What is the eTrade stock price (nasdaq:etfc) on Nasdaq today? i would like to buy and sell some ETFC stock intraday and book some profits. What do you suggest?
August 31, 2009
August 30, 2009
Japan has new Pro-Climate Leadership
The Japanese elections just took place, and I’m excited to say the challengers have won in a landslide.
I’ve had two posts in the last month explaining the very real possibility of Japan having a new government before Copenhagen which aspires to much stronger emissions targets than the current one. The first explored the possibility of Japan’s current Liberal Democratic Party losing to the Japanese Democratic Party, and wondered whether the challengers had stronger positions on emissions. The old government’s commitment of a mere 8% below 1990 levels certainly didn’t move any other countries along in raising their targets. The new government’s position going into the election was 25% below 1990 levels by 2020. The second post focused on the fact that the positions the challengers held on clean energy, stronger emissions targets, and green jobs were polling really well. Based on today’s election results, it looks like the poll wasn’t far off.
So, why would Japan committing to 25% by 2020 below 1990 levels at Copenhagen be important? After all, the buzz words always thrown around are “China, India, US”. For one, Japan has the second largest economy in the world behind the United States. At the same time, they are the 5th largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, and were only recently passed by India who is number 4. There is gridlock on all sides. I might be wrong, but with the exception of the UK indicating going higher than 30%, I think Japan’s new target would be the second strongest in the world. A big problem is developed countries not coming even close to the 25-40% range necessary not just if you follow the science, but based on what would also help move developing countries along as well. If Japan can help ease gridlock amongst the richer countries and the G8, developed countries might set their sights higher.
There’s one more big reason as well, and this is also just a hunch by myself, although in college I’ve taken quite a few courses on Asia and I feel like I know it pretty well. It’s no secret that China and Japan have a pretty rough history. If I put myself in China’s shoes, yes the United States committing to stronger targets would be the most influential, but it would make sense for Japan to be the second most. It wouldn’t seem fair to China that their rival who historically has emitted a lot more than them, and who has benefited decades earlier from incredible economic growth in part because they were able to freely burn fossil fuels…can commit to such a poor target while China has to cap emissions soon.
On top of this, China knows the benefits of clean energy for economic development, and they want to dominate the global market in this sector. Some have said the best way for the US to convince China to force North Korea to give up its nuclear program is to arm Japan with nuclear weapons because China would go absolutely ballistic if their largest regional rival became a nuclear power. What would the response of China be if Japan challenged them to a clean energy race where the winner dominates the world’s largest 21st century market? I think we’re about to find out.
“Tetsuro Fukuyama, also the Democrats’ deputy policy chief, said the party’s 2020 target to cut emissions by 25 percent below 1990 levels would impose regulations to curb emissions and incentives for energy conservation, increased use of renewable energy and development of green technology.”
“The minus 15 percent target versus 2005 is equivalent to a cut of only 8 percent below 1990 levels.”
“It just doesn’t go far enough,” Fukuyama said. “How can they dare to persuade China and India with that number?”
August 29, 2009
And Better…
In my last post about all the astroturfing being done by big oil, and corruption by big coal, I said..
“The coal companies have had a scandal with forged interest group letters that had gotten better, and better, and better, and better….and better. Wow.”
Turns out there’s even more!
The talking points employees of Bonner were given by the astroturf company instructed them to lie to generate letters to Congress. Josh Nelson at EnviroKnow had the goods yesterday…
“Most importantly, TPM has obtained a copy of the letter Akin Gump sent to Congressman Markey’s office on behalf of Bonner and Associates. The letter included as an attachment a set of talking points and sample script employees working on the ACCCE campaign were given.
Crucially, the talking points specifically instructed employees to lie to the community organizations they were calling, telling them they were working with seniors/veterans groups and that other seniors/veterans groups had written the letter they would be signing. They were in fact working directly for a coal industry front group, and the letter was written by Bonner and associates.”
There’s more information from TPM that Bonner paid a productivity bonus to the employee who forged the letters…
“The letter, from Akin Gump lawyer Steven Ross to Rep. Ed Markey, can be seen here.
The letter contains other interesting details. It admits that the employee who forged the letters received a bonus before being fired, because of the number of letters he generated. That admission points up the dangers of Bonner’s business method, in which, as we’ve reported, employees are incentivized to generate as many letters as possible, making fraud all but inevitable.
Ross writes:
Due to the extremely short duration of this project, on Tuesday, June 16, 2009, an incentive program was announced to encourage and reward hard work. Compensation for temporary employees is not based on the amount of letters generated. However, temporary employees could earn a small bonus payment for additional letters generated within that employee’s assigned district. It should be noted that the fired employee provided five fabricated letters on his first day of work, June 12, 2009, before the incentive program was even announced. Prior to the discovery of his fraudulent activity, since it ha appeared that the fired employee met the requirements of the incentive program, he was paid a bonus on Friday, June 19, 2009.
Here’s the full letter. Last, it looks like more statements made my Bonner to defend itself may be lies(shocker!). Check out this excerpt..
“In the following days B&A personally contacted each of the eight organizations that were defrauded,” wrote Steven R. Ross, a lawyer with the Akin Gump law firm who is representing Bonner. “B&A employees conducted in person meetings with some of the organizations to discuss what happened and to apologize.”In at least one case, that was true. A Bonner & Associates vice president visited Charlottesville in late June to inform the chairwoman of Creciendo Juntos, a network of service providers to Charlottesville’s Hispanic community, that the organization’s logo and name had been used in a bogus letter sent to Perriello.
At least three other Charlottesville-area organizations, however, say they received no such notification.
Five letters were forged to appear as if they were sent by members of the Albemarle-Charlottesville chapter of the NAACP. Rick Turner, president of the group, said he has never once heard from Bonner & Associates.‘We never heard from them’
August 28, 2009
UMD for Clean Energy Pushes Green Platform for City Elections
UMD(University of Maryland) for Clean Energy is the student group I’m campaign director of. I recently made a post about our position statement we delivered to Senator Ben Cardin’s office, which showed up in the Washington Post Maryland blog(scroll to bottom). Beyond weighing in on Federal legislation, we’re taking advantage of an incredible opportunity to influence College Park policy in the upcoming elections this November, the city our school resides in. We think the transition to a clean energy economy and more sustainable society needs to come from not just from the top down, but the bottom up starting in our communities. We’re going to do our best to make that a reality in ours. I could say a lot more, and I’ll have plenty more updates as the school year moves forward. I think the below press release previewing our campaign touches pretty well on all the main points, and shows some of the groundwork we’ve laid for this to rock. We’ve also got a new website which is pretty basic right now but will have plenty more content soon. You can find our platform for the election here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2009
Contact: Kenny Frankel, Media Director: 301-437-8197, kfrankel88@gmail.com
Ambitious Student Group Pushes Green Platform
A student environmental group looks to push for green investment in College Park and green jobs in Prince George’s County
UMD for Clean Energy, a student activist group from the University of Maryland, looks to advance a green platform for the city of College Park elections this coming fall.
They aim to mobilize hundreds of students to vote for city council and mayoral candidates this November 3 that support this platform which includes green economic policies, sustainable transportation, and more environmentally friendly buildings. This mobilization will culminate in front of the university’s McKeldin library on Election Day, from which all the supporting students will march the half-mile to city hall to green-mindedly cast their ballots. The kicker is that usually a candidate can win their election with a few hundred votes, so these students will represent large portions of their vote.
Among all the green recommendations in the platform, there is one notable priority. The student group wants to implement a mechanism that would drive energy efficiency investment in the city.
This priority is the establishment of an energy efficiency loan fund. This would be a pool of money that can be loaned out at a low interest rate to finance energy efficiency upgrades and home improvements for residents of College Park. Borrowers could then repay the loan fund with their energy savings, and reap the savings once they have paid back the loan.
“One of the biggest barriers to investing in energy efficiency is financing. If people can pay for these upgrades with their energy savings, that barrier disappears,” said Laura Calabrese, UMD for Clean Energy Organizational Director.
Energy efficiency loan funds have already been created in Annapolis and Montgomery County. If a similar policy is passed in College Park, it could serve as a model for other small cities in Prince George’s County and Maryland.
Sound like a lofty goal for a group of college kids? UMD for Clean Energy has already met with city councilmembers Mary Cook (District 4) and Patrick Wojahn (District 1), current mayor Stephen Brayman, and mayoral candidate Andy Fellows to facilitate a discussion on city energy policy.
“It is our goal to meet with every single candidate and current councilmember to share our ideas and hear theirs,” said Matt Dernoga, UMD for Clean Energy Campaign Director.
Although making this loan fund a reality will take a multi-faceted approach, the group looks to reach out to civic and community associations in College Park in addition to other student groups in their campaign. They are already bringing mayoral candidate Andy Fellows and PG County Clean Energy Corp Director Thomas Cannady to speak at their kickoff meeting on September 14 to engage in a dialogue with students over the need for a new green direction in the city and county.
Maryland has already moved in that direction by passing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act last spring. It mandates the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 2006 levels by 2020. According to a MD Department of the Environment factsheet, if the bill’s funds start “developing clean energy industries, Maryland could create between 144,000 and 326,000 in-state jobs over the next 20 years”.
“Where are those jobs and the business investment that comes with them going to fall? We want College Park and Prince Georges County to be on the forefront so they land here,” said Dernoga.
###
For more information about the Maryland global warming bill, see
http://www.mde.state.md.us/assets/document/Air/ClimateChange/GGRA_factsheet.pdf
For more information on the Annapolis initiative, see
For more information on the Montgomery County initiative, see:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/bill/2009/20090422_6-09.pdf
More About UMD for Clean Energy
www.umdforcleanenergy.com
UMD for Clean Energy is a student activist group at the University of Maryland. In the past, they have successfully petitioned the university and University System of Maryland Board of Regents to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050. This past spring, they were successful in collaborating with statewide environmental groups to pass the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, which sets the strongest short-term emissions reduction target in the nation – 25 percent reductions from 2006 levels by 2020. The group has also recently engaged at the federal level, lobbying for climate legislation which passed the House of Representatives this past June and will be considered by the Senate in the fall.
August 11, 2009
WordPress 2.8.4: Security Release
Yesterday a vulnerability was discovered: a specially crafted URL could be requested that would allow an attacker to bypass a security check to verify a user requested a password reset. As a result, the first account without a key in the database (usually the admin account) would have its password reset and a new password would be emailed to the account owner. This doesn’t allow remote access, but it is very annoying.
We fixed this problem last night and have been testing the fixes and looking for other problems since then. Version 2.8.4 which fixes all known problems is now available for download and is highly recommended for all users of WordPress.
August 6, 2009
Upcoming WordCamps
Every now and then I see someone ask in the dev channel how they can meet up with other local WordPress developers. We’re thinking about ways to make WordPress.org more of a resource to facilitate local connections, but in the meantime, I thought it might be helpful to publicize some upcoming WordCamps, the weekend conferences organized by local communities to talk about all things WordPress.
WordCamp New Zealand: Wellington, New Zealand, August 8-9, 2009
WordCamp Huntsville: Huntsville, Alabama, USA, August 15–16, 2009
WordCamp Los Angeles: Los Angeles, California, USA, September 12, 2009
WordCamp Philippines: Makati City, Philippines, September 19, 2009
WordCamp Portland: Portland, Oregon, USA, September 19-20, 2009 (Last year’s PDX WordCamp was awesome, IMO.)
WordCamp Seattle: Seattle, Washington, USA, September 26, 2009
WordCamp Birmingham: Birmingham, Alabama, USA, September 26-27, 2009
WordCamp Netherlands: Utrecht, Netherlands, October 31, 2009
WordCamp NYC: New York, New York, USA, November 14-15, 2009 (Logo contest in progress!)
WordCamp Mexico: Mexico City, Mexico, November 20, 2009
If any of these are within a reasonable distance to you, consider attending. WordCamps are a great way to meet other WordPress users, find collaborators, and expand your t-shirt collection*. I know I’ll be hitting at least a few of these; WordCamps are also a great way to get user feedback to take into consideration while we’re making decisions about what to include in core.
You can always find an up-to-date list of upcoming WordCamps at WordCamp Central. You can also try searching for WordPress groups at Meetup.com to find more regular monthly gatherings in your area.
*Most WordCamps include an event t-shirt in the registration fee.
August 3, 2009
WordPress 2.8.3 Security Release
Unfortunately, I missed some places when fixing the privilege escalation issues for 2.8.1. Luckily, the entire WordPress community has our backs. Several folks in the community dug deeper and discovered areas that were overlooked. With their help, the remaining issues are fixed in 2.8.3. Since this is a security release, upgrading is highly recommended. Download 2.8.3, or upgrade automatically from your admin.