Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks 83rd Academy Awards Presenters

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards are just 17 days from Thursday, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are sending out press release after press release announcing presenters. So, now, with a good critical mass of names, and more to come, here's who's going to say "and the Oscar goes to" on Sunday night: Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, and performing (and in some cases presenting too) will be Zachary Levi, Alan Menken, Mandy Moore, Randy Newman, Gwyneth Paltrow, A.R. Rahman and Florence + The Machine.

Since Tom Hanks is a Member of the Board of Governors of AMPAS, it's a fair bet he'll reprise his 2010 role in naming who gets the Oscar Best Picture Award.  As to who else is slotted where, I'm going to bet that Nicole Kidman's going to be involved in one of the "best" award categories.

But with that, there's still 17 days, more names, and still not a lot of color.  It would be nice to see AMPAS fearlessly attack this problem.

Of course, there's a lot we don't know; just because AMPAS asks a celeb to present or perform doesn't mean the person's going to do it.

But sill, we can wish for: Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, John Cho, Halle Berry, Tyler Perry, Sidney Poitier, Zoe Saldana, and Jennifer Lopez.

Stay tuned.

Ongo: New Media Aggregator For NY Times, AP, Established Brands

Ongo, which I guess means "on the go," is a new kind of online company that takes the risk of combining paywalls and news aggregation in its business model.

Ongo, with Alex Kazim as its CEO, was started with a $12 million first tranche of funding (not bad) from Gannett Company, The New York Times Company, and The Washington Post Company (not VC firms at all), it combines the following established news print media brands: The Associated Press, The Guardian, Slate, The Boston Globe The Miami Herald, USA TODAY, Financial Times, New York Times Picks, The Washington Post, The Indy Star, The Kansas City Star, The Miami Herald, Charlotte Observer, Detroit Free Press, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and other print titles. (not The San Francisco Chronicle as of this writing.)

You have to subscribe to get its information, which is news content from those publications. Ongo is an "inny" or what's called a "closed loop." A system, (1) the existence of which you have to know about as a brand, and then (2) information's sent out to you and (3) only after you pay for it.

That's three reasons why Ongo's going to have a hard time building revenue off the $12 million start. Here's another problem.

As of this writing (in case they fix it), I go to the Ongo website, and right at the top I see three links: "Ongo Is.., How Ongo Works, and in large letters, SUBSCRIBE.

Ok, so I click on SUBSCRIBE expecting to know what the cost to do so is, right? Makes sense. When I click on the link, I'm taken to a page that's just a bunch of simple HTML entry fields, and nothing - not a thing - telling me how much the subscription is, and for how long. According to The Examiner's Romona Paden, it's $6.99 per month, but that must have come from the PR folks, because guess what...it's not listed on the dog-on Ongo website!

And I'm supposed to just enter my credit card number anyway? As the folks on ESPN's NFL Prime Time say "C'MOM MAN!"

So, I'm looking around to find out the cost of subscription to Ongo, and I can't find a single mention of a price.

That's bad.

It's also a major deterrent to getting subscribers.

Kevin Skaggs, who did a good job of running SFGate.com, is the Chief Content Officer for Ongo, so this business falls into his lap. Kevin, you should have called me to beta test the damn thing, because I'd have pointed this problem out straight away then, instead of now, in print, online.

Or, that could be why you didn't call me.  But I digress.

NY Times Really Committed To This?

If the New York Times is really committed to this new media effort, it could promote it at NY Times.com.  But, there's no top link with the Ongo logo in it.  In fact, the Facebook login button, a great way to promote Facebook, is prominent.

Ongo Arrogance

The problem with Ongo, called Hulu for news, is the idea that people want to get their news from a bunch of newspaper brands that are dying in print.  The problem with not having any basis in a real open-loop, web platform, competing for search engine space with other brands, is the ability to piggy-back off popular stories online and gain subscribers and views, and value, is totally lost.   This was a bad idea.

I see the "immediate" cognitive hit that making a "Hulu for news" is to those who don't know how to make their own websites, but the fact is print does not have one thing going for it that television has: TV makes its own original content.

Because TV makes original content, I can go to Hulu and see shows that are hard to get online anywhere else.  Ongo's not presenting original online content, just stuff that I can get at The Huffington Post.  Which was just bought by AOL for $315 Million.

The fact that Gannett, and not a VC firm, made this $12 million investment is telling.  It means no VC would touch it for that much money.  VC's want to see page view potential - something like 4 billion unique visitors a year.   That calls for an online platform that Ongo is not - now.

I wish Ongo and Kevin luck, but this "inny" thinking's not the way to go.

Eliza Kruger Pictures Make Mark Sanchez Seem Pervy

Mark Sanchez of the Jets is 24-years-old and he is dating Eliza Kruger. Kruger is 17-years-old and is the daughter of a hedge fund manager in New York. The laws in New York and New Jersey allow the two to date so that is not an issue, but although the two are allowed to date there is still something wrong with someone under 18 giving out compromising photos.

The Stir is a Cafe Mom blog which writes about the sexy pictures of Kruger that have showed up on the Internet. The blogger writes:

But go looking for proof of Mark Sanchez and Eliza Kruger in flagrante delicto, and you're more than just a perv. You're a pedophile. If you want to see lascivious pictures of Eliza Kruger, you're committing a crime under federal law. Whether she's legally allowed to have sex or not, at 17 she falls under the federal child pornography statute regardless of who took the photos (yes, even if she took them of herself to send to Marky boy). That includes any picture that:

"Depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

DeadSpin has an entire expose on the relationship of the two which is called "The Somewhat Romantic Story of March Sanchez And A 17-Year-Old Girl," the entire article written is pretty epic, and the word epic is overused but in this case it is quite all right. The article is worth reading to get the whole background information on the two. It gives Kruger's account of what happened and how the two met: which include hotel rooms and threatening e-mails and all sorts of interesting tid bits. It includes a shot from Kruger's Facebook. At that time her name had not been released and she was only known as E.K:

The photos will not be posted on Zennie62.com, and no one from Zennie62 Media has seen the photos so all of this is based on what other sources have to say, because the photos have not been seen first hand.

Eliza Kruger Pictures: Mark Sanchez 17 Year Old Deadspin Victim

In a complete surprise, and on the day that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek is expected to make a statement on his future (hopefully he steps down), the dominant Google Trend is still for...eliza kruger pictures, eliza kruger, and mark sanchez 17 year old.

That's largely for the reasons stated in this space yesterday and in the video, below:



Also, it's because Deadspin's doing a LOUSY job of protecting its real source - Kruger. They're just spilling everything she's shared with them onto the space of their blog site.

Awful!

Let's get one thing straight here: Eliza Kruger didn't ask for this. It happened because someone claiming to be associated with Deadspin - but Al Daulerio, Deadspin's Editor says is not - contacted her and threatened to tell what they knew.

And if Daulerio and deadspin had nothing to do with the contact, why get involved by using the person's information?   Think about it.

According to Deadspin, for Eliza Kruger it all started this way:

A threatening email was sent to me from someone by the name [name redacted] who claims to be doing research for you, it regards Mark Sanchez picking up a girl in a club around new years. The tip was originally sent from a [name redacted]. If you could explain what is going on here I would greatly appreciate it because so far I am being threatened w media exposure regarding false accusations and slander.

And then, today, Deadspin prints this email message that was sent from her:

Well I'm still "close" w mark and he knows about you so jets pr was like here how's you handle it, I don't want to betray him but I don't want to let him play me like this, if this comes out like I technically sold this then I can risk any jobs or college in the future. They may not want me if I "sold" the story. So publish what you no and ill just be like it was a deceitful friend of mine. You no? So my future isn't ruined but mark doesn't get everything. He is a genuine person but not necessarily good to women. You know?

Wow. Talk about throwing a source under the bus. Eliza's 17 and is obviously in way over her head. Instead of Deadspin taking steps to protect themselves and her, they just went buck wild, all over the place.

We're not talking about someone running for public office, or who's a public official, we're talking about an innocent person. One who's not threatening anyone, and probably has a very good heart. She just wanted to have a good time with a star.

There's no crime in that.

Deadspin's played fast and lose with the email messages sent, especially the one from Eliza mentioning how Sanchez is "not necessarily good to women. You know?"

Nice, Deadspin. Gain a young woman's trust, then use it to crap all over her.

That's not cool at all.

Ed Schultz gives Powerful 99er Commentary on MSNBC

Ed Schultz gave a powerful 99er commentary on MSNBC last night.

The Ed Show, now in it’s new time slot at 10PM EST on MSNBC, is every bit as powerful as the show was in his earlier time slot. Ed has a flare for telling it like it is, day in and day out.

Last night was the first time Ed has really had 99er news to focus upon all this year and he did the 99er Nation proud. Ed’s powerful commentary began with snippets from yesterday’s Press Conference where Barbara Lee and Bobby Scott called on House Republican Leadership to allow a vote on the Emergency Relief to help Long-Term Unemployed Americans now.

Several 99ers joined Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) at a press conference announcing proposed legislation that would give an additional 14 weeks of benefits to anyone who's been out of work for longer than six months.

"People want to enjoy the dignity of work instead of collecting unemployment check," Scott said. "Critics of unemployment compensation believe it gives people incentive not to work, but the fact is ... that there are more people looking for work than there are jobs."

Ed went on to introduce his own variation on a community works program that made so much sense, Congress could never comprehend it's merit - let alone pass such. The clip below features press conference comments by 99er Rhonda Taylor (one of many 99ers present at the Lee/Scott announcement in Washington D.C. yesterday).

The commentary moved many to tears when he discussed Gerry DePietro’s story featured in yesterday’s Huffington Post article by Arthur Delaney: 3.9 Million Americans Ran Out Of Unemployment Benefits In 2010: Report

From the article:

"We're just trying to let them see that we're real live human beings," said laid-off accountant Gerry DePietro, 65. A 99er, she carpooled from the Philadelphia suburbs with her friends Patty Fraschetta and Bob Stroop, both of whom have been out of work for more than a year.

Gerry DePietro said she ran out of unemployment benefits in September and has been selling her jewelry to get by. She said she got $20 for a gold ring that had been given to her by her late husband 37 years ago, before they married.

"It was like losing a million-dollar ring," she said.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[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!]

"Save Cal Sports?" Does The University Of California Care?

Today's the day that we'll learn the fate of several University of California sports slated for reduction to reduce a large annual deficit that, in point of fact, has existed for over a decade. It's just that, in the past, the University could afford to carry it; not today.

Still, faced with the prospect of losing men's and women's gymnastics, women's lacrosse, and baseball, you'd think there would be massive alarm bells going off. You'd expect this to be a front page issue on the Cal Athletics website. You'd think "Save Cal Sports" would be a rallying cry for the University itself, and not just a set of concerned alumns.

It's not.  And the Cal Athletics website doesn't ask you to donate money for any one of the sports on the chopping block.

I get the impression the University of California at Berkeley just really doesn't give a damn.  Cal lacks the fight required to maintain its athletic programs; it's just not the focus of a massive campaign, because there is no massive campaign outside of what Save Cal Sports has been able to do - raising $15 million is incredible, and the University itself should help.

The simple fact that only California Golden Blogs is running a post encouraging donations to help Cal baseball - and not the Cal Athletics website - causes me to ask just what the hell is going on?  When I go to Cal Athletics's website, I should see DONATE in red Stanford letters, then explaining that "The Cardinal red will go away if you help us today."

If the University of California and Cal Athletics doesn't care enough to communicate its needs via its websites, why should anyone else care either?    And with this, the Cal's "going to make an announcement" today?

Even the Cal Baseball website communicates the idea that everything's OK as of this writing, when we know it's not.

DONATE > SAVE CAL SPORTS.

The only thing the University should say today is "We're going to get behind Save Cal Sports" and help raise more money.

Anything less would be a shame.

Donald Trump Considers Running for President

Multi-billionaire tycoon, Donald Trump, told CNN's Piers Morgan that he is honestly considering running for president.

Trump told Morgan that he wants to change the foreign policy and he considers China to be "the enemy," and that they want to take over.

"The first thing I would do is announce very strongly that we're going to tax Chinese products -- 25% tax on all Chinese products. They will come to the table immediately and stop manipulating their currency which they're doing."

He also says:

"I love this country. I hate what's happened to this country," he added. "We're a laughingstock throughout the world. We're not respected."

Well, he is very blunt about this. Trump has never been a political figure and has never even been in any position of political authority so it would be shocking if he were to actual win or even be taken seriously.

Trump has said that he will not make a final decision until June of this year; and for those who are wondering which party Trump is affiliated with: GOP.

Chris Lee Resigns: Sex Scandal - Gawker, Deadspin, And Democrats

Wow, the resignation of Republican Congressman Chris Lee (D 26th District - NY) reveals yet another Republican Sex Scandal. (Is anyone keeping count?) And NY Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez and his 17-year-old girlfriend (as of this writing) Eliza Kruger can thank the randy Republican for effectively bumping them down the front page of the New York Post. (OK, well they're still on the front page of Deadspin.)

What happened was that Gawker, the main blog in the highly successful Gawker Media Network that includes Deadspin, ran a post of how the married Chris Lee was using Craigslist to find dates. Lee, apparently so horny he forgot he was a public official, decided to send a photo of himself shirtless.

Moreover, Lee told the woman via text that he normally dates other women but he lied about his position, age, and marital status - he's not divorced and is 46. Lee told the woman he was 39 and that he was a lobbyist, not an elected official from New York. (Geez. As a momentary aside, there's no shame in being in one's 40s, and someone who think's so has a massive issue.)

When the woman discovered Lee was lying on three counts, she cut off contact and sent his photo and information, including the text contact, to Gawker.

The result is, when it hit the media, Lee and his staff tried to say while the email account i his, that someone hijacked it. Eventually, and within the span of about 24 hours, Lee announced his resignation.

Gawker and Deadspin Score Again

I don't know to what extent Gawker Media's paying for these disclosures, but it's interesting both Gawker and Deadspin managed to issue blockbuster stories on Mark Sanchez and Chris Lee just a day apart, and while introducing a new blog design.

The new design is more "magazine" like, rather than the standard blog roll. There's one big story on the left and the other stories in a standard roll on the right. What I don't like is the blog is now so wide, it bleeds outside the standard web page width; I have to move the page out to see all of its contents.

But I digress.

A Chance For Democrats.

New York Governor Andrew Quomo will call a special election to fill the 26th District seat Lee held only for just under two years. This is a chance, a good one, for Democrats to realize a gain in a state that's traditionally blue. While the 26th District of New York has been a mostly Republican seat going back to 1857, Democrat Maurice Hinchey held it from 1993 to 2003, a ten-year span ending just seven years ago.

Stay tuned.

Kevin Smith Lost 65 Pounds

Kevin Smith is known as "Silent Bob" in his films, and he is also known as being the larger sidekick of Jason Muse. Kevin Smith is a film maker who is the brain behind a lot of great movies and has a funny relationship with Ben Affleck.

A while back Smith was kicked off of an airplane for being too heavy, and now he has lost 65 pounds as reported by People.

In CNN interviews he explains this entire endeavor to Joy Behar:

Kevin Smith Lost 65 Pounds

Kevin Smith is known as "Silent Bob" in his films, and he is also known as being the larger sidekick of Jason Muse. Kevin Smith is a film maker who is the brain behind a lot of great movies and has a funny relationship with Ben Affleck.

A while back Smith was kicked off of an airplane for being too heavy, and now he has lost 65 pounds as reported by People.

In CNN interviews he explains this entire endeavor to Joy Behar:

Eliza Kruger Mark Sanchez 17 Year Old Flame; Berlusconi Jealous

"Eliza Kruger, Mark Sanchez 17 Year Old" as a search has come to dominate Google Trends today, and as this story unfolds, what there is of it, that may continue to Thursday.

But, with all that's about to appear here and in other publications, one thing's clear: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, himself the focus of claims that he was with a 17-year-old prostitute, must be jealous of NY Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez, and may be saying "Man, I'm seen with a 17-year-old here and some cretins want my head; in New York, Sanchez is bragging that he got it."

Just kidding.

What happened was that poor Eliza Kruger managed to con her way into the New York nightclub Lavo with a fake ID...

Wait! Let's give Lavo NYC, also in Las Vegas, some pub to set the mood:



Ok, that's more like it.

Anyway, amid the dancing and movement, according to Deadpin.com, Sanchez some how spots Eliza. Then, it's explained that he was there on a "cameo" with NY Jets Tight End Dustin Keller. And he managed to "chat up" Eliza, and flirt a bit. Now, considering all the talent in New York City, you're thinking this Ms. Kruger's a real looker right? Well, I'll leave that to you, but let's just say she's got the appearance of a younger Megyn Kelly of Fox News.

But if you think a 17-year old version of Megyn Kelly's really hot and better than the real, older one in New York City, and you're Mark Sanchez and can have both...

Either than or he's been without for so long, it was just bleeding out of him and Eliza happened to be around, in which case she looked better than she had a right to, to him - which happens to single guys.

He talks and reportedly expresses interest. It goes something like this according to Deadspin:

"You know I'm 17, right?" she remembers saying. Sanchez kept his cool. "Well, we can still talk, but I can't see you until you're 18," he said. "Actually," E.K. (Eliza Kruger - author) replied, "17 is legal in New York."

Damn! She said "Actually. 17 is legal in New York." That means two things: First, Mark didn't know that, and second, it reads like she's been with older guys before!

So, he gets her number and they meet up for dinner later in the week. This after the Jets last NFL game of the 2010 season, against the Buffalo Bills.

But the issue is just why is this story the trending topic on Google (and on Twitter during the noon hours on the West Coast), today? First, it's the fact that she's 17, making the relationship legal in New York, but not in California, and add to that he's the NY Jets star quarterback, and in the media capital that is New York.  Second, Kruger's a semi-looker with a rich dad, a hedge fund manager named Konrad "Chip Kruger.  Third, we're in the age of the teen sex pop star, started by Britney Spears, and gamed up to a new level by Miley Cyrus.   Lastly, we all like talking about sex scandals, even over what's happening in Egypt.

So where does all of this go?  Right into that giant bin of things that make up Mark Sanchez public persona.   It also goes right into that giant bin of things that make up where our society is today.

It must be hard for women in their 20s in America, because they have to compete for male attention against aggressive 17-year-old sex pots and randy Cougars, all the while hoping some guy sees them for who they are.

Stay tuned.  I'm still curious just how this wound up in Deadspin's lap.

Chevron Ecuador: Restraining Order Slapped On Plaintiffs By Judge

In an interesting development, according to Law. Com, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan slapped a temporary restraining order on Ecuadorean plaintiffs, which by extension should include the Country of Ecuador itself, and the new law firm, Patton Boggs, hired to shield lead lawyer Steven Donziger, formerly of Kohn, Swift, and Graff.

Apparently, Judge Kaplan thinks the whole Ecuador case is a sham and since Ecuadorian courts are known to be corrupt, and the plaintiff's case has evidence on top of proof that Donziger was in bed with the Country of Ecuador, the Judge decided on his own to block any attempt they might make to come to America and collect a damage claim of whatever billions in damages Ecuador's court may come up with. (First it was $16 billion and then $27 billion, and the recently $100 billion, and all from cooked reports created by the plaintiffs, and not, as claimed, an independent research analysis.)

See, Chevron has zero assets in Ecuador. None.  It's not operated their since 1992, and to show you how misguided the paid advocates have been, the fields they point to claiming damage by Chevron, were actually fields that have been used, to this day, by the State-run oil company Petroecuador.   Moreover, there have been over 100 oil spills since Chevron left Ecuador.

The point is, Ecuador continues to pollute its land and exploit its poor, all while continuing to pretend as if it's America's fault.

Ecuador Signs Contracts With Foreign Oil Firms

Meanwhile, and while Ecuador has successfully eliminated American Oil Companies from production in that country since Occidental Petroleum was kicked out in 2007 and Chevron left in 1992. The country, as recently as January, signed brand new oil production contracts with seven foreign firms, not one American: Petrobellfrom Brazil, Tecpecuador, from Argentinia, and as Spanish Petrosud-Petroriva, Spanish-Argentine Repsol-YPF and Colombian Pegaso. In the new contracts, and as part of its move to nationalize oil, Ecuador will keep 100 percent of oil production profits, and while promises have been made to help Ecuador's poor, there's no evidence of programs in operation to make good on those claims.

Remember, Ecuador is a member of The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, having been reinstated in 2007, after a 15-year absence. The overall objective of OPEC is:

to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.

That "steady income" now comes to Ecuador, but its poor continue to suffer.

Sad.