I first signed up for Twitter over a year ago, and then proceeded to post approximately seven posts in the first 12 months. The reason was simple, I could do without the Twitter noise in a life that was already suffering from severe information overload. However, after seeing the popularity of Twitter with fellow social-media-bods I decided throw myself back in head first: an ethnographic approach.
As I expected it is mostly information that I could do without:
"Lying in bed listening to Radio 3 and wondering whether I need coffee more than I need to lie here."
Not quite the same calibre as the same Bill Thompson's interesting BBC stories. It is however quite addictive, and I have slowly been drawn in not only to the world of social media, but also to the world of politics.
I love politics, and political discussion (hence this blog), but rarely have time to give it the attention it deserves (hence the emptiness of this blog). I was lucky throwing myself back into Twitter at the time I did, a time of Twittering amongst some of the greats of the New Labour Party: Alastair Campbell joined on Wednesday, whilst John Prescott joined back in January (albeit he still isn't following anyone). Following some of the comments and the links, I can't help but get a good feeling by Labour's grass roots Go Fourth campaign. When Labour were elected in 1997 you couldn't have paid me to vote for them, it was all about spin. Now I'm starting to believe that they could get a fourth term, and the first vote from me in a general election, by being open and honest....but maybe I'm just an incurable romantic.
Twitter is background noise, but maybe that is what I need for background subjects: those subjects I am interested in but don't have time to give my full attention to.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
BNP list online...at least for a while
It often feels as though all news is bad news, and then this morning I read a story that kept smiling all the way to work: A former BNP member published the 2007 members list online , and now the BNP are upset that the world will know the members' dirty little secret.
According to the BBC article, Nick Griffin is concerned that it puts members at risk of violence. Violence is never the answer to dealing with fear and ignorance, but it is rather ironic that it is the BNP, who have a long tradition of bullying, that are worried about the risk of violence. Talking of ironic, how are the BNP going to get it taken down from the web? By claiming their human rights...that disgusting document that has previously been used to give rights to those bloody immigrants! You have to laugh.
The list is down for now, but I'm thinking that some enterprising soul will have copied it and it'll be back online in a couple of hours.
UPDATE: unsurprisingly the data is over at wikileaks.org
According to the BBC article, Nick Griffin is concerned that it puts members at risk of violence. Violence is never the answer to dealing with fear and ignorance, but it is rather ironic that it is the BNP, who have a long tradition of bullying, that are worried about the risk of violence. Talking of ironic, how are the BNP going to get it taken down from the web? By claiming their human rights...that disgusting document that has previously been used to give rights to those bloody immigrants! You have to laugh.
The list is down for now, but I'm thinking that some enterprising soul will have copied it and it'll be back online in a couple of hours.
UPDATE: unsurprisingly the data is over at wikileaks.org
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Wow....and I got to go to bed at 2.20am
Whilst I was prepared for a late night, thankfully the American people made a decisive choice for once and I could go to bed at 2.30am (after Ohio was predicted). The result was undoubtedly the right one, but the seeming ease of the victory made the whole thing a bit of a let down.
Now the world awaits to see if Obama really can live up to the hope. To a certain extent living up to the hope/hype is impossible, and certain sections will quickly become disillusioned at the natural limitations of any politician to bring about change.
But whilst the world is pleased at an Obama win, we can't but feel a sense of loss at missing out on the Sarah Palin show. I'm sure she would have been an awful vice president, and an even worse president (if she had need to take on the role), but you can't help be feel sorry at missing the show. A bit like Silvio Berlusconi, awful political opinions, but hilarious to watch if they are in charge of someone else's country.
Now the world awaits to see if Obama really can live up to the hope. To a certain extent living up to the hope/hype is impossible, and certain sections will quickly become disillusioned at the natural limitations of any politician to bring about change.
But whilst the world is pleased at an Obama win, we can't but feel a sense of loss at missing out on the Sarah Palin show. I'm sure she would have been an awful vice president, and an even worse president (if she had need to take on the role), but you can't help be feel sorry at missing the show. A bit like Silvio Berlusconi, awful political opinions, but hilarious to watch if they are in charge of someone else's country.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
An Historic Evening
'Mania' has been far from an appropriate term to describe this blog over the last three months; it isn't that I haven't had political opinions that I wanted to share, or that nothing much was happening, merely that time has been in short supply. However, on what is likely to be an historic evening, it seems an appropriate time to start my political blogging once again.
In a world of spin where every other political event is seemingly portrayed as a moment of historic importance,tonight stands apart. After tonight the most powerful man will (probably) be black. Not because he is black, but because he is the best man for the job. With race being such a divisive issue in America's past, even a cynic like me won't be able to help but have a little more hope in mankind's ability to progress.
Like so many other people in the UK, and around the world, I will be staying up for the results; although I must admit that I haven't considered of the possibility of an Obama loss. But there again, I'm sure I won't feel half as bad as the average neo-nazi if Obama wins: It's hard to feel the superiority of your race when there is a black man in the White House and you are living in a bunker with your first cousin.
In a world of spin where every other political event is seemingly portrayed as a moment of historic importance,tonight stands apart. After tonight the most powerful man will (probably) be black. Not because he is black, but because he is the best man for the job. With race being such a divisive issue in America's past, even a cynic like me won't be able to help but have a little more hope in mankind's ability to progress.
Like so many other people in the UK, and around the world, I will be staying up for the results; although I must admit that I haven't considered of the possibility of an Obama loss. But there again, I'm sure I won't feel half as bad as the average neo-nazi if Obama wins: It's hard to feel the superiority of your race when there is a black man in the White House and you are living in a bunker with your first cousin.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Oba-mania hits the UK!
What I really want to know about Obama's visit to the UK is whether Gordon Brown, or any of our other leading politicians, asked Barack to clarify his rather dismissive tone of the United Kingdom in chapter 8 of his "The Audacity of Hope". On the subject of the multilaterist approach to situations like Iraq, he points out that multilaterism means more than "we round up the likes of the United Kingdom and Togo and then do what we please" [p.309].
Maybe I'm just being a bit picky, and in other places Obama does speak more highly of 'Great Britain' (noticeably using different terminology), however, I did find the notion that the UK will follow the US wherever the US decides slightly offensive. We are far from being the 51st state,and Obama will quickly find that out when (hopefully) he becomes the US president.
Maybe I'm just being a bit picky, and in other places Obama does speak more highly of 'Great Britain' (noticeably using different terminology), however, I did find the notion that the UK will follow the US wherever the US decides slightly offensive. We are far from being the 51st state,and Obama will quickly find that out when (hopefully) he becomes the US president.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Another Labour Defeat!
You have to feel as though Gordon Brown will never get a break when even safe seats like Glasgow East fall to the rather nasty Scottish nationalists. The question now is: Does Labour have the balls to weather the storm? Or will a bunch of backbenchers start to rip the party apart?
Whilst the press try to claim that Gordon Brown's holidaying in Suffolk is an attempt to distance himself from the lavish holidays of Tony Blair, could it actually be that he wants to keep within shouting distance of the Norwich South MP, Charles Clarke. Whilst I have always agreed with the proclamation as you enter Norwich - "A Fine City" - I am not overly impressed with Charles Clarke's noises since moving to the backbenches. How often is a point of principle really an opportunity to draw attention to one's own personal agenda?
Personally I believe that the Labour Party has done far better than I expected since its landslide victory in 97, but that is because I was a realist, refusing to get swept up in Tony's spin. The masses, however, believe the spin and have extremely short memories. State funeral for Margaret Thatcher? Surely that was some sort of bad joke?
The economy will probably start to improve by the next general election, and the public will forget that they were all tempted to swing from Brown to Cameron (what sort of idiot goes from Labour to the Conservatives anyway???), and hopefully Brown will win the next election.
Whilst the press try to claim that Gordon Brown's holidaying in Suffolk is an attempt to distance himself from the lavish holidays of Tony Blair, could it actually be that he wants to keep within shouting distance of the Norwich South MP, Charles Clarke. Whilst I have always agreed with the proclamation as you enter Norwich - "A Fine City" - I am not overly impressed with Charles Clarke's noises since moving to the backbenches. How often is a point of principle really an opportunity to draw attention to one's own personal agenda?
Personally I believe that the Labour Party has done far better than I expected since its landslide victory in 97, but that is because I was a realist, refusing to get swept up in Tony's spin. The masses, however, believe the spin and have extremely short memories. State funeral for Margaret Thatcher? Surely that was some sort of bad joke?
The economy will probably start to improve by the next general election, and the public will forget that they were all tempted to swing from Brown to Cameron (what sort of idiot goes from Labour to the Conservatives anyway???), and hopefully Brown will win the next election.
Friday, 11 July 2008
Is it all over for David Davis?
Not much of a shock Result: Davis wins by-election, with a 15,355 majority. Although turnout down from 70.2% to 34%.
Does this provide the 'mandate' that he craves? A mandate to challenge Cameron for the leadership? A mandate to question the government over the 42-day detention law? No. To only get 72% of the vote when none of the other major parties are standing is pathetic (nb. even Mugabe managed to get 85%). Yes there were a lot of additional candidates out there, but they primarily consisted of the usual waifs, strays, and total nutters that turn up for elections; most clearly shown by the English Democrats (right-wing nationalists) coming third place and getting their deposit back!
Unfortunately this looks like the best possible result for Cameron. Davis returns to parliament, and Cameron will probably take the odd photo opportunity, but it is unlikely that Davis poses and real threat to the Tory leadership.
Does this provide the 'mandate' that he craves? A mandate to challenge Cameron for the leadership? A mandate to question the government over the 42-day detention law? No. To only get 72% of the vote when none of the other major parties are standing is pathetic (nb. even Mugabe managed to get 85%). Yes there were a lot of additional candidates out there, but they primarily consisted of the usual waifs, strays, and total nutters that turn up for elections; most clearly shown by the English Democrats (right-wing nationalists) coming third place and getting their deposit back!
Unfortunately this looks like the best possible result for Cameron. Davis returns to parliament, and Cameron will probably take the odd photo opportunity, but it is unlikely that Davis poses and real threat to the Tory leadership.
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