Times Square for New Year's Eve 2010

Fergie is hosting in Vegas, Ryan Seacrest in Time Square and J-Lo is gong to be performing right before Time Square count down. Tune into abc.com

Picture of the Year: Obama taking oath of office - TODAY People

Barack Obama takes the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2009, as his family looks on. Taken by photographer Chuck Kennedy with a remote-controlled camera mounted on the podium, the iconic photo was chosen as the winner of 2009: The Year in Pictures 

Create-A-Greeting-Card $10,000 Scholarship Contest* -- Deadline: Janaury 15, 2010

You are invited to enter The 3rd Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card $10,000 Scholarship Contest, plus win $1,000 for your school.

Design a greeting card and win a $10,000 scholarship plus, your entry will be made into a bona fide greeting card by the leading publisher of premium quality cards in the United States, The Gallery Collection.

Submit original photo, artwork or computer graphics for the front of a greeting card.

Contest submissions accepted from March 17, 2009 - January 15, 2010

Age eligibility: Must be 14 years or older at time of entry and be enrolled in High School, College or University

*Create-a-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest is also known as Create-a-Holiday-Card Scholarship Contest, Create-a-Birthday-Card Scholarship Contest and Create-a-Christmas-Card Scholarship Contest. One $10,000 and one $1,000 prize will be awarded regardless of contest name entered. Any type of greeting card design is eligible regardless of which contest name it is submitted under.

Apply Now! (click link) Download Application (click link)

Looking for Job Security - Try COBOL

Learn the language and the culture and you might land a job that that lasts until retirement
A career as a Cobol programmer might not be as sexy as slinging Java code or scripting in Ruby, but if you buckle down and learn hoary old Cobol, you could land one of the safest, most secure jobs in IT.
Analyst reports indicate that Cobol salaries are on the upswing. The language is easy to learn, there's a healthy demand for the skills, and offshore Cobol programmers are in short supply -- plus, the language itself holds the promise of longevity. All that loose talk about mainframes going away has subsided, and companies committed to big iron need Cobol pros to give them love.

To learn about other skills in high-demand during tight times, read "Recession-proof IT jobs." ]
In a troubled economy, with analysts forecasting IT spending slowdowns, secure IT positions could quickly become scarcer than they are today. Seasoned Cobol programmers, in contrast, "should be in pretty good shape job-wise. If they have a position at an organization that intends to keep its legacy Cobol apps, then they are probably set for life," says industry analyst Jeff Gould, director of research at Interop Systems. "Many mainframe customers with large mission-critical Cobol apps are locked into the mainframe platform. Often there is no equivalent packaged app, and it proves to be just too expensive to port the legacy Cobol to newer platforms like Intel or AMD servers."

Why Cobol is alive and well

http://bit.ly/8No4Uh

Sixth Principle of Kwanza- Kuumba

Creativity December 30, 2009
PRINCIPLE 6. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

KUUMBA (KOO-M-BAH) CREATIVITY: To do always as much as we can in the way we can in order to leave our family and community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.The sixth principle of the Nguzo Saba relates to building and developing our creative potential. It involves both aesthetic and material creations. It is essential that creativity be encouraged in all aspects of African American culture. It is through new ideas that we achieve higher levels of living and a greater appreciation for life. Each family member should find creative things to do throughout the year that will enhance the family as a whole. On this day, poetry reading, songfests, dance exhibitions and the like, can aid in promoting the importance of Kuumba.Explanation
The Kuumba principle demands continuous improvement both at the personal and family level. This principle pushes families and communities, adults and youth, not to be satisfied with “just getting by”, with not being satisfied with being average or even above average. George Washington Carver, acclaimed scientist, teaches us all that: “No one has a right to come in to the world without leaving behind a distinct and legitimate reason for having passed though it.”

Fifth Day of Kwanzaa

Purpose/Nia

NIA (NEE-AH) PURPOSE: To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.The fifth day of Kwanzaa is a day for reviewing our purpose for living. Each family member should examine his/her ability to put his/her skill or talent to use In the service of the family and community at large. Take time to reflect on your expectations from life: discuss your desires and hopes with family and friends. On this day you should try to determine if this purpose will eventually result in positive achievements for family and community.

Airport Security Cos Rise Again As Dutch To Use Body Scanners - WSJ.com

Friday there was an attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. A Nigerian man on the flight tried to blow up the plane an hour before landing , but he was foiled by other passengers.

Attacks in London, Madrid, Bali, Oklahoma City and other places indicate that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are among the weapons of choice of terrorists throughout the world. Scientists and engineers have developed various technologies that have been used to counter individual IED attacks, but events in Iraq and elsewhere indicate that the effectiveness of IEDs as weapons of asymmetric warfare remains.  

The components of the man's device made it past airport security metal detectors, spurring speculation that companies that make devices that can see through clothes and hidden items could experience an increase in orders.
In the latest development, all passengers boarding flights to the U.S. from Amsterdam will be screened using full-body scanners within three weeks, the Dutch government said Wednesday. The government said 15 of the scanners will be installed to help detect explosives that can't be found by metal detectors.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, where the alleged bomber boarded, has 17 whole-body scanners produced by L-3 Communications Corp. (LLL). The machines have been used only on a voluntary, pilot basis because the European Union hasn't established rules for their use that would address privacy concerns.

Ordinary citizens, extraordinary videos

The images are grainy, often jerky and hard to follow (like most footage shot using hand-held cameras and cellphones), but the message is unmistakable: in the months since the disputed Iranian presidential election in June, the people of Iran have become fluent in the new language of citizen video reporting. What might have seemed an isolated moment immediately following the election, when we watched videos of Iranians marching, battling and even dying on the streets of Tehran, appears to have become an essential part of their struggle.

Ujamaa- Principle 4: Shared Wealth

Fourth Day of Kwanzaa- Ujamaa
UJAMAA (00-JAH-MAH) COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS: To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and profit from them together.Out of the fundamental concepts of “African Communal Living” comes the fourth principle of Kwanzaa. In a community or family, wealth and resources should be shared. On the national level, cooperative economics can help African Americans take physical control of their own destinies. On this day, ideas should be shared and discussed for cooperative economic efforts to provide for needs as related to housing, education, food, day care, health, transportation and other goods and services.Explanation
The Ujamaa principle empowers families to come together around their collective economic interest and to see their economic strength in sharing resources and cooperative investing, buying, and selling. Moreover, the moral ties necessary to achieve and practice the Ujamaa principle obligate those who live in the community to support, care for and look out for each other and to see the interest of the each person as tied to the interest of the family and community. In a word, wealth and resources should be shared

Ujima - Third day of Kwanzaa

UJIMA (00-GEE-MA) COLLECTIVE WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY: To build and maintain our community together and make our sister’s and brother’s problems our problems and solve them together.
The third principle encourages self-criticism and personal evaluation, as it relates to the common good of the family/community. Without collective work and struggle, progress is impossible. The family and the community must accept the reality that we are collectively responsible for our failures, as well as our victories and achievements. Discussions concerning each family member’s responsibility prove helpful in defining and achieving family goals.
Explanation

Trafficking and the global sex industry

Did you know that the US State Department estimates that 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States annually? These people are held in urban centers and work in homes, factories, restaurants, agriculture, and more, many of them right under our very noses.Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery

Exclusive Look

The Obama's 'Winter White House'

The Black Candle

A Kwanzaa Celebration
A Film By M.K. Asante Jr.

Principles of Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba—the seven principles of blackness), which Karenga said "is a communitarian African philosophy," consisting of what Karenga called "the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world." These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows:

• Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Google Chromium

The Chromium projects include Chromium and Chromium OS, the open-source projects behind the Google Chrome browser and Google Chrome OS, respectively. This site houses the documentation and code related to the Chromium projects and is intended for developers interested in learning about and contributing to the open-source projects.

Chromium  Chromium is an open-source browser project that aims to build a safer, faster, and more stable way for all users to experience the web. This site contains design documents, architecture overviews, testing information, and more to help you learn to build and work with the Chromium source code.

Chromium OS Chromium OS is an open-source project that aims to provide a fast, simple, and more secure computing experience for people who spend most of their time on the web.  Learn more about the project goals, obtain the latest build, and learn how you can get involved, submit code, and file bugs.

Looking for Google Chrome? Download it here.

Want more information on the availability of devices running Google Chrome OS? Get email updates.

Call for Reviewers

In this time of need for so many Americans, thank you so much for taking a moment to consider how you might help President Obama and your Federal Government deliver on the promise of economic recovery through the Recovery Act's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and Broadband Initiatives Program. We need the help of experienced professionals like you to ensure the success of the BTOP grant program by lending some of your valuable hours to helping review the many applications we expect to receive over the coming months for broadband grant funding. To be considered as a reviewer you must have significant expertise and experience in at least one of the following areas: 1) the design, funding, construction, and operation of broadband networks or public computer centers; 2) broadband-related outreach, training, or education; 3) innovative programs to increase the demand for broadband services. We are committed to ensuring that reviewers come from diverse backgrounds and areas of the United States. Please feel free to circulate this "Call for Reviewers" to other individuals or organizations that may be sources of qualified reviewers. If you would like to serve your country by becoming a BTOP reviewer, please send a resume and the below conflict of interest form in an email to btopreviewers@ntia.doc.gov or FAX to BTOP Reviewers at 202-501-8009.  Please send a signed paper copy as well by U.S. Mail to BTOP Reviewers Broadband Technology Opportunities Program National Telecommunications and Information Administration U.S. Department of Commerce HCHB, Room 4812 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230 Please click here to download the BTOP Reviewer Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Certification for Non-Governmental Peer Reviewers

	Last Modified: 10/08/2009
	Home | Department of Commerce | National Telecommunications Information Administration | Rural Development | Rural Utilities Service NTIA: Additional Links | Privacy Policy | FOIA | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility USDA: FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Privacy Policy | Non-Discrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | White Housee

Nero Linux 3 | Most comprehensive burning application for the Linux OS

Experience the most comprehensive burning application for the Linux OS

• Enjoy the most reliable functionalities of Nero Burning ROM
• Simplified wizard-style interface for burning complete compilations with Nero Linux Express 4
• Burn data using any optical disc formats, including CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc
• BD defect management (enable/disable) helps to verify sectors for clean burning, and ensures data is burned accurately
• Create ISOLINUX lightweight Linux bootloaders from CD-ROM, ISO 9660 file systems
• Enhanced audio format support for AIFF and MusePack
• Ensure a quick and easy setup using SmartDetect automatic drive support
• Manage your music collection with integrated audio capabilities such as high speed digital audio extraction and FreeDB, which automatically searches for disc information over the Internet

Serena voted AP's top female athlete of 2009

Serena voted AP's top female athlete of 2009

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Avatar Box Office weekend in review 12/20/2009

Avator defies skeptics earning $73 million in debut weekend.

If Avatar were the most expensive movie of all-time, there might be some responsibility to score the biggest opening-weekend of all time. But, at $240 million, Avatar was not the most expensive movie ever.
The much anticipated and debated (amongst film nerds at least) Avatar debuted this weekend with $73 million. That's the second-biggest December opening in history, behind the $77 million debut of Will Smith's I Am Legend. In Avatar's defense, I Am Legend was an hour shorter, had a great tag-line that doubled as an easy-to-understand plot synopsis ("The last man on earth is not alone."), and had the added buzz of the debuting trailers for The Dark Knight.

Avatar debuted in countless 3D and mini-IMAX screens, which increased the general ticket prices to more than overcome the running-time disadvantage. But Avatar did break one very notable record. It is the biggest debut in history for a completely unaffiliated original movie. By that, I mean it was not a sequel, not a franchise adaptation, not a literary adaptation, and not a star-vehicle. It's also racked up $159 million overseas, for a global total of $232 million. So far, general word of mouth is strong, with those who didn't go in with months of anticipation and expectations pretty much being blown away by the 3D visuals, photo-real special effects work, and large-scale action spectacle. But long-term predictions would be pure guesswork at this point. If we argue that the Saturday and Sunday snowstorms prevented otherwise interested moviegoers from checking out the picture, then we can either expect stronger than normal weekday sales or inflated second-weekend grosses.

Twitter's authorized account made changes to DNS records, shunting users to hacker site

Hackers redirected Twitter.com's traffic to a rogue Web site for more than an hour early today by accessing its DNS records using an account assigned to Twitter, the company that manages Twitter's DNS (Domain Name System) servers said today.

Twitter initially blamed the early-Friday hour-long blackout of its site on changes made to the company's DNS records, which act like a telephone directory to match the twitter.com domain name with the IP addresses used by its servers.

"Twitter's DNS records were temporarily compromised, but have now been fixed," the company said on its service status page at 2:30 a.m. ET. "We are looking into the underlying cause and will update with more information soon." The status page has not been revised with more information since then.
Twitter uses a New Hampshire firm, Dyn Inc., to manage its DNS records, which match Twitter's domain name (twitter.com, and numerous others) with the IP addresses of its servers.
Today, Dyn denied that its infrastructure had been hacked. Early Friday, Tom Daly, Dyn's chief technology officer, told the Washington Post it appeared someone changed Twitter's DNS records to point visitors to a different IP address using the proper account credentials assigned to Twitter.
"Someone logged in who purported to be a legitimate user of their [DNS] platform account and started making changes," Daly told the Post 's Brian Krebs . "It was not a failing on our systems whatsoever."
Kyle York, Dyn's vice president of marketing, echoed that in an interview with Computerworld . "No unauthenticated e-mail address associated with the account accessed the [Twitter] account," York maintained. "This was not an unauthorized breach of our system."
When asked whether the Twitter account had been used by someone authorized to do so, or if those account credentials had been pilfered by hackers, York declined to answer directly. "You'll have to read between the lines," he said. However, he did point to a tweet on Dyn's own Twitter feed as having the right explanation.
That tweet referenced a story on The Tech Herald , in which reporter Steve Ragan used the clues available, including Dyn's public statements, to theorize that someone compromised a Twitter staffer's e-mail account, presumably via malware that snuck onto the Twitter employee's computer, or through a standard phishing-style identity theft attack.
Once in control of the e-mail account, the hackers then used it to request a password reset for Twitter's account with Dyn, Ragan speculated. "The password reset process is completed, and at this point the person(s) posing as a Twitter staffer gets the reset password via e-mail," Ragan wrote.
That approach makes the most sense, agreed Ray Dickenson, chief technology officer at security vendor Authentium. "That's the most logical explanation," said Dickenson. "If someone obtained administrator credentials for Twitter's account with Dyn, or even if it was inside job, everything worked except the human element."
Dickenson said Dyn's claim that its servers had not been officially hacked is also likely true. "It's very difficult to directly hack a top-tier DNS provider," he said, noting that security at such firms is extremely tight. "You've got to believe that Twitter looked at the options, and made the right choice when it went with Dyn. Twitter's a huge site, and a huge brand."

 Also in Dyn's favor, said Dickenson, is the company's contention that only Twitter's DNS records were altered, a fact that York stressed. "The fact that virtually all of Twitter's records were pointing to this defaced site, and that no other [Dyn] customers' records had been altered, corroborates what Dyn's saying."

Want to compare security products? Visit the IT Product Guides now.

According to York, Twitter will post a more detailed explanation of the cause of the outage later Friday. "It will fully exonerate us, that's one thing I can say," York said.
Twitter has been on shaky security ground for some time. Last August, determined distributed denial-of-service attacks knocked it offline for several hours. Two months before that, a hack of a URL-shortening service redirected millions of Twitter users to an unintended destination.

Wireless

Wireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or "wires".^[1] The distances involved may be short (a few meters as in television remote control) or long (thousands or millions of kilometers for radio communications). When the context is clear, the term is often shortened to "wireless". Wireless communication is generally considered to be a branch of telecommunications.
It encompasses various types of fixed, mobile, and portable two-way radios, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wireless networking. Other examples of wireless technology include GPS units, garage door openers and or garage doors, wireless computer mice, keyboards and headsets, satellite television and cordless telephones.

Poll Results:

ReadWriteWeb Readers Pick The Top 10 Products of 2009

Power Over Ethernet

PoE, With Advances in technology smaller devices i.e Mini tower computers, laptop. and portable network devices become small enough both physically and electronically to not only use the Ethernet cable to transmit data to the device, but also to send the electricity necessary to power the device.


The SLM2005 switch is ideal for conference rooms, labs, shipping and receiving departments or in marketing, design or audio and visual work-groups. The five 10/100/1000 Mbps (Gigabit Ethernet) ports enable companies to link to other Gigabit devices on the network (servers, workstations and network storage) to quickly move bandwidth-intensive files while still supporting 10/100 Mbps clients.
The SLM2005 supports the IEEE802.3af standard for Power over Ethernet (PoE) for obtaining its power over a designated PD port or from an external AC power adapter. This gives companies the option to install the switch in places where a power outlet may not be present, such as in ceilings and in walls.
The SLM2005 is able to secure the network through IEEE 802.1Q VLANs and IEEE 802.1X port authentication. For environments where IP multicast applications are used, the switch is capable of limiting the traffic to only the ports that have requested that traffic with support of IGMP Snooping. Additional QoS capabilities like IEEE 802.1p, DSCP, and 4 hardware queues make it possible to maintain good quality for real-time applications like voice and video.
The SLM2005 offers an easy-to-use browser interface for the management and configuration of the features, making it ideal for small businesses without an IT staff or that have minimal technical expertise.
5 x Ethernet 10Base-T, Ethernet 100Base-TX, Ethernet 1000Base-T, 1 Gbps, 13.5 oz, 5.1 " x 5.1 " x 1.1 "

Healthcare Mobility Trends and Benefits

The most interesting key trends and benefits that were cited by respondents of Motorola's Enterprise Mobility Healthcare Barometer.

FOXNews.com - Democratic Holdout Controls Fate of Senate Health Care Bill

FOXNews.com - Democratic Holdout Controls Fate of Senate Health Care Bill

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Barack Obama addresses Copenhagen conference ITN

President Barack Obama says America will keep its promises on climate change. Reduce our dependence on foreign energy.

Impact of climate change

As world leaders gather in Copenhagen for the Climate Change Summit 2009, BBC reporters have travelled the globe to see the impact of the issue on people and the places they live in.

Click on the video icons to watch their reports.

Meaningful deal reached at Copenhagen climate summit

A US government official said the deal was a "historic step forward" but was not enough to prevent dangerous climate change in the future.

President Obama had earlier warned that time was running out

 Analysts welcomed the fact that a deal had been done, but said its achievements were modest.
US President Barack Obama said the deal would be a foundation for global action but there was "much further to go".
He said the US, China, Brazil, India and South Africa had "agreed to set a mitigation target to limit warming to no more than 2C and, importantly, to take action to meet this objective".
He added: "We are confident that we are moving in the direction of a significant accord."
BBC environment correspondent Richard Black said it was not yet clear how other countries would view the agreement.

It is now evident that beating global warming will require a radically different model of politics than the one in Copenhagen John Sauven, Greenpeace UK What do you think of the deal?

Some delegations had not seen the latest document, our correspondent said.
The two-week summit had been deadlocked as world leaders had struggled to hammer out a deal.
Responding to Friday's developments, Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven expressed disappointment.
"It seems there are too few politicians in this world capable of looking beyond the horizon of their own narrow self-interest, let alone caring much for the millions of people who are facing down the threat of climate change," he said.
"It is now evident that beating global warming will require a radically different model of politics than the one on display here in Copenhagen."

Michelle Obama Rocks

• Why Michelle Rocks!

  Michelle Obama Watch wants to know why you think First Lady Michelle Obama Rocks! Send your emails, letters, and original 2 to 3 minute videos to

Paid Internship With Blogging While Brown (Deadline December 18,2009)

According to a recent spate of news, young people are being hit hard by the recent economic slow down. Well we’re trying to do our part to help out.
Blogging While Brown has a paid internship for Spring 2010. Students will not get rich, but they might be able to buy some books and take a Spring Break trip this year. Plus each and every task they perform is another valuable bullet point on their resume’. We will also consider recent graduates  who would carry the title “assistant outreach coordinators” instead of “interns”. Pass it along to someone who might be interested, particularly students in the Washington, DC area.

If you are an undergraduate, graduate or professional school student or a recent graduate with an interest in marketing, public relations or advertising, the 2010 Blogging While Brown Intern Program offers a unique opportunity for developing practical real world job experience. We are looking for people who are dependable, enthusiastic, and professional.

Marketing Intern

Marketing interns (Assistant Outreach Coordinator(s)) will assist with all marketing and promotional activities related to Blogging While Brown 2010. These interns will have the opportunity to prepare marketing materials and outreach strategies for various audiences , including sponsors, authors, and the general public. Activities including writing, research and preparation of print, web, video, and other marketing campaigns to promote the conference. The interns will also design a process to measure the effectiveness of the campaigns.

To Apply send the following information to info [at] bloggingwhilebrown.com by December 18, 2009

• A copy of your current resume.

• In your cover letter, please explain your interest in the work of the Blogging While Brown Conference, your objectives and expectations of an internship and how these relate to your future goals. In addition, please highlight any related experience.
  
• Deadline, December 18, 2009. Telephone interviews late December.  Position starts January 2010.
• Place “INTERNSHIP” in the subject line of your email.
• We prefer any attachments as PDFs .

Please follow the instructions in the posting and don’t tweet, call, text or email me about this posting. The point is to lighten the load, not add to it. Depending on how this round goes, there will be a second internship/research assistant position opening up mid-semester as well.

Taking the next step in enterprise mobility

Taking the next step in enterprise mobility

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Energy Jobs Touch Off Bidding Wars

cleanskies.com

The Energy Report - 12/17/09: Morning Edition | cleanskies.com

The Energy Report - 12/17/09: Morning Edition | cleanskies.com

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CS Sunday: Copenhagen Begins | cleanskies.com

CS Sunday: Copenhagen Begins | cleanskies.com

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Save The Internet | Support Net Neutrality

James Rucker, ColorOfChange.org

Help keep the Internet open and free -- and help support ColorOfChange

Big telecommunications companies are challenging the Internet's open nature. We're partnering with CREDO Action to tell the FCC to protect Internet freedom.
After you've signed, you can also vote for ColorOfChange on CREDO's 2009 Donations Ballot, which will help fund our work.

Want to help support the work of ColorOfChange.org without having to open your pocketbook?
Every year, our friends at CREDO Mobile donate a percentage of their revenue to groups working for a better world, and they let their members help decide where the money goes. This year, ColorOfChange.org was lucky to be selected as one of the beneficiaries — and you can help increase the amount of funding we get by voting for us on the 2009 Donations Ballot.
You have to be an active CREDO member to be eligible to vote, so we’ve made it easy by setting up a joint campaign on an issue important to both CREDO and ColorOfChange.org — Internet freedom, or “net neutrality.”
Net neutrality means that the smallest websites and blogs can compete on equal footing with the biggest companies, and it’s the reason the Internet is so diverse. ColorOfChange.org would never have succeeded without a free and open Internet, and neither would the thousands of Black blogs, online businesses, and news sites that have flourished in recent years. But big Internet service providers like Comcast are fighting hard against net neutrality so they can make millions by acting as a gatekeeper over what you see and do on the Internet.
You can help protect the Internet’s open nature, while at the same time helping to support ColorOfChange’s work, by taking action here:
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3?akid=1319.238245.WyxPyl&t=1
Once you sign the petition you will be redirected to a thank-you page. Scroll down and click the button that says “vote now,” and you’ll be taken to the 2009 Donations Ballot. ColorOfChange.org is listed in the Voting Rights & Civic Participation category. We hope you’ll allocate all 100 votes to ColorOfChange.org! If you are already a CREDO member, we hope you will still take this action, and add your voice to the growing number of people demanding Internet freedom.
Net neutrality
With net neutrality, good ideas can find their audience online — whether or not not there’s money to promote them or money to be made from them. And all content is allowed, regardless of politics or corporate interests. Now, as they did with radio and then television, large corporations are trying to change the rules for the sake of increasing profits.
The goal of these companies is to create a system where some content is prioritized over other content, and where large corporations can pay for speedy access, while smaller organizations and start-ups are left in the slow lane. Such a system could drown out the smaller voices and prevent them from developing a following. The Internet would become less interesting and less diverse. In short, it could bring an end to the Internet as we know it, and bring about one that wouldn’t serve the public nearly as well as it does today.
Please help support a free and open Internet, and at the same time, help ColorOfChange.org, by signing this petition and then voting for us on CREDO’s ballot:
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3?akid=1319.238245.WyxPyl&t=1
Thanks and Peace,
-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Milton and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
   December 16, 2009
To our Elected Officials, President Obama, and the FCC.
The Internet is a free superhighway that users access through payed ISP, Cable, Satellite, or WiMAX accounts. With so many other things going on in the world we can all communicate with a global community of supporters. Rich and poor share the same mediums. Don't make the less fortunate pay for more. When we cannot afford to pay for prescription medicine, credit cards, or our mortgages. Please keep the internet free!

Veronica Robinson