Archive - 2008

March 21st

Additional CT Democratic Delegation Details

Slowly, more and more details are emerging about the Connecticut Democratic Delegation. From the First Congressional District, I receive an email from Becca Crosswaith. Becca wrote,

As a 19 year old sophomore in college, running for Pledged Delegate for Barack Obama I wasn't necessarily optimistic running against Val and Sophia, but wouldn't you know, after the recommended slate, each round I received more votes than any other candidate!!! At least in the first district, it seems like people truly are ready to let the youth voice be heard :)

From the Second Congressional District, I received details of the votes. In the first round, Robert Madore, the candidate endorsed by the Obama campaign received 50 votes. Jordan Jacobs came in a close second with 41 votes. Nick Soutter, Mark Donovan, and Stephen Wilmarth also received votes. In the round for the female delegate, Vivien Blackford received 73 votes to the 52 votes for Holly Soutter. In the final round for the second male delegate, Nick Paindiris received 52 votes and Jordan Jacobs received 39 votes. Nick Soutter and Mark Donovan also received votes in this round.

For a discussion of this caucus and the caucuses in general, please check Connecticut will send a Delegation to Denver on MyLeftNutmeg.

I’ve already written about the Third Congressional District here. The New Haven Independent has this article about the caucus.

The Fourth Congressional District also so some excitement in the Obama Caucus. State Representative Kim Fawcett ran unsuccessfully against the slate endorsed by the Obama campaign. State Senator Ed Gomes was nominated with an impassioned speech about why the caucus should have taken place in Bridgeport and outlining the many of the great things that Sen. Gomes has done for Bridgeport, Connecticut and the party.

Sen. Gomes thanked the crowd for the nomination, but encouraged everyone to vote for labor leader, Tom Wilkinson. Fairfield First Selectman Ken Flatto was also nominated, but Tom easily won the election.

I’m still trying to get more information on the different caucuses, so any details you can provide would be appreciated.

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Life 2.0 : The Insurmountable Opportunities of Second Life

Mitch Kapor, chairman of Linden Lab addressed the ‘insurmountable opportunities of Second Life and Think Services’ Life 2.0 conference.

(Originally published at SLNN.COM)

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March 20th

The Obama Effect on Open Source Software Development

Today, I was reading through emails on an open source developers’ list where there has been a contentious debate about different open source licensing agreements and the effect these agreements have on projects that interoperate with them. The discussion resides at the intersection of the geeky and the legal and can get very arcane.

So, I was very interested to read this comment in the midst of a heated discussion:

Ok. I took a deep breath. I watched the Obama speech, and that inspired me to be brutally honest with myself, and note an objection to my own impassioned argument.

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March 19th

Connecticut Third Congressional District Obama Caucus

Approximately two hundred Sen. Barack Obama supporters gathered Wednesday evening at Career High School in New Haven, CT to elect delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Candidates for National Delegate needed to apply with the Secretary of States office by February 19th. These names were then provided to the Obama campaign for approval.

Twenty-four names were provided, twelve women and twelve men. Of these, the caucus could select two male delegates, two female delegates and one male alternate. The campaign provided it’s endorsed delegate slate.

Promptly at 7:30, Susan Voigt, chair of the New Haven Democratic Party, acting as temporary caucus chair called the meeting to order. She appointed a temporary secretary who read the call of caucus notice. Then, they elected a permanent chair. Ms. Voigt was the only person nominated to be permanent chair and was elected by acclaim. The temporary secretary was then elected to be permanent secretary.

Pledge of Allegiance was said, the rules were adopted and nominations were heard. The only candidates for male and female delegates presented were the official slate of the campaign, Mayor John DeStefano and Senator Martin Looney for the male delegates and State Representative Toni Walker and Obama 3rd CD Coordinator Jen Just for the female delegates. State Senator Ed Meyer nominated Sen. Looney. Yet the greatest applause went to the nomination speech for Jen Just. “When we talk about grassroots organizing, we talk about Jen Just.” Nominations were closed and the four delegates were elected.

The alternate delegate position saw the only drama of the evening. Allen Page was nominated for alternate delegate before the nomination for Jerry Weiner was made. After Jerry’s nomination, there was an attempt to nominate Jan Walker, but it was pointed out that the candidates needed to be male. With two candidates, there was a vote. It was a secret written ballot. Ballots were collected, the votes were counted and Jerry won the nomination as Alternate.

The delegates made their speeches and Jen Just got the final word, as well as the loudest applause. She spoke about how exciting it is to be part of something so big and acknowledged that the campaign, in and of itself, has been a big step forward for our country.

With the caucus over, many attendees hung out and chatted with old friends. Old New Haven political operatives mingled with folks from the New Haven Democracy for America group, people who had worked on Ned Lamont’s campaign and assorted bloggers from My Left Nutmeg. Jen Just commented about how four years ago, she never would have expected to end up becoming a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. For many attendees of the caucus, the past four years have been exciting, and the excitement leading up to the general election is great.

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International Justice Center Opens in Second Life

(Originally published at SLNN.COM)

Justice Commons – Thursday at noon, SLT, Global Kids will launch the International Justice Center in Second Life. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will speak at noon. This will be followed by a panel discussion about “The Emerging International Justice System”.

Panelists include Lousie Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Francis Deng, United Nations Special Advisor for Prevention of Genocide, Juan E. Mendez, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice. Allan Rock, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, and Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.

Later in the day, Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General, will provide a keynote speech from The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, NY which will be streamed into Second Life.

Global Kids was founded in 1989 to “transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences”.

The International Justice Center is a project of Global Kids. It is supported by a grant from the Digital Media and Learning Initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. It is an independent initiative and is not formally associated with the International Criminal Court. Additional information about the International Justice Center can be found at http://www.justicecenter.net.

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