Another LEAGUE-->ANOTHER LOCKOUT
By Mr.2TRILL4TVApparently the "league" beleives that niggaz are EATING TOO GOOD and the apparent goal is took keep the Economy in a downward spiral and keep muahfuckas UNHAPPY so niggaz can snap and then they can put U.S on Marshall law as promised...smh..Damn!!!
Anywayz...in the mean time I WISH they would cut some if not ALL of the BASEBALL season! Who really watches that shit anyway and WHY DONT THEY HAVE A SALARY CAP OR A LOCK-OUT??!
**Here is the NBA Article about the Lock-Out**
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NO DEAL: NBA cancels first two weeks of season
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Two weeks of NBA games are lost. Many more could be in jeopardy. There's a "gulf" that separates owners and players, and they will have to close it quickly to avoid further damage to the schedule. Sticking to his deadline, Commissioner David Stern wiped out the first two weeks of the season - exactly 100 games - after more than seven hours of negotiations Monday failed to produce a new labor deal and preserve the Nov. 1 season openers. The cancellations mark the NBA's first work stoppage since the 1998-99 season was reduced to 50 games. Clashing more over the salary cap system than economics - but still far apart on both - Stern said the sides are "very far apart on virtually all issues. ... We just have a gulf that separates us. "With every day that goes by, I think we need to look at further reductions in what's left of the season," he added. Stern said last week that he would cancel the first two weeks of the season Monday without a new collective bargaining agreement to end the lockout. The two sides expect to remain in contact, but no additional formal talks have been scheduled. Stern said he was "sorry" and "sad" to report the cancellations. "We certainly hoped it would never come to this," he said. "I think that both sides worked hard to get to a better solution. We think that we made very fair proposals. I'm sure the players think the same thing. But the gap is so significant that we just can't bridge it at this time." Union president Derek Fisher agreed, emphasizing that missing any games puts the season in jeopardy. He also stressed this was a lockout, not a strike, and that it was the owners' decision not to be playing basketball. "This is not where we choose to be," he said. "We're not at a place where a fair deal can be reached with the NBA." The cancellation includes all games scheduled to be played through Nov. 14, and affected arenas have been authorized to release those dates. Based on last year's average announced attendance leaguewide (just over 17,300 per game) and the average ticket cost last season, those now-canceled 100 games represent nearly $83 million in lost ticket sales - before the first concession or souvenir is sold and before the first car pays to park. Season-ticket holders, however, get refunds, plus interest, for all canceled games. Though disappointing to both sides and especially to fans, the result isn't a complete surprise. The union had warned players for years to save their money, knowing a work stoppage seemed likely, and executive director Billy Hunter repeated that players won't cave once they start missing pay checks next month. "I think it goes back to a comment that David made to me several years ago when he said, 'Look, this is what my owners have to have.' And I said, 'The only way you're going to get that is if you're prepared to lock us out for a year or two, and (this) indicated to me that they're willing to do it," Hunter said. "So my belief, my contention is that everything he's done has kind of demonstrated that he's following that script." With another work stoppage, the NBA risks alienating a fan base that sent the league's revenues and TV ratings soaring during the 2010-11 season. And the cost of cancellations would be staggering. Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said the league would lose hundreds of millions of dollars; Hunter estimated players' losses at $350 million for each month they were locked out. Now ushers, security personnel, parking lot attendants, concession workers, restaurant employees and others all stand to have their hours cut or join the country's 14 million unemployed. A few teams also have either trimmed their staffs or instituted sharp pay cuts - some did that as the lockout began - and more layoffs could be forthcoming. Hunter said he didn't think the full season was at risk yet and stressed it would be a mistake for the NBA to chance it coming off a season when revenues and TV ratings soared. "I think it would be foolish for them to kill the season, and we're coming off the best season in the history of the NBA and I'm not so sure in this kind of economy that if there is a protracted lockout whether the league will recover," he said. "It took us a while to recover from the '98 lockout, and I think it will take us even longer to recover this time around." For the second straight day the sides focused on system issues instead of the division of revenues. Stern rattled off concessions the league had made there, allowing guaranteed contracts, not rolling back salaries and giving players an option to shorten the deal. Players say they moved there, too, offering to reduce the value of the midlevel exception to $5 million for a maximum of four years, and reducing contract lengths to five years for players re-signing with their own teams to four years for changing teams. The league wants those, currently six and five, down to four and three. Insisting it needs a system that allows all teams to compete no matter the market size, Stern and Silver said the sides are still apart on annual raises for players and the luxury tax for teams. Players counter that the league's idea of making the luxury tax more severe would have acted as a hard cap, scaring too many teams from spending above the cap level. "We're surprised that's what still separates us," Silver said. "We would think that the players in this league would also want a system in which players on every team, if they play for well imagined teams, are on equal footing. I think it'll create a better game, and we think it'll create hope for more fans in more communities and it'll ultimately lead to more interest in our game." Stern said the players still proposed they get 53 percent of revenues, whereas the league proposed they get 47 percent. The two sides had discussed a 50-50 split last week, but only in informal discussions, and given each BRI point was worth roughly $40 million last season, the gap between 3 points and 6 points is about $120 million in the first year of a deal. Meeting Monday were: Stern; Silver; owners Peter Holt of San Antonio, Glen Taylor of Minnesota and James Dolan of New York; senior vice president and deputy general counsel Dan Rube; plus Hunter; Fisher of the Lakers and vice president Maurice Evans of the Wizards; and attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Ron Klempner. Players reacted quickly - and in some cases, strongly - on Twitter within minutes of the cancelations being announced. Miami guard Dwyane Wade said the situation "just got real" after he learned the first two weeks are now gone, then lashed out at Stern's comments in a second post by saying they hurt employees at arenas around the league, other businesses that thrive off NBA business and the league's fans in general. Minnesota rookie-to-be Derrick Williams, the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, tweeted that going overseas may now be an option for him. The success of last season - on the court, at the box office and in the headlines - convinced many that the sides would never reach this stalemate. But small-market owners were hardened after watching LeBron James leave Cleveland for Miami, Amare Stoudemire bolt Phoenix for New York, and Carmelo Anthony later use his impending free agency as leverage to secure a trade from Denver to the Knicks. They wanted changes that would allow them to hold onto their superstars and compete for titles with the big-spending teams from Los Angeles, Boston and Dallas who have gobbled up the last four championships. As the lockout drags on, Stern's legacy as one of sports' best commissioners is weakened. He turned 69 last month, and although he hasn't said when he will retire, he did say this will be his last CBA negotiation after nearly 28 years running the league. He has insisted all along he wouldn't worry about the damage to his reputation and that his only concern would be getting the deal his owners need. It's uncertain when that will be. The sides didn't agree until Jan. 6 in 1999, just before the deadline for canceling that entire season. The league ended up with a 50-game schedule, often plagued by poor play as teams were forced to fit too many games into too small of a window. They could keep meeting now and agree to a deal much sooner this time. Or perhaps the divide is still too great and they will decide there's no reason to rush back to the table. ---
Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney |
TIME 2 PROTEST!!!
By Mr.2TRILL4TVUn-HAPPY about the Government?? PROTEST
Just Un-HAPPY??? PROTEST ANYWAY
*Might as well Enjoy YOUR Freedom of Speech---->While It Lasts!!!
Here is one of the FEW articles covering the MASS PROTESTING going on across the NATION. Get cha MIND Right & Get in The GAME...
Much More 2 come...
(CNN) -- Hero Vincent has a dream: to see the titans of Wall Street trade their palatial office suites for a row of dank prison cells.
The crime? Theft. Stealing billion-dollar, taxpayer-funded bailouts. Getting rich on your dime while you struggle to make ends meet.
And if you're tired of standing by while the rich get richer and the middle class crumbles, he has a suggestion: Take it to the streets.
Vincent, 21 and unemployed, has suddenly become one of several unofficial spokesmen for Occupy Wall Street, a leaderless protest movement made largely of twenty-somethings upset with the state of the economy, the state of the war in Afghanistan, the state of the environment, and the state of America and the world in general.
If that sounds vague, it's meant to be. In less than three weeks, the movement has become a magnet for countless disaffected Americans. And at a time when an overwhelming majority of Americans say the country's on the wrong track, there's no shortage of new potential recruits.
Photos: 'Occupy Wall Street' protests
On Saturday, more than 700 protesters were arrested for blocking the Brooklyn Bridge. A splinter group called Occupy Chicago touted a "huge afternoon march." In Boston, 34 groups -- unions and other organizations focused on everything from foreclosure prevention to climate change -- marched for "an economy that works for all of us," according to one website.
Over on the West Coast, Occupy Los Angeles kicked off with a march to City Hall. In Seattle, demonstrators touted "a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors (and) genders."
On Monday, a live video feed from Occupy Wall Street was featured at the start of a three-day conference of progressive leaders in Washington.
What does it all mean?
"We're here for different reasons," said Vincent, whose father is also unemployed and recently went through a home foreclosure. "But at the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing, and that's accountability. We want accountability for the connection between Wall Street and the politicians."
"Something has to change," he told CNN. "We're out here because we're tired of what's been going on."
Giles Clarke, a 46-year-old freelance photographer and father of two, echoes Vincent's call for greater accountability.
"People have simply had enough," Clarke said. "We're living in an age where the inequality between high-end Wall Street and the (rest of us) is simply a gap that has become too big. Millions of people have lost their jobs. Millions of people have lost their homes."
There's been, Clarke said, "way too much cloak-and-dagger activity within the corridors of Wall Street" in recent years. "This is about raising awareness and a change of political discourse."
The average person, according to Vincent, "is just fed up because there's no more middle class. The margin between us and the employers is so great now. Where will we be in a couple of years?"
Does he actually want to occupy Wall Street and shut it down?
"We want to educate people," Vincent said. But "if Wall Street actually shuts down, we'll be happy about it."
The movement "feels like something that will ultimately spread like the Arab spring," said Egberto Willies, a CNN iReporter in Washington. "I call it the American autumn."
Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots have clear strains of liberal economic populism -- a powerful force in U.S. history during various times characterized by growing economic stress. That said, it could be a mistake to label or tie the movement to a specific agenda, said Susan Olzak, a Stanford University sociology professor.
"It's difficult to classify a social protest movement early on in its history," Olzak told CNN. "Clearer goals could eventually emerge, but there's no guarantee."
"Many movements fizzle out. Others become more organized," she said. But "I think we run a risk (by) taking a snapshot at any one point in time, and trying to categorize the movement in any one way based on that snapshot. The only way to study these protest movements is to follow them over time."
If Vincent, Willies and Clarke have their way, there will be plenty of time for this movement to continue to grow and evolve. Some observers question if it could become a liberal counterweight to the conservative populism of the tea party.
For his part, Clarke predicts the movement will go international in the next few months.
"Let's get talking," he urged. "Let's have some of these issues looked at."
$5.00 Gas My AZZ!!!
By Mr.2TRILL4TV
What the FUCK is going on with GAS PRICES these days. So I
guess its back to Gouging again??! Well DAMN! (Gucci
Voice). I thought this was "America"??! So not
ONLY do we have HIGH UN-Employment, HIGHER Healthcare
Premiums (for those that ARE employed)...HIGHER Round-Trip Plane
Fares, and a bunch of more HIGH shit thats costing MORE. We
are NOW seeing GAS creep up slowly (like we aint watchin that
bitch everyday) up to $4...then $5.00 by Summer??! IS that
why they've been tryin to ACT like them little hybrid shits is
COOL 2 DRIVE...FUCK DAT! Yall betta getcha MIND RIGHT! B4 yall
see AMERICANS Actin Like EGYPTIANS IN THIS MUAHFUCKA!!!
ITs BOUT TIME 2 PRO-TEST!!!
Shieeet Make BP PAY THE DIFFERENCE...THEY GOT OIL 2 BURN!
2 Be CONTINUED...
Obama Can CENSOR the Internet Through "Kill Switch"?!
By Mr.2TRILL4TV
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The federal government would have “absolute power” to shut down the Internet under the terms of a new US Senate bill being pushed by Joe Lieberman, legislation which would hand President Obama a figurative “kill switch” to seize control of the world wide web in response to a Homeland Security directive.
Lieberman has been pushing for government regulation of the Internet for years under the guise of cybersecurity, but this new bill goes even further in handing emergency powers over to the feds which could be used to silence free speech under the pretext of a national emergency.
“The legislation says that companies such as broadband providers, search engines or software firms that the US Government selects “shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action developed” by the Department of Homeland Security. Anyone failing to comply would be fined,” reports ZDNet’s Declan McCullagh.
The 197-page bill (PDF) is entitled Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, or PCNAA.
Technology lobbying group TechAmerica warned that the legislation created “the potential for absolute power,” while the Center for Democracy and Technology worried that the bill’s emergency powers “include authority to shut down or limit internet traffic on private systems.”
The bill has the vehement support of Senator Jay Rockefeller, who last year asked during a congressional hearing, “Would it had been better if we’d have never invented the Internet?” while fearmongering about cyber-terrorists preparing attacks.
The largest Internet-based corporations are seemingly happy with the bill, primarily because it contains language that will give them immunity from civil lawsuits and also reimburse them for any costs incurred if the Internet is shut down for a period of time.
“If there’s an “incident related to a cyber vulnerability” after the President has declared an emergency and the affected company has followed federal standards, plaintiffs’ lawyers cannot collect damages for economic harm. And if the harm is caused by an emergency order from the Feds, not only does the possibility of damages virtually disappear, but the US Treasury will even pick up the private company’s tab,” writes McCullagh.
Tom Gann, McAfee’s vice president for government relations, described the bill as a “very important piece of legislation”.
As we have repeatedly warned for years, the federal government is desperate to seize control of the Internet because the establishment is petrified at the fact that alternative and independent media outlets are now eclipsing corporate media outlets in terms of audience share, trust, and influence.
We witnessed another example of this on Monday when establishment Congressman Bob Etheridge was publicly shamed after he was shown on video assaulting two college students who asked him a question. Two kids with a flip cam and a You Tube account could very well have changed the course of a state election, another startling reminder of the power of the Internet and independent media, and why the establishment is desperate to take that power away.
The government has been searching for any avenue possible through which to regulate free speech on the Internet and strangle alternative media outlets, with the FTC recently proposing a “Drudge Tax” that would force independent media organizations to pay fees that would be used to fund mainstream newspapers.
Similar legislation aimed at imposing Chinese-style censorship of the Internet and giving the state the power to shut down networks has already been passed globally, including in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
We have extensively covered efforts to scrap the internet as we know it and move toward a greatly restricted “internet 2″ system. Handing government the power to control the Internet would only be the first step towards this system, whereby individual ID’s and government permission would be required simply to operate a website.
The Lieberman bill needs to be met with fierce opposition at every level and from across the political spectrum. Regulation of the Internet would not only represent a massive assault on free speech, it would also create new roadblocks for e-commerce and as a consequence further devastate the economy.
