Google News Still Keeping Real Bloggers Out

The Italian authorities didn't know what to look for, and so let Google News off the hook by ending their investigation of anti-trust violations. It seems some news sites that opted not to be in Google News were claimed to have been site-delisted by Google entirely.

Google News admitted some problems and promised to change their ways.

The questions are, how and will that apply to America?

Google News is still playing favorites with The Associated Press, and kicking out bloggers from Google News.

Something must be done.

Stay tuned.

Sarah Palin Is Not A Good Person; Gabrielle Giffords Recovers

Imagine that U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was your cousin, and you're Republican and like Sarah Palin. Obviously, you and Congresswoman Giffords don't see eye-to-eye on things, but you're still very proud of her. You also pay attention to news coverage of her, because, well, she's a congressperson and she's your cousin.

So, you pay attention to the exchange between Congresswoman Giffords and Palin of last March, where your cousin complained that Palin was marking her district with crosshairs, and think "Well, Palin didn't mean what she said about the whole crosshairs bullsye comments," but you do wish Palin would leave her alone.

(Palin as The Devil Wears Prada by Vanmol at Toonpool.com)

Then, as happened two Saturday's ago now, your cousin is shot by a nut. And here, you do think about what Palin did, and now just wish Giffords would get better. Here comes the accusations against Palin - you ignore them. And keep doing so, trying to put blinders on.

But then, Palin comes out and on the Wednesday of mourning for your cousin, and puts out a video that turns attention to herself.

If you have a heart of any kind, you know you'd not appreciate anyone treating your cousin that way. You know it.

But Palin's not done. She gets on Fox News' Hannity and defends the crosshairs map.

If by this point, you don't lose it, you don't have a heart.

And that's the point: Sarah Palin is not a good person.

A good person would not seek the spotlight while a person, a female elected official, is recovering from a gunshot to the head at point blank range that happened in an area that the spotlight seeker marked with crosshairs.

Did anyone ever think about what the relative of Gabrielle Giffords are going through? Certainly not Sarah Palin, who just keeps talking on insensitively.   Did Palin ever consider their feelings?  Does Palin care?

The answer is obviously, no.

If anyone in Palin's family went through what Giffords' has experienced, and was treated to the kind of insensitive words Palin said when she remarked "Peaceful dissent and discussion about ideas, that is what makes America exceptional. We won't allow that to be stifled by a tragic event in Arizona," they would go off.

(And consider this "tragic event" that happened was to one of Palin's enemies in the Health Care Reform issue, Gabrielle Giffords. Nice going Mrs. Palin.)

I really do wish Sarah Palin would understand that she's like acting like an unwelcome protester at a funeral. An appropriate comparison, since six people died in the Arizona Shooting, and Giffords almost became homicide number seven.

It would make everyone happy if Palin would just leave the funeral - or if she's not going to, at least express some respect for the dead and shut up.

Advice For Hue Jackson, The Oakland Raiders New Head Coach

Two hours ago, Oakland Raiders Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson was named "Head Coach," of the Oakland Raiders. The news, officially broke by ESPN's NFL General Manager-in-the-making Michael Smith, was really no surprise to observers. In fact, had Raiders Manager of the General Partner Al Davis not named Jackson the next coach, it would have been a surprise.

But now that Jackson's the official choice, and a press conference will be held on Tuesday at Oakland Raiders Head Quarters, here's some scheme-oriented advice, offense first.

First, don't be afraid to be innovative, even if it means arguing with Mr. Davis - This is important because in an NFL with an unprecedented talent balance, having a new approach will make the difference between wins and losses. Some say there's nothing new in football, but that's totally wrong; what's new is the application of an approach at a specific point of time for a specific reason unique to your personel.

Second, give some study to the New Orleans Saints "offensive habit" of "misdirection passing." They're the masters of calling plays that have their quarterbacks look, or pump-fake, in one direction, then throw back to the real primary receiver in the other direction. And when they don't do that, the Saints are excellent at using receiver motion, sending a back or tight-end in one direction, then throwing to a receiver in the other direction. They did this to perfection against the Atlanta Falcons this year. It's something you must incorporate in the Raiders Offense.

Third, don't forget to throw to the running backs, early and often.

Fourth, please install and use a healthy dose of three-step passes, like this one at the left, an actual play from the San Francisco 49ers 1982 Offensive Playbook.





Fifth, make sure you move the passing pocket, with sprint passes and rollout passes, and do this as a matter of routine each game.

Sixth, make sure you install and actually use gadgets plays (trick plays, exotics) each game to keep your opponent off-balance.

Seventh, Have several game plans for each game, one basic, and several for use when certain personnel are injured during the game.   This way, should your speedy receiver or star tight ends go down, you'll have a ready backup plan.  

Well, that's just for starters and defense is next.

Good luck, Coach Jackson!

Ricky Gervais On Golden Globes: "Hollywood Is Scared To Death Of Me. It's Great."

Nikky Finke's blog Deadline.com doesn't miss a beat, and the whole deal of comedian Ricky Gervais going off on some of Hollywood's elite who attended last night's Golden Globes is no exception.

One of Deadline's freelance reporters caught Gervais at the HBO after-party, and asked the Englishman if he had fun sticking it to some of Hollywood's power players. Gervais said ""Oh absolutely. For three hours every year, Hollywood is scared to death of me. It's great."


If you missed the Golden Globes last night, let's just say Gervais made a lot of people squirm. for example, he noted that "I was sure the Golden Globe for special effects would go to the team that airbrushed that poster." And then he said "Girls, we all know how old you are. The last time I saw one of you was on an episode of Bonanza!"

He went after Johnny Depp, Robert Downey, Jr., and a lot of others, and at the end, managed to piss off everyone. And his biggest laugh was gained at the expense of Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner, who married a woman 64 years younger than he. To that, Ricky said "Just don't look at him when you touch it."

Here's a video of the Ricky Gervais monologue that everyone's talking about:



Personally, I think the Hollywood Foreign Press Association should bring Ricky back. His return will guarantee great Golden Globes ratings if they play it just right.

Oakland's Room 389 A "Dry-Humping Friendly" Bar

Oakland's Room 389 Bar's at 389 Grand Avenue, near Lake Merritt, is becoming a popular place.

It's combination of warm decor, diverse local patronage, and good bartenders make it the first real hit since The Golden Bear occupied that space until 1992.

And Room 389's gaining a rep: for a cushy backroom so nice patrons to do things like make-out and dry hump.

At least according to this Yelp post by Vandana M of Oakland, who wrote:

I had stopped by for a bit early on in the evening and hung out in the back "lounge" area -- at the time, all seemed normal. Then I returned a few hours later, around 12:30. Suddenly the back room seemed to have turned into a 7th grade rec room party filled with couples making out. One duo was full-on dry humping in the presence of everyone. Meanwhile, the front of the bar was totally normal. My friend and I were highly confused -- is it a "business in the front, party in the back" sort of situation? One part sports bar, two parts Power Exchange? WTF is going on at this place after the clock strikes midnight?


I wanted to ask someone but they were all busy stuffing their tongues down each others' faces.

Wasn't me.  Sorry to say.

But what Vandana M should have done was either (1) grabbed someone and joined in the fun, or (2) made a video of the action!  From what she wrote, no one would have noticed.

But this officially makes Room 389 The Best Place To Make Out With Or Dry Hump Your Date in Oakland. Oh, and what's with Vandana M just checking out the folks kissing and dry-humping, anyway?

The Social Network's Golden Globe Success Enjoyed By Randi Zuckerberg

While The Social Network - the movie about the founding of Facebook and the emergence of a person who's name's become a household word, Mark Zuckerberg - was collecting awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Picture, at least one Zuckerberg was present to enjoy the event: Randi Zuckerberg.

If you don't know, Randi Zuckerberg is Mark Zuckerberg's sister, and the newly-pregnant Director of Marketing for Facebook. She's also one of the 50 top "Digital Power Players" in Hollywood according to The Hollywood Reporter via Gawker.

Unlike Mark, who's not tweeted at his Twitter page finkd since March 13th of 2010 (as of this writing), Randi's a major league active tweeter, and has 21,428 followers as of this writing.

Her latest tweets report her great time at The Golden Globes with her husband , and have a photo, too. Here they are, in reverse chronological order (in other words, backwards):

randizuckerberg Randi Zuckerberg
@natalielent thanks so much, love! Definitely an evening to remember - Miss you!
11 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

randizuckerberg Randi Zuckerberg
It's been an awesome, but loooong evening. Really looking forward to sitting down and taking my heels off! http://yfrog.com/h2jy3wj
14 hours ago

randizuckerberg Randi Zuckerberg
Thank you so much @renttherunway for the gorgeous gown, jewelry & clutch for tonight!!! http://yfrog.com/h0vx8cej
18 hours ago

randizuckerberg Randi Zuckerberg
Love you! RT @Aubs: In the battle for hottest pregnant woman on the Red Carpet, @randizuckerberg is trumping Natalie Portman. By a landslide
18 hours ago

randizuckerberg Randi Zuckerberg
If you tune into NBC for the Golden Globes pre-show in the next few minutes, you may see a certain someone familiar.... ;)
20 hours ago

randizuckerberg Randi Zuckerberg
With my hubby at the Golden Globes - Family red carpet photo! http://yfrog.com/h066sjj
20 hours ago

You gotta love a woman who tweets that she's hotter than Natalie Portman!

In case you're wondering, Randi didn't get into the Golden Globes because of The Social Network, it's because she's a player in Hollywood.

KNBR's Gary Radnich Classless Handling Of MLK Day Talk

Richard Liberman, who listens to San Francisco Bay Area radio so I don't have to, sent an email explaining that KNBR's Gary Radnich was making comments that, put together, add up to a classless discussion of the Martin Luther King Holiday.

This is what Richard (who's no friend of KNBR by the way) explains via email and on his blog:

Gary Radnich made a comment about it "not feeling like a 'holiday today'" on his KNBR show. Of course, Radnich was referring to the fact that today is Martin Luther King, Jr day, a national holiday. Many media people are working and the stores are open, but the banks and schools are closed, noted Radnich.


Fair enough.


But then a caller, (a regular, who happened to be black,) chastised Radnich and his cohorts for making light of the remarks. Radnich, predictably, mocked the caller and promptly cut the call.


I don't think Radnich intentionally tried to de-ligitimize the MLK holiday. In fact, he's married to an African-American woman.


But he clearly crossed the line by making fun of the caller's legitimate questions.

I'd like to know more about what Gary said, exactly. But for me, why not take time to remind listeners of the importance of remembering Martin Luther King? Yes, Gary's wife is African American, and he has a lovely family (in the photo above), but that doesn't mean he's going to rubber-stamp the MLK Holiday.  

But that's just the point: if Gary can't get behind it, then he should explain why and allow others to talk about it on the air.

We can't forget how the USA has evolved and how fast, just over the last 40 years, and really over the last 10 years too.    Martin Luther King Day should be a day we celebrate what's right with America, not lament what's wrong with it.

We have a great country.  Only in America could a society of people come so far, so fast.   Just six years ago many said America would never have a black president.    Then, that year, a young Senator Barack Obama spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and the talk started.

Amazing.

Gary Radnich should talk about that; I think he'd agree.