NYC Marathon 2010: Gebre Gebremariam (Ethiopia), Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) Win

The ING NYC Marathon 2010 (photo by infohostels.com), which featured celebrities like Chilean Miner Edison Pena, Al Roker from the Today Show, New York City restaurateur and chef Mario Batali and winery owner Joe Bastianich, Seaton from The Dan Patrick Show, Jared Fogle of Subway Sandwich fame, Ryan Sutter, from The Bachelorette, Food Channel star and Chicago restaurateur Bobby Flay, and Amani Toomer, formerly of The New York Giants, also had serious runners.

Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia and Edna Kiplagat of Kenya won for the men and women respectively, according to the NYC Marathon website.

Meanwhile, Kenya continued its overall dominance of U.S. Long Distance Running, as Kenyans won two of the top three spots for the men, and the top spot for the women in the NYC Marathon.  Those winners, and others will get a share of the $600,000 in prize money.

The NYC Marathon draws over two million spectators and an estimated 315 Worldwide television viewers.

Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag Go Bankrupt

It must have been all the crystals that Spencer Pratt bought. During the last season of The Hills Pratt confessed that he spent all of his money on these special crystals that he believed were good luck.

This blog post will not be objective, because there's so much built up frustration regarding these two fame craved individuals that objectivity is not even worth trying to achieve.

Heidi Montag recently tried to fool the world by convincing tabloids that her and Pratt were honestly getting a divorce. The two are attention whores who love the spotlight. Hell, they wrote a book about how to be famous just like them. No one wants to be just like them - no one.

Their families won't even talk to them. Montag probably would have a lot more money if she didn't spend all of her money on plastic surgery. The two reportedly received over $90 thousand per episode of The Hills so it is astounding that the money is already disappearing.

This could possibly be another publicity stunt, but the two had a very interesting interview with Life & Style Magazine which Elizabeth Kwiatkowski wrote about and posted on RealityTvWorld.com. 

The reports tell that the couple owes $2 million in taxes - they spent over $35 thousand a month on their rented Malibu home and $3 million on Montag's attempt to launch a music career - she thought that she would be able to launch an album that would be more popular than Michael Jackson's Thriller. The fact that she would even compare herself to Michael Jackson is worthy of paying a fine.

The two also spent lots on cars, private jets and of course those healing crystals.

Montag posed for Playboy in the past, but she didn't get completely naked.  She said that at her "lowest point she considered posing for nude pictures in Playboy."


It could be another stunt for more attention, because it has become apparent that the two will do absolutely anything for attention.

Pratt admits that he thought that The Hills would be the next 90210 and that it would last another ten years. He believes that Jersey Shore is the reason behind The Hills coming to an end.

The two are notorious for calling up the paparazzi so that they could go and take pictures of the two frolicking on the beach and what not.

A few months ago on Twitter Montag was going on and on about her upcoming reality tv show with her long time friend Jen Bunny. What happened to that sex tape? If the sex tape really is in existence that now would be a good time to get some cash out of it, because that may be their last hope.

Speidi believed that their fame would live on forever and that the two were set for life. Guess Montag should feel very embarrassed about her attempt to be a pop star and the lyrics to her song Superficial that say how jealous others are because of how rich she is. She apparently wears diamonds for breakfast.

The two aren't looking for pity, but that's hard to believe. So, for the meantime the two have to rely on Pratt's parents to buy groceries for them once a week.

It will be interesting to see what happens next between the two. Maybe Spencer wishes he still had those crystals to bring him good luck.

Cam Newton NCAA Investigation Snags Ian Greengross, Darren McFadden's Agent

The Auburn Quarterback Cam Newton NCAA Investigation has snagged NFL Agent Ian Greengross. The National Football League Players Association has issued a "disciplinary complaint" against Greengross and his recruiter Kenny Rogers.

Ian Greengross is a name you may remember if you're a regular follower of Zennie62.com NFL Draft videos. Greengross is Oakland Raiders Running Back Darren McFadden's agent (and for 12 other NFL players), and first publicly appeared with McFadden at the 2008 NFL Draft. Here's the video interview he gave back then:



Now, the NFLPA’s Committee on Agent Regulation and Discipline (CARD) is investigating Greengross for his alleged involvement by being associated with Rogers, who's alleged request for a six-figure payment from Mississippi State for Newton's commitment to that school before he wound up with Auburn, has raised red flags all over the place.

Greengross is not the real target, but Rogers, whom ProFootballTalk.com reports Greengross has tried to "distance himself" from.  Rogers is said to have "misrepresented" himself as an NFLPA employee and an "official from a testing service," according to the NFLPA.

The NFLPA online announcement is damaging:

Under the NFLPA Regulations, an agent is held responsible for the actions of his recruiters, employees and associates if their conduct violates the Regulations. Rogers is alleged to have, at various times, misrepresented to prospective player-clients that he was an NFLPA employee, a Club official and an official from a testing service in an effort to recruit them. He also is alleged to have recruited players as clients while those players were signed to agent contracts with other agents in violation of the Regulations. 

Under the Regulations, Greengross now has the opportunity to answer the complaint, after which CARD may impose discipline, including a fine, suspension or revocation of his Certification as a Contract Advisor. Given the significance of the violations, CARD is considering exercising its right to immediately impose discipline pending any hearing on the matter and has asked Greengross to show cause as to why such action should not be taken.

Newton's father says he knows nothing of any cash payments made by colleges, according to a number of news sites.

Stay tuned.

Nancy Pelosi Will Run For Minority Leader

Getty Images

Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will be running for minority leader. The video of Pelosi making this announcement is available to watch on CNN Videos.
In a written statement CNN reports that Pelosi said:

"Many of our colleagues have called with their recommendations on how to continue our fight for the middle class, and have encouraged me to run for House Democratic Leader. Based on those discussions, and driven by the urgency of protecting health care reform, Wall Street reform, and Social Security and Medicare, I have decided to run."

It has also been reported that a longtime Pelosi strategist spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity. The source told CNN:


"She just told me she wasn't finished, and until the effects of what they have done take hold and Americans are back to work -- she has to get to work."

The 70-year old's decision to run for minority leader is an extremely controversial one. Her two predecessors chose to resign once no longer being speaker of the House, and not very many people are supportive of her decision.

Dan Boren, Moderate Democratic Representative of Oklahoma, is one of the many who urged Pelosi not to run for minority leader. He tells CNN:


"I cannot in good conscience support Nancy Pelosi as our leader. I think that it is important for the Democratic Party to move in a new direction for the sake of our country. Democrats and Republicans need leaders who are going to work together."

Other Democratic Representatives who do not support her decision include Heath Schuler of North carolina, Jim Matheson of Utah and Jason Altmire from Pennsylvania.

Schuler has even said that he may challenge Pelosi, but according to the makeup of the Democratic caucus few believe that he would win.

Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois has said that he would be willing to support Pelosi's bid.

Follow up posts will be made when more information has been made available.

Garth Brooks Is Popular

Garth Brooks, country music star, has added five additional dates to his Nashville tour due to the popularity and high demand.

Nashville's WMSV.com reports that in one hour there were 100,000 tickets sold for the concert he will be playing with Trisha Yearwood this December 17 at the Bridgestone Arena to benefit flood victims.

The tickets for this show are available at Ticketmaster for $25.

This show is such a big deal, because Brooks has not performed in Nashville since 1998. Brooks has been retired since that time and has been raising his three daughters. He makes special exceptions to perform when it is for charity.

Daylight Savings Time Change Nov 7: Time Change Fall 2010

Last week Europe was the focus of Time Change Fall 2010 and Daylight Savings Time. Now, this weekend, Sunday, is November 7th, the day of setting our clock's back one hour in the Americas.

The change will add one hour of sunlight starting Sunday morning November 7th.

NIST Website Has The Info

The best place for exact information on the Daylight Savings Time Change is the website of the National Institute of Technology and Standards. It reads:

Daylight Saving Time begins each year at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March. Move clocks ahead one hour at the start of Daylight Saving Time.
Standard Time begins each year at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. Move your clocks back one hour at the resumption of Standard Time. Daylight Saving Time and time zones are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, not by NIST.
In 2010, Daylight Savings Time is from 2:00 a.m. (local time) on March 14 until 2:00 a.m. (local time) on November 7.
In 2011, Daylight Savings Time is from 2:00 a.m. (local time) on March 13 until 2:00 a.m. (local time) on November 6.

You can also get accurate U.S. time for your time zone at www.nist.gov.

Mass Arrests in Oakland: Loud Protests over Oscar Grant /Mehserle Sentencing

Police might as well prepared Marshall Law in Oakland, because they arrested everyone in sight near 6th and east 17th. They declared the entire block a ‘crime scene’ and said everyone within it were arrested as agitators. Police claimed that a rock was thrown at them. Over 150 people were arrested including folks who weren’t even part of the march.

Here’s the link to our special Hard Knock Radio/ Flashpoints broadcast on the Johannes Mehserle sentencing with myself and Sabrina Jacobs…Our guest included Oscar Grant’s uncle Cephus Johnson aka Uncle Bobby,Jack Bryson who’s sons were on the Fruitvale BART platform w/ Oscar when he was killed….We also spoke with Grant family lawyer John Burris, LA correspondent Thiandiswe Chimurenga, M1 of dead prez, Minister Keith Muhammadof the Nation of Islam , Jesse Strauss Dennis Bernstein and Miguel Molina of Flashpoints and Alan Gomezof Puente Arizona.

Here’s a link to the show

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65170
———————————————————————-

Tonight Oakland Police showed us what Marshall Law was all about as they conducted mass arrests in East Oakland around 6th and East 17th. All in all over 150 people were arrested and likely to be taken to North County or Santa Rita for the weekend.

This all began when about 500 marchers left downtown where city hall is located and attempted to march to the Fruitvale BART station where Oscar Grant was murdered. OPD had devised a boxed in strategy which was described as a scrimmage line. With the use of helicopters, dozens of patrol cars and undercover cops spread throughout the crowd, police in a series of manuevers tried to corral marchers into a block and immobilize them.

The marchers were a multi-ethnic crowd featuring people of all ages and classes. many were disappointed with the outcome and felt that justice was not served.

The overwhelming majority of the marchers were peaceful, in fact this was affirmed early on KGO News who had a reporter in the crowd. As the night went on the narrative changed when it was reported that some car windows were broken. Even though this wasn’t done my 99% of the marchers it was the excuse the police needed. One of the marchers described the police as increasingly aggressive when they found it it difficult to contain 500 people.

When folks arrived at 6th and East 17th the police in riot gear had all sides blocked and declared the area a crime scene. Many of the folks had no idea what that meant and why they were not allowed to leave. Police then announced that everyone except the press would be subjected to arrest. Some marchers were getting conflicting information where they were told they could leave, but when they attempted they were told they could not.

Police were on bull horns telling the crowd ‘This is a crime scene Do Not Resist the Police.” Again no one had any idea why it was a crime scene and what that meant.

Observers from Lawyers Guild were told that a rock was thrown at the police and everyone in the march were going to be arrested as ‘agitators’. This was the story given when I was out there.

Imagine our surprise when we got home and saw the evening news running stories saying that someone had snatched a gun from the holster of an officer, and someone else had hit an officer with a car. That wasn’t the 500 people in the march, those were two individuals, both who have been arrested.

We later heard that everyone was arrested for unlawfully assembly. None of this information was made known to the veteran reporters who called into our L’Onda radio show on KPFA including a veteran cop watch leader who was with the marchers as an observer and not allowed to leave with the accredited press.

The police also claim that folks had broken other windows. The question raised is why blame everyone in the march? Police had undercover officers amongst the marchers, they weren’t aware of who specifically violated the law? Why not give folks an opportunity to disperse versus arresting everyone wholesale?

Do Not Resist the Police seemed to be the new mantra from an oppressive force that has now gotten away with murder.

Folks observing the mass arrests were talking about the outlandish remarks attributed to sentencing Judge Robert J Perry. This included him telling the Grant family that with President Obama in the White House folks should not see this incident as racial.

He parroted all the talking points of the defense and pretty much blamed Oscar Grant for his own death. Please listen to the radio interview we posted up that features report backs from several people who sat in the courtroom including Grant’s Uncle and news reporter Thandi Chimurenga.

Here’s the link:http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65170
Many are trying to figure out ways to remove him from the bench.. here’s a link to that process http://www.ajs.org/ethics/eth_impeachement.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrqf_7nki8Y&feature=channel

Police systematically booked people. from what we observed they seemed to be separating organizers from 'ordinary folk's

Jack Bryson's two sons were on the platform and witnessed Oscar get killed. He was still in shock over some of the outrageous things Judge Robert Perry said before sentencing Johannes Mehersle. He wants see him recalled

There were hundreds of police out in the streets..They out-numbered protestors

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=564744&id=882195719&l=a5315b96a3

Jill Clayburgh Dies At 66; One Of 25 Greatest Actresses In Hollywood

Jill Clayburgh, voted one of Entertainment Weekly's 25 greatest actresses, has died at 66 years old and after a 21-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to The Boston Channel. The New York City born daughter of a wealthy family produced an incredible body of work that's spanned 30 years.

Clayburgh's first major role was Portnoy's Complaint in 1972. That was followed by her amazing role in An Unmarried Woman in 1978, for which Clayburgh received an Oscar nomination. Jill received yet another Oscar nomination for her role in Starting Over in 1979. But Oscar success escaped her and over time, top roles passed her by.

But Clayburgh, along with Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, and Pam Greer, carved out an iconic image of the empowered American woman, the symbol of social change in the 70s.

Eventually, television would benefit from Clayburgh's talent, as she starred on such shows as Ally McBeal and most recently Dirty, Sexy Money.

Clayburgh is survived by her husband Tony Award-winning playwright David Rabe, and her son, Michael Rabe and daughter, actress Lily Rabe.

Keith Olbermann: Suspended from MSNBC

Keith Olbermann was suspended from MSNBC on Friday for making campaign donations to three Democratic congressional candidates, violating NBC’s News ethics policy.

MSNBC TV President Phil Griffin announced in a statement: “I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”

The donations were first reported by the Politico website earlier in the day. Olbermann acknowledged the donations in a statement to Politico, saying he gave the maximum legal donation of $2,400 to Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate against Tea Party candidate Rand Paul.

The charismatic, debonair and dramatically verbose host of MSNBC’s highly rated TV show “Countdown” - Olbermann is the sort of “on air” personality that you either love or just cannot stand.

With Fox ownership and TV hosts contributing millions to Republicans and allowing Tea Party candidates to openly solicit contributions on air - free of charge, it would seem a direct correlation between media bias and the almighty dollar (giving money to campaigns) has undoubtedly been proven true by FOX after all - who has only one policy about journalistic ethics: NOT ALLOWED.

Still I cannot excuse MSNBC for their lame handling of this seemingly harmless deviation on Olbermann’s part of the MSNBC employee policy.

Already, the FaceBook groups are promoting the boycott of MSNBC until Olberman is allowed to return. Keith’s absence will only hurt MSNBC’s ratings in the short and long term. I suppose rules are rules, but it will be difficult for millions of loyal viewers to fill the void until Keith Olbermann is once again allowed to freely bash the "right wing-nuts" as only he truly can.

Olbermann’s usually prolific Twitter feed was noticeably silent on the entire issue.

Jean Quan | Oakland Mayor's Race Update: Quan News Outrages Oakland Cops

The news that Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan may be the next Mayor of Oakland has outraged Oakland Police Officers. This blogger just got a call this evening from a long time friend who's name I will not reveal and who's working "out in the field" on the streets of Oakland after the Mehserle verdict, who said "Hey. It's busy out here, people on the street, but we've got it really well contained. We're way over-prepared for this, this time."  (Which explains why he was able to take time to call this blogger.)

Then his tone changed. This is someone who doesn't get that upset a lot; not this time. He said "You know me. I generally don't pay attention to politics, but whoa! This shit out here is nothing compared to what I was told. You're politically in the know, so I call on you. Is it true, we're going to have Jean Quan as our Mayor!? If that's the case, I'm outta Oakland, and I'm taking as many people as I can with me." (He didn't mean that the way you might think.)

"This shit's ridiculous," he said."What was the count?" (I explained it was 51.9 for Quan to 48.9 for Perata.) "Man. It was that voting system (referring to Ranked Choice Voting). That shit. That. The people I talked to were so confused by that. They didn't know who they were voting for."

So we continued to talk about the ballot design and how a person may be tripped up by it, then he said "That's shit's wrong.  Someone can't.  We can't have her as our Mayor."  So I asked him what he had against Councilmember Quan.  Boy, I got an ear full:  "Well, of course there's the issue of the 80 police officers.  But she's been hostile to police and our needs....And when she was at (Oakland City) Council, she was reading The New York Times while the discussion around the 80 or 85 cops was going on.  She was indifferent.  I hope this doesn't happen."

My friends view doesn't reflect my own, and I can't confirm or deny the New York Times claim, but it's really important to record what's being said out there in public, and a call from an Oakland Police Officer is a valuable look into how Oakland's rank-and-file feel about what happens in Oakland politics.   One thing is clear, the Oakland Police don't like Quan.

Moreover, they totally hated what they saw as a "political grandstanding effort" by Quan and Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan when the pair got in a line with the Oakland Police in an effort to clear the streets of people after the last Oscar Grant /  Mehserle protest.  As one cop told me at Perata's event "I'm almost 300 pounds. Do you think I need protection and help from Quan."

Like this blog post or not, it's an honest view of the road ahead for Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, should the numbers hold up.

For it's part, the Perata Campaign had this to say via email:

It appears that there might be a reversal of fortune.
We're unclear about Alameda County’s processes and await a final and accurate count.
The mystery of Ranked Choice Voting continues.

Stay tuned.

Unemployment News: Tax Cuts for Rich or 12 Million New Jobs

Washington has a clear choice: tax cuts for the richest Americans or create 12 million new jobs in this country, according to Heather McGee, director of Washington DC’s office of Demos (a nonpartisan public policy group). Demos will be releasing the results of a study on this very subject within weeks.

Republicans know how bad the unemployment news is in America, they caused most of the problems which led to massive outsourcing and rewarded those corporations with tax cuts to boot.

Now the Republicans are insisting that the election results last Tuesday means that Americans want tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, when nothing could be farther from the truth.

In an interview tonight on MSNBC’s Countdown (minus Keith Olbermann), McGee went on to disclose:

“I think it's a really strong move obviously for President Obama and the democrats to continue to push for the middle class tax cuts that were really their signature achievement in tax policy since Obama became President. Not that many people know this, actually President Obama gave the middle class the single largest tax cut in American history, during the recovery act.

Democrats really need to be pushing the Republicans to justify tax cuts for wealthiest Americans at a time of massive unemployment.”

The republicans keep saying they're willing to borrow $700 billion (this fiscal year alone) to lower taxes for the top 3% because it will create jobs. Once you're willing to borrow $700 billion aren't there more effective ways to use it to create jobs?

Demos and McGee seem to think so.

“Absolutely. We know, in fact, tax cuts cost the U.S. more than they create in economic activity. We're going to be issuing a report in a few weeks (Demos is) that talks about what it would cost to directly put the American people, out of a job through no fault of their own, back to work. You can get 12 million people back to work in this country for the $700 billion a year that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans would cost. I mean, if you frame it that way, I don't see how that's not a winning solution for the President and Democrats."

See the entire interview below.

It is really a no-brainer even thick headed Mitch McConnell and Mr. Boehner could figure out - should they abandon their unjustified dedication toward the RICH and actually do the right thing for America. What do you think?

Oakland Mayor's Race Shocker - Jean Quan Is Unofficially Mayor Of Oakland

The unthinkable just happened. Oakland District 4 Councilmember Jean Quan outpaced Former California State Senator Don Perata 51 percent to 48 percent and unofficially won the Oakland Mayor's Race.  If the results hold, Quan becomes Oakland's first female mayor and its first Asian mayor.

This news is according to the Alameda County Registrar's Office. Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, if these results hold up. The numbers are really, really close.

The results, the product of the new Ranked Choice Voting system, went through 10 computerized rounds. Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and Councilmember Kaplan transferred the largest number of votes, so it must be surmised that their strategy of supporting each other actually worked. If you think about it, and look at the numbers, that means three-fourths of the second choice results were for Jean Quan. That's amazing.

This is really funny, in a good way. It means the system worked, even if some may not be happy about it.

"That means I'll have to leave Oakland," one City Hall insider said to this blogger. Indeed, Councilmember Quan wasn't the favorite of some insiders because she's frankly perceived as a rather indifferent at times. And I will not shy away from my public statement that were it not for that, Jean would be the best candidate.

So, in a weird kind of way, the best candidate won. The reason I'm happy is because we had a really democratic system that did work. It gave a level of much needed unpredictability to a race that seemed predictable.

YAHOO!

Now, it's a sad day for Don Perata, who was already announcing his first action, that of reinstating the 80 Oakland Police Officers. But now, that's probably going to be off the table.

A Note To Mayor-Elect Quan

Mayor Elect Quan is blessed to be in this position. But this blogger hopes she remembers to just be nice to everyone and greet Oaklanders with a smile and a hand shake. We need that now. God has given you an amazing blessing. I know you have it within you to be a great mayor, all you have to do is be a great mayor. Good luck.