James M writes:
Our government insists that “Standards in English and maths are at their highest levels ever … “. This is persistently contradicted by the universities that receive the students.
The reason the government believes that the standards are high is that it sets the standards. That they are set so low is the real problem.
Quite.
Fantastic piece by Neal Acherson on OpenDemocracy.Net about the Islamic cartoon fiasco. Made me feel ashamed that I hadn’t dug below the synthetic outrage of British media coverage. Excerpt:
The most curious thing about the affair is why the fuse burned so slowly. It was on 30 September 2005, more than four months ago, that Jyllands-Posten in Copenhagen published the cartoons of Mohammed (heavily unfunny, but extremely rude). The newspaper was barging into an already running story, about the reluctance of Danish illustrators to contribute to a life of Mohammed for children. Jyllands-Posten is a rightwing paper, in tune with the present Danish government in its resentment of Muslim immigrants, and it meant to make trouble. There followed some small demonstrations, and several death threats to the cartoonists.
None the less, the trouble could have been contained. The fatal element was the insistence of the prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, on posturing as a friend of liberty who knew how to stand up to repressive aliens. He brushed the protests from Danish Muslims aside. He then refused to receive the ambassadors of Islamic nations, who were demanding the prosecution of the newspaper. They reported back to their own publics on “Danish intransigence”…
Ho, ho. News.com report…
Yahoo confirmed on Wednesday that it’s polling some Yahoo Mail users about what they would want in exchange for making Yahoo their primary search engine. The survey was sent to a random sampling representing about 5 percent of its Yahoo Mail users, a Yahoo representative said.
“Yahoo is considering launching a program to reward people who make Yahoo their primary search engine,” the survey says. “Yahoo Mail users will be given early access to this program. You will receive a monthly reward if you make Yahoo your primary search engine. This means that most of the searching you do each month must be on Yahoo Search.”
Users would have to log in or use a search box specifically designed for the program, like “a Yahoo rewards toolbar,” the survey said. It then listed 10 different potential reward options…
From today’s New York Times…
United States military authorities have taken tougher measures to force-feed detainees engaged in hunger strikes at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, after concluding that some were determined to commit suicide to protest their indefinite confinement, military officials have said.
In recent weeks, the officials said, guards have begun strapping recalcitrant detainees into “restraint chairs,” sometimes for hours a day, to feed them through tubes and prevent them from deliberately vomiting afterward. Detainees who refuse to eat have also been placed in isolation for extended periods in what the officials said was an effort to keep them from being encouraged by other hunger strikers.
The measures appear to have had dramatic effects. The chief military spokesman at Guantánamo, Lt. Col. Jeremy M. Martin, said yesterday that the number of detainees on hunger strike had dropped to 4 from 84 at the end of December.
Some officials said the new actions reflected concern at Guantánamo and the Pentagon that the protests were becoming difficult to control and that the death of one or more prisoners could intensify international criticism of the detention center. Colonel Martin said force-feeding was carried out “in a humane and compassionate manner” and only when necessary to keep the prisoners alive. H e said in a statement that “a restraint system to aid detainee feeding” was being used but refused to answer questions about the restraint chairs.
Just been browsing the web site of the supplier of these ingenious conveniences. It’s like a “padded cell on wheels”, apparently.
Designed by Sheriff Tom Hogan of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Dept, Denison, Iowa. After years of dealing with combative prisoners and ineffective restraining methods, Sheriff Hogan developed this innovative solution: the Emergency Restraint Chair®.
Safely restrains a combative or self–destructive person. Does not restrict normal breathing, secures individual without injury. Allows for safe prisoner transport by a single officer to court or hospital. Reduces your liability from combative–related incidents. Reduces the need for additional personnel. Reduces your transport costs.
A mere $1500 per chair in quantities of five or more. Order online. Don’t all rush.
Meanwhile, trust those spoilsports over at Amnesty International to rain on the parade.
As the use of the restraint chair proliferates in detention facilities nationwide, Amnesty International is concerned that inadequate training and supervision of detention officers in their use has caused unnecessary pain, injury and even death.
Since the beginning of 2000, at least four inmates have died in the USA after being subdued in a restraint chair — a metal framed chair in which prisoners are immobilized in four-point restraints securing both arms and legs, with a strap across the chest. Three prisoners died within the space of three months. These cases are the latest in a disturbing line of restraint chair related deaths that have occurred in US prisons and jails nationwide… There are also numerous reports of prisoners being subjected to verbal, physical or mental abuse while in restraint chairs.