San Francisco, Waste, And Environmental Discrimination At Hunters Point

Readers of this space know that I have been following the landfill contract process in San Francisco for some time now. Until a few weeks ago it was a battle between two companies. The winning bidder, a local employee-owned company, Recology, had a far more economical bid and a superior environmental transportation mode by taking the hauling of the trash out of trucks and putting it onto trains.

The losing bidder is the current service provider, Waste Management of Houston, Texas. Waste has worked tirelessly to keep the business after submitting a bid that was more than double Recology’s and approaching ten times their current price.

It even bought off typical opponents like the Sierra Club, creating an environmental industrial complex in the process by creating an economic incentive for them to keep receiving waste at the Altamont landfill through a open space mitigation fee overseen by the club.

Somewhat expectedly, the City’s Budget and Finance Committee rejected Waste’s tactics agreeing that there is no disputing the facts that Recology is cheaper and more environmentally superior option.

Case closed, right?

No. We forgot that this is the San Francisco Board of Supervisors where closing simple matters is no simple task. Instead of moving forward with the clear winner of their competitive bidding process, the B of Supes took a big two-month time out.

Why, you ask?

Well, because a company named Waste Solutions - that makes a living hauling toxic waste out of San Francisco on Port property in the Bayview - had an idea.

So what is the big idea to warrant this delay?

What is the earth shattering revelation that disrupted a multi-year competitive bid process raised by a company that did not even put forward a bid in the process?

Geniuses really, move the dump to the Bayview and barge it to Pittsburgh. Huh? Move the dump to the Bayview, next to the sewage treatment facility. Move the dump next to the power point that the community worked to close for more than 20 years. Move the dump to the Bayview where Lennar is expected to invest billions of dollars into building out the shipyard.

I don’t get it. The community will not get it. Apparently the City of Pitsburgh and the Port of San Francisco will get the trash and the revenue that comes with it.

Nice, right?

But what will the Bayview get? More environmental justice issues to deal with in a community that has struggled with every environmental impact the fair City of San Francisco has had to offer for the past 50 years.

One would hope that someone, somewhere, would actually bring this to the community for their discussion before derailing the rail option of the winning bidder that saved the City $130 million before they lose that offer in the City’s continued pursuit of environmental terrorism residents of the Bayview.

Nicole Sandler Spreads Word on Twitter Chat #99erAID at 8pm Tonight ET

Nicole Sandler spread the word about tonight's Twitter Chat #99erAID at 8pm ET with event organizer Jason Tabrys on her Radio-or-Not show this morning. (see video below at 15:40 in the stream )

PLEASE join us tonight!!!!! #99erAID The event will be moderated by @99erAID (Examiner.com’s Jason Tabrys) and all who participate are asked to use the hash-tag #99erAID in their tweets.

Reminder: Deadline for State Director Nominations Draws Near

The deadline for filing nominations for Union of Unemployed (UCubed) State Directors is two weeks away - Tuesday, March 1, 2011. All candidate filing statements must be emailed to the UCubed Executive Director at UCubed@iamaw.org on or before this date in order appear on the ballot.

States with 50 or more UCubed members are eligible to participate in the State Director elections. Candidates are encouraged to recruit new members in order to meet this requirement, as well as garner votes in their favor. By the way, South Carolina is the newest state to become eligible.

Voting will begin Friday, April 29th until Monday, May 9th. Winners will be announced Tuesday, May 10th.

All individuals elected to the office of State Director will be invited to attend a week-long training session at the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center in Hollywood, MD, from Sunday, May 22nd to Friday, May 27th. The group will work to define UCubed organizing objectives, plan political and legislative campaigns and refine leadership skills. Participants will also have the opportunity to lobby on Capitol Hill, as well as learn tips for working with the media. Travel expenses, room and board will be covered.

Please keep in mind that the office of UCubed State Director is a volunteer position. For more information on the election process and rules, click here.

If you are not yet engaged in U-Cubed Please DO SO TODAY:

U-Cubed on:

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ucubed

TWITTER: @U_Cubed

WEBSITE: http://www.unionofunemployed.com

CPAC 2011 Had "Obama Hands In Chains" Bumper Sticker For Sale

This is why there are people who think Couch Potato Conservatives are just really unfortunate people and that CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, draws not a small collection of jokers in their ranks.

Banter Media Group blogger Mike Stark of The Stark Reports took a photo of a table at the with a bunch of bumper stickers. But the one that stood out, but Stark didn't get a close-up of, was one that reads "OBAMA: CHAINS we can believe in."

That's an obvious insult that goes beyond President Barack Obama and to me.

So, this blogger, me, took the photo and made a close up of the offending bumper sticker, because it took me a few seconds to pick out the image that Mike was referring to.  Plus, Mike wrote the blog post with so few words, and a title that rendered it almost unsearchable online. I had to step in and fix matters.

Now, we know this crap's out there.  This vile bumper sticker sold at CPAC.

Now that's sick on several fronts. First, that someone would make the bumper sticker. Second, that someone would try and sell the bumper sticker. Third, that the bumper sticker would be sold at CPAC. Fourth that anyone black at CPAC would be forced to see such an image just by attending CPAC.

For those of you who don't get it, let me spell it out for you in basic English. OK? When African Americans, or blacks, were enslaved, placing them in chains was a common habit for slave owners. Now, fast forward to the supposedly advanced 21st Century and after we've elected the first black President of The United States, we are presented with the ignorant and insulting creation of some cretin who's obviously welcome at CPAC to sell this crap.

Whoever makes it, they're also selling it on Amazon.com, and it would be cool if Amazon removed it - here.

Designed By A 12-Year Old What?

The Amazon.com description reports that the bumper sticker is:

Designed by 12-year-old Patriot
American made on self adhesive vinyl
Movable and easily removable without residue
Looks great on bumper, gun case, toolbox, refrigerator, locker and everywhere else

Designed by a 12-Year old? So someone's raised a kid to be a bigot in their early teens, or worse, is brainwashing the kid to be a bigot. Poor kid undoubtedly doesn't know any better at all.  This is not funny and it sure as hell isn't patriotic.

Lady Gaga Smokes Pot, Drinks Whiskey To Write Music

Lady Gaga, who came up with the craziest Grammys entrance yet when she arrived in an egg (that was quickly parodied by Next Media Animation), and wore horns on her face and kept them on for her appearance on Jay Leno, admits that she "smokes a lot of pot" and drinks straight whiskey to come up with her music creations.

Cool.

That's not much different from Biggie (AKA The Notorious BIG) coming up with his best work after chillin with some weed and women. One has to wonder what kind of music Lady Gaga would come up with if she also threw sex into the equation. But I digress.

If that's the case, did her creative manager Lori Ann Gibson smoke pot and drink whiskey when she came up with the Lady Gaga Egg Entrance for the Grammys?   Gibson told CNN's Showbiz Tonight that it was she who came up with the idea and brought it to Lady Gaga, who was all over it.

But was Gibson high or drunk, or high and drunk when she did?

And what about the horns?  Was that idea from the weed too?

Just asking.

Oh, and you can see Lady Gaga's Egg Entrance here in Next Media Animations' awesome take:



Lady Gaga on CBS 60 Minutes (which aired just before The Grammys on the East Coast) told Anderson Cooper that "I smoke a lot of pot when I write music. I'm not gonna, like, sugar coat it for 60 Minutes that, you know, I'm some, like, sober human being, 'cause I'm not. I drink a lot of whiskey and I smoke weed when I write."

Now we've got to find out what kind of whiskey she drinks.

Meanwhile, MTV reports that her new single "Born This Way" is topping the download charts, which, once you get over the irony of that report, is quite impressive.

Academy Awards: Can "Toy Story 3" Win Best Picture?

We're less than 14 days away from The Academy Awards and it's time, again, to think about which movies have the best chance of taking home the Oscar for Best Picture.

Before I continue, let me explain that I just learned while doing a cyber walk for this blog, that Pixar, based in Emeryville and for which I have an increased respect for selfish reasons (and perhaps am a bit annoyed that I'm still not on their press release list), has a movie in Toy Story 3 that has almost an equal chance of taking home the prize as The Social Network does.

That's not from me - it's from The Oscar Guy.  And note, I said almost.

It's fun to whirl around the Internet and see what movie observers are thinking. But for me, there's only one person who has a real history of looking at the Oscars from a "win probability" perspective, and that's Wesley Lovell, who goes by the moniker "Wesley The Oscar Guy," and has for about 14 years.

Wesley is a gem: he writes his blog while working as an insurance broker in Springfield, MO, and has what he calls an "utter aversion to having my picture taken." While Hollywood media types chase after Nikke Finke for a photo, they should be swarming around Springfield in search of Wesley. That they don't says as much about the problems with mainstream media as anything else.

Wesley specializes in predicting which movie will win what Oscar, and explains why including calculated odds. For Toy Story 3, Wesley says that it has a 6 / 29 chance, but The Social Network is not far off at 8 / 26.

The front runner's The King's Speech at 10/15 odds.

Overall, The Oscar Guy has a 55 percent success rate at correctly predicting The Best Picture winner.   To put things in perspective, that's about just less than a 66 percent sure thing in stats.  There's only one person I can think of who has a better track record.

Me.

Over the last 10 years, I've correctly guessed The Best Picture winner 7 of 10 times.  I missed three times: for Brokeback Mountain at The 78th Academy Awards, and for Slumdog Millionaire and for The Departed in 2008 and 2006 respectively.  But my overall rate is 70 percent for Best Picture.

For a glorious unbroken period from 2001 to 2005, I correctly guessed an average of 80 percent of the Oscar winners for all categories.   The reason was simple: my friend had an annually raging San Francisco Oscar Party with a cash prize pool and they asked me to score the ballots for it.  I believed I had to go in prepared because of this great responsibility.

So while everyone was running their mouths - and about what they were going to wear or who they were going to bring - I came having spent a good two weeks researching what AMPAS (The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences) members might do on Oscar night.

So, armed with a ton of data, as well as the knowledge that a good portion of the party patrons were going to play the pool while totally drunk, I decided to enter myself.  Preparation being the friend of fortune, I won year after year and developed my own "picking" technique in the process.

So, my prediction this year is solidly for The King's Speech for Best Picture and in the face of my personal desire to manufacture a reason why Toy Story 3 will win.  

Tom Hooper winning Best Director at The DGA's nailed it for the film. The DGA's is a shockingly effective "domino effect" predictor.

Still, anything can happen.  After all, that's why we play the game.

Stay tuned. 

Lady Gaga Egg Entrance At Grammys 2011 In Animation

The event: The Lady Gaga Egg entrance At Grammys 2011 is now in animation, and done by the same people who created the now famous animated video of Tiger Woods wooing his mistresses and of his now ex-wife Elin Nordegren chasing his Cadillac SUV with a golf club on that memorable Thanksgiving night 2009, "those crazy Taiwanese animators" (as they call themselves) Next Media Animation.

This video is totally funny and features a giant chicken to start, and ends with Lady Gaga in a chest-burster scene that's a reference to a number of Twitter jokes, and the famous chest-burster scene in Alien.  In Taiwanese, tt has English subtitles at the bottom.

Check out Next Media Animation at: nma.com.tw.

No word on what Lady Gaga thinks about this.

Charlie Sheen Interview On The Dan Patrick Show

With Charlie Sheen, The Dan Patrick Show made a big splash today, moving into territory normally claimed by RadarOnline.com and OK Magazine - they interviewed him at length.

What happened (the LA Times was wrong about it being a "surprise phone call" and where that came from, I don't know) was that "Fritzy," who's known as Todd Fritz in real life, and who normally books on air guests, was upstaged by Paul Pabst, or "Paulie," who happened to have "an old phone number" for Charlie Sheen. So he called and managed to get a hold of the star of Two And A Half Men, who was quite eager to be on the DirecTV Channel 101 sponsored and presented cable and radio show.

Once on, Charlie Sheen did not disappoint. The highlight was Sheen's statement that he tried to go back to the studio for his job as the star of Two And A Half Men on CBS, and no one was there. So he yelled and knocked but "got nothing." He says he's ready to go, even if the producers and execs may not be.

What happened, according to TMZ.com, was that Warner Bros. has cancelled four episodes because of Sheen's absence. The crew was not paid. That may have been the reason there was no one to answer the door when Sheen came knocking a few days ago.

Whatever the case, Sheen says he's clean. But that aside, he did a great job of talking about his roles as a baseball star in Major League and in Eight Men Out and how he coached Todd Zelle to hit a home run on Dodgers Stadium. Dan Patrick invited Sheen to be a co-host on a future show and to even bring on his own guests.

I can't wait for that one.

For the entire account and the recorded interview, click here to visit The Dan Patrick Show website.

(As a closing thought, I bought the Wall Street movie series and could not help but notice that over 20 years or so, Sheen has basically not aged.  It's freaky.)  

Chevron Ecuador: $8 Billion Award In Sham Case No Surprise

The Chevron Ecuador matter reached a new point today when the Ecuadorian court did what this space expected it to do: declare Chevron guilty of alleged environmental damage, even though Chevron has been out of the country in all ways since 1992.



This case has been a sham from the start, and a slap in America's face.

As explained in this space many times over the last three years or more, Ecuador itself has been a key party in this lawsuit. Moreover, lead lawyer Steven Donziger has admitted he expects to become a billionaire from the case. The only organization standing in his way is the Government of Ecuador itself, where its attorney general has said that it, and not Donziger, would collect 90 percent of any damage amount declared.

Meanwhile damage estimates that started at $16 billion then rose to $27 billion, then most recently $113 billion, were all based on a report that the media has sloppily reported as from a "Court appointed researcher" when it was really from a study prepared for the court by (drum roll please) Steven Donziger and his associates.

The misinformation around this case has served to throw a smoke screen around the fact that Ecuador has kicked out American oil companies and made room for foreign oil producers, all the while working to keep oil revenues (they call it nationalization) and float high-minded ideas about helping the poor of Ecuador, but doing nothing.

Meanwhile, President Rafael Correa sits as if he's really trying to alter the state of how oil's produced in Ecuador, when upon study it's obvious that the country's just interested in gaining more dollars for its wealthiest people. Indeed, the President's own brother has been fingered as being the negotiator for $700 million in oil production contracts with companies that would do business with him.

According to Reuters:

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is fighting accusations by a government watchdog that he knew about $700 million in state contracts that the panel says were improperly awarded to his brother.

Correa denied the allegation made by a four-member committee he created in 2009 to examine the business dealings of his older brother and political nemesis, Fabricio, a conservative who has threatened to run against him in 2013.

According to a report handed to state anti-corruption authorities last week by the Citizens Oversight Committee, the older sibling secured a slew of state oil exploration and public works contracts that broke anti-nepotism laws.

Fabricio has denied wrongdoing in the matter.

Correa's brother is at odds with him but remains cordial. However, he's also involved with the same Ecuadorian political movement that includes President Correa's sister, who has also been fingered as the possible recipient of millions from any damage award from a case that would go against Chevron.

All of this came out during the period of time that Ecuador Judge Juan Nunez was accused of taking bribes to rule against Chevron. He was eventually replaced by another judge.

The signs point to Correa's relations and Ecuador trying to work a big payoff from an American oil company 20 years removed while foreign companies and the State-run Petroecuador have polluted the land and waters.

A sham case and a slap in America's face.

Stay tuned.

More Twitter Reaction to Grammys 2011 Last Night

Just got a great email on the Grammys 2011 and Twitter from Julia, part of the folks at Topsy, a very cool real-time search engine that Google has been paying attention to (from what I'm told by others). Here's her message:

Hi Zennie,

I read your article on Twitter complaints around Lady Antebellum’s tribute to Teddy Pendergrass and thought you might like to look at what the Twittersphere thinks about last night’s fashions, winners, performances, etc. In the last couple hours alone, there have been over 4,500K tweets. In the past day, there have been over 70K! http://topsy.com/s/grammy%27s/tweet

Here is a side-by-side comparison of Justin Bieber vs. Lady Gaga from the last day, with Justin overall more popular across the social web than Gaga: http://analytics.topsy.com/?q=lady%20gaga,justin%20bieber&period=1%20day.

Topsy (www.topsy.com), the realtime search leader, has the largest index of Twitter content in the world. Instead of indexing pages, Topsy indexes conversations. Let me know if I can pull any more Twitter data for you on what’s happening around the Grammy’s.

Thanks,
Julia

Julia Stemerman

Of the vast number of tweets, this one was off the charts funny:

Lady Gaga went to the VMA's dressed as meat, now she's at the Grammy's in a egg. Two more red carpets and she could be a Denny's Grand Slam.

That one by @obviouslyben.

There's a lot more Grammys 2011 info, officially making Tospy.com a great time sink!

Grammys: Kanye West Hails Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Mick Jagger, Disses Esperanza

Even though he wasn't at the 2011 Grammys, Kanye West used his considerable Twitter reach (2,394,931 followers, as of this writing) to express his opinion on the winners, thus adding to the overall controversy. It may seem like Kanye's being "contrary" for attention, but his tweets reveal where his music business interests lay.

On Arcade Fire:

kanyewest Kanye West
#ARCADEFIRE!
10 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

To which some on Twitter asked why he was backing Arcade Fire. Now, for Kanye to do that spells one thing: business deal. Searching around brings up this: "Kanye West, Arcade Fire to Headline "MY NEW ALBUM COMING THIS SUMMER. Yep: "Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire to Headline Coachella 2011." (Thanks, Celebfi.com)

So Kanye's rooting for Arcade Fire because their success helps put money in his pocket. That should bring an interesting new twist to this outcry of why Arcade Fire won the Grammys over Lady Gaga.

On Justin Bieber:

kanyewest Kanye West
#PROUDOFJUSTIN
9 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

If you're wondering..Yep. West is in business with Justin Bieber, too. Check this MTV blog post: "Justin Bieber Plans Collabos With Kanye West, Drake, Chris Brown."

Missing from the MTV post is that Drake, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber are all listed artists with Def Jam Records. Chris Brown was close to signing with Def Jam until a merger forced a reduction in staff and the loss of Tina Davis, who was to sign Brown. Instead, she left and became his manager, signing him with Jive Records when Brown was 16. While Brown remains with Jive, he still collaborates with Island Def Jam Artists.



On Mick Jagger:

kanyewest Kanye West
Mick Jagger is crazy fresh!!! #OGSWAG
12 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Kanye's right on here. Having attended several Rolling Stones concerts, it was just freaking amazing to see Mick rockin' it again. Jagger's energy was incredible; he stole the show. And if you're looking for a pick-me-up here he is again, courtesy of The Grammys and YouTube:



On Esperanza Spalding As "Best New Artist," who surprisingly beat out Drake, leading to another Twitter chorus of "who?"

kanyewest Kanye West
Damn... I can't find the words to explain how I feel about the best new artist award... Don't wanna say the wrong thing
12 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Well, that's because Drake is signed with Def Jam Records, which also features Kanye West. So, again, as in the case of Arcade Fire, these Grammys wins are good for Kanye West's pocket book.  

Not bad.

It also brings another perspective to the race issue and The Grammys: more and more blacks like Usher, Kanye West, and P Diddy are as much behind the assent of new white artists, like Arcade Fire, as much as they're behind new black artists like Drake.

Increasingly in the 21st Century, when money, talent, creativity, and true entrepreneurial sprit get together, race goes out the window.  As it should be. A very cool development that's worth exploring in greater depth.  

Where's the legendary Davey D when I need him?

Stay tuned.

Tomorrow PLEASE JOIN 99ers Aid Twitter Event February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST.

Tomorrow PLEASE JOIN 99ers Aid Twitter Event February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST.

******DO NOT FORGET:

99ers Aid Twitter Event February 15, 2011 8PM EST

On Tuesday February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST join us for #99erAID, a twitter chat designed to bring 99ers, 99er advocates, and journalists together to discuss the latest 99er news and strategy ideas for the growing, peaceful movement."

The event will be moderated by @99erAID (Examiner.com’s Jason Tabrys) and all who participate are asked to use the hash-tag #99erAID in their tweets.

The hope is to trend on Twitter of course but more important than that, to inform, inspire,discuss and strategize the means to have a real positive impact and influence real solutions to this growing problem.

Solutions like this H.R. 589 which now has over 60 Co-Sponsors.

And do not miss The Ed Show at 10 PM tonight on MSNBS, as American 99er Union member and 99er advocate Gerry DePietro will be interviewed tonight. To those who are not familiar with Gerry, Ed spoke about her last week (Gerry had to sell the ring her deceased husband gave her for $20).

Check out and post this video everywhere:
God I love the lyrics to the song in this Video by lessions4u2learn & CUZ4Concern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BReEXn0tAik&feature=uploademail




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

Grammys 2011: Arcade Fire Beats Lady Gaga And Eminem

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
In honor of Arcade Fire's big win, I am killing myself. #Grammys
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

That was the most hilarious Twitter tweet of a large number of them in the wake of the conclusion of the 53rd Grammy Awards.

They're still talking about it on Twitter: that an obscure Canadian indy rock band called Arcade Fire could beat Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster and Eminem's Recovery for Album of the Year. Many people had never heard of Arcade Fire, and while The Dan Patrick Show, or more to the point just Dan Patrick, had been promoting the band, this blogger thought it was some kind of paid sponsorship.

Arcade Fire sounds like your typical indy bar cover band. Their music is largely bland and certainly not the soulful, heartfelt music that Eminem and Rihanna created or with the massive dose of creativity of Lady Gaga.

Because The Grammys are just wrapping up on The West Coast, we still have Twitter tweets of shock and anger coming in:

ciruelas_rojas ciruelas by delirie
#EminemGotRobbed #Grammys
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

cturnip Christy Turnipseed
Wow #Grammys you really had us, for @arcadefire to play, accept album of the year, then close out the show #thiswasagiven #suckitmainstream
6 minutes ago

VoodooDahl Anders Dahl
Hopefully it will be awhile before we have to hear Lady Antebellum again #grammys
6 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

And Andy Borowitz of The Borowitz Report posted several classic tweets, in addition to the one used to open this blog post:

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
I don't see why we'd give a Grammy to a shitty Canadian band when there are so many shitty American ones. #Grammys
3 hours ago

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
Good night, everyone. I'm going to go out and shout "Fire" in a crowded arcade. #Grammys
3 hours ago

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
BREAKING: Muse Announces Plan to Start Ripping Off Arcade Fire Instead of Radiohead #Grammys
3 hours ago

On top of Arcade Fire, that Lady Antebellum could take Record Of The Year over Eminem and Rihanna was a joke to many, but my 76-year old Mom called it.  She said, in observing a constant stream of white singers placed in position to sing black songs - and in one case with Lady Antebellum screwing up a tribute to Teddy Pendergrass, who died last year at the age of 59 - that The Grammys seemed to want to show whites far more than blacks.

It was an observation I resisted with vigor, but then, after a time of watching that culminated with Mom's epic assertion that "Lady Antebellum" was going to win because they were a country white band and that's what The Grammys wanted - and they won and the Twitterverse erupted - I agreed with.

It's a sad statement on American society that race-biases have to be pushed on the public.  The U.S.A. is far less interested in "which color group wins" than in having the best one get The Grammy.  There's an overwhelming sentiment that didn't happen this year.   Moreover, some in the Grammys may have the perception that the music World is still black vs. white, but that's not so for the country at all.  It's no wonder so many people are unhappy with the Grammys in 2011.

Andy Borowitz has a good point: the Grammys look more Canadian than American. Looking back, it's not the first time The Grammys had a racist look; but can't it stop in the future?

And if you doubt that a number of people think The Grammys is racist, go to Twitter and do a search for "#grammys and racist" and see what you get.

Stay tuned.