[ßü††|맧]

I knew the European Union was a bad idea.

SiliconRepublic.com: EU MEP calls for blogger registry - New Media


In order to trust bloggers’ views on a particular issue they should be rated for ‘authenticity’, said European Parliament member, Marianne Mikko in a report which recommends the European Commission and EU member states regulate the media through competition law. Mikko’s report suggested the legal status of blog authors be ascertained, along with full disclosure of their intentions or interests which could compromise the blog’s objectivity.
The MEP also called for voluntary labelling of blogs by their authors, although what outcome Mikko expects from this initiative is uncertain. Does she want people to tag the blog with elements like age, sex, location, employment status, education or political leanings?
This would not be considered as being in line with print media standards by most, although Mikko seems to think it is.
In an interview with the EU Observer the MEP said: “The Economist is a valuable brand, its articles are trusted by readers without contributors having to reveal their names.
“If there is a way to validate the best bloggers in the same way that publishing in The Economist validates its writers, it should be done.”
While Mikko said the EU would not need to know the ‘exact’ identity of the blogger, she seems to think the blogosphere operates in the same way as print media.
Print media might supply validation in the form of individuals writing for a company and in turn being vetted by it, but of course print media also pays its contributors.
Most bloggers write in their spare time on their own dime purely out of interest in or passion for a particular topic.
What Mikko wants is validation of expertise. She asked why a “radical high-school student from Gaza” should be taken as seriously as a Harvard professor on the topic of the Middle East peace process.
This journalist thinks she misses the point of the blogosphere entirely. Has Mikko ever read the Baghdad Blog?
“We need some credentials, a quality mark, a certain disclosure of who is writing and why. We need this to be able to trust and rely on the source,” she said to the EU Observer.
By Marie Boran

[AnnonUSA]

Yes cause the need for Authentic Blogging is paramount to propaganda release....

When the EU implodes it will be interesting to watch....

[elroypornlab]

Blah blah blah

[TheBagman]

This kind of reminds me of this....

U.S. Govt.’s $500 Million Diplomatic Effort Fails | Judicial Watch

U.S. Govt.’s $500 Million Diplomatic Effort Fails

Mon, 06/23/2008 - 15:43 — Judicial Watch Blog U.S. taxpayers have spent nearly $500 million on a failed Arab-language television and radio network created to promote a positive image of the United States that has instead bashed America and highlighted Islamic militants.

The Bush Administration’s precious Al Hurra (the free one) Network has been marked by disasters since it was launched four years ago, yet it continues to get major funding from the U.S. government. It was created with tremendous fanfare as a method of reversing hateful, anti-U.S. propaganda that was hampering the administration’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.

It began with a $67 million budget that has steadily increased over the years and nearly doubled for 2009. Lawmakers have continued allocating the money even though Arabic speakers at the State Department, including a top public diplomacy officer, have documented problems in writing. One such memo said that Al Hurra was stocked with radical Shi’a Islamists who favored their political brethren and intimidated members of other parties.

Besides trashing the U.S., the network has aired anti-Israeli viewpoints, showcased pro-Iranian policies and given substantial air time to America-bashing terrorists, including a renowned extremist who called for the death of American soldiers in Iraq and the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.

The problems are so rampant that a ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has called for an investigation of the network. In a hard-hitting letter to the committee’s chairman, the veteran congresswoman points out that Al Hurra has indulged in the same incitement that it was intended to counter.

The letter lists several instances in which the network aired reports intended to incite U.S. opposition, including videos that advocate assassinating President George W. Bush, drowning Jewish people in “Arab spit” and scenes of Islamists leading chants of “death to America.”

[AnnonUSA]

Our Tax dollars at Work, er, Waste.... Thanks to the Bush administration and it's biggest supporters, the Congress and Senate...