Politics

Like many I spent this past Superb Owl weekend watching the political thriller House of Cards rather than Beyonce or Football. The Netflix remake of the BBC adaptation of the Michael Dobbs novel is fantastic, and as it turns out, tailored to me, my friends, and our interests.

Netflix is a company driven by big data. Their service is dependent upon customization and recommendations so as to keep us watching shows that are usually old and somewhat stale.

House of Cards, while somewhat old, is actually entirely new, at least when it comes to television production. As noted by Andrew Leonard writing for Salon:

No, we didn't play basketball, but I did have the opportunity to sit down with CBC's Chief Correspondent, Peter Mansbridge, to talk technology, privacy, and politics.

Peter wanted to start by looking at what is up with Research in Motion, and whether they can and in fact are turning things around. The only way to answer that is to also look at Apple and Google. From there we got into Facebook, social media, and the broader question of privacy.

I tried to synthesize the issue of privacy down to the importance of the secret ballot as a pillar of our democracy. How the more we share, the more we become vulnerable to political identification and manipulation. This seemed to catch Peter's attention, as he understands just what's at stake when it comes to who rules and why.

In a society that is corrupt, cheaters are fueled by a sense of righteousness. Driving on the 401 near Brockville, listening to NPR, this is what I hear Daniel Coyle say, reacting to Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah.

It's a fantastic insight as to why someone like Lance would not only cheat, but continue to do everything he can to deny that it is cheating.

It also speaks to the larger culture, and the impact that sensational cheaters have, given the attention and spectacle that surrounds their rise and fall.

The righteousness arises from the perception, that not only is everyone else cheating, but that by cheating more, you're beating the cheaters at their own game.

The 2012 Keith Davey Forum on Public Affairs, moderated by Steve Paikin and featuring Lee Rainie and myself, was held on October 17th 2012 at the Isabel Bader Theatre at Victory University at the University of Toronto.

We addressed the question, Is Social Media Good for Democracy? Neither of us answered a complete yes or no, but instead offered nuanced answers that encourage both cautious optimism and chilling alarm.

The discussion overall was far reaching, and fascinating. In particular it was a treat to spend time with Lee Rainie who is the Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit, non–partisan “fact tank” that studies the social impact of the internet. Lee is also a co-author – with a close friend of mine and University of Toronto sociologist Barry Wellman – of Networked: The new social operating system, which was released in 2012.

I find it rather sad that many in the mainstream media believe that trolling will be eliminated if Anonymity is not possible. It's not only a belief based in ignorance, but also a reflection of a bias that leads them to believe that their personal and professional experience is universal.

It's partly a reflection of the culture of comments on mainstream media sites. The vast majority of which have a horrific comment culture in which trolls haunt their sites and terrorize journalists and users alike.

Explicitly this has come up over #IdleNoMore coverage as the racists and xenophobes have been out in force to denounce attempts by Canadians to stand up for treaty rights and the environment.

Health Mallick writing in the Star seems to argue that the only reason the racist comments are there is because the posters are able to hide their identity. She asserts this as a reason why real names should be a requirement for posting online. (While I agree with her the racist comments are deplorable, I don't agree they would stop if the racists had to post under their own name).

Google and Facebook feel this way as well. Though I suspect their reason is less one of online civility and instead part of their business plan and pursuit of profit. They want real names so they can connect your interests, friends, and online activity.

The US Government just narrowly avoided a fiscal cliff, which would have quite likely tipped their economy into a recession, dragging down much of the world with them.

The metaphor of the "cliff" is appropriate, as it conveys how fragile the US economy is, and how there is a sense that it is teetering near the brink. Further, the cliff is not going away, US politics in the first part of 2013 will be dominated by similar debates.

What characterizes these discussions, is the growing division that exists in the United States between left and right, between Obama Democrats and Tea Party Republicans. In particular their insularity, and their further retreat into ideologically induced insanity.