Computing Edge

Giving a reason to fight
Computing can have a significant impact on the development of international crises. Not a day passes these days without some news about a conflict erupting in any given number of problematic areas in the world. Unfortunately there are times it appears to have a very biased mainstream media that never reports what happens.

Biased media only report what they would like us to hear depending on who runs which empire. The irksome tabloid who is literally running the age-old main stream print media is probably a prime example of how people are not receiving actual news but the political prejudices of media magnates.

These are serious matters because they can affect the response of the local community to both the conflict and the attempts to diffuse the conflict. Everyone knows about the Middle East conflict. Opinion has been sharply divided and you can be convinced either way depending on which television channel that you watch.

Having been fed full of propaganda and lies, it them becomes our responsibility to transfer our decisions into votes.  That is why one of the greatest nations on earth voted one of the thickest presidents ever who caused untold damage to the world. It is only recently that we are trying to get relief from some of his disastrous policies.

The impact of information technology on the political process
Imagine if computing allowed the voters to check information for them, to see what is happening on the ground and to make a final judgment for themselves. We would then be free of the shameless politicking and manipulation that occurs before an election.

At least people will be making independent electoral decisions that depend on their ability to examine information. This would be a welcome relief from some of the laughable results that we are getting in elections when every two bit politician can lay his or her way into high office.

Computing could have a transformative effect on the way that we deal with politics. Our politics at the moment is received rather than created. The ordinary person is removed from the political process and globalization has only served to emphasize this reality.

The decisions that you make in voting for your local councilor will mean absolutely nothing if the commissioner at the European Union can overturn any decision at the stroke of a hand. Without the shining influence of modern technology such as computing, political power will continue to drain away from the public into the seasoned politicians’ hands.

Some people may argue that it is superfluous for a simple piece of equipment such as a personal computer to have such wide ranging influence. I would disagree with them on the basis that the computer is not about the size that it carries but the influence that it can garner.

Imagine if we were allowed to make up our own minds about the Middle East and consequently vote accordingly, perhaps the invasion of foreign countries would no longer be an issue. I always believe that computing empowers people and once people are empowered, they take ownership of the political process. That is probably what the Greeks were thinking about when they introduced democracy centuries ago.