Soeben erschienen: die vorzüglich gelungene Dokumentation der Veranstaltung Election Times: Harnessing the power of new media vom 19. März 2009. Im 52 Seiten starken Reader zur Berliner Konferenz finden sich die Keynotes von Nancy Scola (From ballot casters to collaborators) und Harry Dugmore (Africa rules okay – a short message on African elections and new media).

Außerdem enthalten ist ein ausführliches Transkript der Podiumsdiskussion mit dem schönen Titel It‘s new, and it‘s a movement: new media reinforce empowerment and democracy, an der ich teilgenommen habe.

Dies sind die Impressionen aus dem Urlaub 2008 in Colorado und Wyoming.
Wir haben den Yellowstone Park besucht. Ich wollte NIEMALS zu dem Supervulkan, äh – man sollte sich vielleicht vorher nochmal schlau machen, wo der liegt: Wir fuhren direkt auf ihn hinweg! Aber bis jetzt ist er ja noch schlafend…noch!

Die Fahrt führte uns vom Ausgangspunkt Denver:

über Jackson / WY, wo wir übernachteten, in den Yellowstone-National-Park. Wir nahmen die Ostroute und besuchten natürlich gleich Old Faithful.

Anschliessend Übernachtung in West Yellowstone / MT

Nächster Tag die Nordroute und dort sahen wir die Wasserfälle. Anschliessend verliessen wir den Nationalpark im Osten und fuhren weiter nach Cody / WY, wo ich mir ausgiebig die alte Westerstadt ansah. Die alten Herren beim Eingang machten sich Notizen, von woher die Besucher denn so täglich kommen – sie wunderten sich über das “Greenhorn” aus “Old Germany”. Nach einer guten Stärkung fuhren wir weiter nach Thermopolis / WY, wo wir übernachteten. Am nächsten Tag fuhr ich…

…am Steuer eine Weile. Dann kamen wir wieder in Denver / CO an. Schön, wenn man innerhalb so weniger Tage 1000 Meilen mal so kurz abspult. Wundert mich nicht, warum der Sprit billiger als in Deutschland ist.

I jeans della discordia

Riprendo le pubblicazioni del blog dopo un lungo periodo di assenza da pigrizia culturale per parlare di un argomento non politico (vi aspettavate che parlassi di Silvio & Veronica? Magari dopo), ma culturale (anche se con la politica s’ha da fare). Nella patria assoluta del jeans, ovvero gli Stati Uniti d’America, alcuni esponenti della politica conservatrice di destra – ignobilmente battuta nelle recenti tornate elettorali (presidenziali, congresso, governatori e quant’altro) – hanno lanciato una crociata di indubbia utilità contro il simbolo dell’abbigliamento più sciatto ma usato possibile, il blue jeans appunto.

Questo orribile capo d’abbigliamento, che ho da sempre scelto di non indossare per motivi cosiddetti “etici” – o per meglio dire per esacerbare ulteriormente il distacco dalla massa uniforme di “soldati della modisteria” – viene considerato dagli amici conservatori a stelle e strisce come uniforme del nulla, eco della controcultura sessantottina, una pestilenza nazionale e un sintomo di infantilismo nostalgico per un passato agrario che si traduce nella corsa a quelle casette di lontano sobborgo oggi avviate verso l’abisso dei mutui non pagati.

In sostanza, quella che viene lanciata è una crociata dell’educazione all’abbigliamento. Ma forse gli americani, con tutto il rispetto per questa grandiosa macchina democratica, di moda non potrebbero parlare affatto: i completi gessati e le scarpe eleganti che indossa il loro presidente, l’abbronzatissimo Barack Obama, provengono nientepopodimeno che dall’Italia e la first lady Michelle indossa pantaloni “modello Capri” (che non è certo una località balneare californiana). Ma questi sono giusto due esempi di come le alte sfere siano influenzate da un gusto nel conciarsi che di americano ha poco e nulla.

La crociata contro gli jeans è condivisibile e accettabile, ma in un momento come questo, nel quale il presidente democratico ha consensi altissimi, paragonabili a quelli che sventola ogni giorno il nostro Presidente del Consiglio (e che saranno veri? Chissà) ha l’effetto di un boomerang: il voler uccidere forse una delle poche tradizioni ancora salde nel grande paese significa inimicarsi il voto di molti. Chi, poi, nel bel mezzo della crisi economica può permettersi giacche e cravatte da centinaia di dollari – grazie alle alte rendite da politico o giornalista – evidentemente non ha fatto i conti con una fetta della popolazione americana che centinaia di dollari non li ha, e per vestirsi si rifugia negli economicissimi jeans. Se ne trovano di ogni foggia e colore, anche nei supermercati, per alcuni pezzi con sopra l’effige di George Washington o, per quanto ci riguarda, per qualche biglietto grigio.

Se vogliamo uccidere gli jeans, rimandiamo questo genocidio al prossimo boom economico, quando ci saranno abbastanza soldi per capi firmati e scarpe da 540 dollari come quelle di Michelle! (Lei sì che veste come si deve…)

It has been quite a week on this blog! For anyone who hasn’t been up to speed with the happenings, let me tell you what 14 other bloggers and myself have been upto!

In January 2009, this blog began it’s participation in NaBloPoMo. NaBloPoMo is an innitiative as such, to get bloggers to post on a daily basis. The idea is also to try and blog on a particular theme, but it is not mandatory. The theme for January 2009 was “Change”. It was a subtle theme to begin the year with because January is normally about change, about resolutions, about improving yourself; but January 2009 will also stand out in history as the period in which this world witnessed a truly historic political change which affects almost everyone.

As part of my daily blogging routine, I wanted to gauge how “change” was going to affect the people who read this blog, and more importantly, what is their view of change as they see it in their life. To measure this (using no particular scale as such), the 7 posts in 7 Days (7Pi7D) project was born. The scale of the initial project had to be altered, but the concept remained. This blog was opened to fellow bloggers and non-bloggers to air their views, opinions, and thoughts on this subject of change.

The result of this was amazing, and far exceeded my expectations. The quality of posts which each of these 14 bloggers put together was pretty outstanding. Moreover, I think we can clearly identify that the daily battles which most of us face may be unique to each one of us, but is something that each one of us can definitely relate to. I love the fact that new blogging friendships were forged during this project, and hopefully each one of these guys will see and benefit because of the newly formed alliances.

Another aspect of the 7Pi7D project was a prize for the 500th comment; the prize would go to the 500th commenter ofcourse, and the blogger on whose post the comment appeared. The winners are AnonymouslyMe (blogger) and Digital Niqabi (commenter). An Amazon voucher, and a charity donation are on their way!

As for this blog, well, NaBloPoMo in January was very enjoyable! Saying that, I don’t think I will participate in NaBloPoMo for a while. A major part of my blogging experience is to actually read other blogs, and relate to them from my personal experiences. Unfortunately, during January, I have hardly had time to read and comment on the blogs which I love and follow. I miss this big time, and want to get back to this ASAP. My studies have also taken a fair bit of a hit because of the marathon blogging and the time which it took last month; I want to pick that up again too.

Saying that, I am not one to sit down and continue with a fixed routine! I want to definitely give the blog a facelift, and this is top of a priority list over the next two months. I am also looking at collaborative blogging, and need to further thrash some ideas out in that area. What I do know is that I am reading more blogs outside of my comfort zone, and these are helping me identify challenging areas as a blogger. A little bit of work on the ideas, and we can have something interesting going, not only here but also on other blogs.

I will begin February 2009 by going “shush” for sometime. Work is a little hectic at the moment, and I am begining my month out of London for most of the coming week. I should be alive on twitter, and hopefully back to my blogging best by the end of the week!

The last week of January 2009 was great fun! I want to thank everyone big time for participating. Each of you is in my reader already, an hopefully I will catch up with reading and commenting in the coming days.

I will leave you with 14 of the best! They are linked below in the order of their appearance:

Antonella

Pipi

AnonymouslyMe

Mars

MaliZOMG

Sarah Elizabeth

Falak

HFM

HanniePants

Ms Outcast

Digital Niqabi

Katherine

Dallas Diaries

Lili

MY *updated* – One more for good measure!

Have a good February everyone!

Es klingt noch ziemlich ungewohnt, zumal in deutscher Übersetzung – im Internet-Team des Weißen Hauses ist gestern der Posten eines (bzw. einer) Director of Citizen Participation vergeben worden:  mit Katie Jacobs Stanton (Facebook-Profil, Twitter-Account) wechselt eine Mitarbeiterin von Google die Seiten – und der informierte Teil der Online-Nutzer diskutiert bereits heftig über die Personalie.

Peter Kafkas Kolumne MediaMemo vermeldete im Tech-Portal All Things Digital gestern zuerst, dass das Online-Team an der Pennsylvania Avenue Unterstützung aus Kalifornien bekommt, danach pfiffen es die sprichwörtlichen Spatzen per Twitter von den digitalen Dächern (sorry für den schiefen Vergleich).

Heute fasst Nancy Scola für Techpresident.com das wichtigste (und wenige bisher bekannte) zusammen:

What’s fascinating is that in bringing Stanton in-house, the Obama Administration is bringing in the mechanic to drive the car (or some less clunky phrase). Stanton, reports the TechChuck blog, was part of the team that brought to life Google Moderator. That’s the tool that powered Change.gov’s Open for Questions. And during the presidential campaign, Stanton worked on the company’s Elections and Moderator team.

Auch wenn über das genauere Job-Profil von Frau Stanton noch nichts bekannt ist: in gewisser Weise wäre der – von offizieller Seite noch unbestätigte – Wechsel auch eine Reaktion auf die Erfahrungen mit dem transition process: die verschiedenen Beteiligungs-Angebote wie Diskussionsforen zur neuen Regierungs-Agenda oder das Citizen Briefing Book, in das Bürger ihrem neuen Präsidenten Arbeitsaufträge diktieren durften, hatten derart große Resonanz hervorgerufen, dass eine seriöse Befassung mit dem Bürger-Input kaum möglich schein.

Im Verbund mit der Berufung von Macon Phillips zum Director of New Media wird allmählich die Personalstruktur im digitalen Regierungssitz sichtbar. Phillips kommt aus der Pixelschmiede Blue State Digital, die für die Entwicklung der Kampagnenwebsite MyBarackObama.com verantwortlich zeichnet. Mit Stanton stößt nun eine ehemalige Google-Mitarbeiterin hinzu – allein dieser Schritt hat bei einigen US-Beobachtern für Anerkennung gesorgt, denn der Internet-Gigant aus dem Silicon Valley gilt als extrem attraktiver Arbeitgeber. Und natürlich ist der Google-Hintergrund auch Ansatz zur Kritik, nicht wenige vermuten hier ein Eindringen des neuen Corporate America in öffentliche Strukturen.

Offen bleibt bislang noch die Top-Position des Chief Technology Officer (CTO), für die bisher die wirklich großen Namen der Branche im Gespräch waren:  Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Eric Schmidt (Google), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Bill Joy (Sun), oder Steve Ballmer (Microsoft). Hier ist aber wohl eher die Gerüchteküche heiß gelaufen (noch ein schiefes Wortspiel), als dass substanzielle Vermutungen getroffen wurden – wer große Unternehmen gründen oder leiten kann, muss längst nicht für die Leitung einer großen Behörde geeignet sein. Man darf getrost davon ausgehen, dass die Rekrutierungsabteilung der Obama-Administration dies sehr genau weiß.

Folgerichtig halten sich nur echten Hauptstadt-Insidern bekannte Namen wie Aneesh Chopra (Technologie-Ministerin im Bundesstaat Virginia) oder Vivek Kundra (CTO des Disctrict of Columbia) länger auf der Liste der Job-Aspiranten. Beide haben für das Transition Team gearbeitet und kennen daher die An- und Herausforderungen der Aufgabe. In einer gerade laufenden Umfrage des Informationsdienstleisters INPUT ist Kundra der Favorit von Branchenkennern (vgl. die Kurzvorstellung der Kandidaten im INPUT-Blog).

Sollte statt den eher unbekannten Experten im Bereich der Verwaltungs-IT nun doch ein großer Name nach Washington wechseln, wäre das neue Amt symbolisch aufgewertet und stünde im Fokus der Öffentlichkeit. In beiden Fällen bleibt jedoch klar: der Ausbau der Online-Präsenz des Weißen Hauses schreitet voran und die Absichtsbekundungen zur Nutzung des Internet als Werkzeug für die Regierungsarbeit sind mehr als nur Lippenbekenntnisse.

Perhaps it’s narcissistic.  You probably don’t give a damn about the inner dialogues of my mind.  But, no matter how many times I sat down to write about the momentous change we all were privileged to witness last week, I was unsatisfied.  I deleted it five times over.  I gave up, shut my lap top, drank buckets of coffee, and drummed my fingers on the table.  Was it spectacular?  Yes.  Did a tsunami of hope come over me when I watched Obama swear into office?  Of course.  Can I tell you anything that a million other writers haven’t already said a thousand times over, with more eloquence than  I could ever hope for?  Nope.

So, here is my story about change.  My change.

I grew up in a five bedroom house in oil rich south Texas. No, I don’t have an accent.

When he was governor, I once saw W standing on the steps of my church.  I like listening to him talk.  2004 found me living, courtesy of my father’s pocketbook, in a small college town in east Texas.  A staunch conservative, a shiny black W sticker glistened on the bumper of my Ford mustang.   I voted for Bush.

I still cringe a little when I say the word.  Liberal.  I still feel a little out of place in my own opinions, kind of like wearing a prom dress in a bowling alley.  It just doesn’t fit.

But, my eyes were ripped open in 2005 when I married an immigrant, lost my health insurance, and began work as a domestic violence advocate in a shelter for women and children.

Where to begin?

I poured every dime into just keeping my husband living in this country, legally.  I worked two jobs to pay for fees and forms and legal advice.  I parked my car up against a tree to keep it from being repossessed.  I defaulted on my student loans.  I dropped out of college.  I gave away my cat. I pawned my beloved diamond charm bracelet.  I moved to Canada.

The US government lost our paperwork.  We had to start over.  No refund.  No apology.  Start over.

Dropping out of school, I lost my health coverage.  Due to medical conditions, I could not afford more insurance.  There is still a stack of red envelopes on my kitchen table, bills from emergency rooms and hospitals.

Years later, my first real job out of college in a shelter surrounded by women who cannot afford housing, health coverage, clothes for their children, psych meds.  Fathers deported, leaving behind five US citizens under ten years old to live very meagerly off of social services and charity.

I have seen first hand the magnitude of the hurdles facing people just to live in this country.  I  have seen people shackled together in an immigration office.  I once saw a starving women, in the United States of America,  shit in her pants at the table because her body didn’t know how to react to a full stomach.  I have seen children covered in dirt, and sores, and lice – living in cars.

Liberal?   Really, you?

Yes.

I lived it.   I witnessed it  I became a victim to my own blind choice.  I changed.

Change is in the air, and as most citizens of this country and other countries watching worldwide, I am standing with open arms ready to embrace it.

My Name is Katherine, and you can read me on Katherine Unabridged.

Zuletzt war offline recht viel los (Semesterende steht vor der Tür), daher die Funkstille im Blog. Nun wenigstens mal noch der Hinweis auf zwei Texte zur Amtseinführung von Präsident 2.0 (so der etwas seltsame Titel eines FAZ-Beitrags zum Thema), die kürzlich drüben bei ZEIT Online erschienen sind.

Zum einen war das eine “Blogschau” (Eine standesgemäße Begleitung) über die Situation im Netz vor dem Inauguration Weekend, zum anderen ein Artikel über die Website Change.gov (Regieren mit dem Internet). Eigentlich geplant als Darstellung der Aktivitäten des Transition Team musste der Text wg. des hohen Artikel-Aufkommens (offenbar wollten alle ZEIT-Mitarbeiter etwas zur Amtseinführung schreiben) etwas später erscheinen – daher finden nun auch die ersten Elemente von Whitehouse.gov Erwähnung.

Dann noch ein Nachtrag zu den Reaktionen im Comic-Universum (vgl. Obama meets Spiderman). Beim Ankauf des Heftes im Berliner Fachhandel riet das Personal zur raschen Lektüre des Spiderman-Comics (“Und dann ganz weit weg legen – die Story ist übel”).

Als qualitätsvolle Alternative wurde dagegen die Comic-Biografie Presidential Material empfohlen (gibt es auch in der McCain-Variante) sowie außerdem Ausgabe #498 des ehrwürdigen MAD Magazine gereicht (“Obama: The first 100 Minutes”).

Like every other person on this planet, I’m pretty decent at belting out advice on how you can become a better person and in all honestly I might even do it more frequently. My closest of friends will probably vouch for that. That said, it makes redundant anything else I say on the topic of change. When I realized this I hit this major wall in my thought process and could not for the life of me figure out what it was that I wanted to write about. I remember sitting down and firing up a Word file so that I could draft with ease. After that point I probably sat down through anywhere between 8 to 12 drafts, and suffice to say I was pleased with none. I did not want to write anything generic, but I couldn’t think of anything. I didn’t want to give T a crappy article either. Sometime after the millionth draft I might have figured out what it was that I want to convey. Emphasis on the word ‘might,’ as I still may not have. I thought that maybe if I could relate this to the audience through a personal medium, it’ll be better that way. So here goes:

A while ago I was going through a rough patch. And I felt like I needed to change myself in order to get through. I have no artistic talents, I can’t draw, write prose or poems, play an instrument, I listen to fairly generic music (with the odd different taste here and there), I have regular hobbies, nothing too fancy, ya know? So I thought to myself, “What’re you gonna do chum?” The answer was fairly instant. “CHANGE YOURSELF!” Sorta like Extreme Makeover, minus the botox and excessive surgeries.

So in secret I started writing poems. Yes, this is the first time I’m mentioning this in public, EVER. I went on this ridiculous search for rare and uncommon music and began downloading and listening to it. One of my friends played guitar and I watched him and tried to practice with him. I would scrutinize my writing style and bitch and moan about how terrible it was (I still do, but to a much lesser degree). This was roughly the time where I started reading a lot more blogs, trying to improve my own style.

Either way, this carried on for a while. Some of these attempts died out, like the guitar and the poems, but some stuck around like the music and the blog hopping. At its end I realized I had gained very little. I still felt the same, and still thought the same.

I guess it was around this point where I had my little epiphany. I’m not a bad person. I’m a cross between a jock and a geek, and I like it that way (I’m actually kinda chuffed about it ) I love my football, scuba diving, paintball, cricket etc., and at the same time I could sit at a PC all day and keep me occupied (I’m pretty sure I’m going to get glasses soon. Glasses with thick frames.) There’s nothing that I needed to change about myself to feel good about myself, or the way I lived my life.

But there was something that HAD changed. My perceptual process had changed. As a person, I am the same I was then, but I now think a bit differently about my past and present than I used to and I guess it’s made all the difference in the world. Why should I blame myself for any misfortunes or bad experiences in the past? Most of them were things I was witnessing for the first time, so I had no background to refer it to. Now I know what went wrong, and where I was and/or wasn’t wrong. Since I didn’t know any better, I can’t be blamed for it then. If it happens again and I make the same errors again, then *doh!* it’s my fault. But you can not let past misgivings or experiences define how you think about yourself, but you should let it define how you act or will act in the future.

Life is like a First Person shooter. You run around, complete your objectives, get your rewards, fight off bad guys, recover from injuries, find the treasure, save your best friend (or the damsel perpetually in distress) and occasionally you cheat. Throughout the course of this game, you’re thrown choices and you have no experience in how to pick ‘em. But you do anyway. Some of them turn out good and others turn out bad. But none of them are your fault. For the most bit, we don’t know any better. So if you did it right once, stick with it. If it turned out wrong, don’t fret about it, but don’t do it again. Stop blaming yourself for anything that goes wrong in your life, and make sure it never happens again.

If you make a mistake or have an unpleasant experience don’t change the person you are. Change the way you think about your mistakes and experiences. That’s all you need to make it better.

I realize that this post may be off-topic (I hope it’s not!) and for that I apologize. But it’s something that’s been on my mind for a few months and I’m glad I got it off.

Here’s to making something out of 2009.

Cheers!

M

Hi! The pseudonym’s MaliZOMG and I blog @ Gone Fishing, Without My GPS. Today’s guest post was on me, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Sono passati solo sei giorni dall’insediamento, avvenuto martedi scorso, e Barack Obama ha gia improntato una serie di svolte nella Amministrazione Usa. Dalla chiusura del carcere di Guantanamo, alla chiusura delle carceri Cia, alle norme etiche sul personale, al ritorno dei finanziamenti agli enti abortisti, alla riforma “verde” sulle emissioni di inquinanti, ai contatti diretti con l’Iran. Ogni giorno ci riserva una sorpresa positiva, Avanti cosi Presidente Obama!

Guantanamo chiude. In compagna elettorale Obama ne aveva promesso la chiusura. E oggi ecco spuntare una bozza con l’ordine di mettere i sigilli al carcere cubano entro il 2009. Inoltre, su ordine del presidente, i pubblici accusatori dei tribunali di Guantanamo per i crimini di guerra hanno chiesto ai giudici militari di ‘congelare’ per 120 giorni i casi in sospeso. Il Pentagono riesaminerà completamente le procedure per la detenzione dei prigionieri accusati di terrorismo, in attesa di nuove direttive da parte della Casa Bianca.

In arrivo le norme “etiche”. Le hanno chiamate “misure etiche”. In pratica norme per la trasparenza dell’amministrazione. Anzitutto l’accesso ai documenti federali sarà ampliato. Poi saranno “congelati” gli stipendi dei collaboratori che guadagnano più di 100.000 dollari all’anno. “In questo periodo di difficoltà economiche le famiglie americane sono costrette a tirare la cinghia e lo dovrà fare anche Washington – ha detto il presidente – Per questa ragione saranno congelati gli stipendi dei miei principali collaboratori alla Casa Bianca”. Vita dura anche per i lobbisti americani. Da oggi in poi saranno sottoposti ai più rigorosi limiti mai avuti sotto un’amministrazione americana. Obama ha annunciato che i membri della sua amministrazione non potranno accettare regali da nessuna delle lobby americane per evitare conflitti di interesse. “La trasparenza e il rispetto della legge devono diventare la pietra di paragone della mia amministrazione – ha detto il presidente – Tutte le agenzie federali devono sapere che a partire da oggi sarà schierata non dalle parte di chi cerca di tenere segreti i documenti, ma dalla parte di chi cerca di conoscerne il contenuto”. Obama ha aggiunto che la norma riguarderà anche il presidente: per tenere informazioni segrete dovrà avere l’avallo del Ministero della Giustizia.

“Torniamo agli standard della Costituzione”.“Mai più tortura negli Usa”. Il presidente degli Stati Uniti Barack Obama firma l’ordine esecutivo per la chiusura entro un anno della prigione di Guantanamo. Mantiene la promessa fatta durante il discorso di insediamento: “La sicurezza e lo stato di diritto non sono tra loro incompatibili”. E abolisce le prigioni segrete della Cia. Affronta il sospetto che l’America torturi i presunti terroristi arrestati, e ordina alla Cia e a tutte le agenzie federali impegnate nella lotta al terrorismo, di usare solo i metodi di interrogatorio così come sono stati elencati dal Pentagono dopo la scoperta degli abusi nella prigione irachena di Abu Ghraib. In serata sono arrivate anche le nomine degli inviati speciali per il Medio Oriente, George Mitchell, e per Pakistan e Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke. Mitchell partirà appena possibile per la regione, ha detto Obama, per garantire il rispetto della tregua tra Israele e Hamas.

Tornano i fondi pro-aborto. La rivoluzione Obama comincia ad abbattere i primi pilastri dell’era Bush. A poche ore dall’insediamento, il presidente democratico sta per siglare lo sblocco dei fondi federali ai gruppi internazionali che promuovono o effettuano l’aborto. Il provvedimento era stato già preannunciato nel programma di Obama come una delle prime misure ad essere varate. Conosciuta anche come “Global gag rule” o “Mexico City Policy”, è stata introdotta per la prima volta ai tempi della presidenza Reagan (nel corso di una conferenza Onu nella capitale messicana nel 1984) e poi revocata e reintrodotta dalle successive amministrazioni democratiche e repubblicane. Bill Clinton l’aveva revocata nel 1993, ma era tornata come uno dei primi atti di George W. Bush al suo primo ingresso alla Casa Bianca nel 2001.

Via libera al New deal “verde”. Rivoluzione in arrivo per il mercato automobilistico mondiale. Il presidente Obama ha ordinato all’Environmental Protection Agency, l’agenzia americana per la protezione dell’ambiente, la revisione delle leggi dell’amministrazione Bush in materia energetica, autorizzando la California e altri 13 stati dell’Unione a fissare standard più severi sui gas di scarico delle automobili e sull’efficienza energetica, come chiesto nel 2007 da un gruppo di governatori guidati da Arnold Schwarzenneger, fortemente critici verso la politica ambientale dell’ex presidente, che però aveva respinto la richiesta. La California intende ridurre le emissioni del 30% entro il 2016: si tratta del più ambizioso impegno statale o federale per contrastare il riscaldamento globale.

Contatti diretti con l’Iran. Svolta diplomatica degli Stati Uniti con la nuova presidenza Obama. L’inviato dell’Amministrazione alle Nazioni Unite ha detto che gli Usa “non vedono l’ora di avviare una diplomazia vigorosa con l’Iran, compresi contatti dipolmatici diretti”. 
  “Siamo profondamente preoccupati – ha detto Rice – per la minaccia costituita dal programma nucleare iraniano per la regione, per gli Stati Uniti e per l’intera comunità internazionael. Dobbiamo impegnarci in una diplomazia vigorosa che comprenda contatti diretti con l’Iran”.

When asked to write an article about ‘change’, the last thing I wanted to do was write something that was obvious – or had the word ‘change’ repeatedly in the first sentence. (A moot point now)

Anyhow, with everyone excited with the change of hands in the US administration and the overall feel-good that comes with the start of the year, there’s a feeling the this year will be different. Somehow. For the better. In my opinion, I do get a little irritated that the well-being of the world depends on the well-being of America. But hey – doesn’t matter if everyone ends up feeling all happy and content.

But will things really change for the better? There’s a saying I read on a mat of a cool vegetarian restaurant I ate at recently:
” An optimist sees the glass half-full. A pessimist sees the glass as half-empty. A realist knows that someone will have to wash the glass.”
As most people can see where I’m getting at, I agree with the realist. Regardless of whether this year will be better or worse, it’s up to us to make it work – ‘wash the glass’. All the crap of last year can truly be a thing of the past if we take it upon ourselves to fix the mess we got ourselves into in the first place.

But I don’t want to continue on a lecture about responsibility – I’m sure there’s enough on the web if you search hard enough. I like light and fluffy things – sounds either like food or a soft toy. I’m generally very frivolous in my posts and articles and I like it that way – although the darkness creeps in from time to time. This post might ramble on and have no meaning. That’s fine by me too. That’s how I write and think. No human being thinks like a well-written essay. That’s why you can’t write in one go. You stop, think, edit and plan your way through the word limit given. Being the nerd/geek that I am, I actually enjoyed my English exams – gave me the chance to speak my mind in an essay. No straight-lace stuff about “My Pet” or “How I Spent my Summer Vacations…”. I’d always pick the essay which had something on the lines of “Insert the following phrase into your essay”, followed by some weird sentence. Those were fun to write. My one regret was the school not letting me sit for English as a First Language and instead made me give English as a Second Language. I aced that of course – but I knew I would have aced the First Language one too. Their reasoning was: “The Cambridge examination board does not expect foreigners to pass that paper”. What BS.

I promised TJ/Cookie Monster/biscuitinabasket (take your pick) that I might include a recipe in my post. I’m a foodie and I generally add recipes on my blog from time to time (shameless plug to my blog). So, I’ll hand over a recipe (which I will re-publish on my blog after the 7PI7D is over – sorry TJ) which has ‘evolved’ over time and is a popular comfort food/weekend brunch dish in my house – well mostly just me:

• 1 pkt of hotdogs (about 10)
• 3 large potatoes, chopped into 1cm cubes
• a condiment of your choice – generally a smoky sauce like BBQ or thai chili sauce does well
• olive oil
• salt/pepper to taste
• crumbly cheese (optional)

Heat a non-stick pan and add 1-2tbs of olive oil to the pan. Add potatoes and cook until somewhat crispy and golden on the outside and is mostly cooked. While sauteing the potatoes, cut the hotdogs while frozen into very thin slices. It’s easier doing it while frozen. Once the potatoes are sauteed, add hotdogs and cook for about 5 minutes, when the hotdogs have browned somewhat and are cooked. Add about 1-2tbs of the sauce of your choice, along with salt and pepper. If using a salty cheese later, omit the salt. Cook for another minute and add cheese. Blend quickly and take pan off the heat. Serve hot with eggs or eat plain.

Now about the cheese used, this was a recent modification. I never used cheese before but got a really yummy, salty fresh cottage cheese from Dhaka. It was in a ball and had small holes, like Swiss. The consistency was that if heated, it would melt slightly, giving it a stringy appearance, but retained its shape. That’s the type of cheese I would advise to use. If you use cheddar and/or mozzarella or the melty stuff, I’d advise to add it after you take the pan off the heat. This recipe makes enough for about 4-6 people, depending on appetites and if its added as a part of big weekend brunch. It will stretch to 8 people if used in a big brunch.

My name is Mars, and my mind is ticking on The Inner Workings Of A Media Junkie

I’ve taken a short excerpt from the holiday DVD I’m working on. It’s probably only of interest to myself, Paula and our families, but I’ll post it here just in case anybody else is interested!

As a white, American born, female of Irish and Cherokee descent, I am living in what may be the biggest period of change for my country. At 24, I have been able to vote in 2 presidential elections, and on November 4 I cast my vote for our first non-white president. And on January 20 I stood in a room with four year olds and ironically watched him sworn in on a black and white tv.

I think that it is more important that our 44th president is of mixed race, not that he is “black”. As our country moves forward and breaks down the barriers that have plagued us for hundreds of years, something as taboo as a white woman and a black man together is starting to be re-examined.

I don’t expect Obama to change the whole world in the next four years but I am hoping that he will inspire changes that each American can take to heart and explore and expand upon them. But what is great about this is, is that Obama’s reach goes beyond just the United States, it reaches parts of the world you would never expect.

While this is a time of great change and possibility it is also a time of high anxiety. Sometimes I feel like this is 1959 instead of 2009. Have you seen the specks on this beast of a car he drives around in? It is able to deal with rocket launchers. Like really why is it that people are so afraid of change that they could possibly be launching rockets at a simple man who loves basketball and his blackberry and has taken this broken country into his hand in the hopes that he can fix the mess.

For the first time I am proud to be an American, I don’t want to walk around with an accent, pretending that I am off the boat from Ireland.

Obama gives me hope.

Hi my name is Pipi from The Lubricious Menagerie of Pipi the Nefarious and today, I was your guest blogger!

“Heraclitus once said that “one cannot bathe in the same river twice”. Why? Because it won’t ever be the same river – since water is in constant movement – and because, I believe, one is not the same person either.

We are always changing. Getting stronger. Weaker. Happy. Sad. Automatic. On standby. Alive. I change everyday and so does my life.

I’m tired of thinking stupid stuff but that’s something I can’t help. I’m a thinker, which doesn’t mean that I think useful things, I just think all the time. Anyway, this time…I’m thinking about our future, my future.

I’ve been waiting for a blessed phonecall that won’t make my phone ring yet. I’m moving to the USA this year, soon, but I don’t know when or where to. This is exactly what I’ve been telling the whole cyberspace. Sigh. Sometimes I’m afraid people will start thinking I’m a liar. I’ll work as an Au Pair. I’ve been feeling miserable all this time because I never got a single call from a host family that would be willing to receive me at their house. “Be patient and wait till Obama takes office” – people have been telling me for months. It’s been four days since. I am excited. I must admit I’m both excited for the states and for the whole world, and because this is the only token I have left. My only hope. If he makes them feel at ease again, maybe, they will call.

It is funny to think that I believe a president will change my life – in a certain way. People just think that’s what is missing, Obama and the stability he’ll bring with him.

Nobody stopped to think that maybe the fact that I quit smoking may have its influence too. Or the fact that I’ve been volunteering at a Summer camp. Or the fact that I’m no longer picky about children’s ages.
I wonder who I’ll be within some months. Once I’m away from this bedroom with its pink walls that have been my escape for years. I wonder what I’ll become. I will change. More.

Our world will change and I’ll see that from a new perspective, soon. I’ll start living the american dream one day, and I’m afraid – sometimes – that it will change me, too much.

It’s Saturday… It’s beautiful this morning…. I have slept 4 hours… but I am wide awake… I am excited… I’m about to launch my first “blog project”… what are we waiting for…?… Let’s go!

The 7 posts in 7 days (7Pi7D) project is an initiative on this blog as part of it’s participation in January’s NaBloPoMo. The idea is for 14 people to each write 1 blog post on the theme of the month – Change. Over the course of next week, you will read the words of 14 such bloggers and non-bloggers, who will entertain you with their thoughts and experiences.

Do visit the all the links below; these guys are good writers, and I guess a lot of them are embracing some sort of change by guest posting for the first time! Also, do take part, comment and let these guys know your thoughts on their posts. There is a prize/giveaway for the 500th commenter on this blog too! There are 68 comments left to reach this target, and if you are the 500th commenter, I will get in touch with you and we can sort out the prize. An equal prize will be given to the writer on whose post the comment appears. My roster for this project is….

1. MaliZOMG from Gone Fishing Without my GPS
2. Lili from Lili’s Blog
3. Anonymously Me (non-blogger)
4. HFM from Drinking Raindrops
5. Antonella from From the Stupidest corner of my mind
6. MY from For the Love of Life
7. Mars from The Inner Workings of A Media Junkie
8. Falak from Starry Eyed Book Lovers
9. Outcastrebelchic from Organised Chaos
10. Digital Nomad from Digital Niqabi
11. Pipi from The Lubricious Menagerie of Pipi the Nefarious
12. Dallas Diaries from Because it’s the Dallas Etiquette
13. Katherine from Katherine Unabridged
14. Melanie from No, The Asian One
15. (In the bullpen*) Sarah Elizabeth from Jacks, Yurman, and Bobbi Brown

Right…. so everyone ready? Cool… Let’s play ball!

* Bullpen – (baseball) An enclosed area for pitchers to warm up in during a game.

For all those guys who haven’t yet heard of 7Pi7D…. Where have you been?

You can read more about this small project here.

7Pi7D was conceived as part of me taking part in NaBloPoMo. The theme for January 2009 is Change, and to commemorate the last week of January, I am opening my blog to my readers to post their opinions, views, thoughts and experiences of change. What they are going to do is simple – they are going to write a post, as they would on their blog, on whatever they want…. but to the theme of change!

To manage this first time event, I have opened my blog to 14 guest posts. People can post more than once, but I would love to have 14 unique and insightful views on change from your perspective, or from your life. There are 2 cash prizes at stake as well….. this will go to the 500th commenter on my blog (we stand at 420 at the moment), and also to the blogger on whose post the comment appears. Depending on how popular this project turns out, there could be something in it for everyone – lets see.

For all those of you who have put your name down – I would love it if you guys could start sending in your posts. The first two posts will go out this Sunday morning at 0001 UK time, and 1200 UK time. Thereafter, there will be 2 posts everyday for 7 days.

As it stands, I still need 4-5 more of you to join in. I already have one non-blogger participating, so why don’t you the reader make a cameo too! Check out the link at the start of the post for how you can get involved, or drop me a line or leave a comment, and I will get back to you with answers. I am also on twitter, so you can ask me on there if it is more convenient.

So far, this is what my line up looks like… but it’s not necessary that the posts will appear in the same order! One of you is getting into the spirit of this already, check Mars‘ post out!

Gone fishing without my GPS

Lili’s Blog

The Legend of G

Drinking Raindrops

From the stupidest corner of my mind

For the Love of Life

The Inner Workings of a Media Junkie

Starry Eyed Book Lovers

Outcast Rebel Chic

Digital Niqabi *new*

Go on… Join in!

LA CASA BIANCA

Ieri tutto il mondo è rimasto a guardare. Un uomo solo al comando di una nazione, il Comandante in capo Barack Hussein Obama, ha enunciato i punti cardine del suo programma nel discorso inaugurale. La crisi che attanaglia l’economia americana è gravissima e non accenna a fermarsi, l’esercito americano è impegnato in due guerre dispendiose e difficili da condurre in porto, la credibilità americana è in uno dei momenti piu bassi della sua storia.

Riprendendo pensieri Kennedyani Obama dice chiaramente che  “A partire da oggi, dobbiamo rialzarci, toglierci di dosso la polvere, e ricominciare il lavoro della ricostruzione dell’America“.

Rifacendosi a Roosevelt, afferma che gli americani hanno scelto “la speranza rispetto alla paura“. Egli rifiuta il dogmi bushisti del passato e guarda  ad una “’unità degli intenti rispetto al conflitto e alla discordia“.  E poi annuncia il suo New Deal.

“Costruiremo le strade e i ponti, le reti elettriche e le linee digitali che alimentano i nostri commerci e ci legano gli uni agli altri. Restituiremo alla scienza il suo giusto posto e maneggeremo le meraviglie della tecnologia in modo da risollevare la qualità dell’assistenza sanitaria e abbassarne i costi”

Il nuovo Presidente parla una lingua nettamente diversa da Bush in riguardo alla politica estera, soffermandosi su come la multiculturalità americana possa essere d’esempio per la ricerca della pace.

“Noi siamo una nazione di cristiani e musulmani, ebrei e induisti e non credenti. Noi siamo formati da ciascun linguaggio e cultura disegnata in ogni angolo di questa Terra; e poiché abbiamo assaggiato l’amaro sapore della Guerra civile e della segregazione razziale e siamo emersi da quell’oscuro capitolo più forti e più uniti, noi non possiamo far altro che credere che i vecchi odi prima o poi passeranno, che le linee tribali saranno presto dissolte, che se il mondo si è rimpicciolito, la nostra comune umanità dovrà riscoprire se stessa; e che l’America deve giocare il suo ruolo nel far entrare il mondo in una nuova era di pace.”

Al mondo mussulmano manda un messaggio importante, costruire qualcosa e non distruggere.

“A quei leader in giro per il mondo che cercano di fomentare conflitti o scaricano sull’Occidente i mali delle loro società – sappiate che i vostri popoli vi giudicheranno su quello che sapete costruire, non su quello che distruggete”

Si respira aria nuova alla Casa Bianca e posso dire anche nel mondo intero. Speriamo che la rivoluzione Obamiana abbia successo, l’uomo merita, ha degli ideali e crede in quel che dice, temo però che la “vecchia” politica fatta di compromessi metterà piu di qualche bastone tra le ruote del Presidente.

Chi vuole leggere l’intero discorso puo andare QUI

Ore 18.06, Barack Obama è ufficialmente il nuovo Presidente degli Stati Uniti D’America!

Yes, We Can

Oggi Obama giurerà come 44esimo Presidente. E’ quindi il momento di capire quale sarà la sua squadra di governo. Molti clintoniani (Hillary, Emanuel, Panetta alla direzione della CIA) un repubblicano (Gates) e tanti volti nuovi sono le principali novità della Amministrazione Obama, che si insedierà tra pochi giorni. E si perche i Ministri, che negli Usa sono chiamati ”Segretari” , devono essere “approvati” dal Congresso. Hillary ha già passato la prova mentre per esempio il ministro del tesoro Geithner trova delle difficoltà a causa di uno scandalo scoppiato qualche giorno fa. Ma vediamo i membri principali dello staff: 

Joe Biden (67 anni)

-VicePresidente-

In realtà il ruolo del VP si è col tempo radicato e allargato: il Vice può essere un importante consigliere del Presidente, o vedersi deputate intere parti dell’agenda politica. In questo caso, insomma, il suo ruolo dipende dal rapporto che egli ha col “capo”, e quanto quest’ultimo intende considerarlo e valorizzarlo.

Al Gore, ad esempio, era un importante consigliere di Clinton sulla politica estera e l’ambiente; mentre Dick Cheney viene considerato uno dei Vice-Presidenti più centrali e interventisti della storia americana. Lo stesso Cheney, tra l’altro, dovette cambiare la sua residenza dal Texas al nativo Wyoming, perché costituzionalmente i due nomi del ticket non possono provenire dal medesimo Stato.

Il VP è anche Presidente del Senato, anche se lo presiede normalmente solo in caso di sedute particolarmente importanti (come l’elezione ufficiale di Obama). La sua partecipazione al voto, per consuetudine, avviene invece solo nel caso in cui il risultato si sia stabilita una situazione di pareggio 50-50. 

 Hillary Clinton(62 anni)

 -Segretario di Stato-

 (da polisblog.it) Il Segretario di Stato, all’interno del governo, è sostanzialmente equivalente al nostro Ministro degli Esteri. È considerato il membro di più alto livello del governo, e nella linea costituzionale di successione è per questo dopo il Vice-Presidente, lo Speaker della Camera e il Presidente Pro-tempore del Senato. Curiosamente, un Presidente dimissionario deve in primo luogo avvisare il Segretario di Stato: Nixon, ad esempio, si dimise con una lettera all’allora Segretario Henry Kissinger.

Al di là delle curiosità legali, è ovvio come il ruolo di portavoce della politica estera americana sia fondamentale e di grande peso internazionale. Il Segretario di Stato deve attuare le trattative più spinose, mettere la propria faccia alle posizioni meno popolari o far pesare la minaccia di una mossa militare statunitense.

Recentemente abbiamo visto Condoleezza Rice astenersi per ordine di Bush su un documento che lei stessa aveva contribuito a preparare; mentre tutti ricordiamo un patetico Colin Powell, armato di prove false e fialetta di finta antrace, intento a dimostrare l’esistenza della armi di distruzione di massa in Iraq.

La scelta di Barack Obama e del team che ha condotto la ricerca del candidato VP è caduta su Joe Biden, un Senatore del Delaware di lungo corso politico. Una scelta dettata dall’opportunità politica: esperienza, età, credibilità in politica estera, e – facciamo i politically incorrect - anche un nome assai più “popolare” di Barack Hussein.

Nel numero odierno cercheremo di raccontare alcune curiosità sul ruolo di essere “a un battito cardiaco” dalla Presidenza. Un ruolo spesso sminuito, ma con un’aneddotica interessante.

Rahm Emanuel(49 anni)

 -Capo dello Staff Presidenziale-

 Chi ha visto quel bignami romanzato di politica americana che è The West Wing sa quanto un CoS forte – in quel caso rappresentato dal personaggio di Leo McGarry – sia importante perché l’amministrazione funzioni correttamente e i lavori all’interno della Casa Bianca possano procedere il più fluidamente possibile.

Il CoS si occupa sostanzialmente di selezionare e supervisionare il personale, di gestire il tempo del Presidente (decidendo chi e cosa meriti tempo nell’Ufficio Ovale) e soprattutto di collaborare col Congresso e le varie lobby per far sì che l’agenda politica abbia un corso il più possibile fluido ed efficace. Ovviamente sta al Presidente dare più o meno rilevanza al suo CoS nella gestione della quotidianità politica.

Uno dei CoS più famosi è stato senza dubbio il brusco H.R. Haldeman, che si autodescrisse orgogliosamente come “Richard Nixon’s son of a bitch”. Rahm Emanuel ha senza dubbio ottime referenze per essere l’ “Obama’s son of a bitch”, come vedremo parlando – per strano che sembri – di Tony Blair, coltellate ai nemici e pesci inviati per posta.

Due aneddoti. Il primo riguarda Tony Blair. Durante il suo lavoro come consigliere di Bill Clinton, Emanuel si trovò a gestire la delicata fase dello scandalo Lewinsky. Blair e Clinton, nel pieno del polverone Sexgate, si trovarono ad apparire in un’occasione pubblica: un evento fondamentale per confermare la fiducia e la rispettabilità del profilo pubblico dell’allora Presidente. Rahm si rivolse a Blair con un consiglio amichevole quanto perentorio: “Questo è importante, non fare cazzate”.

Il secondo aneddoto riguarda i nemici. Dopo l’elezione di Clinton nel 1992, ad un pranzo per celebrare la vittoria, Emanuel cominciò a recitare una lista di chi aveva provato a sbarrare la strada al neo-Presidente, per ciascuno gridando “Morto!” e dando potenti coltellate al tavolo. In quella campagna Emanuel aveva raccolto fondi in grandi quantità, arrivando a rifiutare bruscamente offerte da lui ritenute troppo avare, al fine di farle aumentare

Janet Napolitano (51 anni)

-Segretario alla Sicurezza-

 Nata in una famiglia di origine italiana, si laureò alla Santa Clara University per poi ottenere un master in giurisprudenza all’University of Virginia. Dopo aver completato il corso di studi cominciò la sua carriera politica all’interno del Partito Democratico.

Collaboratrice della docente universitaria Anita Hill nel 1991, nel 1993 Bill Clinton la nominò Attorney general del governo per l’Arizona mentre dal 1998 fu consigliere giuridico del governo statale. Nel 2002 si candidò come governatrice dello Stato e con il 46,2% sconfisse il candidato repubblicano Matt Salmon.

Napolitano è una donna molto popolare negli Stati Uniti e nel febbraio del 2006 la rivista Time la inserì nella lista dei cinque migliori governatori americani. Scontata la sua rielezione, che avvenne nel 2006 con il 62,6% dei consensi.

Alle primarie presidenziali democratiche del 2008 ha appoggiato la candidatura di Barack Obama, e venne considerata una possibile candidata vice-presidente del senatore dell’Illinois. Si è vociferato su una sua candidatura al Senato contro l’uscente John McCain, senatore dell’Arizona, ma il neo-eletto presidente l’ha scelta come responsabile del ministero per la Sicurezza interna.

E’ stata nominata ministro della Sicurezza Interna dal presidente Barak Obama il 1 Dicembre 2008.

 Timothy Geithner (48 anni)

-Segretario al Tesoro-

 Ex capo della Federal Reserve Bank di New York, Timothy Geithner, è stato determinante nel fornire alcune risposte alla crisi economica recente.

Prima di entrare alla Federal Reserve di New York, Timothy Geithner ha lavorato per il Fondo monetario internazionale. E’ stati anche sottosegretario per gli affari internazionali, dal 1999 al 2001.

Robert Gates (65 anni)

-Segretario alla Difesa-

 Gates ricopre, sotto l’amministrazione di George W. Bush, il ruolo di ventiduesimo segretario alla Difesa, succedendo al dimissionario Donald Rumsfeld. Ha inoltre accettato di coprire lo stesso incarico nell’amministrazione guidata da Barack Obama. È stato direttore della CIA dal 6 novembre del 1991 al 20 gennaio del 1993, culmine di una carriera di 26 anni all’interno della struttura di spionaggio e in precedenza presso il National Security Council. È presidente della Texas A&M University, ed ha il ruolo di National President della National Eagle Scout Association. È padre di due figli.

James Jones (65 anni)

-Consigliere per la Sicurezza Nazionale-

 Il Generale James Jones è stato Comandante supremo delle forze USA e NATO in Europa. 

Jones è stato un critico di alcune scelte sulle strategie di guerra della amministrazione Bush, soprattutto in Afghanistan. Il generale in pensione è un veterano decorato del Vietnam ed è benvoluto sia dai Repubblicani che dai Democratici E’ stato un consulente di pace in Medio Oriente per l’amministrazione Bush.

Staff Casa Bianca

• National Security Adviser: General James Jones
• National Economic Council: Lawrence Summers
• Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel
• Senior adviser: David Axelrod
• Senior adviser: Valerie Jarrett
• Transition co-chair: John Podesta
• Senior adviser: Pete Rouse
• Press secretary: Robert Gibbs
• White House counsel: Greg Craig
• Assistant for legislative affairs: Phil Schiliro
• VP chief of staff: Ron Klain

Governo:

• Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton
• Defence Secretary: Robert Gates
• Treasury Secretary: Timothy Geithner
• Health Secretary: Tom Daschle
• Attorney General (Justice Secretary): Eric Holder
• Homeland Security Secretary: Janet Napolitano
• UN ambassador: Susan Rice
• Energy Secretary: Steven Chu
• EPA Administrator (Environment Secretary): Lisa Jackson
• Housing Secretary: Shaun Donovan
• Education Secretary: Arne Duncan
• Interior Secretary: Ken Salazar
• Agriculture Secretary: Tom Vilsack
• CIA Director: Leon Panetta

Well, it was some weekend! Not overly exciting, but I did everything and more on my to-do list!

Saturday started with cleaning my room, and pulling out the clothes which I have been wanting to give to charity. Hopefully the Islamic charity that I donated the clothes to will send it off to Gaza. Next was food shopping and cleaning the car. Then I sat to study a the chapter which I have been studying for the last 3 months; I finally finished it on Sunday! Next came the Google Reader catch-up session; I sat reading approximately 500 posts which were waiting in my reader all week, and I recon I commented on atleast 80-100 posts too! Saturday night ended quite late… well,  late into Sunday morning. On Sunday, after a little more stuying, I watched He Got Game, which stars Denzel Washington. I think I can watch anything which stars Jim Carrey, Will Smith, and Denzel Washington – their acting is pretty immense.

On early Sunday morning, I officially “launched” the 7 posts in 7 days project. I started January with 10 resolutions; my aim was to get life back on track after an indifferent 3 years or so. As part of the changes, I decided to participate in NaBloPoMo; co-incidently, the theme for January 2009 is change. My post on Numbers supplemented my resolutions, and in an attempt to come out fighting in 2009, I began posting something everyday. I wonder how many people, if any have noticed, but I have attempted to accomodate the theme of change in every post that I write; it may be obvious sometimes, and subtle in others, but I want to try and write posts which makes the reader think.

Since this is my first attempt at NaBloPoMo, I decided yesterday to offer my blog to 7 (or more) bloggers for 7 days. I have 2 objectives. My first objective is part of my resolutions – to forge new friendships, and social media is an excellent medium to go about this at this moment in time. The second objective is to get people out and talk about  something which they aim to see or do in 2009. I want to gauge in a “debate” on the theme of change, and I want to know how you the reader see change in 2009.

The rules of this project are simple:

1. Anyone can participate; you dont have to own a blog to take part.
2. You can participate as many times as you want over the 7 days, you are not limited to a single post.
3. The 7 days in question are from Sunday 25th January 2009 to Saturday 31st January 2009. You can participate on one or multiple days – it all depends on how many posts you write!
4. The theme of the post has to be “Change”. The title and content of the post – well that is up to you! It can be a personal post (based on the content of your blog, or experience), it can be a general post, it can be 2 lines, or the works of Shakespeare; quite what you write is up to you…. as long as it has something to do with the theme.
5. In your post, it will be cool to mention your blog or website, and in return, I will direct traffic towards your site via shout outs to the posts and your blog on 3 social network sites. If you want to post anonymously, then that is fine too; I will appreciate the post regardless of the person who is posting!

Another objective which I want to reach, hopefully before the 31st of January, is the 500th commenter. Now, I originally mentioned that the commenter will get a cash prize either in the form of a gift card/voucher (or e-voucher) of their choice, OR I will donate that money to a charity of their choice. I want to extend this prize a little. If the 500th comment comes during the period of the guest posts, I will offer 2 prizes – one for commenter and one for the author of the post. Now, the added incentive is on you to market your posts, and to raise awareness of 7 posts in 7 days. As it stands, we are a 100 comments or so away from 500 commenters.

Ok, so I have highlighted my idea of the project; the next step is – how do you participate? Well your options are -

1. Leave a comment with your interest to post;
2. Drop me an email with your interest to post (biscuitinabasket [at] googlemail [dot] com);
3. Twitter me with your interest to post.

Once I get your message, I will contact you and let you know how you can post. I am arranging for guest logins, but if you are not comfortable with using wordpress, you can always type up a post as you want it to appear (in MS word, or in an email etc), and I will ensure that it is presented well as a post.

If you have any questions or queries, just ask You don’t have to be a great writer to participate…. if you want to take part – you’re in! The earlier you throw your name into the hat, the more shout outs you get! I will be mentioning my posts on Twenty Something Bloggers, NaBloPoMo, and Twitter.

The people who are on the list to take part so far (almost certainly!) are……

Mali from Gone fishing without my GPS

Lili from Lili’s Blog

From… well, no where specific – The Legend of G

HFM from Drinking Raindrops

Antonella… or Anto… or Ace… or Thrice… (one of those four) from From the stupidest corner of my mind

I look forward to cameo posts from silent readers, and passers by… the more, the merrier and better!

Tomorrow is the start of some real change in the world…. what are your views on change? Want to talk about it? I’ll give you the platform… the stage is all yours!

Meno 1. Domani Barack Hussein Obama giurerà come 44esimo Presidente degli Stati Uniti d’America, sabato sono iniziate le celebrazioni ufficiali del “cambio della guardia”, Obama è arrivato in treno, come Lincoln. Ieri c’è stato il mega concero a Washington. Domani la cerimonia ufficiale, “l’Inaguration Day” e cioè il giuramento del nuovo Presidente. Di seguito un pò di news sulle celebrazioni (tratte da Repubblica.it):

Bush a cena dalla Rice poi telefona agli “amici”, compreso Berlusconi
Oggi il Luther King Day, dedicato allo “spirito di servizio” nella comunità

Obama, popolarità alle stelle
“Governo efficiente, ma fate la vostra parte”

L’Inauguration Day costerà 170 milioni di dollari, in gran parte offerti dagli sponsor
Tra gli invitati anche il pilota-eroe dell’aereo nell’Hudson

WASHINGTON – Ultime 24 ore per George W. Bush alla Casa Bianca, meno 24 ore per Barack Obama. Alla vigilia dell’Inauguration Day, la popolarità del nuovo presidente non è mai stata così alta: secondo il sondaggio Cnn reso noto oggi, Obama ha il sostegno dell’84% degli intervistato. Sei persone su dieci vedono la cerimonia di domani come una “celebrazione della democrazia” e, ancor più significativamente, per 9 afroamericani su 10 dicono che quel che sta per accadere è “la realizzazione di un sogno”.

Obama ed il vice presidente Joe Biden, insieme alle loro famiglie, hanno partecipato oggi ad una delle iniziative di volontariato tenute nella zona di Washington. Dopo il centro per i ragazzi senza tetto, Barack Obama è andato in una scuola superiore di Washington per incontrare studenti e genitori raccolti per un’altra iniziativa di volontariato. ”Faremo funzionare il governo – ha detto il presidente – faremo
in modo che vi ascolti, che si interessi a voi, che faccia in modo che la gente possa avere l’assistenza sanitaria, possa mandare i figli al college, pagare le bollette, conservare le proprie case”. Ma è necessario, ha ribadito, l’impegno di tutti per migliorare l’America,
”perché il governo può fare solo fino ad un certo punto”. Sempre in maniche di camicia, Obama è poi passato a salutare, fermandosi a scambiare anche qualche battuta, tutti i ragazzi, genitori ed insegnanti.

Ieri il Concerto in onore del nuovo Presidente:

Il  palco è stato eretto nello stesso luogo dove Martin Luther King pronunciò lo storico discorso “I Have a Dream”. Dopo aver reso omaggio al Memorial, presidente e vicepresidente, e rispettive consorti, hanno salutato le migliaia di persone presenti.

L’ultima notte di George W. alla Casa Bianca

Dal mezzogiorno di domani, tutto quel materiale, e quello ancora da scoprire tra le email e i server, non apparterà legalmente più a Bush, ma alla nazione.  Queste sono le ore nelle quali l’uomo più potente del mondo assiste al proprio funerale civile a mezzogiorno e un minuto di domani, il momento fino al quale potrebbe ordinare il bombardamento atomico di Teheran o Mosca, e alle 12.02, neppure un caffè. Senza “rischi per la democrazia”, nelle certezza di una liturgia che tutti, da 209 anni quando fu aperta la Casa Bianca, rispettano anche se dentro di loro si divincolano.

Il giorno 8 gennaio Barack Obama è stato ufficialmente eletto come 44esimo Presidente degli Stati Uniti. Come sapete infatti negli USA non vi è una elezione diretta bensi la competizione si gioca sul raggiungimento dei 270 voti elettorali necessari per la vittoria. Obama ha totalizzato 365 voti elettorali contro i 173 di McCain. I voti elettorali però sono rappresentati dai Grandi Elettori che, dopo la proclamazione del 4 novembre, vengono appunto eletti solo per riunirsi e votare a loro volta l’elezione del Presidente.

Tre giorni fa quindi, alla presenza di Dick Cheney, Presidente del Senato uscente, i 365 grandi elettori hanno eletto ufficialmente Barack Hussein Obama alla Presidenza degli Stati Uniti d’America.

Ecco la notizia: http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-R-14052

A joint session of Congress certified the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States and Joseph Biden as Vice President. The electoral vote total was 365 electoral votes for Pres.-Elect Obama and Vice Pres.-Elect Biden and 173 electoral votes for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK). Vice President Dick Cheney announced the results.

Qui il video della Proclamazione:

Il video completo invece lo trovate qui:

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-R-14052