The Library’s exhibit “125 Years of Discovery: The FDLP at Cal” celebrating UCB’s 125th anniversary of being a Federal Depository Library (see original blog posting for more details) is scheduled to close in late September. If you have not yet visited this exhibit, we encourage you to do so before it closes. The exhibit is located in the Bernice Layne Brown Gallery, just inside the North entrance of the Doe Library. The exhibit website will remain active:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/govinfo/federal/fdlpexhibit/
The guys at Common Craft, known for their innovative videos on web2.0 technologies, are branching out into politics. Check out this video on the US presidential election process:
Most of us think of remittances from the US to Latin America, but this interesting report, Remittances to Latin America from Japan, reminds researchers that remittances also are sent from other countries. This brief report from the Inter-American Development Bank, Multilateral Investment Fund, gives a broad overview of the growing international labor market. As part of the process of workers looking for better lives for their families, tens of millions of Latin Americans have been migrating to the US and Europe and now increasingly to Japan. Japan with its relatively high wages is the preferred destination for the descendents of the Japanese Diaspora to Latin America in the first half of the 20th century. These “Dekassegui” or migrant workers go to Japan, save their money and send remittances back to family. According to the report there are currently more than 435,000 Latin American adults living in Japan with about 305,000 sending money home regularly. In 2005, it was estimated that over $2.65 billion in remittances were sent home. The report includes a profile of these migrant workers (age, education, income).
During an election year, national level politicians from all sides of the spectrum may say whatever it takes to get elected. One website to check out the truth behind the speeches is factcheck.org, a project of the Anneberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Factcheck will respond to commericals, speeches, and other comments made by candidates during the campaign, and will cite its sources at the end of the response.
The revolution won’t be televised, but it might show up on a wiki and a mashup.
Stanford professor Lawrence Lessig has made it clear for some time that he intends to step away for most of his work on copyright and with the Creative Comments to focus on a more fundamental issue: congressional corruption and reform. At a speech in Washington, DC yesterday, Lessig rolled out his “Change Congress” web site and provided more details of his reform program. Not surprisingly, mashups, open-source tools, and wikis are a big part of a plan in which everyone in the US can keep tabs on their elected officials’ commitment to transparency.
Founded in 2001, the Pew Hispanic Center is a nonpartisan research organization. Its mission is to improve understanding of the U.S. Hispanic population and to chronicle Latinos’ growing impact on the entire nation.
Hispanics in the United States are feeling a range of negative effects from the increased public attention and stepped up enforcement measures that have accompanied the growing national debate over illegal immigration.
After spending the first part of this decade loosening their historic ties to the Democratic Party, Hispanic voters have reversed course in the past year.
The California Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, maintains the California elections information website. The Official Voter Information Guide contains Presidential Candidate and Political Party statements. The voter guide and the Supplemental guide contain the information on Propositions 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 & 97 that have qualified for this February 5th 2008 Presidential Primary Election.
A listing of Propositions that are on the November 4, 2008 General Election Ballot is available along with a listing of those initiatives pending count of signatures and signature verification. Failed, Withdrawn and Initiatives/Referenda in Circulation (as of Jan. 10, 2008) are also included. There are currently no propositions on the June 3, 2008 Statewide Direct Primary Election Ballot.
The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) at http://catalog.gpo.gov may be unavailable for a brief interval of time Sunday evening, August 26, as the Government Printing Office performs routine maintenance. If you encounter the period of down time, please try again later.
Below is the complete text of the State of the Union address of 1/23/07.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. And tonight, I have a high privilege and distinct honor of my own — as the first President to begin the State of the Union message with these words: Madam Speaker. (Applause.)
In his day, the late Congressman Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr. from Baltimore, Maryland, saw Presidents Roosevelt and Truman at this rostrum. But nothing could compare with the sight of his only daughter, Nancy, presiding tonight as Speaker of the House of Representatives. (Applause.) Congratulations, Madam Speaker. (Applause.)
