Lara Logan Egypt Assault: Reporters Should Carry Guns

CBS News reporter Lara Logan was reportedly "brutally raped and assaulted" by a group of men in Egypt. Here's the statement from CBS:

On Friday February 11, the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS Correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a 60 MINUTES story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into a frenzy.

In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.

There will be no further comment from CBS News and Correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time.

This, in addition to the assault on CNN's Anderson Cooper, and on Sara Sidner in Mumbia, India two years ago, is a good reason why reporters should carry guns. The foreign governments don't seem to want to protect them. And rapid men tasting freedom for the first time seem to want to test what they can get away with by harming female reporters.

It's not that she's white and blonde; just ask Sara, who's brunette and black. All they have to be is of an "American affect" and attractive in the middle of a mob. Shooting an attacker in the leg would change the game and make life better for women reporters like Lara Logan.

Come to think of it, Anderson Cooper could have used a gun, too. 

Nikky's Body Detox Modifications with Debby K

College is a stressful time for many students, and the stress that students go through does a lot of damage to their bodies. When students live on campus they are not usually provided with many healthy choices - a lot of students gain weight their first year at college. The stereotype is the "Freshman 15" but it is usually less than that, but regardless of how much weight is gained there is a lot of damage done to the body itself.

DEBBY KAPLAN

A lot of late night cramming sessions will end up with late night snacking whether it be ordering out some pizza or eating a tv dinner in the middle of the night.


Debby Kaplan is helping this college student by first going through a total body detox. Debby explains that it takes the body a little over three weeks to stop craving the unhealthy toxins that college students unknowingly are allowing into their bodies.


Debby's goal has never been and is not to help me lose weight, but to help get all the bad out of my diet and let my body be cleansed and start fresh as it were. This was supposed to be a 30 Day Detox, but it is a bit more difficult than that - the start date was originally February 1, but there are things that cannot be interpreted always through texted based communication and busy schedules and changing environments have made it difficult.
Though it may take longer - this is something that is not unusual. College students are always on a strange schedule - some students have classes throughout the day and there are three hour classes that could be back to back making it really difficult to find a time to eat.

Debby believes that snacking is not good. She says, "I believe that mindless snacking is not good and to eat when you are hungry, not because there is food on your plate or because someone offers it to you. Detoxing in part is being mindful of what and when you eat."

Eat meals when hungry. The hardest part personally was not eating after 9 pm, but although that was tricky it was the diet itself within the detox that is the most difficult.


Under Debby's Dos was "real foods." It's hard to know what that means, but that means food in its most natural state - unprocessed.

First thought was, YAY LET'S EAT FRUIT. No, fruit has lots of sugar, and during a detox that is not what the body needs. The body needs some fruit, but not a lot - limiting to maybe 1-3 pieces a day. A smart thing she has told me is "Eat your fruit, don't drink it."

Debby says," Organic is best. Please make this point. I stress eating ORGANIC otherwise you are still putting toxic food into your body. I know it's hard to eat ALL organic. I don't . But I choose the foods like meats and certain fruits and veggies that are best eaten grown organically."

It's ironic, because as college students many of us feel like we are doing something great when we eat fruit; I never thought I would be told to stop eating so much fruit or that there is a limit, but there is - and within later blog posts these statistics and facts will be made readily available.

Debby is my personal trainer who suggests eating 5-6 meals a day during this detox process. That's a lot of time for eating but what is there to eat? Well, that's what will be in the next blog post. WHAT is on the "YES" list of foods to eat, and how much of it?


Debby lives in Oakland Ca, and is an A.C.S.M Certified Health Fitness Specialist, as well as a wellness Coach. Her blog is http://yourfitday.com.

San Francisco, Waste, And Environmental Discrimination At Hunters Point

Readers of this space know that I have been following the landfill contract process in San Francisco for some time now. Until a few weeks ago it was a battle between two companies. The winning bidder, a local employee-owned company, Recology, had a far more economical bid and a superior environmental transportation mode by taking the hauling of the trash out of trucks and putting it onto trains.

The losing bidder is the current service provider, Waste Management of Houston, Texas. Waste has worked tirelessly to keep the business after submitting a bid that was more than double Recology’s and approaching ten times their current price.

It even bought off typical opponents like the Sierra Club, creating an environmental industrial complex in the process by creating an economic incentive for them to keep receiving waste at the Altamont landfill through a open space mitigation fee overseen by the club.

Somewhat expectedly, the City’s Budget and Finance Committee rejected Waste’s tactics agreeing that there is no disputing the facts that Recology is cheaper and more environmentally superior option.

Case closed, right?

No. We forgot that this is the San Francisco Board of Supervisors where closing simple matters is no simple task. Instead of moving forward with the clear winner of their competitive bidding process, the B of Supes took a big two-month time out.

Why, you ask?

Well, because a company named Waste Solutions - that makes a living hauling toxic waste out of San Francisco on Port property in the Bayview - had an idea.

So what is the big idea to warrant this delay?

What is the earth shattering revelation that disrupted a multi-year competitive bid process raised by a company that did not even put forward a bid in the process?

Geniuses really, move the dump to the Bayview and barge it to Pittsburgh. Huh? Move the dump to the Bayview, next to the sewage treatment facility. Move the dump next to the power point that the community worked to close for more than 20 years. Move the dump to the Bayview where Lennar is expected to invest billions of dollars into building out the shipyard.

I don’t get it. The community will not get it. Apparently the City of Pitsburgh and the Port of San Francisco will get the trash and the revenue that comes with it.

Nice, right?

But what will the Bayview get? More environmental justice issues to deal with in a community that has struggled with every environmental impact the fair City of San Francisco has had to offer for the past 50 years.

One would hope that someone, somewhere, would actually bring this to the community for their discussion before derailing the rail option of the winning bidder that saved the City $130 million before they lose that offer in the City’s continued pursuit of environmental terrorism residents of the Bayview.

Nicole Sandler Spreads Word on Twitter Chat #99erAID at 8pm Tonight ET

Nicole Sandler spread the word about tonight's Twitter Chat #99erAID at 8pm ET with event organizer Jason Tabrys on her Radio-or-Not show this morning. (see video below at 15:40 in the stream )

PLEASE join us tonight!!!!! #99erAID The event will be moderated by @99erAID (Examiner.com’s Jason Tabrys) and all who participate are asked to use the hash-tag #99erAID in their tweets.

Reminder: Deadline for State Director Nominations Draws Near

The deadline for filing nominations for Union of Unemployed (UCubed) State Directors is two weeks away - Tuesday, March 1, 2011. All candidate filing statements must be emailed to the UCubed Executive Director at UCubed@iamaw.org on or before this date in order appear on the ballot.

States with 50 or more UCubed members are eligible to participate in the State Director elections. Candidates are encouraged to recruit new members in order to meet this requirement, as well as garner votes in their favor. By the way, South Carolina is the newest state to become eligible.

Voting will begin Friday, April 29th until Monday, May 9th. Winners will be announced Tuesday, May 10th.

All individuals elected to the office of State Director will be invited to attend a week-long training session at the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center in Hollywood, MD, from Sunday, May 22nd to Friday, May 27th. The group will work to define UCubed organizing objectives, plan political and legislative campaigns and refine leadership skills. Participants will also have the opportunity to lobby on Capitol Hill, as well as learn tips for working with the media. Travel expenses, room and board will be covered.

Please keep in mind that the office of UCubed State Director is a volunteer position. For more information on the election process and rules, click here.

If you are not yet engaged in U-Cubed Please DO SO TODAY:

U-Cubed on:

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ucubed

TWITTER: @U_Cubed

WEBSITE: http://www.unionofunemployed.com

CPAC 2011 Had "Obama Hands In Chains" Bumper Sticker For Sale

This is why there are people who think Couch Potato Conservatives are just really unfortunate people and that CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, draws not a small collection of jokers in their ranks.

Banter Media Group blogger Mike Stark of The Stark Reports took a photo of a table at the with a bunch of bumper stickers. But the one that stood out, but Stark didn't get a close-up of, was one that reads "OBAMA: CHAINS we can believe in."

That's an obvious insult that goes beyond President Barack Obama and to me.

So, this blogger, me, took the photo and made a close up of the offending bumper sticker, because it took me a few seconds to pick out the image that Mike was referring to.  Plus, Mike wrote the blog post with so few words, and a title that rendered it almost unsearchable online. I had to step in and fix matters.

Now, we know this crap's out there.  This vile bumper sticker sold at CPAC.

Now that's sick on several fronts. First, that someone would make the bumper sticker. Second, that someone would try and sell the bumper sticker. Third, that the bumper sticker would be sold at CPAC. Fourth that anyone black at CPAC would be forced to see such an image just by attending CPAC.

For those of you who don't get it, let me spell it out for you in basic English. OK? When African Americans, or blacks, were enslaved, placing them in chains was a common habit for slave owners. Now, fast forward to the supposedly advanced 21st Century and after we've elected the first black President of The United States, we are presented with the ignorant and insulting creation of some cretin who's obviously welcome at CPAC to sell this crap.

Whoever makes it, they're also selling it on Amazon.com, and it would be cool if Amazon removed it - here.

Designed By A 12-Year Old What?

The Amazon.com description reports that the bumper sticker is:

Designed by 12-year-old Patriot
American made on self adhesive vinyl
Movable and easily removable without residue
Looks great on bumper, gun case, toolbox, refrigerator, locker and everywhere else

Designed by a 12-Year old? So someone's raised a kid to be a bigot in their early teens, or worse, is brainwashing the kid to be a bigot. Poor kid undoubtedly doesn't know any better at all.  This is not funny and it sure as hell isn't patriotic.

Lady Gaga Smokes Pot, Drinks Whiskey To Write Music

Lady Gaga, who came up with the craziest Grammys entrance yet when she arrived in an egg (that was quickly parodied by Next Media Animation), and wore horns on her face and kept them on for her appearance on Jay Leno, admits that she "smokes a lot of pot" and drinks straight whiskey to come up with her music creations.

Cool.

That's not much different from Biggie (AKA The Notorious BIG) coming up with his best work after chillin with some weed and women. One has to wonder what kind of music Lady Gaga would come up with if she also threw sex into the equation. But I digress.

If that's the case, did her creative manager Lori Ann Gibson smoke pot and drink whiskey when she came up with the Lady Gaga Egg Entrance for the Grammys?   Gibson told CNN's Showbiz Tonight that it was she who came up with the idea and brought it to Lady Gaga, who was all over it.

But was Gibson high or drunk, or high and drunk when she did?

And what about the horns?  Was that idea from the weed too?

Just asking.

Oh, and you can see Lady Gaga's Egg Entrance here in Next Media Animations' awesome take:



Lady Gaga on CBS 60 Minutes (which aired just before The Grammys on the East Coast) told Anderson Cooper that "I smoke a lot of pot when I write music. I'm not gonna, like, sugar coat it for 60 Minutes that, you know, I'm some, like, sober human being, 'cause I'm not. I drink a lot of whiskey and I smoke weed when I write."

Now we've got to find out what kind of whiskey she drinks.

Meanwhile, MTV reports that her new single "Born This Way" is topping the download charts, which, once you get over the irony of that report, is quite impressive.

Academy Awards: Can "Toy Story 3" Win Best Picture?

We're less than 14 days away from The Academy Awards and it's time, again, to think about which movies have the best chance of taking home the Oscar for Best Picture.

Before I continue, let me explain that I just learned while doing a cyber walk for this blog, that Pixar, based in Emeryville and for which I have an increased respect for selfish reasons (and perhaps am a bit annoyed that I'm still not on their press release list), has a movie in Toy Story 3 that has almost an equal chance of taking home the prize as The Social Network does.

That's not from me - it's from The Oscar Guy.  And note, I said almost.

It's fun to whirl around the Internet and see what movie observers are thinking. But for me, there's only one person who has a real history of looking at the Oscars from a "win probability" perspective, and that's Wesley Lovell, who goes by the moniker "Wesley The Oscar Guy," and has for about 14 years.

Wesley is a gem: he writes his blog while working as an insurance broker in Springfield, MO, and has what he calls an "utter aversion to having my picture taken." While Hollywood media types chase after Nikke Finke for a photo, they should be swarming around Springfield in search of Wesley. That they don't says as much about the problems with mainstream media as anything else.

Wesley specializes in predicting which movie will win what Oscar, and explains why including calculated odds. For Toy Story 3, Wesley says that it has a 6 / 29 chance, but The Social Network is not far off at 8 / 26.

The front runner's The King's Speech at 10/15 odds.

Overall, The Oscar Guy has a 55 percent success rate at correctly predicting The Best Picture winner.   To put things in perspective, that's about just less than a 66 percent sure thing in stats.  There's only one person I can think of who has a better track record.

Me.

Over the last 10 years, I've correctly guessed The Best Picture winner 7 of 10 times.  I missed three times: for Brokeback Mountain at The 78th Academy Awards, and for Slumdog Millionaire and for The Departed in 2008 and 2006 respectively.  But my overall rate is 70 percent for Best Picture.

For a glorious unbroken period from 2001 to 2005, I correctly guessed an average of 80 percent of the Oscar winners for all categories.   The reason was simple: my friend had an annually raging San Francisco Oscar Party with a cash prize pool and they asked me to score the ballots for it.  I believed I had to go in prepared because of this great responsibility.

So while everyone was running their mouths - and about what they were going to wear or who they were going to bring - I came having spent a good two weeks researching what AMPAS (The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences) members might do on Oscar night.

So, armed with a ton of data, as well as the knowledge that a good portion of the party patrons were going to play the pool while totally drunk, I decided to enter myself.  Preparation being the friend of fortune, I won year after year and developed my own "picking" technique in the process.

So, my prediction this year is solidly for The King's Speech for Best Picture and in the face of my personal desire to manufacture a reason why Toy Story 3 will win.  

Tom Hooper winning Best Director at The DGA's nailed it for the film. The DGA's is a shockingly effective "domino effect" predictor.

Still, anything can happen.  After all, that's why we play the game.

Stay tuned.