Monday, June 26, 2006

Fun With Lists

The NY Times had a sidebar accompanying its recent story about Wikipedia's having closed some entries to further editing (at least temporarily). Most of them are obviously controversial, and it's easy to understand why the owners of Wikipedia said, "Find some place else to flame, kiddies:"

  • 2004 United States election voting controversies, Ohio
  • Cuba
  • Islamophobia
  • Elitism
  • Kosovo
  • Human rights in the People's Republic of China
  • Military budget of the People's Republic of China
  • Messianic Judaism
  • George Bernard Shaw
  • Islam and anti-Semitism
  • Freedom fighter
  • Mail-order bride
  • Moscow Metro

But . . . George Bernard Shaw?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget GBS was I guess you'd say a socialist and a vegetarian. The city of Chicago just outlawed foie gras. The animal activists are trying to get it outlawed as selling "diseased animals" as food to the public since one has to force feed ducks or geese so their livers explode to make foie gras. If they can get the USDA to declare foie gras as food made from diseased fowl, there could be a nationwide ban on it. This could be a hot button issue in the food industry and the Wikites may not want to take sides against corporate America. Especially on the side of some radical socialist type. You probably know that Liverwurst is sometimes called the poor man's foie gras. But as you probably also know, liverwurst is made from hog's livers (that typically aren't diseased.) They load them up with sodium nitrites and nitrates to preserved them though, but that's another hot issue among the health brigades. (Whom a friend of mine calls the "herb soldiers.") I like that. Maybe it's better to only include corporate conservatives in your encyclopedia than get into these controversial radicals. Don't forget GBS also took the side of the lion against Androcles and the silent majority of Roman spectators. LOL

bjkeefe said...

That's certainly a plausible explanation for why one whackjob would get stuck on hating him, TC.

I also suppose that GBS has his share of zealous fans, who would keep fixing the entry. However, unless the lone hater is particularly skilled at disguising his tracks, it seems that Wikipedia would know how to block an individual, rather than locking down the whole entry.

Regarding foie gras -- I have been teetering on the brink of adding that to my list of foods that I don't eat. I didn't know until recently how the geese were treated.

It's probably a little inconsistent to swear off foie gras and veal while continuing to eat many other forms of meat, but one has to start somewhere.

I must say that I have never bought foie gras myself. I have always considered it an especially tasty form of liverwurst, and was happy to eat it when offered, but now . . .

Plus, given that the liver is the body's primary filter for toxins like steroids, antibiotics, growth hormones, and all the other crap that animals are fed in this country, I have kind of gotten away from eating that organ, irrespective of donor.

Even with fava beans, and a nice Chianti.

ShareThis