Riots in France - is USA next?

According to World News Report: Striking public sector workers caused disruption across France on Tuesday as ‘troublemakers’ piggybacked protest marches to torch cars, smash windows and fight police. Paris, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux and Marseilles were all hit by protests and frequent clashes.

As police tear gas dispersed stone-throwing rioters in Lyon, officials pleaded for calm. ‘The right to demonstrate does not mean the right to smash things up,’ said justice minister Michele Alliot-Marie, after fire destroyed a Le Mans high school.

President Sarkozy, who unveiled the toughest spending cuts for 50 years at the weekend, wants his reforms (which will raise the retirement age from 60 to 62) approved by the senate by this Friday. The riots and strikes are testament to how much the French public remains opposed to the pension reforms and higher retirement age.

Airlines flying into France were ordered to slash schedules. Refinery workers, airport staff, train drivers, teachers, postal workers and armored truck drivers went on strike, leading to at least half of all train services being cancelled and up to 50 per cent of flights grounded.

France’s strategic petrol reserves had to be dipped into after protests at oil refineries meant thousands of petrol pumps ran dry.

‘The street has power and it can be more powerful than the government,’ said one protest leader.

Would this sentiment hold true in the USA? Americans are on edge in every state of the Union and people can only take so much before they rebel. It is a fact that History teaches us over and over. So why can’t we learn to avoid such conflict? The answer is simple: Corruption and greed in our corporations and our political leaders.

Washington sees us as sheep - easily deceived into being led to the slaughter. However, one need only do the math to see that the “have nots” far out number the “haves” in America, more so now than ever.

With the severe cuts in police forces across America, if there is an outbreak of civil unrest in this country, it is likely that the National Guard will be called in should any France-type riots break out here in the USA.

It may not be a question of "if" but instead "when" such civil unrest will begin to plague America. Should the Lame-Duck Congress fail to approve unemployment extensions for both the 99ers as well as those facing the discontinuation of their benefits by November’s end - we may well see the rage now felt by so many Americans boil over into violence by Christmas this year.

Obama to visit USC campus this Friday, 99ers should be there to greet him

The president will give a speech open to the general public at 1:30 p.m. on October 22 at McCarthy Quad, USC said James Grant, assistant vice president of USC media relations.

Jason Duong, director of the USC Political Student Assembly (the group hosting the event) said he was contacted by university officials after Obama’s staff asked to come to USC.

“I was in disbelief when I got the call,” Duong said. Duong’s major focus now is to get as many students as possible to attend, regardless of their political inclinations. “Whether they like him or not, this is definitely something that’s great for the university,” Duong said. “I’d encourage all students to come see what he has to say.”

Obama will join the ranks of several prominent politicians who have come to USC either as president or a presidential hopeful, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The most recent sitting president to speak on campus was Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Students said they are excited to have the opportunity to hear the president speak and hope he can motivate students to vote by talking about issues that matter to them.

“He’s faced a lot of voter apathy in our generation, and it’s very important for people to vote, whether they are Democrats or Republicans and be involved politically,” said Mason Flink, a graduate student studying motion picture production. “If he can inspire students to get involved by coming to campus, it’s a good thing.”

Nelson Brooks, a junior majoring in business administration, said although he probably won’t attend the speech and doesn’t share the same political beliefs as Obama, he still thought the visit was important for the university.

“It’s definitely a privilege for our school to host him,” Brooks said. “Regardless of political party, he’s the president of the most powerful country in the world, and that is a huge honor for our school.”

Any member of the 99er Nation should do their best to gather on the streets the President will use to get to the USC Campus and bring signs that remind the President that the 99ers need help now. This will be a huge media event and the 99ers could well get the attention of the press and the President, by doing do.

NELP needs to hear from the 99er Nation - big time

In April, when the San Diego Unemployment Examiner contacted NELP (National Employment Law Project) and asked their position on a Tier 5, their response was: “As soon as we get the extensions passed in Congress for the non-99ers, then we will put our efforts toward fighting for a Tier 5 extension.”

Today, 6 months later and nearly 3 months after the non-99er extension bill was passed (HR 4213) NELP is once again ramping up to fight for, you guessed it - an extension of the deadline dates for the non-99er UI extension.

NELP has been silent and worthless in the fight for a Tier 5 extension and that is something every 99er should vocally protest by contacting NELP in droves.

In an email titled: New and Improved Website Launches Campaign to Continue Federal Jobless Benefits, NELP introduced their website www.Unemployedworkers.org to “to mobilize grassroots support for the campaign to ensure that the federally expanded unemployment lifeline continues at a level that matches the needs of ALL of the long-term unemployed.”

The website advertises a new petition for only the more recently unemployed. Nothing on this new website even refers to the desperate need for the 99ers to get a Tier 5. This is deplorable and NELP needs to hear from you.

Give NELP your feedback via their new website at: http://unemployedworkers.org/page/s/softlaunchfeedback or call them at their New York offices: 212-285-3025

Please do not let NELP get away with their empty promises to help the 99ers, unfulfilled to date.

Awareness for anti-gay bullying by wearing purple

On Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has asked that everyone across the nation wear purple to raise awareness for anti-gay bullying. There have been several recent suicides from teenagers who were bullied for being homosexual.

"Go Purple" is the name that is given to this day. CBS News reports that the color was selected because purple symbolizes "spirit" on the rainbow flag, a symbol for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) pride that was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978.

By Nikky Raney
Journalist & Blogger

Wayne Rooney Says Manchester United Lacks Ambition

Wayne Rooney leaves ManU.

In a media war seldom seen in America, the UK's (that's Britain's) Wayne Rooney and the soccer organization Manchester United are locked in a battle played out in the English publications. The Daily Mail UK reports that the star soccer player, recently the focus of a sex scandal involving prostitutes Jennifer Thompson and Helen Reed, says Manchester United "lacks ambition" and is not willing to pay top dollar to keep him.

On Wednesday, Rooney confirmed that he's not signing a contract to remain with Manchester United. I met with (chief executive) David Gill last week and he did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad,' said Rooney in a statement. 'I then told him that I would not be signing a new contract.'

Rooney continues:

It is absolutely true, as he said, that my agent and I have had a number of meetings with the club about a new contract. During those meetings in August I asked for assurances about the continued ability of the club to attract the top players in the world.

I have never had anything but complete respect for MUFC. How could I not have done given its fantastic history and especially the last six years in which I have been lucky to play a part?For me its all about winning trophies - as the club has always done under Sir Alex. Because of that I think the questions I was asking were justified.

Despite recent difficulties, I know I will always owe Sir Alex Ferguson a huge debt. He is a great manager and mentor who has helped and supported me from the day he signed me from Everton when I was only 18. For Manchester United's sake I wish he could go on forever because he's a one off and a genius.

More soon.

Qik - Mobile Video Experiment By Zennie Abraham

For the last two weeks or so, this blogger has been experimenting with Zennie62 on Qik Mobile Video. The idea of Qik Mobile Video is to allow you to upload a video using your smart phone, right on the spot from where you are. It's not quite a live stream - like USTREAM.tv - but so close in terms of delay time that it's a somewhat credible substitute.

Using a Samsung Variant Galaxy smartphone, five videos have been produced for the Zennie62 brand thus far. Where it fits in the Zennie62 strategy is that it allows us to show you what's happening as it is happening. Here's an example: the T-Mobile store video that was transferred to YouTube.com:



As you can see, it's grainy.  That's the rub.  The pixels are so large it makes Qik less than desirable for constant video blogging.  Videos have been unloaded from the Samsung phone directly to YouTube, and the quality has been at "high-def" level.  But not so for the Qik videos.

The problem is that some of the YouTube-direct files are too large to be quickly uploaded from the smartphone.  The bandwidth "pipe" doesn't seem to be large enough to fit a video longer than, say, 12 seconds.

If that can be solved, either by a better smartphone video upload system - or a switch to the iPhone, which seems to do this better from looking at Renetto's videos - or a better signal pickup from YouTube, then the dream of true mobile video-blogging is a step closer to reality.  

If you have any tips or suggestions, please provide them.  Thanks.

Colts kicker McAfee arrested for public intoxication

Pat McAfee, kicker for the Indianapolis Colts, was arrested Wednesday, October 20, 2010 for public intoxication according to Yahoo Sports.

McAfee went for a swim very early in the morning in a canal around the bars in Indianapolis, and the police found him reeking of alcohol while being shirtless and soaking wet. He had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15, which is double the legal limit in Indiana.

 When the police asked the 23-year-old how much he had to drink his response was, "A lot, cause I'm drunk."

USA Today reposts the article from the Associated Press which tells that McAfee is the fourth Colts player to be arrested for alcohol related charges this year.

Rough year for the Colts.

 By Nikky Raney
Journalist & Blogger