Thorsteinn Siglaugsson: The negation of reality in Roald Dahl’s literary classic

Last weekend it was reported how books by the popular children’s book author, Roald Dahl, are now being republished after significant changes to the texts. According to The Guardian, the changes are only about removing “offensive language” from his books. The Roald Dahl Story Company says the changes are minor and only about making the text more accessible and “inclusive“ to modern readers.

Gerald Posner covered the issue on February 19th, citing a few examples of changes, which are certainly not minor; entire paragraphs are removed or altered beyond recognition. There are hundreds of changes, Posner says, agreeing with writer Salman Rushdie who has called these changes “absurd censorship.”

Heather du Plessis-Allan: The whingers have won, Police Ten 7 is over

The whingers have won.

Police Ten 7 is over. 

TVNZ has just announced today that they’re canning the show after 20 years. 

They reckon that not enough people are watching anymore. It doesn’t “sustain the viewership needed across both broadcast and digital as more of our audience migrates online.” 

So you tell me how Police Ten 7 has gone from being described as a ‘ratings success’ in 2021, to a show that can’t pull enough of an audience in 2023. 

Kate Hawkesby: Modern-day angst could be better suited on better causes

 

I’m just wondering if we are living in a heightened age of upset and this level of angst is all new - or have previous generations gone through this much agitation?

Have we always railed against societal norms and demanded change and that’s actually how we’ve evolved as a civilized society?

Have we always had this many grievances, but they’re just being flagged more now due to social media and the easy access to click on a petition and make a complaint? Or are we living in peak angst?

Change.org, for example, currently has a petition for just about everything.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: ‘Ethics’ strangle social science research

The field of Education is an eclectic one encompassing not only teacher training and in-service provision but also interdisciplinary research which places it within the social sciences.

Since entering tertiary education over 30 years ago, I have been active in both, but have veered more towards the latter activity, as a glance at the Publications section of my CV bears witness to.  

My approach to research stresses the ‘science’ in ‘social science’: I treat social science research as an exercise in applied science – scientific methodology applied to social issues. This involves the collection of ‘hard’ quantitative data mostly directly from research subjects and processing it using analytical statistics.

Peter Kurti: Bye-bye, oh sweet Eskimo Pie

Stop right there and put down that chocolate-coated ice cream treat! It’s not just sugar that is dripping from those delicious rivulets of vanilla confection. Racism is apparently blended into the recipe too.

Just when you thought we’d seen off racist ‘Coon’ cheese, followed by the equally racist ‘Smarter White Milk’, it turns out there’s still more racism lurking on the diary shelf.

In another case of corporate virtue signalling run amok, venerable Aussie ice cream maker Peters has now dumped its allegedly racist ‘Eskimo Pie’ brand — a favourite of generations — to rename it ‘Polar Pie’.

Gerry Bowler: Go Woke, Go Broke

The world is in the midst of a cultural war known as The Great Awokening. 

Armies of young progressives, media personalities, journalists, bureaucrats, and academics have seized the moment to demand that the rest of society must have only one set of correct thoughts about race, gender, and sex. Should you express the opinion that all lives matter instead of Black Lives Matter or call someone a coloured person instead of a person of colour, you risk losing your livelihood or being visited by a mob intent on changing your mind by intimidation.

Many businesses have decided that they had better get ahead of the wokerati and openly declare themselves on the side of the new righteousness. 

Karl du Fresne: There goes my collection of Viking records

I bristled – boy, did I bristle! – when I read that the housing company G J Gardner had withdrawn a TV commercial after someone objected that the name “Taranaki” wasn’t correctly pronounced.

Te Waka McLeod reportedly complained to the company and suggested its staff attend a “cultural competency” course. G J Gardner initially rebuffed her, explaining that the people in the ad were not paid actors but real people, born and bred in Taranaki, and this was how they chose to pronounce the name. “It’s a personal choice, this keeps our ad authentic.”

Lee Ohanian: Is Math Education Racist?

Seattle schools propose to teach that Math Education is racist—will California be far behind?

California’s latest K–12 test scores were released earlier this month. Despite spending 26 percent more per pupil after inflation since 2011, test scores remain low, and improvement is proceeding at a glacial pace. Just 40 percent of California schoolchildren are proficient at math. 

What should be done? Seattle’s idea is to teach their students that US math education is racist, is used to oppress people of color and the disadvantaged, and has been used to exploit natural resources.

Frank Newman: Ice cream DOES make me happy!

As far as I am concerned, the link between ice cream and happiness is a fact. 

And I am not the only one of that view, which is why the decision of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to uphold a complaint about an ICE CREAM MAKES U HAPPY sign on a dairy in Tui Crescent in Maunu, Whangarei is so bizarre.

We live in weird times.

Bob Edlin: Fancy dress companies should review their offerings in the wake of Trudeau’s folly

We wonder if Sparkling Strawberry Ltd – and other businesses which provide fancy dress costumes – have been obliged to review the range of garments they offer.

We mention SparklingStrawberry, based in Cheshire in the UK, after stumbling upon its website and running through its list of Fancy Dress Party Ideas:

Here’s a few fancy dress ideas to inspire you when planning your Birthday, Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay fancy dress costume party. If you need any more excuses to throw a fancy dress party then you’ll find 52 reasons towards the bottom of this page.

An Alice in Wonderland party is one idea, but some of the suggestions in connection with this seem problematic.  The Mad Hatter, for example.  This is bound to give offence to the mentally enfeebled and/or their families.