Patriots Run Up Score, Clobber Jets 45 to 3 on Monday Night

The New England Patriots came out and sent a message to the New York Jets: we can be as mean as you - no meaner!

The Pats rang up 31 points going into the 4th Quarter of the ESPN Monday Night Football game, when it was 31 to 3, but that wasn't enough. The Tuck-Rule team had to tack on 14 more points. That's right, two touchdowns.

New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady kept throwing passes well into the last quarter of the game, whereas a coach like the late Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry, or the San Francisco 49ers Legendary Head Coach, the late Bill Walsh, would have used the run to drain the clock and end the game.

It's called class. Something the New England Patriots have yet to show during their time under Head Coach Bill Belichick.

Not cool.   Bill has four Super Bowl wins, but that doesn't make his approach a desirable one.

Facebook Profile Changes

Once again Facebook users have signed on to see their profiles look completely different than they did before. Facebook layouts and profiles keep changing and "upgrading" to the point where users think there is no other possible way to update this any further, but Zuckerberg's crew always comes up with a way.

At least with "new Twitter" users have the option to go back to "old Twitter." No one is being forced to stay with the new layout.

The Time blog states:

Though redesigns to the site are usually publicly hated, provoking users to demand the change be undone, Facebook's pioneer initiative makes sweeping changes, like this latest redesign, inevitable. For more on the change, visit Facebook.com/about/profile and check back with Techland later for a full review of the new features.


Zuckerberg told 60 Minutes:

"It gives you this amazing connection with that person in a way that the current version of the profile that we have today just doesn't do."


The new Facebook profiles seems to have more information than needed all at once.
Comparing the two. Here's what the profiles looked like previously:

And now the new profiles:

There is just so much unnecessary information posted at the top. Before it just said the person's "status" - but now there's everything including who the person is dating or what languages the person speaks.

CNN reports that the reason for the change is so that people have an easier time reading a mini-biography of the person whose page it is.

People always initially hate the "new Facebook" and by the time they get used to it another one has rolled along - so stay tuned to see if people do in fact end up liking this version.

Oakland News Coalition Against the Gang Injunctions video interview

The interview with Maisha Quint of the East Side Arts Alliance and Michael Siegel of the Law Firm of Siegel and Yee (Where his father, Dan Siegel and Oakland Council President Jane Brunner are partners), was not conducted by this blogger, but by someone named Kali Akuno who has a series of videos he calls "The Black Agenda Morning Shot."

The videos, totaling about 19 minutes of run-time, were not brought to my attention by anyone; I found them on YouTube. I've never met Maisha, and Michael I met for the first time and just after interviewing now-Mayor-Elect Jean Quan at Siegel and Lee during The Oakland Mayor's Race.

While I'm personally opposed to the idea of a "black agenda" - because I think a separatist view doesn't help the cause for diversity, and because more often than not, it's not my agenda, and I just don't like being dictated to by the masses, regardless of color - their point of view on how the Oakland Gang Injunction contributes to the overall climate of law enforcement racial profiling is worth viewing.

In the video, Michael explains that if you have a certain color of shirt and happen to be next to someone profiled as a gang member, you could be placed into a database of gang members even though you've got nothing to do with the people you happened to be standing next to. Say, at a bus stop.

Siegel and Quint also charge that the Gang Injunction Program is a way for Oakland to get Federal dollars in a poor economy.  For every person identified in the program, the City of Oakland is compensated.  Quint charges that the program is a way for Oakland City Attorney John Russo and for Jerry Brown to advance their political careers.   (That's something I'll have to ask John about, as I don't think with him that's the case at all and for a list of complex reasons. )

But that aside, the video does raise a lot of questions about the Gang Injunction Program. My question is do we really need this sort of program, as opposed to neighborhood improvement programs the Obama Administration is touting. (More on that later.)

The video is in two video parts, below:



Part II:

Wikileaks Julian Assange For Crunchies 2010 Best Startup Award

Julian Assange
(sambungey.com)

Wikileaks and Julian Assange, who just turned himself in in London for a crime that is, at best, questionable, should be your pick for The Crunchies 2010 "Best Startup" and "Founder" awards.

For those of you reading this and scratching your heads, The Crunchies are described in more detail here, but is best described as the blog TechCrunch' annual event it does with Venture Beat and Gigaom, to celebrate the best in the tech community.

Arguably Mr. Assange, who's shown all of us the true power of the Internet, is just that person. Regardless of your position on his actions in forming Wikileaks and releasing thousands of classified documents, his impact on society is without question.

Facebook gets "Best Startup" at every Crunchies, and it's well deserved. But the 2011 Crunchies can make a real statement to the World.

"Wikileaks Julian Assange For Crunchies 2010 Best Startup Award."

Think about it, then vote.

Wikileaks Julian Assange Arrested for #cablegate #condomgate

Julian Assange
(sambungey.com)

Wikileaks Founder and Editor Julian Assange was arrested at 9:30 AM in London.

Acccording to the Guardian and the BBC, Scotland Yard said Assange was "was arrested by appointment" at a London police station. That's another way of saying Julian turned himself in.

Assange did so because of an arrest warrant issued against him in Sweden for alleged rape only because he was accused of not using a condom during consensual sex.

That led to the use of the term and hsshtag #condomgate to go with #cablegate, nd referring to the thousands of pages of classified cable text transmissions released for open view via Wikileaks.

You can read more about that at Zennie62.com here.

According to the BBC, Julian Assange has said that Wikileaks is being operated in London and at several locations.

Tech News: Crunchies 2010 awards open for nominations

Yep. It's that time again: the time to submit your nominations for "Crunchies!" And what, may you ask, is a Crunchie?   What's up with the chimp with the bone?

Good freaking questions!

The Crunchies is an award given by a group that consists of representatives from the tech blogs, Tech Crunch, Venture Beat, and Gigaom, and done at any annual event, featuring a kick-ass party.

This time, it's going to take place January 21st, 2011 at The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, according to Tech Crunch.   The awards ceremony starts at 7:30 PM and the party will be next door, at The Exploratorium.

The event itself has great interviews, like this one where Tech Crunch Founder and Editor Michael Arrington sat down with current "Master of The Universe," Facebook Founder and President Mark Zuckerberg at the last Crunchies in January:



The Crunchies also features groups you've never heard of singing songs you want to sing. Here's "The Silicon Valley Song," also from the last shindig, and by The Richter Scales:



Folks, you can't make this stuff up.

Well, OK, you can make this stuff up. That's what The Crunchies is all about: celebrating people and their companies who make stuff up that you wind up using. Like Facebook - a Crunchies winner.

Oh, the chimp with the bone is the award, and comes from this:



(OK. I opted for the long-version so it would sink in.)

4,290 Nominations

As of this writing there are 4,290 awards nominations, in these categories: Best Internet Application, Best Social App, Best Social Commerce App, Best Mobile Application, Best Location Based Service, Best New Device, Best Technology Achievement, Best Design,Best Touch Interface,
Best Bootstrapped Startup,Best Enterprise, Best International, Best CleanTech,
Best Time Sink Application, Angel Of The Year, Venture Capitalist Of The Year (Individual), Founder Of The Year, CEO Of The Year,Best New Startup Or Product Of 2010,
Best Overall Startup Or Product Of 2010.

You can visit the nominations site with a click here: CRUNCHIES.

Who's won in the past? Facebook has won "Startup of The Year," every single year of The Crunchies. And that's the problem. Facebook can't be considered a startup anymore, yet its wins take recognition away from real startups.

Oh,  heck.  Maybe if it helps The Social Network win an Oscar?    Hmm....

But I digress.

So what other real startups? Well, how about the winners of the TechCrunch Disrupt 2010 Startup competitions, for one? How's Soluto doing? Want to nominate Tumblr for most classy recovery from a recent disaster?

Just saying.

Or how about Foursquare?

The point is, there are hundreds of companies just under the radar of Rupert Murdock and The Associated Press, and not corrupted by them, like Google News has become.

Just saying.

The Crunchies. Cast your vote. Come to the event.

Oh, and they're looking for sponsors, so read this TechCrunch blog post for more information.

Stay tuned.

Walgreens CFO and Pharmacy Pres report 8.6 percent growth

In 2009, Walgreens CFO Wade D. Miquelon reported that the then planned Heath Care Reform Initiative was "good" for Walgreens.

That view, considering the at times wildly skewed information on the policy, was rarely reported. In 2010, at its annual Analysts' Meeting, Walgreens President of Pharmacy Services Kermit Crawford outlined the retail giant's plan to become one of the nation's largest providers of health care services.

Now that plan's performing extremely well for Walgreens. It's latest press release reports that sales have increased 8.6 percent over the same month in 2009. Moreover, the news is the clearest sign yet that for a business that plays host to 6 million people each day, an economic turn-around is in the near future.

It's also a sign that the business process Wade Miquelon said the firm was in the process of implementing is now also working well. This is what Mr. Crawford said: "Considering the warm fall weather around much of the country and a lack of flu virus circulating, we're pleased we have provided more seasonal flu shots than we did at this point last year, when we ran out of flu vaccine supply in mid-October," said Kermit Crawford, Walgreens president of pharmacy services. "With the typical peak of the flu season still two to three months away and National Influenza Vaccination Week beginning Sunday, now is when consumers should protect themselves, their families and their friends before holiday gatherings begin. We've made it easier than ever to get immunized by offering flu shots at every Walgreens, every day with no appointment necessary."

With the constant GOP drumbeat against Health Care Reform, it's important to remind all that American Business likes the plan.  Walgreens has based its entire business around it and made a bet on its future.

Obama Compromise on Bush Tax Cuts Dooms all 99ers...Why Mr. President?

President Obama announced moments ago a compromise with Republicans on the Bush cuts that will doom the unemployed 99ers. Why Mr. President? What have we done to deserve a death sentence?

Obama said the compromise provisions include a 2 percent payroll tax cut for next year, extending jobless benefits for 13 months and extending tax cuts for all Americans -- including the wealthiest -- for two years.

The agreement extends unemployment benefits for 13 months for 2 million Americans who had been scheduled to lose their benefits at the end of the year

Unfortunately the President did not make clear that the UI extension is only additional time to file for UI extensions already in place, for the more recently unemployed. The compromise DOES NOT include additional weeks for 5 to 6 Million Jobless Americans who have already exhausted the UI benefits passed in 2008 and 2009.

Mr. President, Tax Cuts do nothing for the millions of Americans who have no income thanks to you giving in to every whim of the Republicans without thought to helping the 99er Nation.

The only thing we can do now is vocally and incessantly relay our feelings about this Presidential “Slap in the Face” to every News outlet and Washington insider with a vote which can potentially STOP this fiasco before it is passed.

If every unemployed American would just step up and voice their outrage over wealthy Americans getting extra money they do not need - while 99ers continue to go hungry, homeless and die every day in this country - we might just have a chance to work in more weeks for those who need it most - despite Obama’s lack of decency in throwing the 99ers under a bus we’d likely soon be sleeping under.

REMEMBER: To contact the Whitehouse  [Comments:202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461] and tell Mr. Obama Tier 5 to Survive - NOW! Show your outrage over this and stop the Compromise NOW unless the 99ers are included.

Contact you legislators: http://joblessunite.yolasite.com/legislators-list.php

What is YOUR question 4 POTUS? Call WWR toll free:1-866-USA-0021 (872-0021) It could be asked at next news conference

Do Not allow Washington to keep the 99ers invisible until we are all DEAD!

[The donation button below is for me, Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

Sarah Palin slammed by PETA for shooting Caribou on TV

A scene featuring former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin shooting Caribou in the heart from her show Sarah Palin's Alaska has gotten the attention of PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

This blogger first saw a clip from Palin's show on Chris Matthews' Hardball show on MSNBC fifteen minutes ago before this writing, and sent a quick email to PETA in Washington.

Within six minutes, came this email containing the statement of PETA Vice President Dan Mathews:

Sarah seems to think that resorting to violence and blood and guts may lure people into watching her boring show, but the ratings remain as dead as the poor animals she shoots.

Sarah Palin aims for cruelty

It's one more slam on the former gov, as she inches closer toward an anticipated announcement that she will run for President of The United States.

First, establishment Republicans like Barbara Bush have weighed in saying she should "stay in Alaska," and her son Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush recently switched his support for Palin from "yeah" to "nah" because, he said, he "never goes against" his own mother.

Second, with this scene, Palin has clearly screwed up. The idea that Palin would allow a scene featuring a cross-hair at the heart of an animal is totally psychotic. Just because a person is a hunter doesn't mean they have to slam visual evidence of it, and its cruelty, in the public's collective face.

Just what Palin was thinking, if she was thinking at all, is a good question.

Here's the scene, and I warn you it's graphic.  But I present it to piss you off.  If you have a heart, it should.  If you don't, you'll be upset with me for my take.  So be it.

Here it is:



Sarah Palin Weighs In

On her Facebook page, Governor Palin shows, sadly, that she just doesn't get it:

Tonight's hunting episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska "controversial"?
Really? Unless you've never worn leather shoes, sat upon a leather couch
or eaten a piece of meat, save your condemnation of tonight's episode. I
remain proudly intolerant of anti-hunting hypocrisy. :)

Ok. The question for Governor Palin, is just how does she want to take this? Does this she favors whale-hunting? Why do we have to see Palin shooting an animal in the heart? On television?

If this was done as a ploy for ratings, it's a pretty low moment in Palin's history.

Amber Heard Comes Out of The Closet

WireImage.com

Entertainment Weekly reports that at the GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) event in Los Angeles, CA on Friday Amber Heard (from Pineapple Express, Zombieland and The Stepfather) announced that she is a lesbian. She also introduced her girlfriend Tasya van Ree.

Heard told AfterEllen.com:

“I think GLAAD is one of the many reasons that I, as a 24-year-old, can come out. I think that organizations like GLAAD make that possible, because if it weren’t for opinions being changed, people being influenced, people being engaged to do the right thing, then there would be no prerogative for anyone to come out. Like I said, I can’t be a part of the problem. I hate the idea of a label just as much as anyone else, but I’m with who I’m with, I love who I love… “

Elizabeth Edwards' Cancer spreads to liver

Elizabeth Edwards

This news about Elizabeth Edwards, the now-separated wife of 2008 Presidential Candidate John Edwards, is just painful for this blogger to report.

According to People Magazine, Elizabeth Edwards has explained that her cancer has spread to her liver.

A visit to Edwards Facebook page revealed an area of mostly white space and three notes indicating a recent status change.

It's sad news for the once politically active wife of a man who, until his personal failing in cheating on his wife was revealed, seemed to be just one step from the White House, either as President or Vice President.

Tumblr Blog Site still down as of 4:07 PM EST

Wow. The popular blog site Tumblr is still down as of 4:07 PM EST.

The last time this blogger remembers such a long outage period was for Blogger in early 2008. And even that one wasn't as long as this one. As memory serves, the Blogger.com outage was for about 5 to 7 hours; the Tumblr down time is double that, and still going.

The reason? A mysterious database cluster issue.

Stay tuned.