/'SEDUCING' THE FLY].

Ms Wallstrom plans to sign a "memorandum of understanding" on launching a new communication "management project" in Ireland when she visits Dublin on 13 to 14 November.

The one year partnerships - already up and running in Germany, Hungary and Slovenia with eight other EU states about to sign up - see the commission provide EU literature, journalist training, school manuals and other civic education programmes.

[THE 'SPIDER' ALSO MADE ATTRACTIVE OFFERINGS TO THE 'FLY' TO ENTICE IT INTO ITS PARLOUR.]

One concrete project in Germany was "Guess who is going back to school," in which about 500 German officials paid visits to their former schools, explaining to pupils what their job is within the EU institutions.

The commissioner on Wednesday also signed an inter-institutional agreement between the European Parliament, commission and Council to co-ordinate the three institutions' communication efforts.

She said the move was not designed to create a "propaganda machine" but to support the fundamental democratic principle of the right to know. "It is the first time we have this framework after heavy resistance from member states," the commissioner explained.

[See: EU institutions agree to communicate in partnership, IP/08/1568 (10/22/08), at: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/wallstrom/pdf/press_20081022_en.pdf ].

The new agreement foresees co-ordinating future communication efforts on common priorities, such as the 2009 European elections, energy and climate change and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

It is also designed to avoid situations where both the parliament and the commission organise events or print leaflets on the same topic without knowing what the other is doing.

Co-ordination will be provided by the Interinstitutional group on information (IGI) comprised of Ms Walstrom on behalf of the commission, French minister Jean Pierre Jouyet on behalf of the European Council and the vice-president of the European Parliament, Spanish conservative MEP Alejo Vidal-Quadras.

IGI will not have its own budget, but will draw from the coffers of the three institutions.

[A SIMILAR RATIONALE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN EMPLOYED BY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FRENCH PHILOSOPHER, CLAUDE, ADRIEN HELVETIUS, TO JUSTIFY HIS 'HIGHLY REGARDED' CENTRALIZED STATE-DRIVEN CITIZEN 'EDUCATION' PROGRAMS WITHIN FRANCE. -- See discussion below]

Irish public was 'misinformed'. [??]

Going back to the Irish referendum on the Lisbon treaty, Ms Wallstrom said the public debate included a lot of "emotional arguments" and "disinformation," such as the idea that by voting Yes, people would have to send their children to an "EU army."

"The EU uses too much bureaucratic language, too much of a jargon impenetrable to normal people. There is no need for emotional arguments either, but for a factual language that people can understand," she explained.

[THIS IS A CLEVER 'WORKAROUND' TO SUBJUGATE THE IRISH PEOPLES' ULTIMATE ACT OF FREEDOM - TO VOTE THEIR INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS, EMOTIONS & CONSCIENCES - TO EU RULE & GOVERNANCE].

[See: What Aspect of the Irish 'NON' Do the Brussels & Paris Philosopher Kings Not Understand?, ITSSD Journal on Economic Freedom, at: http://itssdeconomicfreedom.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-aspect-of-irish-non-do-brussels.html .]

[See: The Irish People Have Spoken: NO EU TREATY; EU Commission & US Democratic Congress BEWARE!!, ITSSD Journal on Economic Freedom, at: http://itssdeconomicfreedom.blogspot.com/2008/06/irish-people-have-spoken-no-eu-treaty.html ].

[See: UK Government Provides Guidance On Behavior Modification Techniques Used to Shape Personal Lives of UK Citizens, ITSSD Journal on Pathological Communalism, at: http://itssdpathologicalcommunalism.blogspot.com/2008/01/uk-government-provides-guidance-on.html ] .

[See: UNESCO Promotes Behavior Modification For Sustainable Future Through Universal Mandatory Education, ITSSD Journal on Pathological Communalism, at: http://itssdpathologicalcommunalism.blogspot.com/2008/01/unesco-promotes-behavior-modification.html ].

Asked what would be the outcome of a pan-European referendum on the Lisbon treaty - as suggested by some Irish campaigners - Ms Wallstrom stressed that it is "the ultimate challenge" from a communication point of view to hold any referendum on a complex legal text.


"Whatever you do, you won't have in the end everybody reading a 400-page document," she said. "That's what MEPs are being paid for."

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[The following excerpt discusses Claude Adrien Helvetius' lasting influence on contemporary European political, legal and social thought, which should be of extreme concern both to the Irish AND American people. See: Lawrence A. Kogan and Robert Stein, Precautionus Principilitis: A Psychosocial Disorder Causing Luddite Psychobabble (c), ITSSD Journal on Pathological Communalism, at: http://itssdpathologicalcommunalism.blogspot.com/2008/01/precautionus-principilitis-psychosocial.html .]

["The reader, at this point, should not overlook the indelible impression that the philosophy of eighteenth century Frenchman, Claude Adrien Helvetius, had left on the European social behaviorists of his time, and apparently, now, the politicians of today. Helvetian-favored communalism and utilitarian logic are most definitely the driving force behind the current indoctrination climate under which European cultural preferences are being converted into an almost universal and unquestioning acceptance of national, regional, and potentially, supranational governmental mandates to employ the hazard-based precautionary principle in every day economic life. Helvetius “advocated legislation...as the means by which happiness for the greatest number would be achieved.” [27]"

"“Men develop according to the cultural pressures to which he is subject. Education accounts for all differences between individuals and must be utilized to realize ‘the ideal of general intelligence, virtue, and happiness’... In [Helvetius’] system, the only pleasure that is immoral is one that conflicts with the pleasure of the greatest number... The final test of any action, then, is its utilitarian value - its use to the public. The ideal government, he believed, would bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number, and universal education would make children useful to such a society. He advocated legislation of punishments and rewards to force men to contribute to public welfare. Under such a system, he felt only madmen could prevent themselves from being good citizens. Individual preferences and rights are lost to Helvetius in the all-consuming importance of public interest” (emphasis added). [28]"

"Hence, the wisdom of Helvetius has permeated the Brussels bureaucratic mindset, which has recognized how cultural pressures influenced by individual perceptions of others’ preferences and by the educational power of universally applicable (national, regional and international) laws, regulations and standards can help shape societal behavior in ways that may facilitate government’s fulfillment of socially and politically desirable policy objectives. It is therefore only in this light that one can truly appreciate why people would ever clamor for more rather than less regulation and taxation."

"Regretfully, European governments’ inclination towards providing centralized ‘soft’ socialist solutions to perceived market failures has only become more pronounced following the fall of the Berlin Wall. And, it is this institutional predilection for more and more governmental control and oversight over private lives that has now seized the imagination of a militant European environmental and social movement whose ideological bias against globalization, industry and individualism is rooted largely in the ‘eco-Marxism and pro-Sandinista sentiments’ brought to the movement by discredited pro-Soviet western groups.[29]"

[27] See Eric Samuelson, A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF COLLECTIVISM (1997) at: http://www.mega.nu:8080/ampp/samuelson.html#preserve%20the%20rights .

[28] Ibid., citing Mordecai Grossman, THE PHILOSOPHY OF HELVETIUS 16 (1926).

[29] See Patrick Moore, “Environmental Movement Has Lost its Way – Scare Tactics, Disinformation Go Too Far”, Miami Herald (1/30/05), at: (http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:ifvfRUvEbFUJ:www.greenspiritstrategies.com/D131.cfm+%E2%80%9CEnvironmental+Movement+Has+Lost+its+Way%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us); Patrick Moore, “Hard Choices for the Environmental Movement”, Leadership Quarterly 5(3/4) 1994, at: http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:tP6yt5WVc1QJ:www.greenspirit.com/key_issues.cfm%3Fmsid%3D34+%E2%80%9CHard+Choices+for+the+Environmental+Movement%E2%80%9D&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us. ]