I rarely post articles  – but this one about the Pakistan floods and subsequent relief efforts hit home very hard.  My parent’s hometowns have been largely spared from the devastation.  Sadly, a number of my friends have seen ancestral homes/towns gone.  Many are spending hours on Googles pages looking for family members who have not been in contact.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he has never seen anything like the flood disaster in Pakistan, and urged foreign donors to speed up assistance to the 20 million people affected.  The situation is dire and compassion is in short supply for those hurt the most.

One issue which needs to be acknowledged is the reluctance to give money to/for Pakistan.  The reasons are many.  This article appearing in Foreign Policy clearly states the challenges and the issues.  I encourage you to read the article in full – but the summary is a poignant  plea to the better angels of our nature.

Pakistan has suffered from desperately poor moral leadership, but punishing the helpless and homeless millions of the 2010 floods is the worst possible way to express our rejection of the Pakistani elite and their duplicity and corruption. The poor, hungry, and homeless are not an ISI conspiracy to bilk you of your cash. They are a test of your humanity. Do not follow in the footsteps of the Pakistani elite by failing them. That would be immoral and inhumane. This is a time to ask only one question. And that question is: “How can I help?”

Full Article on Foreign Policy can be read HERE

For those looking for the Google Crisis Response Page:

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/pakistan_floods.html

A group of terrific city leaders from San Mateo and Santa Clara counties hope a musical message will help remind you of the serious issues Prop 22 addresses.  The state has long had a specific mantra of how it would balance its budget – if they can steal the money, they will.  For years the state has stolen billions from cities and transit agencies.  The continual raids on local money have meant depletion of public safety, infrastructure crumbling and core services being elimniated.  For too long the state has operated under the assumption of “if it isn’t nailed down, we’ll take it.  If we can pry it up, it wasn’t nailed down.”

You’ll hear flowery rhetoric from the opposition, but you need to be clear who they are.  The opposition is primarily those who benefit from a spinless legislature who have shown year after year they cannot balance a budget.  Cities, on the other hand, have to balance a budget every year.  I had an exchange with one opponent recently and asked if they would change their “No on 22″ button to “It’s OK to Steal.”  They declined – but had no response to the fact the monies in question are for cities and transit agencies to do their important work.

You’ll hear more from me on this issue between now and the election.  I hope you will support this critical initiative and vote yes on 22.

There was a special feeling which came from people telling you what your programming meant for them and their kids.  Discovery Channel turns 25 and I have so many fond memories of the people, the adventures we shared and the mission to make the best programming which could be made.

“Put the green on the screen” was the motto of how the money was to be spent.  We spent time, care and money to get the images people have never seen and tell the important  stories of our world.

Yes, I’m extremely proud of my Discovery roots, the colleagues who worked together so closely and the work which still stands today among the best ever done.

Congratulations and here’s to 25 more years!

June 2:  Caltrain JPB

June 4: San Carlos Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Meeting

June 9: SamTrans Board of Directors

June 9: SFO Airport Roundtable

OPEN Silicon Valley is proud to present the OPEN Forum 2010 to be held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on June 5th 2010. OPEN Forum, the flagship conference of OPEN Silicon Valley, annually attracts hundreds of Professionals and Entrepreneurs from top technology companies, exciting start-ups, global service providers and leading venture firms. This one day conference will give you the unique opportunity to network with and learn from seasoned CEOs, Venture Capitalists, Financial Market Experts, Government Policy Makers and Professionals from the Silicon Valley.

You’ll be able to join me in the “Put your passion to work” session.