December 30, 2008
Bringing in the New Year With Change.gov
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Americans can ask the next President pressing questions through the second round of Open for Questions, an interactive tool that lets users communicate with the Transition Team in a transparent way.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
December 22, 2008
Republican IT Guru Mike Connell Dies In Plane Crash
Michael Connell, president of GovTech and founder of New Media Communication credited with creating the campaign Web sites for George W. Bush and John McCain, died last Friday in a plane crash.
Connell is a long-time GOP operative, whose New Media Communications provided web services for the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Republican National Committee and many Republican candidates including senators, governors and members of Congress.
Mr. Connell has been at the center of recent speculation about election fraud in the 2004 election in Ohio and was set to give evidence about the Ohio case alleging vote-tampering that resulted in civil rights violations during the 2004 presidential election.
The Raw story reports that, "Mr. Connell created a website for Ohio's secretary of state that presented the results of the 2004 election in real time as they were released...He had refused to testify or to hand over documents relating to the systems he had created for the 2004 and 2006 elections but was compelled to do so by subpoena in October and appeared in court in Cleveland, Ohio – the state which gave President George W Bush victory in 2004 – to give a deposition the day before Barack Obama won the presidential election."
'Karl Rove's IT guru' Mike Connell dies in plane crash
George Bush aide dies in plane crash
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December 18, 2008
Cell phone Companies Brace For Onslaught On Inauguration Day
Between one million to 4 million people will be pouring in and around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of Barack Obama and cell phone companies are already bracing for their use of mobile technology to capture the historic moment.
Sprint has plans to increase their wireless capacity by 40 percent for cellular series and 90 percent for its walkie-talkie feature, while T-Mobile's prep for the Inaugural Address "exceeds those of any single-day event in the company's history" and is boosting its capacity to accommodate photo and video uploads. AT&T will be spending $4 million to expand its network's capabilities and Sprint has been planning for the Inaugural address since April.
If all cell phone users on the National Mall simultaneously try to send pictures of Obama via their mobile devices, even with the boosted network capabilities, their will still be delays. CTIA, an association of wireless carriers is telling cell phone users to send text messages or email rather than call friends and family, and to 'snap and save' digital pictures rather than sending them instantly.
Cell phone Cos Prepping For Demand Spike On Inauguration Day
Cell phones: text beats talk on Inauguration Day (AP)
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
December 16, 2008
Bush's Lame Duck Hits YouTube
Video of an Iraqi journalist throwing two shoes at George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad last Sunday is being uploaded at an average rate of 209 per hour with over 5,000 versions and a total of 8 million views, over twice the number of Obama's Change.gov video views for the last month.
The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, a 28 year old correspondent for independent Iraqi television station Al Baghdadia, shouted in Arabic, "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." and then proceeded to throw two shoes at President Bush's head.
Al-Zaidi will be tried on charges of insulting the Iraqi state with a "barbaric and ignominious act", but has found thousands of supporters who are calling for his release. So far, over 200 Iraqi and other lawyers, including Americans, have offered to defend al-Zaidi, free of charge. Thousands of protesters are rallying for his release from prison and the charity group Wa Attassimou has given al-Zaidi the courage award because, "what he did represents a victory for human rights across the world."
Bush's assessment of the situation and his response to having shoes thrown at his face was, “All I can report is it is a size 10..." Bush claimed that the shoe-throwing incident was a display of democracy, saying “That’s what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves,” as the man’s screaming could be heard outside.
Sadly, more emphasis has been put on the shoe throwing incident rather than the reason that Bush was in Iraq: a recently signed security agreement between the United States and Iraq that includes a commitment to withdraw all American forces by the end of 2011. The shoe-throwing video is currently taking up 18 of the top 20 most viewed videos on YouTube. Two online games and many remixes and mash-ups have been created too.
(The Washington Times) Bush shoe-throwing goes viral
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December 10, 2008
Illinois Governor's Arrest Provokes Harsh Words On The Web
4,865 members of the facebook group “Citizens of Illinois against Rod Blagojevich” are calling for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s resignation after he was arrested on federal corruption charges.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested at 6:15 A.M. Tuesday December 9 by federal authorities for what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald called a "staggering" level of corruption involving pay-to-play politics in Illinois' top office.
The Windy City is using interactive online tools to relay the details of Blagojevich’s federal indictment. Their new Blagojevich blog features an interactive timeline detailing key events in Blagojevich's life and career as well as a twitter account aptly named “Blagojevitter” that tracks tweets with "blagojevich" or "fitzgerald".
Blagojevich returned to work this morning, on his 52 birthday no less, to the headlines of the ChicagoTribune and the Chicago Sun-Times calling for his resignation or impeachment. So far 950 people have confirmed their attendance to an online event called “Call for Resignation” which has a script and contact numbers to call into the Governor’s office and request that he resign. An impeachment petition has been created at impeachblago.com. Blagojevich's wikipedia page has already been updated with links to news stories outlining his arrest.
One facebook user says in a post on the Illinois Citizens against Rod Bradojevich group,
“The scale of his turpitude and betrayal are, to use the word Patrick Fitzgerald resorted to yesteray, staggering. Rick Moran rightly distinguishes him from his corrupt Illinois forebears, ‘The malfeasance of Governor Rod Blagojevich is so outrageous, so brazen, so breathtaking in its scope and character that even jaded journalistic hacks whose beat has been the statehouse for years are shocked. In the long history of official Illinois corruption, the Blagojevich schemes to personally enrich himself, enrich his cronies, and use the power of his office to further his nefarious designs are unprecedented.’”
ChicagoTribune's Ongoing Bragojevich Coverage
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December 08, 2008
Obama's Transition Team Tells Public To Take "Your Seat At The Table"
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In an effort to further promote transparency and create an outlet for participatory government, President-elect Barack Obama's transition team announced that all policy documents from official meetings with outside organizations will be available to the public on Change.gov.
A new page emerged Friday on the Obama transition teams' website Change.gov called, "Your Seat at the Table". Obama's Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs Michael Strautmanis said in the following YouTube video:
"Having a seat at the table means you have an opportunity to respond to what other people are saying, what other people are presenting. Transparency is the process that leads to real change, and transparency is the process by which people have confidence that things are really going to be different, that they will have that seat at the table."
Documents including “all policy documents and written policy recommendations from official meetings with outside organizations” and meeting information that includes “the date and organizations represented at official meetings in the Transition headquarters or agency offices, with any documents presented as noted above.”
In a memo sent out to all staff members, Co-chair of the Obama-Biden transition team John Podesta presented an overview of “Your Seat at the Table”:
“…any documents from official meetings with outside organizations will be posted on our website for people to review and comment on. In addition to presenting ideas as individuals at www.change.gov, the American people deserve a “seat at the table” as we receive input from organizations and make decisions…”
Obama’s transition team has asked the public to comment on policy documents, allowing for open dialogue on what is being reviewed by the transition team. Although this is more of an open window than an open door to the meetings (The PDF’s are just a glimpse at what is actually being discussed in the meetings), it’s a good start. It remains unclear as to whether this site will remain up and running past Obama’s inauguration on January 20th.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
December 03, 2008
High-tech Terrorists
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The terrorists who attacked Mumbai used technology such as a state-of-the-art GPS navigational system, Blackberrys and detailed maps to gain a tactical advantage in their attack that killed 174 people and wounded over 300.
Satellite images and video footage of the targets were used prior to the attacks. The terrorists conducted high-tech rehersals using high-resolution satellite maps to familiarize them with the city of Mumbai. Communicating with satellite phones and voice-over-Internet-protocol phone numbers made the terrorists' numbers harder to trace.
The country's policemen, carrying World War II rifles, had trouble keeping pace with the high-tech terrorists. Even the elite special forces, who arrived eight hours later, weren't equipped with a floor layout of the hotels, let alone a high-tech navigation system.
The Washington Post reports that an calling itself Deccan Mujaheddin claimed responsibility for the acts in an e-mail. "Investigators have said the e-mail was produced using Urdu-language voice-recognition software to "anonymatize" regional spellings and accents so police would be unable to identify their ethnic or geographic origins."
Ajay Sahni, executive director of New Delhi's Institute for Conflict Management said, "Where in the rule book does it say that terrorists are not allowed to use technology that is readily available to almost anyone? The only people out of the loop seem to be the Indian security forces. They are a generation behind in understanding the technology that the terrorists used."
Both sides used technology during the attacks on Mumbai. Those trapped in hotels and surrounding areas used Twitter to provide updates and to track down missing people.
Mumbai Attackers Made Sophisticated Use of Technology
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December 01, 2008
Tweeting Terror: Mumbai Terrorist Attacks Reported Via Social Media Sites
The devastating terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai last Thursday were widely reported online by citizen journalists who used various social media outlets to provide real-time accounts of the tragedy.
On Thursday, November 26, 2008, social media sites including Twitter, Flickr, Wikipedia and various personal blogs reported simultaneous online coverage and provided a place for aggregated news reports on the historic terrorist attack that killed over 100 people and wounded nearly 300.
Yahoo Inc.'s photo Web site, Flickr played a prominent role in displaying captivating images and early reporting on the attacks. One Flickr user captured workers putting out the fire that had engulfed the 105 year old roof of the Taj Mahal Tower and Hotel. Google map has an aerial view of where the attacks were made and Wikipedia has a detailed synopsis of the Mumbai terrorist attack.
The use of mobile technology and cell phones is more prevalent in India and China than it is in the US, reports the Wall Street Journal, with videos and photographs from cell phones transmitted to news networks. One hotel employee recalled, “We started getting text messages on our cell phones from senior hotel managers warning us to stay down or that gunmen were on the fifth floor…”
The NYTimes reports, “At the peak of the violence, more than one message per second with the word “Mumbai” in it was being posted onto Twitter.” Geotweets show tweets made within a 15 mile radius of the city of Mumbai.
One of the major complaints among those who disagree with Twitter and other social media tools being news outlets is the quick dissemination of rumors and inaccuracies, but the good seems to be outweighing the bad; Twitter and Indian blogs relayed information regarding missing family members and hospitals in desperate need of blood.
Many with family and friends in the city of Mumbai relied on Twitter and blogs to relay information. CNN reports a harrowing story of one blogger in Mumbai who published his mobile number and email address and has already helped one frantic man find his father who was staying in Mumbai.
While traditional media channels had to rely on bureaucratic means of gaining coverage, through Indian networks or live coverage that were eventually shut down on Friday by request of the Indian government, citizen journalists were able to use mobile technology to provide early reporting and ease the spread of terror in Mumbai.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
