Temat: Google Street View - Big Brother watching?
Bernd Schreckenberg:
Jacek K.:
Like the cross, the fecies etc.? Quite a summer ride it was! :)
Yes, the division line is very strong.
And I tell you, it goes right across my family, many of my friends etc.
And it is a potent issue to use and controll people with. They stop discussing about issues that relates to them, (taxes, access to kindergartens, public health, bureaucracy they discuss about issues exploited by one politician or the other.
I lack knowledge of how politics are conducted in other countries. I know Germany quite well and Poland quite a bit and have some imagination about how things work in Britain, as much as I follow the BBC news and the internet.
Germany as well as Britain and US have a traditon of liberal media.
I follow National Public Radio and find it an example of public media to be copied as successful solution to Poland. Otherwise.... I found myself I am normal and can see and hear clearly after switching off TV and radio for at least a week. I am immediately becoming sensitive to real issues. Mindful.
Once I switch on the radio I am again in the meddle of artificial issues.
The idea is to find the issue that will polarise the society, find the way to first pages of newspapers, tops in the lists of news portals.
And here we bring in another player diluting reality: The media. Can we divide the fog of distraction between them and politics?
Sometimes media pick up on something by themselves, sometimes they fall for clever politicians, sometimes politicians push the agenda. It's a give and take situation, where both sides easily get what they want.
In my sessions of listening to NPR via internet I am amased how intelligently the news are designed, with a wise and independent commentary, insight in the source of issues and possible solutions, and the priority is assigned to particular news.... everyday trifles do not compete with serious stuff.
I think the problem is lack of serious model of
public media, independent of advertising, viewability, capital investment, independent of the need for controversy. And this controversy, political marketing is skillfuly used to detract us from real issues. This is now called integrated marketing, it is cheap because once a controversy is created, it spreads via all channels of communication for free. I have no doubt that this is what Mr Palikot on one side and Mr Kurski on the other side of the barricade play with.
The German electoral system is so complicated that the party gathering most votes ends up with the lowest no. of seats. How am I supposed to explain this to my students?
Look how suddenly one-mandate electoral regions (i am not sure if it is a good translation) the method of voting for a person and not for a party, has become an non-issue. And most Polish people wanted it very much, because it would introduce more quality, more meritocracy in Polish politics. The issue is hushed now by all politicians in unison, regardless of the party.
Corruption and white-washing are general phenomena in any society, even the German one, although it's generally idealized by Poles very often. Just take Helmut Kohl's black accounts, the huge sums he spend/got/moved. Just like Marlon Brando in The Godfather he granted wishes in return for a favor.
Poland is one of the least transparent countries according to foreign consultancies as far as bid competitions are concerned. This is still an issue for 4 or 5 page of Wyborcza or Rzeczpospolita. Regardless of the political affiliation, as you can see. The first are crosses and feces.
Yes, although Germans are less hysterical as Poles. Many of the pleas towards the people by Father Rydzyk, populist politicians etc. simply wouldn't work in Germany. Others though would.
I envy Germany in that matter. Truly. We Poles are easy to polarise and hate each other. Why not divide our country into two according to the results of elections.
Okay, yes. German are very, very concerned about their privacy and private information. My parents for example can't understand why the hell I am on facebook. That's dangerous to them or to my younger brothers too for that matter!
I wonder if there is no corelation between concern over privacy and concern over GM food. For me both issues are well engineered to polarise, and there is very little firm knowledge available on the issues.
No, actually I like the American approach that information should be free, freedom of speech should be universal and knowledge should be shared. But as long as people will tinker with other people's private data there will be an issue and there will be social problems, eg. fake identities, terrorism, cyber-mobbing and such.
US is also a lawyers' country. Once Google is sued for any of the issues enumerated by you, it would be the end of Google.
Jacek K. edytował(a) ten post dnia 18.08.10 o godzinie 14:22
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