Manute Bol dies at 47: Bol's sprit of giving not well known

Manute Bol

Former Golden State Warriors player Manute Bol (who also played with the Philadelphia 76ers, Seattle Supersonics, and Washington Bullets) sadly passed away Saturday at the young age of 47 and do to complications from "Stevens - Johnson syndrome," which Bol reportedly contracted while in Sudan.

Bol is being celebrated as one of the NBA's best defensive players in history, but Bol's also praised for his work in the sprit of giving. The Kansas City Star reported in May - as Bol was in the hospital for the condition that would ultimately take his life - that Manute Bol's charitable work for Sudan was not well-recognized by the public.

Bol's focus was helping those less fortunate in his home country of Sudan. One of the organizations Bol supported is called "Alliance For The Lost Boys of Sudan."

Alliance For The Lost Boys is an organization that supplies medical and dental coverage as well as educational funding and school supplies for the boys of Sudan. Specifically, the estimated 27,000 Sudanese boys who were displaced from their families during the Second Sudanese Civil War. A war where Bol himself lost several hundred family members. A war that saw 2 million killed; 3,800 boys were orphaned in America, mostly in the State of Arizona, Chicago and the State of Florida.

(That Arizona has Sundanese orphans makes one wonder if they too are being harmed by that states' Hitler-like illegal immigration law and the intense racism expressed by some there.)

This comment summed up Bol's thoughts: "There’s no way I can put the money in my pocket while my people are getting beat up. Whatever I can do to help my people I will do. I feel whatever I make here I make for my people."

The Kansas City Star 's Sam Mellinger wrote that Bol "has given so much and received little in comparison." And in a set of paragraphs that makes any one want to cry, Mellinger wrote:

He was once lured back to his home country with the promise of a cabinet post, only to find out he would be required to convert to Islam. When he refused, he was stranded for nearly five years. His trust and good intentions have been abused so many times.

Even while playing, he went into war zones to help the Lost Boys and other refugees. Sometimes, those visits were interrupted by bombings from warlords who viewed Bol as a threat.

His family was wiped out by Darfurians, but when that country became victims, Bol was one of the first Sudanese to speak out in support. A Christian, he told his people that extremists were the enemy, not Muslims.

he uncomfortable part of this is that we’ll appreciate Bol, 47, more when he’s gone, whenever that comes.

You know, there are times when I have said "I wish someone would have told me about that; I'd have done what I could to help." Manute Bol's story is one of those times I wish someone had contacted me. A person's story is a collection of small contributions; that's one I would have certainly made.

Manute Bol's in a better place. And, while it's after his passing, we should stop to celebrate Manute Bol's time on Earth.

God bless Manute Bol.

Manute Bol dies at 47: Bol a Golden State Warrior who will be missed

Manute Bol, the tallest player in Golden State Warriors in history, died today at 47 and of complications from "Stevens–Johnson syndrome" at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Bol as a player was a sight to see: a literal cross between a stilt and a praying mantis. Bol, who towered at 7 feet, 7 inches, was one of the tallest NBA Basketball player in history and for a long time known as just a shot blocker, and is one of a just a few players with 12 or more blocks in one game.

In this video below called "Manute Bol: Welcome to the Block Party," Bol blocked four straight shots in the opening segment. Moreover, he did it so effortlessly, blocking shots seemed like child's play.



Bol is the only player in NBA history to have blocked more shots (2,086) than points he scored (1,599). Manute averaged 3.3 blocked shots per game, and under Don Nelson in his second stint with the Warriors in 1994, became a defensive terror.

Manute the Shooter

Manute Bol

But Manute was also a great three-point shooter (and you can see him making one with the Warriors as his teammate Chris Mullin looks on). Manute was the giant master of the "three": the person you least expected to try a shot from downtown and the one you least expected to make one from downtown. In his first stint with the Warriors from 1988 to 1990, Bol shot them with regularity, attempting a career-high 91 "threes" and making 20 of them.

Bol, listed in many headlines as a former Philadelphia 76ers player, will always be remembered as an Oakland, er Golden State Warrior, in this space.

Manute was the player you wished and cheered for because for all of his physical gift of height (Manute means "special blessing") and story that he fought a lion in Sudan, he seemed to be a very kind man.

Manute Bol lived almost exactly the same number of years as I have; he's gone and taken from us far too early. He died of Stevens–Johnson syndrome, a life-threatening condition where your skin and mucous membranes over react to a medication or infection, according to The Mayo Clinic.

Manute Bol was one of the great ones; he will be missed by many.

SAIC uses Crain's to defend itself CityTime tax payer's Titanic by Suzannah B. Troy

This is for people following my YouTube and blog postings on CityTime, the tax payers Titanic or want to know about a NYC technology scandal at City Hall that for far too long is  making consultants the big bucks off of CityTime's  flaws.  They  did their best  to keep this Orwellian techno dream of Bloomberg's quiet like Sleeping Beauty but more and more people are learning about this economic disaster. 

If you visit the Crain's piece I am giving you a link to SAIC and you can read what that stands  and how SAIC is using Crain's to defend it's reputation.   CityTime was suppose to save the city money by using technology from hand prints to using computers to sign in and instead it seems like a scam to make consultants even richer.   There are over 200 consultants and some are getting close to half a million and some a million but CityTime is about to bust the 1 billion dollar mark and CityTime is very flawed....flawed is a kind word for hunk of junk, a black hole sucking tax payers money, a scam or sham....read on....

I had made this YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/Suzannahartist#p/u/19/_Tz4eMcP2LU

May 27, 2010.

You can find the first blog posting that goes in to the CityTime and SAIC in the text portion of this YouTube link above.

I give you a link to this woman Ali Winston's article that gets in to SAIC and Iraq and even the FBI.

Check it out.

Go to my main blog and search under CityTime to find all my postings....www.suzannahbtroy.blogspot.com

Juan Gonzalez's work covering CityTime has been outstanding and indepth so you must check out Ali Winston's piece from City Limits that connects the dots with SAIC to federal level scandals  and Gonzalez's series that is focused here in NYC.   Juan Gonzelez's series of pieces exposing CityTime are all on The New York Daily News website are a must read.  

Renewal is this Sept. and I am one of many that feels rather than renew we need an investigation.

Even better would be a full refund of tax payers money which is moving towards the billion dollar mark for a massively flawed system and this article says Joel Bondy is laying low.

I would like to know how much he earns as a city employee vs. a consultant or what....?  What is his role with CityTime and NYC gov fully explained along with other consultants especially anyone that has ties to NYC gov and or Bloomberg and friends.   I don't have a press pass and I am finding NYC gov is not eager to answer questions and or be transparent.   Maybe a press pass would help....?

Actually on 2nd thought....

here is paragraph from Ali Winston's article from City Limits....

But SAIC has also had high-profile problems over the years. In the early 1990s, the company and six of its employees pleaded guilty to making false statements in their handling of work at EPA Superfund sites. In 2004, the Pentagon's inspector general faulted SAIC's performance on a contract to rebuild the Iraqi media. The following year, the FBI blamed SAIC for botching the development of the bureau's new "Trilogy" information management system (although the Justice Department inspector general said the FBI deserved much of the blame). And the company was still wrangling into 2007 with the Greek government over whether SAIC deserved full payment for a security system it developed for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Rishat Kamalov, Robert Lederman, Hiss & Spit Union Square by Suzannah B. Troy

http://suzannahbtroy.blogspot.com/2010/03/suzannah-b-troy-buys-rishat-kamalovs.html
Above is the link to me purchasing my first photograph by Rishat Kamalov which is quite large of The Cyclone!   Today I had hoped to make it to Coney Island and see the mermaids in The Mermaid Parade,  activists, friends, characters....maybe ride the Cyclone again in the front seat....my favorite spot.

Instead here I am visiting Union Square where I found lots of artists with their work on display although some like the Kamalov's might be forced to move because of mayor Bloomberg restrictions.  Read on...

I spoke with the Kamalov's devoted wife and daughter selling his wonderful photos and they had their Artist Power sign up.  They told me because of the changes put in place they would most likely be moving to Union Square.

In the meantime I told them today 1010WINS reported Robert Lederman is suing Rudy Giuliani's predecessor and I expected Robert to win and defeat the mayor king Bloomberg the way he did Guiliani.

Because I feel too tired to make it to Coney Island here is a shot of mine on my humble IPhone 3GS but get ready folks my new IPhone is on the way with a much better camera and HD video plus ZOOM!!!!!


My 3GS was white but you could only get the new phone in black.  I hope to make a documentary from start to finish on my phone.  I wish it was the Giuseppi Logan story....which I have up as a YouTube documentary.  I have a series following NYC characters, artists, etc. but not all were filmed entirely on my Iphone and the 3GS was not HD.  I love this photo of mine too!  I love Rishat Kamalov's Coney Island Cyclone photos and now I have two!

If you look closely you can see the base of The Cyclone in my photo.  If you haven't ridden The Cyclone than you must and sit in the front seat!!!!!!!!


Instead I bought a small photo of Kamalov's and I love it because of how he uses color and how he framed the shot!  "How Sweet it is!"

http://www.hissandspit.org/
I love this woman's face and smile.   She and beautiful kittens are roughing the heat in hopes of finding homes for kittens and cats in need.  I made a donation and if you are a loving kind soul please adopt a kitty cat in need!

Thanks, hugs and love,
Suzannah

Koman Coulibaly: USA Slovenia World Cup ref wakes up America

Koman Coulibaly

For all of the criticism and jokes leveled at World Cup Soccer referee Koman Coulibaly, we in the USA can at least thank him for one thing: waking up America.

In the wake of Koman Coulibaly's no-call, call that he did not explain and that FIFA will not let him explain in its wake, there has been so much anger expressed from quarters that don't pay attention to Soccer, let alone sports, that the World Cup has not only become America's cultural focus, people in the USA actually want to win it.

The USA Slovenia game, played really early on Friday morning on The West Coast, would not have caused much of a stir if the USA just went ahead and lost 2-0. Instead, we had Koman Coulibaly's introduction, leading to a flurry of angry responses, like mine:



But with those angry videos, blogs, websites, and ESPN telecasts, comes something America has not felt before: the desire to win The World Cup.

England's tie of Algeria on Friday left the Group C contest wide open, and makes the USA game against Algeria on June 23rd that much more important. A win would put the USA ahead of Slovenia by one point even if Slovenia beats England.

And as much as USA v. Algeria will be watched in America, England's eyes will be glued to TV sets for the match against Slovenia.

Whatever the case, Soccer now matters in America thanks to Koman Coulibaly.

President Obama should punch BP Oil's Tony Hayward in the nose

Tony Hayward

First, let's get this out of the way: British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward does not reflect the Oil Industry and it's many CEO's, executives, and workers. The vast majority of people in the industry really do care about the areas they impact, and many good efforts are clouded by the actions of shady lawyers and non-government organizations looking to make a buck off of them.

BP's corporate reaction to what is called "The BP Gulf Oil Spill" is an embarrassment to the Oil Industry, where many CEOs know that the buck stops with them and aren't afraid to say so.

Watching Tony Hayward testify before Congress this week and try to avoid personal responsibility for what BP did was so frustrating, that the best thing to happen would have been for President Obama himself to walk into that chamber and punch Tony Hayward in the nose. Listen to Tony Hayward here:



This space does not normally advocate violence, but in this case, Obama could do it live on television and because he's President, get away with it.

Such an action would not only make Hayward understand the damage his firm caused, but make him personally feel it, which is the whole point of Obama's punch. Tony Hayward does not seem to really care about what's happened to life along the Gulf of Mexico, especially for people in Louisiana and Florida.

It's no wonder organizations like Chevron have worked to distance themselves from Hayward. CEO's never avoid responsibility for what happens on their watch. Moreover, BP's Hayward is an unwelcome presence at a time when the Oil Industry is working to meet population demands and technological and political change Worldwide. The Oil Industry can't afford Tony Hayward and neither can President Barack Obama.

President Obama was elected in part for his cool, unflappable nature. But in this case, and for the most part because of the smug Hayward, Americans want to see the President express anger when it's appropriate; you can't fake it. It has to be there, or it's just an act.

Ali tells Liston who's boss

One place where Obama's anger should have reached fever pitch was when Hayward was in that Congressional hearing.

Imagine President Obama walking into the room without warning, strolling up to the table where Hayward was seated, going up next to him, and saying "Will you just shut up!", cold cocking him in the nose, then saying "take responsibility for this crap, will ya!?"

Then Obama would stand there, talking down to Hayward, like Muhammad Ali did after he clocked Sonny Liston. "The punch" would guarantee Obama's second term.

Oh well, one can dream. Hayward's relieved from public speaking, so his nose is saved for now.

La Lakers NBA Finals win causes riot: taxi cabs set on fire

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 83 to 79 in perhaps the most dramatic game in NBA Finals history. But even more dramatic was the after-game-seven celebration in LA, as riots broke out and taxi cabs were set on fire.

This video below, posted at CitizenTube.com, shows the scene just a reported two blocks from Staples Center where the NBA game was played:



According to The Associated Press, 38 people were arrested for "public intoxication, vandalism or inciting a riot."

Between that and the New York City rap riot, I wonder what's going on at times.

The 49ers Santa Clara Stadium issue: an interesting email

On June 8th 2010, election day, and the same day of the Angry Luxor Cab Driver incident, the San Francisco 49ers scored and important and this blogger thought impossible victory in getting Santa Clara County to give the go-ahead to build the 49ers new stadium.

But in the wake of the victory, knifes are coming out from all over because of the very valid claim that Santa Clara can't afford to pay their share for the stadium. This email, the name withheld, and which will be expanded on in the coming weeks, is telling:

Hi Zennie,
Re: your interview with Mr. (Don) Perata and that both of you were surprised that the 49ers won the stadium vote. I live in Santa Clara and I'm on the board of the grassroots organization that was opposed to the stadium subsidy.

If you want to know how they won, you can contact me. They spent >$4.1 million on a saturation campaign of misinformation to tell the voters that the stadium won't cost residents anything. We have a mayor and 4 city council members who campaigned heavily for the 49ers, and our schools superintendent and entire school board did too.

All of their names, faces, and titles appeared repeatedly in campaign materials.

We've had a virtual media blackout here on what the true costs of the stadium are, because both the SJ Mercury and the Santa Clara Weekly wanted the stadium so badly, they were both unwilling to make a fair presentation to the voters of the costs, loss, debt, and risks. The TV news was just as bad or worse. The Chron was better, but not many people here subscribe to the Chron compared to the SJ Merc, and the Weekly is delivered for free to every house in the city.

Then the 49ers conducted a TV, Radio, and mail saturation campaign with misleading information
(no cost to residents, no general fund impact, no new taxes for a stadium-ever, etc.).

The 49ers took away our right to vote on a city charter change by going to Sacramento.
They took control of the ballot language through the initiative process and thus we had a ballot with no cost disclosure other than $40 million in RDA funds. The remainder of the $444 million that Santa Clara and its agencies are responsible for was not included on the ballot. In CA, there is no law that requires financial disclosure on city ballot measures like there is on state ballot propositions. The 49ers paid big bucks to an attorney who specializes in - wait for it - initiatives!

I'm sure he knew that if they wrote their own initiative they could control the language and not disclose costs, as well as not be subject to CEQA challenges.

If your interested in the real story of what happened here, contact me. I've tried for months to get print or broadcast media to tell the truth about what's been happening here, but all of the print and broadcast media are too concerned about their relationships with the 49ers to write about what really happened.

As I say, stay tuned...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Bergdorf Goodman NYC by Suzannah B. Troy

Suzannah B. Troy with her "Save Coney Island" pin and her man's undershirt purchased for a couple of dollars on Orchid Street shopping at Bergdof Goodman's Men Store for Father's Day.

The staff at the men's store Bergdorf treated me like gold so I had to stifle my activism and behave myself when Arnold made his presence felt...  I have to add I was dressed in a men's under shirt less than attractive baggy shorts and they treated me like I was wearing an Armani suit.  I was impressed.  I can't say that for Barneys.  Barneys staff are nice but with attitude and some are not nice.

Way back when I thought Arnold was a super hottie but now I know he was steriod user, cheater and rumored to be a sexplotier.   From what I have heard using a term for his anatomy called the helmet....

In my opinion he is just gross.  He is a lot older than me but like so many celebrities -- Holly woo woo types he has had everything done to turn back the clock.   I can't tell you how badly I want to run up to him and video tape him as I asked him about California's budgetary crisis!  I did yell at Mike Bloomberg from the steps of City Hall, "Oust the king!" and king Mike gives me the thumbs up.  But Bergdorf's men's department is not City Hall!

The people including youngsters got excited when they saw Arnold but not as excited as he got by their attention....it is clearly still a high for him -- the attention....

His idea of the American dream is to cheat your way to it and marrying a Kennedy was like getting a Cadillac. 


If Mike Bloomberg had simply showed me his plans to tear down our historic neighborhoods and make them into bad xeroxes of Dubai also causing mass displacement as well as endangering our lives I would have fought against him from the get go.


I don't want king Mike or steroid Arnold in The White House and it took all my self control to not run up to Arnold with my iphone and nail him on  the massive budget crisis in CA governor and put his response on YouTube.


The gracious and golden treatment by the staff of Bergdorf helped me to find some impulse control.


Besides TMZ showed Arnold and his wife living  beyond large in Hawaii as the budget crisis looms larger than New York's which is hard to believe.


Arnold is not  as smart as Mike Bloomberg and at least Mike did not use steriods to make his fortune but both do not belong serving the people.     


Arnold vacations in Hawaii and Mike in Bermuda as the budget crisis grows like a giant axe about to drop on people's jobs, cuts and closing that people have not yet begun to understand.

Miley Cyrus will not press Perez Hilton, but ABC's The View drops ads

Perez Hilton 

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton got into a lot of trouble for posting a photo that he later claimed he did not post showing superstar singer Miley Cyrus in a blowing white dress that blew up a little too high in defiance of her best efforts to control it.

Perez Hilton, put the photo up for view via a Twitter link, then took it down after a hue and cry from the Internet grew rapidly. The problem is Perez Hilton broke a rule that you don't show sexually revealing photos of a minor. Miley Cyrus is 17 years old, which, even if she's a mega star, puts her in minor status.

While Miley Cyrus and her parents Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus say they will not press charges, Perez Hilton's actions caused ABC to drop ads for The View tv show from his blog at PerezHilton.com. What Perez either did not know, or forgot was that it's one thing to show Miley Cyrus doing something sexually suggestive fully clothed, it's way out of bounds to show her in a state that goes too far. Miley wasn't doing anything in the way of performing a "pole dance" or grind dancing with Adam Shankman as reported here:



PerezHilton's blog is worth so much money, a reported $20 million, you'd think he doesn't need to stoop to such actions as the Miley Cyrus dress stunt, but he did it.

But now that The View is off Perez' blog and it's lost an estimated $28 million in value in just two years, perhaps Perez Hilton will reconsider his actions.

Perez Hilton's blog worth $20 million or $32 million or $564?

Perez Hilton 

On May 19th Gawker reported that Avid Life Media, owners of sities like Ashley Madison and HotorNot.com, teamed with Zack Taylor in a bid to buy PerezHilton.com for $20 million. No word as of this writing if Perez Hilton took the offer, but according to The Wall Street Journal, Perez Hilton's blog was worth $32 million in 2009.

First, just how much a blog is worth is a controversial subject because the methods used to estimate it are all over the place. While Perez Hilton was offered $20 million for PerezHilton.com, it was worth $32 million in 2009 and $48 million in 2008.

But if you use Technorati.com's blog value app, Zennie62.com is worth more than Perez Hilton.com. Zennie62 is http://zennie2005.blogspot.com, which is valued at just over $10,000; Perez Hilton's blog clocks in at $564, and that's it.

Obviously the Technorati.com blog value app has some problems. It's based on estimated link value, and not on any assumption or information on ad value. Zennie62.com as of this writing has no major add because I have not shopped it around for sponsors. With that, it's cool to know it's worth five figures, but it's throwing off fairly good monthly revenue from Google Adsense via YouTube alone. Also, our overall stats are more impressive than a $10,000 value would imply.  I'd add a zero for $100,000.

(And that's just one blog; there are 102 blogs in the Zennie62.com network.)

As Douglas A. McIntyre writes at 24/7 Wall St, the blog that produced the Perez Hilton estimate of $32 million, a blog is worth what a person will purchase it for. But even with that fact, what Perez Hilton's blog is valued at has dropped a almost $30 million between 2008 and 2010. That should give Perez Hilton pause, but not so much.

Consider that today there's an estimated 126 million blogs and that in 2008 there were 112 million blogs; so between 2008 and 2009, a gigantic 14 million more blogs were added to the blogsphere. What that means is less natural market share for all blogs, PerezHilton.com included. That should translate to less value. There are more blogs competing for add dollars than ever before.

As I've said before, the best answer is for media companies to buy large chucks blogs. Apparently Avid Life Media is doing just that.

Koman Coulibaly: USA Slovenia World Cup ref blasted on blogs

Koman Coulibaly moved from being the most hated man on Twitter for Friday, to the most hated man in the blogsphere.

Coulibaly, the World Cup Soccer referee, well-known in Africa before today's match pitting the USA v. Slovenia, erased from official record a goal scored by USA player Maurice Edu off a free kick by Landon Donovan that would have given the USA a 3-2 lead with just about 4 minutes remaining.



The non-call, call, an assumed offsides penalty that Coulibaly did not verify by a named team or player, and was not explained to the USA team, launched a torrent of outrage that first appeared on Twitter and is now all over the web.

And the blog posts are blistering.

Koman compared to Jim Joyce 

Koman Coulibaly's call "makes it difficult to control one's rage" writes blogger Josh Dean in New York Magazine. Dean, comparing USA Soccer Coach Bob Bradley to the cartoon character Skeletor, blogs, Coulibaly flat out stole the game. His instincts were terrible for the entire 90 minutes, but his decision to disallow the U.S. team's third goal — an easy tap-in by Edu off a beautiful free kick from Donovan — was one of the worst calls I've ever seen in a game."

Will Brinson, writing for AOL's Fanhouse Blog, offers a complete understatement: "Koman Coulibaly quickly had his Wikipedia page defaced following the US v. Slovenia 2-2 draw. Right now, he's not a very popular man in America."

Danny Lopez at the Houston Press Blogs, calls Koman Coulibaly "the Jim Joyce of Soccer", which means, if that comparison is taken to its logical end, we should expect Koman Coulibaly to apologize for the call come Saturday in America.

Jim Joyce is the MLB umpire who took away Detroit Tigers Armando Galarraga's perfect game, then apologized for it a day later.

One can only hope.