Check out this blog that looks like it’s authored by Bill Clinton. Hosted on Blog*Spot (where my blog’s hosted), but can’t find out who’s behind this excellent parody. I’d love to know! Or is it really Bill?? (Sorry about my less-than-gushing comments, Bill, on your biography in a post yesterday…) Bill Clinton Daily Diary
Category: Current Affairs
Blair shooting for 3rd term
British Prime Minister Tony Blair looks confident of getting re-elected for a third term when the next UK general election takes place, very likely within the next 12 months. He is looking very confident these days, confounding his critics – within the Labour Party and elsewhere – who have been clamouring for his resignation in […]
Meet the political bloggers
From today’s Wall Street Journal. This report is about how blogging is a potent communication force in US politics. Another sign that blogging is rapidly catching on in a big way as a more structured and organized means of communication. Excerpt: The Democratic Party is widening its media tent for the Boston convention. For the […]
‘Bandwagon’ media blogs at US Democratic convention
CNN and the BBC are two of the international broadcast media who have embraced blogging in a big way as part of their news coverage of the US Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week. Both broadcasters have blogs on their websites with frequent comment from journalists covering the event. This is an excellent move by […]
Voters from the 51st US state – we want you!
If you’re an American abroad, in The Netherlands in particular, here’s some helpful advice on voting in the upcoming US elections. From Expatica. Voters from the 51st US state – we want you!
BBC wants top political blogs
BBC News Online is looking for political blogs, preferably with a UK focus. “We are looking for lively, thought-provoking sites that stimulate genuine debate, rather than just pushing a particular narrow viewpoint or agenda, but all suggestions are welcome,” they said. The BBC plans to feature as many as possible over the next few weeks. […]
Stating the benefits of blogs
Research on political blogging from The Hansard Society in the UK published last month includes some conclusions that will be no surprise to anyone who has worked on a plan for a blog that needs to state some of the measurable benefits of embarking on that blog. Hansard’s research concluded thus – – Blogging has […]
Making the EU relevant
Now here’s a communication challenge – explain the proposed European constitution to anyone you know. That’s just what the European Commission would like every citizen of the EU to do. The constitution will affect 25 countries comprising 450 million people who speak over 30 different languages and dialects. Given the general lack of interest in […]
‘Wordsmith’ Mandelson EU debut
Peter Mandelson, the UK’s new European Commissioner and current whipping boy of the UK’s anti-European factions, put on a star performance in Brussels on Friday during the first meeting of the new commissioners, 25 of them, who will start their new jobs in November. In a great display of political word-smithing, Mandelson said as Trade […]
Political bloggers at Republican convention
The US Republican National Convention (RNC) takes place in New York this week and, as with the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in July, bloggers will be part of the media reporting scene. At Madison Square Garden in New York, the official blogger group will number about 15, a tiny fraction of the estimated 15,000 journalists […]
Bush is no Churchill!
In a ceremony draped in patriotic imagery and dominated by moderate and even liberal figures, the Republican Party opened its convention yesterday by promoting President George W Bush as a leader worthy of comparison with Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan. – report in the Daily Telegraph. Who are the Republicans and Rudy Giuliani (who is […]
Dutch Deputy Prime Minister blogs
A conversation about blogs with a business friend over lunch today prompted some thinking about Dutch politicians who blog. My lunch companion told me that the Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Gerrit Zalm, has a blog. Sure enough, he does. What’s more, it looks like it’s regularly updated, the most recent post […]
Help for tragedy in Beslan
It’s almost impossible to find words to comment on the awful tragedy in Beslan in the Russian region of North Ossetia, with so many people – at least 50% of which are children – slaughtered in the storming of the school by Russian forces on Friday. While no doubt many charities and other organziations will […]
A memory of 9/11
As the third anniversary of 9/11 approaches, there’s a rash of commentary appearing on various blogs, naturally in the US in particular. This one by Jeff Jarvis is heart-wrenching. If you were in the vicinity of the Twin Towers or watched some of the live TV coverage, you’ll know exactly what Jeff’s talking about. BuzzMachine […]
9/11 – Thoughts and Prayers
Never forget. September 11, 2001 – Victims
The EU wins on trust
Latest state of public opinion about the European Union, reported by Straight Banana: 80% of EU citizens support the proposed European constitution (see my post last month for more info about the constitution). On trust and distrust: Regarding the EU, 41% of citizens trust it, 41% distrust it. Regarding national parliaments, 32% trust their national […]
If US presidential candidates were women
For the first time in weeks, I just haven’t had time today to blog. Rather than leave a void, here’s a quick something for the weekend to close the gap. John Dvorak has a great collection of Photoshopped pics of the US presidential candidates as if they were women, US high school yearbook style. My, […]
Do terrorists blog?
From a BBC News report yesterday: The capture of alleged al-Qaeda computer expert Mohamed Naem Noor Khan by the Pakistani authorities in July brought with it an unprecedented haul of high-tech intelligence. Speaking in London last month, America’s homeland security chief Tom Ridge said the volume of potential information was “the largest we’ve ever seen […]
Check your .org from your .com
Oops! Easy to mix up domain suffixes (.com, etc) in a web address and get the wrong one. Precisely what US VP Dick Cheney did in a televised debate with his Democratic challenger, John Edwards. BBC News reports that, when answering accusations by Mr Edwards, Mr Cheney told viewers to visit factcheck.com. But rather than […]
UK political parties struggle with trust
With so much media coverage about the forthcoming US presidential elections, literally everywhere in the world, just about any other political news tends to get a bit overlooked. For instance, other than in UK media, I’ve seen little wide coverage about what’s going on in the UK as things move along in preparation for a […]