Obama's rules deflate lobbyists as he leads by example

Under the recently issued Obama administration rules (which some were hoping wouldn't appear) lobbyists seeking an administration member's time to discuss a "Recovery Act" project must submit their requests in writing to be posted online... Openness will restore confidence - both here and abroad - that the U.S. now practices what we preach on economic and moral issues. Economic viability will come only through repudiating the unfounded faith many Republicans have exhibited in trickle-down voodoo and unregulated capitalism, paired with self-serving definitions of sound-bite terms such as educational choice. We need a return to an ethic of service, work, and strong family values such as the first family demonstrates. It's so good to have a President who walks the walk despite tough times.

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Oakland Parkway Theater Closes Today: Evicted By Landlord

The landlord of the Parkway Theater at 18th Street and Park Blvd in Oakland evicted the Parkway Theater after severely raising the rent. It's last day was today, March 22nd, 2009, but the theater can be saved.

As an employee reports in this video, the closure was fast; the employees got the notice just four days ago, giving them little time to make adjustments and throwing lives into chaos. Apparently, the theater just had not drawn a lot of people -- or at least enough to pay the rent -- to maintain itself. In the words of the persons I talked to -- some on the video -- the movie house was not showing what the public wanted to see.

I think a larger issue was marketing, or the lack of it. A new approach should include having ways that bloggers can put a Parkway widget on their blogs. Also having the Parkway on as many social networks -- like Twitter -- as possible would really keep its name out there.

The bottom line is the place Kyle and Catherine Fisher raised $140,000 to start in 1996 and opened the following year can be saved. But the landlord has to really have a different strategy and be more a part of the business than it appears they are not. A closed Parkway is a blight on that neighborhood at a time when people need reasons to feel good about what's happening in their lives.

As Michael Cabon over at "An Oakland Citizen" points out, the Parkway has been an interesting place. (You have to read his post.)

It's watch time. Which business institution will fall next? Which landlord will prove not to realize that there's not a lot of money out there and thus can't increase rents?

Will the Parkway employees find other means of work? Will the City of Oakland, which just purchased a $7 million building with redevelopment funds step in?

The Parkway was a friend to then-Oakland Councilmember John Russo, who's now City Attorney. They even named a sandwich after him for his support of the facility. (It's not on the menu anymore.) Will Russo step in?

So many questions, which only mean that this whole issue is far from...closed.

Suzzane Agasi , Founder of ClothingSwap.org Talks

Suzanne Agasi is founder of the popular ClothingSwap events. Here she talks about, well, ClothingSwap and what it is. Visit the site at http://www.clothingswap.org

10 Lessons We've Learned From Games

To play any kind of game, you've got to go through some kind of learning process. The A button jumps. The trigger shoots. WASD moves around. Once you understand that, you can better blast, smash, and drop kick your way through whatever challenges a game throws at you.

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Psycho-Thriller ‘Blank’ Premieres For Free on BitTorrent

Today a brand new movie has premiered but this is not the usual Hollywood-style launch. ‘Blank’, described as an intense psycho-thriller by director Rick L. Winters, will debut on DVD but you can get it for free on BitTorrent too - with the blessing of the entire cast and crew.

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Facebook Copying FriendFeed, Which Originally Copied Twitter

Facebook is counting on the same relative inertia that Twitter has so carefully cultivated. The calculation is that 175 million people are less likely to move away from something than they are to wait and see what is going to happen.

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Social Web sites face transparency questions

Properly balancing the interests of various constituencies — and retaining their loyalty, perhaps through improved channels of communications — will prove key to whether the sites can grow into vibrant, moneymaking operations for years to come.

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