Why is there a picture of Al Gore in the icon of "The Internet" project? Is he a part of the project with ARPANET or did he said something about the internet that is important or is he in the picture because one of the game arts designers thinks he's handsome enough to be in the icon?
He also contributes to global warming in his own unique way - with most of his utterances being more or less hot air.
The internet was developed over a long period of time, but the initial development was I believe British - however American investment probably helped it along and Al was in a situation where he could assist (I assume) with funding and promotion.
I know about ARPAnet/US Defense involvement but...
From Wiki...
"Although the basic applications and guidelines that make the Internet possible had existed for almost a decade, the network did not gain a public face until the 1990s. On 6 August 1991, CERN, which straddles the border between France and Switzerland, publicized the new World Wide Web project. The Web was invented by English scientist Tim Berners-Lee in 1989."
(I stand corrected about the British involvement but I knew we had something to do with it somewhere.)
I'm pretty sure its a joke by the civ 4 creators since Al Gore made the dubious statement that he invented the internet, although he did help pass legislation to get the ball rolling.
Al Gore is just another politician in a long line of politicians that have had their accomplishments twisted against them by spin (See also John Kerry, his Purple Heart, and the Swift boat Veterans) (See also John McCain and his POW experience during the 2000 Primaries).
Quite simply, Al Gore was a politician that saw the potential of the Internet earlier than most others and used his power as a United States Senator to foster its growth. Al Gore never said "I invented the Internet"; that quote was the result of a Conservative columnist twisting and distorting his words. The fact that the quote still survives to this day speaks to just how effective this particular piece of distortion was. The fact that "I invented the Internet" is in the game probably has more to do with the designers sense of humor than any sort of political affiliation. Notice that Dan Quayle (a Republican politician) gets mocked as well with the quote "The future will be a brighter tomorrow".
TBH, I really hate memes like "I invented the Internet" because it lowers the level of political discourse in America. Instead of discussing policies and such Americans walk around going "DUR! STUPID AL GORE THINKS HE INVENTED THE INTERNET! DUR DUR!" or "DUR! DUR! STUPID QUAYLE CAN'T SPELL "POTATO"! DUR!" or "DUR! DUR! THAT STUPID GEORGE W. CAN'T PRONOUNCE STUFF! DUR!"
TBH, I really hate memes like "I invented the Internet" because it lowers the level of political discourse in America. Instead of discussing policies and such Americans walk around going "DUR! STUPID AL GORE THINKS HE INVENTED THE INTERNET! DUR DUR!" or "DUR! DUR! STUPID QUAYLE CAN'T SPELL "POTATO"! DUR!" or "DUR! DUR! THAT STUPID GEORGE W. CAN'T PRONOUNCE STUFF! DUR!"
Hey, making fun of our politicans is the great american passtime. There is also an awesome youtube that splices Hillary Clinton's gaffe about gunfire in Bosnia with Call for Duty 4 that I found quite amusing.
TBH, I really hate memes like "I invented the Internet" because it lowers the level of political discourse in America. Instead of discussing policies and such Americans walk around going "DUR! STUPID AL GORE THINKS HE INVENTED THE INTERNET! DUR DUR!" or "DUR! DUR! STUPID QUAYLE CAN'T SPELL "POTATO"! DUR!" or "DUR! DUR! THAT STUPID GEORGE W. CAN'T PRONOUNCE STUFF! DUR!"
If you think the level of political discourse is low in the US, you are welcome to come to Britain and observe ours for a month or two to see how low you can really sink. Since the NYT came out for Hillary despite Barack being ahead I have had more respect for the American press being able to see clearer strategically than for ours.
True, most of the stuff attributed to Bush was actually Quayle's idiocy. But you still can't get around the fact that there is documentary evidence of the "potatoe" incident, nor around the multitude of times Bush has messed up on camera. If Al Gore's statement was twisted by a "conservative" journalist then so what? What is apparent is he was trying to take the credit for something which happened independent of government and the journalist is reading between the lines. As someone who has participated in politics at a national and local level, I can tell you most people are more intelligent than that anyway and don't really pay attention to what the media say or what the current memes are. Personalities are important in politics because it is necessary to have a strong-minded leader with long-term foresight who "can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same" rather than someone anxious to jump on every short-term bandwagon in sight and neglect strategy in favour of tactics (as both Barack Obama and David Cameron are currently doing). Most people with a stake in society can see past personalities/memes to the long-term record and vote accordingly and you do people injustice if you claim they can't.
Edit: @eewallace
Have you met my friend David "Volpone" Cameron? I'm sure you'd get along fabulously!
(illustration (c) L Stanley-Crowqueen, Back to Basics volume 1 "Third Time Lucky")
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