Surprise – Theft of ICT devices are on the rise, but so are the headaches for thieves!

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What if "The Overton Window" by Glenn Beck is right.

Would urban technology attempts at equality be shattered?

In Tuesday, June 15, 2010 Washington Post, book critic Steven Levingston, was brave enough to share his review of the book - if you feel inclined to label the ranting as a book. Mr. Levingston's review was very impressive, and he basically described the plot and offered some strong interpretations of some of controversial quotes.

In UTE members opinion, the following extracts from the book warrants serious analysis;

 "ideology was just another interchangeable means to an end." - is this a threat to a certain population?

"the secret consent of the power elite" - will this population ever publicly identify themselves?

"to manipulate the public to welcome his ultimate coup — literally, the takeover of the nation, a "new beginning" - is this another attempt at the allege organic community?

 "one world, ruled by the wise and the fittest and the strong, with no naive illusions of equality or the squandered promises of freedom for all." - Does this imply Fascism? The type that requires strong leadership, singular collective identity, and the will and ability to commit violence and wage war in order to keep the nation strong?

In summary, buy the book "The Overton Window"  here and UTE would apply all earnings to a education equality campaign in communities this type of fascist material seek to eliminate, exploit or oppress.

What if your Individual Rights were less if you lived in Urban areas

In my opinion, Individual Privacy Rights have been changing each year, but the change is not the same across the various classes or locations. This issue has caused some controversial discussions and debates in many countries and communities. I reviewed some of the following literature and find it interesting that more citizens are not contacting legislators about the constant reduction of urban residents rights to privacy.
































Privacy Handbook: Guidelines, Exposures, Policy Implementation, and International Issues


The War on Privacy


Privacy in the Information Age

The Moynihan Report and a ICT based Solution

The opponents of the Moynihan Report are many but no solutions have been applied successfully to correct the challenges defined in the report. As a urbanite and a African American, I wonder why the Civil Rights Activist are not progressively addressing some sort of collective approach toward resolution. The implications that the Negro (African American) family is the source of weakness seems out dated when societal opportunities don't exist solely based on family strength.  The family places an important role but the community role must be addressed in order to allow a family any options of advancement. Further research into the actual methods of using ICT based solutions to strenghten community and ultimately family will be available via the blog and our column DC Urban Technology Examiner. Review the books below and share your suggestions or comments regarding the content and the fact the the issues are still not resolved.

The Moynihan report and the politics of controversy;: A Trans-action social science and public policy report


Moynihan Report & the Politics of Contro

Urban Technology Evaluations

When urban technology is introduced to communities its usually presented as a economic development press release from a politician. This maybe the standard method but is it fair to the community residents? Who should decide what a community needs as urban resources? What should be considered before allocating tax payers taxes? When should the development be scheduled? Where should the initiatives be started? Why do urban technology have to be developed? Urban residents can question the process but only action would impact the How urban technology will be implemented fairly. Use the following literature to find approaches suitable for the evaluation of the urban technology impacting your communities.
















Evaluation Methods for Urban and Regional Plans: Essays in Memory of Morris Hill

Can you store my Electric Power?

Eventually, both urban and rural residents will face the electric power storage challenge if America will obtain energy independence. The potential of renewable energy sources are extremely high. Unfortunately, this potential has not been met with reliable innovation that can harness the immense renewable energy resources and deliver them in a usable form as a higher-value product. Basically we need a system that stores the electric power produced from renewable sources off-peak and releasing it during on-peak periods. Developing these resources will not only lessen environmental impacts but also lower the country's payments for imported energy.

Ideally, both urban and rural resident will begin to find ways to work together to help resolve the electric energy storage challenges. The two pressing issues that require synergy are location and timing.  First, many of the potential rural power generation sites are located far from transmission facilities which drives up cost and currently limits us to off-grid applications. Second, the timing is critical because electric power has a tremendous weakness: it must always be used precisely when it is produced. Thus, one of the greatest challenges facing the electric power industry is how to harness the immense renewable energy resources and deliver them as needed.

In the spirit of working for the common good, UTE members including myself are looking for rural landowners with 40 or more acres that would accept urban investments to development energy farms on their land. The investments would enable  rural residents to handle electric energy generation, storage and transmission. The following literature discusses the possibilities in more detail.