Bob Quick's Blunder

With all the fuss about Bob Quick (the UK's leading Anti-Terrorism Policeman) accidentally showing the details of an ongoing operation to the press by carrying a piece of paper showing details of the operation that was snapped by a photographer, everyone seems to be suggesting that this was an accident. I even heard someone on Radio 4's Today program say that his mind was on other things, as if this excused the blunder.

This is nonsense.

Security, has to be by design, not by accident. If you take security seriously it should be the first priority, not an afterthought. His instinct should have kicked in to ensure that the secret paper remained secret, it is unthinkable that a security professional would have done that.

I don't think he actually put any of us at risk over the incident, but if it is symptomatic to his approach, then we should be concerned.

The Apprentice - Anti job interview

Just watching "The Apprentice" on BBC. A program where apparently the brightest British business people compete for a job at Amstrad, home of crappy products (the emailer anyone?).

It strikes me that what it is is an anti job interivew, where siralan (Sugar that is) has to keep firing the worst candidate until he is left with the least worst option who he has to hire.

This is the opposite of most other talent shows, where the best are kept. A subtle diffrence I grant, but an important one. No-one competes to be the best, just tries not to be the worst.

And I have to say, that judged by the supposed best we are all in deep doo-doos. They are the most brainless, thoughtless, self centred bunch of incompetents imaginable. Heaven help us if they ever get real jobs after this, in fact it works as a good way of disqualifying them for any kind of job in the future. I certainly wouldn't employ any of them in any capacity.

This of course ignores the fact that "The Apprentice" is just a piece of entertainment and has no validity outside of that. Does it amuse, engage, entertain etc. if it does so be it, but it is not business.