[bestbits] Software and Volkswagen

Wed Sep 23 13:07:43 EDT 2015

Software is in everything,” he said, citing airplanes, medical devices
and cars, much of it proprietary and thus invisible. “We shouldn’t use
it for purposes that could conceivably cause harm, like running personal
computers, let alone should we use it for things like anti-lock brakes
or throttle control in automobiles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/nyregion/volkswagens-diesel-fraud-makes-critic-of-secret-code-a-prophet.html

On 09/23/2015 08:45 AM, Carolina Rossini wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> 
> 
> 
> *'Global Connect' *
> 
> *US Initiative Will Examine How To Speed Deployment of Broadband Worldwide,
> FCC Official Says *
> 
> A new State Department diplomatic initiative will be unveiled at the
> U.N. General
> Assembly in New York in two weeks, said Phil Verveer, senior counsel to FCC
> Chairman Tom Wheeler. Verveer said the initiative is “an effort to try to
> coordinate as much development activity as possible” to get another 1.5
> billion people online over the next five years. He spoke Thursday at a
> Silicon Flatirons Center symposium webcast from Boulder, Colorado.
> 
> “That’s a very ambitious goal,” Verveer said. “It’s one that is shared by
> other countries.” The U.S. contribution will be in trying to coordinate the
> Internet push, he said. The World Bank also will be involved, he said.
> Estonian President Toomas Hendrik, World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu
> and senior State Department officials are expected to be on hand for the
> announcement, Verveer said.
> 
> “It’s a serious effort to try to promote the idea that telecommunications
> investment … ought to enjoy a place and a priority of development that
> heretofore roads and electricity and water, things of that nature, have
> enjoyed,” said Verveer, who was a State Department official before working
> for Wheeler. One basic assumption is “we are better off as more and more
> people connect to the Internet,” Verveer said. “There are quite significant
> geopolitical benefits as well,” he said. “We benefit if there is order, if
> there is prosperity, if there is economic activity.”
> 
> To have development, a nation has to have the rule of law and has to
> address corruption, “which is endemic in much of the world,” Verveer said.
> “You’ve got to have licensing regimes that are sensible, you’ve got to have
> legal and regulatory arrangements that are favorable for investment,” he
> said. “Some of the elites in some countries show a remarkable resistance to
> that set of principles.” U.S. carriers, with the exception of AT&T’s
> investment in Mexico, have rarely been engaged in international markets, he
> said. “It would have been useful to have U.S. service providers operating
> around the world extensively over the last 20 years.”
> 
> Verveer also said comparing broadband in the U.S. with deployment in other
> nations is complicated. “One can be inspired by the experience of South
> Korea” with its very high rates of speed, he said. “But you also have to
> stop and consider both the ability of the government in South Korea to
> assist with that kind of *10—COMMUNICATIONS DAILY *
> 
> Manu K. Bhardwaj
> 
> Senior Advisor and Staff Coordinator for IT and Internet Diplomacy Matters
> 
> Office of the Under Secretary
> 
> (202) 647-9038
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Friends and colleagues:
> 
> 
> 
> We are pleased to invite you to a high-level panel discussion on *Development
> in the Digital Age* co-hosted by Estonia, the USA and the World Bank Group
> on September 27th at 11 AM in UNHQ.   At this special event, we will be
> joined by the Presidents of Estonia, Tanzania and the World Bank, among
> other foreign ministers and dignitaries.
> 
> 
> 
> The format will be a panel discussion. During the question-and-answer
> session, we would welcome any interested representatives to deliver a
> statement on the benefits of broadband as fundamental infrastructure and
> vital for the international development agenda.  This event will be open to
> the press.  Attached is the Save-the-Date for the event and full concept
> note.
> 
> 
> 
> Next week, we look forward to unveiling more details about our new
> diplomatic initiative first previewed by the Secretary of State in Korea
> earlier this summer.   Space is limited, please RSVP to tmadsen at mfa.ee
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','tmadsen at mfa.ee');> as soon as possible.
> 
> 
> 
> Pleased with the building momentum to help catalyze action in closing the
> digital divide and extend the economic and social benefits of connectivity
> to everyone.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> 
> 
> Manu (Snr. Political Advisor, Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment,
> State) and Ann Mei (Executive Director, Global Development Lab, USAID)
> 
> 
> 
> *“So looking to the future, we have to respond to this demand for openness
> and opportunity by making steady progress toward closing the digital
> divide. And with that goal in mind, the United States State Department will
> soon launch a new diplomatic initiative – in combination with partner
> countries, development banks, engineers, and industry leaders – and we’re
> going to do just that: try to make it more available.”*   --  Secretary
> Kerry in Korea on May 18,2015
> 
> 
> 
> *From:*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We are excited about the Secretary Kerry's remarks in Korea
> <http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/05/242553.htm> today that
> highlight the State Department's and USAID's commitment to global
> connectivity.  As the Secretary said, looking to the future, we have to
> make steady progress towards Internet freedom and closing the digital
> divide.  With that goal in mind, the United States will soon be launching a
> new diplomatic initiative - in combination with friends, regional
> development banks, and industry leaders - to do just that.
> 
> 
> 
> In the coming weeks, the State Department and USAID will be reaching out to
> all of you to explore areas for partnership as we develop this new
> connectivity initiative. We are actively exploring opportunities to improve
> connectivity health information systems in West Africa (in the recovery
> from Ebola), digital financial systems in India, and internet access and
> usage across the world. Please don't hesitate to contact my team at the
> Global Development Lab or Manu Bhardwaj, the State Department's Senior
> Advisor and Staff Coordinator for IT and Internet Diplomacy Matters, copied
> here.
> 
> 
> 
> Best,
> 
> Ann Mei (USAID/Lab) and Manu (State/Economic Growth, Energy, and the
> Environment)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Warm Regards
Mishi Choudhary, Esq.
Legal Director
Software Freedom Law Center
1995 Broadway Floor 17
New York, NY-10023
(tel) 212-461-1912
(fax) 212-580-0898
www.softwarefreedom.org

Executive Director
SFLC.IN
K-9, Second Floor
Jangpura Extn.
New Delhi-110014
(tel) +91-11-43587126
(fax) +91-11-24323530
www.sflc.in