License Costs for Open Government Systems

As the Obama administration proceeds with the open government initiatives, a laudable effort in and of itself, I wonder what their plans are to cope with the ever rising costs for licensing third party content such as map data.

http://blog.ostp.gov/2009/06/08/data-transparency-via-datagov/

There are different licensing agreements for data that is inward facing and outward facing and different cost structures. Are these initiatives in the name open systems, a la cloud systems, accounting for the ever rising costs of deploying copyright information licensened for internal use originally?

The cloud may be open but it isn't free. IBM and Oracle won't tell you that.

For Iran and the World

A post from Arlo Guthrie at Arlo.Net:

You guys wearing sacred clothing, holding the Holy Koran in hand, while your thugs beat, maim and kill your fathers, brothers, sisters & mothers - Yeah you guys (if you're reading this) - You have shown the entire world that you would sacrifice your own children for your temporary authority over them even as you KNOW you will grow old and pass away, and they will live to create a world of their own. The only question is how many will perish before you come to your senses or stand before your creator... How much blood will be spilt before your shame overcomes you and you shed tears for forgiveness? If the power of your authority comes only from clubs and guns, what does that say of your God? It would be better to have no faith than to have as little as yours... adg

P.S. Same goes for any nation anywhere, anytime (including ours) when tyrants cover the rotting stench of their cold dying hearts with the outward appearance of holiness.

For Neda