Oakland Birthday, Russo To Alameda, Thanks League Of Women Voters

Well, today is not only Star Wars Day, but the birthday of The City of Oakland, California, my town. To that, this blogger says, Happy Birthday, Oakland!

Oakland turns 159 years young today, May 4th, and has only gotten better with age. Oakland is a city Oaklanders care about because of its - and yes, even in today's diverse society - incredibly high level of diversity and small town / big city feel. Oakland's an easy place to get to know and to love. It deserves many more birthdays.

And while we're celebrating, congratulations to my friend John Russo, who officially accepted the position of Alameda City Manager, and leaves a 16-year legacy of excellent political and policy work in Oakland.

Now, John can focus on the redevelopment of what was once the Alameda Naval Air Station and have that city play catch-up with its own development time table. It's going to be fun to watch John move Alameda out of its Mayberry RFD (remember the TV show?) pace and into a true big-city level of energy.

Here's a photo of John's resignation letter:

The question for Oakland is, can it replace someone of John's now legendary stature. I hope that the seat's not filled by someone who's a weak, "rollable" personality. The Mayor and the City Council may want that kind of person, but at the end of the day, it's not good for them. Russo saved them a ton of pain from potentially calamitous decisions on several occasions, most notably his challenge to the City's push to advance the production of weed, after the Feds told it to hold off.

Thanks Libby And The League Of Women Voters

Great thanks to my sister-from-another-mother Oakland's District Four Councilmember Libby Schaaf and the League Of Women Voters for their award to me for my blogging efforts. I was in New York City for The 2011 NFL Draft last week, but Oakland Local's Susan Mernitt was kind enough to not only accept the award on my behalf, but text me that everyone was saying nice things about me.

Of course, I only half believe it, but it's nice to know about.

Just kidding.

It's a great award considering that it came on the heels of my crits of the League and the Sierra Club.

See, for the readers who don't know, I took on the issue of the League and the Sierra Club having a debate where they planned to invite just three of the ten Oakland Mayor's Race candidates. After a lot of pressure from this space, the Sierra Club and The League - to their credit - did the right thing and had a forum that was a real benefit to Oakland, where all of the candidates participated.

Here's a video from the event:



In fact, I met the terrific Kate Looby, who's the Sierra Club's East Bay Director at my gym a while back, and after exchanging pleasantries as I'd never met her or seen her before, and did not know she was with the Sierra Club, let alone in charge, had my ears burned almost off as she screamed at me from across the room, and then walk back saying "You're THAT GUY. I WANTED TO KILL YOU!!"

I gotta kick out of that one.

But, as I told Kate, it was all because I cared that all of the candidates get a chance to at least be seen by Oaklanders. Plus, we did get a good mayor out of the process.

Kate didn't kill me at the gym that night, by the way.

Dog on it.

Other Oakland News

Got this email from the Adams Point Neighborhood Group from April 20th:

We have experienced a total of six different street robberies in Area 2 in the last two hours. We believe that the same suspect is responsible. He is described as a black male, 25-30 years old, 5'9", 180 - 200 lbs, black ski mask, white short sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans. Suspect vehicle described as an 1985 - 1990 Ford Taurus, light blue with a license plate SIMILAR to 4FET409. Please call the Oakland Police Department if you see this vehicle. DO NOT APPROACH THE SUSPECT OR THE VEHICLE.

I have not seen a note that this person has been caught, so keep your eyes open.

Oakland Budget Video By Mayor Quan

I spotted this video on YouTube, which has been seen only four times since its upload on May 3rd; this embed and presentation should give it a small boost. She informs that the budget season will last a few months, and that the budget cuts are designed to "share the pain." Employees are asked to contribute "somewhere between 10 and 15 percent" in their payment reduction cost. The Redevelopment Agency Budget is not a part of this, as of this writing.

In this budget, the City of Oakland would have to close all of its libraries if it does not receive more contributions from employees.

Here's the Mayor, and new City Administrator Lamont Euwell below:



Mr. Lamont Euwell:



And with all this, the Oakland Coliseum got just a $7 million naming rights deal. Imagine if it was $80 million - its true value That, oh, $20 million (the City's share) would have really helped the City of Oakland at the right time.

Now do you see why I am so upset with the Oakland - Alameda County Coliseum?

Stay tuned.

Rashard Mendenhall - From Osama Bin Laden Twitter To Roethlisberger Dry-Hump, Never Dull

Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Rashard Mendenhall has done it again. One can say that from his semi-pro Osama Bin Laden Twitter Tweet of Monday, to his Ben Roethlisberger Dry-Hump after the Steelers AFC Championship victory over the New York Jets, he's never dull at all.

What Rashard Mendenhall did on Monday, was issue a series of Twitter Tweets that communicate a certain insensitivity to the pain and suffering of those who were immediately impacted by the events of 9-11, September 11th, 2001, and just as America was celebrating the demise of the most feared enemy of our nation since Adolph Hitler.

This is the series of tweets that got Rashard Mendenhall in hot water:

R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
For those of you who said you want to see Bin Laden burn in hell and piss on his ashes, I ask how would God feel about your heart?

2 May
Rashard Mendenhall
R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
Those who judge others, will also be judged themselves.

2 May
Rashard Mendenhall
R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
I believe in God. I believe we're ALL his children. And I believe HE is the ONE and ONLY judge.

2 May
Rashard Mendenhall
R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side...

While Mendenhall is referring to allegations that 9-11 was faked, the bottom line is that, first, over 3,000 people were killed, and second, Osama Bin Laden himself did say that they intended to hit the twin towers of The World Trade Center with a hijacked jumbo jet, and in this video called the hijacker a "hero:"



Steelers Embarassed

Rashard Mendenhall's social media actions sent the Pittsburgh Steelers into damage-control mode, with team president Art Rooney II saying "it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments."

Still, the Steelers themselves have not used Twitter to issue a statement, which, considering that the whole story came from Twitter, would have been a good idea to do.

Overstock Buys Oakland Coliseum Naming Rights While In California Lawsuit

To add insult to the injury of a terrible $7 million naming rights deal with e-commerce retailer Overstock.com that was reported at Zennie62.com, comes the revelation that the agreement was stuck while the Internet firm was and is embroiled in a lawsuit involving the State of California, and the County of Alameda, as well as six other California counties.

The lawsuit was filed on November 17, 2010, and is still active as of this writing.

It alleges that Overstock.com has, to quote the blog White Collar Fraud, "engaged in fraudulent pricing practices after a two year investigation."

Moreover, one look at the copy of the lawsuit that is online, shows one name well-known to many as the County of Alameda's new District Attorney, Nancy E. O'Malley. Here's the link to the lawsuit: Overstock.com Lawsuit.

This blog post is not to dive into the details surrounding the lawsuit, only to ask how and why the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda, and the Oakland Raiders got involved with a firm who's very way of treating the customer has been tainted by lawsuit?

Did the Oakland Raiders say anything?  What about anyone with the City of Oakland or the County of Alameda.   Did they even know that the County was involved against Overstock.com in this way?

Moreover, how could the San Francisco Bay Area print media, normally derisive of bloggers like myself, miss this legal issue?

So, to close, we have two problems with the Overstock.com, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Stadium Naming Rights Deal: it's way under valued at $7 million, and the firm that's on the other side of the deal is being sued by the same County of Alameda it's giving money to, and for allegedly fraudulent business practices.

Yikes!

Stay tuned.

Overstock Paid JUST $7 Million For Oakland Coliseum Naming Rights

The Oakland Coliseum is continuing a tradition of bad naming rights deals that goes all the way back to when it was called Network Associates Coliseum for just $6 million in 1998.

This time, over a decade later, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum authority approved a deal for Overstock.com to place its name on the stadium where the Oakland Raiders and Oakland Athletics play for just $7 million for six years.

Let's see, just a million bucks more over that time?

Overstock.com Chairman and CEO Patrick Byrne said, "Overstock.com is thrilled to become a part of Oakland and Alameda County, and to be associated with the Raiders and the A’s—two globally-recognized championship teams"

What Byrne should have said is "I'm so happy to deal with an organization that routinely gives so much globally-recognized value away for so little money." Overstock gets to put its name on stadium signage, internet, television, radio and print promotion, and all for just $7 million.

This penchant for bad deals is something this blogger has railed about for years, and one reason why I've asked Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby to look at what's going on with the Oakland Coliseum. This is terrible. And before I continue on my angry rant, I'll show you why.

While the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority was giving away the store, again, Farmers Insurance signed a 30-year, $700 million naming rights deal for a football stadium in Los Angeles that hasn't been built, in a media market that hasn't seen football in 15 years!

And The University of Louisville even tops the Oakland Coliseum with a 10-year 13.5 million deal with Yum Brands, that was done in 2010.   

Yeah.  For The University of Louisville! 

That news, right there, should be enough to make any Oaklander's blood boil. But folks, this crap has been going on for years. Oakland City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente, who should not be surprised that this blogger's raising hell about this, should be flogged for even speaking highly of this deal, let alone approving it. Ignacio should have said "You know, I'm not going to sign off on this deal, because Zennie's going to be on my butt - again - if I do."

Damn right.

What the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority should have done is execute the plan I laid out when I worked to try and bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland: name both the stadium and the field, which includes the parking lot. The Oracle Arena, (which was the focus of a price that was not named, but we can guess it was somewhere in the area of what Overstock.com paid) would not be hampered by the plan.

But the idea is to offer the true stadium complex and its overall value. When I crafted that plan, and the argument for it, I asserted that if we landed a Super Bowl, we could afford an "ask" of $200 million, and Sports Business Journal at that time, estimated that the value of a stadium naming rights deal for the SF Bay Area could be as much as $80 million.

That's right: $80 million.

The problem is that Oakland thinks small of itself, and therefore is just happy for what it gets.  And this goes for the Oakland Raiders, who get part of the $1.2 million annual payment.  How else to explain the continuation of such crappy stadium naming rights deals in Oakland?   Plus, what really bothers me, is the Coliseum people only seek local businesses to name the Coliseum, which gets "global" exposure.

Overstock is well aware they got off with a bargain, else Byrne would not have mentioned that the facility, because of the teams, was "globally recognized." 

This is an outrage, and I'm not done outraging about it!

Let's see now. Oakland's crying about a deficit, and asking people to share the pain, and we can't even get our stadium act together. And to think that I wanted to run the Oakland Coliseum way back in 1998, and guess who rejected then-Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris' recommendation?

Ignacio De La Fuente.

If I were running the Coliseum, this would not have happened.  Heads would roll.  

I like drinking with Ignacio, but I've got to hammer him on this one. It's not personal. It's only business.  This crap has to stop. 

Julio Jones WR, Atlanta Falcons 2011 NFL Draft Pick

Of all the picks not Cam Newton, Julio Jones just may be the most electrifying one. Jones, the Alabama wide receiver who wowed the NFL Combine with an amazing performance and 4.39 40-yard-dash speed while participating with a broken foot, is The Atlanta Falcons 2011 First Round Pick in the NFL Draft.

The Falcons traded up to get Jones, getting the Cleveland Browns' sixth pick, and trading five picks to get there, moving up 21 spots in the process. And Jones, who's from Foley, Alabama and not far from Atlanta, could not have been happier. "I'm excited," he said in the Media Interview Room at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, "I'm excited. It's not far from home, and I can go to a winning program. I can go in and play. I'm looking forward to it."

Jones, who said he loved the atmosphere of The Georgia Dome, the Falcons' home, will be paired with Falcons star Wide Receiver Roddy White, making what will become the most dangerous receiving duo in the NFC South. "I'm going to call him," he said. "I'm going to learn the game from him."

In the video interview, Jones said that the fact the Falcons traded up to get him means that they know he's a hard worker, and then said "A lot of people don't see how hard I work."

I don't know where he got that from, because all the talk, especially on the NFL Network, was about his work ethic. Anyone who could come into the NFL Combine on a broken foot and do that well is a wonder.

And now that he's heeled, the prediction here is for Julio Jones to make the 2012 Pro Bowl squad in his rookie year.

Stay tuned.

Ad Age Blogger Anti-Twitter Post On Osama Bin Laden Is Wrong

Tweets per second., a photo by @Twitter on Flickr.

The chart shows the number of Twitter tweets per second during the events leading up to President Barack Obama's announcement Sunday nght that Osama Bin Laden was killed by US Navy Seals. At it's highest point, the chart shows about 5,200 tweets per second. What this also shows is how many people use Twitter to share information.

An Ad Age Blogger named Simon Dumenco, writing in a way that contained a nasty tone which invites disagreement, was trying to say that the story of Bin Laden's demise was not broke by Twitter.

He gives reasons that are shaky, claiming that because Keith Urbahn, former chief of staff for ex-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, tweeted "So I'm told by a reputable person they have killed Osama bin Laden. Hot damn" and then asked for the tweet to be verified, it was not the breaking news.

Then the Ad Age Blogger insisted that because Urbann got the information from a TV News Producer, it means "mainstream media" was the source.

That's wrong.

The Ad Age Blogger confuses titles with actions. The "TV News Producer" wasn't in the act of being a TV news producer at the time, just a person spreading information. Now, if the source was on some media outlet, then we're not talking about Twitter as the source, but television - that's not the conversation here.

The bottom line is that Twitter and everyone else recognizes that Twitter was the source and that journalists played a role that Hearst Newspapers Executive Vice President of Content Development and legend Phil Bronstein said they would play in our interview last year about the changing face of media: as fact checker.

The bottom line is that media today is multi-media, and you'd fast better adjust to this new world or be harmed by it.

Stay tuned.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead - Rush Limbaugh Thanks God For Obama

P050111PS-0210, a photo by The White House on Flickr.

Today, "Osama Bin Laden Is Dead" was the dominant search term, as Americans and people around the World absorbed as much online content as possible related to the news of the death of the most hated leader since Adolf Hitler. And all because of the deft decision making of President Barack Obama.

In fact, Obama's choice to send Navy Seal teams in to get Bin Laden, rather than just bomb the neighborhood he was found in, caused conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh to say "Thank God for President Obama" on his show today.



Indeed, people normally knee-jerk opposed to Obama, came out to thank the young President. Even GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney, who failed to do so on Twitter, made up for it later when he did include a congratulatory remark about President Obama.

And while congrats were coming in, the White House was releasing photos from moments leading up to the demise of Bin Laden, including this one with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden (in blue shirt), and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, as well as other members of the National Security Team.

One look at the President's face shows how determined he and they were to get this job done, and they did.

Stay tuned.

Osama Bin Laden’s Death will NOT Save Incumbents

OsamaBin Laden’s death will NOT save incumbents in Washington DC from the wrath of America’s Unemployed voting masses, at least according to a recent U-Cubed poll.

The poll conducted last month offers great insight into how poorly unemployed America views the job being done by our elected officials. To view the total results of this poll go to http://tinyurl.com/4x4232r and PLEASE TWEET this link out to all media and political contacts.

Some of the most important and revealing poll questions and responses were:

Overall, would you say things are on the right or wrong track in America today? To which 88.4% responded WRONG TRACK.

How would you rate the job being done by President Barack Obama -- excellent, good, not so good, or poor? 37.4% responded NO SO GOOD and another 31% felt Obama is doing a POOR job.

How would you rate the job being done by the United States Senate -- excellent, good, not so good, or poor? 53.3% said POOR and another 34.6% thought NOT SO GOOD.

How would you rate the job being done by the United States House of Representatives -- excellent, good, not so good, or poor? 78.5% Said POOR

How would you rate the job President Barack Obama is doing -- excellent, good, not so good or poor -- when it comes to:

Protecting American workers from the loss of jobs due to outsourcing and imports of cheap foreign goods? 67.5% said POOR

Having the kind of strong and aggressive jobs program to get people back to work? 67.0% said POOR.

Are you inclined to support your member of Congress for re-election or not? 49.7% answered No, not inclined to support.

Which of the two parties in Congress -- the Democrats or Republicans -- do you think is doing a better job in dealing with the following issues?

Standing up for the interests of working people - 53.4% said Neither!

Ending this recession by stimulating the economy - 64.4% said Neither!

Standing up forcefully to the big banks, investment firms and Insurance companies - 76.2% said Neither!

Pushing a strong jobs program to get people back to work immediately - 80% said Neither!

81.9% of those polled believe that the United States needs an industrial policy that will promote manufacturing and improve our transportation systems.

86.8% Strongly disagreed with the statement: Since Wall Street has rebounded and the gross national product has grown, the recession is all but over for most Americans.

But 68.6% strongly agreed that our country needs strong and enforceable "Buy American" legislation so more American-made products are purchased by the federal, state and local governments -- as well as U.S. government funded contractors.

79.2% feel that: The federal government should hire jobless Americans to renovate factories, install new equipment and improve global competitiveness and job opportunities for unemployed persons in depressed local economies.

Over 90% strongly agreed that US Tax policies should discourage the outsourcing of American jobs to foreign countries.

72.2% believe that Trade deals like NAFTA and CAFTA should be renegotiated and 81.6% strongly agree that America needs a strong, Roosevelt-Kennedy style jobs program to get Americans who want to work back to work immediately.

70.3% stated they agree with the statement: In recent years, neither major political party has strongly represented the interests of working people and 67.2 believe that The Democratic Party doesn't represent working people as strongly as they used to.

However, if either party came out strongly in favor of a FDR-JFK styled jobs program to get people back to work as soon as possible, that's the party 61.1% would support ... and maybe not just for the next election.

In addition, nearly 66% would be inclined to support either party if they simply stood up strongly for the interests of ordinary working people. (Heads up GOPers!)

So you see, although significant, the death of Osama Bin Laden is not likely to effect the results of the 2012 election anywhere close to soothing the anger of unemployed American voters would. (Especially since it took nearly 6,000 deaths of American service personnel to get this one man and his death DOES NOT MEAN the USA will immediately withdraw from the war in Afghanistan).

Obama may indeed get a bump in his approval rating for a brief moment in time, but unless Washington DC immediately gets going on fixing America’s REAL issues on the home front - there will be new blood on the hands of the US Government - this time due to starving, homeless and suicidal long term jobless American Citizens, and those who do survive will want BLOOD in the form an entirely new regime in DC come the next election!

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead - How It Was Done, Part One

As the enormous tide of blog posts and Twitter tweets about the end of Osama Bin Laden, and the search for content under "Osama Bin Laden Is Dead" continues at a "volcanic" level according to Google Trends, an email came in from an old friend who was a US Army Captain.

It reads that the operation to get Bin Laden was...

..carried out by combined force of Navy Seals from Seal team 7 & US Army SOC (Special Operations Command) Joint Force including Squadron from 1st Special Forces Detachment (Delta Force) US Army 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment- My old Unit-Lost one Aircraft and Crew...) and USAF Special Operations Wing (combat observation and Support).....

In the days ahead it will come out that the seal team were the ground observers, the Delta team was the reaction force, the SOAR moved Delta into position for the Mission and Flew Close Combat Air support, and the AF ran the Predator Drones and flew the AC-130 combat support Plane....It's a Mission operation template that has worked(with only one exception - Somalia) since 1983.....

the 4 Helos: 2 CH-47 Heavy Lifters and 2 MH-60 Blackhawks......the 47's moved the troops and the 60's provide fire support(I flew the 60's...)


My Old Unit-The 160th SOAR(SPECIAL OPERATIONS AVIATION REGIMENT)
Motto: Night Stalkers Don't Quit(NSDQ)
HQ Base Ft. Campbell Ky
Officially formed: 10/16/1981

Stay tuned.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead: Politics In The Post-Bin Laden World

Now that Al Qaeda Head Osama Bin Laden has been laid to rest at sea after the successful excursion to Pakistan by US, Navy Seals, it's time to consider how both American and World politics will be reshaped in the wake of this event of fantastic proportions.

Yes, Osama Bin Laden is dead.

Consider that since September 11, 2001, when Al Qaeda-directed airplane hijacks resulted in four crashes and the destruction of the twin towers of The World Trade Center, America's perceived standing in the World fell both from an economic and from a militaristic perspective. President George W. Bush, who vowed to get Bin Laden "Dead or Alive" seemed more intent on using the fact that he was alive as political fuel for his two terms as President.

Now that President Barack Obama successfully went after and got Bin Laden, there's no longer that political card to play - but thankfully, Obama never did so.

By following through on a campaign promise to go to Pakistan and get Bin Laden, and get out of Iraq, President Obama has firmly cemented his place in World History. He will forever be known as the man who helped bring an end to a reign of terror exacted by Al Qaeda and operatives in the Mid East and bring in a new, more democratic and free way of life.

Obama didn't do this by force, but by pushing along Arab Cultural forces already active. And indeed, the people involved in the formation of the "New Mid East," are certainly no friends of Bin Laden. When Obama saw an opening to take out Osama Bin Laden, he gave the order to do so.

His timing, just right in the middle of the greatest upheaval of Arab regimes in Mid East History, was perfect. While there will always be terrorists and terrorism, the Arab desire for freedom is overtaking those Arabs who would want to destroy any chance for it. And this is great for America.

No, it doesn't mean an end to security lines at airports, and it should not. But it - the changing of regimes and the death of Bin Laden - does mean that we in America can all look at the Mid East with pride and not with trepidation. And hopefully it means better opportunities for American business, particularly in tech, which means more jobs here and in the Mid East, too.

This moment, really this combination of many events happening close together, may also be the catalyst for the easing of credit and the restoration of the American and the World economy. Overnight the Japanese stock index increased after the announcement that Bin Laden was dead. And U.S. Markets, from the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the S&P 500, were all up today.

The bet here is that's just the shape of more good news to come.ma Bin Laden has been laid to rest at sea after the successful excursion to Pakistan by US, Navy Seals, it's time to consider how both American and World politics will be reshaped in the wake of this event of fantastic proportions.

Consider that since September 11, 2001, when Al Qaeda-directed airplane hijacks resulted in four crashes and the destruction of the twin towers of The World Trade Center, America's perceived standing in the World fell both from an economic and from a militaristic perspective. President George W. Bush, who vowed to get Bin Laden "Dead or Alive" seemed more intent on using the fact that he was alive as political fuel for his two terms as President.

Now that President Barack Obama successfully went after and got Bin Laden, there's no longer that political card to play - but thankfully, Obama never did so.

By following through on a campaign promise to go to Pakistan and get Bin Laden, and get out of Iraq, President Obama has firmly cemented his place in World History. He will forever be known as the man who helped bring an end to a reign of terror exacted by Al Qaeda and operatives in the Mid East and bring in a new, more democratic and free way of life.

Obama didn't do this by force, but by pushing along Arab Cultural forces already active. And indeed, the people involved in the formation of the "New Mid East," are certainly no friends of Bin Laden. When Obama saw an opening to take out Osama Bin Laden, he gave the order to do so.

His timing, just right in the middle of the greatest upheaval of Arab regimes in Mid East History, was perfect. While there will always be terrorists and terrorism, the Arab desire for freedom is overtaking those Arabs who would want to destroy any chance for it. And this is great for America.

No, it doesn't mean an end to security lines at airports, and it should not. But it - the changing of regimes and the death of Bin Laden - does mean that we in America can all look at the Mid East with pride and not with trepidation. And hopefully it means better opportunities for American business, particularly in tech, which means more jobs here and in the Mid East, too.

This moment, really this combination of many events happening close together, may also be the catalyst for the easing of credit and the restoration of the American and the World economy. Overnight the Japanese stock index increased after the announcement that Bin Laden was dead. And U.S. Markets, from the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the S&P 500, were all up today.

The bet here is that's just the shape of more good news to come.

Sohaib Athar Was Twitter Witness To US Attack On Bin Ladin

The Twitterverse and now blogosphere is, well, a buzz, or a Twitter (if you like) over the discovery that Sohaib Athar, who describes himself on Twitter @ReallyVirtual as a "IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops," provided a tweet-by-tweet account of the US Navy Seal raid that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden.

His tweets started April 28th in Abbottabad, Pakistan, with this one:

ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).

Then, Mr. Athar became annoyed with the helicopter, and let his Twitter followers know it.

ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Go away helicopter - before I take out my giant swatter :-/

But a bit later, it was clear to Athar something big and "nasty" was up.

ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S

Then the "giant fly" was gone...

ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@
@m0hcin all silent after the blast, but a friend heard it 6 km away too... the helicopter is gone too.

A Fast Action Assault

From the read of his Twitter tweets, the entire US attack lasted only a few minutes. The US Navy Seals got out as fast as they got in. But, at the time, Aohaib didn't know what was going on; he could only guess:

ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Since taliban (probably) don't have helicpoters, and since they're saying it was not "ours", so must be a complicated situation #abbottabad

Mr. Athar tweets that the craft was not a spy plane, as it was "too noisy." There was also a copter crash, but from reports it wasn't American; President Obama said there were no Americans harmed in any way.

One thing's for sure about all this, "Abbottabad " certainly found a place on the map of pop culture, as has Sohaib Athar. Mr. Athar has been inundated with emails from the media, and from general people around the World.

ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
For the people who are trying to email me to reach me, I simply can't filter out the notifications from the emails :-(

Stay tuned.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead - Credit President Obama

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead. President Barack Obama made the stunning announcement at 11:39 PM EDT Sunday, as this blogger sat in a position of stasis. For almost 10 years, the name Osama Bin Laden had become an indelible part of American Culture, and with an image just equal to that of Adolf Hitler.

The Mastermind of the September 11th 2001 events we call 9-11 and that led to the total destruction of the twin towers of The World Trade Center in New York City was on the run, seemingly forever.

Not any more...

And while the media points to a intelligence gathering process that started back in 2001, the truth is that America's political leaders in charge for much of that time wrongly focused American military resources on Irag, and not Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Now, almost a trillion dollars, and 4,000 lost lives by 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama, just starting what would become his successful presidential run, said that he would end the Iraq War, and go on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden right in Pakistan.

The statement led to a ton of criticism from his major presidential rivals. In a blog post dated Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at Zennie62.com, this blogger pushed-out for distribution what CNN's Ruben Navarrette Jr, wrote:

When Sen. Barack Obama suggested getting out of Iraq and moving "onto the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan," and then pledged, if elected president, to go into Pakistan if our military was in hot pursuit of "high-value terrorist targets" (read: Osama bin Laden), his opponents pounced.


Rudy Giuliani suggested that Obama should be more accommodating of Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Mitt Romney said that Obama was "confused as to who are our friends and who are our enemies." Sen. John McCain called Obama's remarks "kind of typical of his naivete." And Sen. Hillary Clinton said that Obama's foreign policy views were "irresponsible and frankly naive."

Now, fast-forward to 2011 and while Hillary Clinton is now Secretary of State, and Rudy Giuliani is semi-retired (or so it seems) Mitt Romney is talking about running for President, again. And Sen. John McCain doesn't seem to be in the mood of thanking President Obama, issuing this Twitter Tweet:

SenJohnMcCain John McCain
We finally got him, justice has been done. Read my full statement here http://tinyurl.com/3auckey...


Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), made the following statement this evening regarding the announcement made by President Obama that Osama Bin Laden has been killed:


"I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist. The world is a better and more just place now that Osama bin Laden is no longer in it. I hope the families of the victims of the September 11th attacks will sleep easier tonight and every night hence knowing that justice has been done. I commend the President and his team, as well as our men and women in uniform and our intelligence professionals, for this superb achievement.


"But while we take heart in the news that Osama bin Laden is dead, we must be mindful that al-Qaeda and its terrorist allies are still lethal and determined enemies, and we must remain vigilant to defeat them."

That's great.  But never forget that it was McCain who wasted no time in saying then-Senator Obama was naive for wanting to go into Pakistan to get Bin Laden.  If McCain were POTUS, and not Obama, this day arguably would never have come. 

And the list of potential GOP Presidential Candidates who don't have the class to thank President Obama includes Sarah Palin and, of course, Mitt Romney, as of this writing.

What Were We Doing In Iraq?

All of this, this modern V-Jay Day, now brings back the question "What were we doing in Iraq?"   It was, indeed, not just the wrong war, but a costly war.   And we wasted years in Iraq while Osama Bin Laden gained enough time and money to have the giant compound in Pakistan constructed to keep him safe.  

Now, a revisiting of what the USA was doing over that time is in order, especially since it's clear Osama Bin Laden was no where near Iraq.

We got him.   In Pakistan.  

Stay tuned.