My favourite tools of 2007 and the biggest tool of 2007

My favourite tools of 2007:
Twitter – if you don’t get it, you don’t have enough contacts or you’re not asking the right questions
Akismet – oh how I love you. Akismet has caught 23,003 spam for me since I first installed it.
WordPress – a bit neglected this year, but a favourite none the less

But the biggest tool of 2007 is Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister of the Digital Economy, who has wrapped up 2007 by announcing mandatory internet filters, which will be opt-out only.

“Labor makes no apologies to those that argue that any regulation of the internet is like going down the Chinese road,” he said. “If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd-Labor Government is going to disagree.”

Filtering the internet isn’t democratic.

In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 19 affirms the right to free speech:

Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Is a filtered internet what you want for your kids? Unable to research breast cancer, religion, censorship, politics and missing out on news such as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s visit to a strip club.

The Librarians are asking, who is in charge of the filter? What is being filtered? Why no announcements on government websites?

All of this at a time when any child can easily subscribe to hard core porn via SMS, great job Conroy! Way to protect the children.

Would you like a peanut or a pistachio? That sounds rather like an election choice

This post is titled in honor of one of my favourite cartoons, by Michael Leunig.

This year, the election will be a little different. Online media is going to have a stronger role than it has in the past. Politicians have been keen to try new ways of campaigning and even the political coverage is changing to meet the needs of the online generation. However, the tools have changed somewhat, but the policies are all pretty much in the dark ages.

The Australian Federal Election will be held on the 24th of November 2007.

Peanut
Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal’s YouTube Channel
John Howard’s opening speech – Right Leadership (transcript)

Pistachio
Kevin07
Labor’s YouTube Channel
[Waiting for Kevin Rudd's speech to be uploaded - New leadership doesn't including fast updates for the public] – [transcript when available]

Mixed Nuts
FederalElection.com.au – MyElectorate, Hot Issues, Rolling Debate, Blogs
Google’s Election 2007 – Follow Australian politics with Google’s map, videos, gadgets & more
For the Nut Intolerant
Leadership seems to be a key topic for this election, so here are some videos from thought leaders on the subject.
Dr Peter Ellyard – Futurist
Al Gore on Leadership in Global Warming
Barack Obama: Leadership On Energy

“The truth is, we can’t afford to let the same old politics stand in the way of our future anymore.“