Josh Wolf Documentary Project: Sierra Choi Needs Your Help

John Wolf spent 226 days in jail to protect his videos and sources, and caused the creation of a new law protecting video-bloggers. Now Sierra Choi is directing and producing a documentary - the trailer is here as part of my video blog.

At the time in 2006, I met Josh when he worked for the television division at Peralta Community College. He was also in the middle of his battle with the Federal Government, but even then was still focused on his work, and didn't spend a lot of time fretting about what could happen.

Then Josh defied San Francisco U.S. District Judge William Alsup's order to turn over the videos Josh had taken from a anti-G8 anarchist protes heldt in San Francisco on July 8, 2005. Wolf feared that the U.S. Government in the form of the FBI simply wanted to identify the people who were protesting and not solve a crime they claim had been committed against a police officer. Wolf's videos did not contain any footage of a police officer being harmed.

Still, U.S. District Judge William Alsup order Wolf to be held in jail for civil contempt of court later in 2006. Then, after negotiations, he was released but still refused to give up any of his videos, offering instead to post them online and show them to the Judge himself. Initially the judge refused, and Wolf was ordered back to jail.

Eventually, and after 226 days, Wolf agreed to show the then unseen video clip online and was released from jail. He never gave a copy of the video to the goverment.

In the wake of his ordeal and new stronger "shield" law has been placed in California law to protect journalists of all kinds, from print to blogs. We have Josh to thank for this.

Now, video film producer Sierra Choi is working to raise $250,000 to create a documentary called "Quiet Uprising: The Story of Josh Wolf" and needs our help. You can contact Sierra through me by sending an email here: zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com

Please help as many need to know Josh's story so this will never happen again.

Cell Phone Guns; Deadly "James Bond" Micro Weapon

The cell phone gun is now in media view after a raid of an Italian Mafia group last fall. A 28-year old man captured had this device, but the the others got away. I fear this weapon - which is in the United States - would wind up in our high schools.

Click here for iReport version.

Zennie Abraham's No-Do-Over-Day: Jerry Brown The Super Bowl and The Email

The iReport team  at CNN wants to know what my do-over-day would be. Well, the one I was thinking of, when I -- as Chairman -- wrote an email to the board of the Oakland Super Bowl Bidding Committee.   It's a day that really I don't want a do-over because it helped me in a lot of ways.

Zennie Abraham Takes On CNN's Ali Velshi On Economic Stimulus

For me this was a ton of fun to do. But it's even better when someone takes time to let folks know you did a great job. Such was the case with the CNN iReport and CNN.com, who contacted me regarding my question for CNN's Ali Velshi on what he thought of giving $3,500 to each American taxpayer under $100,000.

Here's the video:



This is what CNN iReport's Rachel8 wrote:

Would you go head-to-head with CNN's top economic expert on an economic stimulus plan? How about live on the air?

Fearless iReport superstar Zennie Abraham did. After submitting an iReport suggesting a taxpayer stimulus package, he discussed his plan with CNN chief business correspondent Ali Velshi on CNN.com/live. Velshi said the plan -- which calls for a $3,500 stimulus check to those making less than $100,000 a year -- was not targeted enough to work. But Zennie courageously defended his idea.

"I disagree, with all due respect," he said to Velshi. "$3,500, particularly for college students or their parents, can help pay for their housing. For a person who's older, that could help pay their mortgage. ...You have to have time for the other aspects of President Obama's programs to work. The idea with this proposal is to buy time for those programs to kick in. I'm not saying that this is a cure-all. It works as part of a package."

And, after hearing the explanation, Velshi started to agree.

"In that context, I can understand that. If we are creating jobs, and we are helping people out with their mortgages, as an added extra, that could work," he said.

Nicely done, Zennie! You really held your own

.

Thanks Rachel! It was a lot of fun and I hope I get the chance to do something like that, again.

Happy New Year! - Zennie Abraham | Zennie62 On "12Second.tv"

Hey everyone!  I just joined this really cool site called "12Seconds.tv" where you can make a video comment in just, well, 12 seconds.  Here's my first post:


Happy New Year! on 12seconds.tv

12Seconds is a lot like Twitter, but a video version.   The idea is to give video updates of what you're doing or the news, or whatever.  It's push button easy to do and perfect for on-the-go vlogging.  Check out my channel! (Don't know what's up with my photo not appearing, though!) 

Zennie Abraham's Take On Seesmic and Twitter, on Seesmic

My video response to Loic LeMeur's video posted over at Seesmic, where he asserts Seesmic will not be like Twitter!  I am happy because I feared another "go" at the whole "Authority" subject.  Yikes!

Zennie Abraham's Travel Problem Focus of CNN Live Appearance Today

I had the pleasure of sharing my iReport story with CNN's anchor Richard Lui who's a fellow Cal Berkeley graduate like myself. The original video on CNN is below and I told my story live today at CNN Headquarters. Thanks to Henry Hanks of the CNN iReport team and to the producers at CNN. 

Original video:

Online Reputation Management: My YouTube Video Is Ranked #1 (For Now)

In the fast changing world of Online Reputation Management getting a number one search ranking on Google's nothing to ignore, regardless of how long it lasts or how long it took to get there.  


Right now, as of this writing, my YouTube video on our Online Reputation Management services is ranked #1 in a search for "Online Reputation Management" on Google out of about 1.6 million results.   For more information, visit our site:  http://www.sbson.com. 

Mumbai, India Terrorist Attacks Byproduct of Unequal Income Distribution

 In the wake of the horrible Mumbai, India terrorist attacks we have had conversations on the role of Radical Islam. But forgetten is the fact that the terrorists are not rich, they're poor.  

Online Reputation Management | Online Marketing | SBSON

http://www.sbson.com -- How do you look in a search? Do you like what you see? Are you even visible? Is there a search result you don't like? Or do you have a great website that no one can find on Google or Yahoo? We can all of change that for you.

SBS-ON is based on Sports Business Simulation's six years of experience in building our own visibility on the web and with a shoestring budget. We've consistently hit keyword targets we established for our needs, literally taken over entire search engine listings, created email campaigns, established and run over 100 online communities and used multiple platforms to achieve our overall marketing and "buzz-building" objectives. We call it "Online Reputation Management ."

Now we can bring affordable Online Reputation Management and Online Marketing consulting services to you.  http://www.sbson.com  

CNN's Sara Sidner Becomes Star Of Mumbia, India Taj Mahal Hotel Terrorist Attack Story

If you're watching the terrorist attacks in Mumbia, India on CNN or were drawn to their coverage by Twitter Tweets , you can't miss the intelligent, clear, melodic voice and pretty face of my friend CNN Correspondent Sara Sidner.  


Just over one year ago, Sara Sidner, was a popular local television anchor holding the Saturday evening spot on KTVU Channel Two in Oakland, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area.  But Sara apparently decided the men she picked out were not working out in the Bay Area -- just kidding -- and elected to try travel around the World.  


She took a position with CNN International.  


The last time I saw Sara was in the KTVU Studio when I was there for a meeting.  She's so busy, she's hard to consistently pin down, literally.  Still, that was true for all of us in a small band of friends that met up at this party or that around San Francisco.  When she wasn't working, which by her own admission was way too much, I'd see Sara at events that were coordinated by my friend Beth, who -- now it can be told -- wanted me to meet "this really cute African American woman" she knew I'd hit it off with.

She was right.    (That's Sara, me, and Beth, in the photo)


That first encounter happened about three years ago at a little gathering: a party Beth threw at her place for us to watch the NCAA Finals and for me to meet Sara, where Florida (Sara's alma mater) played UCLA.  Beth's instincts were correct -- we did hit it off.  Sara's funny most of the time, great at banter, and possessing a rather quick wit -- not better than mine, but she'll pass.  


The first time I realized Sara was so cool was the first time she and I got together in San Francisco during a Christmas Party, where we ended up walking off to an impromptu dinner.  Truth be told, that ring she's wearing isn't one I got for her but it does look nice on her. Yes, we all had as nice a time as the photos would show.  Sara is really as busy as I am, so I can report this: 


Sara's a workaholic.  


I'm not surprised Sara's performing so well in India -- what I love is her candor in, for example, explaining how CNN lost it's India regional broadcast permit and had to use phones to call in the news --  but I have to admit I wondered why she picked India, of all places in the first place.  The first time I got wind that Sara was in India -- she was in Atlanta for spell where CNN's headquarters are -- was via Beth after my first appearance on CNN International during the Democratic National Convention.  Apparently, Sara was in a hotel bar, saw me on television, and sent an email to Beth, who called me.  "Sara fell out of her chair", Beth said.  


I kinda hoped that would happen.   


But I always wondered why India, and now after seeing CNN's coverage of the Mumbia terrorist story, and Sara's performance, I know why.  She knew where the action was to get that one story which would lead to the big break she certainly deserves. 


This one.  

Right on, Sara!   This time, I'm not falling out of my chair.  I knew I'd see you on the World stage!  It suits you well.  Just stay away from the wrong guys over there!  


UPDATE:


Speaking, er, writing of the wrong guys, it seems like Sara's got a handful of them to deal with in the form of some irate Indian bystanders in this video where it sound like she can be heard screaming "stop it" after the camera light went off.  I'm checking for updates like this one on Mediabistro , and here's the video:

Zennie's Zeitgeist Blog is now "Zennie62" Blog

I made a decision to make a big change: "Zennie's Zeitgeist", the name I gave my blog in 2005 to explain that I was trying to chronicle the events of our time, is giving way to "Zennie62". The effort is to have one brand name for all of my social network platforms, and since all of them have Zennie62, changing the flagship blog in the SBS Media network just seemed to the logical thing to do.

Yes, the focus will remain the same, but what I want is to avoid confusing people with different "Zennie" names -- now there's just one. Yes, we will still have the 86 blogs, but Zennie62 is the main blog in the system and takes readers to the other blogs and to the SBS world of games and content.

Zennie62. On Twitter. YouTube. iReport. The upcoming BlogTalkRadio. And here.

Robert Scoble On China's New Disruptive Manufacturing Techniques

I am a frequent reader of Robert Scoble's blog "Scobleizer" and it's seldom without a great tip or observation.  While Robert's political views may be more to the "slight-right" on mine, it's no matter for he always has his finger on the New Media and Tech pulse.  Moreover, he's always ready with great advise, as he gave in my TechCrunch party video, which is long, but worth another look if you have 41 minutes to spare:












In this case, it's Tech.


In his  blog , Scoble discusses the new developments in Manufacturing Tech, and the work of a man named Liam Casey, who's the founder of PCH.   To avoid stealing thunder from Scoble, I'll report that it means you can go to a website and special order a car or computer, rather than the "one-car-fits-all" approach we have today.


That's of no surprise to me.  It's a direction the industrialized World has been on path toward this kind of development every since Dr. McCoy put in a card and out came instant hot chicken soup in a bowl on the Enterprise, and that was in the '60s.


But what's interesting is the kind of businesses that Scoble says we should be in:

"Now, get over your fears, because there are tons of new jobs in this new world, too, you just need to see how this changes everything and then take advantage of the new opportunities. Where are the high value bits in this whole process?

Not the manufacturing.

The real value and profit is in two places: R&D and coming up with new businesses and new ideas. Take, for instance, the Chumby which was designed at a Tim O’Reilly Foocamp and who’s company still has less than a handful of people. Chumby is the new post disruptive business model. Want a job? This is how to do it. Hang out at Foocamp. Come up with an interesting business. Get funding. Go see PCH. Profit! Well, yes, there are a few details involved there.

Other jobs that’ll open up? Anything involved in building brands. Marketing, PR, blogging/Twittering/FriendFeeding, building web experiences, videos, going to conferences to show off new products to audiences, etc."

Zennie Abraham's Visit To CNN Atlanta HQ and iReport Team

This is a video of my visit to the CNN Atlanta Headquarters and to meet the iReport and CNN International people who've been so good to me. I took my Mom as I thought it would be a treat for her as well, especially since she keeps her TV on CNN.  


The iReport staff is pretty much like one would see at any Bay Area Internet startup and so I fell right in with their culture. Fun people. Jessica Ellis of CNN International who "discovered me" for the iReport coverage at the Democratic Convention, gave us a great tour of CNN from a behind the scenes view -- not the standard tourist tour.


Thanks to Jessica, Errol Barnett, David Washington, and the iReport and CNN International staff for being so great.

Buffi The Gym Girl - My New Sim Game - BuffiTheGymGirl.com

 

Regular visitors to our blog are undoubtedly saying "What?!" but I've not forgotten the basics of Sports Business Simulations: our sim games.  But I've spent so much time developing the online marketing and online reputation management aspect of the business, that I had to delay the introduction of my third classroom sim: Buffi The Gym Girl. 

What's Buffi The Gym Girl?

BUFFI THE GYM GIRL BETA is a simulation of a very real, daily activity: going to the gym and the reasons why we pick a gym or leave one. Since some consider gyms as great places to meet people, and to date, it comes as no suprise that people change gyms based on clientele. Enter Buffi, expertly played by actress Cynthia Lee (with her sister Mary Lee playing "Buffi's Sister".) 

Buffi is a beautiful, intelligent girl-next-door, approachable, talkative, and totaly hot and famous star gym rat and personal trainer. She's not shy about her opinions and if she comes to your gym, all kind of good things happen, namely, membership skyrockets.

Your job as gym owner is to make the right decisions to keep Buffi happy and prevent her from leaving and yet make a profit at the same time. You have several decisions you can make, from the monthly fee to use the gym, to the number of sales representatives you need to get new members, the money you spend on marketing and maintenance, the number of employees you have, and if you should expand the gym, provided you can do so.

BUFFI THE GYM GIRL is a system dynamics sim, so there are some business dynamics to be aware of. First, you can have too many members.

If you do, and Buffi's at your gym, she will leave.

You can spend too little money on maintenance, and if you do, Buffi will not come to your gym. You can have too few employees, and risk losing Buffi and everyone else. Or you can have too few amenities, and not get Buffi at all.

The question for you is can you run a successful gym and do without Buffi? That's something you will have to figure out for yourself, either for fun or as part of a business or sport management or fitness management class.  If you're interested in using this for your class, call me, Zennie Abraham, its creator, at 510-387-9809 or email: zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com

Buffi The Gym Girl Decisions

There are several decisions that make up Buffi The Gym Girl

"Expand Gym" - Select 1 for "yes" or "0" for no expansion.
"Number of Gym Employees" - Each change increases or decreases personel costs and impacts service.
"Gym Maintenance Expenditure" - Select the expenditure you will make for gym maintenance each month.
"Gym Marketing Expenditure" - Select the expenditure you will make for marketing the gym each month here.
"Gym Monthly Fee" - What You Will Charge Per Month For Gym Membership
"Number of Gym Sales Reps" - Select the number of sales people at the gym.
 Click For Buffi The Gym Girl - Beta

Zennie62 On Twitter - Connect With Me!

Hey everyone, I'm on Twitter!  Sign up and add me to your connections list!  Just click here on my profile:


http://twitter.com/zennie62



And then click "Follow" to follow me, and I will follow you.  This way, I can send you links to my latest videos and blog content, and vice versa. 

Paul Cobb On Chauncey Bailey, Mayor Ron Dellums & Oakland

 

Paul Cobb is a long-time Oakland, California writer, activist, community organizer and now publisher of the Oakand Post. I met Paul at his office in Downtown Oakland to talk about a wide range of subjects, but the two I was most interested in talking about were who killed Chauncey Bailey and what Paul thought about the current Mayor of Oakland, Ron Dellums.  

Bailey was an Oakland journalist who was supposedly murdered by people associated with Your Black Muslim Bakery (YBMB) on August 2, 2007.  But Cobb and others believe that the chain of events that led to someone, perhaps Devaughndre Broussard of YBMB,  murdering a journalist in the line of duty is more complicated and may lead to people and institutions one would not expect. 

Cobb's assertions regarding the relationship between Bailey and members of the Oakland Police Department would seem to match the concerns expressed in this website article by the Chauncey Bailey Project.  The person who shot Bailey was wearing a ski mask so true identification was never done.  Broussard confessed to the killing, but this to may be a coverup.

Related blog post on Bailey's passing:

http://zennie2005.blogspot.com/2007/08/oakland-journalist-chauncey-bailey-in.html

In our talk for this video, Paul got in some interesting information.  Without coming out and saying it directly, Cobb believes that an Oakland Police officer had some role in Bailey's eventual death.  He says this twice in the video.   In this video, Cobb also said that California Attorney General Jerry Brown took Bailey's research files from him and never returned them.  A view that's controversial, considering that Mayor Dellums has asked Brown to investigate the matter of Bailey's murder. 

Cobb talks about Barack Obama and what his friend the late Dr. Martin Luther King, would think about Barack's historic success in becoming as of this writing the first African American presidential nominee of either party.  What Cobb says is not just that he would be proud, but it is the culmination of his dream.

Those are some of the highlights of a man who's life goes back to his personal relationship with Martin Luther King.

Dr. Cornell West On Riz Khan's Show - "Free Market Fundamentalism"

Dr. Cornell West of Princeton is one of America's foremost intellectuals and an expert on sociology and race in America. I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Dr. West at the Democratic National Convention. Dr. West's comments are featured on Riz Khan's show on AlJazeera English.  


Here, West first talks Barack Obama's impact on how Black America sees itself, then about how a social industrial relationship between politcs and the military serves to hold the lower classes in their place and hamper social mobility.  


Part 1




Part 2: 

Zennie Abraham on CNN International - Video

I was featured in a discussion on the role and impact of bloggers in the political campaign that was hosted by Errol Barnett, who's a reporter for CNN International and produced by Jessica Ellis, of CNN's Special Projects unit.   If you remember Errol's name, he is the same person who interviewed me regarding my use of New Media at the Democratic National Convention.


The idea was to have two bloggers, one Democrat (me) and the other Republican.  The Republican choice was Adam Brinkley .  Adam's the blogger known for the "Draft Sarah Palin" movement, and since it obviously succeeded, he's due a measure of both congratulations and blame for Governor Palin's political rise and her gaffs along the way.


That aside, one has to give him his props on his achievement.


The talk appeared on CNN International, which means that it was seen around the World, but not in the United States (Rats!)  Which at first may read as a "less than" until you realize that you're seen in probably every airport and hotel in the industrialized World.  I even got an email -- right off the bat of the airing of the segment -- from a friend of mine who lives in Oakland, but was visiting Africa!


Regarding the segment, it was a short, but great conversation which one can see below in the embeded video.  But that written, either Errol or someone edited out the part of the conversation where I pointed out to Adam that more than one McCain advisor was openly critical of Governor Palin (I thought I'd liven things up a bit), and Adam said that whomever was doing that should be fired.


He's totally right.  McCain should listen to Adam more often.  Plus, Governor Palin should give part of whatever riches she gets from now on to Adam.  Were it not for him, she'd still be hunting moose in Alaska.


Here's the video:

Salon's Max Blumenthal Smears Zennie, Having Smeared Sarah Palin's Friend Steve Stoll

If you regularly check out my blogs or videos, you may remember my interview with Steve Stoll, who was presented in a Salon website article on "Sarah Palin's Right Wing Mentors " as a member of the John Birch Society.


Well, when I created a blog post with the Salon article as a base , Stoll saw it on Google and -- having pretty much had it with this Salon article getting repeated all over the place online (just Google "Steve Stoll palin ") -- contacted me.  After some back and forth, Stoll agreed to talk to me via video -- I agreed to give Stoll a platform to present his case.


In doing so, Stoll got to clear his name, which was pretty much dragged through the mud in the article.  First, he's not a member of the John Birch Society and is a Barack Obama supporter.  He's not the weird guy that Max and his co-writer David Neiwart painted him as.  Stoll's mentioned all over the place in the article, as if they talked to him.


They never did.


So I was happy to make the video.  And Steve was happy too.  But then today, I have this public comment exchange with an "mblumenthal" -- Max Blumenthal...Which Max starts off with this:

Zenni describes our factual reporting as "character assassination," thereby taking Stoll at his word without any corroborating evidence. Zenni never asked for Stoll's opinion on the New World Order, never questioned his anti-government views, and never explored our reporting on the disturbing role Stoll played in Palin's rise through the ranks. If Stoll had an issue with Stein's allegations, he should have returned one of our dozens of calls. Zenni, you been bamboozled!

zennie62 (3 hours ago) 

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Max. Rather than using this medium for insults, why not meet me and tell your story? What do you fear? What's the deal? I told you the deal I made with him here. But this kind of exchange from you is most disturbing.

zennie62 (4 hours ago) 

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And on that matter, I am happy to present you with an equal time on video. But also it's good to think about it from Steve's point of view. I think the story would have been just as powerful without him.

mblumenthal (4 hours ago) 

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Stoll misleads and the ever-credulous Zenni enables. I left numerous messages for Stoll, giving him to opportunity to respond to John Stein's allegations. He never called back. My co-author, David Neiwert, not only called Stoll at least ten times, he appeared at his home to query him. Stoll never called back or came to the door. We reported Stein's allegations as allegations, not facts. Stoll, meanwhile, hid from the light of day. Further, he won't address his sabotage of John Cooper and Stein.

zennie62 (4 hours ago) 

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Max, that's not fair. This all started by Steve contacting me, not the other way around. I'm not going to defend Steve, but I offer you the opportunity to tell your side of the story. I made a deal to give Steve his platform; that's how I drew him out.

zennie62 (4 hours ago) 

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Additionally, I must remind you that in a world where "Online Reputation Management" matters, it would have been good not to use Steve's name the way you did as it impacts how other see him. He wanted to clear his name. Can't you understand that?

zennie62 (4 hours ago) 

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Moreover, I guess you have to throw me into the "Chris Matthews" category because he was able to "draw out" Michelle Bachmann and let her fall on her own sword; such is the power of video. It's a different medium. I did draw out Steve. Those words are his. I'm proud of that. Also I Steve mentioned that you called him.

zennie62 (3 hours ago) 

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"Stoll misleads and the ever-credulous Zenni enables." -- it also reads as if you have formed a view of Steve without meeting or knowing him. That's not good at all. I've talked to many people on my video who's views I do not agree with. But I give them a platform so that we can be informed. You imply that you did not attack Stoll's character, then turn around and do so. Geez, man.

Here's my point:  Max -- in this exchange -- seemed to me to have a kind of axe to grind regarding Steve Stoll.  Max says he wasn't trying to smear him, then goes right ahead and      does that in the public comments.   Moreover, if you look at the article, it does not report Stoll as "perhaps" or "maybe" having done something, it's written as if it was fact.  


I offered Max the chance to allow me to video his point of view.


I'm still waiting Max.