Dr. Ndemo, All I agree it is a very thin line that we have to strive to balance on. ICT is and should be cross cutting into socio-economic and political spheres. But the way I see it is for the list is as follows: 1. Pure Politcs: "Why its wrong for Kenya to Pacify Bashir": then followed by discussions for and against the move to pacify Bashir. Many vibrant lists exist for this type of conversations e.g http://www.mashada.com/ 2. ICTs and Politics "How Media is (mis?)leading the Masses in the Bashir Case": then followed by discussions on how this could be propagated or curtailed using new media?(FB, Twitter, etc). Obviously this is the "boring" option but it is what KICTAnet is/was about ref: http://www.kictanet.or.ke/ I could be wrong but option 2 is they way I have always viewed this list. Another example. 1. Pure Ranting. "No Fuel, No Electricity, No Water". Again, many lists exists elsewhere to ventilate on this. Indeed I have quite ventilated on this on my twitter handle @jwalu. But have a look at point 2 below 2. ICTS and Fuel, Electricity, Water, -What ICT tools exists to prevent persistent shortages in Fuel, Power, Water etc? Obviously this again is probably the "boring" option but closer to the KICTAnet mission http://www.kictanet.or.ke/ But that was the thinking 8yrs ago, maybe what Listers are saying is that they want this to change and hey, I cannot stop that since it is about democracy and what the majority want. But I can remind you that this list is both local and international and unless contributors seek to bring out the ICT connection, quite a bit of Listers are likely to seek a way out. walu. --- On Wed, 12/7/11, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Why It's Wrong For Kenya To Try Pac ifying Angry Bashir-offtopic? To: "Walubengo J" <[email protected]>, [email protected] Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 10:41 AM Walubengo, Yesterday we spent a great deal of time discussing how technology will impact governance in the days a head. We heard arguments from leading social scientists, economists, politicians and journalists. Then in my break I read your post on refocusing our discussions around IT issues. I have spent the night reflecting on this and now I am a bit confused. What do we mean when we say ICT is cross cutting? What is content in ICT terms? Can we use ICT as a tool for development? And what is development? Ndemo. Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: Walubengo J <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected]: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 07:23:49 To: <[email protected]> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<[email protected]> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Why It's Wrong For Kenya To Try Pac ifying Angry Bashir-offtopic? _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.