From Denham Grey, via jill/txt: "The movement towards collaborative learning is strong, some would argue irreversible, helped by web2.0 and social software. The personal learning environment has moved from a walled LMS container to an evolving mix of flickr, youtube, secondlife, myspace, 43things."
This comment, of course, is completely consistent with the conclusion of Why Johnny and Janey Can't Read and Why Mr. and Ms. Smith Can't Teach. So my question is, why has the University of Toronto just made a massive investment in Blackboard, a "walled LMS container" system (that, according to many, is produced by a very problematic company)?
[Technorati tags: learning | lms | blackboard]
30 October 2006
27 October 2006
Hej HLK!
I'm just finishing my annual week of lectures and playshops at Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation (the School of Education and Communication) at Jönköping University in Sweden. Again this year, I spent time with the first year class in media and communication, as well as conducting a graduate seminar for faculty and some PhD students in the intersection of media theory and critical theory. As always, a fine time was had by all, including me.
For the first year students, here are some links to the examples we used in the playshop, for your enjoyment, and possibly further analysis:
Britelite Candles
Orange Blackout
Honda Civic Choir
Johnny Walker Android
Sony Bravia Paint
Xbox Standoff (done by McCann Erickson, who also does Mastercard Priceless)
Nintendo Who Are You
Dove Evolution
Remington Hobble
Thanks for playing, and thanks for a great time!
[Technorati tags: hlk | jonkoping]
For the first year students, here are some links to the examples we used in the playshop, for your enjoyment, and possibly further analysis:
Britelite Candles
Orange Blackout
Honda Civic Choir
Johnny Walker Android
Sony Bravia Paint
Xbox Standoff (done by McCann Erickson, who also does Mastercard Priceless)
Nintendo Who Are You
Dove Evolution
Remington Hobble
Thanks for playing, and thanks for a great time!
[Technorati tags: hlk | jonkoping]
Gramsci (inadvertently) on America
Actually, he was writing while imprisoned by the Italian Fascists in the 1930s. But his comments ring so true today with regard to how public opinion is manufactured by those in power, so that people living in an apparently democratic society can be easily (self-)controlled:
[Technorati tags: gramsci | hegemony | fascism | democracy | reversal of america]
An organic crisis is manifested as a crisis of hegemony, in which the people cease to believe the words of the national leaders, and begin to abandon the traditional parties. The precipitating factor in such a crisis is frequently the failure of the ruling class in some large undertaking, such as war, for which it demanded the consent and sacrifices of the people. The crisis may last a long time, for, as Gramsci wrily observed, "no social form is ever willing to confess that it has been superseded." In combatting the crisis, the intellectuals of the ruling class may resort to all sorts of mystification, blaming the failure of the state on an opposition party or on ethnic and racial minorities, and conducting nationalist campaigns based on irrational appeals to patriotic sentiment. This is a very dangerous moment in civic life, for if the efforts of the mandarins fail, and if the progressive forces still fail to impose their own solution, the old ruling class may seek salvation in a "divine leader." This "Caesar" may give the old order a "breathing spell" by exterminating the opposing elite and terrorizing its mass support. Or the contending forces may destroy each other, leaving a foreign power to preside over the "peace of the graveyard." (from Bates, T. R. (1975). Gramsci and the Theory of Hegemony. Journal of the History of Ideas, 36(2), 351-366.)
[Technorati tags: gramsci | hegemony | fascism | democracy | reversal of america]
21 October 2006
Reflections of an Adult Educator - Part 5
One of my final courses is a doctoral-level seminar on the Political Economy of Adult Education. We were asked to answer a series of questions that were the subject of a conversation between Ian Baptiste and Tom Heaney (1996). As people are sometimes interested in my philosophy of education, I thought I'd post my reflections on the five Baptiste and Heaney questions, one post per day. Prior installments: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
It can be reasonably argued that the enterprise you described above will continue, whether or not the label “adult education” remains. Provide a rationale for continued use of the label or propose a more desirable alternative.
I consider the “adult” qualifier in “adult education” as referring not to the targets or objects of the education – those adults who would be educated – but rather to the educator her or himself. The educator as subject can be either an adult or a child, reflecting a spectrum of relative maturity concerning the enterprise of education. The child educator is one who believes exclusively or primarily in instrumentality, that is, the supremacy of content. For the child educator, lifelong learning is predominantly about so-called reskilling or training, creating the image of educator as circus trainer in which the objects of that education – the learners – are taught to sit up and beg on command for the morsels of individual renewal that emanate from the lips of the trainer. Child educators reinforce the hegemony of the particular process that establishes a corporate power hierarchy, that in turn, necessitates credentials and mandates credentialism. But with all of its trappings of superiority, this educator has not matured beyond the level of the perpetually insecure child, continually seeking external validation, both of those beneath themselves in the learning hierarchy, and those who create the system of validation itself.
On the other hand, the adult educator realizes that it is not the content of the learning, but the sustained effects of the learning that matter. Further, I am not referring to the effects on the would-be learner, although those effects are obviously implicated in the larger concern of which I speak. I refer instead specifically to the effects on the total societal environment that the learner can subsequently enable after assimilating the true transformative lessons of the education. In this, both adult educator and adult educatee are jointly and unrepealably educated, changing both the immediate environment in which the education occurs, and the larger social environment to which each contributes, and in which each lives.
References
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
It can be reasonably argued that the enterprise you described above will continue, whether or not the label “adult education” remains. Provide a rationale for continued use of the label or propose a more desirable alternative.
I consider the “adult” qualifier in “adult education” as referring not to the targets or objects of the education – those adults who would be educated – but rather to the educator her or himself. The educator as subject can be either an adult or a child, reflecting a spectrum of relative maturity concerning the enterprise of education. The child educator is one who believes exclusively or primarily in instrumentality, that is, the supremacy of content. For the child educator, lifelong learning is predominantly about so-called reskilling or training, creating the image of educator as circus trainer in which the objects of that education – the learners – are taught to sit up and beg on command for the morsels of individual renewal that emanate from the lips of the trainer. Child educators reinforce the hegemony of the particular process that establishes a corporate power hierarchy, that in turn, necessitates credentials and mandates credentialism. But with all of its trappings of superiority, this educator has not matured beyond the level of the perpetually insecure child, continually seeking external validation, both of those beneath themselves in the learning hierarchy, and those who create the system of validation itself.
On the other hand, the adult educator realizes that it is not the content of the learning, but the sustained effects of the learning that matter. Further, I am not referring to the effects on the would-be learner, although those effects are obviously implicated in the larger concern of which I speak. I refer instead specifically to the effects on the total societal environment that the learner can subsequently enable after assimilating the true transformative lessons of the education. In this, both adult educator and adult educatee are jointly and unrepealably educated, changing both the immediate environment in which the education occurs, and the larger social environment to which each contributes, and in which each lives.
References
- Baptiste, I., & Heaney, T. (1996). The political construction of adult education. Paper presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, October 17-19, 1996, Lincoln, NE.
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
20 October 2006
Calling All Responsible Americans
Midterm elections in your country are but a few weeks away. Please take a few minutes to watch this special report from Keith Olberman, and then remember to vote appropriately, and encourage those around you to vote appropriately.
[Technorati tags: keith olberman | habeas corpus | midterm election | reversal of america | george bush]
[Technorati tags: keith olberman | habeas corpus | midterm election | reversal of america | george bush]
Reflections of an Adult Educator - Part 4
One of my final courses is a doctoral-level seminar on the Political Economy of Adult Education. We were asked to answer a series of questions that were the subject of a conversation between Ian Baptiste and Tom Heaney (1996). As people are sometimes interested in my philosophy of education, I thought I'd post my reflections on the five Baptiste and Heaney questions, one post per day. Prior installments: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Increasingly “adult learning” is being substituted for “adult education.” What do you make of this substitution?
I have always maintained that education is what remains after you have forgotten everything that you have been taught. Adult learning, when considered relative to this context, shifts the focus from what remains to what is taught. The substitution of “learning” for “education” – and a nuanced and critical understanding of education at that – is a dangerous course for society, because a society is formed of “what remains” – the social values, the moral and ethical sensibilities, and the ability to effect transformation in the face of systemic injustice. I agree with Baptiste and Heaney’s (1996) assessment that learning connotes a political, ethical and moral neutrality that ironically encourages ignore-ance – literally the learned ability to ignore much that is problematic in favour of that which is instrumental, efficient and economic. With a new emphasis on learning as opposed to education, especially in the context of economic outcomes, maintaining the status quo and the positions of those vested in it is all but assured. Adult learners, that is, those to whom such learning opportunities are made available and who have the means and ability to avail themselves of them, become implicated in supporting the existing hegemonic structure even as they, themselves, become vested in it. Instrumental and functional learning is important as skills and specific capabilities create a foundation for any civilization or culture. However, all learning must be contextualized by the broader notion of education; eliminating the latter from the discourse negates any potential societal benefits of the former.
(final installment tomorrow)
References
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
Increasingly “adult learning” is being substituted for “adult education.” What do you make of this substitution?
I have always maintained that education is what remains after you have forgotten everything that you have been taught. Adult learning, when considered relative to this context, shifts the focus from what remains to what is taught. The substitution of “learning” for “education” – and a nuanced and critical understanding of education at that – is a dangerous course for society, because a society is formed of “what remains” – the social values, the moral and ethical sensibilities, and the ability to effect transformation in the face of systemic injustice. I agree with Baptiste and Heaney’s (1996) assessment that learning connotes a political, ethical and moral neutrality that ironically encourages ignore-ance – literally the learned ability to ignore much that is problematic in favour of that which is instrumental, efficient and economic. With a new emphasis on learning as opposed to education, especially in the context of economic outcomes, maintaining the status quo and the positions of those vested in it is all but assured. Adult learners, that is, those to whom such learning opportunities are made available and who have the means and ability to avail themselves of them, become implicated in supporting the existing hegemonic structure even as they, themselves, become vested in it. Instrumental and functional learning is important as skills and specific capabilities create a foundation for any civilization or culture. However, all learning must be contextualized by the broader notion of education; eliminating the latter from the discourse negates any potential societal benefits of the former.
(final installment tomorrow)
References
- Baptiste, I., & Heaney, T. (1996). The political construction of adult education. Paper presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, October 17-19, 1996, Lincoln, NE.
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
19 October 2006
Reflections of an Adult Educator - Part 3
One of my final courses is a doctoral-level seminar on the Political Economy of Adult Education. We were asked to answer a series of questions that were the subject of a conversation between Ian Baptiste and Tom Heaney (1996). As people are sometimes interested in my philosophy of education, I thought I'd post my reflections on the four Baptiste and Heaney questions, one post per day. Prior installments: Part 1, Part 2.
Give examples of counterfeits of adult education practice.
The most significant and problematic counterfeiting agency of adult education practice is the discourse of lifelong learning. Among the OECD countries, a mandate for Lifelong Learning For All (OECD, 1996) was adopted and endorsed as “an integral part of employment and social policy” (McKenzie & Wurzburg, 1997). This particular orientation not only corrupts the espoused principles of adult education as an endeavour of enlightenment and emancipation – “social education for purposes of social change” (Lindeman in Baptiste and Heaney, p. 3). It also subverts adult educators’ ability to probe and critique societal hegemonic structures, and to instill an ethos of virtuous resistance among those who would be educated. Lifelong learning creates an imperative for instrumentality. But more than that, it introduces a tacit paranoia – fear for one’s livelihood and the ability to even participate in society – that precludes the option of non-compliance.
Even more problematic, yet devilishly subtle, is the language used to describe the endeavour of lifelong learning, and the emphasis on training that it suggests. Trainers speak of transferring skills and knowledge from themselves to the targets of their teaching, suggesting a rivalrous, or competitive, conveyance of material from one to the other. The connotation of transference is that what was once possessed by the giver becomes the exclusive property of the receiver, and that the value of knowledge somehow inheres exclusively in she who possesses it. Of course, such language is completely consistent with the myth of an ever more competitive world, and the idea that knowledge is power, not to mention fame and fortune. The discourse of lifelong learning is thus wrapped up in an imperative to remain competitive and employable by acquiring resources that are not in fact rivalrous, but serve the dominant discourse to be considered as such.
(more tomorrow)
References
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
Give examples of counterfeits of adult education practice.
The most significant and problematic counterfeiting agency of adult education practice is the discourse of lifelong learning. Among the OECD countries, a mandate for Lifelong Learning For All (OECD, 1996) was adopted and endorsed as “an integral part of employment and social policy” (McKenzie & Wurzburg, 1997). This particular orientation not only corrupts the espoused principles of adult education as an endeavour of enlightenment and emancipation – “social education for purposes of social change” (Lindeman in Baptiste and Heaney, p. 3). It also subverts adult educators’ ability to probe and critique societal hegemonic structures, and to instill an ethos of virtuous resistance among those who would be educated. Lifelong learning creates an imperative for instrumentality. But more than that, it introduces a tacit paranoia – fear for one’s livelihood and the ability to even participate in society – that precludes the option of non-compliance.
Even more problematic, yet devilishly subtle, is the language used to describe the endeavour of lifelong learning, and the emphasis on training that it suggests. Trainers speak of transferring skills and knowledge from themselves to the targets of their teaching, suggesting a rivalrous, or competitive, conveyance of material from one to the other. The connotation of transference is that what was once possessed by the giver becomes the exclusive property of the receiver, and that the value of knowledge somehow inheres exclusively in she who possesses it. Of course, such language is completely consistent with the myth of an ever more competitive world, and the idea that knowledge is power, not to mention fame and fortune. The discourse of lifelong learning is thus wrapped up in an imperative to remain competitive and employable by acquiring resources that are not in fact rivalrous, but serve the dominant discourse to be considered as such.
(more tomorrow)
References
- Baptiste, I., & Heaney, T. (1996). The political construction of adult education. Paper presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, October 17-19, 1996, Lincoln, NE.
- McKenzie, P. & Wurzburg, G. (1997). Lifelong learning and employability. The OECD Observer, 209, 13-17.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (1996). Lifelong learning for all. Paris: OECD Publications.
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
18 October 2006
Reflections of an Adult Educator - Part 2
One of my final courses is a doctoral-level seminar on the Political Economy of Adult Education. We were asked to answer a series of questions that were the subject of a conversation between Ian Baptiste and Tom Heaney (1996). As people are sometimes interested in my philosophy of education, I thought I'd post my reflections on the four Baptiste and Heaney questions, one post per day. Yesterday's installment is here.
What are the distinctive practices, institutions, organizations, purposes and predecessors of the enterprise you call adult education?
Rather than identifying the practices, institutions and purposes of adult education, I would cast my gaze towards those that are characteristically not adult education. In many important respects, vast swaths of this university – and the institution of university itself – are not involved in the enterprise of adult education. Equally, corporate education, and especially those activities identified as training, are not. These instances, when viewed through a critical lens, almost seem to recall the form of education, or “re-education,” of Mao Tse-Tung’s cultural revolution in China. In these re-education camps, as in our own education campuses, what is primarily emphasized is an enforced compliance with dominant normative behaviours, attitudes, thinking, philosophy, and the construction and valuation of specific knowledge and ways of knowing, irrespective of the particular politics of the institution, faculty, department or program. For example, a way of empirically discovering a breadth of perceptions from the grounds of multiple standpoints is qualitative investigation. However, this institute (OISE/UT) is one of only two areas in this entire university that values knowledge produced by qualitative methods. Moreover, the vast majority of what exists in this institute resides in the Adult Education and Community Development program.
It is little surprise, then, that some of the basic tenets of this program inform my opinion on the fundamental precursors of adult education. They are two-fold. First, a constructivist standpoint is needed – the idea that we each, individually and collectively, create meaning in a world that is subjective, contingent, complex and contextualized by an ever-changing ground. Second, all those involved in the enterprise of adult education must not only understand, but more importantly value, the notion that there are multiple ways of perceiving, transforming through emotion, and responding to environments, circumstances, subjects and objects. These processes, that can be said to collectively comprise cognition, do not represent “an independently existing world, but rather a continual bringing forth of a world through the process of living” (Capra, p. 267; emphasis in original).
(more tomorrow)
References
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
What are the distinctive practices, institutions, organizations, purposes and predecessors of the enterprise you call adult education?
Rather than identifying the practices, institutions and purposes of adult education, I would cast my gaze towards those that are characteristically not adult education. In many important respects, vast swaths of this university – and the institution of university itself – are not involved in the enterprise of adult education. Equally, corporate education, and especially those activities identified as training, are not. These instances, when viewed through a critical lens, almost seem to recall the form of education, or “re-education,” of Mao Tse-Tung’s cultural revolution in China. In these re-education camps, as in our own education campuses, what is primarily emphasized is an enforced compliance with dominant normative behaviours, attitudes, thinking, philosophy, and the construction and valuation of specific knowledge and ways of knowing, irrespective of the particular politics of the institution, faculty, department or program. For example, a way of empirically discovering a breadth of perceptions from the grounds of multiple standpoints is qualitative investigation. However, this institute (OISE/UT) is one of only two areas in this entire university that values knowledge produced by qualitative methods. Moreover, the vast majority of what exists in this institute resides in the Adult Education and Community Development program.
It is little surprise, then, that some of the basic tenets of this program inform my opinion on the fundamental precursors of adult education. They are two-fold. First, a constructivist standpoint is needed – the idea that we each, individually and collectively, create meaning in a world that is subjective, contingent, complex and contextualized by an ever-changing ground. Second, all those involved in the enterprise of adult education must not only understand, but more importantly value, the notion that there are multiple ways of perceiving, transforming through emotion, and responding to environments, circumstances, subjects and objects. These processes, that can be said to collectively comprise cognition, do not represent “an independently existing world, but rather a continual bringing forth of a world through the process of living” (Capra, p. 267; emphasis in original).
(more tomorrow)
References
- Baptiste, I., & Heaney, T. (1996). The political construction of adult education. Paper presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, October 17-19, 1996, Lincoln, NE.
- Capra, F. (1996). The web of life. New York: Anchor Books.
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
17 October 2006
Reflections of an Adult Educator - Part 1
One of my final courses is a doctoral-level seminar on the Political Economy of Adult Education. We were asked to answer a series of questions that were the subject of a conversation between Ian Baptiste and Tom Heaney (1996). As people are sometimes interested in my philosophy of education, I thought I'd post my reflections on the four Baptiste and Heaney questions, one post per day.
Do I refer to myself as an "adult educator?"
I consider myself an adult educator, but it wasn’t always so. As I have reflected on my life, I realize that I have always been a teacher irrespective of the various roles I have played and jobs I have had over a 20-plus-year corporate career, and for the decade thereafter. My practice has become one of creating specific environments for participants in the enterprise of education in which they acquire some of the necessary tools to achieve new awareness and insight into the world and the meaning they make of it. The key differences between the before and the after may be several, but I will emphasize the one that I consider most informative to my practice.
I had always assumed that education necessarily carried with it a certain instrumentality and emphasis on content. However, inspired by the work – but more importantly, the method – of Marshall McLuhan, I have come to realize that, in his words, “the ‘content’ … is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind” (McLuhan, 1964, p. 18). This inspiration suggests that what I do in performing the role of adult educator has little to do with the subject matter of what I may be teaching, or the specific instrumental use to which the so-called learner may make of it. Rather, the only “training” aspect of my enacting of this role is training “the watchdog of the mind” to create the ability to perceive that which is deliberately or systemically ignored, and to “think things that no one else can think about those things that everyone else already sees” (Schoepenhauer).
(more tomorrow)
References
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
Do I refer to myself as an "adult educator?"
I consider myself an adult educator, but it wasn’t always so. As I have reflected on my life, I realize that I have always been a teacher irrespective of the various roles I have played and jobs I have had over a 20-plus-year corporate career, and for the decade thereafter. My practice has become one of creating specific environments for participants in the enterprise of education in which they acquire some of the necessary tools to achieve new awareness and insight into the world and the meaning they make of it. The key differences between the before and the after may be several, but I will emphasize the one that I consider most informative to my practice.
I had always assumed that education necessarily carried with it a certain instrumentality and emphasis on content. However, inspired by the work – but more importantly, the method – of Marshall McLuhan, I have come to realize that, in his words, “the ‘content’ … is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind” (McLuhan, 1964, p. 18). This inspiration suggests that what I do in performing the role of adult educator has little to do with the subject matter of what I may be teaching, or the specific instrumental use to which the so-called learner may make of it. Rather, the only “training” aspect of my enacting of this role is training “the watchdog of the mind” to create the ability to perceive that which is deliberately or systemically ignored, and to “think things that no one else can think about those things that everyone else already sees” (Schoepenhauer).
(more tomorrow)
References
- Baptiste, I., & Heaney, T. (1996). The political construction of adult education. Paper presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, October 17-19, 1996, Lincoln, NE.
- McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media: The extensions of man. Toronto: McGraw-Hill.
[Technorati tags: adult educator | adult education | philosophy | education | baptiste | heaney | teaching-carnival]
16 October 2006
Distortion of Beauty.
14 October 2006
For the Italian McLuhan Fellows
I dedicate this find to Gianluca, Leo, (several) Francesco(s), Vincenzo, Serena, Lucilla, Antonio, another Gianluca, and a bunch of others who I've probably forgotten! ('scuza).
And for the rest, you can find the English version here.
[Technorati tags: marshall mcluhan | annie hall | woody allen]
And for the rest, you can find the English version here.
[Technorati tags: marshall mcluhan | annie hall | woody allen]
Fast Film: Animation from Old Movies
Fast Film by Virgil Widrich is one of those rare, truly wonderful, and awe-inspiring bits of animated storytelling that reminds us all of how creativity builds on creativity.
[Technorati tags: virgil widrich | fast+film | animation | old movies | paper folding]
The visuals were achieved by printing out thousands of film frames (over 65,000 to be exact) and folding them into three-dimensional shapes. The paper-objects were then photographed and composited in After Effects. I can't even imagine the effort it took to mash-up hundreds of live-action films, often times with three to four films in each scene, and make it all work in a narrative context. It's an incredible creative achievement.The narrative makes some sort of sense in a surreal way, and is most certainly worth the thirteen-and-a-half minutes. Much more information is available on the official website.
[Technorati tags: virgil widrich | fast+film | animation | old movies | paper folding]
12 October 2006
Tragic Arrogance and Stupidity
David Weinberger has two posts today that, juxtaposed in my RSS reader, struck me dumb. And not dumb in the sense of "... and Dumber" (that would characterize the characters that ultimately resulted in the posts), but dumb as in mute because of the stark shocking nature of what has been wrought. Here are the essential elements of the two:
And the American mass newsmedia? Are they reporting on this tragic situation? How about the scandalously hackable voting machines that may yet win the day for Republicans, despite all the polls to the contrary? (After all, the only poll that counts is the one we can rig.) Nope. They're obsessed with the Foley Follies.
[Technorati tags: bush | iraq | north korea | david weinberger | mark foley | scandal]
A WSJ article reports that a John Hopkins study says that 600,000 Iraqis have died violently since the war started. That's 2,5% of the population that would have been alive if there were no conflict. Granted, they would have been living under the control of a homicidal dictator who Human Rights Watch estimates killed up to 290,000 people in twenty years. ...Summing up, the U.S. under its so-called Commander-in-Chief has directly or indirectly killed nearly three times the number of Iraqis than did the dictator it deposed, in only a fraction of the time. So much for morality and ethicality. Further, it has made the world a significantly more dangerous place by fertilizing the spawning conditions for trans-national terrorism and encouraging the nuclear ambitions of one of the relatively few remaining madmen that still run countries. (I'm sure that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is rubbing his hands with glee). And Hard Workin' George is still smirking, sending two distinct and diametrically opposite messages: that America is safer because they invaded Iraq, and that America is under increased threat because of the ever-present Terr'ists.
and
So, now we see how well the Bush policy on North Korea has worked out. The world is a step-function more insecure, not only because North Korea is a nuclear-tipped loonocracy, but because it well may decide to arm stateless groups that cannot be deterred from nuking us.
Nice going, George.
This is the price you pay for being a stubborn jackass, um, I mean, standing by principles. The principle of not negotiating with bad guys has a pragmatic justification: Negotiating encourages others to adopt bad guy tactics. But, that means the no-negotiating principle is really dependent on the practicalities. Instead, Bush has been overpowered by its macho sound. When it comes to near-nuclear powers who have been begging for direct talks, standing by the principle as if it were an 11th Commandment, and refusing to recognize differences in different cases—"I don't do nuance"—results in criminally stupid policies.
And the American mass newsmedia? Are they reporting on this tragic situation? How about the scandalously hackable voting machines that may yet win the day for Republicans, despite all the polls to the contrary? (After all, the only poll that counts is the one we can rig.) Nope. They're obsessed with the Foley Follies.
[Technorati tags: bush | iraq | north korea | david weinberger | mark foley | scandal]
04 October 2006
Although I Wouldn't Necessarily Include Them in My Research
I always knew that organizations like Hell's Angels were hierarchical, but now we learn that they are bureaucratic and administratively controlled, too:
[Technorati tags: hells angels | application | bah]
Rebels and outlaws looking to join the Hells Angels had better be prepared to fill out an application form and attach a current photo. It seems even society's quintessential outsiders can't escape the drudgery of paperwork. One such application, or "personal information sheet," submitted by a prospective Hells Angel was entered into evidence at a sentencing hearing in Winnipeg this week. It includes basic questions such as name, age, date of birth, telephone number and social insurance number. But the two-page form also asks whether the applicant owns a Harley-Davidson motorcycle or has a criminal record.But can you imagine the job interview?
Hells Angels paperwork isn't much different from the straight-laced corporate world.
[Technorati tags: hells angels | application | bah]
03 October 2006
The Most Effective Weapon Against Corruption is a Bright Light
Or perhaps even better, a video/audio-tape. This exclusive clip from CTV news apparently shows IRB judge (and former Toronto city councillor) Steve Ellis, improperly propositioning a refugee claimant, allegedly offering her approval of her claim if she sleeps with him.
[Technorati tags: irb | steve ellis | kim | refugee]
"I had no choice. When he asked me for the coffee, I had to meet him. I was afraid he would say no, deny my case," [refugee claimant] Kim told CTV News. ... In the video, Ellis tells Kim she's as beautiful as a model and offers to find her work: "We have to work hard to get you another job at a hotel or something." ... In the audio recording, Ellis suggests he can approve her application if she has an affair with him, but warned Kim not to tell her boyfriend. "He might try to make trouble and say, `Oh yeah, this guy she fucked was a judge. She fucked him and that's why she is fucking him and that's why he said yes'," Ellis said."If we do this and it's shown I did this for improper purposes, then you are screwed too. We are both screwed. I'm in big trouble and your status is gone," he tells Kim.Ellis is indeed in big trouble. Let's hope Kim's status is secure. People who are willing to take a stand against corruption - especially when they are most vulnerable - are the type of courageous new immigrants this country should welcome.
Ellis, appointed to the board in 2000, would only tell CTV News: "I don't have anything to say right now. Thank you." Kim sent the video to the chairman of the Immigration Appeal Board last week. He immediately suspended Ellis. The matter has been referred to the RCMP.
[Technorati tags: irb | steve ellis | kim | refugee]
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