Activism Farms

We seem to be living in an age of extinction-level stupidity: 

There is no such thing as learning loss. Our kids didn’t lose anything [during the pandemic]. It’s okay that our babies may not have learned all their times tables. They learned resilience. They learned survival. They learned critical-thinking skills. They know the difference between a riot and a protest. They know the words insurrection and coup.

So says Cecily Myart-Cruz, president of the United Teachers Los Angeles union. A union representing 33,000 teachers and associated educational staff.

“Education is political,” says Ms Myart-Cruz, who boasts of her ability to act with near-impunity, and whose list of Intolerable Things includes cognitive testing, “structural racism,” border controls, policing, and the supposed “privilege” of parents who would like their children to actually learn things, including times tables. Our Mistress Of Higher Purpose struggles to comprehend why parents might object to their children’s education, even in basic skills, being supplanted by the nakedly self-serving and increasingly weird activism of the people paid to teach them those basic skills. Instead, she endorses claims that such objections must be driven by “white-supremacist thinking.”

Needless to say, the UTLA is vehemently opposed to voucher systems that would allow parents to spare their children a stay in what are not so much schools as activism farms. Where Ms Myart-Cruz and her “babies” can prioritise “fighting for… social justice.”

“We’re re-envisioning what the future of public schools will look like,” says she. 

Via Darleen. 

Comments

[JuliaM]

“We’re re-envisioning what the future of public schools will look like,” says she.

What a coincidence. The Taliban are re-envisioning what the future of their schools will be like, too...

[Hopp Singg]

"They learned to obey. And isn't that what really matters?"

[David]

Today’s words are ideological capture.

[[+]]

Looks like a cult. Sounds like a cult. Smells like a cult.

[Hopp Singg]

Looks like a cult. Sounds like a cult. Smells like a cult.

I like a man who can laugh in the face of autocorrect.

[Nikw211]

I'll just leave this here for anyone who might need it.

[Dis]

"They know the difference between a riot and a protest. They know the words insurrection and coup."

Not if they only listen to the mainstream mediocres, or lefties, or YOU and your ilk, fem... And yes, I'm aware these are all facets of the same thing, but there you go...

[sH2]

"Theoretically, all 33,000 teachers in the union are allowed to vote for their president. In practice, though, turnout is minuscule. In the election of 2020, only 5,300 members cast ballots, or about 16 percent of the union. Myart-Cruz got 69 percent of that 16 percent,"

[WTP]

only 5,300 members cast ballots

Not sure what that says about the teachers in the union but either way it isn't good.

[Burnsie]

We've noted the parallels to China's Red Guard for years, but my gosh -- they don't even try to hide their intentions anymore.

This woman must have to bite her tongue not to blurt out the phrase "struggle sessions" every time she shares her plans.

Then again, the new jargon has developed its own momentum. "Struggle sessions" will return; they'll just have a different name.

[Karl]

"They know the difference between a riot and a protest. They know the words insurrection and coup."

Rioters are protesters with whom we disagree.

An insurrection is when we can get the people we disagree with arrested for disagreeing too vociferously.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Speaking of school boards...

[WTP]

Speaking of school boards...

Some of those were a stretch. Phil McCracken? Weak. But by the time he got to Eileen Dover a lightbulb should have gone off. But hey, they're the smart people.

And speaking of school boards...what is with that scene? My local city council doesn't have such a grand space nor so fancy. Never been to a school board meeting since I was a child but I figured they still met in a school auditorium or cafeteria or such.

[Daniel Ream]

parents who would like their children to actually learn things, including times tables

In Southwestern Ontario, multiplication tables are no longer taught at all in elementary school. Not because of the pandemic; they haven't been taught for years.

Not sure what that says about the teachers in the union but either way it isn't good.

You are assuming the elections are free, fair and legitimate, an increasingly unlikely supposition.

Fire them all. Decertify every teacher's union. Shut down all publicly funded schooling. Return to the days when parents who wanted their children to get an education banded together, hired a teacher out of their own pocket, and held that teacher - and their own children - to account for their children's performance.

The problem with this approach is that it won't work for the growing underclass of children from welfare-addicted single mothers whose parents are either absent or apathetic. I don't have a solution for that. Anything I can think of off the top of my head just looks like a variant of the current state-sponsored daycare system.

[WTP]

You are assuming the elections are free, fair and legitimate, an increasingly unlikely supposition.

I assume nothing. I highly doubt that the elections are free, fair and legitimate. This is one of the many ways "it isn't good".

[Sort-Of-Mad Max]

"Cecily Myart-Cruz"

Again with the old pirate lore:

"If ye see,
names of three,
or a hyphen there be;
BEWARE!
For bat-sh*t crazy be she!"

[Steve E]

Rioters are protesters with whom we disagree.

And in clown world, protesters are rioters with whom agree.

They know the words insurrection and coup.

And everything is coup coup ca choo.

[Steve E]

Phil McCracken? Weak.

But still a classic. I was hoping the new NHL team the Kraken would adopt a mascot named Phil.

Speaking of classics, this SNL terrorist name sketch was hilarious in its time. I also remember one with more colourful names but can't source it.

[Killer Marmot]

You're not going to bring teachers unions to their senses by pleading with them. School choice is necessary. When public school teachers see their jobs jeopardized by falling enrollment, only then will they abandon extreme political agendas and start asking how they can serve parents and children better.

[Joan]

Sometimes they say the quiet part out loud.

[Karl]

hilarious in its time

Pah. Also Piffle. Which is not, I think, an improvement on the original.

[aelfheld]

They know the words insurrection and coup.

Yes, but they couldn't spell them to save their lives.

[aelfheld]

We’re re-envisioning what the future of public schools will look like.

Rather a lot like the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region I would suspect.

[jen]

'Related'...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83b_u5V51U8

[asiaseen]

We’re re-envisioning what the future of public schools will look like.

Rather a lot like the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region I would suspect.

Or the way Hong Kong schools are going.

[Governor Squid]

When the leader of the school teachers tells her community that their children should not attend school any more, it's not a sign that civilization is in decline, but rather that the stopper has already been pulled and it's only a matter of circling the drain a few times before it's all over.

I trust that there will remain a few tropical islands where rum will continue to be distilled. I encourage you all to join me in my anchorage where we can raise a glass to the setting of the sun and the burning of the West, grateful that we are far away from it all.

(Will a Mai Tai still be called a Mai Tai after the Chinese take over? What about a Singapore Sling?)

[Darleen]

Or the way Hong Kong schools are going

Five arrested for seditious children's books.

[Steve E]

When the leader of the school teachers tells her community...

I propose a drinking game. Every time the word "community" is used unironically you have to take a drink. We'll all be hammered before noon. Cheers

(Will a Mai Tai still be called a Mai Tai after the Chinese take over? What about a Singapore Sling?)

In protest, I will substitute a Yellow Bird for the Mai Tai and a Hurricane for the Singapore Sling.

[WTP]

But still a classic. I was hoping the new NHL team the Kraken would adopt a mascot named Phil.

What's funny, funny peculiar not funny ha-ha, is hearing the guy trying to pronounce such a foreign...foreign like Canadian foreign... sounding name, the way he stumbled over it, the humor was lost on me. Though after typing it out, posting it, and then later reading it, thus pronounced 'correctly' in my head, it is damn funny ha-ha. Funny, that.'

[WTP]

Also, perhaps the school board could find an eighth grader somewhere....somewhere...to review their speakers list for joke names. Gotta give props to the incredible restraint from putting Biggus Dikkus on the list. Probably if given a second chance though...

[L.]

She's 100% right that education is political. And it's damn well past time that everyone here learn that as well. Education is EXPLICITLY POLITICAL and, as such, it is imperative that every American insist that all children are taught to be politically patriotic. That they learn western, American values. If you're not learning American values, then, by necessity you're learning non-American values. Which leads to the destruction of American values.

[Sam]

Take your children out of the camps.

[Sam]

Anything I can think of off the top of my head just looks like a variant of the current state-sponsored daycare system.

My compromise with the statists has always been to break up school classes based on what the various parents actually want, which falls into only one of three categories: challenging school, not-as-challenging school, and daycare.

It would make explicit what tax-funded schooling advocates desperately wish to keep implicit, but I thought it had a snowball's chance of gaining traction since dullard bureaucrats would see a potential tripling of their budgets. The most ideal compromise with the statists educrats would be unlimited charters and vouchers, but that is far, far too much freedom to ever be considered, especially in deep red* districts.

*F@%& every boomer republican who's told me "well I went through public school and it was fine"

[Governor Squid]

I like a man who can laugh in the face of autocorrect.

I missed this riposte the first time through. Well done, Hono(u)rable Master Singg!

[wmjp]

@ Darleen
Five arrested for seditious children's books.

Further, three have now been charged with incitement to sedition and denied bail.

Unlike the situation in the US, in Hong Kong it is the administration (for which read Chinese Communist Party) and not the teachers that is fucking the school system under the pretence of "National Security".

[pst314]

Russian translator needed here.

[WTP]

The private schools have been slowly corrupted as well. The wokeness infected corporations over the last several decades. No one stood up to stop it there. Why would it be just a public school phenomenon? We don't have just a school problem, just like we don't have just an advanced education problem. We have a cultural rot on our hands that has so eaten through our society that a previous-generation idiotic moron who hasn't gotten any brighter with the onset of dementia can "lead" an unmitigated disaster of a defeat of the greatest political/economic/military power the world has ever seen by a bunch of goat fuckers and our idiotic military "leaders" will go along with the plan, no matter how stupid. And the majority of the Western civilization that he's supposedly defending will continue to make excuses for him. And on top of that, getting rid of him is a problem because his second in command is a cackling whore who "kneeled" her way to power. And even behind her is another alcoholic geriatric disgrace of a woman. This sort of cultural rot did not happen overnight. People, millions and millions of "reasonable" people...many known as the "grownups in the room"...watched as this slow train plowed through our culture and assured us, "Oh, don't worry about this stuff. Everything will be fine. Perhaps you need medication?"

[Cloudbuster]

I am surprised to learn my 3-year-old grandson knows the difference between an insurrection and a coup. I was under the mistaken impression that he was still learning the difference between a horse and a cow.

[Sam Duncan]

“They know the words insurrection and coup.”

But if this is a representative example of who's teaching them, I very much doubt that they know what they mean.

“The private schools have been slowly corrupted as well.”

Leafing through the magazine my alma mater still sends me twice a year, it's hard to argue. But it isn't nearly as bad as the state sector. The parents still have some power, and while there's a load of wishy-washy Green nonsense and some lip-service to “diversity” because the parents themselves have been taken in by the relentless media bombardment, there's none of the batshit-crazy, overtly Marxist, garbage we often read about on these pages. I'm reasonably confident that there haven't been any drag queens reading to the kids in my school. The parents would refuse to pay for it.

So by far the most important thing the Tories could do in Britain right now is reinstate the Assisted Places Scheme (which helped the parents of bright kids pay school fees, and was abolished by That Nice Mr. “Education, Education, Education” Blair) and extend it beyond the Left's darkest fears. Because be sure that nothing terrifies them more than children educated outside the System they've captured and subverted.

[WTP]

there's none of the batshit-crazy, overtly Marxist, garbage we often read about on these pages yet.

FIFY. It's a culture problem. We have a cultural rot on our hands that has so eaten through our society that a previous-generation idiotic moron who hasn't gotten any brighter with the onset of dementia can "lead" an unmitigated disaster of a defeat of the greatest political/economic/military power the world has ever seen by a bunch of goat fuckers and our idiotic military "leaders" will go along with the plan, no matter how stupid. And the majority of the Western civilization that he's supposedly defending will continue to make excuses for him. Including parents who send their children to such schools. Parents who didn't need no education, didn't need no thought control. Dark sarcasms in the classroom and all that jazz.

[Daniel Ream]

Education is EXPLICITLY POLITICAL and, as such, it is imperative that every American insist that all children are taught to be politically patriotic

And the class should be taught by a citizen.

[Sam Duncan]

“some lip-service to 'diversity'”

I say that, but now I come to think of it, by far the most ethnically diverse school class I've ever encountered was my own, in P1-P2 (5-6 years old) at a small genuinely private prep school (in that it was owned by the headmaster). We had West Africans, South Africans, Indians, Caribbeans, Hong Kongers, Malaysians, Italians, Swedes, Spaniards, a French kid, and an American. Not to mention a few from various parts of Britain itself.

[pst314]

It's a culture problem. We have a cultural rot on our hands...

Agreed.

[Zuco]

"Nigerian students amass degrees to stay in Europe", by Nduka Orjinmo of the BBC...

Despite getting a degree in economics in Nigeria, she decided to start from scratch when she arrived in Belgium, finishing a three-year course in business management - to buy herself time - and then proceeding to a two-year Master's degree course in management.

She has not ruled out the possibility of a second Master's degree and a PhD if she is unable to find work that will open the way for her to get a permanent visa.

This person was unemployable in Belgium (1) After her Nigerian degree (2) After her Belgian primary degree, and (3) After her Belgian masters degree. At what point does the Belgian system decide that this is not a high-quality immigrant, and should have her student visa terminated instead of being subsidized for another degree?

"I am an African studying African studies in Belgium and it makes me mad," said a third student, Ifeoma, (not her real name) who is currently doing her second Master's degree since arriving in the country in 2019. "I am not taking it seriously, just killing time [while I] decide on what to do," she added.

An African studying African studies is pretty silly. She's wasting time until the Europeans offer her a job that's worthy of her wonderfulness, a white collar job with visa sponsorship. It's in her interest to stretch this out, but why is it in the interest of the Belgians? It's not like she's studying chip design and might have useful skills for the economy. And the Belgians have no shortage of Belgian-born Congolese and Moroccans to fill their diversity quotas and anti-white bureaucracies.

Tuition fees as low as 1,000 euros ($1,200; £850) per year and the relatively low cost of living for students in Belgium, compared to some other European countries, have made it an attractive destination for many Nigerians from average-income backgrounds.

Attractive for Nigerians. But why are the Belgians subsidizing it?

But it can be hard for Nigerians to get white-collar jobs in the UK, and even more so in places like Belgium where language counts against them.

Flemish, French and German are Belgium's official languages and most employers want candidates who can speak at least two of them.

Like most other Nigerian students, Ms Osunkoya is only proficient in English, although she has a basic knowledge of Flemish.

"Even if you have a post-study visa you will be competing for jobs with locals who speak the languages better than you," she said.

They find it offensive that they can't just fly into a foreign country and get a high quality job. And that employers even in globalized Airstrip One don't value them as highly as they value themselves.

And some countries spitefully put up barriers to entry by speaking languages that are foreign to Nigerians. Normally we credit Africans with language skills. Why don't you speak English, says the cartoon racist, only for the cartoon African to answer in an Oxbridge accent that English is one of the seven languages he's picked up. But this is somebody who's studied for four years in Belgium without bothering to step out of the English speaking international student bubble (where, by her own account, she's not overburdended academically) and learn one of the local languages of the country she thinks should grant her permanent residency.

Again, these are not high quality immigrants. They're not high quality in their talent, and they're not high quality in their attitude or their interest in their host country or their willingness to integrate.

Last week, Belgium revised its immigration policy to allow students to stay for up to a year on their temporary visas to look for a job.

But Bonuola says she won't be taking up the option, as once signed up for it, she would no longer be able to return to school for further degrees if she can't find a job.

"It's like being caught between a rock and a hard place," she said.

What part of temporary visa did she not understand? She's offended that she might have to go home.

But again, we know why she's doing what she's doing, but why are the Belgians indulging it? She imagines herself to be entitled to all sorts of things from her hosts - if they don't give her a comfy job, they'll have to subsidize another Mickey Mouse qualification for her, at the end of which she'll be even more ungrateful and resentful and unemployable. But neither of those options are a moral obligation on Belgians. If they had a sane immigration morality, the Belgians wouldn't even have to do anything to do the right thing - application rejected, visa allowed to lapse, but she'll have gone home by the closing date because that's what people with temporary visas do.

[John Lewis]

home by the closing date because that’s what people with temporary visas do

Seriously?

[David]

Again, these are not high quality immigrants.

Setting aside the particulars of Ms Osunkoya, I suspect that the idea of filtering would-be migrants by quality, by their benefit to the host country – the idea of being discerning - would be considered alien, or indeed scandalous, among many BBC journalists.

[MC]

The problem with this approach is that it won't work for the growing underclass of children from welfare-addicted single mothers whose parents are either absent or apathetic.

I think your approach would work a treat. There would be no recognisable difference in outcomes for the children of the underclass.

the way Hong Kong schools are going

Hong Kong kids will get brainwashed by commies, but at least they won't be taught to hate themselves and they will be literate and numerate when they leave school.

[David]

There would be no recognisable difference in outcomes for the children of the underclass.

I’ll just leave this here. For no reason whatsoever.

[pst314]

I suspect that the idea of filtering would-be migrants by quality, by their benefit to the host country – the idea of being discerning - would be considered alien, or indeed scandalous, among many BBC journalists.

It is certainly anathema to American liberals.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

...they will be literate and numerate when they leave school.

What? Are you implying ours aren't?

[David]

What? Are you implying ours aren’t?

Somewhat related.

[asiaseen]

they will be literate and numerate when they leave school

I'm not entirely convinced that will be so MC given the time that is to be devoted to the study of Mr Eleven Thought, the culling of competent teachers and the Mainland ban on private tutoring that will almost inevitably be introduced here.
As for not hating themselves, the ban on using the word "Hongkonger" doesn't bode well. (That I found out today regarding some work I did for a publisher)

[WTP]

Is we is or is we isn't

[ruralcounsel]

The teachers of these unions need to remember what the Khmer Rouge did to teachers. That's where their insurrections and coups will take them.

[Jack Klompus]

I hate, hate, HATE when these women refer to any children over the age of 1 as their "babies."

[Karl]

Speaking of extinction-level stupid:

Quebec’s government was forced to defend its vaccine passport system on Friday ... The Health Department said in a statement it was aware of reports that people had managed to steal the QR codes of members of the Quebec legislature and said police complaints had been filed.

Next thing you know they'll be accusing the public of stealing their images.

[Jack Klompus]

He's a real radical you know.

Notice how these blowhards are always showing off in front of kids over whom they have power. If they're confronted by actual adults they typically scurry away like the gutless little cowards they really are.

[David]

Notice how these blowhards are always showing off in front of kids over whom they have power.

As noted recently, it’s not just that the ideas are obnoxious or fatuous or morally deranged, or a blueprint for ruin; it’s that the kinds of people who find such things titillating tend to be… psychologically marginal. Which is to say, the kinds of people you wouldn’t generally want anywhere near your children.

[Jack Klompus]

the kinds of people you wouldn’t generally want anywhere near your children.

I've been in the teaching profession for decades and it's scary how many deranged, intellectually vapid, overgrown children with daddy issues it continues to attract. The "radical" teachers are typically the absolute worst at conveying subject matter but use their posturing as a cover for their incompetence. All the while they are convinced they are the anointed world-changers in the building.
Thankfully I've found most of their students find them to be self-absorbed clowns and use every possible means to punk and troll them to burst their pretensions. And since these wannabe Professor Bakunins are always bullies and cowards (towards kids of course) inevitably a parents seeks them out to confront them and they're always conveniently out of the building at the time.
I hate far lefty poseurs with every fiber of my soul. Drop them in the middle of Kandahar.

[WTP]

What Jack said. Was going to say that same thing about “Babis”. God how that gets under my skin. But also his second thing. This stuff.

[Sam Duncan]

“Next thing you know they'll be accusing the public of stealing their images.“

I read another article about this in which an official was quoted as saying the QR codes “can't be copied”. Of course they can be bloody copied.

As far as I can make out from scanning the examples, they represent what's basically a form of URL, with a scheme of “shc:/” followed by a very (very) long number. Which can be copied. You might as well say you can't copy this sentence. The only security measure I can think of that they might be using is including time and/or location data to generate the shc:/ code on the fly, so that a copy is useless.

But they aren't doing that. (Quelle surprise.) You can print these things out, apparently. According to the SHC website, “You can also save a paper SMART Health Card and make copies for safe-keeping.” Those would be copies of the QR code that can't be copied, then?

This damnpanic has gone from tragedy to scandal to farce. (And I wouldn't discount the other two making a return before it all shakes out.)

[Governor Squid]

We have a cultural rot on our hands that has so eaten through our society...

Sunset on the water.

Barbecue on the beach.

Rum drinks (with little paper umbrellas if you want).

Live music on the plaza.

Modest bribes to the Harbo(u)rmaster to leave you unmolested for weeks at a time.

A completely new island just a day's sail away after you've worn out your welcome.

You too can enjoy The Collapse in style and comfort. Book early to avoid disappointment!

[Daniel Ream]

people had managed to steal the QR codes of members

What? I...what?

“It’s not like they hacked the system or there was a security breach in the actual technology or security of the QR code itself,”

This "digital analyst" needs to be fired. If it's possible to brute-force the system simply by manually iterating over SIN numbers then the whole thing needs to be thrown out and rewritten. Or better yet, abandoned altogether.

deranged, intellectually vapid, overgrown children with daddy issues

My, that description sounds familiar.

According to a psychiatrist friend, people with BPD/CPTSD often go into professions that involve working with children or the elderly because of the inherent power it gives them over the people they'll be interacting with every day. They're deeply insecure and timorous, and can't handle dealing with interpersonal situations where they aren't in control.

[Karl]

Of course they can be bloody copied.

Given that they are no more secret than your face, and that you have to present them to be scanned Every. Single. Bloody. Time. You. Enter. A. Room. (I recently visited Scotland) Yes, of course they can be bloody copied :)

[WTP]

I’ve effectively given up on following tech stuff. It’s been three years since I worked with anything remotely close to the cutting edge and what has become of an industry that even when I greatly enjoyed it was full of tiresome blowhards. So all I know about NFT is what I read in the funny papers…literally…like what Scott Adams has said about them…but this authenticity problem…QR codes? Why wouldn’t they be using NFT for that? Isn’t that the point? QR code’s are just UPC codes that can identify every atom in the universe (or so the physicist tell us). WTSF?

[WTP]

You too can enjoy The Collapse in style and comfort. Book early to avoid disappointment!

But the ammo? There will be ammo, right? Tell us about the ammo, George.

[David]

My, that description sounds familiar.

There do seem to be some common, recurring features among such people. The juvenile self-flattery and sense of entitlement; the grandiose unrealism; and the emotional instability, for instance. Again, it’s not just a matter of people with terrible ideas. It’s often a case of dysfunctional and malevolent people with terrible ideas.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Oh no, it seems Gospodin Gipe's tovariches are unhappy with him for spilling the beans.

[David]

Oh no, it seems Gospodin Gipe’s tovariches are unhappy with him for spilling the beans.

Or, “But if we’re honest about what we do and what we want, normal people will detest us and think that we’re creepy…”

It’s one way to live, I suppose.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

While we are on the subject of school indoctrination, pre-school apparently looking to bring back the one drop rule.

[Darleen]

Participation trophies for everyone!

[Darleen]

pre-school apparently looking to bring back the one drop rule.

Corporate America ready to enable the new racist paradigm.

[Sam Duncan]

“QR codes? Why wouldn’t they be using NFT for that? Isn’t that the point? QR code’s are just UPC codes that can identify every atom in the universe (or so the physicist tell us). WTSF?”

I guess it's not NFT because not every phone has it (but then, not everyone has a smartphone either).

But as to the underlying technology, you've got me. I'm no security expert, just some amateur schlub on the internet, and even I can see how this thing could be made more secure. Not that I'd want it to be, but ...

Hey, maybe that's it. Subversion:

“They want to create a giant surveillance database.”

“Again? Okay, we'll make it leak like a sieve; they won't know the difference. Use QR codes or something and tell them they can't be copied. Don't worry about accountability; they don't know anything. By the time everyone's glad to watch it collapse in a pile of dust and rubble, they'll believe it's just a totally unworkable idea and we were only doing our best. Then the whole stupid thing gets kicked into the long grass for another generation.”

Not implausible, I'd say.

[Governor Squid]

Participation trophies for everyone!

"Our kids are strong enough to soldier their way through endless months of house arrest, and also don't leave them off the hono(u)r roll or they'll melt into puddles of low self-esteem!"

[Fr1day]

'They learned resilience. They learned survival. They learned critical-thinking skills.'

One would be remiss if one did not point out, none of which they learned from the teaching at the hands of a union which as her as a spokesperson.

Thought the second. 'The juvenile self-flattery and sense of entitlement; the grandiose unrealism; and the emotional instability, for instance. Again, it’s not just a matter of people with terrible ideas. It’s often a case of dysfunctional and malevolent people with terrible ideas.' Erm, this sounds just a tad like every career politician, administrator and bureaucrat, ever. Officious, power-hungry, and less bright than priggish.

Third thought. It's a bit odd that Quebec has embraced a vaccine passport, given the secessionist tendency, and the heavy presence of Parti Rhinoceros. Plus ca change, one supposes, by which I mostly mean Trudeau the elder, the naif, and the gist of my second thought.

Enjoying the comments. [Pours Yamazaki 18, neat, and watches the zombie apocalypse continue, cotton masks ubiquitous]

[Mags]

Or, “But if we’re honest about what we do and what we want, normal people will detest us and think that we’re creepy…”

It’s one way to live, I suppose.

LOL That.

[David]

LOL That.

I’m paraphrasing, of course. But not, I think, unfairly. I mean, if the way you get your kicks entails lying to the children’s parents and praying they don’t find out…

[David]

Enjoying the comments.

We give good thread. As they say.

[pst314]

[ raises eyebrow ]

[asiaseen]

We give good thread. As they say.

Tailor-made quality

[Daniel Ream]

It's a bit odd that Quebec has embraced a vaccine passport

lolwut. La Smelle Provence has always been the most authoritarian of the bunch. This is a province that has long had (flagrantly illegal) laws about what language you can use on signs on your own property.

I guess it's not NFT

The amusing thing is you're both confusing Non-Fungible Tokens for Near Field Communication.

"What do you think will be the biggest problem in computing in the 90s?"
"There are only 17,000 three-letter acronyms." (Paul Boutin)

[a different james]

The amusing thing is you're both confusing Non-Fungible Tokens for Near Field Communication.

https://twitter.com/moltisantithots?lang=en

[Steve E]

La Smelle Provence has always been the most authoritarian of the bunch.

LOL! If Maurice Duplessis were to suddenly rise from the dead he'd be elected Premier immediately. It really pisses off my Québécois friends when I say that--but they do loves them an autocratic patriarch in Québéc. They also like to tell you how it's not illogical to vote for a separatist party while maintaining their desire to remain in Canada.

[Daniel Ream]

They also like to tell you how it's not illogical to vote for a separatist party while maintaining their desire to remain in Canada

Well, it isn't. They know, and the PQ knows, that the province is never going to separate even if the PQ gets an ironclad majority. The threat of separation serves to extort more concessions from the ROC, which is the actual desired outcome.

[Richard Cranium]

https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5863/canadian-civil-war-la-guerre-de-la-secession-du-ca

Been goin' on fer a while, eh?

[Chester Draws]

According to a psychiatrist friend, people with BPD/CPTSD often go into professions that involve working with children or the elderly because of the inherent power it gives them over the people they'll be interacting with every day. They're deeply insecure and timorous, and can't handle dealing with interpersonal situations where they aren't in control.

I presume this is primary schools then, because not being secure in your own skin is absolute kiss of death for a high school teacher. If students see any weakness and don't like you they will rip you apart.

My school is traditional, Catholic, and works hard at getting the boys to behave like adults. It often gets praise from strangers because the boys still do things like get out of their seats for old ladies. It is about as soft a public school can be to teach at. Boys will rat on other students to teachers for theft, cheating and racist taunts -- they have been brought up to know good from evil. But in the last five years we have lost three staff members basically unable to cope so much that they quit mid-term. (One was previously a primary teacher, one had been teaching in Singapore, and the other was an asshole that the boys bullied out.)

[Sam Duncan]

“The amusing thing is you're both confusing Non-Fungible Tokens for Near Field Communication.”

Argh. But yes.

[rechill]

I'm starting to think that Pol Pot was onto something when he rounded up teachers and professors and put them to work in the fields

[pst314]

No, rechill, but I strongly support the century-old aphorism that "experts should be on tap, not on top."

[aelfheld]

Bleak

[Daniel Ream]

Been goin' on fer a while, eh?

I actually own a copy of this. The amusing thing is that it's not a wargame, it's a political simulation. The designer intentionally designed the outbreak of armed conflict to be a "losing state" for the game.

I also have a copy of this, which has turned out to be disturbingly prescient.

[pst314]

Been goin' on fer a while, eh? and I also have a copy of this, which has turned out to be disturbingly prescient.

SPI games! When were those two games released?

[pst314]

Never mind. Careless of me. I should have just checked Wikipedia and done an internet search, which reveal that they were from 1976 and 1977. I still subscribed to S&T at that time, but have no memory of those titles. :-(

[Uma Thurmond's Feet]

I remember Canadian Civil War, if only for the fun one gamer had when he took it with him into Quebec.