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Mainstreaming podcasts: First the Queen. Now Blair
First the Queen podcasted her Christmas message, and now Tony Blair appears on a podcast interview with actor Stephen Fry. The State of the Union address and the Democrats' response are both available (for free) in iTunes. And presidential hopeful John Edwards even has his own widget. Politics as usual have changed, and the medium for its delivery is moving with the times. In a kind of humorous aside, that doesn't mean Mr. Blair has moved with it. Unlike his colleagues, his famous "red box" does not contain a laptop--instead, he says he plans to learn about computers after leaving Number Ten. TUAW recommends the MacBook Pro.
Bully discussion draw laughs in British parliament
Amid discussion of issues such as the Iraq war and postal service reform on the British parliamentary floor, MP Keith Vaz (Leicester, East) found time yesterday to question prime minister Tony Blair about the the violence found in Bully (known in Britain as Canis Canem Edit). Vaz expressed concerns about scenes of "teachers being head-butted and the aggressive use of baseball bats" and asked the prime minister to convene a meeting with industry stakeholders to discuss the game.In answering the concerns, Blair mentioned he had not yet seen the game, an admission that drew a sustained, ten-second bout of chuckling from the parliamentary audience (Oh those wacky Brits). Blair went on to say he appreciated Vaz's concerns and that "the video games industry, or at least a substantial section of it, has made significant advances over the past few years," in addressing such issues.This is not the first time Vaz has raised concerns over Bully. Back in December 2005, the MP called for the game to be banned after reading a preview on Rockstar's web site. Vaz has also pushed for legislation requiring larger rating labels and direct government regulation of the industry.(Via MCV)Watch - Video of the exchange (jump to time index 46:38)Read - Transcript of the exchange
