regulation
Interview with Matt Baggott: his view on PSNI transformation, confidence in policing, over-regulation, vocation & faith
Tweet We usually hear public figures speaking in sound bites. At most ten minute interviews about some topic of the day. We rarely get to listen in as they explain what motivates them to do their job and reflect on their rationale or approach. The PSNI Chief Constable has been given advice on what he [...] more »
“Regulation of the internet is not an issue that falls within my responsibility or, indeed, that of any part of our devolved Executive.”
Tweet For which, I think, we should be very grateful indeed. Not that such constitutional technicalities prevented MLAs, of all parties, from enthusiastically debating a Sinn Féin motion last week calling for the Northern Ireland Justice Minister “to explore the introduction of better regulation of [social networking websites]“. Here’s Newton Emerson’s response in Saturday’s Irish News [...] more »
Coming to terms with the Internet will not entail switching it off, but facing and evaluating fears
Tweet Gavan Titley has it about right. Moral panic is about the best way to describe the latest outbreak of social media bashing in the Republic. The first political party in the south to take to the business of engaging online was Labour, as this report from Damien Mulley outlines. The first Twitter storm I [...] more »
RTÉ Prime Time Investigates is dead. But what happens next?
Tweet Okay, so RTÉ Prime Time Investigates is dead ahead of a critical report due to publish from the BAI tomorrow… On Tuesday night, Vincent Browne brought together a first rate panel to discuss the wider issues flowing from the mater… The discussion here falls roughly into two parts. The broken system of journalistic checks [...] more »
“Come back John Wilkes. Your work is about to be undone. Politicians are losing the plot.”
Tweet Well, some politicians. Specifically, the Labour Party’s shadow culture secretary, Ivan Lewis, MP, who is calling for suggesting a register of professional journalists. So they can be “struck off” if they transgress. As Roy Greenslade comments Lewis and the cheering delegates in Liverpool need to understand the danger of their position. Look at the [...] more »
Sky News deal ignores the problem of Monopolies
Tweet So Mr Murdoch got his way. Not because of any favouritism on the part of the new government, but, according to the FT anyway, because current regulatory frameworks are inadequate for protecting plurality in the new market in the UK: …the bigger issue is that such constraints simply miss the point. They do not [...] more »
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes (after they retire)?
Tweet Nassim Taleb has a thought provoking blog on the subject of gamekeepers turned poachers at the Huffington Post. Specifically he deals with regulators who use their in-depth knowledge of government regulations to secure extremely well paid employment, helping firms sail as close to the regulatory wind as possible, upon leaving public service. At Davos [...] more »
After Ireland’s reckless “if-I-have-it-I’ll-spend-it decade”…
Tweet There seems to be a sustained counterattack on Irish Labour at the moment, usually framed as a question: ‘what would you do instead?’ That was the predominant line of questioning of Pat Rabbitte on Morning Ireland this am… Although you can see from Noel Whelan’s column on Saturday that whilst Labour may have many [...] more »
Irish MEP: Facebook makes you mad, so let’s have a law against it…
Tweet Of all the political parties in the south, Labour is one of the ones which ‘gets’ t’Internet most. But I wonder if Labour MEP Nessa Childers‘ question seeking a written answer in the European Parliament ever saw the desk of leader Eamon Gilmore? There is certainly no sign of it on her blog. Adds: [...] more »
-
Books
-
Christopher Hitchens, 1949 – 2011
Tweet Writer Christopher Hitchens has died aged 62. He was as contrary as he was brilliant. Here is a brief In Memoriam from Vanity Fair (his outlet of choice since 1992) and, here, a longer tribute from his friend Christopher Buckley Stanley in The New Yorker. Better, perhaps, though to post one of Hitchens’ own writings [...] read our review »
-
The Written World
Tweet Here’s something to keep you occupied over the weekend. [Will there be a quiz? - Ed] Possibly… The BBC magazine has an short and interesting, but un-embeddable, audio slide-show of Melvyn Bragg’s Radio 4 five-parter, In Our Time: The Written World. The British Library has more online information about the texts and technology featured in [...] read our review » -
The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman) – an insight into a newspaper that’s maybe not so fictional
Tweet ‘news’ is often a polite way of saying ‘editor’s whim’ Given the shift from print to online and e-ink, maybe Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists was a suitable first first book for me to finish reading on the Kindle. Considering the economic pressures on the newspaper industry, his novel perhaps captures the spirit and soul [...] read our review »
-