In a game against the San Antonio Spurs, where the pressure was on to win the game, Kobe Bryant made a costly mistake.
In the third quarter Bryant was called for a foul where he disagreed and received a technical foul for excessive complaining. As he sat upset on the bench staring down the referee who called the foul, Bryant was caught on camera yelling at the referee a offensive slur rhyming with maggot.
At the moment no one reacted to the incident but today the incident was the talk of the nation as Human Rights Campaign publicly criticized Bryant's actions and demanded a apology for the gay and lesbian communities.
Bryant made a public apology before being fined $100,000 by the NBA. He said in his apology, basketball is a emotional sport.
"What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period," he said. "The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay & lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone."
The Laker fans, the Lakers and Bryant was in the moment and with one misfortune against him and the Lakers, he lost his focus for a second and the word slipped out. He did NOT intend to use that specific word in a way to offend the gay and lesbian community. He was frustrated with the call the referee made and he purposely tried to insult the official. The word he might wanted to use was the other f-word.
Give the man a break, he publicly apologized and accepted his wrong actions.
Bryant again publicly apologized as he went on air with John Ireland and Steve Mason on AM 710 ESPN Los Angeles this afternoon.
He said he is going to work with the different gay and lesbian organizations to create awareness that it is not OK to use words such as what he used last night. He wants his actions to be an example to other NBA players and children that it is not OK what he did. A $100,000 fine is too much of an punishment but the NBA did take their action on the situation and Bryant did as well.
It is unfortunate for the word choice he made but this can become a great outcome. Bryant can show he understands and know what he did was wrong by teaming up with the Human Rights Campaign and other gay and lesbian organizations and do a lot of great work with the status he has.
His apology was heartfelt and truthful and in no means did he want what he did last night to become what it has today. Bryant is a man of his word and he will accomplish and follow through what he said he will do to resolve his mistake.
A side note: It is unfortunate that a camera was on Bryant when he said that but there are a lot more professional and non-professional athletes who use that word and many other harsh and harmful words on each other because they are humans and they are competitors who try to take a advantage of each other.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Times up! Shutdown Averted!
With less than an hour to spare, the government shutdown has been averted! At least for the time being.
It is hard to swallow the idea that in order to come to a conclusion on where the federal funding should be placed and where it should be cut, federal programs have been hanging in the balance just to come up with answers in the nick of time.
The public relations, official statements and the backlash from the drawn out discussions of where the budget should stand and whether or not the government shutdown would occur has been like a badly played out high school drama of a he said she said blame game.
The question should really be, would the financial battle have been resolved in a timely manner if there had been less focus on passing blame and a tighter grip on what needed to be accomplished.
The truth is that Federal agencies throughout the country and specifically the Washington D.C. Metro area spent Friday into the late hours preparing for the fall out of the possible shutdown. Wasted time and efforts to run damage control just in case the shutdown had to take place, when it is evident that the federal funding should have been resolved prior to the last waking minutes of the deadline.
With all the jumbled statements from President Obama and the congressional leaders the only statement that rang true over the last week consistently is that no one wanted to see the government shutdown occur.
There is little solace that the common goal was voiced and achieved. The timing is just a little too close for comfort.
It has been said, this is a temporary budgetary solution. The financial status of the country will be re-evaluated at the end of the fiscal year.
With the state of the economy and the stress of rising unemployment, rising foreclosure rates and increased failing businesses, the anticipation of a shutdown of federal programs has been like driving the final nail into the coffin of hope that economic recovery will ever be within the realm of possibilities.
The dying hope of financial triumph and security throughout the country will only begin to heal when citizens can look at the government and understand the direct goals that are being approached and see direct results reflect the original goals.
The drawn out frustration on how the budget would be resolved was over shadowed by the possible federal shutdown, drawing greater concern for a meltdown and losing support in the governments ability to follow through with the task at hand.
There is still the slight glimmer of hope that when the new fiscal year budgets need to be re-evaluated that history will be looked upon instead of repeated by congressional leaders and President Obama.
Only time will tell.
The dying hope of financial triumph and security throughout the country will only begin to heal when citizens can look at the government and understand the direct goals that are being approached and see direct results reflect the original goals.
The drawn out frustration on how the budget would be resolved was over shadowed by the possible federal shutdown, drawing greater concern for a meltdown and losing support in the governments ability to follow through with the task at hand.
There is still the slight glimmer of hope that when the new fiscal year budgets need to be re-evaluated that history will be looked upon instead of repeated by congressional leaders and President Obama.
Only time will tell.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Attention Traffic Control - Is Anyone There?
Early Wednesday Morning at Reagan National Airport, two pilots from two different airplanes called out to air traffic control in an attempt to land their planes.
The sound on the other end, complete silence.
Several attempts were made to get a response from the control tower not only by the pilots but also through the "shout line", a pipeline that blasts messages via loudspeaker into the control tower from controllers in the surrounding area.
There has been no explanation thus far of the lack of response. There has not even been a confirmation if there was actually anyone in the control tower at the time of the silence.
Luckily, the two pilots landing their planes with 165 passengers total, took the initiative to communicate directly with one another their progress in the air in order to land the planes safely.
There are investigations taking place by an army of agencies to solve the mystery of the Reagan tower. The Federal Aviation Administration and The National Transportation Safety Board are hard at work putting the clues together.
The first clue being, there is only one air traffic controller on duty during the midnight to 6 a.m. shift.
Considering there is just as much activity taking place at night, if not more as during the day, why would there only be one air traffic controller responsible for the graveyard shift activity?
It is just like a local Target or Walmart, at night the activity level is what gets the store ready for the next day of business. Shipments are coming in, prices and displays are being changed, stocking is taking place and clean-up is in progress.
There is not much a difference between a store and an airport. Planes are being moved around to various areas for repairs or to change gate locations, all the activity needed to start the new daytime shift as smoothly as possible while planes are still flying in and out.
So with the level of activity at night it seems odd that only one person would be responsible for being the eyes and ears for the man made birds flying in the air space and moving on the ground.
Results, an increased chance for mistakes and miscommunication.
About a year ago, an air traffic controller forgot to take his pass key that opens the tower door with him when he exited the tower for a moment and ended up getting locked out, leaving no one to respond to air traffic, according to The Washington Post.
If there had been more than one person handling the tower this incident would have never happened.
It is plausible that whatever happened early Wednesday morning could have also been avoided if more than one person was employed to handle to the air traffic at Reagan National Airport.
Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary , has ordered a second air traffic controller to be on duty at Reagan National Airport. In the meantime, LaHood has also initiated an investigation with the FAA into the level of staffing at airports throughout the country.
There are many things that have happened over the years that no one really hears about as far as lack of communication with traffic control, near misses in collisions at airports during landing and take offs.
To be fair, all the near misses and lack of communication would cause chaos if announced publicly for the airline industry. After 9/11 there is enough fear and doubt for many flyers every time they take the initiative to book a flight.
It is just like any other industry, the public is not made aware every single time something goes wrong with every company or field of transportation.
There just has to be faith on the part of consumers that things will run smoothly, that the outcome of whatever service is being used is being maintained and will end in positive results.
The most that can be hoped for is that the investigations into what happened Wednesday morning will put minds at ease, and there will be further progress made in the airline and traffic control industry to meet a high level of safety.
In the meantime, here is a fact that may ease some minds about flying.
The odds of being killed on a single airline flight based on the top 25 airlines is one in 9.2 million based on a study conducted from 1985-2009. http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm
The sound on the other end, complete silence.
Several attempts were made to get a response from the control tower not only by the pilots but also through the "shout line", a pipeline that blasts messages via loudspeaker into the control tower from controllers in the surrounding area.
There has been no explanation thus far of the lack of response. There has not even been a confirmation if there was actually anyone in the control tower at the time of the silence.
Luckily, the two pilots landing their planes with 165 passengers total, took the initiative to communicate directly with one another their progress in the air in order to land the planes safely.
There are investigations taking place by an army of agencies to solve the mystery of the Reagan tower. The Federal Aviation Administration and The National Transportation Safety Board are hard at work putting the clues together.
The first clue being, there is only one air traffic controller on duty during the midnight to 6 a.m. shift.
Considering there is just as much activity taking place at night, if not more as during the day, why would there only be one air traffic controller responsible for the graveyard shift activity?
It is just like a local Target or Walmart, at night the activity level is what gets the store ready for the next day of business. Shipments are coming in, prices and displays are being changed, stocking is taking place and clean-up is in progress.
There is not much a difference between a store and an airport. Planes are being moved around to various areas for repairs or to change gate locations, all the activity needed to start the new daytime shift as smoothly as possible while planes are still flying in and out.
So with the level of activity at night it seems odd that only one person would be responsible for being the eyes and ears for the man made birds flying in the air space and moving on the ground.
Results, an increased chance for mistakes and miscommunication.
About a year ago, an air traffic controller forgot to take his pass key that opens the tower door with him when he exited the tower for a moment and ended up getting locked out, leaving no one to respond to air traffic, according to The Washington Post.
If there had been more than one person handling the tower this incident would have never happened.
It is plausible that whatever happened early Wednesday morning could have also been avoided if more than one person was employed to handle to the air traffic at Reagan National Airport.
Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary , has ordered a second air traffic controller to be on duty at Reagan National Airport. In the meantime, LaHood has also initiated an investigation with the FAA into the level of staffing at airports throughout the country.
There are many things that have happened over the years that no one really hears about as far as lack of communication with traffic control, near misses in collisions at airports during landing and take offs.
To be fair, all the near misses and lack of communication would cause chaos if announced publicly for the airline industry. After 9/11 there is enough fear and doubt for many flyers every time they take the initiative to book a flight.
It is just like any other industry, the public is not made aware every single time something goes wrong with every company or field of transportation.
There just has to be faith on the part of consumers that things will run smoothly, that the outcome of whatever service is being used is being maintained and will end in positive results.
The most that can be hoped for is that the investigations into what happened Wednesday morning will put minds at ease, and there will be further progress made in the airline and traffic control industry to meet a high level of safety.
In the meantime, here is a fact that may ease some minds about flying.
The odds of being killed on a single airline flight based on the top 25 airlines is one in 9.2 million based on a study conducted from 1985-2009. http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm
Monday, March 21, 2011
AT&T surpasses Verizon
AT&T, an company that is already monumental in their vast array of products. Home phones, business lines, multiple Internet options, the newer Uverse addition to cable and TV and of course wireless service.
AT&T's roots stretch back to 1875 when they were the monopoly of the telecommunications industry in the 19th century.
In modern times, AT&T is now pushing forward to become the top provider for cell phone users.
n an effort to become #1 wireless company, as in the company with the most customers, AT&T is making a $39 billion purchase and buying out a well known company called T-Mobile.
This transaction will put AT&T's customer base higher than the infamous "do you hear me now" Verizon wireless.
Celebration may not be a long lived event for AT&T once they gain the top spot.
AT&T customers have been primarily loyal because of plans such as the roll over minutes, and the infamous IPhone.
The problem is, that the special pricing and products in reality are not comparable in value to other companies such as sprint, Verizon and even the increasingly popular pre-paid companies such as boost and virgin.
AT&T tacks on fees for data plans and special packages for different phones, when the same services can be received at another company for even a few dollars cheaper.
In the midst of rise in unemployment, unless the customer doesn't have to make the extra effort to stretch their dollars, plans will ultimately out way the fancy gadgets.
Consumers can now get blackberries at a flat rate each month, no hidden fees and contracts.
Verizon is making their mark with the IPhone, no longer leaving AT&T with the highly sought after technology.
Just because AT&T decides to acquire a company large in loyalty does not mean that the customers will decide to take their business else where.
Unless AT&T decides to take some drastic measures to make their pricing comparable to the competitors in their field, the celebration may be a short party.
AT&T's roots stretch back to 1875 when they were the monopoly of the telecommunications industry in the 19th century.
In modern times, AT&T is now pushing forward to become the top provider for cell phone users.
n an effort to become #1 wireless company, as in the company with the most customers, AT&T is making a $39 billion purchase and buying out a well known company called T-Mobile.
This transaction will put AT&T's customer base higher than the infamous "do you hear me now" Verizon wireless.
Celebration may not be a long lived event for AT&T once they gain the top spot.
AT&T customers have been primarily loyal because of plans such as the roll over minutes, and the infamous IPhone.
The problem is, that the special pricing and products in reality are not comparable in value to other companies such as sprint, Verizon and even the increasingly popular pre-paid companies such as boost and virgin.
AT&T tacks on fees for data plans and special packages for different phones, when the same services can be received at another company for even a few dollars cheaper.
In the midst of rise in unemployment, unless the customer doesn't have to make the extra effort to stretch their dollars, plans will ultimately out way the fancy gadgets.
Consumers can now get blackberries at a flat rate each month, no hidden fees and contracts.
Verizon is making their mark with the IPhone, no longer leaving AT&T with the highly sought after technology.
Just because AT&T decides to acquire a company large in loyalty does not mean that the customers will decide to take their business else where.
Unless AT&T decides to take some drastic measures to make their pricing comparable to the competitors in their field, the celebration may be a short party.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Japan rocked by Natural Disaster
As everyone has probably heard by now, Japan's ground rolled for about 5 minutes last night at a magnitude of 8.9. The people of Japan were not just dealing with the aftershocks but Tsunamis wiping out large portions of Japan
Hearts are going out with thoughts and prayers all over the world as the dramatic destruction was captured on film and has been streaming on news channels and the Internet since last night.
The earthquake also caused Tsunami warnings throughout surrounding areas of Japan including Russia, Guam and Hawaii. California and the entire west coast has also been placed on possible alert.
CNN is running continuous coverage of the disaster and updates along with MS NBC and multiple other networks dedicated to the news.
The wave of natural disasters that have devastated people throughout the world since 2004 seem to topple one on top of another. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004 that created the worst Tsunami in history taking the lives of nearly 150,000. Hurricane Katrina and the long time displacement of many Americans and massive destruction. The earthquakes in Haiti, Chili and New Zealand all with massive destruction.
Now Japan.
Are Americans ready for a natural disaster. Looking at footage of other countries or even other states go through tragedy and loss due natural disasters is almost like watching something unfold that seems unreal. How realistic are the people in California taking these rolling systems of destruction.
Is this state with all the economic problems ready to deal with the same level of disaster if it is to occur here next?
It's not something anyone wants to deal with or thinks about on a daily basis- but reality is, California is at risk just as all the places that have been infected by loss were.
There are a ton of preparation websites that help to educate people on what to do and what to have on hand for an emergency. There is never a bad time to get prepared. It is always a good idea to be prepared just in case.
As for Japan, they have a struggle ahead of them and efforts are already in effect to help assist in the clean up of damage and with the people in need.
If there are loved ones that you cannot locate in Japan, it has been said on Facebook that many people are able to get in contact via social networks easier than through phone lines. There is also a search engine that has been set up on google to help track people in Japan to make sure loved ones are safe.
If you have friends or family in Japan, Google has a person finder up.http://japan.person-finder.app
Hopefully the destruction will subside soon, as for now all we can do as Americans is send our thoughts and prayers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)