[politics] Forum Topics

Across Europe people have been voting in the European Parliamentary elections, and it looks likely that a pirate or two will have got elected in Sweden. I voted nice and early this morning, with candidates representing the three main political parties here in the UK as well as a rather …

Last week, former UK Prime Minister and current Quartet Envoy to the Middle East on behalf of the EU, UN, US and Russia, [URL="http://www.tonyblairoffice.org/"]Tony Blair[/URL] was hacked. Well, the [URL="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tony-Blair-Faith-Foundation/53370916629"]Tony Blair Faith Foundation on Facebook[/URL] was hacked according to reports at any rate. It seems that the site was flooded …

A California Senate candidate is using a Don Henley song in a campaign video on YouTube, and when Henley sued for copyright violation, the candidate fired back that it was his first amendment rights to use the song. It seems he failed to understand the nuances of the Digital Millennium …

Is there a stimulus package on the way for those who use Linux and Open Source Software? You bet there is but it might not come from where you'd expect. Too many wasted stimulus dollars have already rained down upon those who wasted their own money but this time it'll …

This is the sort of thing that annoys me intensely. Our Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Lord Davies of Abersoch, has been asking the good people at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona what they need to grow the mobile business, what it's all about, that sort of …

It's happened at last. Someone has come unstuck because of the contents of their blog. And, relief of reliefs, it's not me. I should explain. Among my activities as a journalist I offer media training - coaching for people who're about to talk to the press. Not how to spin …

Barack Obama is the very definition of an Internet politico-geek, not least as I just invented the term. However, there is no denying that the President-Elect of the US has understood the power of the Internet, the power of social networking, better than any other political candidate for high office. …

I almost thought it was April 1st, but no it is actually just a couple of days before the election of the new President of the United States. Which probably accounts for why EA has apparently decided to develop a download content pack for the Mercenaries 2 game which will …

Last Saturday, Republican vice presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin held a rally in Los Angeles in the Home Depot Center, and the California Democratic Party rented a giant electronic billboard during the event, and solicited questions from people, via texting, to display during the presentation (exhorting submitters to …

[I]You have no friends named "palin".[/I] Sob. I had been so proud, the day after Republican presidential candidate John McCain chose her as his running mate, to be her friend on Facebook. I hadn't even done it cold, either; a friend of mine had recommended to me that I friend …

No sooner had the echoes of “Sarah *who*?” faded than the blogosphere was on the job, showing that even for an unknown person from a remote area, there was plenty of readily accessible information available – and not only perhaps doing a better job of vetting than the McCain campaign …

The November election brings with it the promise of changes, new beginnings, and hope for those who've endured the past 8 years with less than an enthusiastic attitude. The choice of President and Vice President means far less to most of us than the people they choose for Cabinet positions. …

As I watch the founders of [URL="http://www.geek-pac.org/blog/"]GeekPAC[/URL], a political action group aimed at defending the information rights of U.S. citizens, get themselves up and running I can't help but wonder what other tech-oriented groups would benefit from a similar group. Would IT workers? What would they lobby for? Sick of …

Both the Democratic and Republican national conventions -- scheduled for next week and the following week, respectively -- will feature major roles for bloggers, giving them the same access as traditional press. Hundreds of bloggers are slated to attend the Democratic convention in Denver -- 500 alone paid $100 for …

It's been a long-running joke that Republicans don't understand technology, what with United States Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) trying to describe the Internet as a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_of_tubes"]"series of tubes"[/URL] and President George W. Bush referring to [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internets"]"the Internets."[/URL] However, a new generation of Republicans is not only learning to use technologies …

Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, swept to the role of presumptive nominee through support from fans on the Internet, is learning that the Internet can just as easily be mobilized against him, even after he has already voted on an issue. The issue is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or …

Sean Tevis needed 3,000 people willing to donate $8.34 to his campaign for the Kansas state legislature. Instead, he's up to 5,298 -- and still going. He did it with a [URL="http://seantevis.com/kansas/3000/running-for-office-xkcd-style/"]single website[/URL] in the style of [URL="http://xkcd.com/"]XKCD[/URL], the geek comic strip that has replaced Dilbert on many office doors, …

Sorry, Obama and McCain are Twitterers. That's what I should have said. Or at least that's what [URL="http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/26569/breaking_pdf2008_hosts_obama_mccain_twitter_debate"]Tech President[/URL] reckons. Representatives of both candidates are apparently both hard at it, debating the presidential race on Twitter. The debate started on Friday and is due to run until Tomorrow. Moderated by …

Where are Mulder and Scully when you need them to investigate a mystery? The paranormal technology happening I am referring to is the strange case of the UK House of Lords publishing [URL="http://www.youtube.com/UKParliament"]a handful of short videos[/URL] on YouTube. The idea is OK, in that it has been designed to …

OK, so Barack Obama is not the first politician to 'get' the Internet, heck Al Gore invented it after all. However, sarcasm aside, what Obama has done is grasp the true power of the next generation Web: he has transformed political campaigning at a national level thanks to social networking …