San Francisco Filmore Street Fair fight: video revisited

Earlier this year I filmed the above video of an unruly patron standing outside Harry Bar in San Francisco and giving one of the bouncers a real hard time. The idea of making the video was not preconceived.

As I wrote in this space at SFgate.com and at Oakland Focus and San Francisco Focus, it was an accidental happening on the 4th of July, where I turned on my Flip Video Camera (Hey, they should sponsor me!) because the guy was being so mean I figured no one would believe me unless they saw it for themselves.

I had no idea he was going to wind up in a chokehold courtesy of the bouncer.

I also had no idea the video would become a hit. A kind of Rorschach test for our culture that's generated over 200,000 views as of this writing.

The reason for its popularity isn't the actions of the bouncer, but how people in the video reacted to both the patron and the bouncer. The 1,335 YouTube-based comments (as of this writing) are particularly fascinating, that is if one gets past the flames and insults of me and of one commenter to the other.

Basically, the majority of people didn't like the young white gentleman who was trying to get the bouncer to stop his chokehold. Many believed he was interfering with the bouncer, who was perceived as just doing his job. The Bouncer was perceived as a hero as shown by this comment:

@Frankie3112Nld
Nothings illegal in a street fight.

If your in the shit it goes like this:
Level 1.) Annoyance/Possible threat

Level 2.) Possible Serious threat

Level 3.) Serious threat

Meaning: You never really know whats going to happen. For all you know the dude could have a knife or a weapon. But the bouncer here clearly demonstrates the best way to effectively neutralize someone without great harm. Bravo.

Everyone, both in the video comments, and on the street, have some opinion about each of the people in the video. But I also find that the views of the video differ with respect to profession or "bent": men in law enforcement or who worked as bouncers all support the Bouncer's actions. But people, mostly women, from other walks of life have varying viewpoints both online and on the street.

A couple I was talking to at Pican in Oakland last night said they too supported the Bouncer, but thought the older African American woman who asked "Are you going to kill him" as he was holding the Patron was totally funny. And someone I overheard talking about my video - but not realizing I was nearby - was describing the kind of chokehold the bouncer was using.

I should explain that I didn't start the conversation with the couple; they recognized me from the video. Because of that, I'm able to get great feedback on it, and my work in general.

But me aside, I'm actually still shocked at the video's popularity. It demonstrates the culural power of vlogging. Showing and telling is always better than just telling. A good vlog can serve as a cultural checkpoint: with it we can determine what we like and don't like about our world and work to change it. No, this video didn't cause any new law that I know of, but it did give many a view of how hard a job working the door of a club really is.

On that note, the video was never intended to be a slap against Harry's Bar. Indeed, I wrote and have said the Bouncer who represents Harry's did the righ think. If anything, the video shows the need for faster-reacting security at the 2010 Fillmore Street Fair so that doesn't happen again. Remember, the Bouncer was holding the Patron while waiting for security and the police; he should not have had to wait at all.

JETS LOOK TO KEEP SURGING AGAINST FALCONS

JETS LOOK TO KEEP SURGING AGAINST FALCONS
by TJ Rosenthal for Football Reporters Online
Watch the You Tube Video Here
With three straight wins against struggling opponents, the 7-6 Jets come back to the Swamp this Sunday to face a once playoff bound team now fighting for its life as well, the 6-7 Atlanta Falcons. Losing starting QB Matt Ryan and one of the NFL's top RBs Michael Turner to injury has not helped. Still, the Falcons have other weapons, can still put up points, and have played some good teams tough. The Jets, once 3-0, will have to prove that their recent turnaround has been about THEM and about simply enjoying the weakest part of their schedule.

The big question in Jet camp is,  will QB Mark Sanchez be playing? Barring any set backs, the NY Post reports that yes, Sanchez will return. It's a huge game for Gang Green in 2009. A win puts the Jets at 8-6 and perhaps ahead of a few of the four teams that remain tied for the last playoff spot in the AFC. The Jets won't however, risk the future of the Sanchise. The coaches will ask Sanchez for an accurate perosanl report on his progress since spraining the MCL in the left knee weeks back.  Head coach Rex Ryan said. “He knows how important this game is to us. He knows that his safety is important to us. I think he’ll definitely be honest with us. He always has been.”

We all know the story that led to this by now right? The Jets brought in Yankee skipper Joe Girardi to teach the rookie how to slide. Days later, the rookie then went on instinct instead, falling head first in Toronto to gain a first down only to injure his other knee for the second straight time in two games. Sanchez didn't travel to Tampa the following week where backup Kellen Clemens threw erratically yet managed to not turn the ball over; a staple for the Jet game plan in 2009. Ground and pound, no interceptions, stifle THEIR offense with a smothering playmaking defense.  

This strategy got the Jets off to a great start. Then Sanchez became interception happy as the Jets plummeted to 4-6. Out came the color coded wristband warning while reminding Sanchez of high risk throws at the wrong time. The interceptions decreased. The injury against the Bills though, left the Jets without their signal caller temporarily. From the looks of Clemens' performance against the horrid Bucs, the Jets will welcome back Sanchez with open arms. Atlanta does have the 29th ranked pass defense but is Clemens the guy who can expose that? From the looks of last week the answer is no.

The Jets will come into the game with the leagues top rushing offense in yards gained and top defense in yards allowed. Stats that certainly were bolstered over the past three weeks against sub par clubs . Carolina's star RB Deangelo Williams was not at full speed during the Jet win. Buffalo  backup turned starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick struck little fear while the Bills rushing D was ranked last in the NFL. Then came 1-11 Tampa Bay.  Wins are win though and the Jets avoided three trap games, a feat in itself for a franchise that too often, gets trapped.

RB Thomas Jones, 4th in the league rushing at 1167 yards, is having an outstanding year. Jones will be called upon again to set the tone. For rookie RB Shonn Greene ball security issue has become a problem for offensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer. Shotty would probably would love to integrate the big play Greene into the gameplan even more. Greene's yards per carry numbers have been solid each week (6-41 yds last week). . A team like the Jets, that is foundated on defense and no turnovers though, can't  give the keys away to the castle to a guy who is holding them loosely like Greene has been. As for quarterback, if the reigns are handed over to Clemens again, he'll have to be better than he was last wee when he went 11-23 for a mere 111 yards. This while missing some very makable completions. The Jets feel though, that Clemens did what was asked of him “We have confidence in Kellen, I thought he managed the game exactly how we needed it,” Rex Ryan said.

Last week the Jets held the Bucs to zero first downs in the first half. Tampa was 0-14 on the day on third down. Darelle Revis once again shut down a top wideout, holding Antonio Bryant to just 22 yards. Falcons backup QB Chris Redman did not struggle last Sunday the way Bucs QB Josh Freeman did, in throwing for only 83 yards. Redman  was 23-34 303 yds in last weeks loss to the Saints.  Future hall of fame TE Tony Gonzalez (788 yds 5TDs) and WR Roddy White (915 yds 8 TDs) are a Falcon pair,  who pose big threats in the passing game. The Jets will benefit however, if Turner remains sidelined. RBs Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling though have combined for an average of 3.7 yards per carry, a far cry from Michael Turner's 4.9 a carry. Turner suffered a high ankle sprain and has missed two straight games. His status is day to day. Ryan suffered turf toe weeks back as well and is also day to day.

 At the start of the season Atlanta was looking to grow from their 2008 playoff appearance in QB Ryan's rookie season. The addition of Gonzalez was thought to have been a key addition for a franchise with serious hopes of a deep postseason run in 2009. Once at 4-2 now at 6-7, the Falcons, like the Jets are still alive but need help and can't afford another loss. 

For the Jets, it will get harder after Atlanta.The undefeated Colts and first place Bengals are the final two opponents on the schedule. Or maybe not. The Colts could be resting starters by then. The Bengals may be doing the same should they clinch the AFC North by then. Cincinnati will also be dealing with the sad loss of  WR Chris Henry,  who died this morning after falling out of a pickup truck during a domestic dispute. The Jet Report sends out it's condolences to the Henry family and the Bengals franchise. It will be a sad weekend for the entire league because of the Henry situation. Nonetheless, the games will go on. For the Jets, Sunday has become yet another win or else scenario.

THREE KEYS TO THE ATLANTA GAME
JET DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS: If Clemens is back the Jets will  DEFINITELY need some short fields. Sanchez won't be at 100 percent if he  does return, so let's hope those Revis and Kerry Rhodes interceptions keep coming. Three turnovers will go a long way for Gang Green Sunday.
THROW IT SMART, DON'T THROW SCARED:  Clemens or Sanchez need to keep with the color coded wrist band and throw it smart but throw it effectively. Being conservative doesn't mean playing scared. Recently it seems as though both Jet QBs are passing while hoping NOT to get picked off. This pair needs to hit open guys. Leaving convertable plays on the field is not playing it safe. Jet passing yards need to come up as do the completion rates. We want over 50 percent completed and at least 175 to 200 yards in the air. That will seal the deal in a game the Jets have control of.
WATCH WOODHEAD: Danny Woodhead is getting more involved. Did you see the third down grab last week? Tough catch, nice run too. The Wayne Chrebet meets Wes Welker type rookie is a great asset to team with a conservative air attack. On a  cold day, this guy could lineup in the slot or backfield. Look for him to move the chains or make a big play on Sunday as the Jets look to increase his role in December.
follow TJ Rosenthal on twitter @ thejetreport

FRO’s Favorite Five” Frankie’s Favorite Fantasy Picks Week 15

“FRO’s Favorite Five”
Frankie’s Favorite Fantasy Picks
Week 15

By Frankie Underwood, Senior Fantasy Writer at www.footballreportersonline.com Email questions and comments to Frankie@footballreportersonline.com

Would you believe that I am benching Tom Brady this week in a playoff match up? Would you believe I got his replacement off the waiver wire this week? Believe It! The Washington Redskins are going through their yearly late season run, and QB Jason Campbell is leading the way. Campbell gets the NY Giants and their depleted secondary, with possibly the leagues worst pair of Safeties. Santana Moss has to be licking his chops. I wouldn’t be surprised is Carson Palmer and his Bengal teammates may show up in memory of their fallen WR Chris Henry.

It’s Rookie Running Back Weekend! Since I’m having difficulty narrowing it down I say get both Knowshon Moreno and Beanie Wells in this weekend. Moreno’s Denver Broncos are playing the Leagues 30th ranked Rush defense in the Oakland Raiders. Beanie Wells’ Arizona Cardinals is paired against the 24th ranked Detroit Lions Defense. Last week’s fav Jamal Charles has another great match up so leave him in.

Want a long shot WR? I’m deathly afraid of CB Nnamdi Asomugha, and Denver QB Kyle Orton should be also. Nnamdi will be all over Denver’s stud WR Brandon Marshall, leaving Eddie Royal to try and burn the other corner. Look for Royal to score his first receiving TD this weekend. Remember all of the short, almost screen, passes Marshall racked up last week, Eddie can do that too. I also like Antonio Bryant against Seattle; I just hope Josh Freeman can keep it together.

St. Louis TE Randy McMicheal is the longest shot I’ve taken all year, but I’m throwing it out there. St. Louis will be trying to play catch up with Houston. Houston Struggles against TEs. McMicheal has been targeted by both Kyle Boller and Keith Null over the last few weeks. That’s the best I can do. Bo Scaife and J. Finley also have nice match ups, but the McMicheal call will look better if it hits.

Ironically after choosing McMicheals as my TE, I’m selecting his opponent the Houston Texans as my Defense this week. After Tennessee killed the Rams last week, you can’t help but pick on them. Houston’s pass rush dominate St. Louis especially if Null is the QB again this week. The Arizona Cardinals get the Detroit Lions this week after the 49ers showed them what defenses are supposed to look like Monday night.


Last Weeks Favorite Five

Joe Flacco – 230 yards and one TD, Would have liked 2 TDs but that’ll work.

Jamal Charles – 143 yards, one TD, and 38 receiving yards. That’s what I like to see out of these picks.

Kenny Britt – 75 yards, really needed a TD to make this a worthy pick.

John Carlson – 24 yards and one TD, really wanted at least 70 yards but that’ll do.

Tennessee Titans – one sack, five interceptions, and a Defensive TD. That was a good call!




Extra Fantasy Advice

Nnamdi Asomugh, Darrelle Revis and Champ Bailey are shut down cornerbacks if you have a stud WR against one of these CBs and another seconds teir WR on the bench try this formula to pick your starter. Take your studs average points and half them (22= 11) if that’s less than your bench players average (or within 2 points) go with the bench player. Hard to do, but that’s my advice against these CBs

FANTASY FOOTBALL TALK-Week13 Recap

 
 
FANTASY FOOTBALL TALK-By David Ortega for Football Reporters Online

Looking under the hood of Week 13

Brady and Moss not N'sync (yet)....
Even though Tom Brady has passed for more than 300 yards in two of his last four games, over that stretch Moss has not caught more than five passes for more than 67 yards in any one of those games. Even though the two seem to be slightly disconnected, they have managed to hook up 69 times, including nine times for scores this season. With Moss coming off one of his worst games to date, it would be too premature to write off "The Freak." The Patriots are still in the hunt for the post season and will be one of the AFC's more dangerous teams with Moss and Wes Welker (105 receptions this season). Brady and his deep threat may be out of step, but it's just a matter of time before these two again find their rhythm.

Warner and Cards got plucked Monday night....
The Cardinals were expecting to lock up the division on Monday night, but instead they found themselves right in the middle of a buzz-saw. One of the Cardinals short-comings this season has been their struggling ground game and now suddenly it has a case of fumble-itus. On Monday night the backfield coughed up the ball three times and in its last three games has rushed for less than 86 yards. With the unreliable rushing attack, this could be a big indication that the Cardinals will have to turn to Warner and the passing game going forward. Warner has had his struggles, but before the Monday night fiasco he had thrown 14 touchdowns in his previous five starts. Expect Warner to lead the way down the stretch and throughout the post season.

More fantasy Notes

Although the Colts don't appear to have much to play for from this point going forward, don't expect Peyton and company to ease off the gas. This is a team capable of doing as much damage in a single half as most teams do in a full game. That will be the concern of many fantasy owners looking toward Week 15, but one they may not need be so worried about. The Jaguars defense(ranked 26th against the pass) is in shambles with injuries and poor play. This Colts team is lead by Peyton and the passing game and he could easily post winnable fantasy numbers by half, so owners should not consider sitting him this week.

The Cowboys defense struggled terribly against the vertical attack of the San Diego Chargers and remember the Saints are no breeze either. With (WR) Marques Colston and (TE) Jeremy Shockey presenting very easy to find targets with their huge stature, and the Saints very animated about their pursuit to keep winning fantasy owners can bet Brees will be "bringing it" to the Boys on Saturday. The Saints quarterback has turned into a touchdown maker with 13 scoring throws in his last four starts. His (Brees) recent play make Colston, Meachem, and Shockey inviting plays this week too.

The Eagles are facing a tough divisional matchup on Sunday against the Redskins, but don't expect them to wander to far from the formula that is working well. On Sunday night against the Giants, without Brian Westbrook and rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin, McNabb has made the most of what he has and got the most from his best weapon; DeSean Jackson. The Eagles second year receiver has been electric this season with eight touchdowns of 50 yards or more. Jackson leads the club with 947 yards receiving and will undoubtedly be targeted heavily against the Redskins. Fantasy owners can expect Reid to keep the plan simple; put the game in the hands of his playmakers. McNabb has been solid the past five weeks throwing eight touchdowns and averaging 290 yards passing per game.

Singletary Doesn't Play Around

Singletary Doesn't Play Around

By J [The Gambler] Gamble For Football Reporters Online
 
Mike Singletary doesn’t care what the critics say about his brash tactics. He knows what it takes to win and he plans on embarrassing his team to victory, if he has to.
 
The Hall of Fame linebacker and ferocious leader of  the 85’ Bears - widely recognized as the NFL’s best modern day defense –took over for Mike Nolan in 08’. Nolan was known for defending his player’s shortcomings. He was also infamous for his 18-37 record in four and a half seasons as 49er’s head coach. Nolan’s tolerance of: losing, juvenile tactics and immature, selfish behavior, wore thin on fans and management.
 
Singletary’s approach couldn’t be more different. He asserted his leadership and control in unprecedented fashion, publicly berating and then banishing star Vernon Davis to the locker room following a 15-yard penalty for tapping an opposing player’s helmet.  
 
Generally, players are never openly reprimanded on the side lines, so for Singletary to tell Davis to take the long walk into the locker room in front of thousands of fans was shocking. It also showed Singletary was willing to do anything to get SanFran back on the winning track. I mean, he hit the ground running. In his inaugural game as head coach, Singletary dropped his pants and pointed to his buttocks during halftime of a 34-13 loss to the Seahawks. He was uninspired with his team’s play and graphically let them know. He was blasted in the media for that as well. The most genius part is how he continued to berate them for several minutes with his pants around his ankles. It was surely a sight imprinted in the mind of his players forever.
 
If Singletary can also imprint his championship pedigree, then these stories will become that of legend. It has been a while since the NFL had an animated coach like a Jerry Glanville, Bill Parcells, Bum Phillips or Buddy Ryan. Singletary’s “man-to man”, iron-fist approach is a refreshing change from the modern–day coaches who allow individual players to run amuck of the rules and team philosophy.  
 
With his team steadily improving, building an identity, and coming off a 24-9 thrashing of first-place Arizona, Singletary has eased on the shock value. The passion and animated aggression remains. His intelligence, even as a player, has always been his greatest asset.   The 49er defense displayed all of these traits on Sunday, sacking Kurt Warner four times and picking him twice.
 
The pundits, who called Singletary’s actions inappropriate, have to be rethinking things. Others said the rich, sensitive athletes of today wouldn’t take well to his coaching style, and strict code of accountability. Singletary knew he couldn’t change his team’s current losing culture, unprofessional antics, and lazy work ethic, without getting everyone’s attention. And boy did he ever.
 
With the verdict still out on Alex Smith, The 49er’s lack a big-time quarterback. They have relied on aggressive defense, shrewd play-calling and the feet of Frank Gore, to show growth at 6-7 with slight playoff hopes. It seems the old warrior knows what he is doing. Why wouldn’t he? During his illustrious career he won Division titles, Pro Bowls and a championship. He was a hands-on defensive signal caller and relentless ball hawk. The rebirth of every franchise begins with a money quarterback, smothering defense and a process of devotion to excellence. The 49ers have two of the three, and a perfect head dude in Singletary.   
 

Is God watching in Dallas? And if so, is he pissed?

Is God watching in Dallas? And if so, is he pissed?
by Drew Moss for Football Reporters Online

The swoon is in full swing.

The Dallas Cowboys continued their horrendous December efforts under Wade Phillips, falling to 0-2 this December by losing to Norv Turner’s San Diego Chargers 20-17 Sunday at Dallas Stadium.

For America’s team, with their 90,000 pairs of 3-D glasses and egregious video screens – It’s a lot of ugly to behold. And a lot of ugly to stomach. Just ask the twisted wizard behind this obnoxious curtain of silver and blue. “This is a bitter pill to swallow here at home… it’s a setback,” understated Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

At the hands of Turner and the surging Chargers, it’s more like a smackdown.

Lest Jones forget, the media (why is Jerry Jones holding a press conference after a regular season loss by the way?!) was very quick to remind him of Turner’s comeuppance. Even after his Super Bowl winning efforts as an offensive coordinator under Jimmy Johnson, Jones passed Turner over for Wade Phillips after Bill Parcells’ departure in 2007. Phillips is 3-7 in December as Cowboys head coach, and 0-1 in one January playoff appearance. Turner is 11-0 in December with San Diego.

At 8-5, the loss left the Cowboys looking up at the Eagles after Philly’s 45-38 shootout win over the New York Giants (will someone in this division make a tackle please?!) and also left them looking down the barrel at a date with the undefeated New Orleans Saints in New Orleans this upcoming weekend. The Cowboys are still talking semi-tough, but looking over their shoulder as they do it.

Efficient (19 for 30 passing, 249 yards, two TD’s, no picks) but uninspiring Cowboys quarterback expressed just such lukewarm confidence, “We just have to play better football. We can talk about it after it happens, but… we all just need to do it.”

“Doing it” on special teams, the offensive line or the offensive coordinator’s booth might be good places to look first. Start the debacle, with Nick Folk’s hooked 42 yarder early. (It’s Folk’s fifth consecutive game with a missed FG-attempt – his job is now in jeopardy). Add to this the Chargers no-brainer three play goal line stand against the obvious Marion Barber and yo uhave th emakings of a long day – and a long December.

Said Chargers linebacker Tim Dobbins (didn’t we see him in Bull Durham?), the next day in the Dallas Morning News,” In our mind, we knew he wasn’t blocking. He’s not getting paid to block.”



So in a huge spot, Dobbins and the Chargers defense did the only thing you can do in Big D - they followed the money. And in doing so, they stuffed Barber, took the ball back on downs, took the life out of the Cowboys - and maybe took the life out of the Cowboys’ entire season. Right in their own house.

That’s a big house. With a big ol’ hole in the roof. And a big ol’ price tag. And a big ol’ bag of late season woes. And if God is indeed watching as they say he is, he’s got a big ol’ scowl on his/her face.

Through it all, even though he shouldn’t be speaking at all, Jerry Jones is still talking tough.

“We have a team that’s capable of beating any opponent,” Jones asserted. Then after sharing some “personal triumph over credit card debt” rant that he used to inspire his beaten down team in the post-game locker room, through a sea of microphones he re-assured the Dallas faithful, “I know what hard times are like in Texas, and I know we can overcome it.”

How inspiring. Prophetic even. Maybe Jerry Jones knows something - or someone - we don’t. If so, he better check in upstairs. And if not, maybe he should be looking over his shoulder at that hole in the roof, too.

Rackspace outage, no, Rackspace down: Rackspace twitter tells all

Rackspace is an hosting company that has wide reach and influence in the tech community.

The Rackspace outage has reportedly impacted most of the popular tech sites like Mashable and TechCrunch and Scobleizer, the blog of tech blogger Robert Scoble.

Scoble is an employee of Rackspace and very active on Twitter, these are his tweets and retweets from five hours ago to now as of this writing:

# Rackspace We had a network issue at a peering location outside our datacenter facilities. The network is back up. More details to come. about 4 hours ago from Tweetie Retweeted by Scobleizer and 12 others

# Yes @heroweb and my part of the @rackspace downtime plan is to communicate on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Scobleizer/rackspace about 5 hours ago from web

#.@bschorr this was a network issue. We still are tracking down what went wrong and why. I can't speculate before the final report is up. about 5 hours ago from web

# arrington this all started when @scobleizer joined them :-) RT Rackspace Goes Down. Again. Takes The Internet With It. Again. http://bit.ly/7wxJUj about 5 hours ago from web Retweeted by Scobleizer and 2 others

#.@benwhiteSF honesty is the ONLY way to deal with these problems. Everyone can watch the world now: http://twitter.com/#search?q=Rackspace about 5 hours ago from web

#@heroweb all account reps are snowed under when downtime happens. Our call volume goes up many many times. about 5 hours ago from web in reply to heroweb

# One thing that's clear is that @twitter is invaluable for communicating with customers now. Thanks @ev and @biz ! @Scobleizer/rackspace about 5 hours ago from web

# RackStatus All systems appear to be working now - more details to come. If you are experiencing issues please contact Support for more information about 5 hours ago from Tweetie Retweeted by Scobleizer and 13 others

# @heroweb we have 300 employees on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Scobleizer/rackspace and all of our management watches, so you are heard. about 5 hours ago from web in reply to heroweb

# @filos agree that we've had way too much downtime this year. This was a completely different issue, though (others were power related). about 5 hours ago from web in reply to filos

When we're down our first goal is to get back up. @heroweb asked. Email is something we need to do better. @twitter is best place, tho. about 5 hours ago from web

Apparently, Robert was the only person at Rackspace who's openly active on Twitter. He wound up being their communications contact for one distressed customer who calls himself "@heroweb". Here's what Heroweb tweeted:

# @Scobleizer I won't take any more of your time. I appreciate your responses. Good luck #rackspace about 5 hours ago from web

# @Scobleizer Thanks. Twitter is the first place I go for info. Not sure why my account rep would not reach out to me on Twitter #rackspace about 5 hours ago from web

# @Scobleizer Not sure why I am writing to you about this stuff, but who else am I supposed to communicate with? about 5 hours ago from web

# @Scobleizer I just sent an email to all my customers. Why is it that Rackspace can't do the same? about 5 hours ago from web

# @scobleizer Thanks, Robert for the link. What I don't get is why if this is the place to get info, why other RS accounts don't point to it. about 5 hours ago from web

# I hate to be harsh, but it is really shocking that rackspace is only now posting to @rackstatus. C'mon guys. about 5 hours ago from web

# @rackspace We are in DFW and are not a cloud site. Our two servers are down. Please provide more info.

TechCrunch's MG Siegler, writing at the now active TechCrunch, reports that the hosting company had "had a complete and total failure today that took down a number of big sites on the Internet, including ours. This has been happening all too often in recent months, including downtime just last month."

While Scoble's site is up, he's not used it to blog about this disaster as of this writing.

Oakland considers lawsuit against the Oakland A's and San Jose

I just returned from a wide-ranging, video-blog interview with Oakland City Attorney John Russo. The video itself is going to be about 30 minutes long when finished, but what Russo had to say, particularly about the Oakland A's, was so important it could not wait for the video. This blog post specifically concerns the Oakland A's baseball organization and The City of Oakland.

 A's Oakland Coliseum lease is under Russo's gaze

Our conversation on the Oakland Athletics started because I asked John what he thought of San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera's letter to Major League Baseball. The letter, released on Thursday and I have (and will post for review) a copy of, states at length that the City of San Francisco is concerned with the potential negative financial impacts on that San Francisco if the Oakland A's are allowed to move into the San Francisco Giants 'territorial rights' area as established by the current Major League Agreement.

The Major League Agreement specifically lists Santa Clara County (of which San Jose is part), along with San Francisco County. This is the specific wording:

City of San Francisco; and San Francisco, San Mateo,
Santa Cruz, Monterey and Marin Counties in
California; provided, however, that with respect to all
Major League Clubs, Santa Clara County in California

Further, past studies I've read have indicated that 47 percent of the SF Giants' fan base comes from the South Bay Area, including San Jose. Oakland A's ownership would be essentially raiding the Giants' main fan base. Such an action would cause harm to the Giants revenue stream and thus their ability to pay the contractually agreed upon rent to San Francisco. Thus Herrera's concern and the letter Russo and I talked about.

San Francisco believes the Oakland A's moves and that of Major League Baseball allowing the A's to consider and work with San Jose to be tampering with their agreements with the San Francisco Giants.

Russo thinks Herrera's letter is "interesting"

On the matter of the letter, Russo said "I think its an interesting letter. I spoke to Dennis today. I told him I think its an interesting theory. I can see where his concerns are; I understand it." Russo says that he can see where San Francisco taxpayers are a third-party beneficiary of those territorial rights given to the SF Giants.

In other words, the SF Giants ability to make lease payments that then go to the City and allows them to maintain services that are of critical need and threatened in an already down economy, would be even more in trouble if the A's move to San Jose reduced the Giants' revenue stream.

Russo said he's "Not going to speak for Dennis" on any possible damage claims because Russo doesn't understand what "territorial rights" mean. Now to clarify, Russo knows what the Major League Agreement is, but the question is can it really be enforced by an organization in Major League Baseball, that's exempt from common anti-trust laws?  If they were not, then anti-trust laws would come to focus on the A's planned move to San Jose, but then because they don't the A's deal does not come under that legal focus.

Still, there's a big, big problem - and because of the baseball exemption and the League's, the Oakland A's, and the City of San Jose's behavior. 

"I do know that over the years, the Giants relied upon that territory in creating their ballpark, Russo said. "I also know that here in Oakland we relied on certain representations by the A's in signing a very flexible and advantageous lease with them. And I'm looking into whether or not their clear, and very clear attempt to move to San Jose - and San Jose's attempts to lure the A's - whether or not those are interfering with our rights under the lease."

Russo said that anti-trust exemptions aside, he's looking specifically into the A's actions and whether those actions violated their lease agreement.

The last time I saw this kind of situation it was the Oakland Raiders actions with respect to the then-current master lease agreement at the Coliseum. As Economic Advisor to the Mayor of Oakland when Elihu Harris was Mayor, it was my job to look at the actions the Raiders took that were in violation of that contract; they were many. Eventually the City of Oakland - along with the County of Alameda and the Oakland Coliseum, called "The East Bay Entities" - did sue the Raiders.

Russo would not say where he was in his analysis, but given that he's looking into A's violations and the City of San Franciso's listing "causes of action" in Herrera's letter - which are commonly a preview of the design of a lawsuit - I can see the City of Oakland teaming with the City and County of San Francisco against both the A's and Major League Baseball and San Jose.

San Jose? Yes. Because of its actions, San Jose is subject to accusations that it also is interfering with lease agreements in both San Francisco and Oakland. I wonder if they did any risk assessment before they embarked on their course of action it trying to get the A's to leave Oakland for San Jose?

The video interview with John Russo will be posted tomorrow, Saturday afternoon, December 19th.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods divorce: Elin Nordegren hires lawyer Sorrell Trope

This Tiger Woods update has his wife Elin Nordegren reportedly hiring celebrity lawyer Sorrell Trope. From my research Sorrell Trope is one to hire when someone means to smash a prenuptial agreement. It also means Elin is not only serious about divorcing Tiger Woods, she's going to take as much of his money as she can get.

Sorrell Trope

Sorrell Trope of Trope & Trope in LA is 82, lives in Brentwood, CA, and has practiced law since 1949. His area of practice is Family Law. He's received the highest possible ratings at Lawyers.com. (Now I don't know how well that can be trusted, but it's there for review.) A website called "TenLeaders" wrote this about Trope:

By the time (President John F.) Kennedy had taken office, Trope was Southern California’s paramount divorce lawyer, representing the likes of Cary Grant and Rod Steiger, among others...Years later Nicole Kidman retained Trope in her split from Tom Cruise.

Sorrell Trope also more recently represented Britney Spears in her child custody and divorce case against Kevin Federline.    


Meanwhile, the Times Mirror UK reports that Nordegren's told her friends the divorce is 100 percent on.  Now I still don't know how we went from marriage counseling to this point in just two weeks, but I suppose something about a rumored "love child" by Theresa Rogers may have something to do with it.

Regardless, it's a massively big mess for the World's Greatest Golfer.

Stay tuned.

Iranian Cyber Army Twitter hacked the Internet

 Twitter's Alex Payne had this photo as "current status" of Twitter 9 hours ago

While I was at a Christmas dinner party last night around 10 PM, a group called the Iranian Cyber Army, Twitter hacked in such a way that the Twitter home page was replaced with this:

Iranian Cyber Army

THIS SITE HAS BEEN HACKED BY IRANIAN CYBER ARMY

iRANiAN.CYBER.ARMY@GMAIL.COM

U.S.A. Think They Controlling And Managing Internet By Their Access, But THey Don’t, We Control And Manage Internet By Our Power, So Do Not Try To Stimulation Iranian Peoples To….

NOW WHICH COUNTRY IN EMBARGO LIST? IRAN? USA?

WE PUSH THEM IN EMBARGO LIST ;)

Take Care.

The above information was from Michael Arrington at TechCrunch,which reported a series of updates on the issue, and this blog post ftom Biz Stone, the founder of Twitter: 

Thursday, December 17, 2009
DNS Disruption
As we tweeted a bit ago, Twitter's DNS records were temporarily compromised tonight but have now been fixed. As some noticed, Twitter.com was redirected for a while but API and platform applications were working. We will update with more information and details once we've investigated more fully.


posted by @Biz at 11:43 PM

 But how did they do this?  TechCrunch' Arrington says they reported on Twitter's security problems before: a web server misconfiguration such that network information was shown, and the incident where a number of Twitter internal documents were sent to TechCrunch.   That's not to point to them in the least, but to show that in different ways, Twitter's security system and information is being shared with more than the usual range of people.  In other words, they still have a leak problem. 

Twitter's up and working; in fact that was the case for me at 1 AM.

The question is can they do it again, and who is the Iranian Cyber Army, really? 

Stay tuned.

Tom Hayes: What would the Founding Fathers make of politics on Facebook?

It's clear that collectively the political activists supporting Barack Obama's campaign got used to knowing - or thinking they knew - what was going on with the campaign. Reading David Plouffe's book might open a few eyes to the reality, which was anything but glamorous in his account.

Obama laid his cards on the table, as many documented during the campaign, and managed to make the election a referendum on his agenda despite the best efforts of his opponents to make it a vote on his "not like me-ness." Of course, the reasons for voting for him were diverse -- hence it was a coalition that put him into office based on a wide variety of individual beliefs and convictions about what it was possible to improve in D.C.

Some supporters (and many detractors,) for instance, failed to listen closely to his intentions for Afghanistan, choosing to assume his statements about being against "dumb wars" in general and Iraq in particular meant he'd back out of any situation overseas where bullets and bombs are flying.

It's disconcerting to others to realize that increasing the transparency of the government, which Obama also advocated, isn't exactly tantamount to inviting activists and reporters into the negotiating sessions necessitated by the arcane rules and strictures of the Congress. 

Most (not all) political activists on both sides of the major issues know that progress is fundamentally based on compromise(s) to achieve what is possible, no matter if it's making decisions in the local school PTA or the U.S. Senate.  Compromises acceptable to the majority by definition almost always fall short of the ideals of those with the strongest convictions.

Unlike the PTA, which is pretty much open to all comers, the U.S. Congress reaches compromise by a not-terribly-pretty process involving just over 500 powerful, influential, sometimes self-serving people expected to do right by the entire country while being inundated with conflicting suggestions. Expecting to see inside that process is a bit - well - idealistic for those sitting at home or working for the media, even if that is what they thought they had bargained for in electing the new President.

That's not how a Democratic Republic works. We don't hold referendums on every issue; we elect folks who seem to hold similar ideals to us and hope they manage to accomplish exactly what we want them to. That's why it's so easy to predict that polls almost always reflect the popularity of a President as in decline - at any given point in time politicians are working on decisions bound to challenge our "collective" opinion precisely because we charge them with handling the hardest and most important decisions.

Now, to balance out the curiously persistent tea baggers who apparently favor a system based on government as minimal and ineffectual as the one in Somalia, some of the hundreds of millions on Facebook are banding together on a "fan page" supporting President Obama, and not second-guessing him. The Founding Fathers must surely be smiling.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Dan O'Bannon - screenwriter of Alien and Dark Star passes at 63

A month that saw the passing of Chris Henry, Roy E. Disney, and Gene Barry just added another legendary name: Dan O'Bannon.

Dan O'Bannon

Sci-Fi and horror fans will remember O'Bannon as the screenwriter of Alien. It was O'Bannon's realistic dialog that carried Alien as much as the special effects, H.R.Giger's designs and Ridley Scott's direction of Sigourney Weaver.  Alien is simply one of the best movies ever made. 

The amazingly creative O'Bannon was also writer and producer, making the critically acclaimed Dark Star even before Aliens.

Harry Knowles of Aint It Cool News, a major media force in science fiction who know O'Bannon and broke the news his passing, had this to say:

Dan O'Bannon was a great geek creator. He provided the screenplay and served as the Special Effects Supervisor on John Carpenter's first masterpiece, DARK STAR. And it is a science fiction masterpiece. I love DARK STAR and its sentient bomb and bean bag monster like very few things in this world. Dan worked on the computer animation and displays on a tiny film called STAR WARS after that. Remember that animation blueprint on how to blow up the Death Star... ie, the rebel plans? O'Bannon had a hand in that!


Then... he was the lead screenwriter on Ridley Scott's little film called ALIEN. Before Dan, there was a blank page. Afterwards we had Ellen Ripley, the Nostromo and the entire legend of the ALIEN. He was responsible for the B-17 sequence of HEAVY METAL, the awesome Helicopter film BLUE THUNDER, the wonderful satire of Romero's Zombie series called THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, my third fave film from Tobe Hooper - LIFE FORCE, the pretty damn fine remake of INVADERS FROM MARS, he got our ass to Mars with TOTAL RECALL... And the number of unmade solid scripts this guy was a part of is legendary.

Dan O'Bannon. Rest in peace.