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assorted dissatisfaction
Dec. 8th, 2008 12:28 pmTime for a complaint post! I know you all miss them so.
"British internet providers have blocked access to parts of Wikipedia after accusations that the site was carrying "potentially illegal" images of child pornography. [...] The offending article, about German rock group The Scorpions' 1976 album Virgin Killers, included an image of the record's controversial cover - which featured a young naked girl with her genitals obscured by a crack in the camera lens." You couldn't make this sort of thing up. But apparently we are now having our internet censored like China with an unelected and unaccountable body deciding what is legal and illegal. There are, of course, thousands of other pages full of material potentially illegal or relating to or facilitating crime, but it seems that kiddie porn is the only one covered in this way. What if I think radical Jihadist sites are more offensive, for example? Anyway, the censored page is here, if you're interested.
Procedures. Procedures annoy me. Too often we hear people swearing that they followed procedures, while fucking something up royally. Procedures are a cloak for weak people to hide behind, allowing them to blame others for what they do or failed to do. The delegated nature of modern organisations is a handy way to avoid anybody having to really take any responsibility for anything. The people at the top don't actually do anything and the people at the bottom don't actually decide anything, so who do you blame when something goes wrong? The answer surely has to be that everybody has to take their share of the responsibility - just a shame that when people do speak up to try and make things better, the arrogant and self-serving organisations close ranks and attempt to stop you talking.
That reminds me of the rather sadly predictable reaction of the teaching union to leading universities warning students which A-level subjects are considered less desirable when applying for uni. "It is completely demoralising to teachers and young people to be on the receiving end of this complete denigration of the exam system. There are enormous demands placed on teachers and young people following A-level courses. We should be celebrating the standards that are achieved, not constantly seeking to cast doubt on their validity." What a load of rubbish. Teaching is a worthy profession, but the worth comes from educating students, not from 'moralising' teachers (or whatever the opposite of demoralising is), nor in celebrating a so-called 'standard' (which surely cannot exist unless its validity is tested - such is the nature of a standard). If the subject being taught is not going to be of much use to the student in certain ways, then they have a right to know! They can still choose to study it for advancement of their own knowledge or with the idea of setting up their own business in that area, but they shouldn't be misled into thinking all A-levels give them an equal shot at a great university degree. Gathering round to launch attacks on universities in order to protect the poor Film Studies teachers is the wrong thing to do.
Silly metal band news: the incarnation of Gorgoroth led by 'Infernus' has finalised its lineup, including the members 'Tormentor', 'Pest' (surely Pest is a PG-rated Tormentor? Maybe minor sinners are sent to Heck for Eternal Pestering...), Tomas Asklund on drums, and rounded out by the truly grim and forbidding-sounding "Frank Watkins". What? I think Extreme Band Member Names have to be an all or nothing thing - no half measures!
"British internet providers have blocked access to parts of Wikipedia after accusations that the site was carrying "potentially illegal" images of child pornography. [...] The offending article, about German rock group The Scorpions' 1976 album Virgin Killers, included an image of the record's controversial cover - which featured a young naked girl with her genitals obscured by a crack in the camera lens." You couldn't make this sort of thing up. But apparently we are now having our internet censored like China with an unelected and unaccountable body deciding what is legal and illegal. There are, of course, thousands of other pages full of material potentially illegal or relating to or facilitating crime, but it seems that kiddie porn is the only one covered in this way. What if I think radical Jihadist sites are more offensive, for example? Anyway, the censored page is here, if you're interested.
Procedures. Procedures annoy me. Too often we hear people swearing that they followed procedures, while fucking something up royally. Procedures are a cloak for weak people to hide behind, allowing them to blame others for what they do or failed to do. The delegated nature of modern organisations is a handy way to avoid anybody having to really take any responsibility for anything. The people at the top don't actually do anything and the people at the bottom don't actually decide anything, so who do you blame when something goes wrong? The answer surely has to be that everybody has to take their share of the responsibility - just a shame that when people do speak up to try and make things better, the arrogant and self-serving organisations close ranks and attempt to stop you talking.
That reminds me of the rather sadly predictable reaction of the teaching union to leading universities warning students which A-level subjects are considered less desirable when applying for uni. "It is completely demoralising to teachers and young people to be on the receiving end of this complete denigration of the exam system. There are enormous demands placed on teachers and young people following A-level courses. We should be celebrating the standards that are achieved, not constantly seeking to cast doubt on their validity." What a load of rubbish. Teaching is a worthy profession, but the worth comes from educating students, not from 'moralising' teachers (or whatever the opposite of demoralising is), nor in celebrating a so-called 'standard' (which surely cannot exist unless its validity is tested - such is the nature of a standard). If the subject being taught is not going to be of much use to the student in certain ways, then they have a right to know! They can still choose to study it for advancement of their own knowledge or with the idea of setting up their own business in that area, but they shouldn't be misled into thinking all A-levels give them an equal shot at a great university degree. Gathering round to launch attacks on universities in order to protect the poor Film Studies teachers is the wrong thing to do.
Silly metal band news: the incarnation of Gorgoroth led by 'Infernus' has finalised its lineup, including the members 'Tormentor', 'Pest' (surely Pest is a PG-rated Tormentor? Maybe minor sinners are sent to Heck for Eternal Pestering...), Tomas Asklund on drums, and rounded out by the truly grim and forbidding-sounding "Frank Watkins". What? I think Extreme Band Member Names have to be an all or nothing thing - no half measures!
