Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Nothing like a bit of Latin to give this sorry old site a spurious air of learning.  The phrase is literally translated as "who will guard the guardians themselves?"  Fortunately (or otherwise) the question does not arise in the shifty, dodgy, underhand world of the higher reaches of  'The Academy' because there do not appear to be any guardians at all!  Frankly, the soft-shoe shuffle and slight of hand executed with such dexterity by people entrusted to lead the brightest and best of our youth into ethical and high-minded excellence would make my old mates in the used-car trade look like saints!

We have already witnessed 'over here' the sight and sound of whitewash being slapped all over the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit who were shown up for the non-scientific rascals they are by leaked e-mails.  Then we had to hold our noses whilst we watched, happily from a distance, Penn State University steam cleaning the odiferous turds off their no-doubt white steps deposited there by Prof. Michael Mann, he of the infamous Hockey Stick - or should that be 'schtick'?  He, like Phil Jones et al from the UEA, duly had a bucket of whitewash tipped over his 'saintly' head despite a string of offences against the scientific ethical code.  But, of course, it was Penn State (sounds like an American prison, doesn't it?) themselves who conducted the 'investigation' a couple of years ago, but now we have the result of another, but this time independent, investigation into how this less than prestigious academy looks into the maloderous activities of  its employees.

The Jerry Sandusky case barely made the media 'over here' but he was the head coach of the Penn State (American) football team and has just been convicted of 45 charges of sexual abuse of young boys including rape and sodomy, offences committed over years.  Needless to say, in the weird, weird world of American academe things like football teams attract absolute 'zillions' in sponsorship and so suspicions and complaints about Sandusky's behaviour were whitewashed into oblivion by the very highest in the university's management regime.  The later investigations showed culpability up to and including the President of the University.

As Rand Simberg points out in a particularly bitter article for Open Market. com, it is obvious that pursuit of the dollar was paramount in the thinking of the University's management.  As he reminds us, Prof. Mann moves in very high and rich circles including sundry heads of state, the United Nations and an ex-Vice President of the USA who has made zillions from government-backed 'Greenery'.  In other words, Michael Mann attracts Big Bucks for Penn State U!  Consequently the myriad questions, doubts and outright accusations aimed at him are very unlikely to be answered by the people who employ him.  Unless, of course, the Sandusky affair prompts the new regime to try honesty for a change. ('Elf 'n' Safety Warning: Do not hold your breath waiting!)

In the meantime, would you want your 'kids' to go to Penn State U?  Thought not!

 

Comments

[dearieme]

Oh dear God, Duffers, not "Penn U". You need to distinguish Penn State from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution.

[David Duff]

There, corrected, DM, although somewhat reluctantly given that there is evidence that you can absolutely smother a university and its administration in ivy and it will still be as thick as a box frogs, as my story concerning Harvard indicates:
http://duffandnonsense.typepad.com/duff_nonsense/2012/07/vanidy-van-bailey-is-a-non-person-and-thats-official.html

[dearieme]

No doubt Harvard would say that it boasts a higher class of stupidity.

[David Duff]

Or thicker ivy!