Viva la Cuban thaw (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/19/us-diplomats-first-high-level-visit-cuba-35-years):
QuoteRoberta Jacobson, the assistant secretary of state in charge of the western hemisphere, who has previously served as the State Department's coordinator for Cuban affairs, will be leading the US delegation. The meetings she will lead, which begin on Wednesday, will be the first steps toward normalising diplomatic relations between the two countries.
A senior State Department official said on Monday that the US was "looking forward to the Cubans lifting travel restrictions and caps on personnel", and that the next step, the upgrading of the US mission to full embassy status, could happen "quickly" following this week's talks.
Screw rentier monopolies (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/17/president-obama-finally-has-his-piketty-moment/):
QuoteObama's State of the Union, you see, will call for $320 billion of new taxes on rentiers, their heirs, and the big banks to pay for $175 billion of tax credits that will reward work. In other words, it's fighting a two-front war against a Piketty-style oligarchy where today's hedge funders become tomorrow's trust funders. First, it's trying to slow the seemingly endless accumulation of wealth among the top 1, and really the top 0.1, no actually the top 0.001, percent by raising capital gains taxes on them while they're living and raising them on their heirs when they're dead. And second, it's trying to help the middle help itself by subsidizing work, child care, and education.
Net neutrality strikes back (http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/republicans-congress-net-neutrality-fcc-114296.html):
QuoteBut now that the FCC is moving toward issuing a tough net neutrality order that would subject broadband to utility-style regulation — an approach endorsed by President Barack Obama — top Republicans in both chambers are making plans to legislate their own rules to ensure the agency doesn't go too far.
"Times have changed," Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the House telecom subcommittee, said when asked about the evolving GOP position on net neutrality. "The administration has latched onto this [utility-style regulation], and the FCC's independence is nominal at best."
I still hate the guy, but these are pretty decent things. Surprisingly decent in fact. Perhaps he has finally woken up to the fact he is leaving office soon, and can do what he wants, more or less?
While we have been burned before, we can still hope.
I'm down with hope.
The worst it can do to you is disappointment, which is not all that bad, really.
He's also trying to use the FCC to override state bans on publicly funded gigabit networks. (This might be my favorite executive over-reach of them all)
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/technology/obama-announces-moves-to-encourage-expansion-of-public-broadband-networks.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/technology/obama-announces-moves-to-encourage-expansion-of-public-broadband-networks.html?_r=0)
Quote"In too many places across America, some big companies are doing everything they can to keep out competitors," Mr. Obama said at Cedar Falls Utilities, a municipal service that provides one-gigabit broadband — 100 times the national average speed — to a city of 40,000. "We've got to change that — enough's enough."
Pointing to Cedar Falls as the "guinea pig" for unfettered expansion of broadband service, Mr. Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to override state laws that keep communities from providing high-speed Internet.
It is not clear how far Mr. Obama can go in clearing the obstacles to broadband competition. Nineteen states restrict cities' ability to provide high-speed data service.
Also, something or other about revolving doors here:
Quote"The private sector is much better at deploying capital efficiently than the government," said John E. Sununu, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire who is now co-chairman of Broadband for America, an industry coalition.
"Standing up in public and saying you're taking on the big guy always inspires some populist sentiment," said Mr. Sununu, who is also on Time Warner Cable's board of directors. "But I think what the president is doing here is giving up on Congress, undercutting state laws and pushing rhetoric that doesn't match the facts."
I'm fairly sure that will fly, in the long run. Remember. Google has a big stake in the future of broadband networks ("Google Fiber") and the Obama administration has been especially close with Google.
Last I heard Google had a pretty significant stakeholder interest in US Govt. I'm guessing after a few years of idealistic bullshit they've finally bitten the bullet and adopted an - if you can't beat 'em, own 'em - approach.
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on January 27, 2015, 11:51:45 AM
Last I heard Google had a pretty significant stakeholder interest in US Govt.
More like the other way around.
https://medium.com/@NafeezAhmed/how-the-cia-made-google-e836451a959e
It's a Möbius double reacharound, if you want to get technical.
Quote from: Emo Howard on January 27, 2015, 07:41:45 PM
It's a Möbius double reacharound, if you want to get technical.
Huh. Wonder how much it costs to get one of those.... :horrormirth: