Politics and the Internet

[Stephen]

Hello all,

Here are two articles from today's edition of .netpulse .. maybe it's just
an over-developed sense of the absurd, but taken together, and in terms of
politics and the internet, they do seem to make rather an ironic statement.


.n e t p u l s e - the e-journal of politicking on the Internet
Volume 2, Number 20 Oct. 22, 1998 http://www.politicsonline.com

HOTQUOTES
****************

"This medium [the internet] offers an unprecedented opportunity to
reconnect people to the political process - by helping people become
more informed citizens, by helping our elected representatives be more
responsive to those citizens, and by engaging more people in public
policy discussions and debate.  In particular, we'd like to see more
young people feel more connected to the political process, and we know
the Internet can help make that happen." America Online Chairman Steve
Case in an October 6th online letter to subscribers.

THE WORLD'S WIDE POLITICAL WEB:
***********************************************
CHINESE CHECKERS.  The free flow of information via the Internet
is causing problems in China.  Recently, for example, China's
most popular site, Sohoo (http://www.sohoo.com.cn), recently
launched surveys for Chinese Internet users to allow them to say
what they really think, albeit anonymously.  On the other side,
however, is the government's fear that the Internet will be used
for subversive purposes, as highlighted in an Oct. 14 story in
The Independent of London:  "The country's online police struggle
to keep pace with the information that can be downloaded. The 
Ministry of Public Security's regulations forbid using the
Internet for such crimes as 'inciting to overthrow the social
system' or 'promoting feudal superstitions.'"

--
Kind regards ..
Stephen Loosley
(Victorian teacher, looking forward to a new notebook computer :)