Facebook In The Dock?

The New York Attorney General’s office has stated that Facebook could be facing charges of consumer fraud. For those of you who don’t know (hello, welcome to this place we call the “internet”. I hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable living under that rock) Facebook is a social networking site, that initially began as school or college-only. Many have argued that it should go back to these roots, because part of the appeal of the original Facebook was the privacy and safety people felt they possessed in a “closed” network (which was still open to millions).

Of course the idea of “privacy” on a social networking site is an oxymoron (by their nature such sites make private matters “public”), but safety is something that can be safeguarded. All of these sites (although, to be fair, such concerns exist on all websites) open up young people to paedophiles and predators. The internet as a whole is “unsafe” for children, but the onus must be on parents to be more responsible, not on companies that operate websites to do the job of the parents. When do we finally demand parents be responsible for their kids?

If Facebook were claiming youngsters were “completely safe” on their website then they’d be misleading consumers. However they don’t say this, merely that Facebook is safer than many (note, they don’t claim “all”) other sites. If parents have a misrepresentation then that is their own fault. Why do we allow idiots to procreate? Newsflash parents, the internet is not a safe place for children to be unsupervised, it never has been, it never will be. You wouldn’t let your kids play in the motorway (well you probably would but that’s besides the point) so why let them be on the internet without supervision? Be a parent and supervise!

Whilst I do not claim to be an expert on social networking sites, I would say that if it is used properly Facebook does have better privacy and safety options than its rivals, but the key words are “if it is used properly”. Too many people do not set up their privacy settings appropriately, and then cry foul. The hysteria over the “mini-feed” is misplaced. The information that appears on it is only available to those who can find the same information out by simply visiting your profile. Of course having a timsetamp concerned some people so there is now an option to turn off the time from being reported. You choose what gets reported and what doesn’t and can manually remove items. The key is you need to use it properly.

Whilst I welcome efforts to stop “internet grooming” by paedophiles, I don’t see how Facebook fails to live up to its claims. The story seems to me to be another case of the government finding convenient scapegoats for poor parenting. First it was the TV, then movies, then video games, now it’s social networking sites.

Anything but admit that the standard of parenting is abysmal…

Disposable People

After reading this I can’t help wondering if that’s what we are these days. Is 24 really not young enough to be considered “young”? If that is true I have a lot to worry about. Do we now live in an era where, if you’re born after 1986 you are a has-been who belongs in the bin? I’m actually not going to launch into a big rant about this one (shocking I know) but it’s a question I thought was worth posing. Are we becoming a society of “disposable” people, complete with sell-by-date?

Why We Don’t Need To Invade North Korea

One of the criticisms levelled at the Iraq war has been to point out the world’s other dictators and America’s perceived inactivity in regards to the threat they pose. I have always criticised this argument as being fundamentally flawed as, even if it were true, it is like arguing that if we cannot have a perfect world we should do nothing to improve the one we have now (which is made even more ironic by the fact that most of those who argue this are “Climate Change Crisis” activists who want us to tackle a problem that isn’t even man-made).

Now I can critcise it as being plain wrong. Iraq was offered the chance to comply with UN regulations and they did not. The whole “we never found WMDs in Iraq” argument somewhat misses the point. When the “invasion” was launched, the coalition’s forces were attacked by long-range missiles, missiles which, had Iraq been adhering to the UN’s instructions, they shouldn’t have had. North Korea is at least adhering to its nuclear disarmament commitments. The two cases aren’t comparable. Saddam was offered the carrot or the stick and chose the stick.

Culture Clash Or Backwards Bollywood?

If India wants to be considered a true economic heavyweight then it is going to have to get rid of its archaic moral code. When the original story broke over the kiss I remember there being an uproar in Indian society and it was all over the news. That didn’t particularly surprise me, when we have “controversial” things that offend people’s sensibilities (like “upskirt” pictures where famous celebrity women are caught without underwear), it tends to create uproar amongst the more conservative members of society, and often will be all over the news.

Admittedly, getting that worked up over a kiss may be more puritanical than our attitudes in the west (where a nipple slip is, at worst, a topic of comic value and at best incredibly welcome by us male members of society) but one expects that.

Different cultures are different (seems obvious enough) but when it starts to impact on laws, to the extent where someone can be arrested for something like a kiss, then that’s beyond culture. If that weren’t the case, then dictators could justify their acts on account of “culture”. That surely cannot be true.

Wiki-Wednesday – Broomhouse Tunnel

Broomhouse Tunnel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Broomhouse Tunnel was built on the Midland Main Line between Chesterfield and Sheffield in 1870 when the Midland Railway built what is known to railwaymen as the “New Road” diverting from the “Old Road” built by the North Midland Railway which bypassed Sheffield due to the gradients involved.The line diverged just north of Chesterfield at Tapton Junction with a steady three and a half mile climb at 1 in 100, through Sheepbridge and Unstone stations, before a short drop into Dronfield.

Sheepbridge, known for some of its life as “Sheepbridge and Whittington Moor”, closed in 1967. Unston, or Unstone, became an unstaffed halt in 1951, finally closing in 1961.

Broomhouse Tunnel passed through a narrow ridge a mile past Sheepbridge, being only 92 yards long. It was opened out in 1969.