The Wardman Wire

Reflections and Meditations

The New York Times has an interactive map of Olympic Medal History, which is really very nifty, however…

A weekly roundup of publications, reports, events & articles from the leading UK think tanks.
On the assumption that most people who read this are as sad and nerdy about politics as I am this week’s ‘must read’ item is ‘Taming Leviathan’ from IEA, more details below. Other than that enjoy and as ever please flag [...]

There’s an interesting conversation about the difficulty of creating community online at adam Tinworth’s blog, and what the word means. The article is about “Why Media Gets Community Wrong”. Adam is in a good position to comment, since he is responsible for a number of blogs on behalf of Reed Business Information.

This bears on the continuing conversation about campaigning coalitions of bloggers at Liberal Conspiracy, here and also elsewhere.

Adam comments about one of the possible reasons why some people in the media don’t “get” blogging:

Most media people don’t realise that blogging is a community strategy. They think of it as a publishing process and, perhaps, as articles published with a particular tone of voice. They certainly don’t think of it as a conversation.

This is a piccolo plug for an article appearing on Thursday.
Last week The Thunderdragon defended of the First Past the Post electoral system.
This week’s “We The People” Thursday column at the Wardman Wire, will - in reply - be a conterpoint arguing in favour of Proportional Representation by Lewis Baston of the Electoral Reform [...]

During my holidays in late August I have had a number of Guest Bloggers posting over at my political blog The Wardman Wire .

I have posted my initial reflections on the Pros and Cons of Guest Bloggers over at Ars Politica.

To find what they have been writing about, look at the Wardman Wire archives for 27 August through to around September 5th.

The BBC is this morning reporting on Owen Oyston’s attendance at a Political Fundraiser:

A convicted rapist attended a fundraising evening for the Labour Party held by Gordon Brown, the BBC’s Newsnight programme has revealed.

Tycoon Owen Oyston, convicted in 1996 for raping a 16-year-old girl, is understood to have paid £10,000 for a table at the Wembley Stadium event.

The prime minister has asked party officials to investigate and said no money should be accepted from him.

It seems to me that convicted criminals have either served their pumishment, or they have not; and we either believe in rehabilitation, or we do not.