Robert Scoble Talks About PodTech Demise At TechCrunch Party

I present my long form video documentary of the TechCrunch | August Capital Party held Friday, July 25th 2008 at
August Capital and hosed by TechCrunch Co-Founder / Editor Michael Arrington. First, let me thank Michael for the opportunity to do this at his event, as well as the time he gave me. Second, let me thank all of you who gave me your time at the party, which was the vast majority of you.

I set out to form a pattern of opinions on what the Democratic Party and Senator Obama should address on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. I also tried to give a view of what people were working on in the tech / web community. There's a lot here. But I also tried to make something fun to watch, with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The video is 41 minutes long and some of the highlights: TechCrunch's Michael Arrington explaining that he hope Barack Obama sicks to his concern for "net neutrality" as well as his hope that issues regarding H1 Visas, the FCC, and the avoidance of Internet Taxes are addressed. Technorat Founder and Chairman David Sifty introducing his new venture OffBeatGuides.com. The great EtchStar.com service for devices like iPhones. An iPhone App from VSmax.com. Sara Lacy telling the Democratic Party to "get some balls." Andrew Mager talking about the party and introducing Cathy Brooks of Seesmic, who in turn introduced the Legendary Robert Scoble, and Brooks echoing (unknowingly) Lacy when she says the party should "grow a pair." And Robert talking -- at considerable length -- about what happened to PodTech and what it says, if anything, about the economics of Podcasting.

In all the message to the Democratic Party and Senator Obama was to work to achieve unity, don't fashion policies that tax the Internet or harm Net Neutrality, be courageous, and for Senator Obama to stay the course.

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John McCain's San Francisco Visit To Be Met With Protests Today

Senator John McCain has a big-ticket fundraiser of 100,000 per person and held at the Fairmount Hotel to add to the public money he's already using to run for President.

I figured an anti-war protest must have been planned and I was right: there's one according to KTYU.com:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Grassroots campaigners are planning to protest the continuation of the Iraq war Monday outside a fundraising event at a San Francisco hotel for Republican presidential nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Members of No Soldier Left Behind will rally outside the campaign fundraiser and collect petition signatures calling for a responsible end to the war, according to Peace Action West, an organization that fosters civic activism. Protestors will hold signs advocating the end of the war and well being of Iraqis and Americans in the region.

"Sen. McCain is here raising money in support of an Iraq policy that will be a continuation of the president's fail strategy," Peace Action West's Executive Director Jon Rainwater said. "Americans and Iraqis can't afford four more years of mistakes, so we are insisting that the next president bring a responsible end to the war in their first year."

The protestors will assemble in front of the Fairmont hotel at 6:30 p.m.

Zennie Abraham The Partying Playboy According To TangoDiva

Zennie Abraham The Partying Playboy According To TangoDiva

Wow. Ok, according to TangoDiva I'm now a "Partying Playboy" but I'm not sure if I'm right up there with Hugh Hefner or not! Here's what TangoDiva wrote (oh. Ok. I answered the questions and they put them out there!):

The Man Issue 08: Zenophon Abraham
By Tango Diva

Name: Zenophon Abraham
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Occupation: CEO of Sports Business Stimulations

1. Where do you like to flirt?
Pretty much anywhere. Bar, rapid transit, football stadium, dark part of a dive place.

2. Where's your favorite table for two?
- I like the 21 Club in New York, The Alley in Oakland, and The Balboa Cafe in San Francisco -- three different places but all have history and two are darkly romantic (the Balboa's too well-lit).

3. Where should we stay when we visit (besides your place)?
Hmm. I like the Claremont Resort in the Oakland Hills. Great views, pool, tennis, and food, too!

4. What qualities do you find irresistible in a woman?
Hmm, again. I really like intellect and good character. OK, I melt at the view of a pair of athletic legs on a woman, but if they're connected to a person of low character and cold heart, I'm easily turned off. I like women who know how to maintain relationships, even if we're just friends.

5. Where can we find you on a free Sunday afternoon? Just roll over?
At times I'm at an outdoor restaurant. Or I may work at an Internet Cafe. Maybe the gym. Depends.

6. What do you love most about your city (besides our arrival)?
I like the fact that I know everyone from the Mayor to the cab drivers. I feel connected in Oakland; I just wish my Mom was here rather than Georgia as she's my only family.

7. What should we bring when we visit your town? What should we leave with?
Bring a jacket and shorts -- ok short-shorts. It gets warm during the day, hot at times, then it cools down fast. But I've got to see those legs! :)

8. What do we absolutely have to see while we're there?
You have to see the Golden Gate Bridge. No matter how long I've been in the Bay Area, that site is enduring.

9. Any areas of town we should avoid?
Frankly it's hard to pinpoint one area anymore as it seems crime is happening all over, from Berkeley to SF, to Oakland. I'd just plain be careful period.

10. Any local secrets you want to share?
Well...Valleywag has a certain sex writer who used to have "clients" if you know what I mean. (No, I was not one of them.)

CNN's "Black In America" Does Not Represent Middle Class Blacks

CNN's Black in America is a welcome addition to TV, but it has a major problem to me in that it does not represent middle class African Americans.

Much of the telecast shows Blacks who are downtrodden, or have had something "done" to them by the "system." It's a one-sided view of Blacks that does not help in really understanding African Americans. Not every aspect of Black culture or the life of those of us who are is negative, and I feel that the general life of middle class Blacks was ignored.

Barack Obama Gets Poll Bump From Overseas Trip - Up 49 to 41 Percent Over McCain in Gallup Poll

Barack Obama Gets Poll Bump From Overseas Trip - Up 49 to 41 Percent Over McCain in Gallup Poll

Senator Barack Obama is now seeing a the poll bump he said may not happen due to his overseas trip, and particularly his historic Berlin speech drawing over 200,000 people (this equally breath-taking photo is from Portland, Oregon where 75,000 came to hear him speak). The Gallup Daily tracking poll has Senator Obama ahead 49 percent to 41 percent and according to Gallup's Frank Newport, is the largest lead to date in the poll series:

Frank Newport - This represents a continuation of Obama's front-runner position evident in the last three Gallup Poll Daily tracking updates. The margin, coincident with the extensive U.S. news coverage of Obama's foreign tour, is the largest for Obama over McCain measured since Gallup began tracking the general election horserace in March.

Chinese Government Already Arresting Dissidents Before Olympics

http://zennie2005.blogspot.com - If you remember the video I made where I talked about how the Chinese Government could use IP address data from the Viacom / Google lawsuit to find dissidents and arrest or kill them --

See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ua_XT1RJIE

Then brace yourself because the Chinese have already arrested two Internet dissidents Du Daobin and Ye Guozhu and have done so before the Bejing Olympics.

Both dissidents were arrested for "subversion" or writing against the actions of the Chinese Government. Such actions bring into focus the value of the "annoymous blogger" because the idea is that by being just that, one can explain and report in a dissident fashion without the kind of retribution these two gentleman are facing.

But the actions of some using the term annoymous have threatened the very ability to use that term. As a momentary aside, people using that term must take care not to abuse its use for mean-sprited purposes.

China is clearly concerned about its image during the Olympics and as such does not want dissidents exposed to foreign journalists, so they're locking them up. It's up to the Internet blogging and vlogging community to expose their actions and even make sure that Chinese nationals are informed of them.

Finally, President Bush should not just go to the Olympics but remind China of its human rights violations

Debra Bartoshevich Ousted From DNC Convention For Backing John McCain

Debra Bartoshevich is a Wisconsin Democratic Delegate who was just recently ouhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifsted from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) for stating that she would back Republican Senator John McCain over Democratic Senator Barack Obama for President.

I say we round up every Democratic Delegate who popped off and stated they would vote for Senator McCain over Senator Obama, and kick them out of the DNC Convention. That's ridiculous, stating such a position after the Democratic Party itself has given that person the status of delegate.

Barack Obama has the leadership skills to get us this far, but this veiled racism causes the collapse of intellect, thus people infected in this way, don't listen to leaders. This problem must be and will be corrected, ASAP.

DNC Youth Council Events At DNC Convention

I found this interesting bit of information over at DemNotes blogsite:

There will be a few events during the week hosted by the Youth Council. On the Monday of the National Convention, the Youth Council will host a press conference about youth issues.

Tuesday will feature a “Youth Voting Panel” with some key national figures discussing youth voting issues.

Wednesday evening, the Youth Council will host a Youth Watch Party in Denver for those unable to access the Pepsi Center.

Thursday, the Youth Council will host a “youth luncheon” featuring key national speakers to be announced.

These events are generally free and open to the public, but folks under age 36 (in other words, not me) can get priority reserved VIP tickets to these events and the acceptance speech at Invesco Field by donating $150 to help cover the costs of these events. If you’re interested (note that higher-level packages are also available for sponsorships), e-mail the Youth Council at: youthcouncil@dnc.org.

DNC Convention: What To Do In Denver - Video

Denver dwellers have made a blogsite and this video to tell tourists what they should do in Denver while they're here for the DNC Convention.

Hillaryis44.org MUST Shut Down; Close http://www.hillaryis44.org

I still stand by what I wrote June 5th:

Hillary Is 44 is now a waste of time, and also may be the site behind the Democrats Against Obama effort. The site, owned by Alex Rodriguez (Yeah. Right.) didn't do the job of helping Clinton -- Obama's the nominee.

"Alex Rodriguez", it's time to shut down Hillary Is 44. Put it to bed.
Now.

Didn't you all get the memo? The war's over.

Coverage about McCain instead of Obama: 26 July 2008

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee in the upcoming election to choose the next President of the U.S.A., is reportedly displeased by the amount of coverage that Barack Obama's overseas trip has been getting - even though he himself had suggested that Senator Obama make such a trip. I realize McCain's been in the game a long time, and he probably feels that he's entitled to a little more respect than he believes he's getting.

So I thought I'd share a video with you; a musical tribute to his campaign speeches, you might say, reminiscent of that will.i.am "Yes We Can" video.

DIGG this story | watch more McCain video...

South Carolina Has 670,000 Registered Black Voters, Or One Fourth Of Total

Some people are bothered by a new poll as of this writing that has Sen. John McCain ahead of Sen. Barack Obama by 13 points or so. But given that SC has 670,000 registered Black voters out of 2.3 million voters, if you think of that group voting as a bloc, then all Democrats, it's hard to see Senator Obama not winning the state, if not being within 4 points of McCain.