tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65432052011-07-08T02:31:55.718+02:00Michiel's BlogA personal channel for articles, pointers and thoughts about a wide variety of subjects, including: sports, journalism, e-democracy, development issues.Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comBlogger561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1152783535816046852006-07-13T11:32:00.001+02:002009-10-24T14:09:27.444+02:00Well, well, I have been blogging some time ago. But now I wonder why. To a great extent I believe blogging is for people who have a need to write and be read. But there are better (more direct) ways to do just that, like e-mail. But why would anyone be interested in my writings per se? I believe that blogging is nowhere near true journalism. Unless your visions are truely more important for more Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1126018305267001872005-09-06T16:38:00.000+02:002005-09-06T16:51:45.273+02:00New blogI am very happy to announce the near-qualification of Ghana's Black Stars for Germany 2006. Their win over Uganda was secured by Matthew Amoah (picture), Vitesse Arnhem's striker that I interviewed just days before his maiden appearace for the Black Stars in the African Cup of Nations. Ghana only needs to avoid defeat against Cape Verde in order to appear, alongside the Netherlands at theMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1121431850673216442005-07-15T14:16:00.000+02:002005-07-15T14:52:15.570+02:00Ten ways to help Africa?Michael Holman and Andrew Rugisara have listed ten ways to help Africa. These are all low cost suggestions because: Africa needs more financial aid like an alcoholic needs a stiff whisky.The ten ideas in brief are:1. Encourage ideas. (African publishers should be allowed to publish books with ideas for 1/5 of the full Western price)2. Charge for professionals’ visas. 3. Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1120510135031354592005-07-01T22:50:00.000+02:002005-07-15T10:50:58.643+02:00Interesting blogToday a good friend introduced me to an interesting blog by a Dutch writer whose name is Leon de Winter. He writes about the kind of people that should get a bit more attention to help understanding today's society, such as Timothy Garton Ash and Job Cohen.Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1110921203917841872005-03-15T21:25:00.000+01:002005-07-15T11:03:09.163+02:00Showing some things on the netThis is my first posting that included pictures. Finally, I am finding my way through html. I believe that this posting demonstrates relevancy to my friends who can see where I will be next week. Secondly I can draw attention to the relevancy of some of my earlier journalstic work. I have tried to explain a number of people where we are going for our vacation break Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1109275739117033452005-02-24T21:00:00.000+01:002005-02-24T21:18:50.060+01:00Still alive, catching up soon ...Wow, this seems like forever. It was really long ago since I took time to post on the blog. The biggest reason was as simple as it could be: no unlimited internet access @home. Today, finally this changed and if you ever consider a telco-telco ADSL migration: "don't try this at home". It was absolutely impossible to figure out what happened where and when.I will Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1094980103824807602004-09-12T10:48:00.000+02:002004-09-12T11:12:38.080+02:00Long time.... Back on the Blog
It has been a long time since I updated my blog. The main reason was my new job. I have been quite busy and my ict infrastructure @ home still needs improvement. Please be sure that I will continue this blog. I will be back more frequently, as soon as I am online, outside working hours.
Being back on the blog, I would like to refer to the ideas of professor Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1090315941039738302004-07-19T20:26:00.000+02:002004-07-20T11:32:21.040+02:00The worlds longest supermarket
Today I couldn't help but laughing at the Ghanaian invention of the world's longest supermarket. Ghanaweb is bringing the details of this amazing African invention.
Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1089978021079021242004-07-16T12:10:00.000+02:002004-07-16T13:47:50.076+02:00Inside look at Brainstorm 2004
Joi Ito, named by CNN as of Japan's biggest Internet stars, offers an inside look at Brainstorm 2004 on his weblog.
Brainstorm is a gathering of the smartest, most influential people we know to discuss the evolving role of business in the world at large.
Participants discuss some of most difficult issues, including political, religious, and military Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1089967359705345832004-07-16T10:30:00.000+02:002004-07-16T10:45:05.306+02:00Innovation: keeping an eye on 'wrongdoers'.
The BBC reports that in the South African city of Cape Town efforts are made to reduce crime in an innovative way. Not using any specific technique but just by staring at suspected criminals such as prostitutes and drug dealers.
Three nights a week a group of up to 30 people from Sea Point go out, stand on the pavement and give wrongdoers "the Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1089792937520983052004-07-13T11:43:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:39:00.826+02:00E-voting troubles in Venezuela
The country that one of my best friends believes to have the most beautifull women on earth, is now centre stage for e-voting news.
CARACAS -- A large and powerful investor in the software company that will design electronic ballots and record votes for Venezuela's new and much criticized election system is the Venezuelan government itself, as was reported by Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1089623080895689242004-07-12T10:42:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:39:26.260+02:00E-MAIL BATTLE
The BBC website reports about the battle that providers of free e-mail service are fighting right now.
Earlier, I wrote about my gmail experience but it now looks as if there is not any longer the need to be invited to use gmail. Other services have sprung up as a reaction to gmail. Below is a wrap-up of the most relevant outcome of the 'battle for the inbox' so far. The final Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1089381614969322092004-07-09T15:49:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:46:34.226+02:00Changing world ....
"About one in four Internet users (24%) have downloaded a movie. This behavior is
much more common in Korea, where almost six out of ten Internet users (58%) have
reportedly downloaded movies." as was quoted by a recent press release, in pdf
from The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
The press release is dishing up figures that indicate an increasing number Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1089379980920663132004-07-08T15:11:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:46:56.716+02:00Internet continues its growth in political importance
As reported earlier, the BBC also announced recently that the Internet is used more and more for political activism.
The quotes, below, are taken from an article about the presidential elections in the US.
The amount of cash needed to compete for the top job in the White House is staggering. By mid-June this year President George Bush Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1089032345801086252004-07-05T14:40:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:47:21.466+02:00Internet access from Macedonia threatened
Balkanalysis is not a reference of Dutch prime-minister Balkenende but a website that publishes independent interpretations of economics, politics and current events in the Balkans.
In a recent article it reported that
residents of Macedonia have been unable to access an ever-increasing number of American websites. Certain commercially compiled Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1088773516396134772004-07-02T14:43:00.000+02:002004-07-02T15:05:16.396+02:00Web music the best thing to happen to radio since FM
More and more applications on the net gain on importance. Below is a selections of quotes that I took from Katie Dean at Wired News.
The concept has many names: Web radio, webcasting, streaming jukeboxes, Internet broadcasts. But the idea is much the same. Music fans "tune in" to various services through their Net-connected PC, where they Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1088587312665635302004-06-30T11:16:00.000+02:002004-06-30T11:21:52.666+02:00GMAIL on offer
Today i came accross a discussion forum on the net where several people are asking for a gmail e-mail account. Since I have been using it for a while I could provide some reference for those who are interested. Better yet, I have also been given the possibility of inviting a few others to join gmail. Any reader who is interested in trying out Gmail can contact me on Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1088413116811860942004-06-28T10:52:00.000+02:002004-06-28T10:58:36.813+02:00Denmark on the forefront, RFID chips on kids makes Legoland safer
Just back from a two week trip to Denmark, I saw a news item on Denmarks most famous attraction.
Parents taking their children to Legoland theme parks this summer need not worry about losing little Johnny, Jesper or Johan thanks to advances in RFID technology.
Children entering the parks will be fitted with an RFID bracelet Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1086788424968792602004-06-10T14:47:00.000+02:002004-06-09T15:40:44.573+02:0040.000 unique copies of Reason magazine
Big time attention was given to the June edition of Reason, the monthly print magazine of “free minds and free markets.” The magazine that covers politics, culture, and ideas through a provocative mix of news, analysis, commentary, and reviews, personified all the copies to the subscribers.
Quote from the editor's note:
In collaboration with a direct Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1086775289338185732004-06-09T11:18:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:47:45.356+02:00Free market democracy as engine for ethnic fire
I listed the most relevant quotes from a thought-provoking article that I found here, by Amy L. Chua, Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
There exists today a phenomenon - pervasive outside the west yet rarely acknowledged, indeed often viewed as taboo - that turns free market democracy into an engine of ethnic conflagration. I am speaking of Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1086771323585577512004-06-08T10:23:00.000+02:002004-06-09T14:01:14.466+02:00Clash of Civilizations?
or
a Grand Compromise?
In a world where a dozen men can bring down two towers in the largest city in North America, our notion of national defence shifts. There are many suggestions about where defence policy should move next. The CASR (Canadian American Strategic Review) has created an extensive database of articles on the net.
It includes excerpts from "Clash of Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1086781133771159562004-06-07T13:30:00.000+02:002004-06-09T14:30:06.983+02:00Francis Fukuyama's new book
Fukuyama announced his new book recently, State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century.
Francis Fukuyama famously predicted "the end of history" with the ascendancy of liberal democracy and global capitalism. The topic of his latest book is, therefore, surprising: the building of new nation-states. The end of history was never an automatic procedureMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1086080975917405802004-06-01T10:45:00.000+02:002004-06-01T11:18:57.210+02:00New Politics vs Old media
A lengthy article by Christopher Lydon analyses the 2004 American presidential campaigns.
I took some relevant quotes:
For those of us who like the sound of "Internet democracy," who yearn for political and cultural renewal and "transformation," the entrenched obstacle is not the old politics. It's the old media.
The Howard Dean campaign (much more than Howard Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1085746167989987562004-05-28T14:01:00.000+02:002004-05-28T14:09:27.990+02:00"Biggest obstacle to development is Superstition"
An unorthodox view on the challenge of developing was brought by the Minister of Environment and Science in Ghana, Professor Kasim Kasanga. He said irrational ways of solving problems based on superstition has become the biggest obstacle facing the nation, as was reported by a news report from Ghana.
"the challenges facing the nation today is Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1085745046013740372004-05-28T13:42:00.000+02:002004-05-28T13:50:46.013+02:00Bushy beards go online
Open University lecturers, famed for their bushy beards and leather elbow-patch jackets, will disappear from television channel BBC Two in 2006.
Instead, 185,000 students will rely on newer technology - such as (...) internet - to access the information needed for their home-based degree courses.
A OU spokesman said in a BBC article:
"When the OU started, the questionMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1085744191902048442004-05-28T13:11:00.000+02:002004-05-28T13:36:31.903+02:002B or not 2B
2B or not 2B is the name of an experiment of six bigger cities in the Netherlands with biometric passports.
This project aims to include fifteenthousand volunteers' fingerprints or face scan in test documents, not legally valid. It is presented here (in Dutch) as the first step towards the inclusion of biometrics in passports.
Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1085576189778145252004-05-26T14:46:00.000+02:002004-05-28T11:24:32.993+02:00Bringing social software to live: wiki
In an attempt to create use for the earlier introduced social software, the Dutch virtual political party PVDI has launched a wiki. It is all in Dutch, but I know for most people it is not a problem. A closer look on the whole thing might reveal participation from this blogger. It is only starting, so have a little bit of patience, but when you decide to Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1085392496400312462004-05-24T11:43:00.000+02:002004-05-24T11:54:56.400+02:00(Mis)use of 'sound science'
I came accross this interesting article about the definition of sound science. It is writen by Chris Moonie, who is writing a book about the crisis of science politicization in American life.
Denunciations of President Bush's science policies by (...) the Union of Concerned Scientists, followed by a sweeping rejection of the scientists' charges by the administration,Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-108418016968509422004-05-24T11:03:00.000+02:002004-05-24T11:26:42.216+02:00World football governing body Fifa punishes team for wearing wrong shirt, but backs down
One of the worlds LEAST democratic organisation, Fifa, punished Cameroon with 6 points deduction for their next World Cup qualifying mission. This decision implied Cameroon's appearance on the field in Germany was going to be next to impossible. At the website that collects votes to put Fifa under pressure Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1084867837805318032004-05-18T10:05:00.000+02:002004-05-18T10:10:37.806+02:00Dutch government works towards unification of government - citizen interaction
A Dutch magazine for public administration reports (in Dutch) the launching of a unique number for every Dutch citizen that will be used for transactions with the government. The unique number is being referred to as Citizen Service Number and will be available for everybody by January 1, 2006.Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1084177602418733482004-05-10T10:09:00.000+02:002004-05-10T10:49:34.566+02:00Movie censorship in the USA
On May 5th I received an e-mail from the Michael Moore mailing list saying: "Disney Has Blocked the Distribution of My New Film"
The reason? According to the New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush.
Michael Moore states some Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1083052152327153192004-04-27T09:41:00.000+02:002004-04-27T09:53:46.966+02:00E-voting machine makers: 'not the smartest'
Yesterday CNN wrote that A growing number of federal and state legislators are expressing doubts about the integrity of the ATM-like electronic voting machines that at least 50 million Americans will use to cast their ballots in November.
Even a top Diebold [the producer of the machines, MS] executive acknowledged this week that the systems are not Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1082725209221195882004-04-23T14:35:00.000+02:002004-04-23T15:04:18.170+02:00Voting by Internet vulnerable
The Dutch internet magazine Netkwesties brings a story today about the vulnerability of voting by internet. Some 40% of the Dutch who are living abroad have given preference to vote online. This makes the group who wishes to vote by internet the largest of the groups that are voting from overseas. Slightly less people vote by letter and the remaining 20% use proxy Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1082548471946521452004-04-21T13:41:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:48:44.116+02:00A year-old future vision
Today I found a year-old article written in the Economist about the future of democracy.
The Economist writes that "One of the big political debates of the next three decades will be about the relative merits of direct versus representative democracy.".
Some other interesting quotes from the article:
- the bulk of those who are organising themselves on the internetMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1082469618243789322004-04-20T15:51:00.000+02:002004-04-20T16:05:14.343+02:00Voting machines can't be checked for failures
The Dutch magazine Computable reports about an emergent debate about voting machines. Voting machines can't be checked for irregularities, since the intellectual property belongs to the companies that produced them. Dutch professor Bart Jacobs argues that it is not a question of disfunctionality but principal. Since citizens have a formal right to Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1082364262609825192004-04-19T09:57:00.000+02:002004-04-19T10:48:57.560+02:00Hacking for democracy
A small group of 'net commandos' at the University of Toronto are looking to help people get around government controls on the internet, as was reported by the BBC.
In Canada Citizen Lab engages in research and development at the intersection of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Global Civic Networks. Citizen Lab is based at the Munk Centre for Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1081864397494953082004-04-13T15:33:00.000+02:002004-04-13T15:58:40.936+02:00Sources of Information
At the English site of Al Jazeera, I read an article about the elections in Iraq. The Arabic news source states that
It is painfully clear that legitimising a post-war authority in occupied Iraq will be marred by difficulties.
In an effort to expand my scope of sources for this blog, I succeeded. The site of Al Jazeera has a number of interesting special reports. The siteMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1080727275636249992004-03-31T11:45:00.000+02:002004-07-16T11:49:17.176+02:00Journalists can benifit from Social Software
Andrew Lih, the director of technology at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong argues that the web has become an essential tool for journalists.
The challenge for journalists is often determining the accuracy and sourcing of search results, oftentimes negating the time saved by using the Internet. However, (...) Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1079947792774397612004-03-22T10:21:00.000+01:002004-07-16T11:50:17.760+02:00More on Internet vs Journalism
On his journalistic website, Christopher Lydon does radio interviews on the Internet using an MP3 recorder, a couple of headphones. He's proving that the principles of weblogs apply to radio as well has print publishing.
Lydon was a news host on Boston public television, a reporter for the New York Times, and candidate for mayor of Boston. He's a fellow at the Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1079521545913658382004-03-17T10:09:00.000+01:002004-06-09T14:09:19.683+02:00A bleak future for democracy?
Yesterday, for some reason, I came accross this classic essay by Robert Kaplan, 'Was Democracy just a moment?' I am currently looking for opposing views to counterbalance his pessimistic view on democracy. It is a lengthy piece of work that might still hold true today.
He argues:
Because democracy neither forms states nor strengthens them initially, multi-party Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1079344837009953222004-03-15T10:50:00.000+01:002004-03-15T11:05:47.700+01:00President of South Korea in impeachment procedure
On the very day that I was introduced to the phenomenen of the "Internet" president in South Korea, news came in that parliament voted to impeach him.
Yesterday the BBC reported:
Tens of thousands of demonstrators in South Korea have held candle-lit vigils in eight cities to protest the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun. About 35,000 Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1079106065647496952004-03-12T16:28:00.000+01:002004-03-22T10:22:47.343+01:00American hypes the "Revolution"
One reason why America represents a culture that I do not favour is the weight they can put in words without proper proof. In the field of e-democracy, the American SPECIAL REPORT ON THE YEAR OF INTERNET AND POLITICS 2004 beats about everything.
It speaks about Howard Dean as if he a (winning) candidate in the race for the White House.
One story that it also Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1079102560299454472004-03-12T13:19:00.000+01:002004-03-12T15:50:13.280+01:00Spain hit by terrorists
Yesterday, Spain was hit by terrible assaults on their train infrastructure. It is quoted as to be an attack on democracy. Thinking about such acts, always brings me to the weapons industry.
I have always argued firm state control on the arms and weapons industry. Availability of arms, weapons, explosives is more than a proven threat, in the hands of just anybody. The Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1079101120065709292004-03-12T13:13:00.000+01:002004-03-12T15:21:51.153+01:0015 Year Old in top 25 Influencial sites
On the newsrunner site politcsonline a selection was made of the top 25 individuals, organizations and companies, that are having the greatest impact on the way the Internet is changing politics.
In itself, this list is a wealth of information on e-democracy. Very remarkable is the listing on number 6, fifteen-year-old Ben Casnocha. He is Founder & Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078743650604688222004-03-08T11:53:00.000+01:002004-03-08T12:04:44.340+01:00A European Who is Who in E-democracy
Last month, on February 12 a seminar took place in Brussels on e-democracy. If you would like to drown yourself in the documents that surrounded the conference just visit the website here. A small start in the search for the European decision makers could be made by looking at the speakers of the meeting.
Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078742828351058212004-03-08T11:37:00.000+01:002004-03-08T11:50:41.483+01:00Amsterdam local government uses new techniques
The city of Amsterdam uses video techniques in the political debate. The site indicates a number of citizens who have taken up an issue or who reacted to current discussions. The site, unfortunatly does not show what is happening to the messages after they are recorded. It allows you to 'take part' but what that means in terms of political strenghtMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078739405220310302004-03-08T10:34:00.000+01:002004-03-08T12:05:57.700+01:00"Internet use not good for democracy"
A strong opinion on the current use of internet is voiced by prof. Cass R. Sunstein.
Democracy, Sunstein argues, depends on shared experiences and requires citizens to be exposed to topics and ideas that they would not have chosen in advance. Newspapers and broadcasters helped create a shared culture, but as their role diminishes and the customization of Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078738286361626282004-03-08T10:24:00.000+01:002004-03-08T10:34:31.653+01:00Research results on the use of internet for political information
From a recent research it shows that television and printed media are still the most important for political news and information, but the importance of the internet is growing rapidly. Fully 45% of those online (i.e., 31% of all adults) say that they rely on it for information about politics, political issues and elections. TheseMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078496676325288632004-03-05T14:26:00.000+01:002004-03-05T15:27:37.826+01:00On "Culture War" and "Culture War" rhetoric
In the USA there seems to be a debate that is being referred to as the Culture War. Rather than rejecting popular culture outright, a growing number of Christians are producing and consuming their own popular media on the fringes of the mainstream entertainment industry, as I quote from Henry Jenkins, director Comparative Media Studies at MIT.
He Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078488846198303552004-03-05T12:55:00.000+01:002004-07-16T11:38:26.850+02:00Electronic Voting in the USA, a long way leading to nowhere?
"The modernization of the nation's voting infrastructure is long overdue," said Alfie Charles, spokesman for Oakland-based Sequoia, which built the machines being used by as many as 4 million voters in California and Maryland. I took this quote from a CNN online article.
Reading the whole story, I occured to me that the US of A is Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078329333620108152004-03-03T16:51:00.000+01:002004-07-16T11:37:48.776+02:00Discussion on E-Democracy
A new comment just came in from my good friend Peter Wierenga. In his contribution he is also referring to an article in Dutch that I found to be interesting in De Groene. He is as oposed to e-democracy as anybody could ever be. Unfortunately he explaines his fury in Dutch but it is well worth reading for those who can:
Het lot is je niet gunstig gezind: de Sdu Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078309615763381072004-03-03T11:17:00.000+01:002004-03-03T12:10:28.310+01:00ON AIDS and AFRICA:
Having lived in Ghana for the past 3 years, I still try to keep track every now and then about what is going on. I was struck by the words of the President of the National House of Chiefs. He argues that condoms were meant for adults who could not control their sexual desires and he deplored the mass promotion of condom use.
In suggesting a solution for the growing threat heMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078304750502852182004-03-03T09:56:00.000+01:002004-03-22T10:24:19.903+01:00Opposition to George Bush
Here is an interview in Dutch with an American Professor, Benjamin Barber (University of Maryland) that I found to be interesting. He is opposing the Bush administration and their war on terror with strong arguments. We can't be hearing enough of that, can we?
Well, of course it doesn't take long to find English information with similar content. I found an article thatMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1078306689513689792004-03-01T10:34:00.000+01:002004-03-03T12:12:03.686+01:00My previous project: GHANECC
Today I also discovered (with pride) that the Annual report of the GHANECC is online. It is a large document in the PDF format. It tells you what GHANECC is, what it has achieved and where it is going now. Even from my home, now in Leiden, I have contributed to this report. If you are not interested in reading the whole report but you DO like to know a bit more aboutMichielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1077896232325185582004-02-27T16:30:00.000+01:002004-03-03T12:22:11.856+01:00ICT influence in politics
Recently I wrote an article (sorry it is in Dutch) where I put the current political situation in the Netherlands under threat of the development of social software. I believe that social software will have impact on and perhaps even change the way that politics are done. Although that article is mere a look into the future, even in the current political setting some Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6543205.post-1077884171346332782004-01-30T13:11:00.000+01:002005-04-11T20:44:35.723+02:00About this blogToday, i have started my own weblog. It might be something that I use, it might not. I can only know if I try, can't I?I have not yet decided what use it could have, but amongst other things, it will be a reference for future activities for myself. I will start with notifying some of my friends about this blog. Most of them are Dutch, but I have the feeling that some international Michielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983429116185279881noreply@blogger.com