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DNC Convention Invesco Tour | CNN Grill | Pepsi Media Tent City
2008-08-03 21:05:00
On the morning of July 31st 2008, I boarded a United Airlines morning flight to Denver to attend the final (?) media walkthrough before the Democratic National Convention , this one at Invesco Field.Unlike my first media walkthrough trip, I ended up renting a Saturn SUV for ground travel. The reason was simple: it was cheap. Cheaper to rent than a Prius and because they were in low demand versus the economy cars. In a way it worked out to a savings of about $25. Invesco Field was only 20 minutes away from the airport, so it was a quick trip for me.I arrived at Invesco at 11:20 and ran into a DNCC employee (who I will not name by request) and who walked me around the stadium (we ended up on the field at one point) and eventually into the main briefing meeting. For security reasons I did not film the main meeting discussion, but focused more on the 'broadbrush" tour and interviews of key media people there. On the way to the main press box, I met "Oreo" who's one of the main c...
More About: Media , Tour , Pepsi , City

Bush Legacy: a BAD TASTE in GOP's Mouth
2008-08-03 17:52:00
Isn't it ironic that President Bush , once clearly a darling of conservatives and Republicans alike, may come to be, in the words of Ann McFeatters in the Boston Herald, "loathed by most of them."The problem is that Bush isn't at all what people thought they were voting for. The "Compassionate Conservative" label was the epitome of sound-bite marketing, for openers. Show me any even moderately compassionate initiative Bush championed, and on review you'll find it was driven by pressure from outside, not his own leadership. And the notion you'd vote for him because you'd like to have a beer with him? Nevermind that he doesn't drink anymore: Who really thought they'd like to have a beer with him?Answer: people who'd like to have a beer with anybody.Republicans = small government?When you look at his term of office it seems likely that he was, in essence, a figurehead. Sadly I see President Bush primarily as a puppet of the likes of Cheney & Rumsfeld, who realized Rove had ...
More About: Mouth , Taste , Legacy , Bad Taste

Zennie62 On Vloggerheads.com WIth Kenrg And Renetto
2008-08-03 12:34:00
Today -- well, Saturday -- I received an email invitation from YouTuber Ken Goldstein, who you may (or may not) know as Kenrg on YouTube. He was inviting me to join what he and other call a "vlogging experiment" and is called "Vloggerheads." That would be me. The site is only eight days -- yes eight days -- old and already there are as of this writing 46 members. Folks like Esther, Beth, and star YouTubers like Renetto, Kenrg, and Gimmeabreakman who made this great video: Find more videos like this on vloggerheads Where he tries to answer the question "What is a vlog" from the comfort of a pool he's in somewhere. He even goes underwater for a bit. That means he takes the camera under water -- watch -- how he does that I don't know because if I did that with my Sony camcorder, that would be the end of that machine. Anyway, I love to share my ideas on video, but I want to get paid for it too. YouTube allows that; I just have to see his improvement. his viewpoint. I'm no...

Gallup Fixing Polls Again? McCain Backers Older; College Students Ignored
2008-08-03 00:08:00
The Gallup Poll for Friday reports a tie between John McCain and Barack Obama at 44 percent fo the first time, but I'm really skeptical of this because Gallup's Frank Newport came under fire for having a USA Today-Gallup lead for McCain, but not one for it's own daily polling. Frank Newport has this nasty habit of ignoring college-age voters, which have been so important in this election. College -age voter turnout increased by as much as 20 to 25 percent during the 2008 primaries, and there's no reason to think this will not continue into the November election.But Newport and his Gallup people misses this group. For example, this Gallup article on Obama and the highly educated focuses on adults out of college -- that's people who are older than 26 years old and more likely in their 40s and 50s and 60s. That's where McCain sees gains. But it's wrong.
More About: Students , Polls

Obama Election Victory Predicted By Economic Models
2008-08-02 23:54:00
AOL -- the conservative place on the Internet -- ran this article reporting three separate economic models predicting November election victory for Senator Barack Obama . The reason is that the Economy is in terrible shape and it's a subject Obama scores better than McCain on in polling. But of course, AOL being well, Southern (based in Virginia) and stupid (because they appeal to racist-tendencies) they had to run a poll asking who viewers wanted to win. Most of the AOLers picked McCain by ten percent or so. But then AOL's known for being racist and having racist viewers, so go figure.
More About: Victory , Models , Election

Commission Junction: Never Made Money Off CJ.Com; Now I Know Why
2008-08-02 12:10:00
Commission Junction : Never Made Money Off CJ.Com; Now I Know WhyClass action lawsuit reveals abuses of the affiliate marketing industry. Yep. Commission Junction , the pioneering affiliate marketing company, is involved in a nasty lawsuit. Here are the details:If you joined or were a member of the affiliate marketing networks operated by ValueClick, Inc., Commission Junction, Inc. and/or Be Free (collectively, ?Defendants?), between April 20, 2003 and the present, you may be a class member in Settlement Recovery Center et al. v. ValueClick, Inc. et al., No. 2:07-cv-02638-FMC-CTx, a lawsuit which is pending in the Central District of California. The Settlement Notice informs you of the Court's certification of a class for settlement purposes; the nature of the claims alleged; your right to participate in, or exclude yourself from, the class; a proposed settlement; and how you can claim an award of advertising credits under the settlement or object to the settlement.The proposed...
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Back From Denver and Invesco Field Tour and New Protestor News
2008-08-01 10:43:00
Ok. I'm back from Denver and Invesco Field and a great tour and also meetup and walkthrough with Oreo of the great blog DemConWatchBlog.com Lots of news to report, which I will do in a separate blog. But some teasing. I learned that the total convention schedule is not finalized and that the media's premature in what it's reporting -- not that the Hillary Clinton speak date is wrong -- there's more to come. Invesco Field itself is a huge and well-equipped facility that makes me wish Oakland would wake up and rebuild the Oakland / Alameda County Coliseum. It has miles of storage space, wide cooridors, and a new smell -- still. I also learned that protest groups have filed suit to be closer to the convention than they are. But as you will see in my upcoming video from my trip, they're pretty close already!!I also discovered that the best Spinach Salad's at Brooklyn's bar and grill next to Pepsi Center, and that the facility will become "The Politics Grill" by CNN. And ...
More About: News , Tour , Back

Zennie62 On The Way To Invesco Field For DNCC Walkthrough
2008-07-31 14:34:00
As I write this I'm wating to board United Flight 1184 to Denver for my second media walkthrough. This time at Invesco Field , where Senator Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech for the nomination as the Democratic Nominee for President Of The United States.

Washington Post Gets What Charles Krauthammer Missed: Obama Is American Sym
2008-07-30 20:35:00
A week or so back, I got after conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer for missing the fact that Barack Obama is a symbol of America and what's possible here. I wrote:You miss what leadership is about. Your column demonstrates that your don't get it. And it shows that you don't know or intellectually understand what kind of role the President of the United States serves. That person is considered this: LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD.Do you understand? Ok. I'll repeat it.LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD.That means to most people, the SYMBOL of freedom. That is what Senator Obama represents to many. To ho-hum or sigh or cringe at the presentation of this mear fact is to show a true ignorance of the intense desire many people in the World have to rid ourselves of the true mentail illness that is racism.Charles. The bell's ringing. Time to get with the program.Now it seems the Washington Post understands. Reporting this in the form of an article, the Post explains that Obama is a person who...
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Thank you Rep. Steve Cohen
2008-07-30 15:20:00
Yesterday, the House passed H.Res 194, an apology for slavery and Jim Crow, originally introduced by Tenessee Rep. Steve Cohen . The Resolution was cosponsored by 120 House members, including members from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. The Resolution does exactly what it says: apologize to African Americans for the institution of slavery, the Jim Crow establishment, Congress' role in each, and the legacy of each. Please read the full text of the Resolution below. Click here to see who cosponsored the Resolution. And then click here to thank Rep. Steve Cohen for his efforts and, if one of the cosponsors happens to be your Rep., thank that person, too. An apology may not seem like a whole lot, but it is a critical first step. We must first officially recognize the wrong doing, harm, and lasting legacy before anything else can be done. Here is the text of the Resolution:RESOLUTIONApologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans.Whereas millio...

Maria Ayerdi Has Pelli Clarke Pelli Design For SF Transit Center
2008-07-30 10:39:00
I have to admit I liked the Skidmore Owings and Merrill design, even if their architectural renderings imply they forgot Black folks existed. But the Pelli design focused on a "green" theme and addressed several pressing flow issues that the others did not. Now, Transbay Terminal Joint Powers Authority Executive Director Maria Ayerdi has Pelli Clarke Pelli to work with. What will we get in San Francisco ? This video series holds a clue:1: 2: 3:4. Overall the design is breath-taking. Let's see how much of this design remains as the process of building the structure in a weak economy commences.
More About: Design , Center , Transit

LA HIT BY 5.8 RICHTER SCALE QUAKE - NO SERIOUS DAMAGE
2008-07-29 21:22:00
On CNN there are extensive reports of a 5.8 Richter Scale Earthquake, centered in Chino Hills, about 29 miles south of LA. The quake wasn't large enough, fortunately, to cause major damage at least as reported thus far. A water main broke, but traffic's still moving through LA. And now the earthquake was reduced to a 5.4 Richter Scale quake in size by the U.S. Geological Survey.
More About: Quake , Damage

Do you have hope? New Barack Obama Video Moveon.org
2008-07-29 17:04:00
The "funniest ad" award winner in MoveOn.org's "Obama in 30 Seconds" contest is the quintessential counterpoint to the cynicism-mongering ads that McCain and the folks who want to maintain the status quo in Washington have been running. Plus, it was made by actor (and MoveOn member) Rider Strong.MoveOn is ready to run this ad on MTV and Comedy Central (as their first political ad ever.) Go, watch, it's audacious. Rove may know how to divide the electorate, Republicans may know how to use fear for their political gains, but this is the antidote."I laughed, I cried; it became a part of me.Much better than the videos for McCain.I want to see it again and again."*for the sake of comparison, see another post here at Zennie's with a McCain video.Watch the Video ! | digg Hope Mongers 4 Obama!
More About: Barack Obama , Barack

China Discovers Poll Dancing - Video
2008-07-29 12:45:00
I'd never considered that poll dancing started to pick up in China ! Wow. China! Well, check this out:It's not an easy thing to do there as it goes against the "code" for women there. "To show off in this way," someone said in the movie," is to make people jealous." Yep.
More About: Video , Dancing , Poll

M.C Hammer and Speiser at TechCrunch Party
2008-07-29 11:20:00
Speiser and Hammer , originally uploaded by drs650.Ok. This is the first time I was in the same "house" as M.C. Hammer and missed seeing him. Yes, the TechCrunch party was that crowded. I also have not met this "Speiser" gentleman on the right. But the party was awesome and if you didn't see the video I created, you can do so with a click here.
More About: Party , Techcrunch

Maria Ayerdi Is The Face Behind The New SF Transbay Terminal
2008-07-29 09:51:00
Remember the San Francisco Transbay Terminal Design Competition video I created? Well, the executive director of the effort is none other than Maria Averdi. You can read more about her here.
More About: Oakland , Face

Cuil Is A Cool Search Site That Launched This Week
2008-07-29 02:00:00
So have you tried the website Cuil, well, it's actually a new search engine like Google. Check it out. More later.
More About: Cool , Search , Site , Week , Launched

Robert Scoble Talks About PodTech Demise At TechCrunch Party
2008-07-28 23:08:00
I present my long form video documentary of the Tech Crunch | August Capital Party held Friday, July 25th 2008 atAugust Capital and hosed by TechCrunch Co-Founder / Editor Michael Arrington. First, let me thank Michael for the opportunity to do this at his event, as well as the time he gave me. Second, let me thank all of you who gave me your time at the party, which was the vast majority of you.I set out to form a pattern of opinions on what the Democratic Party and Senator Obama should address on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. I also tried to give a view of what people were working on in the tech / web community. There's a lot here. But I also tried to make something fun to watch, with a beginning, a middle, and an end.The video is 41 minutes long and some of the highlights: TechCrunch's Michael Arrington explaining that he hope Barack Obama sicks to his concern for "net neutrality" as well as his hope that issues regarding H1 Visas, the FCC, and the avoid...
More About: Robert , Robert Scoble

John McCain's San Francisco Visit To Be Met With Protests Today
2008-07-28 17:34:00
Senator John McCain has a big-ticket fundraiser of 100,000 per person and held at the Fairmount Hotel to add to the public money he's already using to run for President. I figured an anti-war protest must have been planned and I was right: there's one according to KTYU.com:SAN FRANCISCO -- Grassroots campaigners are planning to protest the continuation of the Iraq war Monday outside a fundraising event at a San Francisco hotel for Republican presidential nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain.Members of No Soldier Left Behind will rally outside the campaign fundraiser and collect petition signatures calling for a responsible end to the war, according to Peace Action West, an organization that fosters civic activism. Protestors will hold signs advocating the end of the war and well being of Iraqis and Americans in the region."Sen. McCain is here raising money in support of an Iraq policy that will be a continuation of the president's fail strategy," Peace Action West's Executive Direc...
More About: Today , Visit , Protests

Zennie Abraham The Partying Playboy According To TangoDiva
2008-07-28 00:06:00
Zennie Abraham The Partying Playboy According To TangoDivaWow. Ok, according to TangoDiva I'm now a "Partying Playboy" but I'm not sure if I'm right up there with Hugh Hefner or not! Here's what TangoDiva wrote (oh. Ok. I answered the questions and they put them out there!):The Man Issue 08: Zenophon AbrahamBy Tango DivaName: Zenophon Abraham Hometown: San Francisco , California Occupation: CEO of Sports Business Stimulations1. Where do you like to flirt? Pretty much anywhere. Bar, rapid transit, football stadium, dark part of a dive place.2. Where's your favorite table for two? - I like the 21 Club in New York, The Alley in Oakland, and The Balboa Cafe in San Francisco -- three different places but all have history and two are darkly romantic (the Balboa's too well-lit).3. Where should we stay when we visit (besides your place)? Hmm. I like the Claremont Resort in the Oakland Hills. Great views, pool, tennis, and food, too!4. What qualities do you find irresistible in a wo...

CNN's "Black In America" Does Not Represent Middle Class Blacks
2008-07-27 23:02:00
CNN's Black in America is a welcome addition to TV, but it has a major problem to me in that it does not represent middle class African Americans. Much of the telecast shows Blacks who are downtrodden, or have had something "done" to them by the "system." It's a one-sided view of Blacks that does not help in really understanding African Americans. Not every aspect of Black culture or the life of those of us who are is negative, and I feel that the general life of middle class Blacks was ignored.
More About: Middle , Class , Middle Class

Barack Obama Gets Poll Bump From Overseas Trip - Up 49 to 41 Percent Over M
2008-07-27 22:46:00
Barack Obama Gets Poll Bump From Overseas Trip - Up 49 to 41 Percent Over McCain in Gallup Poll Senator Barack Obama is now seeing a the poll bump he said may not happen due to his overseas trip, and particularly his historic Berlin speech drawing over 200,000 people (this equally breath-taking photo is from Portland, Oregon where 75,000 came to hear him speak). The Gallup Daily tracking poll has Senator Obama ahead 49 percent to 41 percent and according to Gallup's Frank Newport, is the largest lead to date in the poll series:Frank Newport - This represents a continuation of Obama's front-runner position evident in the last three Gallup Poll Daily tracking updates. The margin, coincident with the extensive U.S. news coverage of Obama's foreign tour, is the largest for Obama over McCain measured since Gallup began tracking the general election horserace in March.
More About: Barack Obama , Barack

Chinese Government Already Arresting Dissidents Before Olympics
2008-07-27 18:36:00
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com - If you remember the video I made where I talked about how the Chinese Government could use IP address data from the Viacom / Google lawsuit to find dissidents and arrest or kill them -- See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ua_XT1RJI EThen brace yourself because the Chinese have already arrested two Internet dissidents Du Daobin and Ye Guozhu and have done so before the Bejing Olympics . Both dissidents were arrested for "subversion" or writing against the actions of the Chinese Government. Such actions bring into focus the value of the "annoymous blogger" because the idea is that by being just that, one can explain and report in a dissident fashion without the kind of retribution these two gentleman are facing. But the actions of some using the term annoymous have threatened the very ability to use that term. As a momentary aside, people using that term must take care not to abuse its use for mean-sprited purposes. China is clearly concerned abou...
More About: San Francisco , Oakland

Debra Bartoshevich Ousted From DNC Convention For Backing John McCain
2008-07-27 11:27:00
Debra Bartoshevich is a Wisconsin Democratic Delegate who was just recently ouhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifs ted from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) for stating that she would back Republican Senator John McCain over Democratic Senator Barack Obama for President.I say we round up every Democratic Delegate who popped off and stated they would vote for Senator McCain over Senator Obama, and kick them out of the DNC Convention. That's ridiculous, stating such a position after the Democratic Party itself has given that person the status of delegate.Barack Obama has the leadership skills to get us this far, but this veiled racism causes the collapse of intellect, thus people infected in this way, don't listen to leaders. This problem must be and will be corrected, ASAP.
More About: John McCain , Backing

DNC Youth Council Events At DNC Convention
2008-07-27 08:05:00
I found this interesting bit of information over at DemNotes blogsite:There will be a few events during the week hosted by the Youth Council . On the Monday of the National Convention , the Youth Council will host a press conference about youth issues. Tuesday will feature a ?Youth Voting Panel? with some key national figures discussing youth voting issues. Wednesday evening, the Youth Council will host a Youth Watch Party in Denver for those unable to access the Pepsi Center. Thursday, the Youth Council will host a ?youth luncheon? featuring key national speakers to be announced. These events are generally free and open to the public, but folks under age 36 (in other words, not me) can get priority reserved VIP tickets to these events and the acceptance speech at Invesco Field by donating $150 to help cover the costs of these events. If you?re interested (note that higher-level packages are also available for sponsorships), e-mail the Youth Council at: youthcouncil@dnc.org.
More About: Events

DNC Convention: What To Do In Denver - Video
2008-07-27 07:53:00
Denver dwellers have made a blogsite and this video to tell tourists what they should do in Denver while they're here for the DNC Convention .
More About: Video , Denver

Hillaryis44.org MUST Shut Down; Close http://www.hillaryis44.org
2008-07-27 07:45:00
I still stand by what I wrote June 5th:Hillary Is 44 is now a waste of time, and also may be the site behind the Democrats Against Obama effort. The site, owned by Alex Rodriguez (Yeah. Right.) didn't do the job of helping Clinton -- Obama's the nominee."Alex Rodriguez", it's time to shut down Hillary Is 44. Put it to bed.Now.Didn't you all get the memo? The war's over.
More About: Close , Http , Shut

Coverage about McCain instead of Obama: 26 July 2008
2008-07-27 03:39:00
Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee in the upcoming election to choose the next President of the U.S.A., is reportedly displeased by the amount of coverage that Barack Obama 's overseas trip has been getting - even though he himself had suggested that Senator Obama make such a trip. I realize McCain's been in the game a long time, and he probably feels that he's entitled to a little more respect than he believes he's getting.So I thought I'd share a video with you; a musical tribute to his campaign speeches, you might say, reminiscent of that will.i.am "Yes We Can" video.DIGG this story | watch more McCain video...
More About: Iran , July , Coverage , 2008

South Carolina Has 670,000 Registered Black Voters, Or One Fourth Of Total
2008-07-26 22:11:00
Some people are bothered by a new poll as of this writing that has Sen. John McCain ahead of Sen. Barack Obama by 13 points or so. But given that SC has 670,000 registered Black voters out of 2.3 million voters, if you think of that group voting as a bloc, then all Democrats, it's hard to see Senator Obama not winning the state, if not being within 4 points of McCain.
More About: South , South Carolina

Blue Stars for Obama
2008-07-26 20:28:00
Blue Stars for Obama is an organizing site for military families to take action in the presidential campaign. The campaign will both seek feedback from military families and publish endorsements.Blue Star members may have the opportunity to get invitations to Michelle Obama?s round-table discussions with military families held near bases around the country.The Blue Star Flag was designed in the early 1900s by Robert L. Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry, who had two sons serving in the military. It has become a widely recognized unofficial symbol of families with a child in military service.Started by Army and Marine Corps spouses, members believe supporting Senator Obama's candidacy exhibits and reinforces support of their loved ones serving in the military. The initiative borrows the symbolism of the blue star flag which immediate family members of active duty service members in times of war may fly, but it is not in any way affiliated with the Service Flag or the Blue Star Moth...
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