Chevron Ecuador Judge Nunez bribery scandal - implications

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In a blockbuster development, Ecuador Judge Juan Nunez, the key legal figure in the Chevron Ecuador environmental damage case, is captured in a video shown here explaining that he plans to rule against the oil giant and for an award of $27 billion "more or less". The judge explains that the verdict will happen and that Chevron will be blocked from filing an appeal of his ruling. In that segment of the video, the Judge explains he's only there to talk about the verdict, not about "the other stuff" which refers to a $3 million payoff request. Later in the video its implied that Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa will benefit from the bribe amount.

On video today I talked to Chevron Media Relations representative Sean Comey about the video and Chevron's investigation.



In the video Judge Nunez, Aulo Gelio ServioTulio Avila ("Avila"), and Pablo Almeida and are talking with two gentleman, Wayne Hansen and Diego Borja who are environmental remediation contractors and in the Judge's chamber in Lago Agrio, Ecuador.  Hansen and Borja have pen-installed camcorders in their shirt pockets.  Diego Borja has worked for Chevron before, Hansen has not, according to Chevron.

Judge Nunez (on the left)

The idea of the meeting was for the Judge and his political associates to be paid by the environmental company for business that would come to them as a result of the Judge's planned verdict.  Here's what the Judge said from the video and the Amazonpost website:

Núñez:             “Any other questions for me as a judge?”
Hansen:           “Oh no, I, I know clearly how it is, you say, Chevron is the guilty party?”
Núñez:             “Yes Sir.”
Hansen:           “And the, the, the act (decision) is October or November of this year?”
Núñez:             “Yes Sir.”
Hansen:           “And it’s….?”
Núñez:             “No later than January.”
Hansen:           “January 2010. And the money is twenty-seven (billion dollars)?”
Núñez:             “It might be less, and it might be more.”

The Judge says "I have nothing to do with that other part" which is not explained in full but Garcia below fills in "the blanks" later, explaining that the Judge will be paid part of $3 million from the consulants.

 Patricio Garcia

The second part of the video has an operative Patricio Garcia (photo from the Amazonpost website) who's reportedly a member of Ecuador's ruling party talking about how the $3 million would be delivered and transfered. This is what was said by Garcia:

Borja: “OK. Of the three million … one million is for the judge?”


Garcia: “Yes.”


Borja: “One million for the presidency…?”


Garcia: “Yes.”


Borja: “And one million for the plaintiffs?”


Garcia: “Yes, that’s right.”


Borja: “But, Loco, for the plaintiffs, who gets the money? Fajardo?”


Garcia: “No. The thing is, we’re going to handle it here.”


Borja: “You mean Alianza PAIS would receive the payment here?”


Garcia: “Right.”

Here's the 30 minute version of the video (the full two hour version is here):



But there's more to this video than what's reported in the press thus far. The focus here is on President Rafael Correa, who's office is named by Patricio Garcia as a beneficiary of the planned bribe money as is "his sister" as stated in the video above. As of this writing Correa has not issued a statement, but his reputation has already come under attack.

The second part of the video was filmed at Alianza PAIS (which means "Proud and Sovereign Fatherland" according to the Wikepedia listing)  Offices June 22, 2009.   PAIS is a political movement led by President Correa.   Who Patricio Garcia is beyond his appearance in this video and his role in PAIS is still basically unknown as of this writing. 

Garcia says that the President's sister  Pierina will be helpful (presumably in making sure that the businessmen get their piece of the planned $27 billion pie) and will meet with "The Gringo" (that's Hansen).  I checked and "Prierina" is indeed  described here as "Pierina Correa, the president's sister and an Alianza País leader in Guayas province".  That confirms my assertion that Garcia is tied to the President and his family as he states in the video.


Shocking.  


Chevron wants Nunez taken off the case

The implication here is that as Chevron Media Relations representative Sean Corney said in my video above, Chevron wants Nunez taken off the environmental damage case.  But given that Chevron has informed the U.S. Department of Justice, the revalation could have deeper implications.  

It could cost the country its Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) status, which was just renewed in June of this year.  Whatever the case, this news sends a clear message that doing business in Ecuador is not the "clean" experience it should be. Until now, blogs have reported the problems of corruption in Ecuador and with respect to President Correa's involvement in the Chevron case, but now we have visible evidence to back those claims.

The news also forever destroys the claim made by Ecuador lawsuit legal advisor Steve Donziger and others who say that the lawsuit against Chevron has nothing to do with the Ecuadorian Government and is brought by citizens of the Amazon. But Correa has appeared with Donziger in public and has been interviewed about the case.

Right.  

One can see that the bribe money's not going anywhere near those groups of people Donziger claims to represent; the political party PAIS would get it and "handle it" as Garcia said in the video.  The question is, did Donziger or his associates in Ecuador and America know about this bribe plan?  Was he to be one of the plaitiffs that would get the bribe money? In the Amazon Defense Coalition statement today, he does not address the possibility that he may be involved, instead he said "As the facts come out it's going to backfire heavily on Chevron."



Amazon Defense Coalition defends Judge Nunez

Karen Hinton of the Amazon Defense Coalition told Reuters that the video shows Judge Nunez resisting the bribery matter. (This is Hinton's full statement.)  In point of fact, the video shows the judge saying that he's speaking in the role of Judge and "does not know about that other matter" which is a way of saying he does know but does not want it to be officially said that he does know.  It's called "plausible deniability ." 

Stay tuned.

Notes:

Full video transcripts:


Meeting 1 Transcript (228 KB)
Meeting 2 Transcript (195 KB)
Meeting 3 Transcript (218 KB)
Meeting 4 Transcript (217 KB)

I'm a Video Blogger, not a journalist

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There are some people who are very confused about the role of bloggers versus journalists. Some think that bloggers like me are supposed to follow some ethic of journalism. That's wrong and its confining. Plus, it's just plain boring!

I'm a blogger, a video blogger, not a journalist. Moreover, I don't want to be a journalist. I have the greatest respect for journalists, but that's not where I live. I blog. Freely and often, I blog. I use videos more than others and that makes me a vlogger. I'm not subordinate to a journalist; I'm media. I have a point of view and I share it. I'm not a journalist.

I have over 2,000 posted videos and 10,000 blog posts. I'm a video-blogger.

Blogging ethics

Ironically, it was Jay Rosen, a noted professor of journalism at New York University, who correctly explained "blogger ethics". He wrote:

If “ethics” are the codification in rules of the practices that lead to trust on the platform where the users actually are—which is how I think of them—then journalists have their ethics and bloggers have theirs.

* Good bloggers observe the ethic of the link.

* They correct themselves early, easily and often.

* They don’t claim neutrality but they do practice transparency.

* They aren’t remote, they habitually converse.

* They give you their site, but also other sites as a proper frame of reference. (As with the blogroll.)

* When they grab on to something they don’t let go; they “track” it.

And Rebecca Blood has a definition of weblog ethics that would curl the hair of a journalist, if they had any. But in her case she hugs and embrases the idea of the free-form blogger. Still she has another set of rules:

1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.
2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.
3. Publicly correct any misinformation.
4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete, any entry.
5. Disclose any conflict of interest.
6. Note questionable and biased sources.

If I write about a friend, like Oakland City Attorney John Russo, you know it, because I wrote or said so as I did here:



If I was given something, I say so. If I purchased lunch for someone you know it. It's up to you to either watch or go elsewhere. But on that, I've found I get the best interviews when someone talks with a full stomach.

My rule is that I insist on making quick blog update and corrections and I do so where necessary. I track an issue. And I'm biased. I use video because its authentic as I did in this one about the Harry's bouncer and the patron:



In short, I give you the World through my eyes. I give a person a platform on video, but still its through my camcorder. I talk to people I don't agree with and you know it; I talk with people I do agree with and you know it. That's my style. I insist on smart conversation but punish personal attacks. I love a good debate. I hate cyberstalkers. I'm a video-blogger not a journalist. And I'm proud of it.

Tom Hayes: Have Town Halls jumped the shark?

The town hall format is attracting a lot of attention, but people obviously come based on partisan goals, emotions run high, and political reporters determine how the story is played in the media.

The Washington Post, for instance, recently ran with

"The DNC kickoff rally in Phoenix attracted about 1,200 reform supporters, but a raucous meeting on the other side of town hosted by Obama's former presidential campaign rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) attracted hundreds more -- most of whom were loudly opposed to Democratic reform proposals."

This at best inconsistent with the reports from the Associated Press, which indicated McCain faced a hostile town hall crowd in favor of health care reform. Quoting, again,

"After McCain opened it up to questioning, one man angrily pointed at him and asked the senator why he deserves a better health care plan than him."

A more academic setting where the focus is on facts rather than carefully scripted appearances intended to mimic open forums quite probably does more to forward any discussion. Given how adept partisans and pundits of both sides are at dismissing any assertions advanced by their opponents, the chance to have a voice from outside politics, an experienced respected scientific researcher, discussing facts is overdue.

Recognizing that, Dr. Morrison Hodges, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine (and formerly the Director of Cardiology at Hennepin County Medical Center) will describe the forces that shaped the U.S. health care system in a lecture on September 17, 2009. He intends to cover how we arrived at a "market based health care system funded by employers" and how well is it's working in comparison to other countries. Dr. Hodges will explain the history of U.S. health care and how it compares in quality and cost to other functioning systems. Dr. Hodges believes has can outline how the United States can cover everyone with quality health care "without breaking the bank."

The town hall format has done much to illuminate how central the problems with our health care insurance system are in our communities. With one in six citizens uncovered, we've all come to realize that we end up paying for their medical problems anyway, be it through increased premiums, or more subtly when they're forced to file for bankruptcy protection (over half of personal bankruptcy filings in the U.S. are triggered by medical costs.) We've come to resent that money collected to pay health care premiums is spent at a rate of over a million dollars per day just to support lobbyists seeking to continue "business as usual" in D.C., and resent paperwork that drives up costs and bureaucrats that countermand medical decisions without improving outcomes.

It's time to peel back the rhetoric, to get past the sound-bites and the spin-mongering "pundits" -- to stop pretending this is about death panels or a way to cover illegal immigrants, and find a way to preserve our American way of life by insuring that every citizen can afford decent medical care as needed. I applaud Dr. Hodges and those who have made it possible for him to share his knowledge in an academic setting, even if it doesn't make for such dramatic TV coverage.

For more information about the Hodges lecture, see:
http://tinyurl.com/kqvg2c

Oakland Mai-Tai Day Party at Conga Lounge in Rockridge today

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Last night I happened by the Conga Lounge Tiki Bar in Oakland's Rockridge District and the owners Mano and Michael Thanos treated me to a great Mai Tai and a cool t-shirt, and informed me that on Sunday (today) they're having a party to celebrate the creation of that tasty cocktail.

The party runs from 5 PM to 10 PM at 5422 College Ave (above Cafe Rustica), and Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan (At-Large) will arrive to official read the proclamation proclaiming The Mai Tai "The Official Drink of Oakland" but here's some background.

According to Mano Thanos, the Mai Tai was created in Oakland in 1944 by Victor Bergeron, the owner of the famed Trader Vic's Restaurant chain. His experiment, which you can read about in detail on the Trader Vics's website, and the growth of his restaurant chain led to the word-of-mouth re-creation of the drink around Oakland and eventually around America and the World.

Last night, Thanos said that with all of the bad news about Oakland and crime, it was necessary to have something that presented a fun and good side to Oakland. I agree. Oakland's chronic low self esteem has presented this news from reaching the general public for decades. No more. The Mai Tai was born in Oakland. Time to celebrate today! Come to the Conga Lounge for $5 Mai Tai's, hula dancers, free appetizers, and fun (don't drink and drive)!

The Battle of NY

Jets vs. Giants: The classic battle for the Crown of NY-Even if it's only pre season Football( or how i learned to become a Football Writer/Scout) By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Football Reporters Online

For years growing up lots of fans of the "older" generation(read: my late Father and his cronies) would blast the notion of "wasting time" on attending a pre season NFL game. My dad would always say "this is your only chance this season to take your friends" or "I'll give you some money for each of the pre season seats you sell, and you can afford to go and have a good time"(i was a teenager and it was the 1970's).

He has his subliminal reasons. My dad used to publish something he called "The Sheet" or the "Game Sheet." Since he was one of our street's "involved" parents, he was the "Football Coach/Scout" of our block, and for the most part, our development (we grew up in NYC Housing back when it wasn't a "stigma" or considered urban blight). "The Sheet" consisted of his observations on the up coming game and some briefs about the match ups between the teams. He typically passed them out at his workplace( a Federal Law Enforcement agency where he would eventually become a supervisor).

This was in no way intended for gaming purposes. It was strictly for your enhanced enjoyment of the game. My father never dreamed of being a writer of any type. "Half these clowns writing about the teams for the papers don't know squat anyway" he would always say. " I know more about the team from one day a year at practice" would always be his next line. It was also my "duty" as his first born son to "help" him by "taking those seats off his hands," since he went to "every other game they were going to loose that season." I would also have to take notes for him at those games, and since my handwriting stunk as a teenager, I would have to come home and type them (remember typewriters?) so he could read them.

My dad was fortunate enough that in his job he would have enough vacation time each year to take off a month, which was usually from the first or second week of August right through labor day. This was so we could attend the training camps of the Giants (first at Fordham University, then at Pace University's main campus in Westchester, and later on we'd add a day trip out to Long Island for the Jets Camp).

This was so my father could "Scout" the teams, but little did i know he was also teaching me about the game. "Watch and Learn" he would say "and try not to run your mouth too much while i take notes." Such was his manner, being an ex-soldier as well as a Fed. What he was really teaching me was how to evaluate a player's skill, and improve my communication skills at the same time. He was also teaching me that even though it wasn't worth the extra time on his Saturday night in August to actually go to the Jets-Giants game when he "could stay home and watch it on his color TV and not spend extra money on concessions," It was still important.

Tonight's game has never been more important for both teams then it is this year, although Coach Coughlin will tell you as he told a group of reporters in training camp " It's the Third Preseason game, That's what it is," as his way of downplaying the importance.

Both teams have a slew of unanswered questions coming into the regular season. The Jets have a new Head Coach, a new defensive scheme, and as of right now, a new starting QB. Questions abound with regards to weather this is the right choice. Some may think that the "we need to win now" theory applies here, but I'm not so sure. I also wonder if the Jets would have still made the trade for Sanchez if Brett Farve were still in N.Y. and Healthy enough to get through this season. The Jets still have two other QB's on their roster(three if you count WR Brad Smith, who only threw for well over 5,000 yards at in four seasons at Missouri). The Jets are also 0 for the preseason again thus far, and last week the Wonderkid didn't exactly look that good against the Raven's first team.

The Giants have plenty of receivers to "pick up" the mantle so to speak, from Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, but no veteran depth at the position unless you count in David Tyree, who is on the brink of being released from the squad. They also have lots of gaps on the defense right now because of injuries, even though they had a very busy off season. Also missing from tonight's line up for the G-Men are Antonio Pierce(foot), Chris Canty (hamstring), Michael Boley (Hip/ placed on Pup), Jay Alford (knee), DB's Aaron Ross (Hamstring), and Stoney Woodson (ankle) and on the offense, Tyree (hamstring), RB Andre Brown (Achilles Tendon), and OL Orrin Thompson (Strained Quad).

While the Giants are Playing it down, we can be sure the Jets are playing up the rivalry, and looking for a confidence booster of a win tonight.

Ted Kennedy and Mary Morris Lawrence

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Mary and some of her colleagues in the 40s

As I write this I'm sitting here watching the funeral for Senator Ted Kennedy and preparing myself to attend the memorial service for Mary Morris Lawrence.

This is a hard day. To start, it's a day that marks the passing of two incredible people; one I never got to personally know, the other I did personally know. Both changed the society they were in.

It's hard for me to accept the passing of Mary because her spirit was so powerful I can't see her as anything but here and alive. I suppose that's why it took me so long to write anything about this moment. Aside from the fact that this has been my sixth memorial or funeral this year, it's just something that's plain hard to acknowledge.

Mary was America's first female photojournalist, and one who knew many, from Orson Wells to Humphrey Bogart. But to me, Mary was always the bright buzzing light in the room that could make one statement which cut through all of life's crap and got to the point: "Zennie. I want to talk to you about that ridiculous column you wrote," she's loudly say at some gathering.

 

Orson Wells and Carl Sanburg (Mary Morris Lawrence)

At the time from 1993 to 1996 I was a columnist for The Montclarion here in Oakland, and like today, I weighed in with my opinions on Oakland, politics, news, and sports (tech came later). Mary read my work and kept me in check, and I loved every second of it.

Mary was hard to miss. You felt her presence in the room. For me, she was the closest thing to royalty in Oakland.

Maria Muldaur finds her "Jug Band" roots in new CD

Maria Muldaur

I had the wonderful pleasure of befriending legendary singer Maria Muldaur last year during the 2008 presidential primary and through a mutual friend and Obama supporter, Brent Turner and Joel Jaffe of Studio D in Sausalito, CA. 

For those of you who have not heard of Maria, you may have heard of the classic song Midnight at The Oasis, it was she who wrote and sang it in 1973, around the time Lars, Bill, and I were kids using BART to get around.

Last year the Marin County dweller created this cool song, a tribute to then-Senator Barack Obama called "Yes We Can"; I created this video around it for her:



After Obama's presidential win, Maria, now in her 60s but looks to be in her 40s, continued to perform concerts at local venues around the Bay Area. Today, she sent an email annoucing that she's returning to her "Jug Band" roots in her new CD and fall concert tour called "Maria Muldaur and her Garden of Joy". Maria explains:

After years of exploring many different forms of American Roots Music, I recently decided to return to my original roots – Jug Band Music! As some of you may know, I first recorded in the early ‘60’s as a member of both the Even Dozen & the Jim Kweskin Jug Bands. Here, in my “Garden of Joy”, I have reunited with several of my former jug band mates and recorded many tunes from the classic jug band era (late ‘20’s early ‘30’s) as well as two hilarious, newly penned gems by Dan Hicks.

Special guests on the album include John Sebastian, David Grisman, Taj Mahal, Fritz Richmond, Suzy Thompson, my sensational new discovery Kit Stovepipe (who plays absolutely amazing ragtime guitar!), and that illustrious ultimate hipster, Dan Hicks!

Muldaur says the new album is right for the times. "Jug band music," she explains, "which tends to be lighthearted, humorous and zany, emerged out of a period of hard times as a way of lifting people’s spirits."

The concerts start tomorrow Saturday August 29th with a performance in Seaside, California, then at the Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival September 19th. All other dates can be seen at her website MariaMuldaur.com.

California's economy shrinks; Schwarzenegger smokes

It's agreed that the planned March 2010 closure of the Fremont New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant is a huge economic loss, but the elimination of 4,700 jobs only scratches the surface of the problem.

That coupled with the stoppage and possible closure of the Chevron Richmond refinery, which already cost 1,100 jobs and we have a total of 5,700 direct jobs lost and over 29,000 total people thrown out of work or unable to get work in a San Francisco Bay Area that can't afford this economic hit at this time.

23,000?

Yeah. 23,000 jobs. See, there's a multiplier impact with business operation such that an office or a manufacturer contracts with other businesses for supplies and services.

The action of a small business owner walking down to the local store to buy printer paper is part of the multiplier effect because that small expenditure helps the retailer run his or her business. Or that person's employee - even if it's just the owner - eating lunch at the local cafe helps keep it a "going concern."

It's well-known amoung urban planners that manufacturing jobs have larger multipliers than service jobs. The Alliance for American Manufacturing reports that for every one manufacturing job lost, there are four more lost in other areas of the economy. The Bay Area has been losing such "basic industry"  jobs  - and energy counts here - at a frighteningly rapid pace.

No Sense of an Economic Emergency

What bothers me is there's no one acting like there's an economic emergency with the exception of California Senator Diane Feinstein, who called the plant's loss a "devistating blow" to California. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger seems not to care, stating:

"Today is a sad day in the history of Fremont as California joins the ranks of states adversely affected by the bankruptcy of General Motors and the worldwide collapse in demand for automobiles. ... We continue work already in progress ... to ensure appropriate employee severance, proper environmental remediation and assistance in transforming the site to alternative uses."

Alternative uses?  Like what? A parking lot?   The governor says nothing of retaining and establishing jobs at the wage levels the NUMMI workers have today.   Awful statement to release.   The word "Jobs" does not appear once in it.&

Meanwhile the Toyota jobs are to go to Canada and Texas, which means that perhaps 50 percent of the employment opportunities are leaving America at a time when we're supposed to reverse that trend. If the Chevron plant closes, the jobs move south to Southern California, but it spells curtains on the Bay Area's set of jobs for low skilled workers.

Objective: Jobs for everyone

I'm really sick of the idea that everyone has to be trained to be a brain surgeon, then sit back at home waiting for a job and hoping that more in the population have something wrong with their skull. After World War II and into the '60s America had the objective of full employment - a job for everyone, period. You don't hear that kind of idealism expressed by politicians today.

That must change.

It has to start with California rediscovering economic development and doing whatever it can to save jobs and build on them. Governor Schwarzenegger needs to show the fire in the belly necessary to do this. Right now, the only fire he give off comes from one of his expensive cigars.

Which, I might add, are not made in California.

Perez Hilton calls Miley Cyrus "Disney Slut"

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 Perez Hilton and Miley Cyrus 

(Photo courtesy of LA Times)

Wow, leave it to Perez Hilton to dish out the back-handed complements, this one to Miley Cyrus. Just when he's praising the teen singing star for her "mature" singing direction, the acid-tongued celeb blogger can't help but toss out an insult that I guess he thought was going to slip in under the radar:

"We can't believe we said all that! Oh well, check out the Disney Slut's latest song, When I Look At You, below."

Yikes. Well, my God I have no idea what he's referring to...

Ok.. I do.

Perez Hilton just shot down Disney's recent attempts to place distance between the Mouse and Cyrus by issuing this statement ran by MTV.com and Newsday.com:

"Disney Channel won't be commenting on that performance, although parents can rest assured that all content presented on the Disney Channel is age-appropriate for our audience — kids 6-14 — and consistent with what our brand values are."

Plus, Perez has been all but in Miley's PR face, insulting her whenever he got the chance:

"She just seemed to do nothing right. She started off poorly with pictures, leaked from her cellphone, of her in the shower. Then the Vanity Fair shoot, the trashing of her fellow costars, dating a 20-year-old when she's only 15 . . . but, whether we like it or not, she's a superstar. She's very crafty at getting our attention."

But all that aside, all of this elaborate marketing plan to get our attention wouldn't work half as well if Miley Cyrus didn't have a voice that's out of this world. Folks, you've got to hear her sing When I Look At You.

Until I did, and frankly due to a visit to Perez' blog, I really didn't think much of her talent; no more. Miley takes this song into orbit. Take a listen, please:

Meanwhile, Hilton's making nice with Cyrus. After hearing her other latest song "Obessesed" then posting a link about the song (calling her "Slutty" in the process) on Twitter he tweets:

@mileycyrus Got it! Damn that's good too! Damn you, Cyrus! I'm starting to become obsessed with you! Ha. In a good way! xoxo

And yes, Perez is right on - Miley's rocking the house!



That Miley takes all of his playful(?) insults in stride - thanking him on her Twitter page - says much about her and the realization that it's all one big socio-economic game.

Swing and a miss for Rep. Michelle Bachmann's health care forum - Tom Hayes

Minnesota’s 6th district congressional Representative, Michelle Bachmann, missed a golden opportunity this afternoon to step back from the partisan talking points and rumor-mongering before an overflow crowd at her town hall meeting in a Junior High School auditorium in Lake Elmo. Fresh from criticism that she had been much too quick to depart an event earlier in the week in St. Cloud, Bachmann responded to virtually every question or comment from the crowd with long-winded recitations of her already familiar litany: that the U.S. has the best health care system in the world despite outcomes surpassed by many other nations, and that the government would be interfering in and controlling medical decisions in some vast bureaucracy that was somehow worse than the actuarial and profit-driven bureaucrats at insurance companies who already countermand medical orders.

The tone was set early on, when despite the moderators admonitions that the only topic open to discussion was health care, Ms. Bachmann launched into such a long-winded, wandering opening statement that the crowd grew restless. The session was obviously scripted to limit both the questions/comments and her need to respond, complete with a Texas congressman who also responded to virtually every question, yet evidently hadn’t gotten the “death panels” talking points from Bachmann’s staff. If the Congresswoman was really interested in hearing from her constituents she might have talked less, but alas like so many D.C.-based politicians she relied on posturing at length and repeatedly for the media and her base after paying lip-service to listening as the lines of questioners grew restless.

Ms. Bachmann had the chance to reach out to those looking for real information, she even repeated her recent notion that there would have to be a “safety net” for those without insurance (divining how this differs from a public option is left as an exercise for the voter, evidently,) after assuring the crowd that everybody wants the system reformed. Then, however, she resorted to amateurish theatrics (at least we didn’t see the Grassley dragon) and cheer-leading for unsupported assertions while cherry-picking points to assure her already-confirmed supporters that she wouldn’t let taxes on their children reach 80-90% to pay for reform (which she is in favor of, make no mistake about it) without addressing what she would do, or even suggest, to improve matters. All in all, while her base was delighted with the Obama-bashing, for the vast majority of those in attendance, including the dozens who couldn’t ask their questions, or thought they might hear ideas about how to address the skyrocketing costs of health care insurance, it was a waste of time.

The one accomplishment was the ratcheting up of polarization, in utter contrast to the Representative’s stated goal of attaining a bi-partisan solution. She lacks the rhetorical polish, and the quick familiarity with the facts, that her wingman (Congressman Burgess, R-TX, a self-described “McCain surrogate”) displayed, which made her look under-prepared, if not outright insecure. From the outset it was clear that the crowd was split, and while the majority were Bachmann loyalists that didn’t mute the opposition, which roared their own approval as one questioner started out by declaring she’d turned him from a Reagan voter into a Democratic (DFL) activist.

One has to marvel at the staunch GOP line regarding government ineptitude coming from those who have controlled the White House for such a large fraction of the last quarter century, at times complete with majorities in the Congress. Still, it’s clear that Ms. Bachmann spares little time for examining her positions logically; perhaps it’s all that special interest money she gets that keeps her aiming partisan criticism at the very institution that writes her paycheck, provides for a very generous retirement, and – ironically enough – provides and pays for her health care insurance plan.

Zennie and Lars on BART to Berkeley: 1975

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Ha! This is the beauty of being a local in Oakland and the Bay Area. Having friends who have old photos of you and them in action. In this case the photo below is one of Lars Frykman, Bill Boyd and myself on BART in 1975. (In case you're wondering where Bill is, he's the photog here.)

Zennie and Lars - 1975

Bill found this photo and put in on his Facebook profile page; now it's on mine too. But I couldn't resist sharing it as it's a small window into the Bay Area of the past. I mean, I had a small "'fro" and Lars was sporting the Rolling Stones' hair look. But that was as much hair as I wanted; no longer. No big 'Fro for me!

The only place I can think of where we may have been going at the time was Berkeley and to the Federation Trading Post (FTP) on a weekend or San Francisco just to ride through the then-new BART tube. That was a store located within a building that's still on Telegraph Avenue between Blake and Parker avenues.

One could go the FTP for book like "The Star Trek Technical Manual" and costumes and replicas of set props like 'Phasers'. I'd bet money that's where we were headed, but I'm wondering if our friend Craig Pryor was with us too.  I seem to remember that he was, sitting next to Bill in that lounge seat area.

As to our expressions we were probably talking about the business of the club; that's the only thing that could get all of us worked up at some point in a conversation.  Ha.  Funny thing is, Lars then looks just like his son Kyle today.


BART was new then.  It opened in 1972 and transbay service (under the San Francisco Bay from Oakland to San Francisco) started in 1974.  What was neat about BART at that time was everything was automatic: the doors opened and the train didn't even have the monitors that are in each one today. As I recall, the problems didn't start mounting up until 1976.  But even with that it was a smooth almost soundless ride; the tracks have worn so much that such an experience is a thing of the past. 

Well, in any case, my same friends are the ones who joined me to see the new Star Trek Movie last May, on the day it came out. Here we are in front of the Grand Lake Theater, in this video singing the Star Trek theme after seeing the flick.



Wow.  I forgot how big my glasses were back then!

Did RTL make fake "Michael Jackson alive video" as ad sales fell?

Two days ago a video surfaced that claimed to show Michael Jackson being escorted out of an LA County Coroner's ambulance in a dark tunnel.  Given that few had the actual footage of the vehicle entering the hospital, and the design of the one in the video, it was hard to tell if it was real or fake. 

The video made the rounds to many outlets around the World, and was the basis for my blog poll and video here. 




I was waiting for a statement by the LA County Coroner's Office to officially debunk the matter, but now we have the forum-based news being propagated that German TV organization RTL created the fake video.   I note it in this way because RTL has not as of this writing issued an official statement or press release; it's internet chatter.  But given RTL's economic woes, it's logical they would do this.

UPDATE: Press release by RTL (in German)

What's RTL? 

RTL Group Europe's largest broadcast company, and RTL Television is a division in it.  I discovered that Berlin-based RTL's facing a massive ad sales crisis, which undoubtedly led to the creation of this elaborate hoax.  Over the last six months, RTL has lost $150 million.  Gaining eyeballs around the World is RTL's desire and this "fake" project would be the perfect way to do it.  But now RTL needs to make an official statement and post it under the keywords "rtl michael jackson" before this gets even more out of hand.