Imagine being able to check instantly whether or not statements made by politicians were correct. That is the sort of service Google Inc. boss Eric Schmidt believes the Internet will offer within five years.
– wow – for more try here.
Tag: Politicians
David Cameron and Netiquette – mind your iManners please.
Max who works on the Podminions podcast has just alerted me to a problem with the ever-so-polite leader of the opposition, David Cameron MP. It relates to the visuals on the newly launched webcameron.org.uk.
The site uses some very funky little icons, popped in their no doubt by the designers commissioned to make it so. The trouble is those icons were made by a talented web designer based here in Brum and they’re being used in breach of his copyright.
Mark James makes them freely available on his site www.famfamfam.com under what is known as a Creative Commons license. It is a widely used and respected way to protect what is written on the web and requires generosity and integrity from all those involved.
So the deal is simple: you can use the natty icons free as long as you credit the source, and in web parlance this means linking to Mark’s website.
Anything else is simply rude.
Mark would like to see the credit – and told us “I expect people to occasionally overlook the issues of the Creative Commons, although I have to say I’m a little shocked that this escaped a political party”.
From my point of view I want to see local creativity given its due. So Mr Cameron please remember your manners, sort out the site and then pop Mark a quick apology.
You can make it a video apology if you like.
A Hug from Government?
A while ago the new headmaster of a large state run secondary school told me about his plan to stop excluding children – no more problem solving by binning the apparent source of the problem. He thought that of all the children who most needed the values and discipline a good school offers, it was the kids most likely to be kicked out.
So he wanted to understand why his school had excluded pupils in the past.
He looked through the figures, read reports, spoke to colleagues and then started contacting parents of excluded pupils.
He spoke to dozens of people. “At first there was no pattern, every case was unique, some surprising”, he said. “But after I thought about it for a while I reluctantly concluded one thing stood out: each child who had been excluded lacked a single adult who they knew had faith in them, who they could be sure loved them”
David Cameron comes to brum – again
David Cameron was in Birmingham again today – to give a Chamberlain Lecture on how he sees the relationship between government and communities.
In fact the leader of the opposition was in my own neighbourhood Balsall Heath, an area he admires for the extent to which citizens and volunteers have taken control of their own streets. The Grassroots Channel programme “I am the grass now” reported on how people here would prefer to volunteer to keep their police stations open rather than leave a vacuum in their streets.
The truth is that Balsall Heath’s revival has been despite government, rather than because of it, and Mr Cameron belives there is much to learn from the people and the streets of this vibrant (yes it is fab) multi-culturural community. So where does that leave someone who wants to lead a Conservative government? Confused or clear about how government can get out of the way and let people make good choices?
You can find out here. Listen to his speech by clicking on this link, read the speech by clicking here and find out what the good people of Balsall Heath had to ask David Cameron by clicking here.
Go on, click away. You’ll be surprised.