Omar Thornton: Connecticut shooting an issue of race

Connecticut shooting: Omar Thornton said it was an issue of race.

As it turns out, Omar Thornton, the Connecticut shooting suspect who took eight lives then killed himself last week Wednesday, himself said his actions were all about race and racism.

When this blogger's initial post was issued expressing sadness for the action and concern that some younger black men may not have the mental strength to deal with race, some people went so far as to send emails explaining that his actions had "nothing to do with race."

Well, the 911 call that Omar Thornton made to police after the shooting put an end to all that, and brings my concerns up yet again.

I'm very concerned that we may be allowing a group of African American men to grow up without the mental discipline required to deal with racism. What to do about this is a topic for both discussion and action. It's also one that must include all races of people, not just blacks, because then society would not change.

Omar Thornton sent a dangerous message that, if we don't pay attention to it, could fester and develop in American society. We can't let that happen.

While it's no question that the workplace Omar Thornton was in had racial problems, what Omar Thornton did in response is not the answer. That must be communicated over and over again.

Lady Gaga was that you? by Suzannah B. Troy

I was walking down the street here in NYC and I heard someone yell out, "Hey, Lady Gaga!" and it did look like her.   Who knows...only Lady Gaga knows.   TMZ has a racy video of her body surfacing with fans and their hands moving her like Niagara Falls...the movements rough, rapid and full of life.

I got the new Vanity Fair Issue to read the piece on disgraced money manger to king Mike Bloomberg but of course I read the cover story on Lada Gaga.

Here is the Vanity Fair Photo Cover shoot of Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga is the star of The Vanity Fair cover, the name of another posting on VF.

Lady Gaga on Sex, Fame, Drugs and Her Fans....

For Lady Gaga fans the issue of Vanity Fair is a must have.  For those waiting for more corruption to be exposed at City Hall reading the Steve Rattner article is a must not only for what is reported but mostly what is not reported including Rattner and Bloomberg shifting some of Bloomberg's money to the Cayman Islands.   If Steve Rattner gets banned by the SEC for three years than it will mean a third shift for king Mike Bloomberg's 5 billion Steve Rattner is suppose to be money managing.  You see the first shift was out of Quadrangle because denial is Steve Rattner's cocaine, along with every corrupt politico and Rattner thought Quadrangle would take the fall not him.  Wrong.  So denial still in play, Rattner shifts Mike's 5 billion to a new created company.  If and when Steve Rattner gets banned by the SEC the money will have to be shifted yet again or Rattner can sell the company yet again like he did Quadrangle but will Mike Bloomberg still be able to stand by his man?  Ditto for the owners of The New York Times and The New York Daily news both very good friends and I believe both have had their money managed by Rattner.   The Vanity Fair title "The Smartest Guy in The Room" but truly if you look at the big picture, perhaps the dumbest.  From Albany to City Hall denial is the new crack cocaine.  How ironic under Mike Bloomberg heroin is cheaper to buy and sell than cigarettes but denial is the new crack cocaine -- because it's free... most used and abused by politicians, rich people and celebrities in trouble with the law or those lucky so far to avoid getting busted.

Anyway, if you just want to think happy thoughts than stick to the Lady Gaga article and enjoy.  Vanity Fair even smells delicious.  For depressed people you might want to read Christopher Hitchens piece on his battle with cancer.  There is a photo of him and it is shocking.

Lady Gaga may be the way to go.  Her meteoric success is something I think she is still trying to absorb but one thing is very clear.  Gaga loves her fans and deeply appreciates them.  She spends time with them...there are peeks "peaks" in to this love affair in the fun piece.  This issue of Vanity Fair has something for almost everybody.

Megan Avalon for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World

Megan Avalon, the San Francisco Bay Area's super hot female bodybuilder, again shows why she should be one of FHM Magazine's Top 100 Sexiest Women In The World. In Megan Avalon Female Muscle Webcam - no sound, Megan shows her tanned, muscular, body that causes her to be called "Barbie with Muscles."



Metacafe, DailyMotion, StupidVideos and Viddler

Megan Avalon is also an excellent personal trainer and spokes model. Her unique combination of personality, power, strength, female muscularity, and sexy hotness make Megan an excellent choice for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World.

Megan recently won the Sports Division of the Silver and Black Women's Bodybuilding Classic in Oakland, California.

Visit Megan's website at MeganAvalon.net

Megan Avalon for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World

Megan Avalon, the San Francisco Bay Area's super hot female bodybuilder, again shows why she should be one of FHM Magazine's Top 100 Sexiest Women In The World. In Megan Avalon Female Muscle Webcam - no sound, Megan shows her tanned, muscular, body that causes her to be called "Barbie with Muscles."

Megan Avalon is also an excellent personal trainer and spokes model. Her unique combination of personality, power, strength, female muscularity, and sexy hotness make Megan an excellent choice for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World.

Megan recently won the Sports Division of the Silver and Black Women's Bodybuilding Classic in Oakland, California.

Visit Megan's website at MeganAvalon.net

Bloomberg violates artist's 1st Amendment rights! by Suzannah B. Troy

Dear Zennie Blog Readers:

First thanks for tuning in and I am reporting to you from NYC. If you do not live here than you might be unaware of the shocking injustices that are going on. There are many to tell but for today I am only talking about Artists' 1st Amendment rights being violated in Union Square and many places in NYC where artists are in theory allowed to be vendors but the city and at Union Square the Parks department is putting on the heat with the goal to drive artists out of Union Square.  It seems king Mike Bloomberg wants to make the unemployment rates much higher than they are.  They are high for the country and NYC and of course unemployment rates are under reported and for many earning a living many say they are not earning a living wage including the NYPD who often work two jobs just to survive and support their families.

I make reference to my blog which focuses on corruption in NYC politics. What is very disturbing is king Mike Bloomberg and his "ruling party class", (I say party -- because their emphasis is on partying and there are no "stop and frisk", metal detectors and drug sniffing dogs for the rich party class and most of all they want to feel they are above the law. In NYC more and more it is about two laws. One for the poor/middle class and one for the rich; actually mostly the rich are above the law.  The goal seems to displace, drive out as many New Yorkers as possible from eminent domain abuse to simply ticketing New Yorkers up to their eyeballs.  On my blog I show you how rich people are never ticketed and it is more than confusing when poor and middle class people are ticketed so unjustly.  A working class man that sells water for a dollar and has a vendor's license was given a $1,000 ticket by an NYPD officer because the officer said water is food.  This poor guy has a family to support.  Back to the artists....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDSw7kT8eHk


Special note to my loyal blog readers:  In the interview with Miriam I ask her to tell me about one of her unique art works with clocks in it.  She responds the title of the work is "Time Discovers Truth" the quote by Seneca.

This was very significant for me.   I have more news and I am not posting on the blog.  A "special" email went out and phone calls were made.   Time does discover truth and the key is patience.   Anyone following my blog knows the theme and perhaps the context...

Miriam and Tony explain to these young men about why they are here in the park protesting.  I am so glad they stopped to talk with Tony and Miriam.  They seemed to genuinely care.

Trapped By Fear -- Art by Miriam West

Tony and Miriam worked on the small Gandhi necklace together.  Their visual is very beautiful.  They have one more Gandhi left and I am buying it!  I am so grossed out by rich people trying to get my work for as little as possible I happily pay fellow artists for their work.

If you click on this photo you can see Gandhi - the sculpture in the park.   I had to walk around many trucks and tents to get to Gandhi and no artists were obscuring the Gandhi sculpture at all as Adrian Benepe thought and as far as the fountain -- the fountain area and the entire park is crowded so why single out artists and violate their 1st Amendment rights king Mike Bloomberg and Adrian Benepe?

We have no problem with the Farmers Market but please don't blame the artists for obscuring any thing to do with Gandhi with my photos give you just a hint of trucks and tents obscuring the sculpture,  not artists!!

Crude Movie: Leonardo DiCaprio, DGA, Trudie Styler, Hollywood misfire

Inception's Leonardo DiCaprio, The Director's Guild of America (DGA), and actress and rainforest activist Trudie Styler (wife of rock musician Sting) who has been one of the most active promoters of the movie “Crude” by director Joe Berlinger, which paints Chevron as the culprit in polluting the Ecuadorian Amazon, have all been fooled in their campaign to block access to 600 hours of cut footage from the movie.

The movie may prove to be the biggest break in proving the innocence of Chevron (and Texaco, which it acquired in 2000), and lead to pointing the finger of the cause of real environmental damage where it should be: at Ecuador's government.

This week Chevron’s lawyers introduced outtakes from the movie that demonstrate the lead attorney, Steven Donziger met and virtually directed the ‘independent’ court report that found Chevron guilty of $27 billion dollars in damages.

The “Crude” outtakes provide a shocking look at the arrogance of Donziger. Donziger calls his own case against Chevron "… just a bunch of smoke and mirrors and bullshit. It really is."

Steven Donziger's admission of lack of evidence against Chevron reveals to what degree people will go to win a ton of money from an entry perceived as having a lot of it. This blogger's working to get the actual film clip, as it will be damning.

Bottomline: the case against Chevron for alleged pollution is all but over now that Donziger has been captured on film admitting the false charges against Chevron were created to “get money” and that there is no evidence to support the lawsuit against the oil company.

The point here is just because an oil company is an oil company, does not mean anyone can file false claims against them and expect them to stick.

Stay tuned.

Mark Hurd : Former HP CEO ousted with $40 million - fraud, sex scandal claims

Mark Hurd 

What a way to make $40 million: Mark Hurd became Hewlett Packard's CEO, then got into alleged sex scandal and sexual harassment trouble, only to be ousted from HP with a $40 million severance package, including $12 million payable in 30 days from his departure.

(But to put that in perspective, Hurd earned $24.2 million in 2009, just down from $42 million in 2008, according to TechCrunch.)

According to Business Week, while HP's investigation found that Hurd, who's married according to TechCrunch, was not guilty of sexual harassment of a now former marketing contractor, Hurd did violate the tech firm's business practices policy.

What Hurd did that really got him into trouble was filing a false expense report to cover up his relationship. A letter to HP employees by HP's CFO Cathie Lesjak, who's now interim CEO, tells the whole story from overview perspective and was posted at Engaget. Here's what it reads:

This is to advise you that Mark Hurd, Chairman and CEO of HP, has resigned from the company effective immediately. Mark's resignation was submitted at the request of the company's Board of Directors as a result of inappropriate behavior in which he engaged that violated HP's Standards of Business Conduct and undermined his ability to continue to lead the company.

At the request of the Board I have agreed to serve as interim CEO until a new, permanent CEO is hired. During this time I also will continue to perform my duties as CFO. The Board has formed a committee to undertake a search for a new CEO, and candidates from inside the company as well as outside the company will be considered. I have informed the Board, however, that I do not wish to be considered for the role of permanent CEO, and I have removed myself from being a candidate for that position.

While this news is unexpected, HP remains in an exceptionally strong position both financially and in the marketplace. It is essential, however, that we remain focused and continue to achieve – if not exceed – our operational and financial objectives.

Because there is likely to be considerable media coverage of this announcement during the next few days, I wanted to be the first to share the facts with you.

Mark's resignation followed an internal investigation into a claim of sexual harassment asserted against Mark and HP by a woman who is former contractor to HP. The investigation was conducted by outside counsel in conjunction with HP's General Counsel's office and was overseen by the Board. Based on the investigation it was determined that the former contractor's claim of sexual harassment was not supported by the facts.

The investigation did reveal, however, that Mark had engaged in other inappropriate conduct. Specifically, based on the facts that were gathered it was found that Mark had failed to disclose a close personal relationship he had with the contractor that constituted a conflict of interest, failed to maintain accurate expense reports, and misused company assets. Each of these constituted a violation of HP's Standards of Business Conduct, and together they demonstrated a profound lack of judgment that significantly undermined Mark's credibility and his ability to effectively lead HP.

As we regularly remind all employees, each of us is expected to adhere strictly to the Standards of Business Conduct in all of our business dealings and relationships. This expectation applies with even greater force to HP's CEO and other senior executives who, given their positions, must set the highest standard for professional and personal conduct. The investigation that was conducted revealed that Mark had failed to meet this standard.

We recognize that this change in leadership is unexpected news. We also know that HP's success in recent years is due to the collective efforts and hard work of more than 300,000 talented employees who have formulated far-reaching strategies and achieved our objectives better than anyone else in the industry.
On Monday morning we will conduct an all-employee webcast to discuss this matter further and answer your questions. To join the webcast please click on this link.

In closing, I would like to thank each of you for your contributions to HP, and to ask that in the weeks and months to come we do everything to ensure that HP's future, like its past, is one of innovation, operational excellence, and the delivery of world-class products and services.

All the best.
Cathie

Jersey Shore: Guilty Pleasure by: Nikky Raney

Jersey Shore's episode last night (Thursday, August 5) was extremely entertaining. It is easy to see why this show is such a guilty pleasure.

So many moments last night were memorable. The beginning has Ronnie waking up from his hangover claiming not to remember the three-way kiss he participated in the night before. His way of dealing with this is to "deny, deny, deny." Ronnie mentioned Saved By The Bell saying he and Sammi are not "Zack and Kelly."

Snooki goes out shopping with JWoww and Sammi, and she buys the infamous sunglasses for a little under $400. She was photographed wearing those sunglasses months ago. The sunglasses look like a five year old glued a bunch of random gems on it, and Snooki claims she can barely see while she is wearing them.

Sammi finds the number of Ronnie's ex-girlfriend in his phonebook. Ronnie explains that the ex-girlfriend said that he should be giving Sammi another chance.

Snooki opens the fridge and a chicken falls out. She has a lot of difficulty cleaning up the mess.

Ronnie and Sammi have a heartwarming conversation about how they both still love each other, and then Sammi accompanies Ronnie and holds his hand while he gets a tattoo. She tells him, "I'll always be here for you, even if we hate each other."

Angelina continues to annoy the females in the house. The phone rings off the hook constantly for her and Snooki gets frustrated with this. When a man calls the house and asks, "May I speak with Angelina please?" Snooki answers, "No, she died." That moment was quoted on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. It was a moment that made viewers laugh. The man calls back and Angelina picks up. He says, "Angelina died? How did it happen?" Angelina responds, "No, I didn't die."

Angelina's only friends in the house become annoyed with her when she "cock blocks" them at the club that night. Pauly D is subjected to Angelina's drunken speech on how much she loves him as a friend and that she's looking out for him. Then Angelina decides to smack him. He tells Angelina that from now on, they're no longer friends: "You don't have me, and you don't have Situation. So who do you have? No one!"

The previews for next week's episode shows Ronnie dancing with some other girls, The Situation in the hot tub with "grenades," and Vinny waking up in bed to Snooki.

(Image courtesy of Socialite Life)

HEAT: Oakland Hip Hop dance show August 14th at Oakland Metro

New Style Motherlode Dance Studio, the creation of Skyline High School graduate Corey Action and Teela Shine-Ross, produces this must-see Hip Hop dance event on August 14th at 6:30 PM at Oakland Metro, 630 3rd Street, Oakland, CA.

It's called HEAT, and the show raises money for the kids dance programs at the New Style Motherlode Dance Studio at 5451 College Ave (between Kales Ave & Taft Ave).

Amy Larson, a Skyline High classmate of this blogger, talks about the upcoming New Style Motherlode show:

New Style Motherlode Dance Studio has received great reviews on Yelp. Here's a sample of them:

Stephanie H. - I've known Corey and Teela since way back when they taught at the then Alice Arts Center and they've really created an amazing dance studio and following! Pretty much every single class is taught by a kick ass instructor that really has the chops to teach. There is nothing worse then going to a dance class feeling like you know more then the teacher. On the flip side, most classes unless otherwise noted are mixed level and very welcoming to beginners.

George R. - Great for Hip-Hop

Mel H. - Cardio hip hop is pure, undeniable fun; whether you've never taken a dance class before or confess to hours of imitating music videos back in the day, you'll love the classes at New Style Motherlode. You will SWEAT. You will ENJOY yourself. You will both dread and thrill as Corey or Jennifer speeds up the music to get your heart rate up (except for JJ Fad's "Supersonic"...that's already fast...).

And here's a video from one of New Style Motherlode's past shows:



Catch HEAT, Oakland Hip Hop dance show August 14th at Oakland Metro, 630 3rd Street, Oakland, CA. Admission is $15 advance or $20 at the door, general admission, and it's tax deductible. For more information, call 510 597 1056.

On Michaele Salahi, Whoopi Goldberg, Real Housewives of DC, and Showbiz Tonight

Image via Wikipedia

HLN's Showbiz Tonight's really over-sensationalizing the Michaele Salahi v. Whoopi Goldberg story, but we'll get to that in a little bit.

The latest version of the story now has White House Party Crasher Michaele Salahi saying that she didn't say that Whoopi Goldberg hit her. And all of this just so happened to occur just before the day, Thursday, that The Real Housewives of DC aired, starring, you guessed it, Michaele Salahi.

And it's clear that the other stars of The Real Housewives of DC don't like Michaele Salahi, especially Linda Erkiletian, who attacked Michaele Salahi for her eating disorder. Check out this Associated Press YouTube Video:



The premier show focuses on a birthday bash for Michaele Salahi!

So all of this is about attention for Michaele Salahi and her show The Real Housewives of DC. But the issue with Whoopi Goldberg is unfortunately not planned, all too real, and says nothing good about either Michaele or Tareq Salahi.

It's seems, from a global perspective, that the Salahi's generate negative energy relationships which they then use to gain publicity for themselves. That's a dangerous pattern that, unless it's halted, could lead to unforeseen, bad scenarios.

The Salahi's, to use a street term, need to check themselves before they wreck themselves.

HLN's Showbiz Tonight's over the top on this

HLN's Showbiz Tonight's going really too far in describing this story, making it sound as if Michaele Salahi v. Whoopi Goldberg had an actual fight. Thursday's segment of Showbiz Tonight made it initially sound as if Whoopi came out from back stage specifically to go after Michaele Salahi.

That's not what happened. Whoopi Goldberg was trying to redirect the conversation back to the subject of The White House. Showbiz Tonight, in my view should apologize to Whoopi for mischaracterizing her actions. In a way, Showbiz Tonight is adding to the idea that Whoopi hit, or touched, or assaulted (whatever) Michaele Salahi, when its obvious that was not the case.

In this weird but white-hot story that has gotten more attention than it deserves, the last thing we need is a Hollywood gossip show fanning the flames of controversy even more.

Michaele Salahi v. Whoopi Goldberg: Salahi's done this before

President Obama, beware! 

According to MSNBC, Michaele Salahi , the "White House Party Crasher" and now star of the reality TV show The Real Housewives of DC, who accused The View's Whoopi Goldberg of assaulting her (read more here), has claimed someone assaulted her after that person touched her at least once before, and as recently as 2009.

This serves as evidence to back my opinion that the public figure Michaele Salahi is neurotic. Moreover, her neurotic behavior's leading to news headlines and leads to defaming assault claims against her victims. See the pattern?

President Obama would do well to steer clear of Michaele Salahi. Think of what might happen if Obama were to give her a pat on the back! Yikes!

In the 2009 case, Attorney Cindy Revesman was representing Steve Winter in a civil suit against Tareq Salahi, Michaele Salahi's husband. According to MSNCB, Revesman said:

"I didn't know Michaele Salahi from a hole in the wall ... she claimed to be Tareq’s attorney, then she told the judge she wasn’t...We go to an anteroom that’s no bigger than 10 - by - 10 feet, I’m there with my client and I put my finger out to get her attention and at the same time she turns around, and (the finger) touches her. She said, 'Don’t hit me!,' she looks at the bailiff and says, 'Make sure you don't hit me again.' I say I don't know what's going on here, I don't know what you're talking about, and I get called by the city of Falls Church (Va.) that afternoon saying there's a complaint filed that says I hit her."

The charges were dismissed on April 15, 2010.

Abuse of the law is against the law

If Michaele Salahi's not careful, she could find herself as the defendant in a lawsuit or a criminal claim that that she abuses the law. Filing a false police report is a felony that can lead to jail time. Unless Michaele Salahi wants to flirt with the possibility of such a scenario, she should stop her false assault claims.

Spinning Surveys -- keep thinking

You've probably seen recent stories that over 40% of Republicans -- or an even higher fraction of Tea Partiers -- think the current President wasn’t born in this country. You may also have heard Rush Limbaugh talking about what the people surveyed think in dramatic (or even bombastic) terms. It's spin.

Here's the thing:

No matter if you’re listening to Limbaugh, watching cable TV, or reading about it in Salon or your favorite blog-site, the surveys only tell you what people say, not what they think. Pundits are free to theorize about what the survey means, but to go beyond and tell us what people are thinking? That is plain, unmitigaged guessing, and it's almost certainly motivated by the desire to keep ratings up and make money from ads - which sadly relies all together too much on spin intended to keep you coming back for more, no matter if the source is right-leaning or left-leaning politically.

Allegedly expert commentators and media darlings alike may choose to infer the Republicans responding to such surveys “think Obama wasn’t born in America,” but it’s equally valid to infer they simply wish that he wasn’t -- you could even suggest they want you to think they think he wasn’t born here, but the fact remains that all you know is what they've said.

The data, the facts, are how those people responded, nothing more. You can’t know what a person is thinking; that's why the American legal system, for instance, is predicated on actions, not media coverage, commentator speculation, or inferences drawn by partisan pundits paid to keep ratings up.

Keep thinking.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, Democratic Campaign Manager, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.