After stops in Japan, Singapore and China, and a final stop in South Korea today, President Obama is nearing the end of his first official trip to Asia.
Yesterday, President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao announced a far-reaching package of measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy. The White House blog posted a good round up of the six new clean energy measures:
The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from the United States and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country. The U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative will include joint standards development, demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, technical roadmapping and public education projects, all aimed at eventual deployment of electric vehicles to reduce oil dependence.The U.S. China Energy Efficiency Action Plan will allow the two countries to work together to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, industrial facilities, and consumer appliances, culminating with an annual U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum, rotating between the two countries.The U.S. China Renewable Energy Partnership will facilitate development of roadmaps for wide-spread renewable energy deployment. A new Advanced Grid Working Group made up of American and Chinese developers and strategists will help plan for grid modernization in both countries, and a new U.S.-China Renewable Energy Forum will be held annually, rotating between the two countries.A 21st Century Coal Initiative, for which the two Presidents pledged to promote cooperation on cleaner uses of coal, will include large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects. A Shale Gas Initiative, will allow the U.S. and China to use experience gained in the United States to assess China’s shale gas potential, promote environmentally-sustainable development of shale gas resources, conduct joint technical studies to accelerate development of shale gas resources in China, and promote shale gas investment in China through the U.S.-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, study tours, and workshops.The U.S. China Energy Cooperation Program will leverage private sector resources for project development work in China across a broad array of clean energy projects, to the benefit of both nations.
The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from the United States and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country.
The U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative will include joint standards development, demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, technical roadmapping and public education projects, all aimed at eventual deployment of electric vehicles to reduce oil dependence.
The U.S. China Energy Efficiency Action Plan will allow the two countries to work together to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, industrial facilities, and consumer appliances, culminating with an annual U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum, rotating between the two countries.
The U.S. China Renewable Energy Partnership will facilitate development of roadmaps for wide-spread renewable energy deployment. A new Advanced Grid Working Group made up of American and Chinese developers and strategists will help plan for grid modernization in both countries, and a new U.S.-China Renewable Energy Forum will be held annually, rotating between the two countries.
A 21st Century Coal Initiative, for which the two Presidents pledged to promote cooperation on cleaner uses of coal, will include large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects.
A Shale Gas Initiative, will allow the U.S. and China to use experience gained in the United States to assess China’s shale gas potential, promote environmentally-sustainable development of shale gas resources, conduct joint technical studies to accelerate development of shale gas resources in China, and promote shale gas investment in China through the U.S.-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, study tours, and workshops.
The U.S. China Energy Cooperation Program will leverage private sector resources for project development work in China across a broad array of clean energy projects, to the benefit of both nations.
In reacting to the news this morning that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize, the President struck a note of humility and recognized that the award was a nod to a vision of what is to come:
I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee. Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nationsTo be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build -- a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.
From Vice President Joe Biden:
A few weeks ago, President Obama asked you to share your personal story about how the health care crisis has affected you and the ones you love. Hundreds of thousands of stories poured in from every corner of the country. The President and I have read through many of them ourselves -- and now I'm encouraging you to do so as well. Read these powerful, personal stories from people in your area and around the country.And after you do, please forward this note on to as many people as you can. For folks who don't yet understand why health care reform is such an urgent priority, these stories make the case far better than any statistics ever could. For those who support health care reform but haven't yet found the time to join our campaign, these stories provide more motivation than any speech any politician could ever give. So please read these stories, pass this note on to everyone in your address book, and help us show everyone in America why fixing our broken health care system is a necessity that just can't wait: http://healthcare.barackobama.com/stories Thank you, Vice President Joe Biden
A few weeks ago, President Obama asked you to share your personal story about how the health care crisis has affected you and the ones you love. Hundreds of thousands of stories poured in from every corner of the country. The President and I have read through many of them ourselves -- and now I'm encouraging you to do so as well. Read these powerful, personal stories from people in your area and around the country.
And after you do, please forward this note on to as many people as you can. For folks who don't yet understand why health care reform is such an urgent priority, these stories make the case far better than any statistics ever could. For those who support health care reform but haven't yet found the time to join our campaign, these stories provide more motivation than any speech any politician could ever give. So please read these stories, pass this note on to everyone in your address book, and help us show everyone in America why fixing our broken health care system is a necessity that just can't wait: http://healthcare.barackobama.com/stories Thank you, Vice President Joe Biden
Diebold subsidiary Premier Election Solutions admitted in a California state hearing on Tuesday that its voting machine software can lose votes and fail to log the fact that the votes were lost.
The admission, reported on Wired's Threat Level blog, is significant. For years, the company has touted the quality of its electronic voting machines amidst mounting criticism that they were prone to errors and tampering.
Prediction: 10,000 apps for Google Android Market by Oct. 2009?
The hearing related to last November's election in Humboldt County, California. Nearly 200 votes disappeared from a tally handled by Premier's Global Election Management System (GEMS) software.
Mitch Trachtenberg was one of the volunteer auditors who discovered that the GEMS system had eliminated the votes. Writing as a guest blogger in The Brad Blog, Trachtenberg said that Premier's voting systems, which are used in 34 states, could not effectively handle audits. "An election system's audit logs are meant to record all activity during the system's actual counting of ballots," he wrote. "Diebold's software fails to do that."
According to Threat Level, "the company acknowledged that the problem exists with every version of its tabulation software." California officials examined Humbolt's GEMS-created audit logs and could find no record of when 197 absentee ballots were removed from the system, which apparently prompted California's secretary of state to call the audit logs "useless."
Trachtenberg also mentioned the "disturbing revelation that Diebold had been aware of the problem for years." According to an earlier Brad Blog post, dated December 8, 2008, the tendency to delete ballots "was part of a bug [Diebold had] known about for at least four years." The blog reproduced an internal Diebold email about the problem dated 2004.
Reported problems with Diebold products are nothing new. The company was sued by Ohio last year for voting machines that allegedly dropped votes. Earlier this week, the company was forced to admit that criminals have successfully hacked Diebold ATMs.
Diebold Machines are rigged, and it is time for America to rid us of these cheating raging machines.
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/03/18/diebold-admits-voting-machine-flaw-had-been-aware-problem-years
Even though President Obama and His Presidential Team have strategically targeted the automobile industry, are you aware that the Obama Administration is buying 17600 cars from GM to help the industry, economy, People of Mich. and America as a whole. The homelessness in Detroit (and all of America) has been rampant for years if not decades and no one took it upon themselves to change it, but this is Our Opportunity to do so Now. Now is the time for every community in America and the Whole Wide World to start appropriating, living, teaching, and applying the Principles of Change/Faith to ourselves . There has been always been talk about the Rich the Middle Class but we have forgotten the poor, the down trodden class. Poverty and lack must become the enemy of all of the people of the World!!!!! More Millionaires were created in America During the Great Depression of 1929. Questions: 1. How?. 2. When?. 3. Where?.
YES WE DID! YES WE MUST:
Þ Protect him from harm both verbal & phyiscal
Þ Stay "FIRED UP" by staying active
Þ Work Bi-Partisan to bring "Change" together
Þ Don't just bitch, get active and stay engaged
Þ Start and join a local "Change" group
Þ Be philanthropic, serve your community, state and nation
Þ Stick by Obama, STOP smears on the Right & the Left!!!! Hold yourself responsible as you hold Barack!
Join the future of this movement!!
http://change.gov/joinus
http://www.communityorganize.com
http://www.ourpresidency.com
http://www.usaservice.org
http://www.whitehouse.gov
Barack's DNC 2004 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0&feature=PlayList&p=B1939005B8A4D4ED&index=188
Barack's DNC 2008 Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ato7BtisXzE&feature=channel
Barack’s Election Acceptance Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJ-2Zu_Iic&feature=channel
Barack’s Inauguration Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4
Ten More Days until the Inauguration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Short and Simple!!!!!!!!!!!
Enough Said!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 20, 2009.
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I have access to a home in Gaithersburg, MD 20879 available during mid-January to February. Perfect for Inauguration! Red line subway is Shady Grove - 25 miles to heart of DC. You can get to the metro station without a car (bus across the street), and be in DC via metro in ~35-40mins.
Its a 3 bdrm, full basement, and 3.5 bath townhome. Make me an offer!
And, it is worthing pointing to a few compelling reads from the NYT Op-Ed today, all of which are in the "most-emailed" list:
Here are ten quick ideas for the coming Obama administration. The GSA commissioned this article last year. A PDF version and looong version with international examples is available.
Ten Practical Online Steps for Government Support of Democracy
By Steven CliftChair, E-Democracy.Org and Ashoka Fellow
This article will appear in the upcoming Intergovernmental Solutions newsletter of the U.S. federalGeneral Services Administration: http://tinyurl.com/2dhl9s
Does e-government have anything to do with democracy and citizen participation? Let's getstraight to the point - not yet.
Should it?
Yes. Government should be leading a charge into the increasingly and fundamentally interactiveweb.
Information access, considered the safe starting point for government accountability online nowmostly presents the public a daunting needle in a huge haystack. This system is so complicatedthat the valuable and substantive information that government produces is often ignored in theincreasingly interactive public lives of active citizens. . The lack of real and effective online accessto governance will substantially increase cynicism about and distrust in government among apublic that demands a more participatory representative democracy.
A bit of context: I coordinated e-government for the State of Minnesota in its early days. As acitizen, I independently started E-Democracy.Org which created the world’s first electioninformation and discussion website in 1994. When “services first, democracy later” envelopedmost e-government projects, I went independent in late 1997. Since then, I've spoken andconsulted across 26 countries on "e-democracy.”
Here are the 10 things I would do in government at every level to help rescue our democracy inthe information age.
1. Timely, personalized access to information that matters.
Government decision-making information is not really public or relevant if people cannot act on itwhen it still matters. Give people tools like personalized e-mail alerts based on keywords,location, etc. and eliminate the "nobody told me" backlash government often receives due topoor public outreach. Every government needs a “what’s new” democracy portal or a thematicsection covering all democratic processes as part of their main website.
2. Help elected officials receive and sort, then better understand and respond to email.
E-mail overload is the number one complaint I hear from elected officials around the world. Mostwant to respond effectively, but simply aren't being provided the tools they need. If there everwas an opportunity for open source collaboration among governments, this is it. In general, ourrepresentatives and representative institutions must start to invest in the online infrastructurethey need to connect directly with the public they represent.
3. Dedicate at least 10% of new e-government developments to democracy.
Let’s define democracy starting with public input. In an e-service initiative, the 10% should startwith citizen focus groups to guide the design of the service, usability testing and studies togenerate user input and accountability, and post-transaction user surveys. If the investment is anew content management system for information access, then use the 10% to addpersonalization and survey input features or democratized navigation (those nifty menus thatshow you the top ten articles viewed that day or week).
4. Announce all government public meetings on the Internet in a uniform manner.
All public meeting notices, agendas, handouts, and digital recordings must be online. The systemshould be standards-based and tie state-by-state systems into a national network coveringfederal, state, and local government public meetings. This is the only way for people to ask to bepro-actively notified of any government public meetings within a certain geographic areaaddressing specific topics that interest them.
5. Allow citizens to look-up all of their elected officials from the very local to nationalin one search.
Along with the ability to look-up all public meetings, Americans should have the right to easilydetermine who all the elected and appointed officials are who represent them currently. Justbefore elected and appointed officials assume office, every government unit should be requiredto submit contact information for those officials into a national database.
6. Host online public hearings and dialogues (or “e-consultations” as they are knownoutside the U.S.)
As in-person public meetings begin to incorporate live online features, envision more deliberateonline exchanges to improve the outcomes of the decision-making process. If your governmentagency hosts three public hearings across the country or your state, host the fourth hearingonline over a week or two and improve the format in the process. In 10 years, the legislatures,commissions and city councils not holding hearings online will be in the minority.
7. Embrace the rule of law by mandating the most democratically empowering onlineservices and rights across the whole of government.
Technology itself is not forcing real institutional democratic change. I estimate that 90% of thedemocratic innovations online that really share power are based on a political tradition or lawthat existed before the Internet arrived. If we want all citizens to benefit universally from a morewired democracy, then now is time to update our legal requirements and fund core onlinedemocracy services.
8. Promote dissemination through access to raw data from decision-makinginformation systems.
Let’s explode decision-making data, like Congressional information and rulemaking relatedcontent into bits via XML and open standards and make it easy to re-use public government datafrom many sources to create views and searches that provide insight, understanding, andaccountability. Think “Web 2.0” interactivity built on top of government data by those outside ofgovernment.
9. Fund Open Source sharing internationally across e-government.
Sharing and supporting open source software takes resources – a consortium of nationalgovernments need to step up with collaborative funding. The new and less cluttered area of eparticipation tools are an ideal starting point within e-government to reduce technology costs andbuild systems for use by multiple governments.. Efforts to place modules and customizations outfor community use will be key. Government and its vendors must contribute code back for thewheels of reciprocal value to start turning.
10. Local up – a strategic approach to building local democracy online.
To build e-participation momentum, citizens need to experience results they can see and touch.By investing in transferable local models and tools, more people will use the Internet as a tool tostrength their communities, protect and enrich their families and neighborhoods, and be heard ina meaningful way. Every community needs an “online town hall,” E-Democracy.Org calls themIssues Forums, for agenda-setting discussion of public issues. Comparative evaluation of accessand participation related online service and content indicators will introduce efforts for an online"Democracy Tune-up." This same tune-up concept should be applied at the state and federallevel as well.
Conclusion
In the early days, folks thought the Internet was inherently democratic. Parts of it are, but thatmistaken sense of technological determinisms has not carried over to make constitutional andlegally-ground representative processes more open and responsive. Today, “politics as usual”online may actually make things worse. Civically conceived e-participation efforts need to countersuch negative trends rather than being viewed as an extra option. Ultimately, each generationneeds to rebuild democracy with the special tools of their time. Our tools are online and ourdemocracy needs us.
Steven Clift leads the “Online Consultation and E-Participation” online community of practice atDoWire.Org and shares numerous articles on e-democracy from Publicus.Net. An extendedversion of this article with specific examples is available from that site.
If you've been following this blog at all, you had to know that its intended destination was to be able to post this song. Thank Jesus/Moses/Muhammad/Buddha/Zorro/etc that I'm actually able to do so.
"Funky President" by James Brown
As a P.S., here's a recap of how I spent election night in DC:
Congratulations to America!
I've been saving this song for a while.
If you're under the age of 40, you've probably heard it before. And you may have lost your mind whylin out at some house party, some club or in some car in some traffic jam on some American street.
It is quite obvious what we're on the precipice of. No need for any more salesmanship.
"The Choice Is Yours" by Black Sheep
