Lobby lists for total transparency
Reinhard Bütikofer, member of the European Parliament for the German Green Party, publishes a list of all his meetings. Whoever he meets up with, whether they’re lobbyist, interest groups, colleagues or citizens, they show up on this list. This is way more transparent than politicians in Germany are legally required to be. More importantly though, [...]
Presentation: Internet und Politik
Today I gave a presentation on internet and its role on politics at ISWA. In the talk I’m laying out the basics of online politics: social networking, new rules of engagement, and a (very brief) view on the state of the political web in Germany. It’s all in German, so I’ll just post the presentation [...]
Rette Deine Freiheit
This video is a great (and appropriately biased) summary of the German government laws to censor the internet under the premise of fighting child abuse. Nicknamed Zensursula (pun on the German word for censorship “Zensur” and the name of the minister in charge, Ursula von der Leyen), the plan is opposed by a more and [...]
My Two Cents on the German Pirate Party
Lots of discussions about the Pirate Party (PP) lately, and their role in German politics. With federal elections coming up in late September and some very salient web issues like data retention and planned legislation to block (supposed) child abuse sites with very little judicial oversight, the PP is in an interesting position. A), they’re [...]
German Young Voter Campaign Copies U.S. Don’t Vote Video
All of them are looking the same. In the Imperial Army that’s probably good. In political campaigning, not so much. Now here I’m in a bit of a dilemma. Check out this German knock-off version of the Don’t Vote video. (Both versions at the end of this post.) On one hand, I’m always glad about [...]
Net Censorship in Germany: Confirmed
It’s a sad day for Germany, and an infuriating one. The law hasn’t passed yet, but the major parties have agreed (Netzpolitik.org, in German) to introduce net censorship in Germany. It’s all under the pretense of protecting children against abuse, but the draft of the law clearly shows that it will neither protect children nor [...]
Petition Against Internet Censorship in Germany (FTW!)
In Germany, some odd stuff has been happening lately. It’s a fairly complex topic, and the whole discussion is happening in German, so I’ll keep it really short: Top-level politician Ursula von der Leyen (Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth) is trying to introduce large-scale censorship in Germany, thinly disguised as [...]
open-government.us: Open up, dudes!
The Obama team understands how technology works, they’ve proven it over and over again. (Releasing campaign photos under Creative Commons license and hosting them on Flickr is just the merest of indicators.) During his presidency, Obama and his government should continue this course of openness and become the most open, transparent and accessible government yet. [...]
Super endorsements: Comic characters for Obama
Somewhat odd, but here you go: Comic character Savage Dragon endorses Obama, or so says the New York Times‘ The Moment blog: The celebrity endorsements have begun! Savage Dragon, a superhero and police officer whose adventures are published by Image Comics, is throwing his hat in the ring for Barack Obama. The news is blared [...]
Downing Street 10 relaunches, goes all Web 2.0
Downing Street 10, the British Prime Minister’s office, has just announced a relaunch of their website. The new website is full of web-two-ishness: Prominent space for video (via Brightcove), Flickr integration, YouTube, Twitter, blog, you name it. Screenshot: Downing Street 10 relaunch As I’m testing it, the intro video about the new site won’t play, [...]
