The Old Argument: Is MTV Damaging for Kids?

It has long been argued that the television content on MTV is not suitable for children. This argument stems back to when MTV first played music videos from artists such as Prince, Guns N’ Roses and Michael Jackson as well as shows like Beavis and Butt-Head.  

However, it is today’s range of television shows that are potentially poisoning the minds of today’s youth. In this case youth does not only refer to young adults who are learning the ways of the world and enjoying university, more worryingly it refers to girls and boys between the ages of 11-17 watching shows such as Jersey Shore and Teen Mom.

The graphic details of these shows are a parent’s nightmare and unfortunately are all too easy for kids to watch. Take for example MTV’s hit show ‘Sixteen and Pregnant’; this type of show should not see the light of day, let alone be advertised to young girls of today. While MTV might argue that is an educational show to young kids, it is the exact opposite.

Who in their right mind wants to film a documentary about a sixteen year old girl having a baby and broadcast it to the world? Worryingly MTV is the most recognised network among young adults and they thrive on shows like this.

Ok so it’s easy to argue that parents can just block the channels that kids should not watch, but is that really cutting them off? 

In a digital world where everything is online, it is easy to just about view something on the internet the minute it comes on our televisions. The harsh reality is MTV is loitered with sexual scenes, depictions of sex and forms of nudity. This is what children are watching. Take Jersey Shore for example; it is quite possibly the greatest catastrophe in television history that these people have made millions of this show.

The treatment of women in this show is a violation of rights not to mind a violation of a young child’s brain. It is frightening that kids of today are looking up to a man called Mike ‘the situation’. But the Jersey Shore argument is another story, as anyone with a slight of intelligence knows that this show is a no brainer.

The simple matter of the fact is that shows such as; Teen mom and Sixteen and Pregnant, are making young pregnancy look cool and encouraging teens to get pregnant just to be like the girls on these shows.  In some extreme cases young girls are getting pregnant just to try and get on these shows.

When you compare these shows to Jersey Shore, where we see young male kids acting like the so called stars of this show, it is worrying the continuously growing influence that MTV has over young kids.

The even more worrying fact is that parents are paying for their kids to be infiltrated by its content.

Irish Love for America Shines Brighter than Ever

Following the extensive television coverage of 9/11, in particular the memorial and the many documentaries across our channels, the Irish love for the big apple on a personal level is stronger than ever.

Sunday on the now most famous day of the year, was spent with my family in our living room in Ireland watching all things 9/11. The rebuilding of Ground Zero, the recent George W Bush interview, the heartfelt memorial at Ground Zero, and of course the heroic and devastating stories of those who died and were affected by the terrible attacks.

For am I just like hundreds of people affected by the attacks on the Twin Towers; an Irish citizen leaving his home country in search of work and a new life in New York. Just like so many of the fire fighters in New York who responded to the attacks and their family members who’s loved one never came home, the impact of 9/11 is still felt in every household up and down the country of Ireland.

It’s a relationship that stretches back decades to when the Irish were not welcome in London during the troubles times, it was New York who opened out her arms and welcomed us into the greatest city in the world. The impact that was felt by so many Irish and Irish American families on that dreadful morning ten years ago; shows a connection that is as strong as ever.

My little brother and sister could not understand how the men building the new Twin Towers sounded and looked so Irish. The day the world stood still Ireland shut down, for the country to which we owe so much to and helped to build was hurting and hurting bad. The 3,000 miles between the Statue of Liberty and the green grass of Ireland, is a cord that links both of these countries together, and an unfortunate tragedy like this has shown that the distance is not that far at all.

Just 30 minutes up the road from my home, a Cork man by the name of Mark Clifford lost his sister and her daughter in the attacks. Yesterday Mr Clifford will have remembered his loved ones at a private ceremony in Cork, over 3,000 miles from Ground Zero.

I refer to a quote from the www.irishtribute.com website; a site created to remember and honour all those of Irish descent who were affected by the attacks.

“September 11, 2001 may well go down as the bloodiest day in the history of the Irish people. An estimated 1000 people who were of Irish descent or of Irish birth were lost in the violent events on that day,” the website claims.

The same site has a list of every name of those with Irish descent who were killed as well as stories of those who lost their lives on that awful day. Only recently Ireland welcomed Barack Obama with open to our shores, and that very man spoke about his pride of his Irish ancestry.

During his visit Mr Obama gave a heartfelt speech to a loving audience in the capital Dublin. The US President, whose long lost cousin welcomed him to the small Irish village of Moneygall, finished his speech with three famous Irish words; ‘Is Feidir Linn’.

These are the words that translate to ‘Yes We Can’, and for a nation deep in economic difficulty Ireland embraced them with open arms. It’s clearly evident since 9/11, that every American in particular those affected by the attacks have taken those three words on board.

The 1200 people who continue to work around the clock at Ground Zero are evident of this. The fire fighters who went back to work without their colleagues are evident of this. The American troops who have been deployed to the Middle East are evident of this. The soldiers who captured Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are evident of this. The list is endless. Obama’s message was simple; just as America are continuing a rebuilding process, Ireland can and will do the same.

The path might not always be clear and yes there is a lot of work to do to rebuild both economies, in particular the biggest economy in the world. However, Just as American’s visit Ireland in search of their ancestors every year, the men and women of the little green Island will continue to pack up their belongings and head for America with those three words etched in their memories; ‘Is Feider Linn’.

R.I.P to all those who lost their lives at 9/11 and god bless all those whose loved ones never came home. Gone but never forgotten.

Irish Entrepreneur Set to Make Over $900m Following Software Sale to Hewlett-Packard

Mike Lynch, the co-founder and CEO of Autonomy Corporation, is set to pocket over $900 million following the sale of his software company to US giants Hewlett-Packard.

Autonomy Corporation, a company that Lynch built from the ground up, is now regarded as the most successful and largest software company in the UK. The Autonomy software allows for data to be tracked across different sources such as; video, phone calls and emails.

Lynch’s entrepreneurship is associated with Silicon Fen, a region affiliated with Cambridge University in England, which is home to a number of high-tech businesses directly related to biotechnology, electronics and software.

The Sunday times once described Lynch as a favourable comparison to Bill Gates, while the Financial Times described Autonomy as ‘the doyen of European software’.

Born in County Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland, Lynch studied at Cambridge University, and is now a leader in the area of meaning-based computing, i.e. computer understanding of unstructured information.

The terms of his sale to HP, will see Lynch remain in his position of running the business, who has come under criticism for his sale of the company to a big name like Hewlett-Packard. However, Lynch has defended the sale of his company, stating that the deal allows the Autonomy technology to reach more people worldwide.

‘I want to get our technology everywhere, and this deal gives us the resources to do that. It moves our sales force from 300 to 28,000 people. This is a good UK story of a small company that now operates globally’, states Lynch.

Lynch believes that Autonomy and Hewlett-Packard can help each other in the creation of new technology. The Irishman stated; ‘Autonomy will be at the cornerstone of Hewlett-Packard’s drive for new technology, and that was key for me. We wanted to be an autonomous unit.’

Autonomy currently employs 400 engineers in its Silicon Fen base in the UK, with a spokesperson for the company stating that all current employees will keep their jobs.

The growth of the company over the last number of years has been impressive to say the least, with Autonomy enjoying double-digit growth, which saw its revenue rise from £58m in the year 2005 to over £500m this past year.

Lynch’s new aim is to improve computers and make them more intelligent, to aid the 16,000 clients who purchase the Autonomy software. His clients include; the US Department of Homeland Security, NASA, and Procter & Gamble.

Lynch feels that computers are unaware of how people think when he spoke of his new plans. According to Lynch, “The next big step change is to get computers to operate more intuitively”.

Article first published as <a href='http://technorati.com/technology/it/article/irish-entrepreneur-set-to-make-over/'>Irish Entrepreneur Set to Make Over $900m Following Software Sale to Hewlett-Packard</a> on Technorati.