From Twitter trolling to SLAPP suits and RTE Objectivity
Chris Andrews of Sinn Féin is one of the currently sitting TDs for the constituency of Dublin Bay South.
While Chris still holds the seat for another week and may win it again, his web site domain name ChrisAndrews.ie lapsed at some point. The alternative domain name, ChrisAndrews.com appears to be in the hands of anonymous cybersquatters. He had the opportunity to renew the domain ChrisAndrews.ie but rival candidate Daniel Pocock was faster. Pocock has made a clean sweep of domains relating to competitors from the major parties.
Sinn Féin is by far the most well known name in Irish politics outside of Ireland and this web site will treat them with the respect they deserve.
Andrews is no stranger to the world of online publications. He was previously a member of Fianna Fáil and left that party during a controversy about secret Twitter accounts used to criticize his colleagues. In open source / Free Software terminology people would say that Andrews was breaking the Code of Conduct. Nonetheless, there is a big difference between free software organizations and political parties. In free software organizations, we have a commitment to transparency while political parties normally put winning elections ahead of transparency. Without winning elections, there is no point for the party to exist, you could just go down the pub and joke about politics with your friends.
The Sunday Independent ran a story Sting op exposes Andrews over FF Twitter rants.
We can see Andrews' former web site here.
The name Sinn Féin literally translates to "Ourselves", it is an unambiguous reference to sovereignty so it is disappointing to see that the party functions through social control media where they are giving up their autonomy to algorithms and artificial intelligence.
When our political parties give up their autonomy to social control media, our nation also loses its autonomy.
Chris is 60 years old and lived in Dublin his whole life. Some of his ancestors and cousins have also held public office. He is very well connected here, so why does he need social control media at all?
Daniel Pocock is the only candidate running without social control media accounts.
This week there has been controversy and mixed reactions to Sinn Féin's policy announcement to have external experts review the objectivity of national broadcaster RTE. Some people feel it is tantamount to political interference while others feel it is necessary to ensure that political agendas don't exist in the organization. Yet social control media is actually a far bigger risk than any blunders at RTE. RTE to Facebook is like a mosquito on a crocodile.
Sinn Féin is a democratic socialist party. It is important for such parties to ask if there is no other service to the community that could be more valuable than the financial and environmental cost of erecting election posters.
Daniel Pocock supports the abolition of election posters in future elections.
The two main questions people ask Mr Pocock when he is canvassing are "are you related to the rugby player, Senator David Pocock?" and ...
you asked: "when are the posters coming down?"
Vast sums of public money are wasted on these posters.
If they spend so much public money and volunteer time on erecting these posters, why didn't they even bother to put a website address on them?
If the functioning of the Sinn Féin organization is so tightly intertwined with social control media, how can they set an example for children to turn off their phones? Leadership often comes down to very simple questions like that.
Voters have a choice. If you would like to vote for a professional who can think about the things that mainstream candidates overlook, if you care about how artificial intelligence will impact everything from your income to our Irish identity, Vote [1] DANIEL POCOCK and remember to follow Daniel Pocock's blog at DanielPOCOCK.com
