have you seen the quality of media students we punt out of our education system, they are lazy and stupid when they leave school and they are lazy, stupid, ignorant and incompetent when they leave FE after doing the doss referred to as Media Studies.

I'm off to a corner to cry about the impending doom of stupity which now seems an uncontrollable epedemic across the globe. Those that still think, feel free to join me in the corner crying.

"The ability to read and write – or traditional literacy – is no longer sufficient "

When was it ever? Looks to me like EU Commissioners need to improve their analytical skills and stop falling for the golden age of journalism claptrap - it never existed. At least with web 2.0 you know you can't go far wrong by simply dismissing everything you read as complete b0llx.

Do we really have to teach people that advertising is simply the advertiser telling the advertisee what the advertiser thinks the advertisee wants to hear?

And if the EU and other Governmental organisations are worried about the quality of online information they could do something about it by closing all their presentational, fact-starved web sites.

I think its a fucking insult that someone like me with a good degree (Physics/Comp Sci BSc) should be on an equal paygrade to a load of marketing/media twats who can barely add up, let alone solve complicated problems and think rationally.

Flash, and its derivitives, encapsulates exactly what's wrong with most of Web 1.0 and likely to be even more so in anything that claims to "enhance" it. Pointless and annoying animations whose primary purpose is to increase what the web designer can charge for the site, mostly without making it in any way more informative.

Newspapers, magazines and books remain one of the most efficient methods of communication despite their lack of animation. The web would do well to learn from them, and quit foistering users with annoyances.

The public seem to know all the ins and outs of the X-factor competition but can't tell the difference between scientifically accurate reporting and opinion pieces...

...that'll stop those pesky citizens from writing any more Web2.0 nonsense.

Way to think rationally! The pay raise is in the mail!

The US has a rich tradition of declaring that X, Y, or Z must be taught in order to accomplish, well, something. Usually this means that somebody in the teachers' colleges thinks that the old hard stuff is not so important, and that the new cool stuff will get the little monsters to behave better. The usual result is that parents take on a lot of trouble seeing that the kids learn the old hard stuff, whether that trouble be in writing checks to private schools, harassing the school board, or tutoring. Remember New Math?

Firefox and flashblock

"understanding the economy of media and the difference between pluralism and media ownership" => "we intend to ensure that ownership of the media and communications remains in as few hands as possible (ie as few as we can get away with), while promoting the myth that everyones' views are equally valid and have equal access to it".

"being aware of copyright issues which are essential for a 'culture of legality', especially for the younger generation..." => "we do not much care for the disrespectful notion that the publishers of artistic works are thieves and liars, even if we might agree that the artists themselves are among the biggest thieves and liars".

"feeling comfortable with all existing media from newspapers to virtual communities" => "we want you to enjoy the self-serving pap we will feed you by whatever means, and to come back for more".

"actively using media through... interactive television, use of Internet search engines or participation in virtual communities" => "we want to you google to buy, and to consume in private. We the EU are your only really Real community, as we are the living embodiment of the Hegelian Absolute. Because this is a logical and historical necessity, your views and your votes on this matter will never count with us."

"having a critical approach to media as regards both quality and accuracy of content" => "the Hegelian Absolute is Perfect. What do you mean 'criticise'? You will not be permitted to criticise, unless it is of style or packaging. Neither will you be permitted to imply or act out your criticisms through protest or demonstration".

To which they mean you to infer => "Now fuck off you great unwashed - this is elite business."

text there's a browser called lynx it's fast but I find it a bit hard to navigate many sites with it.

that media studies is the cause of the web2.0 rubbish, but in the light of the above emotion, that might be a bit redundant.

As well as using flashblock, you can also turn off default loading of graphics in firefox...