Fashion Designer Education

2011-12-10T03:08:00.001-08:00

Fashion designer school is for people that have a passion or extreme interest in all things fashion. While putting together great outfits for friends has always been something you've liked to do on the side, you can do it for a living. Creating clothing and accessory designs just comes naturally to some people, and when you attend classes to really refine your skills you'll be impressed not only with how much you can learn, but how much you can be paid to do the things that you love to do! While designing clothes and even putting together patterns and outfits for yourself and your friends may be a great hobby, it can be an even better job if you go to school and learn how to do it all the right way so that you can come across creative and professional to prospective clients.
Fashion designers will be taught to sketch their ideas, draw and cut patterns, create simple garments, fit and modify finished garments, arrange showings for press as well as buyers, compare merchandise to that of competitors, learn how to keep current, and how to visit textile showrooms when they attend fashion design school. These skills will all contribute to helping someone with a passion for fashion develop their skill and utilize it in the real world.
Most fashion designers are self-employed and simply design for individual clients. Designers become popular by setting themselves apart by being professional, reliable, and using different colors, shapes, and materials that will allow them to stand out among their competition. A great way to learn how to create your own methods of creating great clothing, accessories, or jewelry is to become a designer's assistant. Helping a designer will not only allow those that are learning to see what goes into the business, but will also help them define a sense of self and a true sense of what they want to do in the fashion business.
Some fashion designers work for larger firms and this may be a great way to get a fashion designer education when you get out of fashion designer school, as well. These firms or corporations typically have a head designer, which is responsible for most of the creative aspects and supervision of the design room staff. Assistant designers are often hired by firms and often make the first patterns and help the head designer oversee creative and personnel issues. There are also specialty designers that may be hired by corporations that will work with other designers to help create limited or special lines of clothing. Special designers will often have a specific article of clothing or accessory that they work with and often they design for a specific market or country and can play a vital role in a large design company. There are also theatrical costume designers that create costumes or articles of clothing and accessories for plays, movies, or other theatrical productions and these designers may work on contract. Of course, all of these jobs can be done independent of a firm, but some individuals find these jobs easier to get through a firm first, for a more consistent income.
The work environment for every designer varies, as some work in very professional settings while others work in very cramped and rushed environments. If you work for yourself you can really set the standard for yourself so that you do not have to work in unfavorable situations. If you are looking at working for a firm, be sure to ask hard questions about the work environment and schedule. Just because you just graduated from fashion designer school doesn't mean that you should be subjected to less than comfortable working conditions! Freelance fashion designer work can also be done outside of your own job so that you can slowly create your own client base away from your corporate job.
There is a lot of money to be made by fashion designers once they have graduated and obtained some experience. Many designers make more than $20 an hour and the average salary for a designer is more than $57,000 a year! Of course, education, experience, licensing and a grasp of trends and professionalism are what get you to such a salary, but after attending fashion designer school you can achieve all of these things. Remember that you may not start out at the top, but when you get there all the little jobs you have worked will seem more than worth it so get your fashion designer education now.

Available Training In Fashion Design

2011-12-10T03:07:00.003-08:00

For any budding fashion designer, the key is to gain the best fashion design training. This can be done at many colleges and universities. A good place to start fashion design education would be a diploma in college. This is an ideal way for fashion enthusiasts to ease themselves into training in fashion design.
Some of the topics covered will include looking at different types of materials and patterns, colours and the basics of designing. Students will learn how to match colours, what styles work with what materials and how to customize and accessorize outfits. They will not only learn about clothes but they will learn about shoes and accessories also.
The next step to take if deciding to continue on with training in fashion design would be a degree. Students should choose a good university with good fashion design training programs. They may also wish to consider location and if they offer the opportunity for work placements. A more prestigious University would always be the top of any enthusiasts list, this however may not be possible for everyone maybe for financial reasons or other commitments. What is key is that the chosen University has a program which suits them.
Students taking fashion design education at university level will learn similar topics to those at college level but the topics will be much more in depth, there will be more assignments and more exams. Studying at university is hard work and deadlines will need to be met but this is all good experience for working in the fashion industry.
Universities which offer work placements are very popular when students are looking for fashion design training programs. This can often give students the chance to get a foot in the door with a fashion agency. Once there the employer or sponsor may feel the individual has potential within their company and offer them a permanent position.
For those who take on degree's without placements, gaining employment in this industry can be hard work and many have to start off at the bottom and work their way up. They may start off helping behind the scenes but this will still give them good experience and their fashion education will of course come to use. There are many different areas to work within in this industry and it maybe that design is not the initial area and is instead something to work towards.
There are also online fashion design education programs, however they do not give the hands on experience which studying with an institution can. They are more suited to those who already work within the industry and are wishing to progress further. Giving them more earning potential and the ability to apply for design jobs within their sector.
During their study specialist areas may be chosen, these for example could be women's wear, children's wear, men's wear or couture design. Fashion design training can give students the opportunity to gain experience within these areas giving them more chance to be able to apply for a job which suits them and their interests.

The Truth About Fashion Education

2011-12-10T03:07:00.001-08:00

Fashion design is one of the easiest specialties and all designers should use their creative ideas to create marketable products and pay attention to the quality of the workmanship.As a concept fashion design is an art form but in reality it is a craft. It can be compared to jewellery making.
The designer comes up with a concept, an idea, which usually follows a fashion brief. Either a full range is designed, where all garments must be united or a once off dress is created. Even when the students are designing a garment for themselves, there already is a certain context. Example: when designing trousers, is it for summer or for winter? Is it day or evening pants? Is it simple and contemporary or posh and fancy or is it classic?
The purpose of CRE Fashion design school programs is for students to develop their own signature style, which is a reflection of one's individuality and is also an extension of the learner's interests and talents.
Designers find inspiration in fields seemingly out of the fashion field, such as music, cinema, art, photography or even one's daily life. Reading fashion magazines and knowing the current trends is good, but should not be overdone as our minds will inevitably copy design ideas.
Each design will follow a specific brief from a client or for a particular fashion brand, usually considering the seasonal trends. The designer comes up with a certain concept, a visual of the cut and the shape. Then decisions are required on the main colours, fabrics and features. Example: style lines, pockets etc. Further on the supporting colours, fabrics and features must be highlighted, Example: decoration, gathering, slits etc. The visual in a person's mind is moving with endless variations and the best ones must be identified, however it is not possible that the image is held still and turned front, back and imagined completed, this is why we draw. The student starts with a Fashion illustration, which is the creative interpretation of the design idea.
Then the design circle follows with a Technical drawing, where the particular fabrics are chosen. Then Pattern making and Garment construction (Cutting & Sewing) follow.

The Growing Hold Of Fashion Education In India

2011-12-10T03:06:00.001-08:00

Indian fashion has carved itself a niche in the fashion world. Fashion designers from India are becoming more and more popular both abroad and in their country. Indian fashion is flexible and adaptable, creating more room for experimentation. Ask any designer and he or she will tell you that nothing comes close to the thrill of witnessing his or her design achieve popularity and success.
Beauty pageants and other international shows that require contestants from all cultures have done well to promote Indian fashion. Fashion designers tailor their pieces according to the model, and a beautiful piece worn by a beautiful model will be good enough for publicity. Fashion worn for the whole world to see need not be gaudy and loud. Indian fashion designers have also been known to set trends when the world sees Indian clothing walk on runways, complete with accessories and headwear.
Fashion design is also gaining popularity as a course. In fact, it is one of the most coveted courses in colleges and universities. Students are given exposure to the world of fashion through inviting esteemed guests and internships in fashion design houses.
In terms of casual wear, motifs and block prints appearing on pants or shirts have been a hit with the youth of India. Formal functions call for gowns that have embellishments or embroidery. Ikkat or kashmiri prints can do wonders to add beauty to a chiffon or georgette gown.
Materials are as rich in quantity as tradition in India. The country exports large quantities of cotton for casual wear. With the rising popularity of Indian fashion, the myth that fashion design is not a lucrative career has been busted. Fashion has given students a way of expressing themselves and being known in the international arena.

Choosing the Right Educational Path in Order to Become a Fashion Designer

2011-12-10T03:05:00.001-08:00

If fashion designing is your calling and you dream of becoming a part of a major fashion house such as Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Armani, Prada and so many more some day, then you've stumbled onto the prefect resource center! Preparing for a career in fashion designing is going to be surprisingly easy with the resources and help you will find here!
If you're looking to become a fashion designer, then you need to make sure that you receive the best education in the field. Applying in Britain is your best option because, British fashion designing courses are generally regarded as the best in the world. Graduates sometimes get jobs in international fashion houses right after they complete their education and some even start clothing lines of their own!
Eligibility
What qualifications are you required to have in order to apply to fashion designing schools in Britain? You need to have completed your secondary education, or alternatively, students may even have a degree in equivalent vocational courses like BTEC in National Diplomas.
Education
After having completed your secondary education, you need to apply for a "foundation course". So what exactly is a foundation course? This course introduces you to the basics of fashion designing, and no, it is not all fun and games. This course lets you have a broad and comprehensive art and design experience and you also learn how to put together the kind of portfolios which the industry demands.
After the foundation year, you are required to go on to the Higher National Diploma. This is a two year course. You may also do a Bachelor of Arts in fashion designing. This is a three year course. But most colleges offer a four year course which covers the material included in the BA as well as the HND. These courses are especially helpful because industrial training is a part of the course as well.
Experience
You might spend up to twelve months working in the industry. Six months of industrial training is also included in the Bachelor of Arts degree as well. After you are done with this course, you may go on to do a master's course or a diploma in fashion designing.
Course material covers drawing, design, pattern cutting, developing, manufacture and industrial practices, styling, knitting, footwear designing, or even photography. Of course there are several elective subjects which you may choose from and this is one of them! The fashion industry is an extremely exciting and creative one, armed with the proper qualifications and degree; you may just take it by storm!

A Recipe for a Successful Career

2011-12-10T03:04:00.001-08:00

Turn around you, or just look in the wardrobe, every design on the outfits, prom dresses, gowns, shoes or bags you find is actually the artistic work of fashion designers. This shows that the type of their work requires imagination, passion and commitment. Fashion designer education is a crucial part of equipping all of them with the abilities and knowledge required to handle fabrics and decoration in various fabrics.
Fashion designer education usually lasts between two and four years. In this period, future designers either earn an associate degree or a bachelor's degree. The course work includes textiles, colors, tailoring and sewing, fashion history, pattern making, computer-aided designing and basic design manually. Mathematics, psychology and human anatomy are also other subjects that a particular person learns in design school. Soon after graduation, a few designers often take a business related course such as fashion merchandising or marketing for purposes of enhancing their business acumen in preparedness for the good and the bad of the competitive design industry. There are a number of appealing career paths you could follow, such as fashion design, textile design and niches within the industry, like becoming a fashion reporter or a specialist in 'green' design, fashion store design or fashion add-ons.
It's possible to also obtain fashion designer education in the post secondary institutions accredited to offer art and designs programs throughout the country. Despite the fact that such are not universities, they are accredited with the required status to honor fashion design diplomas to students who excel. Just before admission to such however, one needs to have completed some basic art and designs lessons successfully. Given that fashion and design is an art mainly dependent on talent and determination rather than fashion designer education, skilled people can still shine without the need of joining schools of higher learning. Such could obtain a few of the skills required by taking up internships in fashion houses as well as cloth manufacturing companies. Here, they can get useful stitching and pattern-making skills. They are also able to learn the art of successful communication with fabric suppliers, manufacturers and individuals who purchase their designs.
On the actual job, fashion designer education is easily obtained when first-timers work as sketching assistants or pattern makers for the experienced fashion designers. The expert designer functions as a boss who approves the designs or instructs the less-experienced newbies into making excellent designs. Often, amateur designers also learn the art of studying the market for current trends and choices from their seniors. This can possibly be through researching the market or through making use of published information on the same.
Just like other products targeting the consumer market, the designers should make designs that will certainly suit and spur interest within the consumer market. For example, designing prom dresses for young teens. This is done by designing the right styles, fabrics and shades that are going to attract the consumer market. In general, fashion designer education assists people interested in the such profession to understand every aspect of the fashion design world. This is in addition to equipping all of them with important skills and information needed for excelling in the fashion industry.

Education and Career Opportunities

2011-12-10T03:03:00.002-08:00

If you ever wondered what the secret is behind those successful fashion houses that seem to sell and sell every time not only locally but internationally, then you need to sit tight. Their secret is not just hard work but they also work smart. They spend their resources in garnering knowledge instead of depending on trial an error like many people do. Whereas the competition may depend on the fickle feelings of the moment, the tigers in sales of the best garments worldwide know that the lifeline of any design business is linked to the intimate knowledge of the finer tastes that are linked to the needs of the customer. This type of knowledge comes with the acquisition of fashion degrees that have made a great deal of a difference in developing great names in careers in fashion design.
A fashion degree from a reputable university will give you an edge over the competition because you will acquire the innate knowledge that gives you information relating to inner sensibilities in fashion design. You will have developed enough skills that will help you know just about everything that has been there before and what is likely to come back again with a blast. Fashion degrees sought by upcoming designers help them get involved in all the phases of the development of fashionable items beginning from the design, production, display and even sales of any type of clothing you can think about. With this type of fashion degree combined with your vision, determination and ambition succeeding where others are failing will not be an option.
Taking a career in fashion design and upping your chances by acquiring a fashion degree means that you will gain the insight that helps you interpret a client's needs and at the same time communicate your ideas, philosophy, vision and capabilities comprehensively. It will not matter how complicated a client's personal style is; a qualified designer will employ his or her creativity in a simple yet exciting way. A fashion degree combined with your sharp eye for color, shape, style and form in design will give you an excellent resume that will keep you in business when others are falling by the wayside.

Zebras Offer Fashion Entertainment and Education

2011-12-10T03:03:00.000-08:00

Send your daughter on a Safari adventure at home with zebra print clothing for girls! Kids love animals, whether it is playtime or school time. Animal print clothing is a great way to spark imagination, fascination, and appreciation of the animal kingdom. Zebras, with so many stripes, are extra special to kids since their lively stripes catch the eye and engage the imagination. Following successful lines in 2008 by the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta, and Diane von Furstenberg, African wildlife prints are still making a splash in affordable fashions for kids. What little darling could resist the fun of fury critters and glamour?
Zebras offer something special in the fashion world. The negative space created by the white portion of the stripes makes room for a variety of colors. Girls pink zebra print clothes are a great example of how the white space can be filled with your daughter's favorite color. Virtually every manufacturer and designer is currently offering animal print children's collections from Ann Loren and Banana Cabana to Carter's. Even babies can get in on the hunt with Youngland's and WonderKid's zebra creations. As with any style, these unique offerings come in a number of fabrics, and prices can range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars.
When considering animal prints for children, keep in mind that a little goes a long way. Adults can rarely get away with a head-to-toe print ensemble, and although children may look cute in such a get up, too much can be overkill and leave your child looking like she's ready to Trick-or-Treat. Keep the costuming for Halloween and special occasions. Zebra print shirts for little girls can usually stand alone to create a whimsical yet tasteful look. What a great opportunity to help your child learn one of the most important tips about fashion and accessories.

Fashion Modeling - Prospects After Completing Education

2011-12-10T03:02:00.001-08:00

Fashion modeling sounds glamorous and ostentatious profession to many people especially to young girls and boys. The exclusive life style, page 3 parties, designer clothes, international ramp shows and money lure every youngsters but this is just the half truth. The fashion modeling career requires lot of hard work, dedication and self sacrifice to be successful. Fashion has become universal now, there is a huge demand of male and female models in the market. All famous fashion models are being paid very well for any modeling assignment and ramp walk. Their remuneration depends upon the fashion designer and organizer they are working with. Where as aspiring models begin their career with smaller modeling agencies and low budget modeling assignments.
Today fashion modeling has become a huge profession and there is abundance of employment. There is no such educational requirement or age limit to become a model. You may be a school pass-out or graduate, all you need is a good face, height and a glass hour figure. To get into fashion world is a Herculean task due to excessive competition in this profession. All top models are earning very handsome this naturally makes competition very fierce. The international recognition, limelight, celebrity status also make it more difficult to get a break.
However, fashion industry has made phenomenal growth in India in the last fifteen years. Fashion industry is now targeting people of all age group to sell fashion. Earlier, youngsters were the prime concern for the fashion designers, they used to design attires keeping younger generation's likes and dislikes in mind, but this trend has completely changed now. Today, you can find designers are designing special clothes for middle-aged and older people as well. There has been a tremendous revolution in fashion world which has led to a huge demand of models.
Networking is an important part to be successful in modeling. A strong networking helps you to become familiar with fashion gurus and designers. If you are well acquainted with fashion designers, photographers, make artists then they may recommend your name to others fashion players for any modeling assignment and outdoor ramp shows. Thus, it is suggested to maintain a harmonious relation ship with everyone you meet with.
To begin your career as a fashion model you can start working as a catalog-model, show room model, television model etc. You must make an impressive portfolio of yours and distribute in different modeling agencies. If any top modeling agencies hires you it would be easy for you to enter into the big world of fashion.
It should be remembered your entire career depends on your face so make yourself recognized in the fashion world by attending parties, nightclubs etc. These are the few places where you would find cream of fashion under one roof. Fashion modeling is a lucrative career, it gives you multiple opportunities to travel around your country and globe. Fashion modeling has various categories- Ramp modeling, Television modeling and print modeling, Showroom modeling, Advertisement modeling.
Fashion modeling is a multi-million dollar industry, Bombay is the hub for fashion modeling. Everyday hundreds of youngsters walk-in to try their luck in fashion modeling but very few make it to the top. Fashion modeling gives you international recognition, you may get chance to work with the best international designers in world- famous fashion cities Paris, Milan, New-York, Tokyo etc.
Despite of such tempting opportunities in modeling it is a very short-lived career. You profession is not ever-lasting and you need to tackle excessive stress, work pressure and many unforeseen challenges.

Continuing Education for Fashion Designers

2011-12-10T03:01:00.001-08:00

There is no underestimating the importance of continuing education for fashion designers. In order to stay competitive in this field, one must always be on the cutting edge of the latest fashion trends, but knowing what's in style this season is just the beginning. Fashion designers must also be on the cutting edge of the latest methods, techniques, industry standards, materials, tools and tricks. If you're a fashion designer, you should definitely expect to refresh your training every few years or so; otherwise, you might find yourself being left behind.

Creative Options for Creative Minds
There are many different continuing education options for fashion art designers. If you are a self-trained designer, you could benefit from any level of training. Even if you're already working in the fashion field with a reasonable level of success, you could still benefit from a professional certificate program, associate's degree or even a bachelor's degree in fashion design. If you already have a certificate or associate's degree, your previous coursework would probably count towards the next level of education. By increasing your formal training, your skills will become more refined, and you will understand certain techniques much better than you did before.

Even designers that have bachelor's degrees and have done their training with prestigious fashion art designers can still benefit from a little continuing education. A refresher course every few years is always helpful to stay on the cutting edge of the latest color palettes, lines, patterns, materials, textures, sewing machines, pressing equipment and other design tools. Art and design courses can also be helpful for fashion art designers of any level, because they encourage creativity and help strengthen skills in sketching, color combinations, pattern making and more.

As a fashion art designer, you may also want to invest some time in your continuing education if you are thinking of switching to a different career within the fashion field or if you simply want to open up your job options. These are a few of the other jobs in the fashion industry that you might consider training for:

• Accessory Draper
• Buyer
• Clothing Store Manager
• Consultant
• Costume Maker
• Fashion Research Analyst
• Image Consultant
• Personal Stylist
• Production and Development Manager
• Retail Merchandiser
• Technical Designer

You may think you know it all, and if you're smart enough to build a career on self-taught skills, you probably do. However, formal training is always going to help you take it to the next level.

Lid On The Radio: Won't Somebody Buy My Corporate Jet?

2011-06-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I appeared on the radio twice, the first was a short appearance on the Dana Loesch Radio Show. That was followed by a midnight appearance on the Stage Right Radio show late last night. (If you cannot see the two videos below click here )

For those of you who are not familiar with Dana Loesch, she is the Editor of Big Journalism, Radio Host, one of the Founders of the St. Louis Tea Party and a CNN Commentator. I called Dana to help me with a "problem". Telling her that after the 2008 stimulus bill I purchased a corporate Jet to be patriotic, since there were tax breaks...Well you listen to it:

Almost as soon as I got off the phone there was a tweet in my mailbox from Meredith Dake, the famous producer Dake of the Stage Right Radio Show and a great contributor to the Breitbart sites herself.

Stage Right Radio host, Larry O' Connor, editor of Breitbart TV and another fine Breitbart writer, wanted me on the show to talk about some of the posts I had written about President Obama earlier that day, but first I had to ask him to help unload my jet. The full show is below (I appeared during the first half hour of the show). As soon as I can I will replace with a trimmed version of last night:

Jessica Simpson Biography

2011-06-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Jessica Ann Simpson was born on July 10, 1980 in Abilene Texas. More familiar in calling Jessica Simpson. Jessica Simpson Biography is the American singer, actress, television personality and fashion designer who rose to fame began in 1999. Since 1999 Jessica Simpson has reached a milestone many records, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and beauty products, and designed fragrances, shoes, and handbags for women. Jessica Simpson grew up in Richardson, Texas, living a normal childhood as the daughter of a junior minister. At church, Jessica Simpson could shine, use it to attract talented voice independent record producer. Jessica Simpson has devoted his time to philanthropic efforts, including Operation Smile and the USO hosted a tour for the troops stationed abroad.

Jessica Simpson was raised in the Baptist faith and sang in church as a child. Jessica Simpson Biography, During this time he also tried to Mickey Mouse Club, but was not selected because of poor audition. This event continues to cast Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake.

Jessica Simpson Biodata

Birth name : Jessica Ann Simpson
Born : July 10, 1980 (1980-07-10) (age 30) Abilene, Texas, United States
Genres : Pop, country, R&B
Occupations : Singer, actress, fashion designer
Years active : 1993–present
Labels : Columbia, Epic, Columbia Nashville, Eleveneleven, Primary Wave
Associated acts : Nick Lachey, Ashlee Simpson, 98 Degrees, John Mayer, Tony Romo
Website : jessicasimpson.com.

Jessica Simpson Biography

Jessica Simpson has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, three gold and two multi-platinum Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified studio albums, four of which have reached the top 10 on the US Billboard 200. In the late '90s, Jessica Simpson made the switch from Christian music to pop. Jessica Simpson signed with Columbia Records and released her album Sweet Kisses. The album launched Jessica Simpson's career and featured hits like I Wanna Love You Forever and I Think I'm In Love. Simpson's second album, Irresistible, showed Jessica's more flirty, sexy side. Jessica Simpson then came out with In This Skin in August of 2003 and a lot of the songs were inspired by her marriage to Nick Lachey. Jessica Simpson Biography.

Jessica Simpson Fast Facts

Passed over for a part on The All New Mickey Mouse Club as a child in favor of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Fame came when she and husband Nick Lachey (of boy band 98 Degrees) starred in Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica (2003-05); part of the show's success derived from her "dumb blonde" comments, such as: "Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but is says 'Chicken by the Sea.'"
Successfully launched a line of women's apparel and accessories.
A minister's daughter, she made her mark singing Christian music before entering the world of pop.

Jessica Simpson Relationships

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz - Sister
Joe Simpson - Father
Nick Lachey - Ex-husband
Tina Simpson - Mother
John Mayer - Ex-significant Other
Tony Romo - Ex-significant Other
Eric Johnson - Fiancé

Google's Blogger Was Down, Now Back

2011-06-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

Blogger, Google's blogging platform that it purchased in 2004, was down, but now it's back. It's the second time this year Blogger users, including this blogger, experienced wide-spread outages, and while Google has not, as of this writing, issued a statement, one Google Engineer named Jeremy did point the way for Blogger users to recover account access:

We've rolled back the change that caused issues you have observed, so you should be able to clear the cookies for www.blogger.com and fix the problem. For help on clearing cookies please see:

http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?answer=32050

Thanks,
Jeremy.

Whatever the "change" was, it produced the most prolonged Blogger outage in recent memory. The night-long problem threatened to make Tumblr's recent outage problems not look so bad.

Fortunately, this blogger established a self-hosted Wordpress version of Zennie62 called Zennie62Blog.com, which allowed for the production of blogs, even as Blogger was down. Eventually, Zennie62Blog.com will become the blog of use around here.

Supergroove – Traction Album ….. Love It …

2011-06-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

01. supergroove - scorpio girls
02. supergroove - your white shirt
03. supergroove - gotta know remix
04. supergroove - bugs & critters
05. supergroove - don't look down
06. supergroove - sitting inside my head
07. supergroove - can't get enough
08. supergroove - for whatever reason
09. supergroove - you freak me
10. supergroove - only the rain

DOWNLOADS HERE (For More Song)

Saksikan video Supergroove dibawah ini

Kate Middleton and Prince William North America Tour

2011-06-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Kate Middleton and Prince William North America Tour started as both of them are heading first to Ottawa in their 11 days Journey and their last stop will be Los Angeles.On Hollywood ,they will participate in various charity programmes.

After that Prince William is having plan to play a Charity Golf Tournamentat Santa Barbara Polo Club.Their three day Calfornia visit will began on July 8th and the reception will bemade by the UK Trade and Investment.

The Royal couple is also planning to participate at a Black Tie Dinner to higlight the British talents in Los Amgeles.

Bipasha Basu meet New Zealand PM John Philip Key ( With Photo)

2011-06-30T01:33:00.000-07:00

Bipasha Basu meet New Zealand PM John Philip Key at the set of the film Players at Mumbai filmcity.With her actor Abhishek Bachchan was alo present with the the directors Abbas Mustan.Though Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh was absent in that time.The film Players shooting will be done fully in New Zealand.

John Philip Key thanked Actors,Directors and viacom18 for the Movie and the interest they have shown towards New Zealand.He was greeted by presenting a Ganasha Idol from the film members side and even given take for the film first shoot.

The News been confirmed by Bipasha Basu's recent Tweet where she told the fact.The New Zealand PM told that its a great honor that the link between the New Zealand Tourism and the Bollywood film city is going very well and till date more than 150 moovies been done in the country.

UNBELIEVABLE! Obama Administration Puts Israel On List Of Countries That Support Terrorism

2011-06-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Only in the twisted world of the Obama Administration, where allies are trashed, and enemies are embraced, could the tiny nation of Israel, on the front lines of the war on terror for decades, be on a list of 36 nations which “have shown a tendency to promote, produce, or protect terrorist organizations or their members.”

This is no joke and Alan Funt is dead so you can't be on Candid Camera. As reported by CNS News

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General published the list of "specially designated countries" as an appendix to an unclassified May 11 report--"Supervision of Aliens Commensurate With Risk"--that was publicly posted on the Internet. (The appendix is on page 18 of the document.)

As a matter of policy, according to the inspector general’s report, citizens of Israel and other “specially designated countries” are subjected to a special security screening called a “Third Agency Check” (TAC) when they are actually detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the division of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing the immigration laws.

The five countries on the list that do not have majority Muslim populations--Kazakhstan (47 percent Muslim), Eritrea (36.5 percent Muslim), Israel (16.9 percent Muslim), the Philippines (5 percent Muslim) and Thailand (4.6 percent)--have had internal problems with radical Muslim terrorists, as reported by the State Department.

Isn't that kind of blaming the victim?

ICE officers are supposed to check all aliens they take into custody against the Terrorist Watchlist, which includes the identities of individuals the U.S. government knows or reasonably suspects to be terrorists. When ICE holds a citizen from a “specially designated country” in its own detention facilities, according to the agency’s standing policy, the individual is also supposed to be run through a TAC.

“In addition to the Terrorist Watchlist screening, ICE uses a Third Agency Check (TAC) to screen aliens from specially designated countries (SDCs) that have shown a tendency to promote, produce, or protect terrorist organizations or their members,” says the inspector general’s report.

“The purpose of the additional screening is to determine whether other agencies have an interest in the alien,” says the report. “ICE’s policy requires officers to conduct TAC screenings only for aliens from SDCs if the aliens are in ICE custody. As a result, ICE does not perform a TAC for the majority of its population of aliens, which includes those incarcerated or released under supervision.”

The inspector general recommended in the report that ICE change its screening policy “to require officers to conduct TAC screenings for all aliens from SDCs, not just those held in ICE detention facilities.”

OK lets get this straight. Based on new Department of Homeland Security procedures, illegal immigrants who are caught breaking the law will not be deported, but the Inspector General is no recommending that every Israeli that visits the US should be subject to special screening procedures.

Wait! It gets crazier:

Even though the adminisration includes Israel among “specially designated countries” that it believes "have shown a tendency to promote, produce, or protect terrorist organizations or their members,” ICE Spokeswoman Gillian Christensen told CNSNews.com that the U.S. also considers Israel, as well as some other countries on the “specially designated countries” list, as partners in the struggle against terrorism.

“The U.S. does not and never has considered Israel to have links to terrorism, but rather they are a partner in our efforts to combat global terrorism,” Christensen said in a written statement. “Countries may have been included on the list because of the backgrounds of arrestees, not because of the country’s government itself.”

OH Israelis will now be subject to extra screening because the country arrests terrorists.
That makes sense?

ICE declined to say who put Israel on the list or when Israel was put there. However, in her written statement, ICE spokeswoman Christensen said the “specially designated country” list had been created "at least" seven years ago--which would have been during the presidency of George W. Bush--and that ICE was not responsible for creating it.

True but when this final list was proposed in March 2008 Israel was not on the list but North Korea was, today that is reversed.

“So many federal agencies have created different lists that U.S. officials contemplated adopting a single one to streamline the process, Stark wrote,” said the McClatchey report. “The proposed list, which officials said had yet to be adopted, includes 35 countries, most with significant Muslim or Arab populations.”

“The group of agencies--which included ICE, the National Security Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection--not only recommended one list but also suggested an interagency definition of ‘special interest alien,’” said the McClatchey report. “Under the proposal, a special interest alien would be an immigrant with terrorist ties or an immigrant who by nationality, ‘ethnicity or other factors may have ties or sympathies’ with the listed country.”

The 35 countries plus the West Bank and Gaza that were on the proposed list discussed in the ICE memo uncovered by McClatchey in March 2008 almost exactly matches the “specially designated countries” on the list published by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General on May 11, 2011. There are only two differences: North Korea was on the list proposed in 2008; it is not on the May 2011 list. Israel was not on the list proposed in 2008; it is on the May 2011 list.

See how this administration cares about Israel? Even though the list was already set, they made a change to put our ally on this special list. Boy oh boy, just like he is with Great Britain, whose Queen he gave an Ipod full of his speeches and Broadway Show tunes, Barack Obama is a real friend of Israel.

Obama always says that despite his constant criticism of Israel, America will always have a special partnership with the Jewish State. Now we understand he means putting Israel on a "special" terrorism watch list.

Andi Eigenmann pregnant news confirmed

2011-06-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Andi Eigenmann pregnant news confirmed by her mother Jaclyn Jose that the rumor of her daughter Eigenmann's pregnancy is indeed true.Andi Eigenmann is four months pregnant.Jaclyn told in an interview to ABS-CBN - that her daughter is indeed pregnant.

The news shocked the Entertainment world as at 21 years of age in the peek of her career Andi Eigenmann got pregnant.Though her mother Jaclyn Jose told that the father of the baby is Andy's ex boyfriend.Though some pointed to actor Albie Casino for the act but still the main truth is yet to reveal.

Andi Eigenmann is a Filipino actress and as well as a model who acted in various TV serials and done some three Movies also.Nowadays she is working as a contract artist under ABS-CBN's star magic.

Princess Diana and Kate Middleton together on Newsweek Cover Photo

2011-06-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Princess Diana and Kate Middleton together on the Newsweek Cover Photo.The Photo of Princess Diana been digitally enhanced and being edited to make a perfect look and compared with the style of Kate Middleston.The Caption of the Newsweek is pretty interesting - Diana at 50,if she were here now.

OH MY! President Obama is Having Short-Term Memory Issues..OR WORSE

2011-06-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Folks the President of the United States may be folding under the pressure, at the very least he is exhibiting a frightening short term memory problem. Take for example what he said during his press conference today.

“If everybody else is willing to take on their sacred cows and do tough things to achieve the goal of real deficit reduction, then I think it would be hard for the Republicans to stand there and say the tax break for corporate jets is sufficiently important that we’re not willing to come to the table and get a deal done.’’

The problem with that statement is that tax breaks for corporate jets are not a Republican sacred cow, they are a Democratic Party invention. These tax breaks were part of the Democratic Party stimulus rammed through by the progressive Congress shortly after he was inaugurated and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel in February 2009:

That's right. Buried in the nearly $800 billion stimulus plan signed last week by President Barack Obama is a provision allowing companies to speed the depreciation of newly purchased corporate jets. On a popular model like the $530,100 Cirrus SR22 GTS, companies can now deduct about $418,000 -- a huge improvement over former limits.

The new tax laws are a desperately needed lifeline for general-aviation manufacturers, which have shed some 11,000 jobs in the past three months. Given the jobs and taxes at stake, lawmakers are absolutely right in attempting to resuscitate the general-aviation industry. Unfortunately, it was the very same lawmakers who helped put the industry on life support in the first place.

My friend Warner Todd Huston uses an AP Article to point out the President's demography on his blog.

The difference is that he believes that Barack Obama is being a demagogue, sorry buddy but I have to disagree. No one in their right mind could ever believe that the press would miss such a blatant error. And President Obama would never lie to us unless there was a mechanical problem with the TOTUS. So the only explanation is that Barack Obama is no longer in his right mind, he is either having short term memory issues or even worse.

Obama, In Press Conference, Calls On Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling

2011-06-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

There are two President Obamas: the one before Osama Bin Ladin was assassinated, and the one after Osama Bin Ladin was assassinated. The pre- Bin Ladin Obama seemed tentative and for the most part, not combative and more conciliatory.
The post-Bin Ladin Obama is not tentative, combative, and conciliatory only when necessary. It was that President Obama who conducted the just-completed press conference, today.

It was that President Obama who said "We've got to get this done. They need to be here. I've been here. You stay here. Let's get it done."

And Obama was rather upset that he was accused he was not presenting "leadership." It was at that point, the President called on Congress to "get it done."

Or else.

Raising the debt ceiling is a necessity. If it's not done, the ratings of all U.S bonds will be downgraded. Interest rates will go up, and the already tight money supply will tighten even more, plunging the American economy into recession.

Stay tuned.

Are Jewish Democrats Beginning to Say No To Obama ?

2011-06-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

It seems as if everything is finally beginning to add up. According to several dozen interviews conducted by Politico, Americans of the Jewish faith are finally waking up to the fact that Barack Obama is not a friend of Israel. And the best efforts of Democratic spin-masters isn't going to change the truth.

David Ainsman really began to get worried about President Barack Obama’s standing with his fellow Jewish Democrats when a recent dinner with his wife and two other couples — all Obama voters in 2008 — nearly turned into a screaming match.

Ainsman, a prominent Democratic lawyer and Pittsburgh Jewish community leader, was trying to explain that Obama had just been offering Israel a bit of “tough love” in his May 19 speech on the Arab Spring. His friends disagreed — to say the least.

One said he had the sense that Obama “took the opportunity to throw Israel under the bus.” Another, who swore he wasn’t getting his information from the mutually despised Fox News, admitted he’d lost faith in the president.

But its not just this particular speech, it seems as if it is a cumulative effect of all of the times Obama has thrown Israel and its leaders under the bus since he was elected President.

“It’s less something specific than that these incidents keep on coming,” said Ainsman.

Ainsman is correct Obama's "war on Israel" began just a few days after inauguration and continued through his first year and even through today. For example, these are only some of the articles I wrote about Obama and Israel during his first months in office, and all this happened prior to his getting involved in the Israeli/Palestinian issue.

Jan 29th 2009 Israel-Hating Samantha Power Named Key Obama Adviser
Feb. 2009 Obama Appoints Anti-Israel Chas Freeman as Chairman of the National Intelligence Board
June 4th 2009 Obama's Cairo Speech Threw Israel Under the Bus
Sept. 29th 2009 Obama Tosses Israel Under The Bus--AGAIN !

Politico reports that the recent speech was the straw that broke the Camel's back:

The immediate controversy sparked by the speech was Obama’s statement that Israel should embrace the country’s 1967 borders, with “land swaps,” as a basis for peace talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seized on the first half of that phrase and the threat of a return to what Israelis sometimes refer to as “Auschwitz borders.”

Ben Smith, the reporter who wrote the article believes that it is hard to resist the conclusion that some kind of tipping point has been reached.

Most of those interviewed were center-left American Jews and Obama supporters — and many of them Democratic donors. On some core issues involving Israel, they’re well to the left of Netanyahu and many Americans: They refer to the “West Bank,” not to “Judea and Samaria,” fervently supported the Oslo peace process and Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and believe in the urgency of creating a Palestinian state.

But they are also fearful for Israel at a moment of turmoil in a hostile region when the moderate Palestinian Authority is joining forces with the militantly anti-Israel Hamas.

“It’s a hot time, because Israel is isolated in the world and, in particular, with the Obama administration putting pressure on Israel,” said Rabbi Neil Cooper, leader of Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El in Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs, who recently lectured his large, politically connected congregation on avoiding turning Israel into a partisan issue.

Some of these traditional Democrats now say, to their own astonishment, that they’ll consider voting for a Republican in 2012. And many of those who continue to support Obama said they find themselves constantly on the defensive in conversations with friends.

“I’m hearing a tremendous amount of skittishness from pro-Israel voters who voted for Obama and now are questioning whether they did the right thing or not,” said Betsy Sheerr, the former head of an abortion-rights-supporting, pro-Israel PAC in Philadelphia, who said she continues to support Obama, with only mild reservations. “I’m hearing a lot of ‘Oh, if we’d only elected Hillary instead.’”

Mentally challenged Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, told Smith detected a level of anxiety in a recent visit to a senior center in her South Florida district.

“They wanted some clarity on the president’s view,” she said. “I answered their questions and restored some confidence that maybe was a little shaky, [rebutted] misinformation and the inaccurate reporting about what was said.”

Of course the reporting was not inaccurate, like most Democrats in Congress, Wasserman-Shultz was defending her party's President. Well, either that or the reporting was
written above the third grade reading level.

“There’s an inclination in the community to not trust this president’s gut feel on Israel and every time he sets out on a path that’s troubling you do get this ‘ouch’ reaction from the Jewish Community because they’re distrustful of him,” said the president of a major national Jewish organization, who declined to be quoted by name to avoid endangering his ties to the White House.

Democrats argue that during this point of every presidential race there are arguments that this will be the year Jews abandon the Democratic party. Truthfully, the only time that actually happened was the reelection campaign of Jimmy Carter.

“When Obama was running, there was a lot of concern among the guys in my group at shul, who are all late-30s to mid-40s, who I hang out with and daven with and go to dinner with, about Obama,” recalled Scott Matasar, a Cleveland lawyer who’s active in Jewish organizations.

Matasar remembers his friends’ worries over whether Obama was “going to be OK for Israel.” But then Obama met with the community’s leaders during a swing through Cleveland in the primary, and the rabbi at the denominationally conservative synagogue Matasar attends — “a real ardent Zionist and Israel defender” — came back to synagogue convinced.

Obama was aided in the turn-around by prominent Jews such as former NY Mayor Ed Koch and New Republic Editor Marty Peretz who gave the candidate a "Kosher on Israel" certificate. They will not be supporting Obama this time.

Now Matasar says he’s appalled by Obama’s “rookie mistakes and bumbling” and the reported marginalization of a veteran peace negotiator, Dennis Ross, in favor of aides who back a tougher line on Netanyahu. He’s the most pro-Obama member of his social circle but is finding the president harder to defend.

...A Philadelphia Democrat and pro-Israel activist, Joe Wolfson, recalled a similar progression.

“What got me past Obama in the recent election was Dennis Ross — I heard him speak in Philadelphia and I had many of my concerns allayed,” Wolfson said. “Now, I think I’m like many pro-Israel Democrats now who are looking to see whether we can vote Republican.”

Its not just the votes, this "Jewish Awakening" will also hurt him in the pocketbook.

A top-dollar Washington fundraiser aimed at Jewish donors in Miami last week raised more than $1 million from 80 people, and while one prominent Jewish activist said the DNC had to scramble to fill seats, seven-figure fundraisers are hard to sneer at.

People involved in the Philadelphia event, however, said they think Jewish doubts are taking a fund raising toll.

“We’re going to raise a ton of money, but I don’t know if we’re going to hit our goals,” said Daniel Berger, a lawyer who is firmly in the “peace camp” and said he blamed the controversy on Netanyahu’s intransigence.

The bottom line is that even hard core pro-Israel Jews do not vote on only one issue. Certainly Israel wasn't the only reason that 55% of American Jews voted against Jimmy Carter in 1980. But, just as what happened 31 years ago, Barack Obama's anti-Israel policies are causing liberal Jews to take the rose-tint off their glasses and evaluate what has happened since January 2009, domestically, his foreign policy and his policy toward the Jewish state, and what they see is not very positive.

Lets just hope the trend continues because in the end a one-term Obama Presidency would be the best thing for America.

Google Social Network Attacks Facebook And Foursquare

2011-06-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Google wants your attention! Google Social Network is here!

In its never-ending quest to catch up with, rather than work with, Facebook, Google is rolling out its latest effort called Google +, or the Google Social Network.

This blogger is not a beta tester for Google +, but as one who's used Google accounts almost since gmail started, and was prepared to hate the very idea of a Google Social Network, after reading through the online presentation, I have to say, Google may be on to something here.

The main question is, is Google + compelling enough to want to use, and is that enough to supplant Facebook. The answer is yes, but no. Yes, because it combines features, and in a way fuses a Foursquare-like check-in system into its social network, but no, because it totally misses the design element that makes Facebook so popular.

What's cool about Facebook is it's simplicity - everything starts from your profile page. The Facebook news feed is kind of the "town central" for what your friends are up to.

So, in a way, it's like living in a neighborhood with your house as the profile, and the downtown park and mall as the place where you go and see what everyone's up to. When they come to your house, that's when they comment or "like" on something that appears on your profile.

It's that function that makes Facebook so very, there's that word again, compelling.

What's that word again about Google Social Network is its' design, using circles and colors to designate places and actions. But, and I can see this without a beta account, it doesn't have that neighborhood feeling that makes Facebook work.

And I don't think Facebook was deliberately designed to work in the way I described above, it just turned out that way. But if you think about it, that "way" is so organic, so much the way we work as people, it explains Facebook's success.

That Google didn't copy that aspect of Facebook's design is why it will not replace, or really put a dent into, Facebook's dominance.

The problem is that Google didn't think about how the "circles, hangouts, Instant Upload, Sparks, and Huddle," all fit together, or about what really binds people to each other. Google's system connects people but it does not let me see what people - my friends - are doing.

People like to know what other people are doing. Facebook's News feed allows that, even more than the status updates. Google should find some kind of way to incorporate Facebook's user experience into the Google Social Network, or else, it's just not going to catch on with many other than early responders.

UPDATE: PC World, which was invited to try Google + reports that the "Stream" is equal to the Facebook News Feed. From PC World's account, Google does copy Facebook's "feel" but I have to try it for myself to be sure. I'm still skeptical.

Stay tuned.

Petraeus Replacement Testifies: Obama's Afghanistan Withdrawal Plan Went AGAINST Military Advice

2011-06-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The General has been nominated to replace Gen. David Petraeus as head of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

As part of his testimony the General was grilled by Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham. He eventually gave a startling answer. The withdrawal plan announced by President Obama was not at the bottom of the scale of options recommended by the Generals on the ground, it was below all recommendations offered by the Military.

(If you cannot see video below click here)

GRAHAM: The option that the country has chosen through President Obama is to withdraw 10,000 this year, all surge forces gone by September. Is it fair to say, General Allen, that was not one of the options presented to the president by General Petraeus?

ALLEN: It is a more aggressive option than that which was presented.

GRAHAM: My question is, was that a option?

ALLEN: It was not.

GRAHAM: So I just want the country to understand that this is not the Petraeus strategy any longer. The commander in chief has the perfect right to do what he did. I just hope that it hasn't undercut what I think could be a very successful outcome.

During the 2008 Campaign "peace candidate" Barack Obama described Afghanistan as a good war. His surge announced in December 2009 was just beginning to turn things around. But this President decided to destroy the momentum gained by the American heroes fighting in Afghanistan. Barack Obama who has had no military training, decided to ignore the advice of his military leaders by withdrawing faster than they recommended. Sure they now say they back the plan, they are following orders. Truth be told though, this President has put his reelection ahead of the needs of this country and the safety of our military heroes overseas.

Ben Parr Is Wrong About Straight Guys And Dating In SF And LA

2011-06-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

Happened to run across an infograph posted, but not made by, by Ben Parr, the Mashable Editor-At-Large, on December 27, 2010. It shows that San Francisco and Los Angeles have the largest ratio pools of single men versus single women. But the chart compelled Parr to blog a point of view that was provocative to say the least:

Title: If You’re a Straight Guy Living in LA or SF, the Dating Scene Isn’t in Your Favor

Body: if you’re a straight guy looking to find love, I suggest moving to Chicago or New York City.

Since Ben lives in the Bay Area, or at least did when he attended the San Francisco YouTube Community Roundtable in 2009, and still seems to be a San Francisco dweller, it's not hard to think maybe Parr was having a hard time himself (let's hope not), and used a map to share his pain.

Fear not, Ben, there's another approach to dating life in San Francisco. Love women! San Francisco and Los Angeles have, perhaps, the largest best assembly of smart single women outside of New York or Chicago. Take a look at Ashley, who I met at the BrickYard Bar and Grill in San Francisco on New Year's Day:

Plus, the Gay-friendly culture translates to many available, single, straight women looking for a single, available, straight man. If there's just one draw-back, it's that the society as a whole is transient - women are always moving.

But, if you're in the Tech industry, as Ben is, you're going to have to get away from Tech events and go to fund-raisers. San Francisco is known for non-profits and for fund-raisers for worthy causes. The non-profit game is not "the thing" in LA; it's entertainment. And that means premiers, parties, and hangs.

That's based on my experience.

Shera Bechard Hot Photos : Hugh Hefner's New Girlfriend

2011-06-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

Shera Bechard name recently came into the Internet World after a long time.The reason is that Playboy King Hugh Hefner introduced her as his 2nd New Girlfriend after Crystal Harris went out of his Life.Hefner first introduced Anna Sophia Berglund as his Ist Girlfriend.The New been first Published in PEOPLE magazine.

Hefner announced that Shera Bechard is going to be November 2011 Playmate,though she came into the Playboy cover last year November also.

City Of Oakland's Brenda Franzel Comes To Council to Save Her Job

2011-06-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

If anyone had a doubt that the City of Oakland was in financial trouble, one look at tonight's Oakland City Council meeting should change their mind.

Watching via live stream from Georgia, this blogger has never seen so many Oakland workers come before the City and beg to have their jobs maintained. And these are good, long-serving, proud Oakland workers, like Brenda Franzel.

Really sad.

Brenda Franzel,a revenue officer with the City of Oakland, just took the unusual step of coming to the Oakland City Council tonight and having her daughter speak before the Council first, and then and asking for "justice."

This as the Oakland City Council considers various budget options placed before it.

"I refused to participate in the slurs about who brings in revenue for the City, and by that, I mean money," Franzel said. "I blame the culture in which we serve for even considering cutting people who raise revenue for the city. It creates a hostile environment that makes it difficult to get our work done."

Franzel says that the "revenue division has spent five years working as a team, not against each other." She then completed her speech by offering that the "old revenue division understand the value of work that each section provides. I ask for the staff, please reconsider laying off staff in the revenue division."

Wow.

Jeff Levine "These are difficult and painful concessions for those of us who have been dealing with 10 percent pay cuts." He says it's now time for the City Council to pass a budget that's fair for Oakland.

The Oakland City Council is in session as this is written. See it live here: Oakland City Council Live Feed.

Why Is the US Sending Money To China To Help It Meet Air Pollution Standards ?

2011-06-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

What's $100 million between friends? Over the past decade the Environmental Protection agency has given $100 Million dollars to foreign governments and organizations to help them solve their environmental problems. While the program began under the Bush administration, like all kinds of spending it has intensified under President Obama $27 of the $100 million was spend during the past year and a half.

As the report (embedded below) describes:

"At a time of record debt and soaring unemployment here in the United States, the committee has discovered that EPA has intensified its foreign grants program," the report said.

The Committee sent EPA head Lisa Jackson a letter which said in part

“We are concerned that, more broadly, EPA’s awarding of foreign grants reflects a surprising detachment from our nation’s foremost priorities, including those in the environmental realm,” the top Republicans on the panel said Monday in a letter to Jackson."

Some of the money given out by the Obama administration-led EPA includes

$718,000 to help China comply with both the Stockholm and Long Range Transport of Air Pollutants Convention (can't they count this as a partial payback of the money we own them?)

$700,000 for Thailand to recover methane gas at 12 pig farms

$1,226,841 for the United Nations to promote clean fuels

$150,000 for INTERPOL to combat fraud in carbon trading

$15,000 for Indonesia’s “Breathe Easy, Jakarta” publicity campaign

The GOP lawmakers on the committee requested that EPA provide a series of documents related to the grants.

“We hope you would agree that in these challenging economic times, with unemployment at over 9 percent, federal spending should reflect the priorities of the American people,” the letter says. “This includes investment in the American economy and its greatest assets — the American worker and those who create the jobs they fill.

...Assisting the Chinese mining industry or the Chinese government with methane recovery would probably not occur to most Americans as the most valuable use of these funds- especially as China holds over $1.1 trillion in United States Treasury Securities. We are concerned that, more broadly, EPA’s awarding of foreign grants reflects a surprising detachment from our nation’s foremost priorities, including those in the environmental realm.”

It is incredible that the same progressive Democrats who want to kill more job through increased taxation, are OK with giving money to Thailand so they can collect methane from Pigs. This same administration that is doing its best to prevent us from attaining energy independence by exploiting our own energy resources is perfectly willing to send money to an unfriendly Brazil so they can exploit theirs. Isn't it time to stop the madness and handcuff some of these job killing, money wasting federal government functions before we even consider raising new revenue? A good place to begin maybe the dismantling of both the EPA and the Department of Energy and transferring any necessary functions to other Departments.

062711MajMemorandum

Katrina Kaif Liplock Kiss with Hrithik Roshan Photo

2011-06-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Katrina Kaif Liplock Kiss with Hrithik Roshan in the film Zindegi Na milegi Dobara will not be cut from the main film.After the controversy of the kiss started ,the director and Producer of the film were in dilemma whether to keep the Katrina - Hrithik longest kiss in the film or not.

Megan Fox romance with Shia LaBeuof Photo

2011-06-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Megan Fox romance with Shia LaBeuof been confirmed.Shia LaBeuof recently said in an Interview that as they were in the sets of Transformers,its natural of feeling attraction between each other.The above picture though showing no kissing scene between them but yes it shows the romance between the pair.

"Big NY Times Scoop”: Israel Claims Media Coverage is Unfair

2011-06-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

by Barry Rubin

Sometimes when one of the better reporters around tries to be fair the result shows up the low quality of Middle East coverage generally. In an article on the Gaza Strip, Israeli policy, and the flotilla of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas activists, the New York Times informs us:

“Israel’s relationship with the foreign news media has grown strained in recent years; the country increasingly believes that foreign portrayals of its conflict with the Palestinians are harsh and one-sided.”

Since Israelis have been quite aware of media bias since the mid-1980s and provided hundreds (thousands) of examples this should not exactly be a discovery. But American newspaper readers or television watchers are rarely informed of this fact by the very institutions that stand accused of bias, ignorance, and just plain bad reporting.

Note the way the sentence (perhaps revised by editors in New York) is written:

–This is an Israeli perception, not a fact nor necessarily a view held by anyone else in the world.

–It is just happening now (“recent,” “increasingly”)

–And the result is Israeli hostility toward the media (that is, the action involved is Israel becoming more aggressive in its treatment of foreign journalists). In other words the problem is framed as Israel challenging freedom of the media, not the media subverting the existence and well-being of Israel. The action that prompted the writing of that article–Israel’s announcing possible sanctions against journalists going on the Gaza flotilla ships–was quickly rescinded. In other words, even though Israel knows there is rampant media bias it does everything possible to give freedom to the foreign media, in sharp contrast to most of the other countries in the region which get far more favorable coverage.

–No examples are provided which thus undermines the claim. Actually, while space is of course limited, it would have been easy to mention in regard to a specific event cited–Israel banning foreign journalists from Gaza durin the 2008-2009 fighting–that Israel was concerned that it might accidentally kill foreign correspondents during operations and that reporters could tip off Hamas (inadvertently or otherwise) about Israeli actions thus causing casualties.

Thus, the hint is clearly–though it is equally quite deniable–that Israelis are irrationally and suddenly believing that the media is biased against it and this makes it take bad actions that restrict media freedom.

In other words, it’s good that this view is being reported but the framework signals the reader to disbelieve it. Here’s a parallel example:

“Israel says that its Gaza blockade is legal and that it will make sure that no boat violates it, even if that means resorting to force again.”

On the surface, this is perfectly correct. But in fact there has been no serious legal challenge to the blockade and various international authorities have said that it is quite legal. Again, the hint is that this is just what Israel claims, in other words, a partisan assertion without merit.

Especially disturbing is this passage:

“Some of the vessels planning to take part this year are bringing construction equipment and humanitarian aid, including medicine, which have been scarce in Gaza because of a siege imposed by Israel and Egypt for the past four years to isolate Hamas.”

Has medicine been scarce in Gaza because of a “siege” (a correct but loaded word)? That just isn’t true since medicine has never been subject to restrictions. Again, the reader is conditioned, this time by the inhumane nature of those evil Israelis. They won’t even let medicine in for those poor Gazans? What a bunch of barbarians! One should certainly hate such people.

Incidentally, a survey of the first flotilla’s cargo shows that the medicine brought was beyond expiration date and pretty random, not exactly saving people suffering from disease.

As for construction equipment and materials, a key factor here is that Israel has charged these have been used to build military installations. In Lebanon, where Hizballah has full access to construction equipment, a network of bunkers, tunnels and other fortifications have been built in the south. Southern Lebanon, you know, the place where the U.S. government and the UN promised Israel that Hizballah would not be allowed to return.

Or take this sentence:

“Thirteen months ago, Israeli commandos boarded a Turkish vessel whose crew and passengers were seeking to break the blockade and, facing resistance, killed nine people aboard.”

Technically accurate and better than most as it indicates there was “resistance” (which could mean, presumably, sitting in a circle and singing a song from the American civil rights movement) but:

–The “resistance” consisted of people with weapons who attacked the soldiers and took some prisoner.

–The “nine people” were members of radical Turkish Islamist groups that had previously proclaimed they intended to be martyrs and participated in chants about massacring Jews.

Even when the article includes “balancing” material the phrasing is somewhat misleading or, more accurately, leading toward a specific conclusion:

“But the real purpose of the flotilla is less to deliver goods and building supplies, which are increasingly available in Gaza now, than to challenge Israel’s control over Gaza’s borders. The American vessel, for example, will not be loaded with any goods.”

Aside from the question of Egypt opening the border with Gaza, this sentence is really a response to one of Israel’s main talking points. How can this flotilla be portrayed as humanitarian if it is bringing virtually no goods? The answer is that it is political, but the phrase used is “to challenge Israel’s control over Gaza’s borders” as if there is nothing on the other side but people short of construction materials and medicine.

Here’s the real answer: to help Hamas’s control of Gaza. The main organizers are Islamists allied with Hamas; the other organizers are people who, like Hamas, want to see Israel wiped off the map. They view Hamas–a terrorist group that is openly antisemitic and genocidal, represses women, and expels Christians–as better than Israel.

We thus have three groups:

–Islamists who are allies with Hamas and want to help it.

–Western leftists who think that Israel is evil and shouldn’t exist and who ignore Hamas or even supportive of it.

–Western readers of newspapers and watchers of television who are given news that ignores or systematically challenges Israel’s side of the story. Thus, they are driven toward the conclusion that Israel is wrong and the Palestinians are right.

As I said earlier, this is one of the better stories by a journalist who is consciously trying to be fair. For example, it points out that Israel defended itself in 2008 against the firing of thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip. And in another article he points out how well much of the Gaza Strip is economically.

Moreover, this is a short article whose goal is to discuss Israel’s warning to reporters not to go on the flotilla ships. But often it is the shorter pieces, that try to summarize and explain events, which most clearly demonstrate how coverage is skewed. And again, by attempting to be balanced this piece shows how unbalanced is much of the other coverage.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, and a featured columnist at PajamasMedia http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center is http://www.gloria-center.org.

Oakland City and Unions Agree, Oakland Greens Fume Over Budget

2011-06-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Just got an interesting email from Don Macleay, last year's Oakland Mayoral Candidate, who is urging Oaklanders to come to Tuesday night's Oakland City Council Meeting. But before we get to his, and the Oakland Greens, issues, a comment.

The City of Oakland must agree on a budget plan by July 1st, and that day is this Friday. There has been a lot of focus on and discussion over a process that, long ago, this blogger knew was insular, and because the public doesn't have all of the past budget information, and because the arguments about the budget are within the margins and not about how to extend the margins.

What do I mean by extend the margins?

One problem is that of each property tax dollar collected, the City of Oakland gets to keep just 26 percent of it.

The other problem is much of Oakland's revenue-producing land is controlled by the Redevelopment Agency, which is a good thing, because that's the only way Oakland itself can collect 100 percent of the taxes the city produces. The final problem is that overall, Oakland's property tax revenue, like that for the state, has dropped like a rock, and the question not answered to this point is, how much more will it fall?

Well, before I go to far there, let's look at what Don Macleay sent over. This is the email he sent, re-posted with his permission:

don@oaklandgreens.org to GreenNews

show details 1:28 AM (12 hours ago)

It is very hard to sum up how bad the proposed budget is and how limited and short term the council's counter proposals are in an email and still expect anyone to read it.
On the other hand, if ever there was a time to join the public at an Oakland City Council meeting, it would be this Tuesday evening. Please take a moment to stand up and be counted at this time.

Let council know that you do not appreciate their pressure tactics, the out of public eye debate and the budget crisis overall. It is also clear that we need to change the budget process and reform the whole account ledger. Council should use the short reprieve that their amended budgets offer us to call a budget convention and bring a new plan to the voters for approval before this becomes a crisis again.

I will try to at least sum up the last few episodes of this soap opera.
Our mayor proposed a budget two months ago that had three speeds:
A - With the money we got and without concessions from the unions
B - with concessions from the unions
C - with concessions from the unions and a parcel tax

For whatever reason, she included in this proposed budget, version A, the near total shutdown ofour library system. Some say that was to pressure the unions for concessions, other say it was to pressure the voters for a parcel tax and I say it was poor leadership if either is true. Even if neither is true it is not great leadership.

Option A will open up as a pdf file and can be accessed at this link:

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca/groups/cityadministrator/documents/report/oak028937.pdf

For the same two months our City Council has not been forthcoming about their counter proposals.

The few sessions they held in public there were no amendments proposed or debated on in public by them. The public organized a save the libraries, save the film office, save whatever campaign and people spoke out against the cuts.

When asked about why they were not coming up with something else we were told that the Brown Act kept them from working in private with more than 4 of them at once. Nothing about the Brown Act keeps them from debating the budget in public in open session, but no version of that ever happened.

Now we have a 4 member, a 3 member and a 1 council member counter-proposals made public only a few days before the final deadline to vote in a new budget.

Counter proposals are:

1) Reid-Brooks-Brunner
2) Schaaf-Kaplan-Nadel-Kernighan
3) De La Fuente

All three can be accessed at this link (recommend copy - paste):

http://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=909242&GUID=8F89FA9A-0A70-4FE4-9941-6A9ECBCA5
93D&Options=&Search=>

The Council convenes in open session at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 28, 2011, at City Hall Council Chambers.

The schedule details can be found here:

http://oakland.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=149612&GUID=049171A5-56F1-4EAA-ABC7-412E02B8501C&Options=info|&Search

If necessary, a second meeting will convene at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, June 30, 2011, at City Hall Council Chambers.

To sign up for a speaker's card see

http://www.oaklandnet.com/cityclerk/speakerupdate.asp
http://www.oaklandnet.com/cityclerk/speakerupdate.asp

A budget must be passed by the 30th.

Writing for myself, but with the agreement of many other Oakland Greens, I have to say that all the big issues of our local government's endless budget instability have not been fixed in any way shape or form. We need to raise more taxes and raise those taxes in a more simple and fair way.

There is nothing in this budget to look at the Port as a revenue contributor, deal with the crazy taxes and fines that are hurting local employment, counterbalance the distortions that Prop 13 give us in the real estate market and so on. In the next Council Elections we should talk more about this by putting up challengers to the incumbents willing to change the way we collect taxes.

On the spending side we are not finding a balance between real estate development, police and fire and everything else. The pension formulas do not work and council has kicked that can down the road in a way that will both cost a lot and still not offer most of our public employees a secure retirement income. (that is a lose-lose deal).

Our hands are tied every which way with gimmicks inside the different important propositions we have voted. We have Prop Y but still no commitment
to the core community policing and we have Prop Q, but the Mayor can still offer to shut it down and close 14 out of 18 libraries.

Both of those propositions have some triggers in them and obligations in them that do not make any sense, except for keeping political friends. One could go on. We Greens should make these points come next election time. A progressive agenda for Oakland is one that will give us stable reliable government with stable reliable funding.

Let's keep in mind that the Redevelopment Budget is larger than our General Fund. Some Redevelopment funds have been spent to prop up the general fund in some pretty contrived manners only a lawyer could love. The Redevelopment Funds cause the state to “backfill” the county because it does not have enough income to meet the School Board allocations.

These Redevelopment Funds are somehow so sacrosanct that one is not allowed to question funding speculative real-estate projects to local developers at a time when we cannot keep all our libraries open or our community policing staffed. Because we do nothing to advocate a plan B, we may just lose Redevelopment Funds without much ado as a dictate of the State Budget. I do not know if we have a balanced City Budget if that happens.

But remember that City Council is also the Redevelopment Committee without a mayor or any other check, balance or serious oversight. So we have a council that has this kind of power on the side and just accepts the Redevelopment Rules whether they are good for Oakland or not.

If the Redevelopment Committee still exists by next election, we should consider what we really want to do with that money and how we want it governed and monitored.

A real council seat candidate debate will have the Redevelopment Committee affairs as major issues. We also have a council that just accepts some of the bad deals that the state and county hand down to us without a squeak of protest. By this I mean the way sales taxes are collected and distributed for an income example.

For an unfunded mandate example we have the state prison and parole systems which are either the worst in the nation or second worst. That system returns
offenders into our community without any reform and little help to integrate. We could probably save money and misery by reopening our own city jail and offering to keep these offenders here.

One can go on a long time on this subject and next election we plan to bring it up in a big way. In many countries the budget is what defines the government; lose a budge vote, lose the government.

How would this budget define us? Well, we love our police, fire and land developers a lot and we put our parks, libraries and public spaces on the low priority side of things.

A budget crisis like this one would cause other governments to resign.

Ours probably should, but I don't think that they will.

So we will have to vote them out by voting something better in.

Don Macleay

Oakland Green Party

Don also included this post from Sanjiv Handa, dated June 24, 2011:

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2011 10:25 pm
Subject: Budget Proposals Restore Libraries and NSCs
FYI from Sanjiv Handa, East Bay News Service

There was quite a bit of excitement Friday, when City Council members finally released three separate budget proposals. They were one day too late for the normal agenda process, forcing the City Clerk's staff to stay late on Friday to make the proposals available online.

The clerk's staff often must stay until 2 a.m. or later Thursday night into Friday morning to finish agenda preparations, and then return to work as early as 8 a.m. the next morning to complete agenda distribution by noon.

City Hall was a ghost town by 4 p.m., but the clerk's staff was not alone. Desley Brooks, Libby Schaaf, Mayor Jean Quan, and half a dozen legislative aides were still working away past 6 p.m.

Council members had already sent proposals into cyberspace before they were delivered to the city clerk at 1:17 and 1:18 p.m.

There were two "gangs of four" Council members developing budgets in private. Ultimately, Ignacio De La Fuente went out on his own. Larry Reid, Desley Brooks, and Jane Brunner issued a joint proposal. Libby Schaaf, Rebecca Kaplan, Nancy Nadel, and Pat Kernighan delivered a different plan..

In essence, all three proposals accept the bulk of Quan's $887 million plan ($387 million general fund; about $500 million in other funds, give or take a few million, depending on whom you believe).

There will be a Council meeting Tuesday, June 28, 5:30 p.m. to try and hammer out a consensus. If unsuccessful, another meeting has already been scheduled for Thursday, June 30, @ 5:30 p.m.

Labor negotiations are the biggest question mark. Closed sessions of the City Council will be held 9 a.m. to Noon on Tuesday, June 28, and again on Thursday, June 30, at Noon.

A deal has been reached with the firefighters union that has been pegged at saving the city $3.5 to $9 million a year, depending on what numbers you accept. Quan's proposal to close four fire stations has been rejected. However, the fire union has agreed to rotating closures of two fire stations each day for the next two years. Minimum staffing levels of four firefighters per fire truck and three per engine (the big hook-and-ladder) would stay in place until June 30, 2017.

All proposals call for keeping all branch libraries open. The Schaaf, et al, version even restores funding to keep the Main Library open between Christmas and New Year's.

All proposals save the jobs of nine Neighborhood Services Coordinators. However, they call for elimination of the job held by Claudia Albano, head of the division.

All proposals reject Quan's dismissal of Parking Director Noel Pinto and breaking up the division.

Council members also want to eliminate the communications director for the City Attorney's Office, held by Alex Katz.

The Film Office would be retained, along with Amy Zins' job, which would be transferred to redevelopment. But her assistant's position would be eliminated.

Obama Administration "Rewards" Project Gunrunner Whistle-blower With Termination Notice

2011-06-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

Here's another chapter in the "you don't piss off President Obama" guide book. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is trying to fire an agent who helped publicize the agency’s role in "Project Gunrunner" (A.K.A Fast and Furious) which allowed thousands of guns to cross the U.S. border and fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.

The agent, Vince Cefalu, who has spoken out about the ATF's so-called "Project Gunrunner" scandal, says he was served with termination papers just last week.

"Project Gunrunner" (A.K.A Fast and Furious)Was a project of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fireworks In late 2009, the ATF was alerted to suspicious buys at seven gun shops in the Phoenix area. Suspicious because the buyers paid cash, sometimes brought in paper bags. And they purchased classic "weapons of choice" used by Mexican drug traffickers - semi-automatic versions of military type rifles and pistols. According to news reports several gun shops wanted to stop the questionable sales, but Bureau encouraged them to continue.

ATF managers allegedly made a controversial decision: allow most of the weapons on the streets. The idea, they said, was to gather intelligence and see where the guns ended up. Insiders say it's a dangerous tactic called letting the guns, "walk." Yes, that's right, the US government decided--in order to fight the Mexican Drug Cartels, we should arm them and let them keep their weapons once they were used in committing crimes (kind of the same thing we do with the Palestinian terror groups such as Fatah).

The House Oversight committee reported that some of these guns were used in crimes. For example, two of the approximately 2,000 guns that ATF let criminals walk away with were found at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010.

Agent Cefalu was a key figure in letting the public know about this idiotic program.

“Aside from Jay Dobyns, I don't know of anyone that's been more vocal about ATF mismanagement than me,” said Cefalu, a senior special agent based in Dublin, Calif. “That's why this is happening.” Dobyns, an ATF special agent based in Tucson, has appeared several times on Fox News to discuss the scandal.

Cefalu first told FoxNews.com about the ATF’s embattled anti-gun smuggling operation in December, before the first reports on the story appeared in February. “Simply put, we knowingly let hundreds of guns and dozens of identified bad guys go across the border,” Cefalu said at the time.

Cefalu was on Fox News this morning to report that last week, after 24 years of service he
was forced to turn in his gun and badge. He can appeal but will be on “paid administrative leave” during the process.

Cefalu’s dismissal follows a string of allegations that the ATF retaliates against whistleblowers. When the Project Gunrunner scandal broke, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote the ATF that an agent who had been giving his staff members information about the scandal had been "allegedly accused... of misconduct" by the agent’s boss for talking with Grassley’s staffers

And two days before Cefalu was served with termination papers, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to the ATF warning officials not to retaliate against whistleblowers.

ATF spokesman Drew Wade denied in a statement to FoxNews.com that the bureau is retaliating, but he declined to comment about Cefalu's case. “ATF will not comment on specific, ongoing personnel matters. It is illegal to use disciplinary actions to retaliate against employees, and ATF does not engage in such improper reprisals.”

The ATF's termination letter to Cefalu, obtained by FoxNews.com, makes no mention of Cefalu’s role in the latest scandal.

“You think they would just come out and say that?” Cefalu said.

The letter claimed that Cefalu showed a lack of candor about a 2005 operation that he led. If their claim is true, its funny that there was no disciplinary action for six years, but once he let people know about project Gunrunner, coincidentally he was terminated.

In the 2005 case, local police wanted to wiretap a suspect to gather evidence, but Cefalu objected, saying it would be illegal to use wiretaps until all other options for gathering evidence had been tried.

Cefalu was then removed from the case. But he continued to speak out and file internal complaints about what he viewed as illegal ATF wiretapping. And that’s when his life became difficult.

So it seems that Cefalu is being fired is because he is one of those "do-gooders." Oh wait, he is an ATF agent...he is supposed to be a "do-gooder."

Another ATF agent, who requested to remain anonymous but who has provided accurate information on the Project Gunrunner case to FoxNews.com in the past, discussed what he knew about Cefalu.

“Common knowledge in the agency is that Cefalu outed an illegal wiretap quite some time ago, and he has been in the crosshairs since,” the agent told FoxNews.com. “My impression of him is that he has probably ruffled lots of feathers and delicate egos in his time. He is very direct and honest.”

But this agent said he'd “prefer that to a ‘go along to get along’ type."

"We don't avoid or learn from mistakes if we just lie to each other about how we never do anything wrong -- which is pretty much standard operating procedure from what I have seen of our HQ people," the agent said.

It sounds to this observer that Vince Cefalu is the type of person we need in government service. Well..except in the Obama administration the believes silent compliance is the correct way to operate because every decision made by this administration is a perfect one. I am sure that House Oversight Committee Chair, Darrell Issa will work to correct this wrong.

Aishwarya Rai Biography

2011-06-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was born 1 November 1973, Mangalore in the state of Karnataka. Aishwarya Rai is an Indian film actress. More fondly known as Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya Rai Biography, Aishwarya Rai worked as a model before starting his acting career. Born from a marine engineer father and teacher mother in Manglore, Aishwarya has spent most of his life in Mumbai. Aishwarya Rai her matriculation from Arya Vidya Mandir and later joined Jai Hind School. Aishwarya Rai won the Miss World contest in 1994. Aishwarya Rai has acted in more than 40 films in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali. Frequently quoted by media as "the most beautiful woman in the world", Aishwarya Rai made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam Tamil Movie Iruvar (1997), and has been the first commercial success in the Tamil film Jeans (1998). The attention of Bollywood Aishwarya Rai Hum Dil De Chuke through film Sanam (1999), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Appearances Aishwarya Rai won the Filmfare Best Actress Award. In 2002, Aishwarya Rai appeared in Bhansali's Devdas, Aishwarya Rai won the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

2003 brought even more exciting opportunities. Aishwarya Rai became the first Indian actress to be a juror at the Cannes Film Festival. Aishwarya Rai is also the newest member of the elite L'Oreal Dream Team, joining beauty Catherine Deneuve & Andie MacDowell as their international ambassador. Aishwarya Rai graced the cover of India Today and the prestigious TIME Magazine.

Aishwarya Rai seductiveness is subtle and understated. This 5'7 "beauty claims she does not need to diet to maintain her full physical his sly, delicious lips, sexy curves and ultra-feminine behavior gives the sign above it in this category.

Whitey Bulger Biography

2011-06-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. (born September 3, 1929) is suspected to be a former crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang based in Somerville, Massachusetts, in the United States. (Source Wikipedia). Whitey Bulger has also served as informants for the upper echelons of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a controversial arrangement that allows him to continue his criminal activities. Whitey Bulger Biography, Once tipped off with charges pending, Whitey Bulger fled and hid from the Boston area in December 1994. Bulger is listed as a fugitive on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Ten Most Wanted fugitive list. Whitey Bulger wanted for racketeering (under the squeeze Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO)), 19 murders, extortion, money laundering, conspiracy and narcotics distribution. (Source Wikipedia).

Whitey Bulger Biography

Name: James "Whitey''Bulger
Age: 81
Date of birth: 3 September 1929
Family: Raised in South Boston. His brother, William, is one of the most powerful politician in Massachusetts, leads the state Senate for 17 years and later served as president of the University of Massachusetts for seven years. William Bulger testified before a congressional committee about his brother and said he only heard from his brother once since he became a fugitive.

Background: Whitey Bulger led the Winter Hill Gang violence, the mass majority of Irish who ran loan-sharking, gambling and drug rackets in the Boston area. He was nicknamed "Whitey''untuk his shock of platinum hair bright. Whitey Bulger Biography.

FBI DEALINGS: Whitey Bulger was a top echelon informants that provide information about the FBI's Boston with his gang's main rival, the New England Mob. Whitey Bulger then listed as one entity "Ten Most Wanted" for alleged role in 19 murders, including the murder of businessman in Florida and Oklahoma. He's in addition to Osama bin Laden on the list and has a prize of U.S. $ 2 million on his head.

Recent Dove, Lotte Choco Caramel With Mango Ads, Show Racist Attacks On Black Women

2011-06-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

For all of the claims of a more advanced, enlightened, diverse, and color-blind society, we have good-old, mainstream corporate advertising to thank for reminding us that old-fashioned racism is alive and well.

Sadly, Dove and Lotte Choco Caramel With Mango are the most recent examples, and Dove - which was the champion, I thought, of the normal woman, regardless of color - should be particularly ashamed.

What Dove did was authorize the production of an ad that reads "before" on the left, and "after" on the right, with an obviously black woman posing on the "before" side, and an obviously "white" woman on the "after" side.

Who's in the middle? A woman who's skin color is between the two extremes.

The photo and the words imply that if you use Dove in the shower, you will turn white.

There's no other way to read that ad.

To this time period, Dove is still using the ad and it appears on the website for Dove Close Up, which you can see here.

What's equally disturbing is that the mainstream media, including columnists, have ignored the Dove issue, leaving bloggers to comment, and the noise hasn't been very loud at all.

But the ad is an obvious attack on black women, and it comes on the heels of a Psychology Today article that was an obvious, and down right sick, attack on black women.

And as if that weren't enough, a brand I never heard of called Lotte Choco Caramel With Mango, out of India, ran an ad photo that look like, well, Hamilton Nolan of Gawker put it pretty well...

In this ad out of India (click to enlarge) for Lotte Choco Caramel With Mango Inside, the choco-caramel-colored pregnant maid represents the Choco Caramel With Mango Inside. The happily leering mango is pleased that his mango sperm has been "inside" the choco caramel, and will be again soon, by the looks of it. Probably via rape. This scenario makes people want to purchase the candy in question.

I don't know what's going on, but this is one issue news media editors should take up their opinion columns on, and get to work. The ultimate shame is this strategy of attention-getting by racism is allowed to go without significant attack.

Why not sue Dove and Lotte Choco Caramel With Mango for defamation, and throw in Psychology Today to make the "burn the fields" legal strategy complete?

It's clear the fields do need to be burned.

Something must be done to stop this crap.

Lady Gaga with Gagasan Airport Kitty Photo

2011-06-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga posted this Twitpic from her Twitter account and thanks to Hello Kitty .In the picture Lady Gaga seen posed with Gagasan Airport Kitty

Lisa Ray's Same Pink dress at IIFA Rocks and Awards

2011-06-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

The Bollywood babe Lisa Ray seen recently wearing the same dress at IIFA Rocks and the next day IIFA Rocks.Though the reason is unknown but seems she loved the dress too much.The above picture showed the thing.You people could detect from the Jewelry she had.

What You Should Know About the Second Gaza Flotilla

2011-06-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sometime in the next day or two, ten boats carrying 5-600 anti-Israel activists will be approaching the waters surrounding the Gaza Strip. It is not known whether there will be some sort of confrontation as there was last year when a flotilla run by Turkish terrorists attacked members of the IDF as they attempted to board the ship and turn it around.

What is known is that the mainstream media, which is not a big fan of the Jewish State, will misrepresent the flotilla. Last year Reuters even doctored the pictures to make the terrorists look like innocent victims. So what follows is some of the background on the boat trip that the mainstream media will not tell you:

Purpose: The purpose of the second Gaza flotilla is the same as the first, to delegitimize the Jewish State of Israel and turn her into a pariah nation. The terrorists aboard are hoping that there is violence so that violence could be used to further hurt Israel.

During the past year, the Hamas-run Gaza has opened new shopping malls, theme parks and resort hotels. Not shabby for an area supposedly being strangled by an Israeli naval embargo. As for humanitarian aid, Israel transfers 5,000-6,000 tons of humanitarian supplies per day to Gaza.

Who is Behind It? This flotilla has many parents, however the two most significant are progressive Americans and Turkish terrorists.

The Americans have named their boat after their favorite American, President Obama. Called the Audacity of Hope, their hate boat includes progressive activists, long term supporters of the Palestinian cause and 9/11 “truthers” (people who believe 9/11 was an inside job). Some of the passengers include:

Greta Berlin, a member of the Anti-Semitic, International Solidarity Movement (ISM); Linda Durham, Who was part of the Gaza protests in 2009 supported by former Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry and led by the wife of Obama ally Bill Ayers, Bernadette Dohrn; Hedy Epstein board member of both the St. Louis Workers Rights Board and the Marxist, Palestine Solidarity Committee which in the past has endorsed PLO terrorist activity; Ridgely Fuller Code Pink activist; Kathy Kelly a long time pacifist who was honored by the Chicago Communist Party; Richard Levy, member of the Progressive Jewish Alliance who sued the Simon Wiesenthal Center to stop them from building a tolerance center in Jerusalem on what he claimed was a Muslim cemetery (it didn’t exist); Ray McGovern of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity was one of 100 "prominent Americans" who signed an October 26 2004 statement circulated by 911Truth.org calling on the U.S. Government to investigate 9/11 as a possible "inside job; Robert Naiman peace activist who attended a meeting in Sept 2010 with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and other leaders of the “peace and social justice movements;” Alice Walker who wrote “The Color Purple;” and Medea Benjamin, founder of Code Pink, 9/11 “truther”, progressive activist.

According to Leslie Cagan, former co-chairman of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism and coordinator of the American boat, the Audacity of Hope will not be carrying any aid, simply letters.

The group has received support by the Progressive Democrats of America, a group whose leadership includes Democratic politicians including, John Conyers, Donna Edwards, Raul Grijalva, Barbara Lee, Jim McGovern, Lynn Woolsey and Dennis Kucinich.

On other flotilla boats will be terrorists from the Turkish organization IHH, which was involved in the deadly IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara in last year’s Gaza flotilla, additionally two of the people participating in the flotilla have connections to Hamas. They named the first one as Amin Abu Rashad, one of the Dutch organizers for the Gaza flotilla had served in the past as the head of the Hamas’ Charitable Foundation in Holland which was closed down by Dutch authorities’ because of its involvement in funding terror activities.

Unlike last year’s flotilla when the terrorists had their own boat (which contained shipments of arms to Hamas), this year it is believed that the terrorists will be spread out among the boats with the hope that if there is violence “civilians” will be hurt.

The other Hamas figure is Mohammed Ahmed Hanon who is the head of the ABSPP, which is involved in transferring funds to terrorists.

Just like the one a year ago, this guerilla flotilla is being launched under the false pretext of providing humanitarian assistance. But if humanitarian aid was their goal, they would send any supplies through Egypt a solution which was offered by both the Arab nation last week, the American boat would have supplies instead of letters, and the Hamas and Turkish terrorists would not be allowed to participate. The truth is that this flotilla is being run by radicals within the American Progressive movement and terrorists, designed to serve their extremist political agenda.

Sadly this flotilla holds the potential for dangerous consequences. According to the IDF, some of the flotilla participants have prepared sacks with sulfur, which they plan to pour on the soldiers as they board the vessels.

“This is a chemical weapon, and if poured on a soldier it can paralyze him,” an IDF source told The Jerusalem Post “If the sulfur is then lit on fire, the soldier will light up like a torch.”

The objective of these “Ships of Fools” has nothing to do with helping the people of Gaza, or promoting peace. Its purpose is to delegitimize Israel and kill Jews.

Amy Winehouse Biography

2011-06-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

Amy Winehouse Biography. Amy Jade Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983 in Enfield, London, England. Better known as Amy Winehouse. Amy Winehouse is a singer and songwriter from England. Amy Winehouse is known by an eclectic mix of music from various genres of music including R & B, soul, and jazz. Amy Winehouse has a five times Grammy award winning British singer-songwriter known for hits like 'Rehab' and 'You Know I'm No Good' among other works.

Amy Winehouse Biodata

Birth name : Amy Jade Winehouse
Genres : Soul, R&B, jazz
Occupations : Singer, songwriter
Years active : 2003–present
Labels : Island, Lioness, Universal Republic (U.S.)
Website : amywinehouse.com

Amy Winehouse Biography, Amy Winehouse's father and mother is a taxi driver (father) Mitch Winehouse and pharmacists (Mother) Janis. When the split Winehouses, nine years older than Amy and her brother Alex's mostly live with their mother in Southgate - London suburb famous for housing the Priory, a rehabilitation hospital-friendly celebrity. "He was always very self-willed," her father Mitch told Rolling Stone in 2007. "Not badly behaved, but ... different."

Amy Winehouse became the first British woman to win five Grammy Awards in the same night, February 10, 2008, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year for 'Rehab'. Her Grammy performance via satellite broadcast from London, because Amy Winehouse can not appear in person in Los Angeles because of problems with his visa while traveling. Following his success at the Grammy Awards, Winehouse gave a highly successful series of performances during 2008. In June, Amy Winehouse is suddenly hospitalized with serious lung conditions. However, Amy Winehouse left the hospital for one night to perform for Nelson Mandela in celebration of 90th anniversary in London's Hyde Park. Amy Winehouse is singing the hits Rehab and Valerie, drawing cheers and applause form the crowd and the smiles of Mandela. Amy Winehouse also made for parties Roman Abramovich in Moscow, where Amy Winehouse is getting $ 2 million for his one hour show.

Amy Winehouse Substance abuse and mental health problems

Amy Winehouse got into trouble with his life, his battle with substance abuse has been the subject of much media attention. Since that time completely changed the appearance of Amy Winehouse, from the elegant lifestyle became irregular. In various interviews, Amy Winehouse admitted having problems with self-harm depression, and eating disorders. Her body was growing thin. Looks like Amy Winehouse is not the first, creepy. In 2005, Amy Winehouse go through periods of drinking, heavy drug use, violent mood swings and weight loss.

People who saw him during the year end and early 2006 reported a rebound that coincided with the writing of Back to Black. Amy Winehouse hospitalized during this period to what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol. Amy Winehouse told a magazine that the drug is to blame for the hospitalization and that "I really think that it's over for me then." Amy Winehouse Biography.

Addison Miller Cyber Girl Xtra Set #3

2011-06-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

New today at the Playboy Cyber Club - Addison Miller's June Cyber Girl Xtra Set #3

Today Playboy debuted the forth and final installment of Addison Miller's Cyber Girl Xtra Series. All together this series included 3 pictorials with a total of 100 photos and 4 high definition behind the scenes videos.

Wow! Addison has graced us all with an entire month of breathtaking excitement! In my opinion Addison has that special "It" quality to be a Playboy Playmate!

Do all you can to support Addison's Playmate dreams. Follow her twitter accounts Playboylaurenw and Laurenhwaugh , tweet Hef and Playboy and tell them that she should be a Playmate!

Thanks Addison for a great month!

See Addison's entire Series right now at the Playboy Cyber Club

Katy Perry Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) Music Video - John Hughes, Yes; 80s, No

2011-06-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

The video for Katy Perry's Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) is reported to be an “80s” theme, but really there are several elements that were not from the 80s, but the 21st Century.

It's very much one tribute to the John Hughes movie Pretty In Pink, starring Molly Ringwald and members of The Brat Pack. All of whom are about the same age as this blogger.

The video starts with Katy using a laptop and getting on the internet to check her profile page - that's so not 80s. In the 80s, we didn't have laptops and the Internet. We had big, heavy clunky personal computers, that cost thousands of dollars to buy. My Apple Macintoch II cost over $7,000 back in 1989.

Internet access? That wasn't even in the conversation.

Katy Perry also uses the “rock on” symbol. The "rock on" symbol is not at all 80s, and it's used far more in the late 90s and really started in wide use in the 2000s.

The high school setting is as much today as the 80s. For it to be an 80s video, it needed scenes of boys and girls dancing together, and wearing watches. In the video, boys and girls are largely separate and dance in space - that's not an 80s habit. There's just one scene where a boy and girl dance together.

If the video reflected the 80s, it would have been as much in the style of Dick Clark's American Bandstand or Don Cornelius Soul Train, as anything else. The part where the dancers hop up and down and watch while Katy Perry is dancing and the other cast members dance in the middle should have been done in the form of a "Soul Train" line - that's very 80s.

But with all that, one thing's for sure: Katy Perry's legs are timeless.

Stay tuned.

The Oakland Mayor's Office Must Clear-Up Its Communications Process

2011-06-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

This blog post comes as an advisory to the Oakland Mayor's Office, and it's done not for malicious intent, but to bring a stop to a growing problem that's reared its head twice in five days.

To cut to the chase, the Oakland Mayor's Office needs to determine what it's going to sent out in a communication to this blogger, and then make sure that message is consistently delivered, and without potential for misunderstanding, or appearance of subterfuge.

First, I must take time to thank the Oakland Mayor's Office under Jean Quan for at least trying to communicate with the public - it's a far cry from the previous administration. But, Mayor Quan's approach still appears as if it's confused and all too reactive to what's written in the press, well, OK, what's blogged by this blogger.

After trying to deal with this behind the scenes, I've just plain had it.

The first episode started when I received an email from Susan Piper, Mayor Quan's Special Assistant, who played a key role in Quan's successful candidacy. I like Susan, so this doesn't come from a point of dislike, but one of extreme disappointment, so deep that this blog post is the best, last resort.

It appears Piper, the Mayor herself, and the City of Oakland's Communications Office are on a different page at times. Take the issue of the announcement that the City was prepared to make former San Jose Deputy City Manager Deanna Santana, City Administrator.

I received two emails on this subject: one from the City of Oakland's Communications Office, the other from Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, via her newsletter.

Both emails had misinformation that P. Lamont Ewell was Oakland's City Manager, rather than Assistant City Manager, thus effectively removing former Oakland City Manager Craig Kocian from the city's history. The first email contained a press release attached and dated June 21st which called Ewell "Oakland City Manager."

Then, the second email, which contained Quan's Newsletter, had not just the same reference to Ewell as Oakland's City Manager in 1995 (when it was Kocian) but also called Deanna Santana the Deputy Mayor of San Jose.

I called out the Mayor's Office for the mistake and reminded anyone, regardless of whether they were paying attention, that Kocian was City Manager. (Momentary aside here: I blog to strategically seed the Internet for revenue gain, message control and real estate development, not to gain attention. Only a lobotomized knave would think other wise.)

Piper contacted me via email demanding to know where I got the information that the Mayor's Office said Ewell was City Manager in 1995. I sent the evidence to Piper along with a request for a bottle of wine. Piper admitted I was correct, but did not apologize for the error, just told me to have a virtual glass of wine.

That was on Thursday, and I was willing to overlook that issue. After all, I made my point and there's now a clear Internet record to counter all of the incorrect press content created because of the Mayor's Office's mistake. (Well, I hope it was a mistake. Again, to communicate to the media that one person was City Manager, when someone else really was, is a pretty big error to make.)

So, I was done with it, it was behind the scenes, and in the past. Fine.

But this week, it happened again - and it's a young week. Today's Tuesday.

On Monday, I made a blog post of two events the Mayor was set to attend this week, and did so completely based on another press release I was sent. The blog post called "Oakland Mayor Jean Quan Announces Plans For Week," came from a note called "News from: The Office of Mayor Jean Quan" and was in no way communicated to me as a non-public document with privileged information.

So, I shared it with the public. After all it was called "news," right?

Piper pipes up with an email that was just plain, down-right, ill-advised. She wrote that "Zenie- the About Oakland is not a "public" document. It is a media advisory for the press so that they know where they can catch up with the Mayor. We would appreciate it if you would not repost the content to your blog.

My email reply consisted of one word:

WHAT?!

After this, I've had enough. Alex Katz, who served as former Oakland City Attorney John Russo's press aide, has never in something like three years, made that mistake. Any press contact knows that as the representative of a high profile elected official, you don't send an email out to a blogger regarding events the official's expected to attend and think the blogger's not going to post the information or mention it.

That's...Well, a number of choice words I'm not going to print.

The Oakland Mayor's Office under Jean Quan has to stop playing games. They're bothered by the idea that, unlike the standard press, they can't control me (Which has always been Oakland's problem with me, come to think of it.)

During the election, Quan wanted to know who my boss was and who gave me assignments. She couldn't wrap it around her mind that I was self-motivated. And now, I see what the game is from them: try and say that I'm consistently making errors, by issuing denials of my reporting of what they sent out.

That's a dangerous game to play if the Mayor's Office is not even reporting the right information to start with. I hope the Mayor's Office can see now, that it won't work.

But let's say they're not doing that. Let's say that Quan doesn't want information on, as Piper put it, her "whereabouts" out there for this week?

Given that there were just two items noted, the City Team Ministries Breakfast of Champions (9-11 am Tuesday) and the Ribbon Cutting of the new East Oakland Sports Center, maybe Mayor Quan doesn't want to go to one of them for some reason?

Wow.

Well, either way it's spun, it doesn't look good at all.

Wow. It gets deeper.

Well, either way it's spun, it doesn't look good at all. After all, the Mayor has more to do than just those two events.

What To Do?

The best solution is, first, to craft a full media strategy that starts with one word: reputation. And it should consistently as the question "Is what I'm sending out something that I will not have to recall?" And care should be taken to be as open with information and its dissemination as possible.

I work with some of the most powerful communications people in Hollywood and in the Tech Industry. The people I know would never make a mistake like that; the Oakland Mayor's Office should study how they operate.

Stay tuned.

UltraISO Premium Edition 9.36 Build 2766 Final-Retail + keys

2011-06-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

An easy to use utility to create, edit and convert CD image files

Along with large capacity hard disk popularity, people were already used to coping compact discs to CD/DVD image files (also called compact disc image document) , generally used is the famous ISO 9660 international standards format, therefore CD/DVD image files are called ISO files.
Because the ISO file retained complete data information of the compact disc (including compact disc boot information), you were allowed the convince to use commonly used CD burning software (for example Nero-Burning ROM ) to record the disc with your CD-R/RW over and over forever, it can also be used directly through Virtual CD-ROM drive software (for example SoftDisc ) .
UltraISO is a CD/DVD image file creating/editing/converting tool , it can directly edit the CD/DVD image file and extract files and folders from it, as well as directly make ISO files from your CD/DVD drive or hard disk. At the same time, you can maintain the ISO bootable information, thus creating your own bootable CDs and DVDs. You now have the power to make and edit your own ISO files, and then burn them to CD or DVD for your own needs.
UltraISO is in sole possession of the intellectualized ISO document format analyzer, it can process at the present time almost all types of image files, including ISO and BIN, it may even support new image files which are yet to be created. UltraISO can open these image files, directly extract files and folders, edit it and convert other image files to the standard ISO format.
UltraISO uses the double window unification user contact interface, you have the choice to only use the quick buttons and/or the mouse Drag & Drops, you can handle any CD/DVD image file easily.

Key features:
· Can directly edit the ISO image file.
· Can directly extract files and folder from ISO image file
· Can add / delete /create new directory /rename ISO file image content.
· Can make ISO file from hard disk document.
· Can create CD image from CD/DVD-ROM, maintain bootable information.
· Can process the compact disc boot information, you can directly add/remove/extract boot image of the ISO image.
· Supports nearly all known CD image file formats (.ISO, .BIN, .IMG, .CIF, .NRG, .BWI and so on) , and converts them to the standard ISO form image.
· May directly set the file/folder to hidden attribute
· Supports ISO 9660 Level1/2/3 and Joliet extension
· Automatically optimizes the ISO image file structure, saves the CD space.
· Supports the shell document type integration, Open Image files through double clicking them or the Right Click menu of the mouse with the open dialog.
· The double window user interface is extremely convenient to use.
· There are rich add-on tools, you can create ALL in 1 bootable compact discs, CD image file management, even the virtual CD/DVD drive , those functions are really powerful.
Changes in 9.36:
Improved write disk image feature, can write Ubuntu UNR 9.10 image to bootable USB flash drive, and create bootable USB harddisk with multiple artitions (Xpress Write)
Can handle CD-TEXT information of .C2D images
Show information about time elapsed on burn
Supports 25GB/50GB media type
can detect and use virtual CD/DVD drive of Daemon-Tools 4.35 and Alcohol 120% 2.00
Fixed a bug with mounting multiple ISOs to virtual drive with isocmd.exe
Some minor improvements and bug fixes

Requirements:
· Intel Pentium 166MHz or above.
· 64MB memory.
· At least 10MB free hard disk space .
· CD-ROM, CD-R/RW, DVD-ROM, the DVD-R/RW driver (copy compact disc image needs).
· Mouse.

DOWNLOADS HERE

Antivirus Kapersky 2010, 2011 & 2012 [Brohenk.wordpress.com] All Versions Keys

2011-06-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

I found these keys for Kaspersky (2010,2011, 2012) AntiVirus, Internet Security and PURE. But, since I do not use Kaspersky, I do not know whether they are blocled or not, and so if you are a user of Kaspersky, you could try them and please report for others.
How To activate your Kaspersky 2010 With Key files:
1. Disable/Unplug your internet connection.
2. Click for trial version or enter one of this invalid codes-

Code

STQRT-2G35E-YQH5G-QUA8H
GT5VQ-JX3MF-5SEFR-PX56F
5DS6N-FTMZV-HXUDK-H1XAR
51MNK-G3KW3-KHCZZ-8CN2M
HMSJA-5MX27-FM3VB-3252E
BBH1J-BMH1Z-JUWAD-52Y1V
H75P6-843Q4-N99RQ-7TRKG
K7BXW-1BHGB-AVKHG-F162Q
J398A-DR1YN-AG7KC-F2Q5J
GT5VQ-JX3MF-5SEFR-PX56F
KJEGM-C7274-1G5SN-TSAP3
HXGN1-YBCXH-J3KW9-K589V
KK9WC-GGMC7-XCYVF-1R8XU
H7FUH-KM6TN-S5UTX-93QBS
JTCSR-3X2RX-KVRBC-N462M
H979W-ANDMZ-N4W1K-Z3RS4
7C72Z-GYXM2-G2D95-RY8CV
HCW7U-C34VH-ETTWU-YPUGD
FNQT5-1YD9E-MJYY8-WXEX8
KK98K-HHXWG-C3JG6-6ZZYR
HYRPZ-38W2X-MB5DH-KF421
J5CPD-63M7R-KBR9E-H6YHB
B4862-EGQ3Q-J3GNU-EDECD
J5Z1H-NHR8J-9HZFA-DJ5FT
3TZV1-Z5F9W-DXBWX-Q1KDA

3. Kaspersky will show you an error.
4. A new window will appear with key file browsing option.
5. Select your key from browsing window.

How To activate your Kaspersky 2011 With Key files:

Method 1
1. Open Kaspersky 2011 License Manager (from lower right corner).
2. Click ‘Activate the application with a new license’ button. (Delete any trial key first, by clicking the red X next to the key).
3. Select ‘Activate commercial version’ and enter the activation license code as 11111-11111-11111-1111X
4. Wait activation wizard message -> Click OK
5. Wait for wrong activation code message -> Click OK ->
6. Screen will appear with KEY FILE BROWSE ->
7. Browse to the key location and activate Kaspersky.

Methode 2
1. Open Kaspersky 2011 License Manager (from lower right corner).
2. Click ‘Activate the application with a new license’ button. (Delete any trial key first, by clicking the red X next to the key).
3. Disable your internet connection (either disable Network adapter from control panel or turn off your modem/router).
4. Select ‘Activate commercial version’ and enter the activation license code as T1JVS-NNMBD-K1QTN-SUBP8
or select ‘Activate trial license’.
5. Click Next, an error dialog box will open as shown below:
6. Click Ok and you will now get the option to activate Kaspersky using a key file.
7. Browse to the key location and activate Kaspersky.

How To activate your Kaspersky 2012 With Key files:
1. Download and Install Kaspersky 2012
2. Turn off/Unplug/Disconnect your internet connection
3. Click "Manage License" From Right Bottom of Kaspersky, Then click "Activate the application"
4. Enter key: AAAAA-AAAAA-AAAAA-AAAA3
5. Click on Next
6. In the next window, click on Browse
7. Specify the path to any key (file) from the Keys folder
8. Click on Next
9. After activation switch on the internet
10. Update virus definitions once/twice in a week to avoid key block
Have a nice day

DOWNLOADS HERE

Pass : http://brohenkcell.blogspot.com

Rod Blagojevich Verdict - President Obama Must Be Smiling

2011-06-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

In the last video on the subject of former Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich, I said he was lucky to get away on no charge, but one charge; this time, the Government got Govt. Blagojevich on 17 counts, and he's reportedly stunned.

If Blagojevich is shocked, he has a weird sense of history. There are tapes of the Governor openly trying to sell the Senate seat that was once held by now - President Barack Obama, saying that it's "fuckin" golden. Moreover, then-Governor Blagojevich was all-but openly hostle to the former Illinois Senator, and just as that person, Mr. Obama. Barack. Was taking his place as the most powerful representative of the free World.

Blagojevich should have said "Whatever you want me to do, Mr. President, I'll do it," and left it at that.

Instead, perhaps because he didn't have respect for Obama because he was familiar with him. Or maybe that Blagojevich wasn't used to being in a position below, not at, a politician who happened to be black. Whatever the reason, Blagojevich pissed off President Obama, and set in motion the wheels of justice that find him where he's at now: starring at doing some jail time.

Blagojevich was lucky last year. Not this time.

Obama got him. And while it's not on the level of Osama Bin Laden, for Barack Obama, it constitutes the ultimate pay back.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Stay tuned.

British PM Cameron's Joke Brings Down House Of Commons

2011-06-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

In this video posted today at itNews on YouTube, British Prime Minister David Cameron issues a joke about it being his duty to "give pleasure" to a constituent who was pleased at England would not get involved in the bailout of Greece. It's a hilarious blast that brought the "house" down - literally.

It's good to see a PM with a sense of humor. Remains to be seen how England't decision, or his joke, will impact its relationship with Greece.

Still, even if England and other nations took action, the Bank of England governor warned that it would not stop the European Debt Crisis.

Stay tuned.

Lady Gaga Sued for Charity bracelet scam

2011-06-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga sued in a money fraud case releted to the Japan Tsunami affected people Charity.The case was filed by Michegan based 1800 Lawfirm Attorneys who says that Lady Gaga did fraud and took money from the charity wealth.

According to them,Lady Gaga was selling her brand Wrist watches for $5 ,with that she was charging $4 for shipping purpose and $0.60 was for tax.But she never disclosed that How much she totalled by selling the Wrist watches and gave only a percentage of money collected through charity,keeping most of the money with her.

Its been mentioned that Lady Gaga donated $1.5 million to the charity through Zynga but her reprentatives refused to talk further in this case.

Lady Gaga Song 'Judas' Controversy

2011-06-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga Song 'Judas' is creating controversy.Though Lady Gaga cleared in an Interview that the song Judas is about herself ,who actually goes to her Ex- Boyfriend.Who still love a person who betrayed and hate her.So the song is about betrayal and forgiveness.There is noting with Religions.

Its been assumed that Jesus as Lady Gaga and Judas as the Ex- Boyfriend .In countries like Lebanon,already they ban Lady Gaga as for showing disrespect towards Christianity.

According to many experts ,this is a sign of explioting the Biblical content by Lady Gaga.Though its not clear of the actual aim of the Lyric but yes it put bad taste in many people's mind.

Anushka Sharma and Sharukh Khan at IIFA 2011 awards Photo

2011-06-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Anushka Sharma and Sharukh Khan seen at IIFA 2011 awards together.Both of them won the Best Actor and Best actress award.

Anushka Sharma detained at Mumbai Airport

2011-06-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

The Bollywood star Anushka Sharma detained at Mumbai Airport .Actually Anushka failed to maintain the details of her belonging while coming from Toronto after attending the IIFA 2011 ceremony.She was carrying some Jewelry as well as watches extra in her baggages.

Though her Represntative said that Anushka Was just said to fill up some Paper Work at the airport only.But according to the Airport Authority Anushka failed to list out the things what she had given earlier while moving to Toronto.

Its not the first time such things happened to the Bollywood babe.Previously also Bipasha Basu and Manishha Lamba did the same thing and been detained at the Airport.

Kate Middleton and Prince Williams at Wimbledon 2011 Photo

2011-06-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kate Middleton and Prince Williams arrived at Wimbledon 2011.Both of them are seen at the Center court.Both of them seen in the Royal Box there to watch the match of Andy Murray and Richards Gasquet.

The Benefits of the 'Arab Spring'

2011-06-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

By BARRY RUBIN

There are two types of strategic perspectives in Israel today. They aren’t contradictory, but they have different priorities. These can be called the “northern” and the “southern” views.

The “northern” approach is the more traditional one, focusing on the situation in that direction. The key longer-term concern is over Iran and its drive for nuclear weapons. More closely, there are both concerns and hopes regarding Lebanon and Syria.

Regarding Iran, the new feature is the assumption that Israel will not attack Iran to prevent it from getting nuclear weapons. This means Israel will be constructing a multi-level defensive system that includes long-range attack planes, the ability to subvert Iran’s nuclear force through covert operations, possibly submarine platforms, and several types of anti-missile missiles and defenses.

The goal here is fourfold:

To delay as long as possible Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and to minimize the size and effectiveness of its arsenal through sanctions, international pressure, sabotage and other means.

To have the maximum ability to deter Iran from launching a nuclear attack and demonstrating the ability to stop its missiles. The aim is to discourage Iran from launching such an attack, given a nearcertainty that it can be stopped and, as a result, it would suffer very heavy damage.

Of course, ordinary deterrence is not a sufficient safeguard against Iran, given the Islamic regime’s ideological extremism and passionate hatred of Israel, the recklessness of some key elements there, and the rulers’ shortcomings in assessing reality.

Consequently Israel must put a high priority on stopping any Iranian attack from happening or succeeding.

To be able, if Israel determines there is a real danger of an Iranian attack, to launch a first strike to inflict maximum damage on Iran’s nuclear strike force. In other words, an Israeli attack would be premised not on Iran getting nuclear weapons, but on Iran being likely to use them.

US deterrence, early-warning, and anti-missile efforts would supplement this system, but this strategy is not premised on any dependence on the US government.

BUT ISRAEL also knows that an equal or even greater danger is the spread of Iranian influence, taking over Arab countries or turning them into proxies. Here, the northern focus is on Syria and Lebanon.

On the surface, the news from these two countries is potentially bad. Lebanon is now controlled by Hezbollah and other Syrian or Syrian-Iranian clients. Hezbollah can thus use Lebanon as a virtual fiefdom for building its military power and attacking Israel. This is much worse than the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war, when Lebanon as a government and army had a separate identity.

Syria itself is faced with a serious internal upheaval that seems likely to bring down President Bashar Assad. Here the “glass halfempty” analysis is that Assad might be replaced by a regime even more hostile to Israel.

There is also a “glass half-full” analysis. As long as Syria is in such turmoil, it cannot so effectively threaten Israel. And if Assad is overthrown, a government that is more preoccupied by internal affairs, and less eager to start a conflict, might take power.

Iraq offers a good model here.

Between the interests of the Kurds, the internal conflict, a greater focus on domestic development and other factors, Iraq has dropped out of the conflict with Israel.

Hezbollah also suffers from this turmoil. Since it has sided with the Assad regime, it has gone from being wildly popular to widely hated by the Syrian people. Hamas, which has sided against the Syrian regime and in favor of its Muslim Brotherhood comrades, has thus lost Syrian patronage. Finally, Syria’s aggressive behavior has opened a rift between that country and Turkey’s government, which has been increasingly acting like an ally of the Iranian and Syrian regimes.

CONSEQUENTLY, WHILE this is no ideal situation, Israel can be considered to have benefitted from this aspect of the “Arab spring.” From Israel’s standpoint, the relative stability in Jordan and Saudi Arabia is a plus, since these countries are unlikely to be transformed into radical Islamist states under a government linked to al-Qaida, Iran or the Muslim Brotherhood. The turmoil in Bahrain, Yemen and Tunisia is of relatively little strategic significance to Israel.

Generally there can be a hope that democracy and domestic development will become a higher priority than fighting Israel, thus easing the pressure on Israel, or at least preoccupying Arabs and Muslims for a while. Clearly, merely calling dissidents Zionist agents and hoping to unite the people around an anti-Israel platform no longer works for incumbent governments.

In time, this strategy might work for replacing Islamist governments, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Moreover, American weakness and the Obama administration’s cooler view toward Israel is worrisome. So is the possibility that things might be moving in a way to strengthen Iran.

IF ONE looks at the southern front, though, it is harder to find a silver lining. Egypt is likely to elect a radical government more hostile than anything Israel has faced there since about 1974. The future of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty is gloomy.

Peace between Israel and the Arab world’s most populous country cannot be taken for granted.

There is also the problem of the Egypt-Hamas relationship. Egypt is likely to see itself as Hamas’s ally and patron. In a future Hamas-led conflict with Israel, Egypt could take the side of the Palestinian Islamists, and will certainly help them. The long-quiet southern front now has to be treated as a very possible war zone.

This is the basic way things look for Israeli strategists.

One can stress better- or worse-case scenarios and different parts of the challenge, but there is a general consensus on the fundamental challenges – and on whether they will be met successfully.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, and a featured columnist at PajamasMedia http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/ His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center is http://www.gloria-center.org. His PajamaMedia columns are teased and other articles are available at http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com/.

OMG! Helen Thomas Wants Back into the White House Press Corps

2011-06-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

Sheeee's Baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Or at least she wants to be back. Helen Thomas made an appearance at the Busboys & Poets bookstore in Washington, D.C. yesterday, and said she is ready for a comeback. She wants to return to the White House briefing room.

“Nothing can replace being there when you’re a reporter,” Thomas said. “Seeing with your own eyes — no, nothing can replace that. I was very lucky to cover history for so long.”

Thomas forced out of her job last June when a video first seen on this website came to light, where she told the Israeli Jews to "get the hell out of Palestine and go back to Germany and Poland.

Anas “Andy” Shallal, the owner of Busboys & Poets and moderator for her appearance Sunday, followed up by asking her if she had reapplied for those credentials. According to Thomas, she said she had but hadn’t gotten an official response and assumed she had been denied.

“In a back way,” Thomas said. “I’ve been denied – I think so, I never heard.”

The words made to Rabbi Nesenoff last June was even the worst of it. Just a few months later in a speech made to a Muslim Anti-Bias conference Thomas used almost every anti-Semitic stereotype in the book.

"I paid the price for that," said Thomas, a longtime White House correspondent. "But it was worth it, to speak the truth. The Zionists have to understand that's their country, too. Palestinians were there long before any European Zionists."

Thomas claimed that "You can not say anything (critical) about Israel in this country."

That was the nicest thing Thomas said all night. In her speech about about discrimination against Arabs she launched into an anti-Semitic tirade about how those rich Jews control America

In a speech that drew a standing ovation, Thomas talked about "the whole question of money involved in politics."

"We are owned by propagandists against the Arabs. There's no question about that. Congress, the White House, and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists. No question in my opinion. They put their money where there mouth is…We're being pushed into a wrong direction in every way.

It was almost as if Thomas was reading directly from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, at an anti-Bias conference!!!

During her interview and speech, Thomas often used the term "Zionists" negatively, saying that Dennis Ross, President Obama's adviser to the Middle East, was a Zionist.

"Obama, he puts in charge for the Arab world a Zionist like Dennis Ross…You don't put a Zionist in charge of the Muslim world in the White House."

Below is the video of the Speech.

There are some people who believe that any criticism of Israel is Antisemitism. That belief is as ignorant as Antisemitism itself. There is however, a great deal of crossover between hatred of Israel and hatred of the Jews. To find out what people really mean you need to examine the words they use. Make no mistake about it, Thomas uttered the word "Zionists" but her words showed that she meant the word "Jews." What Thomas said in December and again in her Playboy interview, that Congress, the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street are owned by Zionists, was a repetition of the anti-Semitic stereotypes that have been used for centuries to incite hatred of Jews. Ms. Thomas is nothing but a bigoted hater and that was the reason she was fired, not because she hates Israel (although most of the progressive media is anti-Israel). Thomas was canned because she is a low-life hater, an anti-Semite and she should not be allowed back into the White House press corps, nor should any other bigot.

Big Brother Obama's Plan to Secretly Check Up On Doctors

2011-06-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

The Obama Administration is trying to figure out whether doctors are accepting patients with private insurance while turning away those in government health programs that pay lower reimbursement rates. According to the NY Times rather than simply ask them, they are creating a squad of "mystery shoppers" to secretly check up on doctors.

“I don’t like the idea of the government snooping,” said Dr. Raymond Scalettar, an internist in Washington. “It’s a pernicious practice — Big Brother tactics, which should be opposed.”

According to government documents obtained from Obama administration officials, the mystery shoppers will call medical practices and ask if doctors are accepting new patients and, if so, how long the wait would be. The government is eager to know whether doctors give different answers to callers depending on whether they have public insurance, like Medicaid, or private insurance, like Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

It is interesting that the information was released by the progressive paper of record the NY Times. Could it be that the information was released on purpose to intimidate doctors into retaining Medicaid?

Dr. George J. Petruncio, a family doctor in Turnersville, N.J., said: “This is not a way to build trust in government. Why should I trust someone who does not correctly identify himself?”

Dr. Stephen C. Albrecht, a family doctor in Olympia, Wash., said: “If federal officials are worried about access to care, they could help us. They don’t have to spy on us.”

Dr. Robert L. Hogue, a family physician in Brownwood, Tex., asked: “Is this a good use of tax money? Probably not. Everybody with a brain knows we do not have enough doctors.”

A multitude of studies including one done by the Chief Medicare Actuary, have predicted that doctors will drop Medicare as result of the Obamacare bill.

In response to the drumbeat of criticism, a federal health official said doctors need not worry because the data would be kept confidential. “Reports will present aggregate data, and individuals will not be identified,” said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the plan before its final approval by the White House.

Christian J. Stenrud, a Health and Human Services spokesman, said: “Access to primary care is a priority for the administration. This study is an effort to better understand the problem and make sure we are doing everything we can to support primary care physicians, especially in communities where the need is greatest.”

The new health care law includes several provisions intended to increase the supply of primary care doctors, and officials want to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of those policies.

Despite the fact that government says the information will be kept confidential, this program reeks of "Big Brotherism," when you consider that the information is being collected in a stealth manner. Should the information get released it would not be the first time that government was supposed to keep personal information private but it got released to the public.

Access to care has been a concern in Massachusetts, which provides coverage under a state program cited by many in Congress as a model for President Obama’s health care overhaul.

In a recent study, the Massachusetts Medical Society found that 53 percent of family physicians and 51 percent of internal medicine physicians were not accepting new patients. When new patients could get appointments, they faced long waits, averaging 36 days to see family doctors and 48 days for internists.

In the mystery shopper survey, administration officials said, a federal contractor will call the offices of 4,185 doctors — 465 in each of nine states: Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. The doctors will include pediatricians and obstetrician-gynecologists.

The calls are to begin in a few months, with preliminary results from the survey expected next spring. Each office will be called at least twice — by a person who supposedly has private insurance and by someone who supposedly has public insurance.

Federal officials provided this example of a script for a caller in a managed care plan known as a preferred provider organization, or P.P.O.:

Mystery shopper: “Hi, my name is Alexis Jackson, and I’m calling to schedule the next available appointment with Dr. Michael Krane. I am a new patient with a P.P.O. from Aetna. I just moved to the area and don’t yet have a primary doctor, but I need to be seen as soon as possible.”

Doctor’s office: “What type of problem are you experiencing?”

Mystery shopper: “I’ve had a cough for the last two weeks, and now I’m running a fever. I’ve been coughing up thick greenish mucus that has some blood in it, and I’m a little short of breath.”

In separate interviews, several doctors said that patients with those symptoms should immediately see a doctor because the symptoms could indicate pneumonia, lung cancer or a blood clot in the lungs.

Other mystery shoppers will try to schedule appointments for routine care, like an annual checkup for an adult or a sports physical for a high school athlete.

To make sure they are not detected, secret shoppers will hide their telephone numbers by blocking caller ID information.

Eleven percent of the doctors will be called a third time. The callers will identify themselves as calling “on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” They will ask whether the doctors accept private insurance, Medicaid or Medicare, and whether they take “self-pay patients.” The study will note any discrepancies between those answers and the ones given to mystery shoppers.

The administration has signed a contract with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago to help conduct the survey.

Certainly as we get closer to the full implementation of Obamacare, collecting this kind of information will become more important. However, there is no reason for the government to seek out this information on a stealth basis, unless its true purpose was not collecting information but to intimidate doctors to "keep with the program" and continue to accept new Medicare patients.

MP3 Tag Editor – Software Untuk Merubah Tag Dari MP3

2011-06-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Ada kalanya WinAmp yang menampilkan tulisan 'Playing artist - track01.mp3'... kenapa ya bisa begitu?
Karena kaga enak dilihat atau nyari lagi lagunya, Kadang aku meluangkan waktu untuk merubah nama file, satu persatu... merubah tag-tag (nama artis, judul lagu, album, etc), satu-satu... yang pasti tambah runyam deh pekerjaan kita

Tapi dengan sedikit googling nyari Tag MP3, akhirnya aku dapat Software pengubah Tag Dari MP3 … yaitu MP3TAG!
Aplikasi ini kecil, ringan, powerful, dan yang paling penting nih ... gratis alias free alias dibere alias salome! … wkwkwkwk

Pertama kali menggunakan aplikasi ini, aku kira cuma buat ngedit tag-tagnya saja. Tapi setelah otak-atik lebih jauh, ternyata aplikasi ini sangat powerful.

Pada toolbar aplikasi ini, banyak fungsi untuk mengutak-atik tag dan nama filenya.
Bisa mengganti nama file sesuai dengan nama artis, judul lagu, judul album, nomor track, tahun.

Bisa juga dibalik, dari nama file diambil informasi nama artis, judul lagu.
Kita bisa merubah tag atau namafile dari beberapa lagu sekaligus! ini hebatnya.

Buat Para Sohib yang mo pada ngerasain software ini

DOWNLOADS DISINI

Purgatory --- The Album

2011-06-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

PURGATORY - MOGSAW Accoustic
Purgatory - 5513
Purgatory - Angerball
Purgatory - Flattinet
Purgatory - HOMICIDE
Purgatory - Sandwich With Mustar
Purgatory - Burial Of A Plague

For More PURGATORY – THE ALBUMS

DOWNLOADS HERE

My Own Private 1984: Why Is Saying the Muslim Brotherhood is Radical A Controversial Claim?

2011-06-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

By Barry Rubin

In 2003, I and the publication I edit, the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, became the world’s biggest story for two or three days. Last week I became a “story” without knowing it until later.

First, the 2003 experience. An Iraqi-American author submitted a good article that explained how Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime’s intelligence agencies worked. As I edited the article I said to myself–this is absolutely true–that this was one of the most uncontroversial articles I’d ever publish because it was so bland, though useful as a database inventory of Iraqi institutions

Without my knowing it, the British prime minister’s office plagiarized the article as part of its campaign to justify launching the attack on Iraq to overthrow Saddam. A MERIA Journal reader who opposed the war noticed this plagiarism and brought it to public attention. The reader in no way criticized the journal but only the British government. I should stress that the article said nothing to support (or oppose) going to war with Iraq. I think it was used mainly to make it appear as if the British prime minister’s office had done some research on Iraq.

The story was front-page news around the world. I walked into a room as a famous television personality was discussing the matter with total inaccuracy on the television. Prestigious newspapers got our journal’s name wrong. Only one reporter ever called to interview me. Left-wing sources speculated that the plagiarism involved some kind of Israeli conspiracy to begin the war, though again nothing in the article suggested attacking Saddam.

I was amazed and disgusted. But that’s nothing compared to what has just happened to me.

Before you read the rest of this note, understand that none of those involved have consulted me nor have they used my name. I heard about this by accident after it happened. Other than those directly involved I’m presumably the only one who knows that this was my article. Here we go.

A well-known television program took an article of mine that appeared on my blog and quoted it on the air. The extract was put up on the screen though the author’s name wasn’t mentioned. It was about the Muslim Brotherhood. The article quoted a Brotherhood leader as talking about his hostility toward Israel, etc. At this point, I was saying to myself: There goes a million dollars in free publicity!

The program’s critics submitted the article to one of these mainstream prestigious “fact-checking” sites. The site called up an “expert” who I’ve never heard of at an American institution and asked him about it. He said that he had never heard of the Egyptian Brotherhood leader. The site then pronounced, on the basis of that one conversation, that the article was inaccurate and criticized the program for using it. Note that my article was sourced and if anyone had asked me I could have shown them the original and many similar statements,as well as proof of the importance of the Brotherhood leader making the statement.

I only know about this because I was listening to the program and they cited the article (without my name) and of course I recognized the quote. Nobody consulted me at any point on this matter.

So to quote a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood based on a reliable (and available) translation as saying that the Brotherhood wants an Islamist state and wants to wipe out Israel is considered to be not credible on the basis of a statement by one American who, to my knowledge, has never done any research on the Brotherhood. Yet there are scores of such Brotherhood statements, including those from both the leader and deputy leader of the Brotherhood as well as many recognized leaders and in Brotherhood publications.

This is the closest thing I’ve ever seen and experienced to a Soviet-style or 1984-type denial of reality. We have reached the point of being able to quote the motto of George Orwel”s totalitarian state in 1984:

WAR IS PEACE [The revolutionary Islamist war on the West doesn't actually exist.]

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY [Free speech is Islamophobic, racist, etc., and thus a form of "hate crime." Censorship makes us freer.]

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH [Mass media editing out of reality makes us stronger by eliminating potential "thought crime" and nudging the masses toward more "correct" behavior.]

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, and a featured columnist at PajamasMedia http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/ His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center is http://www.gloria-center.org. His PajamaMedia columns are teased and other articles are available at http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com/.

Anjali Tendulkar and Sachin at Wimbledon 2011 Photos

2011-06-26T13:32:00.001-07:00

Anjali Tendulkar and Sachin seen at Wimbledon 2011 watching the match of Roger Federer.Sachin Tendulkar was introduced to the Center Crowd at the Wimbledon Court at London and His Wife Anjali Tendulkar with all the Crowd applauded with claps.Sachin then talked with Federer After the match and also had Dinner with him

Emperor Obama Has Declared Amnesty For Illegal Aliens by Executive Fiat

2011-06-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

A year ago, we reported that Obama was working on a way to grant amnesty for illegal immigrants by executive fiat. The ICE union has released an internal memo proving that prediction true. The Obama administration is quietly offering a de facto amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, an obvious ploy to win reelection by mobilizing a wave of new Hispanic voters.

The new rules were announced Friday with a new memo from top officials at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency (embedded below). The policy outlines a policy which seems to mirror the Dream Act which has been rejected by the congress as recently as last year. The memo calls for “prosecutorial discretion” and says officials need not enforce immigration laws if illegal immigrants are enrolled in an education center or if their relatives have volunteered for the US military.

"Any American concerned about immigration needs to brace themselves for what's coming," said Chris Crane, President of the National ICE Council which represents approximately 7,000 ICE agents, officers and employees, "this is just one of many new ICE policies in queue aimed at stopping the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws in the United States. Unable to pass its immigration agenda through legislation, the Administration is now implementing it through agency policy."

"ICE and the Administration have excluded our union and our agents from the entire process of developing policies, it was all kept secret from us, we found out from the newspapers. ICE worked hand-in-hand with immigrants rights groups, but excluded its own officers."

Sounds just like our President, who just announced a new Afghanistan policy which went against the recommendation of his top generals. This time however, he didn't even seek the opinion of the people on the "front." Heck why should he, there is an election to win?

When you read the entire memo embedded below you realize that ICE is also talking about aliens who have been arrested for committing other crimes (so when you add entering the country illegally, we are talking two-time lawbreakers. Most officers who are arresting law breakers are allowed to consider one thing, evidence whether or not they committed the crime. But the ICE “prosecutorial discretion” memo adds much more to be considered, most of which push the agent not to arrest the illegal alien:

This new policy is only half the story as there are additional directives which the "most transparent administration in history" has refused to put in writing.

The union says just as concerning is the way policies are implemented at ICE. Agents claim that under Director John Morton the agency always presents written policies for public consumption, but then makes "secret changes" to the policies which ICE refuses to put in writing. ICE knows the policy changes will create a political outcry, or could place the public or ICE officers at risk. "Our officers are already under orders not to make arrests or even talk to foreign nationals in most cases unless another agency has already arrested them; you won't find that written in any public ICE policy."

With regard to the entire idea of prosecutorial discretion, Agents say they will have none. "Tell any ICE agent he or she will have the final say on making an arrest or holding someone in custody and they'll tell you you're crazy, officers will be ordered not to make arrests and failure to comply will result in the end of the agent or officer's career, that's business as usual at ICE. It's unfortunate but the Administration protects foreign nationals illegally in the U.S. but does nothing for our employees." The Union also alleges that ICE Field Office Directors (FODs) have confided in the Union that when the FODs raised questions about the effectiveness of the new policies ICE Headquarters responded by telling the FODs to turn in their badges and file for retirement.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano claims that this Administration is protecting our borders from illegal entry better than any in history, but according to the Ice Agents involve it is just another Obama lie.

What this memo as well as other ICE revelations, and other DOJ cases such as the New Black Panther case prove is that under the Obama administration there are two types of law enforcement, one for those of whom can help the progressives generate more votes, and one for the rest of Americans. Kind of makes you wonder what happened to equality under the law.

283 284 Mortons Prosecutorial Discretion Memo

Sonakshi Sinha with the IIFA Award 2011 Photos

2011-06-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Sonakshi Sinha got the Most talented Debut Actress IIFA Awards 2011 at Toronto.She looked hot with the black dress.

Kangana Ranuat IIFA 2011 Green Carpet Photos

2011-06-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Kangana Ranuat IIFA 2011 Green Carpet grabbed the attention of her fans.She just took the attention of all the crazy fans during the Double Dhamaal film Premiere at the IIFA 2011 at Toronto. Kangana was wearing a beige gown and a crystal studded clutch.

Karma Foundation's 6th Annual Kandyland Event At The Playboy Mansion On 6/25/11

2011-06-26T04:22:00.000-07:00

Keith Hefner, Hugh Hefner and Anna Sophia Berglund

Lauren Waugh and the Shannon Twins

Anna Berglund and Claire Sinclair

Lauren Waugh and Olivia Paige

Sheridyn Fisher and Lauren

Anushka Sharma with Ranveer Singh at IIFA 2011 awards

2011-06-26T01:08:00.000-07:00

Anushka Sharma with Ranveer Singh at IIFA 2011 awards .Both received the IIFA 2011 Hottest couple Award.

Mallika Sherawat Hot Photos at IIFA 2011 Awards

2011-06-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

Mallika Sherawat Hot Photos at IIFA 2011 Awards

Sonakshi Sinha posing for Gitanjali Jewelry at IIFA 2011 Awards

2011-06-26T01:05:00.000-07:00

Sonakshi Sinha posing for Gitanjali Jewelry at IIFA 2011 Awards

Bipasha Basu Fashion Parade at IIFA 2011 Awards Photo

2011-06-26T01:04:00.000-07:00

Bipasha Basu Fashion Parade at IIFA 2011 Awards

The Black Holes of Healthcare, Lemonade,...And My Plan!

2011-06-26T00:55:00.000-07:00

HI Your Fit Day Friends:

I hope you're all enjoying the spring weather. Here in the Bay Area we've had some pretty picture-perfect days. And the days are still getting longer.

Hey! You know what that means, don't you? More daylight hours... for... ex-er-cising! So no excuses; at least for the next 6 months, anyway.

Go enjoy the great outdoors and make fitness fun. Grab your kids-or someone else's-and Go Go Go. Visit your National parks, (hurry, while you still time, since many are set to close in September). Play on the swing-sets. Bike the trails, and run in them thar hills!!

Hey! Speaking of running...that's something I won't be able to do for a while, and I wanted to give you an update on your trainer's life.

My Hippy News

In my Part I of Key to Pain Free I mentioned seeing a second surgeon after I was 'misdiagnosed' by the first. The first surgeon, let's call him Dr. Compassion (not!), advised Motrin daily; told me to come back in six months if I was still in pain; and, without even looking at an X ray or MRI, told me I was too young for any type of surgery and to come back when I was closer to age 60, and sent me packing.

Huh? I see. At my HMO it's obviously all about patient care!

Let me give you a brief synopsis of our email conversations:

Dr. Compassion: (no x-ray to look at, but moves my leg around, taking all of 1 minute) "Yup, just as I thought, you have arthritis."

Debby: "Gee doc, everyone my age and even younger has a little bit of arthritis. I'm in a lot of pain. It came on suddenly. I had a weight training injury in June of 2010, I train a lot. I really think we should think about stress fracture of hip and/or possible labral tear, seeing that I have been quite an avid runner all my life, as well as a myriad of other sports."

Dr. C.: "Nope. Even I have it.(he's sitting back down at his computer now) It's arthritis. Do you get pain in here?" He says, talking to his computer screen and pointing to his lower back. I'm assuming the statement is directed towards me, but with no eye contact it's kind of hard to tell. He keeps scrolling back and forth, up and down looking for something, obviously not my X-ray. I just keep wondering... 'what's so much more important than his live patient in front of him?'

Debby: "Huh? No, I don't. It' in my hip, the top of my butt. I can't squat right", as I get up off the table and hobble two steps over to the door, the only free space in the room.

"Look, watch me squat; look at my right leg, how it doesn't rotate out like the left. It's stuck. This makes it hard to work. And look at my hips. I'm like a tea kettle when poured, off kilter. Something isn't right. I can feel it, look Dr. _...", I'm pleading. He turns his head around for a split second as I'm squatting, then quickly turns back to the computer screen. What on earth is on that screen? What is so much more interesting to evaluate than his live deformed patient, ~~standing~~ sqautting right in front of him?

Dr. C.: "Yah, arthritis, like I said. That happens."

Wha..?

Debby: "Listen, I know my body and something is going on here more than a little arthritis. I need this fixed. I need to be able to do my job, teach my boot camp style class that I just licensed, and build out my new fitness website with my workout videos for online training. I need to be able to move without pain, be nimble...you know, be in good form for presenting great content to my viewers, who depend on me for their workouts. This is my job."

Dr. C.: "Well, my advice to you is to change your lifestyle. You can stand on the sidelines like the football coaches who yell at the players, and do just like they do. And I'm not going to give you surgery so you can do some You Tube videos and teach a 'boot camp'. My suggestion is to start thinking about your lifestyle and change it. Do yoga, swim, walk. Now, go home, take Motrin. Then, stretch it when you don't feel pain, and keep stretching farther and farther, and maybe some of that flexibility will come back."

Huh? Did he just tell me what I think he did? Stretching is his answer? Stand around and yell? Don't they have a reality show for that?

Debby: "Listen Dr. C. I've been in the fitness industry my entire life. I'm young, strong and extremely athletic. I have many more years. I'm not here to talk about career changes. I'm here to rule out the possibility of a stress fracture or labral tear that could be casuing this malfunctioning hip. [OK?] I need resolution. And even if I were to take Motrin-which I will not-how long am I supposed to take it for? What's your plan? Do you even have a plan?"

Do HMO's have a plan for patients anyway, or is all the bottom line for the HMO? This is NOT a trick question.

Dr. C.: "I would say come back in six months. And if it's still the same or worse then we can do an MRI, maybe. But I want to see the X-ray first. And if it's arthritis, like I'm sure it is, then we wouldn't fix a labral tear anyway."

Debby: "Well, I don't want to take Motrin indefinitely if you have no game plan, and you won't give me an MRI. That's ridiculous. I need to know NOW what this is. And if the X-ray doesn't show a stress fracture then I want an MRI; I am entitled to one."

Dr. C.: "Get the X-ray. I'm sure I am right. Oh, and don't bother making another appointment. You can just email me and we can discuss your options online. Save your co-pay . Now, I have to get going I'm late."

And he slid out the door trying to make a getaway.

Late? I waited for over an hour, he spends 15 minutes with me, max, and he's late? This is my hip.This is my life. 'I'm in pain here Doc', I was screaming inside.(I had just started with M.A.T. again)

I shoved all my stuff into my backpack, slung it over my shoulder, half open, and I rushed after him down the hall.

Debby: "Wait, what do you mean I can just email you? What about patient/doctor relationships? Why are you so concerned with my co-pay?" And he was through.

In the big picture, when you want a resolution, that co-pay is insignificant. And emailing your provider at my HMO only allows 1000 characters per email. Now, assuming you've been reading my blogs that's hardly a conversation for this blogger.

I want one-to-one interaction; I'm entitled to one-to-one interaction with my provider; And, hey! I pay my HMO membership!

Well, I didn't wait for him to email me, nor did I set up that one to one with him. I high tailed it online to my former shoulder surgeon, and in under 1000 characters she was able to find me a wonderful, compassionate, caring female orthopedic surgeon who happened to be a competitive runner, skier, swimmer herself, and was privy to my pleas for help. Let's call her Dr. Yours Truly Compassionate.

But I wasn't going to see Dr. Yours Truly until I made sure I had my MRI. And getting that was like finding water on Mars.

The Expansion Of Black Holes

Sometimes, trying to get through the HMO system is like falling into a black hole. And once you get stuck in their vortex you have to be pretty strong to pull yourself out to get something done, and in a timely manner.

Well, since I was stuck in the HMO vortex, for now, I had to resort to their emailing system. And since I could only write 1000 characters at a time, I was usually cut off mid sentence, even half word. So it took me quite a few emails to finally get through to that first doc and get my MRI.

Here's how that conversation went:

Debby: "O.K. Dr.C., so you say I have moderate arthritis. But I am entitled to an MRI, and I'm entitled to a second opinion. And I'd like to have the MRI first. I need to see exactly what is going on inside my body so I can move forward, make a plan, and visualize the healing and get on with the process."

Doc: "Like I said, take the Motrin and if that doesn't work then we can go in a different direction. There is nothing you can do about the arthritis. Change your lifestyle. You may have to give up some things"

Debby: " I'm telling you, something is wrong with the structure of my body. I can tell. And I can't move forward if I don't know what's wrong. I can't start my group exercise camps. At least if I have an MRI we can rule out what it's not. I use my body to make my income. People are depending on me to provide workouts on my website. I depend on my body like you do on your hands for surgery. Please, I want my MRI."

Am I actually begging my HMO?!

Doc: " I am 100% sure that it is only arthritis as we see it in the X-ray. And it's moderate arthritis at that. You are not a candidate for surgery with moderate arthritis. There is no reason for an MRI. "

Debby: "Listen, nobody is 100% sure unless they are God!. Just please order the MRI. Look at it this way, if there is nothing in the MRI then you can pat yourself on the back, and you were right. But if something else shows up then we will all be happy, and we can move forward and fix the problem. But I can't wait 6 months to find out. And you should not make me wait six months. Well, if you don't order the MRI now, then I might have to hold my HMO accountable for anything that happens to my body from the day that I saw you."

You've Got Mail

: Almost as slow as Snail Mail

Well, the next day I had, in my HMO Patient Inbox, a referral to the NMRI department. (The N stands for Nuclear, by the way). I finally got my MRI. Then I had a second opinion from the compassionate female orthopedist. Just for the record I'll rate her a 10 on the scale of 1-5!. Well, that was the visit where the Dr. yours Truly read the MRI.

And folks, it doesn't look good. I'd include the actual MRI but it's a bit too graphic for this G-rated blog. But here's what the X-ray looked like:

: What do YOU see?

Cool, Huh?

Now, if you're like me you have no idea what you're looking at.

What's not so cool is that I don't have many options, and not a lot of time to decide, given my age and progression of the osteoarthritis. and the pain and lack freedom it causes me.

Options:

Do nothing and become a cripple
Learn how to hop on one leg. Great for training but not very convenient in the real world day to day existence.
Get the top of my femur chopped off and replaced with ceramic total hip replacement, THR, which is great for the avid golfer but not the active multi sport fitness gu-ress and trainer like moi.
Go with the new innovative technology of hip resurfacing,HR, which saves most of your bone, the head of your femur and allows for full activities after a year of rehab (Weight training, running, skiing, martial arts, surfing, splits, and all other sports).I can basically do everything except skydiving. Note to self: Set up sky dive session before surgery.

What would you do? This is NOT another trick question.:)

It's kind of a no brainer, wouldn't ya think?

Although the HR is a more complicated, it saves most of the bone so there is more to work with in case of a revision down the road (ie. chop off the head of my femur, lots of thigh bone, and replace it with total hip). However, if the HR is done with precision, and by the right surgeon, who has logged 1000's of procedures, and uses the correct prosthesis best suited for women, especially on small framed women such as your princess of fitness here, the chance for the best possible outcome is optimal.

Just My Luck

Well, not only did my HMO 'mis diagnose' me as having just some arthritis, they didn't even notice in the MRI that I had congenital hip displasia-or they forgot to tell me-which of course changes the playing field when considering what device to place in my hip, not to mention the experience of the surgeon placing it.

So before even consulting with a possible surgeon-who is NO. 3 below-I logged about 60 hours online researching procedures, prostheses, and the top surgeons around the world who had performed thousands of hip resurfacing, with a high percentage of them on female patients like me.

And when I finally talked to Surgeon No. 3 , I came prepared with a file busting at the seems with documentation on the pros and cons of the two most commonly used devices: the BHR and the Conserve Plus. The research for the Conserve Plus shows that it is better suited for small women with hip displasia cases; it comes in many size increments; and there is less potential for rubbing and leaking ions.

The research shows that the BHR is suited for larger men; or women who are 5ft 8 inches and heavy boned. I am 5ft, 6 inches, if that.

And I am small boned. The BHR is large and bulky and does not have as many of the smaller sized options suited for women my size.

There is also documentation showing a higher number of cases of ions being created when the particular metals that are used in the manufacturing of the BHR ball and socket are rubbed together. These ions would leak into my bloodstream. They can never be cleared.

My life's work is about keeping the body toxin free and creating a life free of disease for others as well as myself; not creating a potential breeding ground for cancer, or...whatever else.

Compared to the Conserve Plus device, the BHR has also been documented to show more groin pain after full recovery from surgery, limiting activities. The point of the hip resurfacing is to restore my lifestyle back to a fully active one... pain free!.

These potential problems, as well as ions streaming through my body, is not my idea of fixing the problem.

And based on a report written by Dr. Koen De Smet, who is one of the top-five leading hip resurfacing surgeons in the world, (and speaking with him through extensive emails, where, by the way, I was allowed as many characters as I could possibly write), I am NOT a candidate for the BHR.

Guess what folks?

My HMO only uses the BHR.

Synopsis:

I saw three doctors. The first told me to go home. The second told me I had to have surgery, but did not perform that particular type. The third looked at my X ray, told me I hip resurfacing was difficult on women, that he had not done manywomen out of his 300 surgeries, and after looking at my MRI forgot to mention I had a congenital hip displasia. On top of that, even though I had shown him the report comparing the two devices and the how the Conserve Plus had a better track record for women he could only use the BHR.

It's quite obvious that it's not in the best interest of my only right hip, and my future as a fitness professional, to use my HMO's one option, or even their surgeons.

What would you do?

Make Lemons out of Lemonade

Well, that's what Dr. Koen De Smet, the surgeon who wrote the comparison report, and the doctor who I have picked to do my surgery, can apparently do. Make the lemons whole again. Kind of like putting Humpty back together again!

: Who doesn't like Lemonade?!

As for me, I'll stick to making lemonade out of lemons and take this as an opportunity to find a silver lining.

I have spent thirty plus years of honing my body and mind and, well... I was born with my spirit! So now, I must take on another great challenge in this life of mine. (If you know me personally you know the others).

But I think of it like this: I will take it on like any other challenging leg day sat the gym; attack it with a plan and put in max effort.

And while I am still fairly mobile and can control the pain I'll prepare for the battle and have the best positive experience that I can doing it.

Yup! You heard me right. Stay positive. Look towards the future. Make lemonade. And here's how...

The Plan

Anyone going into battle has to have a plan. And this woman warrior is no different. So from May until September's surgery I will work on getting into the best PREHAB shape of my life, given the limitations with my hip and the pain, of course.

Since I'm a girl who likes to lift heavy objects with my legs, and since that is no longer an option I am learning new methods of training for my lower body.

(And NOTE to all the ladies out there: lifting weights does help keep body fat off your body).

I am also finding alternatives to running too. Plus, this will be a good time to explore other new ways to keep my body and mind strong and centered.

Eating healthy whole foods and maintaining my 23 years of an unprocessed and sugar free diet to fuel my body is a no brainer!

The Team

Back to the lemonade!

I decided to compile a team of experts who could help me get into the best shape of my life pre surgery, as well as post rehab conditioning.

And here's where the new experiences come into play!

It's obvious that I am limited in my mobility now, and I will not be able to go to the gym right after surgery. But it's paramount that I be able to stay in shape and do progressive athletic prehab and rehab. So setting up a system that I can use at home, or even in my backyard, or anywhere for that matter, is really important.

So to date, with the help from sponsorships by TRX,

: TRX Suspension Training Pro Pack

: Kangoo Jumps

and Kangoojumps, as well as pre and post rehab conditioning programs from Josh Henkin of Ultimate Sandbag Systems, and Ed Le Cara of Sports Plus, I'll be ready for battle.

What You Get!

Remember, this is a team effort and you are part of it. If I don't win, you don't win. So, I will be chronicling my experience through this blog and You Tube channel Your Fit Day , pre and post surgery. All of the workouts I do with the Ninja equipment will be workouts that YOU, too, can do. Right now. At home. Anywhere. No excuses!!

So I want all of you to workout along with me. I plan to incorporate all of the prehab and post rehab exercises into exciting kick-butt workouts, show you knew techniques, and post periodic updates and videos...all to help you get in and stay in the best shape of your life.

And as I bring you along on my journey I hope to be an inspiration to all of you out there who may have limiting beliefs around getting into the best shape of your life. You can do it. Trust me. But you may have to dig down a little deeper this time.

Remember, I'll be working out as hard as I can to stay in shape. I'm not going to let hip surgery steer me off course. Not for a minute. I'll just be working smart, and around the pain of my hip.

But I will never give up what I have achieved and I don't want you to give up on reaching your fitness goals either. We can do this together.

What It's All About

Although I'm a super fit chick, remember this: I still have to work hard at it every day. It doesn't come easy. I live and breathe health and fitness every day. Every minute!

But know this too: being in the best shape of my life every day will make it easier both physically and mentally to get through this challenge and bounce back.

And that is why it is so important for you to get in and stay in the best shape of your life, every day. Nobody has a crystal ball, and you don't know what curve balls life will bring.

Be prepared. Be Strong. Both physically and mentally. Be ready to play ball.

And that is what this blog is all about: To inspire YOU to stay on a path that will lead you to a lifestyle of health and fitness where you will never give up on yourself in becoming the best YOU.

You Give Me Inspiration

And while I'm rehabbing, I want you to inspire me.

Tell me about your workouts and your accomplishments and how YOU feel. I'll be here to cheer you on in your quest for your bad ass bod.

Tell me, what is your greatest challenge right now?

The Scene of the Crime: I Accidentally Stumble Into A Hotbed of Educational Indoctrination

2011-06-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

By Barry Rubin

My son took a computer design course in a summer camp that rented space in an Anglican private high school in the wealthiest Washington suburb. On the last day, students demonstrated the games they’d designed. I went for the presentation in the classroom, that was usually used by the school for teaching history, I was shocked but not surprised.

Remember, this was a completely random classroom in a random private school that I saw simply because a computer class was being held there during the summer. So what did I see? The following items:

–About 15 short quotations on the wall around the room, including three by Noam Chomsky and one each by Cornell West and Howard Zinn. The theme? History is just a construct made up by someone. Consequently, there is no objective truth to strive for. Thus, there were also two by the liberal Democrat Arthur Schlesinger, one of which said something to the effect that history should be used to promote human freedom, a nice sentiment on the surface but which today implies that you can—indeed must—twist history to support your political positions.

A poster of Malcolm X, with the quote, “By any means necessary,” which means, of course, the use of violence to bring down the evil United States…

A poster of Che Guevara with a Cuban flag and revolutionary slogans.

A poem by Alan Ginsberg of how bad America is.

A collage called, “A Needless Sacrifice?” of how bad America’s wars are.

A collage of the anti-Vietnam war movement, with a big peace sign.

Several posters and cartoons ridiculing the “traditional” rolI e of women based on some stereotype of 1950s America, one of which claimed that wives always had to agree with their husbands and that women’s main job was to have dinner ready when her husband got home.

I am not leaving anything out that would seem to make the situation more balanced. The best I could come up with was a humorous quote from Lyndon Johnson about how hard it was to be president. Even the George Santayana quote was of the “history is bunk” variety. And, no, there were no pictures of Founding Fathers or anything about the Constitution or Declaration of Independence.

As I explained to my son, I wouldn’t mind so much if there had been some of this balanced by something else. But there was no sign of balance whatsoever. Ironically, a message had been left on the board from the last class in which students thanked the teacher for teaching them how to think independently about history.

So I had accidentally happened on a scene that showed how wealthy Anglican parents from the Washington area elite are paying a lot of money to send their children to a school where they are indoctrinated on being left-wing radicals to the exclusion of all other ideas or world views.

Obviously, this would outrage conservatives. But how can one call this “liberalism”? Nothing would have to be changed to have made this appear like a classroom run by a Marxist-Leninist group, albeit one that was trying to be a bit subtle about it.

That such things exist will be ignored or denied. Yet it would have been impossible to have chosen a classroom in America more at random.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, and a featured columnist at PajamasMedia http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/ His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center is http://www.gloria-center.org. His PajamaMedia columns are teased and other articles are available at http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com/.

New York Passes Gay Marriage; California Should Split State

2011-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

In the wake of New York State's successful and historic passage of Gay Marriage, it has to be said that California looks.. Well... Bad.

We're literally raised to think that California, the Golden State. The place of dreams. The place where you can be you. Will let you be you.

Now, in the wake of New York's action to allow something that should not even be an issue for any truly secure person (sorry), California just looks like a different place. The illusion has been shattered and the emperor has no clothes.

Or maybe the emperor's a confused cross-dresser: conservative one moment, liberal the next. Sorely in need of some way to split their personality.

And by that, I mean the much talked about California split-state movement.

In the past, I wasn't for a split-state movement, thinking that the state could get it's collective act together over such issues as water-rights and gay marriage. But age has a way of making a person impatient, and that's certainly the case with this blogger.

As long as California is one state, it may take another ten years to make Gay Marriage legal in it. How much harder will it be for California to maintain its entertainment industry as state after state around it expresses little care what people do in their private lives?

At some point, California's got to relax about this. I'm not convinced it's going to happen in the near term, so why not just split the state into what we know it really is: Northern California and Southern California.

That's the best remedy.

New York Passes Gay Marriage; California Should Split State

2011-06-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Gay Marriage with champagne, a photo by konstantin sergeyev on Flickr.

In the wake of New York State's successful and historic passage of Gay Marriage, it has to be said that California looks.. Well... Bad.

We're literally raised to think that California, the Golden State. The place of dreams. The place where you can be you. Will let you be you.

Now, in the wake of New York's action to allow something that should not even be an issue for any truly secure person (sorry), California just looks like a different place. The illusion has been shattered and the emperor has no clothes.

Or maybe the emperor's a confused split-personality: conservative one moment, liberal the next. Sorely in need of some way to split into two people.

And by that, I mean the much talked about California split-state movement.

In the past, I wasn't for a split-state movement, thinking that the state could get it's collective act together over such issues as water-rights and gay marriage. But age has a way of making a person impatient, and that's certainly the case with this blogger.

As long as California is one state, it may take another ten years to make Gay Marriage legal in it. How much harder will it be for California to maintain its entertainment industry as state after state around it expresses little care what people do in their private lives?

At some point, California's got to relax about this. I'm not convinced it's going to happen in the near term, so why not just split the state into what we know it really is: Northern California and Southern California.

That's the best remedy.

Selena Gomez available for Live Chat

2011-06-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

The Teenage sensation Selena Gomez live Chat will be available soon. Its a great new for her crazy fans who wants to know about her secret life and some unknown facts. Recently the news been tweeted by Selena Gomez herself as she tweets that she will be available for chatting live with her thousands of fans by You tube on Tuesday 12:15 PM EST through Selena Gomez you tube account.

But yes, remember if you want some questions to be asked her ,you have to first enter to her You tube Homepage account.But the interesting fact is – it will be very difficult for Selena Gomez to answer all questions as already more than 10k questions been put by 6k fans in her You tube account.

Car Driven Into Lake Merritt Oakland, Saturday Morning

2011-06-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

Car In Lake Merritt Oakland, Saturday Morning , a photo by zennie62 on Flickr.

According to social media reports, a woman, unidentified, apparently, accidentally drove her car into the waters of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.

The accident was reported on Twitter and this blogger found it via the use of the social search engine SocialMention.com, and during a search for "Lake Merritt."

The photo was placed by @BarakaBlue and them retweeted by @TjaderDaRaider on Twitter and with this tweet: : "Yes that is a car upside down in lake Merritt."

That it was a woman was reported by @MissKimmie123:

@MissKimmie123 Miss Kimmie
Action by the lake I heard a crash then a splash then hella oh my gods, a woman just drove her car in to Lake Merritt never a dull moment

According to @BarakaBlue a "heroic dude" jumped into the waters of Lake Merritt to pull the woman from her car. Then Oakland Police and what was described as "medic and fire squad" was working to get the car out of the water. The woman was said to have lost control of her car, according to the tweets on Twitter.

Judging by the time reports, the accident happened around 1 AM. Also, by the look of the photo, the accident happened on the Lakeshore Avenue side of Lake Merritt.

As of this writing there are no other reports beyond these tweets. I checked Google News, and a number of blog search programs.

Stay tuned.

Atlanta Social Media Party Links BASHH And Digital Atlanta Meetup

2011-06-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

This blogger went out to what was expected to be a small gathering of bloggers at 5 Seasons Westside Brewery, but was a first-time gathering of two digital and social media groups: BASHH, for "Big Ass Social Happy Hour" and the "Digital Atlanta" Meetup. In fact it was a total dive-in and swim experience, where I met a lot of great people, some who I interviewed for the video.

Some brief highlights:

The first person I met was John Peltier, one of the organizers of what he and colleague Anna Gonzalez (who I also interviewed at length) said was a continuation of the BASHH party at SXSW (That's "South-By-South-West," the giant music and tech confab held annually in Austin, Texas.) John says the idea is to have a party that presents a non-threatening place for people curious about blogs and social media to come and find out more about both by meeting people already involved in it. In other words, another excuse to have good drinks, good conversation, and good humor.

Met a lot of great bloggers, for example Cecilia Dominic runs the Atlanta wine blog Random Oenophile , where she highlights "reviews of restaurants and wineries," and from our conversation, has a lot of fun doing it, with some help from her husband Jason. A fun couple to hang with.

Victoria Ellis is a smart, sexy, man-eating riot, who's blog VISHous Life is a diary of dates past and recent, good and bad. Ms. Ellis and her friend Elwyn Lopez left me laughing up a storm, as you will see in the video. Is winding up a subject in Vish's blog's a good thing or a bad thing? Whatever the answer, she's got great material for a TV show, already.

Grace, a junior at Georgia Tech, smartly started a Twitter account that spots deals for Atlanta sports events. Want to know what specials the Atlanta Braves have? You're better off following @ATLSportsDeals than visiting the team's own website.

Nick Valencia is a CNN assignment editor, who describes himself as an "all-round jack of all trades" which is a redundancy, but whatever. Nick's project at CNN is Mexico's drug war, where his collection of blogs and podcasts really constructs and excellent and frankly, very human picture of a problem that's all too often painted in black and white. Take a search look here: LINK.

Terry Coniglio is the Social Media Coordinator at Georgia State University and handles all such activities for the college. That and I observed that she's got a good eye for decent food!

Anna's the ring-leader of the thing - darting, dashing, greeting, and making the event the fun happening it was. When I found out about the meetup, the list I saw read that "9 bloggers" were expected, but it was more like 50 people. I even met two reps of an app called FitRadio.com, that's positioned as a Pandora competitor.

As it happened there were two parties, the BASHH event, and the Digital Atlanta meetup, held next door at the correctly-named Octane Coffee cafe. I ran into someone I'd not seen since the 2008 Democratic Convention, and met two of the organizers of Digital Atlanta, set for November 7th 2011.

The idea of Digital Atlanta is to have a "week-long series of events celebrating technology and new media marketing achievements in Atlanta" according to its website. The second annual Digital Atlanta (the 2010 event drew over 3,000 people) is in the planning stages, and, as Susan Berry and Stephanie Frost explain in the video, it's seeking sponsors, so this is a great time to get on board.

In short, I happened to walk-in on a major event in the growth of Atlanta's social media community. I hope this blog and video can help spread the word about what's going on. It's quite exciting.

Stay tuned.

Stolen 1953 Gibson Les Paul Guitar Story Takes A Turn

2011-06-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

If you recall the story of Maurice and his stolen 1953 Gibson Les Paul Guitar, where the Vancouver musician took to Facebook and Craigslist to report the theft of his prize possession, the story has taken a new turn.

Someone, either for real or malicious play, has posted a Craigslist ad offering the same 1953 Gibson Les Paul Guitar for sale. This is how the ad reads:

I have for sale a very altered, but very real 1953 Gibson Les Paul.

This is not a gold-top. In the 1950's, it was refitted with an ABR-1 bridge and stop tailpiece, and then refinished, all by Gibson. The green colour in the picture is accurate. It's one of the lightest Gibson Les Pauls, and the only one of its' colour, that I've ever seen.

The ad also uses the same description of how the guitar was altered that Maurice used in the original Craigslist ad, but it leaves a phone number:

Some changes have been made including:
--changed the P-90's to humbuckers
--had the neck thinned and it, the back and the sides were refinished
--replaced worn out machine heads with gold Gibson ones
--added brass switch ring, jack plate, and rear cavity covers that were made for me by my brother-in-law
--added a truss rod cover with "Les Paul" on it
--installed strap-locks

Give me a call on my cell, (515) 460-1400. Headed back to The States soon and I need it gone by then.

That phone number is, interestingly, the same one as used in this ad selling tickets to the Cubs vs. Pirates Opening Day Game:

2 Tickets Cubs Vs Pirates Opening Day 4 1 11 The Loop 40 details visit
04/01/2011
I was planning on going opening day for The Cubs tomorrow vs. The Pirates. Unfortunately work is bringing me home early, and I have two tickets to sell before 11am. First come first serve, $40 for both. I am staying at a hotel in the loop, you would have to be able to get down here in the morning to pick them up. 515-460-1400 Location: The Loop it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests ...more

When I called the number, the message said "Hi, this is Chris. I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message. I'll get back to you."

According to the Facebook friends who tipped me off to this story, Maurice was informed of the ad, and called the police.

I just wonder if the phone number itself belongs to someone other than the person who created the ad.

Stay tuned.

Van Jones Is Creating the Milli Vanilli of Tea Parties

2011-06-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Truther, Self-described communist, and former Obama Green Jobs Czar Van Jones has a new mission, to start a progressive version of the Tea Party movement. Just like the real tea party, the Van Jones creation is based on economics. There are major differences though, being a progressive movement its basic premise is a lie, and instead of being a bottom up grass roots organization like the tea party, the Van Jones version is top down similar to the progressive philosophy that everything must be run by a central government.

The Van Jones "tea party" is called “The American Dream Movement.” Jones is says he is forming the movement because liberal activists expressed frustration that they lacked the political power or media focus given to the conservative tea-party movement.

Does he really want the same media focus? That means his group will be known by some sort of sexual reference, slandered with untrue charges of racism or violence, and of course the official mainstream media attendance tally for any demonstration will equal one tenth of one percent of the real number.

A big theme of the Van Jones effort is Americans are being lied to, the federal government is not running out of money.

“We are being lied to,” Jones said. “We are not broke. We’re the richest country in the history of the world.”

The “Rebuild the Dream” website once echoed the same meme. “MoveOn Civic Action; The Other 98% teamed up to keep the message going: We Are Being Lied To,” read the movement’s mission statement on rebuildthedream.com. “The country isn’t broke and the last thing we should be doing is gutting workers’ rights and cutting vital services American families depend on.”

Just like the guy whose checking account is over drawn but denies it because he still has blank checks left.

“We think we can do what the tea party did,” Jones said in an interview with The Fix. “They stepped forward under a common banner, and everybody took them seriously. Polls suggest there are more people out there who have a different view of the economy, but who have not stepped forward yet under a common banner.”

“There's a lot of organizational muscle behind the initiative, and Van is one of the most inspiring figures in the progressive movement, so I'm looking forward to these efforts, and they certainly come at a time when Republican overreach has primed progressives to take action” said Markos Moulitas, the founder of the liberal blog network Daily Kos.

Jones launched his group last night with a one and a half hour long event live streamed from NY. He called the the fact that the US has a major debt and deficit problem “a dangerous lie” and led the crowd in chants of “America is not broke!”

Somebody should tell that to the CBO, who reported this week that our long term debt is going to doom the economy.

Without providing any facts, Jones compared fiscal conservatives to al Qaeda,

“Paul Ryan’s budget would knock out more critical American infrastructure than our sworn enemies ever dreamed of knocking out.

Most of his speech was the same old progressive schpeil, the rich don't pay their fair share, unions built middle-class America, people do not make enough money, yada, yada, yada. He even used the SHMOTUS' line about paying taxes being patriotic.

Jones' project demonstrates how little the progressives learned from the tea party movement. The tea party movement is all about empowering the individual, it would not have had the same passion and staying power if the organization and the message came down from a central organization. To this day there is not one united tea party group and the national organizations that do exist are more bottom up than top down.

Part of the reason the tea party movement grew is that voters were sick and tired of being lied to by their representatives and other politicians. Starting with an obvious lie, that the US is not being strangled by its debt, will not win them many supporters.

Despite what Van Jones and the progressive movement believes, Americans are not stupid. Sure The American Dream Movement may pick up some support at the beginning, but it wont take long to realize that the Van Jones-led group is to the tea party movement, what Milli Vanilli was to music. And in the end, Americans do not like fakers.

GAO: US Grant-making System is Very Dysfunctional

2011-06-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

During the past fiscal year the United States issued over $125 billion dollars in improper grant payments. That is just one of the disturbing facts reported in a study by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) called Federal Grants, Improvements Needed in Oversight and Accountability Processes in Grants Play a Significant Role in Implementing and Funding Federal Programs (embedded below).

Why is a study of grant making so important? Because grants have become increasingly important as a the federal governments way to achieve national objectives and to respond to emerging trends, such as changing demographics and changing threats to homeland security.

From fiscal years 1990 to 2010, federal grant outlays to states and local governments, increased from about $135 billion to over $600 billion—almost one-fifth of the fiscal year 2010 federal budget, according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In fiscal year 2010, over 1,670 federal grant programs were offered by 23 federal grant-making departments and agencies.

According to the GAO, there are no internal controls over the processes and the money distributed either by the granting agencies or by the organizations receiving the grants. Because of that there is no way to fully track if grants are being given out correctly and once the money is distributed, if the funds are being used for the proper purpose.

In awarding federal grants, effective oversight and internal control is of fundamental importance in assuring the proper and effective use of federal funds to achieve program goals. Effective internal control systems provide reasonable assurance to taxpayers that grants are awarded properly, recipients are eligible, and federal funds are used as intended and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

In authorizing grant programs, federal laws identify the types of activities that can be funded. OMB circulars specify how grants are to be administered and the standards for determining allowable costs.

In addition to the legal and regulatory underpinnings, each grant program has stated purposes that guide what the grant is intended to accomplish. Before awarding any grants, agencies’ preaward processes should ensure that potential recipients have the necessary capabilities to effectively implement the program to comply with relevant laws and regulations, and provide the necessary accountability for federal resources. Once the agency has awarded the grants, its monitoring of grantee performance is important to help ensure that grantees are meeting program and accountability requirements. Following grant completion, it is important for agencies to evaluate the goals and measures established at the beginning of the process against actual results, and to make any needed adjustments for future grant efforts.

How often do we read about US grant money being used for something silly, like the effect of cocaine on monkeys, and will using yoga eliminate hot flashes, part of the reason programs like these get approved is that the federal bureaucracy knows that it is unlikely that there will be any kind of follow up after the funds are distributed. The U.S. government’s dysfunctional system for dispersing hundreds of billions of dollars in grants lacks transparency and is rife with waste, fraud and abuse.

Read the full study below:

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Addison Miller Cyber Girl Xtra Week 3 Sneak Peek

2011-06-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Addison Miller Cyber Girl Xtra Photo Set #2

See the entire set right now at http://cyber.playboy.com

THE MIND, BODY, & SOUL OF MODEL MARISA NERO

2011-06-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to an innocent hobby of playing dress-up and posing on her parents’ coffee table, Marisa Nero has now ventured into more professional and mature modeling markets. And why wouldn’t she? Part Argentine/part Italian, the Toronto native’s exotic mix of light hair, colourful eyes, and deep curves has men and men’s magazines alike drooling for her snapshot. Not only was she labeled sexiest out of all her competitors - winning the titles of Miss Bikini Canada 2008 and Importfest 2008 Featured Model - Marisa has been featured in promos for mainstream names like Budweiser, Superbowl, and Harley Davidson. Marisa’s habit of gracing publications is included but not limited to a Nike print ad, several wall calendars (like one as a super cool “Ice Girl”), and several issues of American Curves Magazine (such as a 10 page pictorial in their December 2008 issue). And, of course, you can’t get glossy magazine-published pictures without the help of glossy magazine-published photographers. Marisa has shot with high-profile glamour photographers like Paul Buceta, Eikona, and Ward LaForme. Her more recent works include, more specifically, Eikona 2010 Bedroom Girls Calendar and, less specifically, several radio and TV appearances as a spokesperson, actress and promotional model.

However, Marisa’s extensive resume of ambitions isn’t just restricted to modeling. In shape and (always) working out in a gym, she turned to Bikram yoga, a form of hot yoga which consists of 26 repeated poses. Practicing yoga for over half of a decade, Marisa will commence her Yoga Teacher Training next month to further discover herself and “connect her mind, body, and soul.” Understanding the benefits of yoga and possessing a natural sense of altruism, she wants to help others - as a teacher and a fellow yogi - find themselves too. As essential as it could be for teaching, Marisa graduated from the Social Work program immediately after high school. As for her being a yogi, it makes sense she would like to take classes for healing/holistic arts, Reiki therapies, and other healing methods. Holistic nutrition allows Marisa to energize her mind and satisfy her body.

Marisa hopes to one day educate others with her own holistic, healing, and yoga workshops. She would also love to volunteer and perform charity work wherever possible. Marisa’s interests include “dancing, working out, yoga-ing, spending time with (her) Yorkie puppy, volunteering, and travelling.”

You can connect with Marisa Nero on her website www.marisanero.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/marisanero.

Kim Kardashian Bootyful backside X ray proof Photo

2011-06-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Kim Kardashian gave the perfect answer to the Critics with genuine Evidence who are very doubtful about her assets .Many believed that Kim Kardashian Bootyful backside was fake but now the Hot babe proved all wrong.She posed with the x ray of her backside.The picture actually been posted by her sister Khloe Kardashian in her Blog.

What Obama Didn’t–And What We Should–Learn From The War In Afghanistan

2011-06-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

By Barry Rubin

I am in favor of a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but I was fascinated–in a negative way–with how President Barack Obama handled the issue. He didn’t deal with any of the real issues or the consequences. It was a speech by someone who doesn’t understand what’s been going on in Afghanistan or the world generally, a man with no real background in international affairs or military matters.

Let’s review briefly. The United States attacked Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban government that was involved in the September 11 attack on America and to wipe out al-Qaida, the group that did the attack, in that country. At some point, the mission was mistakenly changed into an inevitably failed nation-building effort.

The American effort was handicapped by:

-The difficulty of the terrain and society, probably the most difficult to transform into a modern democracy of any country in the world. A key problem was also the deeprootedness of radical Islamism in the society and worldview of the population.

–The lack of a strong Afghan ally and instead working with a weak, corrupt, disorganized Afghan government whose power was very much limited by ethnic and factional disputes as well as the local authority of strong warlords.

–The ignorance of Americans about Afghan society, their (praiseworthy but counterproductive under local conditions) moral restraint, their handicap as infidels, and their inability to deal with–or even discuss honestly–the Islamism problem.

–Sabotage by a highly paid Pakistani government much of which is on the side of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.

None of these points was dealt with by Obama and it is quite possible he doesn’t understand them, especially because he followed the absurd nation-building, win-hearts-and-minds strategy for 2.5 year and put generals in command who advocated it.

No matter how courageous and competent were the U.S. soldiers there, they could not convert Afghanistan into a stable, democratic, modern society.

Nor has he suggested new srategies to cope with these issues. All he’s doing is withdrawing, a move that is going to be domestically popular. Again, the United States should withdraw but what are its strategic goals in doing so, what is its post-troop strategy?

The U.S. priority should be simple: keep the Taliban out of power; kill and destroy al-Qaida wherever it rears its head. How to do that? Pay off and back tough forces in Afghanistan who, also for their own interests, will fight these enemies. Use pressure on Pakistan to get the most out of that false ally. None of that was analyzed either.

Thus, the American people were given no useful information and the Obama Administration has no real strategy. When one watches the administration’s approach, it only confirms the idea that this government is totally incompetent and much of it has no grasp of international affairs, realpolitik, or military issues. And those in the White House simply don’t listen to those in the State and Defense departments who do.

Incidentally, something truly amazing happened after Obama’s speech that I’ve seen reported but not highlighted. Generals interviewed on the record at the Pentagon stated that they thought they could work with the plan though there were concerns the pace of withdrawal might endanger troops. In other words, high-ranking officers publicly criticized the president’s strategy albeit in a framework of being nominally supportive. I’ve never seen anything like this before and it is a measure of how truly upset the U.S. military command must be at Obama’s handling of issues. A few years from now this will come out in books and people will be astonished by the military’s anger and incredulity at Obama’s policies.

For 2.5 years, then, Obama followed the wrong policy in Afghanistan. Now he is revising the policy in a politically dictated manner but without any broader vision. And most of the mass media, in its rush to reflect and confirm Obama’s glory, missed all of these points.

But there are three more points that must be mentioned. First, there is the kind of thing that marks the difference between ordinary incompetence and the dangerous incompetence of the Obama White House. This president has opened negotiations with the Taliban–against the will of the Afghan government!–claiming that part of it is moderate.

In other words, just as it helped bring down Egypt’s government against the will of America’s Arab allies and is helping the Palestinian Authority against Israel’sinterests, and been supportive of Venezuela against America’s Latin American friends, and let Russia get away with misbehavior against U.S. friends in Central Europe and the south Caucasus, he’s doing the same thing with Afghanistan.

Ordinary incompetence is not fully protecting one’s own interests. The Obama version is voluntarily and actively to undermine one’s own interests. That’s the difference between this president and all of his predecessors, including the worst of them.

Second, Obama’s “solution” is to turn over the war to the Afghan government. But that’s a fantasy. The Kabul regime–incontrast to Iraq’s government–is incapable of taking up that burden. It will either collapse–Obama no doubt hopes only after the 2012 election–or lose control of everything outside the capital. I remember a conference I was at in [city deleted] when a pompous fool spoke [name deleted] spoke of how great the war was going and then a brilliant Afghan-American analyst [name deleted] tore him apart with detail after detail showing that the central government was a joke.

Obama thus offered a solution that he should know is simply not true. Thus, he is either mendacious or incompetent. One day the situation will explode in his face or that of his successor.

Finally, Obama called for a priority on nation-building at home in a way that would have led to accusations of isolationism if any Republican had said it. Yet the time for that speech was in January 2009. Who but Obama has been throwing money not only into Afghanistan and Iraq but even extended the overstretched military into a totally unnecessary war in Libya? Who raised spending–not just spending but, far worse, unproductive spending–in the face of a depression and these wars? Who followed a failed policy in Afghanistan for 2.5 years and even intensified that wrong approach?

When a president makes a speech and changes policy, it should be on the basis of what the chief executive has learned and it should be a teachable moment for the general public. Yet Obama isn’t holding anything back; he just doesn’t understand any of these things himself and cannot either pick the right people to advise him or listen to those who give good advice.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, and a featured columnist at PajamasMedia http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/ His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center is http://www.gloria-center.org. His PajamaMedia columns are teased and other articles are available at http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com/.

Oakland News: Changing State Of Blogs In Oakland, Part One

2011-06-24T05:45:00.000-07:00

Oakland News on the changing state of blogs in Oakland - part one.

Oakland Blog Shrinkage

First, what happened to blogs like OaklandSeen and Good News In Oakland? The OaklandSeen blog started by long-time Oakland political activist and KPFA Morning Show star Aimee Allison has not produced a single new blog post since late May - it's June 24th now. And this tweet was issued June 8th and pointed to some kind of problem:

OaklandSeen has been undergoing a few technical difficulties. Thank you for your patience. Keep watching this space for more Oakland LOVE...

The most recent, most prominent blog post pointed to Oakland Seen's recently gained "Making Democracy Work" award, presented by the Oakland League Of Women Voters. That's the same award given to this blogger for work during the Oakland Mayor's Race - thanks again!

But whatever's happening, and sources have pointed to some difficulties between editorial staff and management, let's hope OaklandSeen makes a come back.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: hyperlocal is hyperstupid. Unless you're going to walk the beat and try and get local businesses to pay more than the website space is worth from a traffic stand-point (hey, there are suckers out there who don't know how to value what they're paying for), you can't make money and sustain a stand-alone blog site that just covers local community news and ignores World News, pop culture, and sports.

And all for the pseudo-intellectual reason of "That's not news." Look, the fact that people look at web items about, I don't know, Heidi Montag, makes it news. This blogger says this all the time to journalists: "Stop whining about it!" People are voyeurs, and so want to read about other people - a web link with a name of a known person will be clicked on more than one about a known place or a thing.

OaklandSeen is still up, but Good News In Oakland is not. It's dead for now, because when you click on the link to the URL, you get a Go Daddy-owned webpage where Good News In Oakland once was. That's sad.

What's happening is that, because the Oakland locals - OaklandSeen, Good News In Oakland, A Better Oakland, Oakland North, Oakland Focus and Oakland Local - largely don't work together, the overall web strength of the total group is poor.

The main problem is that there are a ton of huge egos among Oakland Bloggers that for the most part don't want to really work together, and for the dumbest of reasons.

To point the finger at myself, I've lent a hand to help a number of people, and even invited some Oakland Bloggers to cross-post to my blogs at Oakland Focus and Zennie62.com, and other blogs in my 100-blog network. Some do, but then fall off after a time, and then some bad mouth me for no good reason behind my back.

So I'm supposed to want to help that person in the future? I'd rather not. Life's too short for that.

If I'm asked to come to cover an event by another Oakland blog, I'm there. If I can't make it, I explain why I can't. I've shown many how to video-blog, and some how to blog for traffic - but that's where the rub is. Some can't seem to "get" that the Internet is not print, and people will not come just because you wrote the modern day equivalent to War and Peace. Who cares?

Oakland Bloggers: take your freaking ego out of the equation. You have to write so your work is picked up by search engines and news aggregators. What you want people to accept is a dream - wake up.

According to reports, Good News In Oakland had a fund-drive party on December 18th - I wasn't informed of that. But whatever happened, it didn't raise enough money to sustain the blog site; it's gone for now. And the fact that the URL wasn't purchased is reflective of the lack of value of the name itself; people don't type "Good news in Oakland" in search a lot. Just a fact.

What remains is a Facebook page "liked" by well-over 9,000 people, including me. It's one reason why I went off on The City Of Oakland's ill-advised press release about its Facebook Page that has barely one-third the number of likes.

The blog A Better Oakland chugs along, unsupported by ads or a wealthy investment banker; V Smoothe (Echa Schnider), the blog's owner, has a full time job with the Oakland Public Library system (which hopefully she will be able to keep). Plus, she has a tight focus and a small, loyal following of people who reallycare about Oakland, even if they always don't agree with each other.

That Echa has outside income is what makes her situation vastly different from the other examples. The other Oakland blogs have tried to generate income from some source; but while Echa has went on a fund-drive or three in the past, it wasn't to "save" the blog from extinction, more to generate some income for the amount of time she spent on it. Still, it's touch and go.

And what about The Oakland Post, the news of Oakland's black community and stalwart since the Jurassic age of news? The online version exists, but that's about it. It's just a collection of blog posts, and with no social media component - Twitter? Ever heard or it? - at all.

The Oakland Post is a sad example of the Oakland Blog landscape - so full of great potential, yet poor in execution because of lack of teamwork. If the vast majority of people in this town would get over their petty crap, the news would be different. But they don't, and the town suffers.

Ask yourself this question: why don't Oakland Local, Oakland North, and A Better Oakland work together? Why did A Better Oakland and Oakland North skip the Code For Oakland event? Was Echa invited? Was Oakland North invited? A look at their content shows that that Code For Oakland wasn't a subject of coverage - I covered it. But then I was invited.

See? Something's really wrong here in Oakland.

Stay tuned for part two, when I focus on Oakland North, that dreaded interloper The Bay Citizen, and some other surprises.

DELTA Airlines: No Jews Allowed

2011-06-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen we are no approaching Saudi Arabia, the Captain has turned on the no Jews light.

Delta Airlines, in its new alliance with Saudi Arabian Airlines, is making a deal with the devil...no Jews, no Bibles on board flight to the desert kingdom. Jews are not allowed to enter the supposedly moderate Muslim nation and neither are non-Muslim religious articles. Delta doesn't fly to Saudi Arabia but next year it will have a new code-sharing agreement with Saudi Arabian Airlines which means folks may be booking through Delta but flying on Saudi Arabian Air.

According to the Airline, if it wants to deny Israelis, people with Jewish surnames, and religious articles that are not Islamic entry to their borders, it's not Delta's fault, in the airline's view.

According to World Net Daily an offended customer who took the issue to Delta mangement got a reply from Kathy M. Johnston, a coordinator for the airline's "Customer Care" saying:

Delta must also comply with all applicable laws in every country it serves and by the same token passengers are responsible to obtain the necessary travel documents required for entry into another country prior to their day of travel...If a passenger travels without proper documents, the passenger may be denied entry into that country and our airline may be fined. Delta assumes responsibility for ensuring that each passenger boarding our aircraft has the proper documents for travel to their ticketed destination.

Sure and the people running Concentration Camps were just following orders. Look, it's not Delta's fault that the Saudi government is anti-Semitic, but it doesn't have to go along with it. No one is holding a gun to Delta Airlines head demanding that they included Saudi Arabian Airlines into its Sky Team Alliance.

The interesting part was if a country banned Muslims from traveling into their country or people of color the mainstream media would be all over this. Sadly because its "only Jews" this story will be ignored.

I for one will take the ban to heart, even though I have no intentions of flying to Saudi Arabia in the near future, this Jew will not fly on any Delta Airlines Flights... to Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, as long as they give in to this anti-Semitic directive.

If you would like to call or email Delta and give them your opinion on their discriminatory program the information is below:

customer-care@delta.com

800-221-1212 (keep saying help until you get moved to a representative)

Stolen 1953 Gibson Les Paul Guitar: Man Using Facebook, Craigslist To Get It Back

2011-06-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Stolen 1953 Gibson Les Paul Guitar: Man Using Facebook, Craigslist To Get It Back 3, a photo by zennie62 on Flickr.

This is the sad story of a man, Maurice in Vancouver, B.C., who had his 1953 Gibson Les Paul Guitar stolen on June 5th, along with other valuables. The theft has left Maurice without the ability to produce his music, let alone continue his occupation in the way he has done for so many years.

Maurice took to Craigslist and Facebook for help in recovering his 1953 Gibson Les Paul, and while it's not yet been returned, his cry has gone viral: a friend of mine urged me to make the video above to inform the public.

What Maurice writes on Craigslist will make you angry with the person who took his prized possession. He writes:

It's my most personal possession, and I have always planned for my son to have it one day. By the way, the other Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head you took was his.

It's not of much value to you, but to me, I can't buy another Les Paul like it because another one doesn't exist.. Here's a thought:

Have some decency and redeem some karma. Bring my guitar back. You've fucked my studio up and stolen a life-time collection of my shit. You stole my guitar rig, which was MY sound that I've spent years achieving.

You haven't ripped off a money making business. You've ripped off my life and my spirit immeasurably by taking away the tools of the pursuit of my passion. I've worked extremely hard for my whole life to earn my right to do so, and you took it all away in an hour or two. You've also ripped off my son, now, and in the future. I don't have the money to replace the gear, so it's just gone.

Just give it back - NO QUESTIONS ASKED. PLEASE

So, if you see a guitar that looks like the one here, call the police and make sure it's returned to Maurice. You can reach him via the Facebook or Craiglist page links in this blog.

Stay tuned.

House Working To Repeal Ban of Incandescent Light Bulb

2011-06-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

In 2007 Congress passed and President Bush signed a bill banning the incandescent light bulb.The phase-out of incandescent light is to begin with the 100-watt bulb in 2012 and end in 2014 with the 40-watt. All light bulbs must use 25 percent to 30 percent less energy by 2014 and they must be 70 percent more efficient than they are today.

As a result Americans will have to use those compact florescent bulbs (CFL), the ones that contain small amounts of highly toxic mercury. The potential environmental hazard created by the mass introduction of billions of CFLs with few disposal sites and a public unfamiliar with the risks is great.

Additionally most incandescent bulbs are manufactured the United States, the CFLs are made in China, so this change throw more people onto the unemployment line. Although this may be balanced out by the new jobs in the eye glasses industry, because the CFL bulbs take are slow generate their maximum light output and even then the light they throw off is horrible and is insufficient to read by

Present House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich. was a co-sponsor of the incandescent light ban, and because of that his ascension to the Chairmanship was strongly opposed by conservatives. But he calmed everyone down by promising hearing on reminding the ban as soon as he took office.

Upton has come under increased pressure in recent weeks, sources say, after failing to follow up on a promise he made after assuming the committee chairmanship that he would hold hearings on reversing the ban. After months of paralysis - and with the ban just six months from going into effect on January 1 - outrage was building among his own Republican committee colleagues and conservative activists, including a national petition campaign, FreeOurLight.org, sponsored by the influential Competitive Enterprise Institute.

"Freedom Action's Free Our Light campaign has demonstrated that there is widespread public opposition to the light bulb ban," says Myron Ebell, Director of Freedom Action at CEI. "We're pleased that Chairman Upton has seen the light and congratulate him on his decision. We look forward to the House passing the bill to repeal the ban and its eventual enactment later this year."

So Upton scheduled hearing but stacked the deck.

After Upton scheduled hearings this week featuring rent-seeking corporate fat cats that stood to benefit from the ban, anger boiled over and the chairman agreed not only to cancel the hearings but to bring up a bill repealing the ban. The View's source says that the bill will likely be brought up under "suspension," which means no amendments will be allowed and passage requires a two-thirds majority.

E&E News reporter Katie Howell is also reporting that Upton "he is working with Texas Republicans Joe Barton and Mike Burgess on language repealing the light bulb standards."

"We're very close to seeing an agreement emerge and happen," Upton told reporters at a conservative blogger briefing hosted by the Heritage Foundation.

Upton's original bill was supported by then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Bush, it was not an outright ban, nor was it a stand alone bill. Instead the bill was the typical progressive sneak a small part in the the larger 2007 energy law it didn't specifically ban the incandescent bulb, it eventually phased out bulbs that use more than 40 watts.

This would have effectively banned Edison's invention which is the choice of 85 percent of American bulb purchases.

The ban has been mostly covered up by the green mainstream media, and consumers were only just learning of the ban as bulbs have begun disappearing from shelves. In the meantime, bulb manufacturers had already eliminated hundreds of incandescent plants in the United States (the last plant closed in Winchester, Va. last year) in preparation for the ban - off-shoring the jobs to China where the more expensive, replacement compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) could be manufactured.

The ban had been supported by big corporations like General Electric and Philips who saw a an opportunity to use government to monopolize a new, more expensive market while transferring jobs to China to earn higher margins. And I am sure that GE Chairman Jeff Immelt's long term support of progressive politics had nothing to do with the fact that we are being forced to switch to a more expensive product with a bigger profit margin. Its just a strange coincidence.

Republicans - led by Texas Rep. Joe Barton together with fellow Texan Michael Burgess and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. - introduced bulb restoration legislation immediately upon the GOP taking over the House this year. Republicans overwhelmingly support bringing back the bulb, while global-warming-obsessed Democrats say making bulbs illegal is crucial to saving the planet. Ironically, saving the earth has meant destroying union plant jobs.

"We don't think the consumer needs to pay $4 a light bulb, and we don't think the federal government should tell people what kind of lighting to use in their homes," Rep. Barton told Fox News this week.

On the bright side (no pun intended) Upton is now guaranteeing that the House will get to vote on a bill to repeal the ban. While the liberal media will probably continue to ignore the story, hopefully the word will spread on the internet and Congress will realize that voting against the Edison's light bulb will be hazardous for their reelection health.

City Of Oakland's Social Media Strategy Is A Joke

2011-06-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

This blogger just received an email that added up to an unfortunate joke. The email consists of a press release that starts out like this:

City of Oakland Launches Social Media Strategy with a Twist
New Oakland Facebook Page an Instant Hit

And then goes on to read: "The City of Oakland, CA has ventured into the world of social media by launching a new Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/kJsg2B) “where people who live or work in Oakland connect with each other to discover and share all that makes our city great.” After just a few weeks, the page is already nearing 2,000 fans who are eagerly sharing commentary on topics ranging from arts, culture and family fun to expressing support for local businesses and standing up for Oakland when overlooked or maligned. The result is a robust community dialogue emanating from legions of fans passionate about Oakland.

If a "social media strategy" consists of one Facebook page, then there are millions of social media strategies, just because some Joe Blow started a Facebook page. The main problem, to cut to the chase, before I continue, is that a social media strategy is much more. I've talked about this before:

And even though the video's geared toward the individual, the rules can be easily adopted for any municipal business like The City of Oakland.

What's really sad is that my friend Samee Roberts, the City of Oakland's Marketing Director, went out and put her name on this really, really, tearfully terrible approach. Well, I guess I have to get after a friend, so be it, but Samee informs is that the City spent time and money conducting a survey to tell them they needed a Facebook page!

I'm not kidding, and I'm really disappointed in Samee here. And Karen Wertman, of the consulting firm "Indelible Branding" had the never to make this statement:

"We wanted to make sure that every decision about how to proceed with social media was informed by what matters to people who actually live and work here. We found that as a whole, Oaklanders are incredibly passionate about their city and feel bonded by that appreciation."

It took a survey to learn that?

Oakland's social media strategy is a massive sham if this is all it is. Samee just emailed and said it was a start; that's good.

Just the other day, I looked for Oakland's Twitter page, and that photo on the left shows what I found.

That's right, the photo reveals a Twitter page with zero tweets, and no followers. An apparently someone had started the thing recently, because the page has one Twitter account followed: that of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. Other than that, the page reads:

@cityofoakland hasn't tweeted yet.

Then, when I checked Twitter Grader, I learned that the City of Oakland's Twitter page has been in existence for 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days.

So someone at the City of Oakland started this Twitter page and basically never maintained it, except for following Mayor Quan.

Wild, man.

I am not going to spend this space giving the City of Oakland free consulting work, and there are those within the City walls who think that when I give advice I'm telling them everything I know, or so other friends hace told me.

Heck, I remember Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty saying to me "thanks" for the "free" Coliseum website advice he thinks I gave the County way back in late 2001. Then, on the urging of then-Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb, I applied to be the Coliseum Executive Director, even though, given the players involved, I didn't expect to get the job.

I saw Scott at the Coliseum box during an Oakland Raiders game that year, and of course the Supervisor couldn't resist being a Smart Alec to me at the time. I didn't have the heart to tell him he got very little out of what I wrote, because he was being so nasty to me at the time.

Sorry, no love from me - I've been around too long - just the truth. We have to do better.

And that something better should be a task force. There are so many people in Oakland who already DO social media well, why hire a consulting firm? A task force is better.

And in closing, something else.

Since the World discovered Twitter and Facebook, I've seen an alarming number of old media-oriented organizations send out press releases on their "social media strategy" only to be hammered by the tech community, of which I'm a part - even have a CrunchBase Profile.">CrunchBase Profile.

The one rule is, if you're new to tech, and don't know what it means to be "disrupted," then stick your neck out to say "Look at me. what do you think?," get ready to be disrupted.

City of Oakland, you've been disrupted.

Of course, I expect the attacks from "anonymous" using whatever they can come up with; so be it.

Stay tuned.

Britney Spears Hot Photos and Britney Spears Hot Wallpapers

2011-06-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears Hot Photos and Britney Spears Hot Wallpapers

DNC Chair Wasserman Shultz's Desperate Attempt To Disenfranchise Republican Voters

2011-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Granted, DNC Chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz is not the sharpest pencil in the box, but today she reached a new low. She wrote an op-ed in US News and World Report claiming that Republicans are trying to restrict voting, especially minority voting with laws aimed at reducing voter fraud and requiring people to show ID when they show up to vote.

Across the country, Republicans are working to restrict Americans' right to vote by enacting laws that curb when and how they can register to vote and go to the polls. For example, Republicans in Maine's legislature have voted to end Election Day registration, a widely popular practice that, in 2008 alone, allowed 60,000 Mainers to register to vote.

The problem with the election day registration is it makes fraud easy because town clears became overwhelmed with trying to verify the voter information.

The bill was strongly supported by town clerks, who said they have been overwhelmed by increasing numbers of voters who cast absentee ballots and who wait until Election Day to register. The measure also had the support of Secretary of State Charles Summers, whose office oversees elections in Maine.

House Speaker Robert Nutting, R-Oakland, applauded the bill's passage Monday.

"This bill will alleviate a significant amount of the growing stress on our election system by making minor changes to registration and absentee ballot deadlines," Nutting said. "These changes will go a long way toward maintaining the integrity of our voting system, while providing an open and accessible voting process for all Mainers."

Shultz goes on to criticize attempts to clean up the voter registration system, where groups such as ACORN were convicted of using voter drives as a way to load the system with fake (Democratic Voters).

And in my home state of Florida, early voting days were eliminated as part of a 158-page bill that also enacted onerous restrictions and steep fines on organizations that conduct voter registration drives.

These kinds of laws have a detrimental impact on all Americans, but they particularly affect minorities. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Project Vote has found that African-Americans and Latinos are more likely than white voters to register through a voter registration drive. That means that in Florida, where the League of Women Voters has halted its voter registration activities as a result of the new Republican law, fewer minority Americans will have the chance to register and vote.

First of all "the non partisan Project Vote," is part of ACORN and as my friend Anita Moncreif testified to, Project Vote was very involved with trying to elect Democratic Candidates especially Barak Obama.

Despite a complete lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud, Republicans have made it a priority to enact costly photo ID legislation that would restrict the voting rights of eligible Americans. In states like Wisconsin, Texas, and Kansas, Republican governors and legislators campaigned on small government and fiscal austerity, but now they are allocating millions of dollars for new photo ID requirements.

Acorn has been charged or convicted of voter registration fraud in (by my count) 16 different states in recent years. Wassermann-Schultz is ignoring that fact (here is a partial list). In the DNC Chair's own state, ACORN tried to register Mickey Mouse.

For the best look at ACORN and its criminal activities, allow me to suggest Matthew Vadum's Book Subversion, Inc.

According to the Congresswoman guaranteeing an honest vote should not be a priority of government.

In Wisconsin, implementing photo ID requirements will cost the state at least $7 million, and the Institute for Southern Studies has estimated that North Carolina's photo ID bill would cost between $18 million and $25 million. As states continue to face billion-dollar budget deficits, lay off teachers, and shrink police departments, spending millions of public dollars for partisan gain is the height of irresponsibility. Despite the high price tag, the GOP has advanced photo ID mandates in more than 30 states. These laws would increase the barriers to voting for the 11 percent of Americans—including disproportionate numbers of elderly Americans and minorities—who lack the required ID.

The concept of one man one vote is essential to the freedoms of the American republic. Allowing people to vote more than once, or allowing people to vote who shouldn't partially disenfranchises those who are legally voting. The weight of the legal votes is watered-down by the inclusion of illegal votes. I would argue that protecting the concept of one man one vote should be a top priority of our government. But to Schultz and many progressives they call it racism in a desperate and illegal attempt to increase the number of Democratic voters.

Kassie Lyn Logsdon Center Stage

2011-06-23T09:21:00.000-07:00