"Technology and the internet are now woven into the fabric of our society. However, we cannot ignore the fact that those who are socially excluded are much less likely to have access to and to benefit from technology. We came up with the following mission statement: To coordinate policies and a coherent strategy that all citizens, especially the disadvantaged, can benefit from new technologies." - Paul Murphy, the minister for digital inclusion says efforts have to be made to get all UK citizens online.

UK Government Wants to Get All Citizens Online; Sets Agenda

Obama's campaign has taken in an unprecedented $226 million, most of it contributed online. His donor base is larger than the one the Democratic National Committee had for the 2000 election.

These are hardly political fat cats. Ninety percent of his donors give $100 or less, and 41 percent have given $25 or less, according to the Obama campaign. Overall, he has raised 45 percent of his money in small contributions. Hillary Rodham Clinton's figure is 30 percent, Republican John McCain's is 23 percent.

The People in Obama's Army of Small Donors

Clinton Extends Fundraising Arm to Internet
(The Kansas City Star) Running out of high-dollar donors, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is stepping up its Internet appeals in hopes of attracting enough contributions to keep afloat financially in the last stretch of Democratic primaries, aides say. As the marathon money chase has strained the limits of traditional campaign fundraising, Clinton aides have sought increasingly to shadow rival Barack Obama's Internet juggernaut that has raised more than $112 million via the Web.
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Critics of Old Guard Take Black Activism Online
(Washington Post) A growing cadre of young black activists is using the Internet in an attempt to eclipse traditional civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and hit the refresh button on the civil rights movement. Bloggers with names such as the Cruel Secretary, and blogs called What About Our Daughters? and the African American Political Pundit, have railed against groups in the "black-o-sphere," saying they do not understand young black Americans, are behind the times and react too slowly to incidents involving the younger generation.
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Sen. Clinton's Office Changes Funding Request Web Page
(The Hill) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D- N.Y.) office changed its website page on funding requests Tuesday after attracting criticism for seeking more than $2 billion in special projects. After reviewing the senator's website and consulting Clinton's office, The Hill reported on Tuesday that Clinton asked for nearly $2.3 billion in earmarks. But Clinton is now dividing the requests into two categories and two Web pages.
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Unique to '08: Superdelegates, Internet
(DallasNews) Presidential superdelegates have gone unnoticed by the general public for decades, mostly a blip on the screen of Democratic nominations that are decided long before the 795 party stalwarts enter the picture to cast their largely ceremonial votes. But their sudden status as the deciders in an election year marked by historic online organizing finds them the target of a cadre of virtual pesterers who lean on them from cyberspace.
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Tom Hanks endorses Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States of America.

Zimbabwe: New Technologies in Fight for Democracy
(Reuters) In countries such as Zimbabwe where media and political freedom is extremely restricted, new technologies have become powerful tools for political campaigning, communication, advocacy and mobilisation. Bloggers and civic organisations have resorted to using new tools and applications such as Flickr, Facebook, SMS text messages, YouTube and mashups to fight for democracy, media freedom and good governance.
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IT Experts Discuss Narrowing Digital Divide in Africa
(allAfrica.com) About 400 delegates from 33 countries are meeting in Windhoek to discuss how to use information and communication technology (ICT) to advance socio-economic development in Africa through open and freely available software, e-learning, and using ICT for environmental risk management.
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Blog On Labour...
(icWales) Labour will respond to the worst poll results in a generation with a determined drive to win new supporters on the internet. The party once recruited in union halls and town squares - now Labour is seeking to connect with the electorate on Facebook. Wales' largest party has launched an internet "portal" which harnesses some of the world's most popular social networking sites.
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Egyptian Political Dissent Unites Through Facebook
(WSJ) Facebook here has evolved into more than just a social-networking Web site: It is one of the latest tools for political dissent in Egypt. Activists using Facebook spearheaded a call for a day of nationwide strikes Sunday to protest price increases, coinciding with President Hosni Mubarak's 80th birthday. Their efforts got a boost when the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that is the main political challenger of the government, backed the call, saying the strike promotes peaceful opposition.
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Young Video Makers Try to Alter Islam's Face
(NYTimes) When Ali Ardekani started fishing around on the Internet a couple of years ago for video blogs about Muslims, he did not like what he found: either the world's 1.3 billion Muslims were depicted as bloodthirsty zealots, or they were offering defensive explanations as to why they were not.
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Location: Danube University Krems, Austria
Date: 29-30 September 2008
Event Details: We are looking for contributions on all areas and levels of electronic democracy and participation systems, precedence will be given to those contributions which include national and/or international experiences. Concrete projects can also be submitted, and, if accepted, would be presented as examples of *hands- on* demonstrations of E-Democracy and E- Participation.

*To what extent can E- Democracy support and enrich our democracy?
*What and where are the interfaces, what methods can be used to integrate E-participation in present politics public administration processes?
*How can we ensure that the greatest number of people are reached and are able to use the means of participation?
*How can the modern media support political education?
*How can the Internet increase participation in political discussion?
*What are the limitations and the risks of E- Democracy?

Click here for further information and to submit Papers
Contact: noella.edelmann@donau-uni.ac.at

Location: Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Event Details: The AAPC will be hosting a training event for political consultants, public affairs pros, issue advocates, lobbyists, and youth activists. The nation's leading strategists will reveal the secrets of online advertising, micro-targeting, mobile marketing, and other emerging technologies. Got a question? Here's your chance to ask the experts. Please visit www.aapc.org for program details and sponsorship opportunities.

The focus of the Weekly Netpulse is to report on how technology is affecting politics, but since one of our local boys, Chris Lamb in Charleston SC, came out with his new book, I'll be Sober in the Morning, filled with political putdowns, comebacks and ripostes, we haven't been able to put it down.

In the fifth century BC, Alcibiades debated his uncle, the Greek orator Pericles. "When I was your age, Alcibiades, I talked just the way you are now talking," Pericles said. "If only I had known you, Pericles," his nephew said, "when you were at your best."

Buy it on Amazon.com for 15 bucks.