Symposium on corruption = fit for Pittsburgh

If you don't understand history, it is easy to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Saving Communities is planning a symposium on corruption, in March 2010.

This March 21 marks the 100th anniversary of the day when 41 indictments were handed down against Pittsburgh city councilmen, industrialists and banking executives for graft, bribery and corruption. Even more council members avoided indictment by rushing to turn themselves in on the promise of reduced sentences for big offenses and clemency for smaller ones, provided that incumbent grafters resigned from office. One council member, thinking he had missed the deadline, even interrupted court proceedings by rushing into the courtroom, falling on his knees before the judge and tearfully begging to be included in the clemency deal for those who "came clean."

It was (and probably still is) the greatest municipal scandal in US history, and it resulted in a complete restructuring of Pittsburgh's city government. That is, the existing city charter was dissolved and all the council members were fired. A new charter was created by the state legislature, and new city council members were appointed by the
governor to serve until elections could be held.

The strong-mayor "boss" system common to machines in the late 1900s was replaces with a strong-council, weak-mayor system. The new council proceeded to replace contract patronage with civil service, to substitute the more progressive land value tax for property tax, and to enact other measures that were favored by progressive-era reformers.

Over the years, organizations representing the same interests that had corrupted the old government have slowly modified the structure in the direction of resembling the original corrupt structure, and have added new incentives for corruption, including, but not limited to, corporate-welfare subsidies. Central to these undemocratic modifications has been the return of the strong-mayor system. The new structure of county government, with a very strong executive and a very weak, underpaid and understaffed council, is even worse.

The proposed symposium is NOT about pointing fingers at this or that elected official. Rather, it is about how some structures of government are inherently more corruptible than others. We do not want to distract from the question of structure by focusing on personality.

Some opening topics will be,

1.) A description of Pittsburgh's most corrupt era, and the scandal that
finally toppled it.
1.a.) The notorious Magee-Flinn machine.
1.b.) The failure of earlier reforms that merely cast new players into old
roles.
1.c) The final scandal
1.d) The "ripper" bill that abolished Pittsburgh's government.
1.e.) Sources
1.e.1.) Lincoln Steffens, "Pittsburg, A City Ashamed"
1.e.2.) George Swetnam, Pittsburgh's bicentennial historian
1.e.3.) Contemporary newspaper articles, etc.

3). The original, corrupt structure
3.a.) Strong mayor
3.b.) Bi-cameral council

4.) The central reforms of the Progressive Era, how some reforms were
incorporated into the new government, and how others were prevented.

5.) The gradual restructuring of government once these reforms were in
place, to resemble the original, corrupt structure.

5.a.) Home rule charter
5.a.1.) Expanded mayoral powers, weakened council
5.a.2.) Line item veto
5.a.2.a) Stronger than Presidential veto that was struck down
5.a.2.b.) Results in new bill passed without a majority on council
5.b.) Council by district
5.b.1.) Increases the mayor's leverage
5.b.1.a.) Mayor's can punish a council member's entire district.
5.b.1.b.) District interests vs. city interests
5.b.1.c.) Can play one district off against another
5.b.2.) Only a problem within a strong-mayor system

The following are some contemporary issues to address: The key is that we tie these issues to the theme of the symposium - how they accommodate
corruption.

1.) The curse of the strong executive: Why systems dominated by the
legislative branch are inherently more democratic and less corruptible.

1.a.) Councils inherently more democratic
1.a.1.) More accessible to ordinary people
1.a.2.) Deliberates in public

1.b.) Roots of the strong-executive model
1.b.1.) Monarchy
1.b.2.) Appointed colonial governors
1.b.3.) Alexander Hamilton and the "Federalists"
1.b.4.) Continued support from special interests

2.) "Privatization," particularly in the form of contract-patronage and
monopoly franchises. Possible sub-topics include:

2.a.) Contract patronage

2.a.1.) HIring Sabre Systems as an excuse to get one whistleblowing
assessor with a seniority of 83 by laying off 85 assessors, and the
botched assessments that resulted.

2.a.2.) Private tax collectors, etc.

2.b.) Franchise patronage - government-licensed monopolies

2.b.1.) A comparison of Duquesne Light to Cleveland's "Muni Electric."
(This could be a simple price and value comparison, but we might also
find interesting histories.)

2.b.2.) Proposals to turn public utilities over to private firms on long-
term leases.

3.) The domination of banking interests on public policy.
3.a.) Banking corruption in the early 1900s
3.b.) The influence of bond-selling on public policy today.

3.) The proliferation of authorities
3.a.) Neither political nor economic accountability
3.b.) Their role in strengthening the strong-mayor system
3.c.) Off-loading debt onto authorities to evade constitutional debt
limits.

4.) Tax Increment Financing and other corporate-welfare subsidies.

5.) The impact of complexity on accountability.

6.) Things we could afford to do if we weren't doing things we shouldn't

7.) What can we do about it?

If you have an interest in this symposium, or have ideas on speakers,
topics, etc., please contact Dan Sullivan, as he wants to involve people from across the political spectrum.

Sincerely,
Dan Sullivan, director
Saving Communities
631 Melwood Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (USA)
412-OUR-LAND
412-687-5263

Fw: [DW] New Service - World Government Data from the Guardian (UK) also includes US, Australia, New Zealand, more coming #gov20

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-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Clift <clift@e-democracy.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:17:21
To: newswire<newswire@groups.dowire.org>
Subject: [DW] New Service - World Government Data from the Guardian (UK) also includes US, Australia, New Zealand, more coming #gov20

See:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world-government-data

From:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/jan/07/government-data-world

Data, data, data. There's loads of it out there and more coming your
way as governments open their statistics vaults around the world.

First the US with data.gov, then Australia and New Zealand followed
suit. Now it's the UK's turn with data.gov.uk.

And that's in addition to the cities and US states that have made
government data available too: London launched very recently - you can
get the full set of links for government data sites around the world
here.

Ever since the government appointed Sir Tim Berners-Lee as its open
data Czar (working with Prof Nigel Shadbolt from Southampton
University) it was obvious the issue was going to be big for the
government, but what does it mean for you?

You now have tens of sites around the world providing you access, but
how do you find them?

Well, this is now the place. To coincide with the launch of
data.gov.uk, we have created the ultimate gateway to world government
data.

At World Government Data you can:

• Search government data sites from the UK, USA, Australia, New
Zealand and London (this comes under United Kingdom, if you want to
browse) in one place and download the data (more sites to come)
• Help us find the best dataset by ranking them
• Collect similar datasets together from around the world
• Browse all datasets by each country

It's all been put together with the help of developer Ben Firshman and
is the culmination of our year-long project to make data widely
available to everyone.

And, even better, we have an API available. Even though all of these
government data sites have enormous quantities of data, they are not
in the same formats. What we have done is put them into a unified
form, meaning developers have the opportunity to write applications
that compare data between different countries. If you want the data in
Atom or JSON just change the "/search" to "/search.atom" or
"/search.json" in the url. There will be full documentation on this
soon. Watch this space.

The whole project is only going to increase in size and scope. As Ben
Fry has said: "This is only going one way: there is no trend towards
less data"


Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org
Follow me - http://twitter.com/democracy
New Tel: +1.612.234.7072

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Silver Lining for Vikings Fans (Politically)

by Dave Zirin

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/521374/silver_lining_for_vikings_fans_politically

This is a day to empathize with the agony amongst the long-suffering fans of the Minnesota Vikings. With a trip to the Super Bowl in their buttery grasp, they fumbled it all away. In a game they largely dominated from start-to-finish, the Vikes lost in overtime to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game, 31-28. Miscues, interceptions, and some questionable calls will have Vikings Nation asking "what if" for the next nine months.

Yes, there is misery in Minnesota. But there is also a silver lining, and I'm not talking about the joy in Green Bay at the spectacular fall of Minnesota QB Brett Favre. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf was locked and loaded to arrive at the Minnesota State Legislature on February 4 - three days before the Super Bowl - to press for a new $1 billion stadium with $700 million to be paid by the taxpayers. The Vikings, like many teams, is holding up the specter of moving the franchise to Los Angeles if they don't get a nine-figure welfare check. With the state's phony populist absentee governor Tim "Glass Jaw" Pawlenty saying little more than, "We have to keep the Vikings no matter what," Wilf was ready to roll the state's taxpayers. But now that the team has failed to reach the Big Game, the wind is out of Wilf's sails and Zygi is no longer coated with stardust. This isn't to say that Wilf won't emerge triumphant, but without the team in the Super Bowl, it's much more apparent that he will have a fight on his hands.

As Minnesota resident and dogged stadium opponent Willard Shapira wrote, "Most communities around the U.S. have caved in to such outrageous demands but socially concerned Minnesotans are fighting the Vikings tooth and nail. Others around the U.S. battling big-money and establishment power politics would take heart from a public victory over the Vikings and their gang of arrogant, plutocratic conspirators in business, politics and the media."

Remember that Minnesotans repeatedly rejected the Twins billionaire owner Carl Pohlad's efforts to get a new baseball stadium on the public dime. Despite their votes, Pawlenty rammed the $500 million facility through the legislature and it opens for business this spring. Now the owner called "the Big Bad Wilf" wants his piece of the public pie, recession be damned. The Vikings failure to make the Super Bowl makes his effort far more perilous.

On the flip side, and ever so ironically, New Orleans first trip to the Super Bowl makes it a near impossibility for the Saints owners, the Benson family, to fulfill their pre-Katrina dreams of moving their franchise to the City of Angels. If they made that move, I'm convinced that the Crescent City would implode with grief. Now, as a Super Bowl team, that move becomes a political impossibility.

Therefore in one tense contest to see who would ascend to the Super Bowl, two sets of owners saw their most treasured dreams to burn tax payers and break hearts go up in smoke. That's something all fans should cheer. Even in Minnesota.


[Dave Zirin is the author of the forthcoming “Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games we Love” (Scribner) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.]

Do not comment on the MR & Running Mates blog. Use the link above.

A Running mates blog gotta wonder about top end running speed

Human running speed of 35-40 mph may be biologically possible

http://blog. smu.edu/research /2010/01/ human_running_ speed_of_ 3540_mp.html#

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's record-setting performances have unleashed a wave of interest in the ultimate limits to human running speed. A new study published Jan. 21 in the Journal of Applied Physiology offers intriguing insights into the biology and perhaps even the future of human running speed.

The newly published evidence identifies the critical variable imposing the biological limit to running speed, and offers an enticing view of how the biological limits might be pushed back beyond the nearly 28 miles per hour speeds achieved by Bolt to speeds of perhaps 35 or even 40 miles per hour.

The new paper, "The biological limits to running speed are imposed from the ground up," was authored by Peter Weyand of Southern Methodist University; Rosalind Sandell and Danille Prime, both formerly of Rice University; and Matthew Bundle of the University of Wyoming."

The prevailing view that speed is limited by the force with which the limbs can strike the running surface is an eminently reasonable one," said Weyand, associate professor of applied physiology and biomechanics at SMU in Dallas."

If one considers that elite sprinters can apply peak forces of 800 to 1,000 pounds with a single limb during each sprinting step, it's easy to believe that runners are probably operating at or near the force limits of their muscles and limbs," he said. "However, our new data clearly show that this is not the case. Despite how large the running forces can be, we found that the limbs are capable of applying much greater ground forces than those present during top-speed forward running."

In contrast to a force limit, what the researchers found was that the critical biological limit is imposed by time — specifically, the very brief periods of time available to apply force to the ground while sprinting.In elite sprinters, foot-ground contact times are less than one-tenth of one second, and peak ground forces occur within less than one-twentieth of one second of the first instant of foot-ground contact.

The researchers took advantage of several experimental tools to arrive at the new conclusions. They used a high-speed treadmill capable of attaining speeds greater than 40 miles per hour and of acquiring precise measurements of the forces applied to the surface with each footfall. They also had subjects' perform at high speeds in different gaits. In addition to completing traditional top-speed forward running tests, subjects hopped on one leg and ran backward to their fastest possible speeds on the treadmill.

The unconventional tests were strategically selected to test the prevailing beliefs about mechanical factors that limit human running speeds — specifically, the idea that the speed limit is imposed by how forcefully a runner's limbs can strike the ground. However, the researchers found that the ground forces applied while hopping on one leg at top speed exceeded those applied during top-speed forward running by 30 percent or more, and that the forces generated by the active muscles within the limb were roughly 1.5 to 2 times greater in the one-legged hopping gait.

The time limit conclusion was supported by the agreement of the minimum foot-ground contact times observed during top-speed backward and forward running. Although top backward vs. forward speeds were substantially slower, as expected, the minimum periods of foot-ground contact at top backward and forward speeds were essentially identical.

According to Matthew Bundle, an assistant professor of biomechanics at the University of Wyoming, "The very close agreement in the briefest periods of foot-ground contact at top speed in these two very different gaits points to a biological limit on how quickly the active muscle fibers can generate the forces necessary to get the runner back up off the ground during each step."

The researchers said the new work shows that running speed limits are set by the contractile speed limits of the muscle fibers themselves, with fiber contractile speeds setting the limit on how quickly the runner's limb can apply force to the running surface.The established relationship between ground forces and speed allowed the researchers to calculate how much additional speed the hopping forces would provide if they were utilized during running."

Our simple projections indicate that muscle contractile speeds that would allow for maximal or near-maximal forces would permit running speeds of 35 to 40 miles per hour and conceivably faster," Bundle said.Related links:Journal of Applied Physiology: "The biological limits to running speed are imposed from the ground up"!

Peter Wey and Matthew Bundle Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education & Human Development
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Hearing Protection for Instrumental Student and Instructors

Loud sounds are the number one cause of permanent hearing loss and this type of hearing loss is 100 percent preventable. 

The result of noise exposure is ringing in the ears (tinnitus), poor pitch and loudness perception, and hearing loss.  Hearing loss impacts individuals across life activities – social, school, work, and home. 

School age children are the fastest growing population of noise-exposed individuals suffering from permanent hearing loss.  Day in and day out, instrumental music students (e.g., band and orchestra members) and their instructors are being exposed to potentially damaging levels of noise during practices and performances. 

Our goal is to educate instructors about these dangers and equip them and their students with appropriate non-custom musician earplugs.  The overall goal is to promote healthy listening habits in students that will last their whole lives.  This work is part of the Musicians’ Hearing Center which is part of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  We provide this program at no charge to the Pittsburgh Public Schools.  We are happy to come to schools and educate music instructors, students, and/or parents.  We supply non-custom musician earplugs to instrumental students and instructors (instructors are welcome to re-order each year and during the year if more earplugs are needed). 

A number of elementary, middle, and high schools already take advantage of this program.  If your school is interested in this program, contact Catherine Palmer (Director, Audiology, UPMC) at palmercv@upmc.edu or 412-647-6089. 

Providing hearing protection during instrumental practice and performance is no different from providing safety goggles during chemistry instruction or football helmets during football activities.  The sound levels achieved in group practice and performance (orchestra and band) are loud enough to damage hearing permanently over time.  Musician earplugs allow students and instructors to be exposed to a safe level of sound and maintains the fidelity of the sound so they can play and hear the music correctly.

Please feel free to forward this/advertise this wherever you think appropriate.

Fw: Policy Brief: More Reassessment Bluster from the Chief Executive

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: "Allegheny Institute" <aipp@alleghenyinstitute.org>

Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:37:24 -0500

To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"><Invalid address>

Subject: Policy Brief: More Reassessment Bluster from the Chief Executive

Policy Brief

An electronic publication of

The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy

 

---

January 21, 2010                                                                                                       Volume 10, Number 5

---

  More Reassessment Bluster from the Chief Executive

 

"Allegheny County will comply with the court-ordered 2012 reassessment…"—press release from the Chief Executive, December 4, 2009

 

"I will do everything in my power to make sure [a 2012 reassessment for Allegheny County] does not happen"—quote from the Chief Executive from a County Council meeting, January 19, 2010.  Further, in speaking to reporters the Executive indicated that as Governor he would put an end to court ordered re-assessments claiming that his power to do that derived from the Supreme Court's ruling that the assessment issue is the purview of the Legislature.

 

The Executive's comments raise two questions.  First, what has transpired in the last forty five days to make him change his position on complying with the timeframe proposed by the County and accepted by Judge Wettick?  It is a virtual repeat of the incident that took place at an October hearing on determining a reassessment timeline when the County's Solicitor told Judge Wettick that "at this point, the County's position is that when we are told do get it done, we will get it done" only to have the Executive threaten to appeal the Judge's proposed timeline to Commonwealth Court shortly thereafter. 

 

Second, and more important, exactly what does the Executive mean when he says he plans on "doing everything in his power" to stop the reassessment?  There are several avenues he might try, all of which have deficiencies that will prevent the 2012 re-assessment from proceeding.

 

• He could try to convince the Legislature to pass a bill instituting a moratorium on court-ordered reassessments.  Such a bill passed the House last summer but has languished in the Senate ever since; and for good reason. Enactment of a moratorium law would create a constitutional crisis by having the Legislature and the Governor countermanding a direct order of the Supreme Court regarding a constitutional issue. The bill would lead to an immediate court challenge and force the Supreme Court to declare the bill null and void. Who would enforce the law?  The situation would devolve into a crisis of massive proportions.  

If the Legislature and the moratorium bill were to prevail, the separation of governing powers would be out the window with unimaginable consequences for the state.  If the Legislature wants to do something to get around court ordered re-assessments, it should pass a constitutional amendment removing the "uniformity clause" from the constitution as it applies to property taxes or to ban property taxes altogether. Do they have the wherewithal to tackle the issue in a constitutional manner?  

 

• He could try to convince the Legislature to study the issue, particularly as to how other states conduct reassessments.  The Court of Common Pleas has already provided a comprehensive picture of assessment practices around the nation, as has the Allegheny Institute. The Supreme Court decision even noted that "twenty two of our sister states require annual reassessments, while twenty six permit reassessments to be conducted at intervals over one year, although they still require periodic reassessment".  If the Executive is trying to find another state that allows for indefinitely long base year assessments, he is not going to find evidence to bolster his case.  Then too, it is a virtual impossibility that the state will have new assessment method in place by the time the court ordered reassessment goes into effect in Allegheny County. 

 

• Should he attain the office of Governor, he has indicated he would try to stop court ordered reassessments including Allegheny County's.  Again, this raises issues created by a legislative moratorium. The same separation of powers problem arises.  

What's more, using the Executive's own argument that the Supreme Court has ruled that fixing the state's assessment situation is the purview of the Legislature, why would that give the Governor power to unilaterally issue an order to stop court ordered re-assessments?  Besides, the Supreme Court did not mean in its comment about the Legislature having the responsibility for reforming state assessment laws that it could countermand a direct order of the Court.

 

So what is left?  Here are some suggestions.  If the Executive is worried about "backdoor tax increases", that is, the revenue taxing bodies can garner after a reassessment without changing its millage rates, then push for a revenue neutral windfall.  If he is worried about any type of property tax increase (like the scores of them that occurred in Allegheny County during the time of the base year) then push for taxpayer referendum on all tax increases.  If he wants all counties treated the same, then move the assessment function to the state level, have assessments every three years, and eliminate the base year option altogether.

 

All of these options could happen, but none of them can, or should, absolve the County from carrying out a reassessment for 2012.  After all, it is what they promised, no matter how grudgingly, to do.   

 

Further, the Legislature has a moral obligation to move aggressively to rewrite the state's laws as they apply to property assessments for tax purposes. There are plenty of better models around the country to emulate. It is not rocket science. The problem is that any new law will have to require re-assessments in counties that have not done one in the past two or three years. Granted this presents a political nightmare for legislators, but it must be faced and dealt with.  

---

Jake Haulk, Ph.D., President                                                              Eric Montarti, Senior Policy Analyst

---

For updates and commentary on daily issues please visit our blog at alleghenyinstitute.org/blog.

If you have enjoyed reading this Policy Brief and would like to send it to a friend, please feel free to forward it to them.

 

For more information on this and other topics, please visit our web site: alleghenyinstitute.org

 

If you wish to support our efforts please consider becoming a donor to the Allegheny Institute.  The Allegheny Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all contributions are tax deductible.  Please mail your contribution to: 

 

The Allegheny Institute

305 Mt. Lebanon Boulevard

Suite 208

Pittsburgh, PA  15234

 

Thank you for your support.

 

You are receiving this e-mail because of a subscription with the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. 

 

If you no longer wish to receive our e-mails you may unsubscribe by responding to this e-mail and typing unsubscribe in the subject line.

 

 

 

 

Join John Sullivan from Defective by Design at the Apple 'tablet' launch in SF.

A Message from DefectiveByDesign.org
On Wednesday, Apple's having a launch at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for what everyone is calling the iSlate or iPad -- a tablet computer based on the iPhone. The company who once announced to the world that they opposed DRM on music has been pushing DRM in every other area of their business -- and we're here to tell them enough is enough. Come help create the counter story in the media -- take photos, talk to the press, and have fun with a little bit of theater to show that Apple is not the force for creative expression they claim to be.

Can you imagine a world where the same restrictions of the iPhone and iPod touch are applied to your laptop or tablet PC? That could very well be Apple's announcement on Wednesday -- their latest restriction.
We'll be there to warn the public and the media outside the event about Apple's support for DRM and proprietary software. We got through to Steve Jobs before on music DRM, and convinced iTunes to drop it. We know we can have success here. But we need to repeat that effort and show that DRM on Apple computers means that people who are actually interested in creativity and freedom will go elsewhere.

We'll post the precise time and meeting location for our group next week -- since Apple's event starts at 10am, attendees will be showing up at 9am, and we will want to be ready and outside the Theater by then to hand out flyers and talk to people.

John Sullivan, a veteran of our anti-Apple protests, will be there representing the FSF and coordinating the
action. Please join John, and bring friends. Let us know you're coming by replying to this email.
* http://www.defectivebydesign.org/apple-tablet-san-francisco-launch
* http://www.reddit.com/r/gnu/comments/at1zf/

Fw: [DW] Amazing local to local exchange at CityCamp this weekend

------Original Message------
From: Steven Clift
To: newswire
To: E-Democracy.Org Projects Group
To: team@forums.e-democracy.org
To: mnvoices
ReplyTo: clift@publicus.net
Subject: [DW] Amazing local to local exchange at CityCamp this weekend
Sent: Jan 24, 2010 8:56 AM

E-Democracy.org is playing a convening and support role at CityCamp in
Chicago this weekend. There are 100+ locally inspired folks passionate about
tranparency, participation, and things Gov 2.0 in cities and local places
mixing it up.

I am learning how to session sort on the fly for this unconference. Watch
for the short session summary videos coming soon.

Check out the links on the top right from:
http://e-democracy.org/citycamp

See the amazing round of introductions in center column.

The #citycamp tag has the vibe on Twitter and
http://citycamp.posterous.comis the group blog.

Later today we will launch LocalLabs an online group for locally inspired
software developers: http://e-democracy.org/locallabs

Steven Clift
http://stevenclift.com
@democracy

-----------------------------------------
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Viddler and Swimming Videos

Youtube is the undisputed leader of video-sharing, sorta like Allderdice High School swimming has been the undisputed champion of city swimming. YouTube, now owned by Google has a world-wide market share of 66%. YouTube is the boss in the market, but it isn't the best. Especially when it comes to the purpose we seek for coaching. Check out our swimming videos at Viddler, not YouTube.

Youtube and Viddler have significant differences.

Viddler has innovative features in its player. With Viddler, we can include and attach comments and tags to particular times in the video.

Probably the most significant difference between Youtube and Viddler is their encoding strategy. Files are converted to a fixed bit-rate. Youtube resamples the video to give a consistent quality at this bit-rate. Viddler does not resample the video, so the quality depends on how well the input video matches the output bit-rate.

Youtube encodes to a fixed format. Video is 320×240 25fps FLASH video, using H.263 at around 250Kbit/s. Audio is 22050Hz mono using MP3 at 64Kbit/s.

Viddler attempts to preserve the original format, changing the specs only when required to match the requirements of FLASH. Video is at the original frame size, 30fps FLASH video, using the VP6 at 400Kbit/s. Audio is in the original format (max 44Khz) using MP3 at 48Kbit/s. VP6 is the “flagship” codec for Flash Player 8, intended to deliver better quality at lower bit rates.

Youtube encodes to a lower bit rate so may work better over slower links. Youtube’s format is constant, so the quality is constant. Viddler encodes to a higher bitrate and uses more compression, so it is capable of delivering better quality although at the cost of more data and CPU processing. Viddler’s video format is variable, so the quality is also variable.

Youtube’s 320×200 format is OK for 4:3 video, but is not good for other formats. For example, 16:9 video is letterboxed so the effective resolution of the frame is only 320×180. Viddler retains the original size, so can support 16:9 or any other format.

Youtube has a limit of 10 minutes and 100Mb on uploaded videos. Viddler's limit is 500Mb without any time ceiling.

Viddler has a decent batch process if you use a more modern browser.

Viddler allows for comments in the video window seek bar.

Tags for videos and comments fit into Viddler and FaceBook too.

The comment points are displayed in the seek-bar, and you can see the comments by mousing over the comment points. Clicking jumps to that point. Comments pop up as playback reaches that point. Anyone can add narratives or explanations to a race, or highligh interesting times. Outside viewers, fans, other coaches and team mates can add their own comments as it is allowed. Those are then be shared with other viewers.

Viddler’s player generates a link to each clip. For web pages and catalog, one can embed code itself.

Viddler requires the FLASH 9 player. Youtube requires only FLASH 7 players, which means that its videos will work on a larger variety of systems including “embedded browsers” (eg. Opera the Nintendo Wii game console).

Both Youtube and Viddler have “members”, “friends” and “groups”. Youtube also has “subscribers”. Viddler also has “forums”, which seem to be implemented using “groups” on Youtube. Both sites have video “tags” and descriptions. Viddler has both “global tags” which apply to an entire video, and “timed tags” which apply to a specific time in a video. It also has timed and global comments.

Youtube allows videos to be public or private. For private videos you can nominate up to 25 users who are allowed to view the video. This is useful for example, if you just want to share a file with family members. Video files are not downloadable, although there are third-party web sites (eg. http://www.kissyoutube.com) which allow you to retrieve the encoded FLASH file.

Viddler allows videos to be public, private (only accessible to you), or shared (accessible to you and your “friends”). In addition to viewing rights, Viddler allows you to control who is allowed to comment, tag, embed, or download your video. You have separate controls over downloading the original file, or the encoded flash version. This allows you to distribute high quality videos in their original format which can effectively be viewed on-line via the FLASH player. Viddler also allows you to create a “secret URL” which can be used to access a private video. This means that you can share a private video with users that are not members of the system, something that is not possible on Youtube.

Viddler offers the user many compelling features not found on Youtube:

* Support for videos longer than 10 minutes, with upload sizes to 500Mb.
* Improved control over access to shared videos
* Improved navigation via streaming play, timed tags and timed comments (note: streaming play currently unavailable)
* Support for any resolution format including 16:9
* Extensive statistics and link reporting

RLC Presents Gov. Gary Johnson

------Original Message------
From: Dave Nalle ()
To: Mark Rauterkus
Subject: The RLC Presents Gov. Gary Johnson
Sent: Jan 22, 2010 12:41 AM

**Attention all RLC members, liberty activists, bloggers and anyone
else on the cutting edge of the liberty movement.**

In the first in a series of teleconference events, the Republican
Liberty Caucus presents:

Former Governor
*Gary E. Johnson*
of New Mexico
January 26th at 9pm EST
Dial-in Number: 1-219-509-8222
Participant Access Code: 618486
/Just call in, enter your code and follow along./

The teleconference will feature 20-30 minutes of remarks by Governor
Johnson followed by an hour for questions and answers from
participants.

The teleconference series brings together pro-liberty newsmakers and
RLC members, friendly media and liberty-oriented bloggers to increase
awareness of the RLC candidates, issue initiatives, allied
organizations and important events.

Governor Johnson served two very successful terms as Governor of New
Mexico and has been a champion of individual liberties and fiscally
responsible government, often compared favorably with Ron Paul.
Although there has been speculation about a possilbe 2012 GOP
presidential run, Governor Johnson is now working hard on hiis Our
America Initiative <http://ouramericainitiative.com/>
which is promoting popular awareness of civil liberties, free
enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values.

For more information see Mitchell Langbert's recent interview
<http://www.rlc.org/2010/01/19/interview-with-governor-gary-earl-johnson/>
with Governor Johnson.

Don't miss the teleconference. Space is limited, so call in on time.

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Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Teach the teacher. Or, list for the list keepers.

Do you host a ...

... neighborhood e-mail list?
... highly interactive placeblog?
... local social network on Ning?
... a private Facebook group for nearest neighbors?
... a local online community of any kind?

Then join your peers on this new peer-to-peer online group for local hosts
from:

http://e-democracy.org/locals

One of the buried factoids from the Pew Internet and American Life Project
last year is that 4% of American adults or 8 million people are members of
good old neighborhood e-mail lists. If the average neighborhood e-mail list
is 200 people (no idea what it is) that means 40,000 people have step up to
successfully create an online public space for their neighbors. However
whether it is on YahooGroups, Google Groups, Ning, or Facebook a quick hunt
for local online groups brings up perhaps 10 empty shells with just a few
members.

The technology made it easy for 360,000 people to fail at a low cost and
40,000 of us broke through and managed to convince our neighbors to join us
online (very much a close to one person a time adventure from my experience)
to the tune of 8 million overall. The neighbors movement online is
completely below the radar and most succesful efforts barely know about the
local online spaces beyond their immediate area. I want to change that by
gathering a few hundred hosts of online neighborhood efforts in a space we
can use to exchange stories, lessons, and advice.

Imagine if we simply captured our top ten lessons and the success rate for
new neighborhood spaces went from 10% to 20% by spreading our collective
advice. We'd serve another 8 million people (far more globally for that
matter) in no time. Wow!

That might be the easy part. The real challenge is finding the first few
hundred online neighborhood hosts who don't yet know they are part of a
movement. Can you help by sending the local revolutionaries you know to:

http://e-democracy.org/locals

Thanks,
Steven Clift
Neighborhood e-mail list host
http://e-democracy.org/se

Steven Clift
http://stevenclift.com/
@democracy

Shani Davis makes peace with host of 'Colbert Report' - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

Shani Davis makes peace with host of 'Colbert Report' - 2008 Olympics - SI.com With Colbert stumbling all over the ice, Davis leisurely parked his car, signed autographs, sipped from a water fountain and put on his uniform. Then he sped around the oval in a time of 35.24 seconds. Colbert's time -- 13 minutes, 43.89 seconds.

Shani Davis makes peace with host of 'Colbert Report' - 2008 Olympics - SI.com

Shani Davis makes peace with host of 'Colbert Report' - 2008 Olympics - SI.com With Colbert stumbling all over the ice, Davis leisurely parked his car, signed autographs, sipped from a water fountain and put on his uniform. Then he sped around the oval in a time of 35.24 seconds. Colbert's time -- 13 minutes, 43.89 seconds.

Architect devises preservation, reuse plan for Mellon Arena - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Of course there is no rush.

Architect devises preservation, reuse plan for Mellon Arena - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Architect devises preservation, reuse plan for Mellon Arena"

To grow, you need to add. You win by addition. When the new Consol Energy Arena is built, we have a chance to GROW and build more capacity. But, not if the existing is removed. Here is the math: 1 + 1 = 2. We grow. But if it is 1 - 1 = ZERO. We don't grow.

When we got the new stadiums, we got Heinz Field (plus 1) and PNC Park (plus 1). However, we lost Three Rivers Stadium and Pitt Stadium (minus 2). Net growth = ZERO.

We did get The Pete. Great. Plus one. And, Pitt got to keep the Fitz too. Yes. That's growth. But, we could have built The Pete on the river down Panther Hollow near Parkway East and new graduate student housing. But, that's another discussion.

With the Civic Arena, we should keep it. We should aim to grow.

In other news, an apartment in my neighborhood is going to be vacant. The tennant is moving out. So, the tennant tells the landlord that he won't be paying rent at the end of his lease and the tennant tells the landlord that the soon to be empty apartment should now be torn down. WTF. The tennant doesn't own the building. The tennant only rented the building. The tennant has no say in what happens with the property after the tennant moves out. The landlord can fix up the place, if desired. And, the landlord can find a new tennant too.

The tennant is the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins are going to move out of the Civic Arena. They have no sway nor say about what happens there next.

Presentation to Pgh Public Schools Committee about East End Plan

Last night I spoke at a public hearing about our schools. The focus was called into question, rightly so. But the aim was to hear from citizens about schools in the East End of Pittsburgh.

A committee was hand-picked by PPS Superintendent, Mark Roosevelt. The work of the committee is to review all the available facts, ponder solutions and make suggestions to the administration and the board.

One recent study looked at the facilities, the downward migration trends of the city and its schools, and suggested, among other things, to close Peabody High School.

In this work, the committee is to ponder the East End, but ignore CAPA, Allderdice and a few other schools that are clearly in the east. Go figure.

My statement goes to the fact that when consultants visit, they looked at the physical building. They'd see a nice gym. A nice pool. However, they overlooked the programs that need to fit into these spaces. The boys varsity team, the JV team and the girls varsity team and its JV team needs to share the court with the middle school girls and boys teams at Schenley / Obama. On paper, the gym is fine. But, it is not good when there are 900 people wishing to go to a game and only 240 fit into the gym so 100 end up sitting outside. Your miles may vary. Same too with the swim pool. The middle school has meets so the high school team gets bumped. But worse is the middle-school PE classes that go for an extra 45 minutes every day beyond the close of the classes for the varsity athletes. Program problems trump building conditions and those consultants didn't lift a finger to ponder the programs that need to fit within our schools.

Another point I made goes to the 'feeder patterns.' Perhaps it is time to take all the feeder patterns and kill them. We've got schools of choice where families from anywhere within the city can opt to have their children go to CAPA, or Perry (Tradational), or Allderdice (engineering magnet and Chineese language magnet), or Obama (I.B.) or Sci-Tech, or U-Prep. Others exist too. The point is, if you live on a certain street some are forced to certain schools. That stinks.

The district could move to an 'all-magnet' or 'all-choice' system. Then if a certain school is failing, people could vote with their feet and leave.

And if there were more choices in an all-choice system, one of the options could be a single gender school for boys and a single-gender school for girls. Let's open a public school alternative to Central Catholic, Oakland Catholic and even Ellis (an all girls school).

Westinghouse could be a city-wide all girls school and Oliver could be the all-girls school. Or, the boys and girls campuses could switch or even flip every three to five years.

Open East End Planning meeting 1 summary

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Fw: LP Monday Message: Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: Libertarian Party <info@lp.org>

Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:00:00 -0800

To: <mark@rauterkus.com>

Subject: LP Monday Message: Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 18, 2010 Dear Friend of Liberty, While Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. never held political office, his impact on American politics and public policy was huge. Dr. King knowingly risked his life working for freedom and equality during dangerous times for blacks in America. He advocated using non-violent means, such as civil disobedience, to achieve change, and he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Shortly before his assassination, he was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War. I do not think Dr. King was a libertarian. I think he had much more faith in the ability of government to fix unfairness and lift people out of poverty than most libertarians. However, I think most Libertarians agree with Dr. King's goals of ending government-imposed discrimination, segregation, and oppression. The following is from the Preamble of the Libertarian Party Platform: We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. I'd like to thank again all of our Libertarian Party members, volunteers, and candidates who continue working daily to promote freedom for everyone in America. Sincerely, Wes Benedict Executive Director Libertarian National Committee P.S. If you have not yet become a member of the Libertarian Party and wish to do so, please click here and join the only political party dedicated to free markets and civil liberties. If you need to renew, please click here. If you would like to make a contribution separate from membership, please click here. GET INVOLVED: Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee 2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037 Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. You are currently subscribed as "mark@rauterkus.com". Click here to unsubscribe.

Dr. King and Sports

From: "Dave Zirin"

Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:37:29 -0500

Subject: [E of S] Dr. King and Sports

Folks - If anyone is in Vancouver this week, I'm speaking at multiple spots. Check it out at

http://www.facebook.com/edgeofsports?ref=profile#/event.php?eid=249378115627&ref=ts

Also, here is a short piece on Dr. King and sports. If you want to reprint, please credit sportsillustrated.com with the complete url.

In struggle and sports,
Dave Zirin

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/dave_zirin/01/18/mlk/index.html?section=si_latest

One thing about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: the man understood sports.

I don't mean that King was any kind of a star athlete. The only sport that the young, roundish "Mike" King was known to excel at was pocket billiards, which isn't exactly a sport (the golden rule: anything that you can gain weight or smoke cigarettes while doing is not a sport). But Dr. King understood with remarkable acuity the political and symbolic power of sports. He understood that the athletic field -- and athletes -- could be a powerful megaphone for civil rights and racial justice.

As a teenager in 1947 he watched with rapt attention as Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in major league baseball. A decade later, as Robinson's career was winding down with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson started to speak out for civil rights. Many people in the press and civil rights community discouraged Robinson from taking this step, worried it would tarnish his image, and even argued that as an athlete Robinson had no vocal place in the struggle. But King, by then the movement's undisputed leader, said that Robinson had every right to speak because he was "... a pilgrim that walked in the lonesome byways toward the high road of Freedom. He was a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides."

An emboldened Robinson toured the south to speak for civil rights and became the most requested speaker on the circuit: more requested than even Dr. King. He would end every speech the same way, saying, "If I had to choose tomorrow between the Baseball Hall of Fame and full citizenship for my people I would choose full citizenship time and again."

In the 1960s, Dr. King also embraced, albeit privately, a boxer named Cassis Marcellus Clay (a.k.a. Muhammad Ali). We now know about their friendship because the FBI recorded their discussions. Their relationship was private because Ali, with his membership in the separatist Nation of Islam, was rebuked by the civil rights community. Prominent civil rights activist Roy Wilkins once said, "Clay is like a voluntary member of the White Citizens Council."

King and Ali appeared in public together only once at a demonstration for fair housing in Ali's hometown of Louisville. But the connection was a strong one. In 1967 when Dr King, in the face of torrents of criticism, came out against the war in Vietnam, he invoked the champ saying, "Like Muhammad Ali puts it, we are all-Black and Brown and poor-victims of the same system of oppression."

Also in 1967, track stars Tommie Smith, Lee Evans, John Carlos and others were organizing the Olympic Project for Human Rights arguing that African-American athletes should boycott the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Their demands were to have Muhammad Ali's title restored, to have apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia disinvited from the Olympics, to hire more African- American coaches and to see IOC president Avery Brundage removed after 32 years of iron rule.

Many civil Rights leaders were again appalled. Protesting the Olympics was unpatriotic, even unseemly. But Dr. King offered his unwavering support saying, "This is a protest and a struggle against racism and injustice and that is what we are working to eliminate in our organization and in our total struggle ... No one looking at these demands can ignore the truth of them. Freedom always demands sacrifice and ... they have the courage to say, 'We're going to be men and the United States of America have deprived us of our manhood, of our dignity and our native worth, and consequently we're going to stand up and make the sacrifices ..."

King even met with a group of the athletes weeks before his assassination in 1968. As John Carlos said to me, "Dr. King was in my mind and heart when I raised my fist on that podium."

Despite criticism from his own civil rights community, Dr. King was involved in three of history's most critical collisions of sports and politics. Yes, the man sure knew his sports.

Dave Zirin is the author of the forthcoming “Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games we Love” (Scribner) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com .

First Conference Call for Swim Team

Former Pitt star DeJuan Blair stands tall as an NBA rookie

Former Pitt star DeJuan Blair stands tall as an NBA rookie: "Just one week after Pitt was eliminated from the NCAA tournament in March, Mr. Blair decided to leave school two years early to begin his professional basketball career. After he plummeted to the second round of the NBA draft in June, there was much debate as to whether he made a mistake, but he has zero doubt that he made the correct choice to pursue his dream.
'I just sit back in the house. I just think, man, I made the right decision,' said Mr. Blair, who earned All-American honors at Pitt last season after a celebrated high school career at Schenley. 'It's just wonderful. I feel so blessed"

I went to the Schenley basketball game on Friday night at home against Perry. The home team lost, but it was a fun game to watch. If you want to go to a Schenley game, get there early. The gym is small. Seating is only on one side. The place fills and then no others are permitted into the gym for good reason. Show up when the JV games are played.