Andy Updegrove on Inauguration Day 2009

Inauguration Day - January 20, 2009 Andy Updegrove compares the mood in 1969 (Richard Nixon's inauguration) with today, discusses the similarities and differences, and ends on a positive note. Andy quotes from Nixon's inaugural address, with commentary. "Then, as now, it was a time of uncertainty, with wars both cold and hot raising tensions internationally and inflaming passions at home... His predecessor had left office with abysmal approval ratings... A substantial percentage of the electorate could not wait to witness his departure... Then, as now, the contrasts that day were stark - between the opportunity for the new President to achieve grand results, and the certainty that, almost immediately, events and forces as yet unknown would inevitably work to thwart him. Would he be able to rise to the challenge?" I remember the Nixon years only too well (I emigrated to Australia during that time), so quite a bit of the article was rather depressing for me to read: impressive words that weren't fulfilled. But Andy ends on a positive note, because there is one essential difference between then and now: "... unlike those dark days of the 1960s, this is a time of true celebration and genuine inspiration. Not because the times are less troubling, but because the President elect is less troubled. Unlike the paranoid and conflicted Nixon, Barack Obama seems at ease with himself, and projects an ability to selflessly lead. Never before in my lifetime has there been such a wave of hope converging upon a single leader, nor such a confluence of goodwill from all sides." Well said, Andy.

Expatriates voting in US elections

I just learned that I can vote in the US Federal elections next year! I had always thought that I couldn't, but apparently the law was changed a few years ago. Now Americans living temporarily or permanently abroad can claim as their "voting residence" the state in which they last voted in the US, whether or not they ever intend to return to that state, or have any other connection to it (property, business, etc), and registering to vote does NOT carry any obligation to file a tax return in that state. This information was sent to me in a note from the "Voting Assistance Officer" at the US Consulate in Sydney, which referred me to the Federal Voting Assistance Program's website. It's really interesting how things have changed: for many years I got the distinct impression that the US government actively made it difficult for people to vote if they lived abroad; now they are actively encouraging and helping people. I haven't decided yet whether to register or not. Meanwhile, a date for the Australian federal election has finally been announced: 24 November. The campaign has been going on unofficially for several months now, so it's good to finally have a date set. The "news" during election campaigns is even more boring and tedious than usual.

OpenDocument News

I've posted a longer article of recent OpenDocument news on my O'Reilly weblog. The list of applications supporting the OpenDocument Format is growing so rapidly that the team at the OpenDocument Fellowship is having trouble keeping their Applications List up to date, and it's a daunting task to review all the additions. I hope to do some work updating the list this weekend. Daniel Carrera briefly reviews one of the new additions, Peepel, a web-based office suite that competes with Google Docs and similar services. Politics continue in the ODF-vs-Microsoft/Ecma OOXML arena, with Microsoft apparently urging California voters to lobby against a pro-ODF bill and Microsoft UK setting up a web-based petition to lobby the British Standards Institute to vote in favour of Ecma Open XML as an ISO international Standard. This petition follows an older one (begun by John Imrie) to the Prime Minister in support of ODF in the UK.

Goodbye to Joh Bjelke-Petersen

Former Queensland Premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, died on 23 April at the age of 94. He was Premier for 19 years, from 1968 to 1987, including the time I lived in Townsville, North Queensland (1974 to 1977). In the early and mid 1970's he was (in)famous for not tolerating dissent; many protesters -- of many issues -- were arrested during his time in office. I wasn't one of them, but I easily could have been, given my involvement in feminist and environmentalist issues at the time. Joh did a lot for modernising the state and making it a place attractive to investors and business, but much of that involved selling off prime bits of coastline, approving development in environmentally sensitive areas, and other things many of us found distressing. And, no surprise, eventually he and many members of his cabinet were found to have been taking kickbacks. (Not that this makes him all that unusual.) His funeral was today. I was delighted to read that protestors had turned out for the occasion.