Seattle cop punches black woman; another Seattle police race issue

In 2010 Seattle Police now have not one but two separate incidents of racism. The first one occurred on May 7th, as Seattle Police officer Shandy Cobane was captured on video kicking and innocent Latino man in the face on April 17th and saying "I'm going to beat the Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?" Here's the video:



Cobane gave a tearful apology after his actions were publicly shown. Seattle's Latino community called the action "outrageously racist."

Now, another Seattle Police officer is caught on video, this time Officer Ian P. Walsh is hitting a black woman, 19-year-old Marilyn Levias, in the face with a clinched fist in the process of trying to arrest her. Moreover, the officer was yanking and pulling her clothes nearly off. He didn't need to do all of that; he was investigating a - get this - jaywalking stop.

A jaywalking stop. Seattle Police cop Ian P. Walsh punched a black woman over a jaywalking stop. Here's that video and I warn you, it's more graphic than the other one:

To anyone who sees this and immediately rushes to defend the Seattle cop, remember that just because someone in authority does something does not make their actions correct. This was wrong, and all for a jaywalking ticket according to The New York Daily News.

Racism still exists. This corner would bet $1,000 that Seattle cop would not have punched a white, blonde college woman, let alone stop her regarding a jaywalking claim. Moreover, the Seattle Police are backing Officer Walsh's actions over a jaywalking ticket. Does Seattle need money so badly it's willing to let its police officers beat up and arrest black women over jaywalking ticket claims?

Stupid. Just stupid. And damn racist, too.

Obama's BP Oil Speech better than The Huffington Post's blog take

President Obama shows the way 

President Barack Obama gave a good speech on the BP Oil Spill Disaster. He explained in detail what happened and what needed to be done to solve the problem. Obama also explained what he wanted to see from BP, that's British Petroleum.

No, it wasn't a great speech, but how can any political speech about a disaster, a man-made disaster as was the BP Oil Spill, be a great speech. It's impossible.  After all, America wasn't attacked by aliens as in Independence Day.

Of course, all that escaped The Huffington Post, where blogger Jason Linkins produced a long, ramblings, non-sensical blog post designed purely to hammer President Obama and nothing else. How else to explain a blog post that reads as if Linkins didn't listen to Obama's speech and instead smoked a bong?

Linkins wrote "And yet, basically what we got, in spades, was sentiment."

Spades? Thank God Jason didn't drop the "s", otherwise he would have had a real problem. But it shows just how sloppy Linkins was in his presentation created for many to see.

I heard Obama present a plan which in part explained what had been done:

Tonight I'd like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going forward: what we're doing to clean up the oil, what we're doing to help our neighbors in the Gulf, and what we're doing to make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again.

First, the cleanup. From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation's history - an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has almost forty years of experience responding to disasters. We now have nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to contain and cleanup the oil. Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the Gulf. And I have authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard members along the coast. These servicemen and women are ready to help stop the oil from coming ashore, clean beaches, train response workers, or even help with processing claims - and I urge the governors in the affected states to activate these troops as soon as possible.

And what is going to be done.

Obama mentioned the formation of "The Gulf Coast Restoration Plan," something Linkins didn't even pay attention to it would seem. Obama was honest in stating essentially that the BP Oil Spill caught America off guard and it's rushing to catch up as the disaster gets even worse. I got that and did not expect a full battle plan ready to go, because there's so much we're learning as it happens, and a lot has happened in a very short period of time.

Hindsight is 20-20, but the proof that Linkins is just plain dead wrong is in the simple fact that he does not present an alternative speech himself. It's as if Linkins saw the negative Twitter tweets and elected to play to that crowd of mobsters. It's always easy to play to the crowd. The hardest action is to take a stand and go against it.

The Huffington Post forgets that the main act of a presidential speech is to give direction to the country.  Obama did just that.

Tech News: E3, Nintendo 3DS, Playstation Plus, More... John Draper

I didn't make it to this year's E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) but I will be standing by from this point to relay the news from those who did.

Some of the more popular current E3 news includes Nintendo's announcement of the 3DS, Sony announcing its new Playstation Plus subscription service and it's new Playstation Move controller, the new Zelda Skyward Sword game, and the new Twisted Metal game.

Watch here for in-depth specs and info on these and more tomorrow, but for now I leave you with a video showcasing some great stuff that's in the works, via IGN.

Nikky Raney Vlog Update

Watch it; it's great stuff. Expect more vlog posts from videos I made with my friend Andrea. This is a 4 am vlog post, please appreciate it. :) Expect longer and more informative blog entries later tonight. I am motivated.

Nikky Raney
The Future of Journalism
Twitter

President Obama's Presidential Address to The Nation live stream

President Barack Obama is addressing the nation as this blog post is written. You can see it live, online, right here, below, and courtesy of The White House:

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

You can also review Twitter tweets below:

Angry, Violent, SF Luxor Cab Driver update - no Luxor apology

An update in the case of the Angry, Violent, SF Luxor Cab Driver who tried to physically remove this blogger from Luxor Cab #1046 License number CA 8L46060, a white Ford Crown Victoria.

The assault report was filed and San Francisco Transportation Authority staffers reported that it was sent to the San Francisco Taxi Cab Commission. As of this writing, there has not been a follow-up phone call, but the report was filed on Friday and today is Tuesday.

But given this blog series was first posted last Wednesday and it's six days later, and information to me explains that Luxor has seen the blog post, there has not been an apology from anyone representing Luxor Cab in San Francisco.

Meanwhile there has been a sudden development of comments from the same person using different YouTube accounts. Cool, but if this person represents Luxor Cab San Francisco, they're advocating against free speech rights (in this case, the right to say the cab driver's problem was he wanted a white passenger and not a black passenger), and that I should have been assaulted for expressing my point of view, which is what the Luxor cab driver tried to do.

This is a matter that I will press until change happens; it will not just go away and if that upsets someone reading this, too bad. There should be a California state law that says cab drivers can't remove passengers from cars without just cause and the presence, permission and assistance of a uniformed police officer. Any violation of the law will be a felony resulting in the loss of license, drivers license suspension, jail time, and a fine to both the driver and the cab company of $10,000.

Some cab drivers are on total power trips, taking passengers on rides deliberately longer than necessary to gouge them, not wanting the passenger to have their say in how to get to a destination, or worse, like my experience here on video:



Enough is enough. No more of this.

Stay tuned.

Touchdown Jesus statue in Ohio burns after lighting strike (video)

Touchdown Jesus 

Also: touchdown jesus on fire, touchdown jesus ohio, butter jesus, big butter jesus, touchdown jesus fire, notre dame touchdown jesus

An event that occupies multiple positions on Google Trends is the news that a version of what's called the "Touchdown Jesus" statue burned on I-75 near Monroe, Ohio. 

Why the burning of the six-story, 65-foot creation news is more because Internet news searchers may have believed this statue was the one that graces the football field at The University of Notre Dame. Here's a YouTube video of the event:



The statue is also called "King of Kings" and reportedly "Big Butter Jesus" after a song, and "Touchdown Jesus" because it looked like Jesus was giving the American Football sign for a score in the end zone.

But it's not the statue at Notre Dame, so ND Football fans need not worry.

Channel 5's Mike Sugarman discovers the camera at BART

San Francisco TV Station KPIX Channel 5's Mike Sugarman discovers the Sony camera at BART.

On Friday of last week, on the way to Cafe Americano to meet a friend, Mike Sugarman - the long-time San Francisco KPIX Channel 5 (CBS) News Man, who interviewed this blogger when the focus was bringing the Super Bowl to Oakland in 1999 - was struggling with a new Sony Betacam camera that he was given to use for a story about the planned BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) 15 cent fare decrease (which he and I disagree about.)

I stopped to help Mike and suggested he restart the Sony camera; he did and it worked. So, in turn he interviewed me as part of his segment.

That was Mike's first time with the camera on his own.

For 31 years Mike Sugarman worked a story assignment with a camera person. But in the age of smaller media budgets, reporters like Mike Sugarman are learning to be, well, something like video bloggers, using the camera to make the news themselves without a camera person. That saves as much as $500 to $1,000 for a segment.

This is an example of what I was blogging about regarding Social Networking being Social Broadcasting. Now, you have the power to make media just like Channel Five's Mike Sugarman. The only difference is in your ability to use the equipment.

Mike Sugarman says it's something more he's got to do that's part of the job, but to me it's a lot of fun. He's more flexible and can react faster to stories that develop. In fact, he really could have done the same job with just a Flip Video Camera. One day a Non AT&T iPhone will allow one to make studio quality videos.

Wait. We've got that already, just with AT&T.

Rats.

Catch Mike Sugarman on SF Channel Five, KPIX.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band Concert Film At Balboa SF

This San Francisco event annoucement comes from Gary Meyer, the owner and operator of The San Francisco Balboa Theater and the Co-Director of The Telluride Film Festival, who you may remember from this video interview earlier this year:



Sent a press release announcing the exclusive debut of a new concert film featuring Bruce Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band this Thursday June 17th at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco with two shows at 7:15 PM and 9:15 PM. This YouTube video gives you a preview. It's from the very show the concert film is based on:



Here's the extensive press release:

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
CONCERT FILM PREMIERES AT BALBOA JUNE 17 TO BENEFIT MELANOMA RESEARCH

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band in "LONDON CALLING: LIVE IN HYDE PARK” will have it exclusive San Francisco area Premiere on Thursday, July 17. This one night only benefit will have two showings at 7:15pm and 9:15pm. The showings will benefit the Danny Fund/Melanoma Research Alliance, a charity focused on finding and funding melanoma research to accelerate progress toward a cure.

"LONDON CALLING: Live In Hyde Park" conveys the experience of being on stage and the vast crowd of a festival environment. Captured in London at the Hard Rock Calling Festival on June 28, 2009, a special 90-minute film of this highly anticipated outdoor concert begins in daylight and progress through a gorgeous sunset into night.

Bruce Springsteen spontaneously directs the E Street Band through 13 live tracks, all recorded in glorious HD. A special Dolby Stereo System utilizing the unique speakers from Berkeley’s Meyer Sound www.meyersound.com/ will be featured.

The concert earned rave reviews. The London Times called it "epic" and "a revved-up power drive through Springsteen's America." The Independent concurred: "Springsteen's intensity was staggering from first powerful vocal to final thrashed-out chord."

GRAMMY® and Emmy Award®-winning producer and editor Thom Zimny and director Chris Hilson - both members of Springsteen's video team dating back over a decade - oversaw the filming.
Set list:
London Calling
Badlands
Night
She’s The One
Outlaw Pete
Working On a Dream
Born To Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Jungleland
American Land
Glory Days
See “Glory Days” at:
http://www.vevo.com/watch/bruce-springsteen-the-e-street-band/glory-days-live-in-hyde-park/USSM21000730

All tickets are $10.00 and may be purchased in advance at the Balboa Box Office or at
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/116231

The Danny Fund was set up after the 2008 passing of Danny Federici, longtime Springsteen friend and E Street Band member. See www.dannyfund.org for additional information. With the warm weather just now coming on, it’s especially timely to raise awareness about the dangers of the sun.

Three lucky attendees will win the deluxe two DVD extended version of LONDON CALLING, a 172-minute film with 27 tracks being released tracks being released by Columbia Records on June 22 (http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html ).

The BalboaTheatre is located at 3630 Balboa Street (between 37th and 38th Avenues) in San Francisco.
For more information go to www.BalboaMovies.com or call (415) 221-8184

If you have a major event to promote, regardless of location, please send your press release to zennie@zennie62.com.

Tila Tequila Fans Attack Nikky Raney in comments by Nikky Raney

Looks like I am a big enough deal for "Tilafanfaraway" to talk about me on Tila's site. Which, we know that account is actually Tila. Look at what she had to say:

That's pretty funny. Thanks Tila, I love the attention just as much as you.

P.S. Being 20 years old, 5 foot 5 at 115 pounds isn't fat.

How many posts have I made specifically stating that I am not trying to attack or hate on Tila? Unlike the public figure that Tila is, defamation of me is a lot easier to prove.

I have made it very clear I am not trying to attack Tila.

Here

Here

Here

Nikky Raney

The Future of Journalism

Twitter

Strange any other comment that has my name in it gets auto-deleted. Seriously, when anyone writes "nikky" in the comments the post is auto-deleted, but somehow that account could bypass that? Maybe it's because that account is actually Tila.

Miley Cyrus gets a surprise from Perez Hilton by Nikky Raney

According to CBS News (among other sources) Perez Hilton posted photos on his Twitter account which exposed that 17-year-old Miley Cyrus was not wearing any underwear under her skirt. I did not personally see this photo, and I would not like to see that photo. The censored version of this photo can be seen here.

I don't know who took the photo or how Perez acquired the photo, but I think that Miley is going a bit too far. Britney Spears was not even this extravagant at Miley's age. Miley has already been caught grinding on a 44-year-old man, pole-dancing, posting other provocative photos, and now she is following in the footsteps of Paris Hilton by "forgetting" to put underwear on.

Disney stars are forming a stereotype, and I am not fond of this.

Miley's provocative outfits are not appropriate for the Disney audience that she is still a role model too, and I really cannot understand how her parents can allow this. It all started with the Vanity Fair photo shoot, but now it has gone a bit too far.

I hope that Miley doesn't go down the dark path of many other celebrities. She has already done so many things that are inappropriate, but somehow she isn't being as scrutinized for what she has done.

I do not think it was right for Perez to post the photos, because that is technically child pornography. If you look at the censored photo you can tell that Miley in her white outfit was clearly aware that the way she was getting up would clearly expose her lady parts.

Now, the censored photo may have just been covering underwear, but I do not dare look at what the actual Perez posted photo looks like.

I hope that Billy Ray finally puts his foot down. I liked Miley when she first started on Hannah Montana. Before she legally changed her name from Destiny Hope Cyrus to Miley Cyrus. She has gotten away with things that any other teenager would not get away with.

Miley started posting "sexual" photos on her myspace when she was only 15. I don't condone Perez posting a crotch shot, but maybe this will impact the opinion of Miley's family and change the way that Miley presents herself publicly. Let's hope for the best, because she has so much potential. Miley, you don't need to use your body and sexuality to get attention. Enjoy being a teenager, you'll have time to dress and be sexy once you aren't jailbait anymore. The tattoo beneath your breast is enough for now.

(all photos courtesy of Google Images)

Look at how she has transformed so quickly:

Nikky Raney

The Future of Journalism

Twitter

BP Gulf Oil Spill - why not oil eating bacteria? Gov. Crist must act

BP Gulf Oil Spill - why not oil eating bacteria? That's a question many have asked this blogger to "put out there" so here it is. There are manufactured types of bacteria developed to essentially "eat" oil.

In Internet research relevant to the British Petroleum Gulf Oil Spill, results show that a company called Osprey Biotechnics has announced they're ready to make large quantities of their product called Munox. Munox is a bacterial compound that can be used to consume, digest, and breakdown oil into water and carbon dioxide according to one blog report.

The Osprey Company website describes Munox in this way:

Munox significantly reduces FOG, BOD/TSS, COD, ammonia, nitrate, phenolic compounds, terpene-based and chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons in a variety of industrial wastewater applications

But what's puzzling is why governments have been so slow to adopt the technology in a time of need. According to the same blog report, Florida Governor Charlie Crist called Osprey Biotechnics last Thursday, June 10th, but has not followed up as of this writing.

The sinister mind would say that Republican Governor Crist is stalling action to avoid helping Democratic President Barack Obama.

And what about Osprey Biotechnics? It's a Sarasota, Florida biotech company established in 1990 and with annual revenues of over $2 million. While this may seem like corporate opportunism, remember, we got into this because another company, BP, screwed up.

Gov. Crist should stop with the delays and formally bring Osprey Biotechnics in to solve the oil spill problem before it gets even worse.

Albany avoids shutdown by Suzannah B. Troy

1010 Wins reports, "The New York state legislature has passed governor Paterson's emergency spending bill averting a government shutdown. Watch my YouTube and learn my insights on why Albany politico's went out of their way to avoid a humiliating and historic shutdown.   I suggest another reason. Thug Pedro Espada with the help  Hiram Monserrate brought Albany to a humilating stand still which cost the tax payers a fortune.   Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate went to a Yankee game to celebrate their power play mugging for photographers like their lenses were cocaine....high on the attention and clearly incapable of understanding their action cost the tax payers a fortune....post appear to be stupid thugs. I have made a YouTube on more shady dealings....click here to see it and here is my latest on why Albany needed to prevent a shutdown besides the fact a shutdown might have caused a full out official depression.

Italy vs Paraguay: exciting World Cup Soccer game ends in 1-1 tie

A World Cup Soccer game for the ages had FIFA 29th ranked Paraguay scoring first and leading World Cup Defending Champion Italy 1 to 0 into halftime. That even as Italy had the time-of-possession advantage and who's players seemed faster to the ball. But Paraguay played with heart and hustle, assisted by a light rain that made play a bit slippery.

But then the rain went away and Italy turned it on in the second half, creating numerous scoring chances, but getting only one goal. It looked as if Italy could have ran away with the contest, but it failed to convert on its many goal chances in the second half.

Then, toward the end of the game, Paraguay did well just to keep Italy away from a possible go ahead score, hanging on to survive a 1-1 game.

Shocking World Cup Soccer Score: #29 Paraguay 1, #5 Italy 0, first half

Antolin Alcaraz of Paraguay

In a shocking FIFA World Cup Soccer score at the half, its #29 Paraguay 1, #5 Italy 0. While Italy has been faster to the ball, and has more time of possession 57 percent to 43 percent according to ESPN, Paraguay has played with more team work and hustle in the rain.

Paraguay's Antolín Alcaraz scored the first goal with a monster kick that sent the ball flying past Italy's Goalie Gianluigi Buffon and into the net.

Considering Italy played in Paraguay's part of the field most of the game, that Paraguay got the score was amazing. Simply, Paraguay took better advantage of their fewer opportunities.

Paraguay, the 29th ranked team, was expected to see Italy's cleats; not happening.

Still, its the first half of a great World Cup Soccer Game.

Watch it live at ESPN.com.

Jimmy Dean, sausage king, dead at 81 - John Draper

Jimmy Dean, of sausage and country western music fame, died of natural causes yesterday in his Varina, VA home.

His wife, Donna Meade Dean, told the Associated Press:

...that he had some health problems but was still functioning well, so his death came as a shock. She said he was eating in front of the television. She left the room for a time and came back and he was unresponsive. She said he was pronounced dead at 7:54 p.m.

Born to Ruth and George Otto Dean of Plainview, TX in 1928, he eventually dropped out of high school to join the US Air Force for a brief tour in the late '40s.  He later went on to country music fame.

His first hit was "Bummin' Around" in 1953, but he is best known for his 1961 chart topper "Big Bad John."  Such big names as Patsy Cline and Roy Clark got their start with Dean.

He had an extensive television career including his skits on The Muppet Show with Rowlf the Dog and his own ABC variety series, The Jimmy Dean Show.  I used to love those skits as a kid.

In 1969, he and his brother Don founded the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company (ahahaha that's a sausage link), which was acquired by Consolidated Foods (later renamed Sara Lee Corporation) in 1984.  I loved that sausage as a kid too.  Put a link on a popsicle stick, dip it in pancake batter, fry it, and then dip it in maple syrup.  Om nom nom nom.

He is survived by his wife, three children and two granddaughters.

World Cup Score on Google News: Blogs 1,000, Old Media zip

World Cup Score on Google News: Blogs 1,000, Old Media zip? Read on...

One quiet revolution on Google News and Google Trends and sparked by World Cup Soccer interest is the thousands of web pages on World Cup Soccer on blogs you've never heard of that pop up on the news side of Google Trends.

Google Trends is a sub-product of Google News, the Google online product that lists and aggregates news from news sites and blog sites each second. Last year, by observation, Google News favored traditional news organizations with websites. But, starting last fall, and continuing at an increasing rate, standard blog content has made its way over to Google News and on the news side of Google Trends.

Google Trends results have been divided into two sections: news on the left and blogs on the right. It was easy to tell the difference as news sites like The Washington Post showed up on the left and blogs on the right. But as of The 2010 World Cup all that changed.

Googling "World Cup live streaming" produced a number of websites never seen before by this blogger, like BigNewsBiz (a press release) or NewsBoll, or Flash Briefings and Fishabble, or Daily World Trends, all blogs and all in the main Google News area.

In other words, their content is not relegated to the "blog" area. Personally, this is a good thing.

It's good because it means that Google understands something this blogger has talked to execs there about: the need to "unlock" Google News and make blogs more a part of the standard news cycle.

I openly stated to Google that doing this was the only way to change the culture of traditional news organizations and force them to become more "tech" than journalist. That is, to learn Internet webpage engineering and develop an interest in coding for web pages and for search systems. Also, for the organizations to become more a part of the tech culture.

While "unlocking" Google News will certainly cause a decrease in online revenue from traffic to conventional news sites, the development will make them stronger in the end. The days of news companies like News Corporation and Rupert Murdoch threatening to pull their content from Google are over. Such an action only harms Rupert Murdoch, not Google.

The World Cup Soccer games show that; finding traditional news sites in some searches is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But then, when one Googled "World Cup live", the San Francisco Chronicle blog stood at the top of the search result in Google News and on the first page as of this writing at 8 AM PDT.

That was my doing.

Stay tuned.

2010 World Cup live streaming: Netherlands beats Denmark 2-0

2010 World Cup live streaming at ESPN Soccernet here!

In 2010 FIFA World World Cup live streaming news, The Netherlands beat Denmark 2-0. The The Netherlands, which reportedly were supposed to be the best attacking team in the 2010 World Cup (eh, did anyone see Germany?), defeated Denmark in part on a wild play that saw Demark's defender Simon Poulsen score The Netherlands goal due to a deflection off his head and from teammate Daniel Agger.

The wild play occurred in the 46th minute of play.

The Netherlands went up on Denmark 2-0 in the 84th minute when their player Dirk Kuyt got a rebound in from close range.

Japan v Cameroon

Japan plays Cameroon in a game that starts at 7 AM PDT. Africa's current success in The World Cup places additional pressure on a Cameroon team looking to make up for not qualifying in 2006. It's the 19th ranked Cameroonian team against 45th ranked Japan.

World Champion Italy plays Paraguay live today

Italy, the 2006 World Cup Champion, opens play against Paraguay live today, Monday, in Group F play at 11:30 PDT.

USC Football sanctions: some donors point to Mike Garrett and Pete Carroll

In the wake of the NCAA's sanctions against USC for alleged violations in its football and basketball programs, and as USC's athletic administration led by USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, digs in, circles the wagons, and prepares for an appeal, some USC donors who talked to this blogger are not pleased at all with the situation, and are using it to speak their displeasure with not just USC's Garrett, but former USC Football Coach Pete Carroll.

One donor who's met Carroll several times, has had a major role in giving to the USC program, and has been a visitor to the USC Football practices on several occasions said on Sunday "I could just walk into the practices and no one asked who I was. I could have had a $1,000 cash and no one would know."

The USC donor says that while Pete Carroll claimed disappointment with the NCAA action, and lack of knowledge of how the actions that were the focus of the punishment could have happened, on some level it was hard to see how he could not know or have some idea that something was going on with Reggie Bush. After all, he was the head coach. "This puts a cloud over everything that's happened in the past," my USC donor friend said.

Another USC Donor friend, in a conversation Saturday in San Francisco's Marina District, said "I think Mike Garrett should go" but focused more on their dislike for Garrett's style rather than any substantive argument. Still, it's clear the NCAA sanctions against USC have given Mike Carrett's enemies reason to strike, and they're doing so.

Mike Garrett, for his part, is fighting back, according to ESPN's Diamond Leung. In a blog, Diamond Leung noted that Garrett "had this to say when I approached him before the start of the event: “No comment. Don’t bother me. The world is great.” Then Leung noted "While walking away with associates, he (Garrett) said, 'Don’t talk to that guy. He’s the press.'"

Mike Ornstein

Garrett's best action is openness - with his friends, his enemies, and the press. It's not fair that Garrett's left to fight the USC battle alone while Pete Carroll escapes scot free. The word that's coming in here is that Mike Ornstein (currently working with 49ers Legend Joe Montana), may have been asked by Pete Carroll to work with his football program.

The possible smoking gun rests in the USC Public Infractions Report that you can download here and which reads in part:

There was information in the record that the former head football coach encouraged sports marketer A to hire student-athletes as interns. A current NFLPA certified agent ("sports agent B") is the chairman of a sports agency and a colleague of sports marketer A. He reported that the former head football coach asked sports marketer A to consider hiring football student-athletes as interns in his agency. Sports agent B reported:

(Sports marketer A) was like, „yeah, here's (the former head football coach) and the year before, he, he's tryin' to get me to hire, you know, three players, you know.‟

...How many players, I don't even know, maybe he tried to get him to hire ten....but it was totally agreed upon between (the former head football coach) and (sports marketer A) that there was an internship program for that summer. That's all I do know.

At the hearing, the former head coach denied that he asked sports marketer A to hire football student-athletes as interns, although he acknowledged that he knew sports marketer A and that he (sports marketer A) had "something about his past the years before that had gone wrong . . . (and) it was related to the NFL.”

[Note: At the hearing the institution's general counsel reported that, in 1995, sports marketer A had "pleaded guilty to mail fraud for defrauding the NFL."]

The "sports marketer" referred to is Mike Ornstein, as revealed in a 2007 SPORTS by BROOKS blog post.  Mike told this blogger he was working on behalf of Joe Montana on the Red Carpet of The 2010 NFL Draft in this video at the 26 second mark:



In retrospect, it did not occur to me to ask Mike about the USC issue at the time and until three hour later after the NFL Draft started when it fully dawned on me that Mike Ornstein was the Mike Ornstein. But then, there were a number of "seasoned sports journalists" there, who didn't ask him any questions at all; I asked about sports marketing in this economic climate.

I digress.  Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll should come out and say what he knows, because its clear he knows something and time will reveal what that is.  By not saying anything, Pete Carroll places Mike Ornstein in the position of being able to "out" Carroll if he wants to.   If Ornstein denies that Carroll asked him to participate in the football program, the question is "If not Pete, then who did?"  

This story gets more complicated with every turn.

Jimmy Dean dies at 81 | Jimmy Dean Sausage was excellent

Sadly, Jimmy Dean passed away Sunday evening in Varina, Virginia at 81 years of age. Media accounts, like the one at CNN.com, focused most on his legendary songs like Big Bad John, and barely note the sausage that bears his name, Jimmy Dean Sausage.

But as a kid, all I ever wanted for breakfast with my scrambled eggs and cheese (which my Mom made to perfection) was Jimmy Dean Sausage. I'm serious, and this is not a sponsored endorsement. Jimmy Dean Sausages were bigger, beefier, and yummier than any other kind of sausage. I could actually smell the difference.

I never knew that Jimmy Dean was a singer of anything until after I'd developed a love for Jimmy Dean Sausage.

Jimmy Dean, RIP.

Justin Bieber syphilis: anatomy of an Internet smear campaign

Justin Biber victim of smear campaign

First, singer Justin Bieber does not have syphilis. Bieber is the unfortunate victim of an Internet smear campaign that started with an ugly Facebook page created a month ago, and where the creator wrote they hoped Justin Bieber died of syphilis.

Why? Apparently, the maker of the Facebook page had nothing better to do and believed it was funny. It's not funny at all; to harass Bieber in this way is against the law.   Because Bieber's a public figure, more liberties can be taken than with a normal person; Bieber has to prove intent to commit malice, let alone find the person who did it. That's the price of fame.

Second, the ugly smear engineers apparently used a February TMZ.com blog post with the title "Justin Bieber's Sweet 16 -- Possible Risk of Death" as the basis for "evidence" of the claim. Then the Facebook page surfaced stating the awful wish, and then a Twitter hashtag was created on Sunday that was simply #syphilis, and that became a trending topic on Twitter.

From that, a flurry of blog posts surfaced, some reporting Bieber had it, most others not, and still other bloggers asking if the rumor was true. It's not and it's sick.

Media observers will point to the need for better news verification, but the blogsphere did its job in evaluating and then rejecting the information. Remember, this is a complicated set of developments that has no obvious single person at fault. Assigning blame is hard to do, but Justin's fans are in the process of doing it.

Does Justin Bieber have a defamation of character case?  Yes.  It's obvious the people who did this intended to harm him.  But because the Facebook page does not state Bieber has syphilis, rather says that they wish he got it, the maker of the page can't be successfully prosecuted for defamation.  

In the end, Justin Bieber's best and least expensive course is to let his legion of fans protect him, and let the whole deal blow over.   There are people who aren't happy unless they make someone they perceive as "more important" than they are unhappy.  Why this is, I do not know, but the growth of the Internet has given rise to the work of this kind of sick person.

True Blood Season 3 opener winner by Suzannah B. Troy

I just watched the season opener and it's a winner. I can't wait for next week to find out what happens. As usual the acting is super but as usual I can't stand the gore.

Of course there was a lot of nudity and no big surprises except the additions of werewolves,  an ever expanding cast of excellent actors and an improved story line.  The story telling has regained some humor which made the season opener  so much more fun.

A note on the nudity.  It seems like the returning cast knew they were going to spend a lot of time naked and devoted the off season to working out and dieting.   I regretted not working out today and eating all those chips and salsa before watching this new installment.  Why do I want to go eat more chips and salsa now?

Brian Buckner wrote this episode and Daniel Minahan directed.

Here is the HBO link with expanded site catering to the huge fan base.

I really could not handle the last few episodes of last season, mostly closing my eyes but wanting to find out how the season would end.

One of my favorite characters is the teenage vampire played by Deborah Ann Woll.  Being an a teenager for eternity is a true nightmare.   By the way Deborah, a red hair beauty is a New Yorker!


HBO even has a live conversation fans can join in right now....enjoy!


By the way for "Eric" fans, The New York Post has a piece on  Swedish Alex Skarsgard and his famous acting family.   I instantly adored his Dad the first time I ever saw him in a film...like father, like son.   He has some gorgeous brothers in the entertainment business as well.

Alan Ball continues to work his magic while addressing complex and politically issues he infuses in to the story line.

Season three  is going to be an exciting.  I hope not so gory although I hear otherwise and I hope some more humor and sweetness...

Angry, Violent, SF Luxor Cab Driver update

As readers of this space will recall, last week, Tuesday night, this video-blogger, after riding BART (San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit) to Embarcadero Station, encountered a cab driver who seemed quite upset that he got an African American passenger and not a white passenger.

When the cab driver realized I was the person who yelled "Hey taxi," after I got into the Luxor Cab #1046, CA License # 8L46060, the cab driver said "no it was the other guy." I said there was no other person who wanted a cab, and the person the cab driver pointed to wasn't the least interested in getting a cab; the White Guy in A Suit was texting on his iPhone.

Agitated, I said "I think you're just upset that it turned out to be this Black Guy and not that White Guy," to which, after turning on to Spear Street from Market Street, the cab driver said "Get out of the car." I activated my video camera; this is what happened:



As you can see, the cab driver committed an assault. Later in the week, I filed a complaint with the San Francisco Taxi Commission. My frank desire is to see that the cab driver is not allowed behind the wheel again. But what I did notice in the process of filing the complaint are two things, one bad and one good.

The bad is that if one does a search in Google, for " San Francisco Taxi Commission" the result that appears first has a "non-working" phone number, (415) 553-1447, according to the recording, which does not provide the new number. You have to do more searching to learn that the Taxi Commission is now a part of the San Francisco Transportation Authority.

The good news is once you do get the right number, 415-553-1115, the person who answers and takes your report is very patient and helpful. But again, the phone number is not one that's listed online; I found it completely by accident.

At first, I called 415-553-0123 at the San Francisco Police Department which is how I was directed to call 415-553-1115. The recording reports that the number belongs to Sgt. Charles Mahoney of The San Francisco Permits and Taxi Section, but on the weekdays, the number takes you to a person who can take your complaint.

Got that?

So the San Francisco Taxi Commission needs to change the webpage with the wrong number on it, and put the right number in its place.

The other small complaint I have is with YouTube account holder RatedR7180, who wrote:

zennie62...you act like a little bitch. i live in SF. my fist will introduce itself to your face once you start rolling that video. face it. you're a cry baby.

When I first saw the comment I thought he was saying he wanted to hit me. So, I visited his YouTube channel but there was no real name or photo. People like that don't think and can be a menace to society; if I were to have hit the cab driver, then I would have been at fault as well. I have neither the desire or time to get into meaningless fights with psychotics; I'd rather have the guy arrested.

Fortunately the vast majority of people who bothered to comment or send an email seem mentally stable. People like RatedR7180 seem to forget that if the authorities wanted to find them, they could. Just ask the guy who threatened House Speaker Pelosi.

NYC round-up Albany to NYPD tickets by Suzannah B. Troy

Dear Blog Readers:

There is so much I have to report from New York City today.  I am so tired so please keep that in mind!

My YouTubes and blogging are my art.  Soho Journal picked up my YouTube questioning if Albany will actually have a historic shut-down and questioning if NYC will be thrown in to an official economic depression?

I have an amazing interview with a city council member, Dan Halloran that took over for Tony Avella when he completed his two terms on how NYC would be effected if Albany does not balance there 9.1 billion dollar budget crisis.

Today I posted two new YouTubes on Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen which is part of an on going YouTube documentary I have been making about this Vegetarian health food store that existed way before the mega-store chain Whole Foods.  Whole Foods has two stores now in the Village and I had contacted them to please help Peter after his Mom died by literally taking the little store in to their new big store on Houston street, like Noah took 2 of each animal since our small businesses were sinking faster than the Titanic.  Needless to say, Whole Foods said no.


In the first YouTube we show talk about Mihoko Hakata, an deeply caring person devoted to research and work regarding a sustainable community where the community can define and cultivate what is important to the community.


She and her friends are working with people at Harvard University and I show you part of a letter that she submitted to a professor.  Also very moving is the art work she made so long ago of Peter and his Mom, Filomenia Silvestri who died at age 94 knowing her business she started with her son in 1978 would not be evicted and the community fought and won a small battle for this much loved Mother and Son small business dedicated to Mother Earth.



In the next YouTube You will see a community activist named Paul who tells us yet again how he help Peter fight eviction raising 800 dollars Peter so desperately needed.  This YouTube is short and superb and I mention the devastating long effects of the horrific oil spill in contrast to deed's like Paul's which I believe have long range positive effects.





Lastly I interview Karen who is part of another YouTube documentaries series of mine.  She has a table with flea market items and she worked outside of Love Saves the Day until they were forced to close.


In this YouTube she talks about the NYPD traffic division being out of control and apparently this is a hot topic with New Yorkers.





What do all of the above topics have  in common?


They are all about the people of New York being screwed for a lack of a better word.


No wonder Mike Bloomberg and the city hand out free condoms that say NYC on them!

World Cup Soccer 2010: Ghana beats Serbia; Germany clobbers Australia

Thomas Muller of Germany

Ghana's victory over Serbia 1-0 in World Cup Soccer play and on a penalty kick has signaled Africa's growth as a Soccer power.

Ghana's Black Star Team was the talk of World Cup Soccer until Germany opened Group D play with what can only be called sheer, utter, and total destruction of Australia 4-0.

But before we look at Germany's awesome display of powerful athletic dominance, we have to look back at Ghana's win over Serbia.

Ghana's win had observers talking about how South Africa was the perfect choice to showcase Africa's rise in The World Cup. With South Africa's tie with Mexico on Saturday and Ghana's win, Africa has just one loss (Algeria to Slovenia and that was just 1-0) among the six African teams in The World Cup as of this writing. Moreover, there are 53 teams in Africa, so the six in the World Cup have emerged from a very large and competitive field. Indeed, Ghana's play and South Africa's surprising win damaged bracket predictions, and created a wide open race.

Until Germany beat Australia.

It wasn't just that Germany beat Australia, Germany took Australia apart for the World to see. Germany's win was so complete, a FIFA poll reported that 86 percent picked Germany to win it all.

This space thinks it's too early to crown Germany the winner of The World Cup. There are a lot of matches left and we're just getting started. The star: Thomas Muller. This blogger is a casual fan of Soccer, but I don't have to be a rocket scientist to tell who the dominant player was: Thomas Muller.

Muller was a man playing with boys who could not keep the ball away from him or get it from him. It was, at points, silly. Muller scored a goal and made the assist on another, in addition to his between goals play.

Germany's Thomas Muller's the one to watch in the World Cup. But, again, there's a lot of match play to go.

Stay tuned.

Nikky Raney: Expectations for the week

I would like to at the start of every week post a list of what is in store for this week's blog entries for Zennie62.com. It gives people something to look forward to.

Nikky Raney for Zennie62.com 6/13 - 6/20

-I will be meeting with the band Till We Die (close friends, I designed their soon to be EP cover), and I will record this interview with my Macbook Pro's built in web cam. So I will be reporting and posting interviews, etc. on this band. This band is going to make it big, and they already have made it so far. So, be excited for the "EXCLUSIVE" footage of my interview with Till We Die.

- My take on the way Tila writes her blog entries (humorous).

- Comparing specific magazines to one another, regarding their credibility & audience.

- Humorous Tila Tequila videos & hopefully an interview with the folks at Tila's Rot Spot.

-Sex Tapes. I just want to blog about my view on celebrity sex tapes.

- Maybe a movie review on "Get Him To The Greek," because I liked that movie.

-Another Tila video. I would like you to read HERE my disclaimer on the reason why I am posting about Tila in the first place. I posted the following on The Future of Journalism regarding my coverage of the "MOGUL" :

"Tila Tequila divulgence and revelations will be reported on Zennie62.com. I am working with Tila Rot Spot & people who know her personally. I am not trying to do sensationalist blogging or some strange investigative reporting piece. What I am trying to do is take all the pieces of the puzzle - what she has stated (proof from her blog posts, videos, tweets), and the proof from other publications, interviews, videos, posts. I will make sure that there is credibility behind every interview that I do and every potentially defamatory statement will be backed up with a credible source - I say this in regards to what the interviewees may say about her. I am not trying to attack her in any way, but I think the lies she has told and the way she presents herself as a role model for teenagers is unacceptable. The reason she gets away with all the lies is because the big news outlets do not have a reason to cover her, and if I worked for CNN, Newsweek, etc. I definitely wouldn't pay any time writing about her. Hell, I don't even think Fox would. But I am going to spend the time to go back down memory lane and show every claim she has made, and see the flaws and cracks within the stories. The claims made previously that have been proven lies. And I think that once and for all there needs to be all of her lies exposed and everything put on the table. I want to show it in a way that there is no way Miss Tila can argue or try to defend herself, because I will purely use facts. All of that will be done with Zennie. This blog is strictly Journalism related."

My very close friend Josh Grattan will begin reporting and blogging for Zennie62.com. I am hoping that we will do some collaborative work, but he will also be blogging on his own. I think his blog posts will focus on music (Eminem), movies (The Karate Kid), and Poker (online vs. live). Grattan will also be featured in many of my upcoming videos.

That's all I have for now. It's my mom's birthday so don't expect anything too soon.

Nikky Raney

The Future of Journalism

Twitter

E-mail me: Nikkyraney@nikkyraney.com

My weekly expectations for Nikkyraney.com

Megan Fox, please keep your mouth open and talking

Superstar actress Megan Fox interviewed for Interview Magazine said "I do feel like, if anything, I've sort of made it worse...So I have sort of aided the media in printing these misconceptions, which I regret. I've just come to the realization at this point that if I don't feel like sharing, then I'm just not going to share." Megan Fox, that's a mistake; take a page from the Rush Limbaugh broadcasting book and be yourself.

This space doesn't agree with a lot of what Rush says, but the reason he pulls down a near-half-billion contract from Clear Channel is that he's outspoken. People will respond to you and respect you if they know you're being genuine. Plus, it's good media and it's good for you. By being yourself, you empower a number of young women to be more confident. Take the way you stood up to Michael Bey when you said that Transformers was a special effects movie:



Michael Bey said you had a lot of growing up to do, but I think being direct and not nasty in the process shows that you have grown up. Don't worry about Bey.

What was even better was your Rolling Stones Interview, where you let it all hang out about men, sex, and it seemed everything else. Hey, you made a lot of money for media people like those at The Rolling Stones, and this video-blogger. Don't stop now! This video was fun for me to do:



Megan Fox, most men are scared of powerful vaginas. Most of the people who've interviewed you are male. You sound like you're caving in to their view. Please. Don't give in to them.

World Cup Soccer England v. USA; Dress for Success SF a success

A blog round up of observations on World Cup Soccer England v. USA , World Cup Soccer Mexico and South Africa, and Dress for Success San Francisco, after two days of much needed rest for this over-stressed video-blogger.

As a note, this space on SFGate.com has drawn 7.7 million visitors since November of 2009. The greatest number of visitors was 2.2 million in December of 2009, thanks to the Tiger Woods Scandal.

It's the greatest proof yet that my combination of trend blogging and writing with respect to search specifications rather than journalistic style works to gain quality, engaged traffic to a news site. I believe if my way were the standard approach for the entire SFGate.com website, the San Francisco Chronicle could overtake the New York Times and The Huffington Post in unique visitor traffic.

Moreover, I've determined it's totally impossible to change search specs to fit classic the journalist writing style without wrecking search efficiency. So, don't wish for a change that will never come. What's cool is that I'm continuously refining the approach and can do even better, if I want to. Now, back to the topics.

World Cup Soccer England v. USA

In the best display yet of Soccer's popularity in America, 20,000 people went to San Francisco's AT&T Park to see World Cup Soccer England v. USA. In a contest that it seemed England could run away with, the USA played timely defense, and managed to tie England. The last America score was a dramatic near-stop that the English goalie managed to let get away from him, sending the stadium crowd into a frenzy. Video on Sunday.

World Cup Soccer Mexico and South Africa

The World Cup Soccer match between Mexico and South Africa ended in a shocking draw, 1-1, sending cheers and yelps around South Africa. South Africa was not expected to play well, even as the home team. Perhaps many underestimated South Africa's desire to repeat Invictus before an even larger World stage?

Dress for Success, a success



Thursday, Dress for Success held it's annual fashion show and auction at The San Francisco City Club and to raise money for an organization with a hell-of-a great cause: helping women who are trying to get back on their feet by providing them with clothes for work.

It was an excellent, exciting, and tear-jerking event attended by about 300 people. Seeing the women and cute kids modeling clothes just brought the house down. The Board of Directors of Dress for Success and Event producers Andrew Freeman and Executive Director Renee Surcouf, really did a great job Thursday.

More later; I'm back in action after a break.

Bam Margera, star of MTV's Jackass, attacked - John Draper

Bam Margera, star of MTV's Jackass and Viva La Bam, was attacked this morning outside his West Chester, PA nightclub.

Image source: stupidcelebrities.net

According to a report from TMZ, the incident occured around 2 AM the morning of June 12th, 2010.  There was some sort of a fight outside The Note which ended with the unidentified crazy-lady allegedly going "Louisville Slugger" on the back of Bam's head.

The woman was arrested and charged with assault.  Margera was taken to Chester County Hospital, where he remains.  No official statement has been released regarding his condition.

With his wild personality, and the insane stunts he's pulled in the past, I can't help but wonder what he did to this woman.  If anybody got a video, we'd love to see it.

PS - This is the first in a hopefully long series of entries from me for zennie62.com.  I really appreciate this opportunity Zennie!  I would also like to thank Nikky Raney for hooking me up with this gig.

PPS - Please feel free to check out my current events and world news satire blog, The Forrealist.

True Blood + NY Politics True Nightmare by Suzannah B. Troy

If you have HBO which costs bucks than most likely you will be tuning in to see True Blood tomorrow night.  Alan Ball has another huge tv series sensation following on the heels of Six Feet Under and I expect an extremely high viewing audience will tune in to for this season opener that has received excellent reviews although also warnings of lots of blood and werewolves.

Last season became just way too gross for me but this season sounds great so I will tune in.  I tried reading the books but they could not compete with Alan Ball's magic.  The actors are excellent.  I just can't stand all the graphic violence and special effects.  I prefer to use my imagination.   Alan doesn't allow you to use your imagination illuminating some very beautiful men and women's naked bodies.

Now on to a free horror show for anyone interested in New York.  From Albany to City Hall it is a disaster.   Mike Bloomberg is like Chauncey Gardener in Being There played by Peter Sellers but in Mike's case, Mike is above average intelligence and so bland in contrast to all his over powering attempts to control the media presenting him as anything other than what he is -- in my opinion a criminal.  What?  Yes.  He pushed through a third term denying us, the people a referendum.  He pushed a reckless tsunami of community crushing development displacing countless numbers of people and small business and on "old" NY's infrastructure which is collapsing and exploding not to mention all the construction accidents. Reckless, stupid and greedy as what caused Wall Street to implode.  For more scandals you will have to go to my blog Mayor Bloomberg King of New York and visit my YouTube channel Suzannahartist.

If I have not painted enough of a nightmare than tune in to my new YouTube because Monday we will find out if the clowns of Albany force a historic shut down of Albany which in could theory throw us in to a depression and some New Yorkers are already living in a depression.

For a true nightmare you can watch for free tune in to New York Politics....If you have HBO and want even more violence and lots of nudity take a break and tune in to True Blood.  I hear the season opener and this new season is a winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7WgpedXae8 Click here for link to Brendon Scott's piece exposing GREED in the midst of major budget crisis http://mayorbloombergkingofnewyork.blogspot.com/ For corruption on Mike Bloomberg and gang check out my blog....

Tila Tequila: Promoting her Blog -- By: Nikky Raney

This is a parody from me, because I like to have some fun.

This is my interpretation of how Tila promoted her blog.

and here's Tila's original Video...
Did get it right?




This is only part one.
I got so much more in store.

P.S. Watch the videos one after the other. Mine is better.

Nikky Raney

The Future of Journalism

Twitter is your friend

Enjoy this :)

I am joking around.

I do not want to be thought of as a slutty girl who shows off her body.

I was just taking the opportunity to poke fun/imitate Tila Tequila

Please don't hold this against me, I was just having a little fun.

EDIT:

Tila's Rot Spot found me amusing