Yet another innovative concept started off in the US, which I’d like to see replicated after the coming elections this weekend in Romania. And another proof that democracy is a two-way street, though we Romanians seldom believe this. Change.org teamed up with MySpace and are running a competition on best ideas for America that can turn into real policies. Anybody can propose an idea and people vote for it online (please notice the collaborative intelligence model). The reason: President-Elect Obama says he wants to hear ideas from all Americans, so we’re taking him up on his offer.
Here’s how it works: The competition allows anyone to post an idea of 250 words or less, discuss with others, and vote on the top ideas from around the country. The top 10 rated ideas will be presented to a representative of the Obama Administration around Inauguration Day at an event in Washington, DC. We’ll then also announce a formal nonprofit sponsor for each idea and play a supporting role as each organization launches a national campaign to mobilize the millions of people on Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to turn each idea into real policy.
Published on
July 25, 2008 in
Miscellaneous.
Tags: Barack Obama, Berlin, Europe, John McCain, political campaign, political communication, politics, speech, transatlanic relations, US elections, world affairs.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAhb06Z8N1c&eurl=http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/obamaroadblog/gGxyFs[/video]
I have openly declared my admiration for Barack Obama before (here and here). I have always been very much preoccupied with the prospects of changes in American foreign policy – especially with respect to its ties with Europe and global organizations. I remember disagreeing with Antal Daniel, a Blogactiv blogger, on this issue. While I’ve always felt that Obama as president would mean a total shift of paradigm in world affairs, both this article written by Obama himself a year ago and his recent visit to Berlin make me think twice before claiming this. The story with the visit goes pretty much along these lines: Obama was more of a rock star than a politician, with extatic crowds of 200000 people cheering for him, and with a speech that reminded everybody of the messianic figures of the American nation (i.e. Kennedy and Reagan). Continue reading ‘Obama and the World: A Sham?’
Two weeks ago I met a friend who asked me “So, who are you voting for?” “Obama, of course!” “Me too!” It didn’t really matter we are not Americans, thus unable to vote in any way. But still, we rallied behind this guy’s plans 
And it seems it’s a matter of 20 hours or so till Obama will become the Democrats’ official proposal for the White House. Mrs. Clinton’s aides say she’s preparing her farewell speech. Uuuu… the excitement! I wonder how Romanian politicians feel about US elections…
Photo: NY Times – Senator Barack Obama campaigning Monday in Troy, Mich
Later edit: Hotnews tocmai au dat si ei vestea in romana. Se pare ca in seara asta Mrs. Clinton ne spune “bye-bye” si accepta – poate – propunerea de a deveni principalul artizan al reformelor Obama in sanatate.
Later later edit: It looks like Mrs Clinton is not giving up, officials say…
Published on
June 1, 2008 in
Miscellaneous.
Tags: administratie, Barack Obama, campanie electorala, e-government, Internet, marketing politic, online, Politica, retele sociale, romania, SUA, Web 2.0.
Online-ul romanesc e subutilizat in politica si administratie. Exista eforturi in acest sens, cum e conferinta de e-government de miercuri, “Cele 4 fatete ale e-government”, organizata de IDG Romania, la care planuiesc sa ajung in detasare de serviciu . Pe langa infima componenta de e-government a administratiei romanesti, totusi nu ma pot abtine sa remarc slaba exploatare a online-ului in campania locala de anul acesta. Continue reading ‘Ouale si gainile din politica online’
As he oftentimes does, Razvan’s inspired me today. Namely to write some thoughts on the American electoral campaign. Initially, I wanted to make a more comprehensive analysis. But this article from Hotnews.ro struck me. It basically makes a comparison between Segolene Royal’s nervousness in a public debate with Sarkozy and Hillary Clinton’s recent outburst on Saturday’s debate with Barack Obama, when she made a fuss because the moderator asked her first – instead of her opponent – a rather delicate question about NAFTA. Granted, “she snapped” – as American commentators put it.
And then I came to wonder… are women politicians bound “to snap” at their opponents? Or to be more nervous in general than their male counterparts? To put things bluntly, women do tend to think with their ovaries, i.e. to lose temper easier than men do. And yes, exceptional women (and I think we can all agree that making it to the finals in the electoral confrontation in both France and the US, less than a century after the very introduction of the universal suffrage is simply outstanding) also tend to snap easier than men.
But is that necessarily bad? Honestly speaking, I’d rather believe in a woman that can show me emotions (and I do believe the emotions displayed by both Segolene and Hillary were not terribly misplaced) than in a man that sweeps me off my feet with his perfectly cool composure. In politics, and in life in general. I’ll blog more about women in politics… the subject is fascinating.
The infamous clips (with Sego and Hillary losing their temper):
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_VmKcgYaIU&eurl=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-international-2495225-video-hillary-clinton-segolene-royal-doua-candidate-acelasi-comportament.htm[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ka4Z9I-6Y&eurl=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-international-2495225-video-hillary-clinton-segolene-royal-doua-candidate-acelasi-comportament.htm[/video]