What A World We Live In!

Did I ever say that? Crap bus drivers do much more harm to me than crap journalists because I can simply put away the paper if I don't want to read it, but I am dependent on the bus.
I only had a go at crap journalists because that was what we were talking about. If we had been talking about crap fishermen, I'd have had a go at crap fishermen. If we had been talking about crap historians, I'd have had a go at crap historians. It's just that this profession became part of the conversation. And just as I would have said that there are also good fishermen or good historians, I am saying now and have never denied that there are good and brilliant journalists.

Often enough, it's not even the journalists fault, but the paper/magazine/whatever else it is they are writing for. If the truth were an animal, to a good journalist it may be a swan, but to a bad paper it's just a roadkill.
 
[!--quoteo(post=130334:date=Mar 2 2006, 02:56 PM:name=SilentLucidity)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(SilentLucidity @ Mar 2 2006, 02:56 PM) [snapback]130334[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Can't such bastards be found in just about any profession? Or do you think a crap surgeon or a bad carpenter or bus driver do less harm?
[/quote]
Crap buss drivers giving you perverted information on telly/newspapers are rare no??? ::
 
[!--quoteo(post=130336:date=Mar 2 2006, 03:06 PM:name=JackKnife)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(JackKnife @ Mar 2 2006, 03:06 PM) [snapback]130336[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Crap buss drivers giving you perverted information on telly/newspapers are rare no??? ::
[/quote]

What about crap bus drivers that simply won't come, the next bus is half an hour later and you're too late for an even that was very important to you?
 
The problem is that journalists are "heard" by most of the population, like priests in ancient times. One unprofessional crap journalist who's only looking for personal fame will have more impact than a surgeon or a carpenter... and the profession will suffer of a bad name. People always remember the bad things better than the good ones, as a general rule.

I personally think that medical doctors are quacks -- and many are -- but I don't hold it against the whole profession, as I also know very good ones.
 
[!--quoteo(post=130335:date=Mar 2 2006, 03:05 PM:name=Perun)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Perun @ Mar 2 2006, 03:05 PM) [snapback]130335[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]I only had a go at crap journalists because that was what we were talking about...[/quote]There was a mention of at least one more profession, if I'm not mistaken.

[!--quoteo(post=130336:date=Mar 2 2006, 03:06 PM:name=JackKnife)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(JackKnife @ Mar 2 2006, 03:06 PM) [snapback]130336[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]Crap buss drivers giving you perverted information on telly/newspapers are rare...[/quote]Not if they hit someone or kill their passengers... [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":D\" border=\"0\" alt=\"biggrin.gif\" /]
 
[!--quoteo(post=130339:date=Mar 2 2006, 03:11 PM:name=Maverick)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Maverick @ Mar 2 2006, 03:11 PM) [snapback]130339[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
People always remember the bad things better than the good ones, as a general rule.
[/quote]

To put it into a particularly clichéd quote:

[!--quoteo--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft interred with their bones​
[/quote]

-William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2.



[img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":p\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /]
 
[!--quoteo(post=130339:date=Mar 2 2006, 03:11 PM:name=Maverick)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Maverick @ Mar 2 2006, 03:11 PM) [snapback]130339[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]One unprofessional crap journalist...will have more impact than a surgeon or a carpenter[/quote]Impact, perhaps. What I meant is that if someone doesn't do their job right, he/she may cause damage. A nasty article can destroy someone's career, a butcher operation or badly constructed house can cost people lives...
 
[!--quoteo(post=130340:date=Mar 2 2006, 03:12 PM:name=SilentLucidity)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(SilentLucidity @ Mar 2 2006, 03:12 PM) [snapback]130340[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
There was a mention of at least one more profession, if I'm not mistaken.
[/quote]

Yeah, farmers.

I withdraw [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/sleep.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\"-_-\" border=\"0\" alt=\"sleep.gif\" /]
 
[!--quoteo(post=130335:date=Mar 2 2006, 09:05 AM:name=Perun)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Perun @ Mar 2 2006, 09:05 AM) [snapback]130335[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Crap bus drivers do much more harm to me than crap journalists because I can simply put away the paper if I don't want to read it, but I am dependent on the bus.
[/quote]

If our response to a bad journalist is to put away the paper and not read it, then the damage has already been done.

A bad journalist does simpy ruin someone's career, or pander to sensationalist sensibilities. A bad journalist contributes to the erosion of a cornerstone of a free society. It is the duty of a journalist to inform us about the dealings of our government. Bad journalists shirk that responsibility and contribute to the increased lack of trust and respect in the journalistic profession which in turn prevents even good journalists from upholding their responsibilities because no one will listen.

A bad bus driver can cause a traffic death; a bad journalist contributes to the downfall of democracy. Which one is worse? I don't know, but the latter has much more long-term effects.
 
Can I just say if a man wants to marry a goat, good luck to him and his lovely wife [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\";)\" border=\"0\" alt=\"wink.gif\" /]
 
I didn't want to participate in this discussion anymore, but

[!--quoteo(post=130352:date=Mar 2 2006, 04:41 PM:name=macunaima)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(macunaima @ Mar 2 2006, 04:41 PM) [snapback]130352[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
A bad journalist does simpy ruin someone's career, or pander to sensationalist sensibilities. A bad journalist contributes to the erosion of a cornerstone of a free society. It is the duty of a journalist to inform us about the dealings of our government. Bad journalists shirk that responsibility and contribute to the increased lack of trust and respect in the journalistic profession which in turn prevents even good journalists from upholding their responsibilities because no one will listen.[/quote]

In the same way, a good journalist can strengthen the system. In 1962, a German magazine called Der Spiegel issued a critical report on the German government. The government did a raid in the newspaper's headquarters and reporters were arrested. The government thought nothing of it, because critizising the government was not something one would expect from a German at that time. But they were wrong. Thousands of people went on the streets and the Adenauer administration was put under pressure to release the reporters. This is often considered the real starting point of German press freedom. In case you want to do some research on this, the incident is known as the Spiegel Affair.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]A bad bus driver can cause a traffic death; a bad journalist contributes to the downfall of democracy. Which one is worse? I don't know, but the latter has much more long-term effects.
[/quote]

Depends on who was killed... What if some stupid bus driver would have run over Churchill in 1940?
 
[!--quoteo(post=130355:date=Mar 2 2006, 10:55 AM:name=Perun)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Perun @ Mar 2 2006, 10:55 AM) [snapback]130355[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
In the same way, a good journalist can strengthen the system. I
[/quote]

Oh I agree, of course. Since I'm currently living in the USA, my low opinion of journalists has to be seen in that context where brave journalists who expose corruption and abuses of power are extremely rare and -- thanks to the sea of mediocrity and brown-nosing to the government that is the American media -- are hardly ever heard.

But you're right; journalists can also be a force for good. I'm just bitter because of the current state of things.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Depends on who was killed... What if some stupid bus driver would have run over Churchill in 1940?
[/quote]

Well, but then the problem isn't simply that he was a bad bus driver. The probelm there would be that he was a bad and unlucky bus driver. Those, I grant, may be worse than bad but not unlucky, journalists. [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":p\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /]
 
I guess I have to express my faith in the quality of journalism continuing. I think that there will always be a market for the shock niche. I'm generally thinking of the American Deep South, here. But there will always be a demand for real journalism, and for intelligent journalism.

In Canada, we still have a strong core of good journalists who do what they're supposed to do - criticise and report. They go after politicians for things they should be gone after for, for instance. I can think of a certain idiot politician who singlehandedly contributed to the downfall of the Liberal government, David Dingwall. He was a crony and a waster of taxpayer money.

And the reporters went after him. Now, that's not to say it's all good. Certain Canadians like Conrad Black have attempted to twist the media to their point of view. But overall it is a solid group. There is fair reporting all around. I still check and double-check stories...but I feel confident in most Canadian news papers.
 
Will you people snap out of it?! Focus on the real issue here. What about the children?! Kids are cruel and don't you think that these goatboys/goatgirls will suffer great psychological trauma because of their atrocious hybrid appearance? The racism in this world just doesn't stop! When will it ever stop!!!!
 
Cross-species fecundation? I *love* science-fiction! [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":p\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /]
 
Let me be the first one to suggest the formation of a charity organization for these poor goat kids:

Foundation for Unborn Cross-species Kids' Intelligent Treatment.

[img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":p\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /]
 
[!--quoteo(post=130363:date=Mar 2 2006, 05:41 PM:name=Onhell)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Onhell @ Mar 2 2006, 05:41 PM) [snapback]130363[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Will you people snap out of it?! Focus on the real issue here. What about the children?! Kids are cruel and don't you think that these goatboys/goatgirls will suffer great psychological trauma because of their atrocious hybrid appearance? The racism in this world just doesn't stop! When will it ever stop!!!!
[/quote]
I definitely love this forum.... ::
 
[!--quoteo(post=130382:date=Mar 2 2006, 05:33 PM:name=Perun)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Perun @ Mar 2 2006, 05:33 PM) [snapback]130382[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Let me be the first one to suggest the formation of a charity organization for these poor goat kids:

Foundation for Unborn Cross-species Kids' Intelligent Treatment.

[img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":p\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /]
[/quote]

Rimmer: Look, just because it's an armour-plated alien killing machine that salivates unspeakable slobber doesn't mean it's a bad person. What we've got to do is get it round a table and put together a solution package - perhaps over tea and biscuits.

Erm, I think we're losing sight of the real issue here, which is 'What are we gonna call ourselves?' Erm, and I think it comes down to a choice between 'The League Against Salivating Monsters' or my own personal preference, which is 'The Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society'. Erm, one drawback with that - the abbreviation is 'CLITORIS'.

The time for talking is over. Now call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard, and we hit it fast, with a major, and I mean major, leaflet campaign.

(I love a bit of red dwarf)
 
Maybe a political party will do:

Party for Eternal Rehabilitation of Unaccepted Niche-dwellers of Society and Acceptance of People's Right for Alternative Treatment.



No wait, something's not right... ::
 
[!--quoteo(post=130756:date=Mar 5 2006, 12:42 AM:name=dogigniter)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(dogigniter @ Mar 5 2006, 12:42 AM) [snapback]130756[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Rimmer: Look, just because it's an armour-plated alien killing machine that salivates unspeakable slobber doesn't mean it's a bad person. What we've got to do is get it round a table and put together a solution package - perhaps over tea and biscuits.

Erm, I think we're losing sight of the real issue here, which is 'What are we gonna call ourselves?' Erm, and I think it comes down to a choice between 'The League Against Salivating Monsters' or my own personal preference, which is 'The Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society'. Erm, one drawback with that - the abbreviation is 'CLITORIS'.

The time for talking is over. Now call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard, and we hit it fast, with a major, and I mean major, leaflet campaign.

(I love a bit of red dwarf)
[/quote]
Spooky, I watched that episode just yesterday. ::
 
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