Report on genocide in Ukraine
Author: Bill Dutton
Empowering Public Access to Information: Read News Critically but also Source Information
The public are being constantly warned about the risks of fake news and misinformation on social media, the internet, and even some broadcast television outlets and newspapers. Should you abandon social media or only read the elite press or what? My suggestion is to read or view the news critically but don’t rely only on … Continue reading Empowering Public Access to Information: Read News Critically but also Source Information
The Americans are Coming – God Save the UK!
I am an American and have been living in Britain for decades, but my heritage is in the USA, where I was born. I know Americans well and have been joking about the hubris of my fellow citizens from my earliest days in the UK. Inevitably, whenever I meet visitors from the States coming to … Continue reading The Americans are Coming – God Save the UK!
McDonald’s Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine
McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Russia in 1990, after a decade of negotiations. In 2022, in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and after two months of temporarily closing its restaurants, McDonald’s announced the closure of its chain of 850 restaurants employing over sixty-thousand people, saying that remaining in Russia would not be … Continue reading McDonald’s Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine
Rooting for Twitter and Musk
The future of Twitter and of Elon Musk’s ownership of this platform are problematic. That said, it has been clear that Twitter had lost the plot in several respects and could benefit from new ideas and leadership. I’ve used Twitter for over a decade (13 years) and continue to value this platform, such as for … Continue reading Rooting for Twitter and Musk
Raising Awareness of Social Media for Positive Social Change
My colleagues and I involved with the World Internet Project (WIP) are looking for some inspiring initiatives in the use of the internet and social media for effecting positive social change. A thesis by Ms Emilia Askari in the College of Education at Michigan State University alerted me to this potential, and discussions within WIP … Continue reading Raising Awareness of Social Media for Positive Social Change
A Crisis of Incivility
Restoring civility in politics could be central ...
Political Narratives of the Russo-Ukraine War
A rising discussion of political narratives seems to have reached a crescendo in the first months of the David and Goliath Russo-Ukrainian War. The idea of a narrative is an attractive way to help people stay on script, but if you stick with a narrative, surely it must square with the facts. The Russian narrative … Continue reading Political Narratives of the Russo-Ukraine War
Brent Hillyard, 1947-2022
John Brent Hillyard, July 18, 1947 to March 10, 2022 Brent, a month older than me, was my friend throughout grade school and high school in St Joseph. We lost touch after our first years in college around 1970. We reconnected in the last year and the last year of Brent’s life, after I tracked … Continue reading Brent Hillyard, 1947-2022
Deliver Me from Partygate!
At a time when the British public should be laser-focused on Ukraine, recovering from the pandemic, and dealing with inflation and the rising costs of living, they are being led by the press and politicians to be mired in a never ending so-called ‘partygate scandal’. Partygate is a good issue for galvanising the public because … Continue reading Deliver Me from Partygate!