Tech-savvy Iceland online for new constitution

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ICELAND_CONSTITUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-10-00-40-52

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) -- How do you write a new constitution in the 21st century? You go where the people are - online.

That was the decision of tiny but tech-savvy Iceland, which is overhauling its constitution in the wake of an economic catastrophe, and has turned to the Internet to get input from citizens.

The 25-member council drafting the new constitution is reaching out to Icelanders online, especially through social media sites Facebook and Twitter, video-sharing site YouTube and photo site Flickr.

Iceland's population of 320,000 is among the world's most computer-literate. Two-thirds of Icelanders are on Facebook, so the constitutional council's weekly meetings are broadcast live on the social networking site as well as on the council's website.

[LiberalFighter]

1. Looks to me that they want a lot of legislation to be put in their constitution.

Instead of spelling out basic rights.

Maybe they should have a two part constitution. One covers the rights of the people. And the other to protect the country from unscrupulous scumbag corporations. Of course, our constitution should have something about corporations not having the same rights as people.

[MineralMan]

2. I hope they don't end up with something like the Constitution

of California. It's a complete mess, with all sorts of stuff added onto it by the legislature and by initiative. Almost impossible to know completely. Constitutions should just be frameworks around which a nation builds its laws.