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The British Labour Party shows it's not techno-shy by offering discounted email accounts to its members. While you can't actually join the ranks online, because it needs your signature, you can order the neccessary form or print one from this page. Keep up with who's who in the party, meetings and parlimentary proceedings as well as the party's electoral progress.
Dullard Times with News on how Sparky's New World War on terrorism is regressing. Political commentary from the satirical to the deadly serious.
Pitched broadly in the leftish/liberal human rights field and green environmental camp, WebActive is a weekly publication dedicated to supporting 'progressive activists' and providing a sort of home base for a like-minded online coalition. Many of the featured campaigns focus on events in America federal budgets, Net censorship, pleas for pardon on Death Row and the like, but it's another node on the global goodwill network so make a note of it just in case.
These are the times that try mens' souls"" could apply equally well to using the Internet after lunch as a comment on US independence. It was coined in the 18th century by the radical Thomas Paine, whose life story can be found on the mainly historical site 'Paine In The Net'. Puns like that were probably outlawed in his day, as was he from Dear Old Blighty for daring to suggest that the monarchy should be abolished. But he'd no doubt be intrigued to see his best quotes online together with features on the bridge he never built and the mysterious fate of his bones.
Home page for the hard pressed individuals who scrap with politicians over students' lack of cash, cheap beer and non-existent housing rights. Mugshots of who's who in the National Executive (uh oh, serial killer alert!) with campaign updates, welfare information, big Ents bashes and useful addresses and contacts still to come.
As a preface to these pages the compiler, David Delaney, writes a disclaimer stating that some of the information might be inaccurate. A little ironic given that he's attempting to untangle some of the nonsense enshrined in some areas of EC legislation from all the other bits of misinformation and Euro-claptrap. That aside, some of David's Eurofollies provoke more laughter than outrage and out of context it's kind of hard to judge how silly they are. He also explodes a few Euromyths but this one is true: according to the EEC, carrots should be referred to as fruit.
Hey! This is a great way to get around the fact that cartoon strips on the Net rarely give the quick hit, skim reading chuckle that you get off the page. A Doonesbury Web site that barely mentions Gary Trudeau's amusingly dour, hippied-up political strip? The site sets itself up as being about politics with Doonesbury attitude. The characters are hanging around rather morosely to introduce the daily campaign briefing (it being 96), the chat hall, the Get Involved! environmental section and the Flashback thing. Once things get swinging it'll probably be a bit more Gavin Esler and Guardian readerish.
Old red eyes is back with animated versions of the controversial New Labour, New Danger ad campaigns which pilloried Tony Blair as a demon and caused the Conservative Party to in turn be pilloried for its dirty tactics approach. The two versions show a hooded red-eyed figure snatch away the earnings of a middle England family Tory voting family while a smiling, benign John Major looks on greyly. If that's not enthralling enough it's laughs-a-plenty with links to a speech from June this year whereby John Major pontificates on 'The State of the British Constitution' while links to the official Conservative Party home page reveal even bigger guffaws with a series of Tory Party jokes. Speaking of which, Michael Howard has got one about three opposing party MP's passing an injured man in the street. If the eyes don't get you then Howard's witticisms will. Must be the way he tells them.
Link | www.conservative-party.org.uk
Slick Willie's Web page looks like it's had a fortune spend on it and the 'Paid for by Clinton/Gore '96 Primary Committee, Inc.' line just about sums it up. This is Web design at its peak with literally all the latest bells and whistles - and not much depth. Clinton and Gore look like storming the next US election but I'm sure it's the downloadable screensaver that's going to clinch it. What's the betting that none of the UK parties will have anything even close to this come our election?
Comrades, comrades welcome to Congress House. This is an uncomplicated document which untangles current labour and trade union issues, going behind the scenes to the administrative heart of an organisation notorious for its bluff shouty principles and, sadly, increasing irrelevance. However, don't be deterred. The pages offer an insight into what actually goes on in the heady world of workplace politics. Amongst the press releases, reports, campaigns and briefings you'll find a useful interpretation of the job seeker's allowance, as well as contact information for all the TUC's affiliates and details of training for union officials.
Visitors to Support Peace in Northern Ireland are requested to sign a petition against violence in the North and to collect a Support Peace in Northern Ireland badge for inclusion on their own Web site. A very general but desperate plea, relevant as of three minutes past 7pm on Friday 9 February when the Canary Wharf bomb signalled the end of the ceasefire.
If in the 80s it was TV that transformed political campaigning, then these people are convinced that in the 90s it is the Internet's turn. Their aim is to provide a non-partisan meeting place for debating the political process. Special reports on Congress, presidential candidature and Ross Perot are exceptionally well written a serious contender for top political publication.
Weh-hey, once you've checked how much the U.S. Government allocates to everybody, go and check the National Debt. Calculates how much the individual citizen owes.
Hours of anarchic fun can be had with the Statewatch database. It holds material on policing, civil defence arrangements, the military, immigration, Northern Ireland, prisons and even the secret services. Collated from thousands of articles, journals, reports, newspapers, Hansard written answers etc. it's easily searchable and a great way of compiling political research. Thank goodness somebody's paying attention.
'If you think virtual reality is interesting, try reality' says Amnesty International, global crusaders for human rights. Discover how you can help in its battles against militant regimes and injustice.
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