DNCC Sees the Silverlight
Following my attempt to link up the Microsoft Mesh announcement with Jeremiah Wright in real time, I received this very interesting announcement from the DNCC:
And in a first for a political Convention, Silverlight, Microsoft’s platform for interactive Web applications and HD video, in conjunction with the Level 3 Communications network, will bring live, gavel-to-gavel Convention video coverage of the highest quality to a worldwide audience via the DNCC’s Web site at DemConvention.com. Silverlight multimedia applications will provide an all-access pass for the Convention’s online audience, offering an unprecedented opportunity for viewers to individually tailor their Convention experiences.
“Microsoft is proud to be a technology partner for the Democratic National Convention through our donation of software, technology services and content,” said Brad Smith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Microsoft. “Technology is playing an increasingly critical role in the electoral process, and contributing to the Convention allows Microsoft to help ensure that the Democratic Party, its delegates as well as voters watching in their homes and on the Internet are able to take full advantage of the benefits.”
This is exciting stuff. No more waiting till prime time for networks to broadcast; it’s there for you in real time. We’ll be talking more about this on NewsGang Live today, but this DNCC convention will be historic on many levels. This is an opportunity for us all to make our own decisions without the filter of the pundits.
As a blogger who hopes for an official credential to be present in real time, it’s very exciting to me to see the DNCC adopt technology that enables anyone and everyone to experience it alongside me. Bookmark the site, and get ready for a wild ride.
Full text of DNCC announcement
Technorati Tags: microsoft, DNCC, democrats, convention, silverlight, video, technology
Full Text of DNCC-Microsoft Announcement
DNCC NAMES MICROSOFT OFFICIAL SOFTWARE AND HD WEB CONTENT PROVIDER FOR 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Software Technology to Support Core Party Business in Denver, Offer Dynamic Experience and All-Access Pass for Online Users
DENVER – In a move to create a technically flawless event and engage more people in the Convention experience using cutting-edge technology, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today announced that Microsoft Corporation has been named as the Official Software and HD Web Content Provider for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, to be held August 25-28 in Denver.
“Microsoft’s standing as an industry leader in software development makes them an ideal partner for the DNCC,” said Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. “From voting to nominate the next President of the United States to adopting a national platform, there is a significant amount of important Party business that goes on at each and every Convention. Microsoft’s pioneering technology will play an integral role in powering the business of the Party in Denver.”
As the Official Software and HD Web Content Provider, Microsoft will provide the DNCC with technologies and applications to enhance engagement with Web viewers, delegates, members of the media and other Convention guests and to support delegate tracking, voting and the management of credentials.
A cornerstone of the DNCC’s technologically-savvy event will be the delegate voting system. During the nomination process, Microsoft technology will support a voting system that will provide up-to-the-minute delegate vote totals electronically to the Office of the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee, allowing timely reporting of vote tallies as compiled by each delegation’s Chair.
The DNCC will utilize Microsoft software to support the delegate tracking system to gather and manage a multitude of information about Convention participants. In addition, Microsoft technology will support the creation of a software platform to support the DNCC’s credentialing operation, facilitating the management and distribution of credentials for the event.
And in a first for a political Convention, Silverlight, Microsoft’s platform for interactive Web applications and HD video, in conjunction with the Level 3 Communications network, will bring live, gavel-to-gavel Convention video coverage of the highest quality to a worldwide audience via the DNCC’s Web site at DemConvention.com. Silverlight multimedia applications will provide an all-access pass for the Convention’s online audience, offering an unprecedented opportunity for viewers to individually tailor their Convention experiences.
“Microsoft is proud to be a technology partner for the Democratic National Convention through our donation of software, technology services and content,” said Brad Smith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Microsoft. “Technology is playing an increasingly critical role in the electoral process, and contributing to the Convention allows Microsoft to help ensure that the Democratic Party, its delegates as well as voters watching in their homes and on the Internet are able to take full advantage of the benefits.”
In addition to custom development, Microsoft is providing the DNCC with the latest in industry-leading software including business productivity, email, content services and real-time collaboration applications.
While providing valuable technological tools in the lead up to and during the Convention, Microsoft will also contribute to the DNCC’s “greening” efforts by tracking the company’s carbon footprint for Convention-related energy consumption, including all trips, deliveries, shipping transport of goods and staff air and ground travel. The DNCC aims to make this year’s Convention the most environmentally-sustainable event of its kind by applying sustainable planning principles to every decision in the lead-up to the four-day event.
Technorati Tags: DNCC, press release, Silverlight, Microsoft, video, technology, convention
Dear Rush Limbaugh: Suckit!
Rush Limbaugh’s call for riots in Denver is akin to shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater. To me, it’s unAmerican and transcends the limits of free speech. The city of Denver should be outraged, and so should the DNCC. I hesitate to quote anything from this idiot, but I will just so you all can see how incredibly out of touch with reality he is:
“We do, hopefully, the right thing for the sake of this country. We’re the only one in charge of our affairs. We don’t farm out our defense if we elect Democrats … and riots in Denver, at the Democratic Convention will see to it we don’t elect Democrats. And that’s the best damn thing that can happen to this country, as far as I can think,” Limbaugh said.
Who the hell is antiAmerican here? Calling for riots to disrupt the Denver convention in order to ensure a Republican victory?
This is outrageous. I’m looking to hunt down audio of his comments now.
Update: Here’s audio from a caller who objected to what he said. I still can’t find the original audio, if it exists anywhere. It may take more than one try to get it going, according to Crooks & Liars…
Technorati Tags: rush limbaugh, riots, denver, hate speech, suckit
Challenge to Barack Obama: Invite Wright
When my daughter was 5, she was run over by a van while crossing the street in a crosswalk. By some miracle she wasn’t killed (which amazed the paramedics), but she did sustain cuts and bruises. Her face was deeply cut, and you could see the tire marks on her hip where they went over her. It was, without question, the scariest moment in her short little life and definitely the scariest moment in my longer one.
After the accident, she was terrified to cross the street, even with an adult holding her hand. She shook like a leaf at the prospect, and for awhile wouldn’t even set her feet in one, insisting that one of us carry her, which we did for the time that her physical bruises were healing.
At some point we realized that if we kept carrying her, we were enabling her to hold her fears as legitimate and lasting instead of facing them and moving on.
So we began the work of teaching her that the crosswalk was not the enemy; the careless driver in the van was. It took awhile. It took some unconventional detours, like signing her up for irish dance competitions to give her confidence on the stage and in the crosswalk. After about a year, she got it.
This is not to say that she isn’t a bit freaked when some idiot turns through a crosswalk at breakneck speed or she sees a news report about pedestrians being mowed down. Both of us have to blink and swallow when that happens.
But she’s not afraid of her own ability to make a judgment call and step into a crosswalk. She knows what to look for, when to wait and when to go. She doesn’t shake with fear.
Similarly, it’s time for Barack Obama to introduce the American people to the Real Jeremiah Wright. The one who has fire when he preaches, yet is gentle when he ministers. The Jeremiah Wright with a passion for people suffering and in need, the Jeremiah Wright who overcame his own concerns about AIDS/HIV and gays in time to embrace and advocate for them when no one else would. The same Jeremiah Wright who offered Bill Clinton comfort and encouragement in the lowest days of his Presidency.
It’s time to start helping Americans overcome their fears. It’s time to set the record straight on this man and neutralize the orchestrated demonization.
Barack, take him out, let him talk to people. He’s a pastor. He’ll get it. And you’ll do a tremendous service to those who think he’s just some radical, separatist whacko by showing them what it means to be a man of God and a man of conviction all at once.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright begins his unveiling on Bill Moyers tomorrow night. After that, let’s see him by Barack’s side a few times, not campaigning, just being Dr. Wright.
PS to Lynn Sweet: The truth is EXACTLY what Obama needs. Dr. Wright is not a stupid man. The media is stupid for spinning him as one.
Technorati Tags: Jeremiah Wright, campaign, Bill Moyers
Hillary Hammers MoveOn?
What part of grass roots does Senator Hillary Clinton misunderstand? In her remarks at a private fundraiser, she had some harsh criticisms of MoveOn.org, an organization that came into existence to defend Bill Clinton in 1988:
“Moveon.org endorsed [Sen. Barack Obama] — which is like a gusher of money that never seems to slow down,” Clinton said to a meeting of donors. “We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn didn’t even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that’s what we’re dealing with. And you know they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by their view of our positions, and it’s primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don’t agree with them. They know I don’t agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominate them and really intimidate people who actually show up to support me.”
[Click for original article and audio]
A fact-check, above all:
- MoveOn.org has 3.2 million members across America. They are a progressive organization, dedicated to education and advocacy. It came into being in 1998 to protest the inordinate time and energy spent to impeach Bill Clinton.
- MoveOn agreed to endorse a candidate only if more than 60% of members voting between 1/31-2/1 chose a candidate. One candidate emerged and that candidate was Barack Obama.
- One would assume that a leader of the Democratic party would give great weight to the voices of the people, as expressed through organizations like MoveOn.org. However in her remarks, Senator Clinton intentionally distances herself from the “progressive branch” of the Democratic party.
- If Senator Clinton does not agree with 3.2 million members of her own party, why should she consider herself qualified to lead it?
- Reports from caucuses on the ground indicate that it was Hillary Clinton supporters intimidating Obama supporters. At the Texas county conventions, Clinton supporters stonewalled the delegate certification process in an effort to force Obama supporters to go home. Some of the state conventions lasted well over 20 hours as a result, turning into an endurance contest for all delegates. (More stories below)
Stories from the ground in Texas:
Andrea Richeson from Austin, TX (Precinct 239):
In the end, we got 3 Obama delegates to the Texas Convention in June — that’s out of the 4 available delegate spots for our precinct. A couple of wonderful neighbors and I were elected as Obama delegates to State, but it took about 12 hours of stress and strategy discussions and long lines and bad (expensive) food, traffic jams, cramped seating on bleachers, multiple rules clarifications, multiple credentials challenges, and unbelievably bad behavior by a couple of our Clinton-supporting neighbors to get there.
Many of the challenges were brought by Clinton supporters questioning the validity of Obama delegates. The Clinton campaign said it wouldn’t lodge any challenges itself but that it was helping supporters who would. The campaign previously said it was aiding supporters with legal advice and guidance on their challenges.
Obama was also lodging challenges in some counties over the complex formulas used to determine delegate counts, said campaign spokesman Josh Earnest.
“This math gets pretty complicated pretty quickly,” he said.
But Earnest said that unlike the Clinton campaign, the Obama campaign wasn’t challenging the seating of particular delegates.
“They’re engaged in a coordinated strategy to challenge our delegates and we’re not,” he said. “It’s disappointing to see the Clinton campaign throw up these obstacles.”
As he drove between Democratic conventions in Georgetown and Waco on Saturday to rev up supporters, Clinton adviser Terry McAuliffe said that the Clinton campaign has “not raised any of the challenges. A lot of our supporters have.”
More Twitterers’ words in real time here.
Clinton’s words to her supporters go beyond the “elitist” charge. They’re outright lies told behind another’s back for the purpose of personal gain.
That’s not leadership; it’s liarship.
Worse yet, are Howard Wolfson’s remarks defending Senator Clinton:
Howard Wolfson, communications director for the Clinton campaign, verified the authenticity of the audio, and elaborated on Clinton’s charge that these same party activists were engaged in acts of intimidation against her supporters: “There have been well documented instances of intimidation in the Nevada and the Texas caucuses, and it is a fact that while we have won 4 of the 5 largest primaries, where participation is greatest, Senator Obama has done better in caucuses than we have.” About Clinton’s remarks suggesting dismay over high Democratic activist turnout, Wolfson said, “I’ll let my statement stand as is.”
In fact, the Nevada caucuses occurred prior to MoveOn’s endorsement of Obama, and when Clinton made her remarks, the Texas caucuses had yet to take place.
Technorati Tags: Clinton, MoveOn, Texas, caucus, fundraiser, lies
Sphere: Related ContentTorture: A real reason for bitterness
While CNN and the other Sunday talking heads obsess over the ‘bitterness’ speech, and the Clinton/McCain campaign continues to flog it, let’s talk about the real reason to be bitter: President George Bush ADMITS he knew about torture authorization after his top advisors got together and discussed in excruciating detail how best to carry it out.
During an interview with ABC News last Thursday, President Bush admitted that he knew that “The Principals” discussed and approved the torture of so-called “high value” al Qaeda suspects:
“Well, we started to connect the dots in order to protect the American people.” Bush told ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. “And yes, I’m aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved.”
Think about this when you hear those trial balloons for Condoleeza Rice to be the VP candidate with McCain (wouldn’t THAT be an incredible irony?):
The high-level discussions about these “enhanced interrogation techniques” were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed — down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic.
These top advisers signed off on how the CIA would interrogate top al Qaeda suspects — whether they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding, sources told ABC news.
Dear World,
Please accept my sincere apologies as an American citizen for the leadership of our country. Understand that he and his cabal were not the choice of the majority of Americans, but that he stole leadership by way of an electoral coup that each and every voter should remember in the upcoming November election.
As an American, I’m ashamed that anyone in a leadership position in this country would dare to consider abandoning the Geneva conventions in favor of choosing — in DETAIL — known torture techniques to gain information about enemy plans.
What al Qaeda did on 9/11/2001 was reprehensible. Still, that didn’t give our leaders free reign to engage in inhuman and intolerable physical abuse of other human beings in the name of “war”.
Once again, I emphasize that Mr. Bush and his gang appointed themselves to this position without the approval of the majority of Americans. We are now horrified to discover that his lack of regard for human rights in the name of oil has extended so deeply into evil acts.
Sincerely,
Karoli
I cannot imagine anyone sitting around a table deciding how long prisoners should be waterboarded, how naked they should be, how deeply humiliated they should become. I cannot imagine anyone sitting around a table figuring out how to instruct their soldiers to execute such orders. I cannot imagine the craven depths of depravity it took to smugly approve such acts and then admit them coldly and without regret.
Still, it happened. And I’m bitter about it. I’m bitter that my citizenship has been abused in such a fashion, that such a stain has been applied to the word American. And I’m most bitter about the fact that in a day and age of near-instant information, the fact of Bush’s direct approval of TORTURE has been ignored in favor of Clinton/McCain spin by the press, cable news, and broadcast news.
This evil man has disgraced us all. And for what? This wasn’t about retribution for 9/11. It never has been. It’s been his quest for oil, for riches, for control of the Middle East. Count on it. He sold our humanity for 30 barrels of oil.
Bitter? You’re damn right I’m bitter.
Technorati Tags: bitter, torture, ABC News, Bush, Cheney, Rice, Ashcroft, Middle East, al Qaeda, war crimes
Sphere: Related Content
