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Brits here should check out the petition for private copying on 10 Downing Street's website.

Stroller.

Brits here should check out the petition for private copying on 10 Downing Street's website.

Stroller.

Brits here should check out the petition for private copying on 10 Downing Street's website. It's essentially asking that the government do what the think tank suggested.

One of the big problems in politics is communicating with and informing the general population. Not only does the Internet itself make it easier than ever to do so, but offshoots like mailing lists, wikis, etc help to organise people and information. We already know these things have the ability to coordinate efforts to build things as complicated as operating systems. Why not apply that experience to other problem domains?

We've already seen the beginnings of this. TheyWorkForYou.com publishes and indexes what MPs say in the Houses of Parliament, and notifies people when something they are interested in is discussed - with all the source code for the website available and a web service too. A few days ago, the same team launched an open-source online petition system backed by the UK government (sign the "fair use" petition). The same team also have a number of other projects in the same vein, such as mailing lists for MPs. Some MPs now have weblogs. Across the pond similar work is being done in the USA.

The real problem is that current MPs mostly grew up without the Internet and haven't gotten to grips with it. This is why MySociety's work to get them on board is so important. For instance, it took me thirty seconds to find out that my MP "replied within 2 or 3 weeks to 73% - 96% of messages sent via WriteToThem.com during 2005, according to polling data -- well above average amongst MPs," and I can sign up to get an email every time he speaks in Parliament.

Far from fuelling a crisis in politics, I think the web can be incredibly beneficial. Unfortunately, there is incredible inertia amongst government to adopt new strategies like this.

One of the big problems in politics is communicating with and informing the general population. Not only does the Internet itself make it easier than ever to do so, but offshoots like mailing lists, wikis, etc help to organise people and information. We already know these things have the ability to coordinate efforts to build things as complicated as operating systems. Why not apply that experience to other problem domains?

We've already seen the beginnings of this. TheyWorkForYou.com publishes and indexes what MPs say in the Houses of Parliament, and notifies people when something they are interested in is discussed - with all the source code for the website available and a web service too. A few days ago, the same team launched an open-source online petition system backed by the UK government (sign the "fair use" petition). The same team also have a number of other projects in the same vein, such as mailing lists for MPs. Some MPs now have weblogs. Across the pond similar work is being done in the USA.

The real problem is that current MPs mostly grew up without the Internet and haven't gotten to grips with it. This is why MySociety's work to get them on board is so important. For instance, it took me thirty seconds to find out that my MP "replied within 2 or 3 weeks to 73% - 96% of messages sent via WriteToThem.com during 2005, according to polling data -- well above average amongst MPs," and I can sign up to get an email every time he speaks in Parliament.

Far from fuelling a crisis in politics, I think the web can be incredibly beneficial. Unfortunately, there is incredible inertia amongst government to adopt new strategies like this.

Please people, support NO2ID and tell Blair where to shove his flawed ID cards and CCTV cameras.

It's equally amazing the mental gymnastics some will go through to avoid facing the fact

Deception and Agendas are aplenty, and we will not know whether or not you are right
for some time, but...consider Iran's step to withdraw from the non-proliferation treaty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/49819 40.stm

If you want to send a message that you are totally above board you would NOT subvert
inspections by nearly 100% EU inspection teams, Iraq did this as well.

Playing shell games, delaying inspectors from the EU, and declaring numerous massive
presidential palaces off limits. Having huge stockpiles of "pesticides" that fit
dual use in ammo dumps and bunkers with aerial camouflage .

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.a sp?ID=13168

Former Iraqi officers speaking of the chemical weapons, and their coverup over
intercepted phone calls in Iraq prior to the 2nd gulf war .

http://www.slate.com/id/2078196/

17 UN resolutions that were ignored time an time again .

The shell game, deceptions, and intimidation used against the inspectors and
lack of "Full Inspections".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/ne ws/2002/09/08/wirq208.xml

http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page277.asp

If Iraq and Saddam were innocent , why then the elaborate deceptions,
intimidation, hauling top soil away...

To me ...

It's equally amazing the mental gymnastics some will go through to avoid facing the fact

Ex-MislTech

How does total stupidity like this get moderated up? If we have only been told "We have proof he did it, and that's all you need to know," then what the hell is this? Have you ever watched the news? Do you pay attention to current events? Or is the only exposure to the outside world you get filtered through the rants of paranoid nerds on Slashdot?

Oh? Is that actually true?

I see no reason to believe that the Taliban ever had any intent of doing anything except stalling for time after the 9/11 attacks. Their duplicity is obvious from their statements since 9/11 -- on one hand they say that they have him under constant attention and know that there is absolutely no way he could have been involved, on the other hand they lose him for days at a time.

See also: UK's summary of public evidence

Mind you--despite the media, the position of NATO et all was not that Bin Laden be handed over, but the entirity of the known Al Qaida network. While the Taliban continue to characterize US demands in regard only to Bin Laden, this does not accurately reflect the actual demands the US has made. So you're right when you say that handing over Bin Laden wouldn't have been enough--that was something that was clearly stated weeks ago.

As far as attacking the Taliban, I have claimed since before 9/11 that America might have a duty to displace the Taliban. If the Taliban treated members of some race the way they treat women, the world would have been at war with them long ago. So I will grant that I will shed no tears over their loss of power in Afghanistan. But I will shed a tear for every innocent life lost, here or there.

If I'm walking alone in a deserted area at night, and I come across a man forcibly assaulting and raping a woman in such a way as to probably kill her, and I feel I have the power to intervene, I can't imagine being ever to sleep if I didn't step in and try to save her life.

It is shocking to me that intervention is so obviously right in this case, yet so wrong when we multiply it by the millions of oppressed women and religious minorities in Afghanistan.