When we talk about Real vs. Perceived Risks, "fool me once, shame on you" is the takeaway.
The "assistance" to the deaf viewers of Nelson Mandela's funeral service is in the news today. The guy translating for several world leaders did not know what he was "talking" about, made it up as he went along. Where have we seen that before? (short video clips below)
Well, there was this funeral maintenance announcement by Saturday Night Live in the 1970s for Spain's General Franco. Some blog readers are "video bandwidth impaired", and so I usually put clips below the fold (click "more")
What other "end of life" news turns out to be gibberish?
Eighty percent of all used electronics purchased by Africans are burned by children in primitive dumps, perhaps? That Basel Action Network scandal is far more insidious, as it leads to actual seizures of goods and actual arrests of Africans, based on how loudly BAN.org claims it.
The Africans were accused of exporting junk in London in 2009 (following the late 2008 CBS 60 Minutes credibility scandal covering Guiyu, the "following the e-waste trail" scandal). Greenpeace shot film of nice black TVs from a hotel takeout (working units replaced by LCDs and plasmas) being unloaded in Lagos. It took months for Interpol and UK Wastecrime to organize seizures, but 279 sea containers were held in 2010. In 2011 the UNEP released studies of the containers, siting 91% reuse.
So everyone is laughing at Nelson Mandela's sign language translator, and we can still chuckle at Chevy Chase and Garrick Morris's SNL skit. But what about Scott Pelley and Solly Granatstein of CBS, and Cahal Milmo of the UK Independent? When will they exonerate Hurricane Joe Benson? Oh, they heard me. They know. The clock is ticking.
When the volume goes up on the TV, our perceptions are distracted, generating eyeballs and attention. When there is a risk associated, direct or triggering our nurture reflexes, people rush to fill the void. In an instant, by posing as credible, you can increase your stature, and like Basel Action Network's "E-Steward" payola, earn a lot of money. But when you don't know what you are talking about, and are making it up as you go along, someone will find out, eventually.
The "assistance" to the deaf viewers of Nelson Mandela's funeral service is in the news today. The guy translating for several world leaders did not know what he was "talking" about, made it up as he went along. Where have we seen that before? (short video clips below)
Well, there was this funeral maintenance announcement by Saturday Night Live in the 1970s for Spain's General Franco. Some blog readers are "video bandwidth impaired", and so I usually put clips below the fold (click "more")
What other "end of life" news turns out to be gibberish?
Eighty percent of all used electronics purchased by Africans are burned by children in primitive dumps, perhaps? That Basel Action Network scandal is far more insidious, as it leads to actual seizures of goods and actual arrests of Africans, based on how loudly BAN.org claims it.
The Africans were accused of exporting junk in London in 2009 (following the late 2008 CBS 60 Minutes credibility scandal covering Guiyu, the "following the e-waste trail" scandal). Greenpeace shot film of nice black TVs from a hotel takeout (working units replaced by LCDs and plasmas) being unloaded in Lagos. It took months for Interpol and UK Wastecrime to organize seizures, but 279 sea containers were held in 2010. In 2011 the UNEP released studies of the containers, siting 91% reuse.
So everyone is laughing at Nelson Mandela's sign language translator, and we can still chuckle at Chevy Chase and Garrick Morris's SNL skit. But what about Scott Pelley and Solly Granatstein of CBS, and Cahal Milmo of the UK Independent? When will they exonerate Hurricane Joe Benson? Oh, they heard me. They know. The clock is ticking.
When the volume goes up on the TV, our perceptions are distracted, generating eyeballs and attention. When there is a risk associated, direct or triggering our nurture reflexes, people rush to fill the void. In an instant, by posing as credible, you can increase your stature, and like Basel Action Network's "E-Steward" payola, earn a lot of money. But when you don't know what you are talking about, and are making it up as you go along, someone will find out, eventually.
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