| Making information free |
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| I couldn't access Wikipedia today. The English-language site blacked itself out for a day, to make a point to the US Congress, which is currently debating intellectual property and intellectual piracy. Wikipedia wants a world where information is free. So does Julian Assange. Who wouldn't? |
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| Well, quite a lot of us, it seems. The Leveson inquiry on the behaviour of the press in the UK raises exactly these questions. We can leave aside the inflated view that the press has of itself. 'If the state holds the press to account, who will hold the state to account?' was the question of one editor yesterday, to which the answer has to be, in a democracy, it's the voters, chum. |
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| But we are still left with that awkward space between the freedom of the press (hooray) and my personal freedom (hooray); the task of holding public figures to account (hooray) and the task of those same public figures to carry out their difficult duties in a complex world (hear, hear). |
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| Read on and comment |
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| Resolve and resolutions |
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| Once again it is the time of year when people make resolutions. The most popular topics to make resolutions about are fitness and food. 'Must exercise more, must eat less.' |
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| We can be changed and goaded into doing new things by our resolutions. Perhaps an exorbitant gym membership fee will be paid out. Perhaps a diet plan will be sketched on the back of an envelope. Christians may add resolutions about church attendance, prayer and Bible reading. For many years I have spent some time at the end of a year pondering my personal devotions and making resolutions to improve! |
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| There is something about the flipping of a calendar year from December to January which makes us feel it is time for change. Self-assessment. Critique. Improvement. Review. The making of new year’s resolutions. |
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| Read on and comment |
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