Stumbling to my computer this morning, I noticed on Pajamas a report on a cutesy (or not-so-cutesy) German kids’ site called Helles Koepfchen. It’s hard to say the age category this webpage is aimed at but, judging from the machine translation and my poor German, I’d guess 10, though younger kids could certainly log on and be “entertained and instructed.” The site itself informs the kids of such things as Bush is an “unbeloved president of a beloved land” (which, I suppose, went bonkers for a day when electing him by several million votes) and that Austria “don’t [machine translation] want Arnie anymore.”
This is a form of intellectual/emotional child abuse. When I read it, I immediately thought of those Palestinian four-year olds running around with AKs – only this time it’s the mind only that is being corrupted.
Ironically, only last night I loaded Bumpercar 2.0 – a child’s browser – onto Sheryl’s old iMac which we have given to Madeleine. Our daughter is seven-and-a-half now, reading pretty well and anxious to go online by herself. We set up Bumpercar together, a lovely father-daughter experience but with, on my part, a slight overtone of trepidation I tried not to let slip out. I was glad (more glad than Madeleine) that Bumpercar is heavily weighted toward educational sites (scientific ones, not progandistic ones), many of which seem quite interesting. You can add sites one-by-one after that, with a parental password. I was pleased Madeleine was rather blasé about my adding Barbie.com, an old favorite. Still, the firt site she clicked on was the Cartoon Network. I would have too, at her age (not that they had it.)
More about the German “kiddie” site at Davids Medienkritik.
This is a form of intellectual/emotional child abuse. When I read it, I immediately thought of those Palestinian four-year olds running around with AKs – only this time it’s the mind only that is being corrupted.
The corruption of the Palestinian children began with the mind, too.
“unbeloved president of a beloved land”
This just means that they will only hate us for about 2 1/2 years, right?
My son corresponds with a past USA exchange student now back in Germany. She says Germany is a lot like USA–the people like Bush, the academics don’t. Too bad that so many in both countries have both a love of teaching and a lack of concern about truth and whether or not children have a right to not be lied to. This sort of child-abuse is easy, as it’s good to spin tales of storks and elves–so, what the hey, why not just encroach a little politics? As with nearly everything, it boils down to character.
Mr. Simon, I’m surprised at you.
Maddie isn’t anxious, she’s eager!
I wonder what the breakdown in opinion of the US is between former East Germans and former West Germans.
Here some other translated text from the site:
Canada released the cruel hunt for seal babies again. Since in the middle of April already 250,000 young animals were killed. Desired is the skin of the baby seals above all, because of it expensive Pelzmäntel can be made. The animals must die thus, so that rich Ladys send yourself tighten can.
Kanada hat die grausame Jagd auf Robben-Babys wieder freigegeben. Seit Mitte April wurden schon 250.000 Jungtiere getˆtet. Begehrt ist das Fell der Baby-Robben vor allem deshalb, weil sich daraus teure Pelzm‰ntel herstellen lassen. Die Tiere m¸ssen also sterben, damit sich reiche Ladys schick anziehen kˆnnen.
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Christmas in America in America is celebrated Christmas on 25 December. Into the USA and Canada it goes hoping thereby rather modern and all children as with us for mad gifts. In Latin America is that completely different. There it concerns to humans particularly common celebrating of the birth Jesu. All look forward particularly to a leckeres fixed meal.
Weihnachten in Amerika In Amerika wird das Weihnachtsfest am 25. Dezember gefeiert. In den USA und Kanada geht es dabei ziemlich modern zu – und alle Kinder hoffen wie bei uns auf tolle Geschenke. In Lateinamerika ist das ganz anders. Dort geht es den Menschen vor allem um das gemeinsame Feiern der Geburt Jesu. Alle freuen sich vor allem auf ein leckeres Festmahl.