Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

With all the celebrities that have admitted themselves into ‘sex rehab’ centers recently, you might be curious about what goes on there. How does sex rehab work? Is it effective, or is this just an excuse to ask others for forgiveness? You might even scoff at the idea that someone needs to enter a sex rehab center. Perhaps you believe all they really need to do is come clean and stop cheating on their significant other, or choose to live a single life so as to not hurt others with lies and increased exposure to sexually transmitted diseases. This article serves to explain what sexual rehabilitation or ‘sex rehab’ is, and how a person with a sexual addiction might benefit from this form of treatment. Treatment for sexual addiction tends to focus on two main areas: 1) Separating the addict from opportunities to continue harmful sexual patterns of behavior, much in the same way drug addicts need to be separated from their drug-filled lifestyle. This is why inpatient or residential treatme...

After years of fighting off rumors about his sexuality, Latin singer Ricky Martin has finally just posted the following message on his official Web site, coming out and telling the world he is gay. “Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment. These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed … I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am,” he wrote. Coming out as gay, lesbian bisexual or transgendered is a process that for many, is experienced in stages of change. While there are different models and theories about coming out, the six-step process (The Model of Homosexuality Identity Formation) was created by psychological theorist Vivienne Cass in 1979 and is still an accepted model for understanding the experience. While many will not experience these steps in a linear course...

According to a source Monday evening, Major League Baseball (MLB) is set to report that their MLB Baseball Stadium Commission formed to evaluate the Oakland A's stadium situation is going to recommend to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig that the Oakland A's move to San Jose. The news came too late in the night Monday to check with appropriate key players for their reaction, but it's far to say one person who will not be pleased is Oakland City Attorney John Russo, who has openly said he's considering a lawsuit against both the Athletics and the City of San Jose. The reasons why MLB would pick San Jose over Oakland will be listed in the report set to be released within three days (unless MLB elects to delay the release of the report after this blog post). But the array of information required and the template that information fits in is not complex or vast. One can guess that San Jose has a more complete stadium development plan. But if Major League Baseball even uses ...

What’s a 'cognitive distortion' and why do so many people have them? Cognitive distortions are ways that our thought patterns can convince us that something is true or false. These are typically thoughts that occur automatically, and are usually used to reinforce negative thinking or emotions. Our automatic thoughts can feel rational and accurate, and most of all, they can feel factual. But with examination, we can often find evidence that our thoughts are NOT factual, but based on a set of negative thought patterns that have developed based on our feelings, rather than factual evidence. Cognitive distortions are at the core of what many cognitive-behavioral and other kinds of therapists try and help a person learn to change in psychotherapy. By learning to correctly identify distorted thoughts, a person can then respond to the disorted thoughts by balancing them with thoughts that are more balanced, and based on fact/reality rather than negative feelings. By refuting negati...

The City of Oakland, California's post-World War II history has been one of deep racial diversity and integration. Racist actions were few and far between but that's changing and it's happened in fits and starts over the last six years. This blogger has been in Oakland since 1974. Never in less than a year (pay attention to that) have there been incidents like racist statements against Martin Luther King Day written on the bathroom walls of an establishment like Cafe Van Kleef in downtown Oakland, or even worse, a Swastika painted on the same Greek Orthodox Cathedral that serves as the home of the annual Greek Festival, an event I love to attend, or Yoshi's in Oakland making a jazz compilation of performers at the club without a single black jazz performer in it . Something's going on. I personally think Oakland has been invaded by the "New Oaklander": the person who's only lived in Oakland as much as 10 years, from 2000 to 2010 at best, an...

Just a brief take on the Oakland Marathon and Oakland Running Festival held on this lovely weekend in Oakland and before the video's up in this space. First, congratulations to Race Director Gene Brtalik, who was a one-man band, meeting with officials, politicians, the media and people, even making sure that cups of water were filled for runners. Regardless of who is named, Gene Brtalik of Corrigan Sports, and newly-minted Oaklander, made the Oakland Running Festival not just a reality, but a smoothly-running event. What's annoying was the TV coverage by ABC Channel 7, who on Sunday afternoon ran a brief but oh-so-insulting clip that featured an unfortunately disabled and down-on-his-luck African American man saying that he essentially thought something bad was going on but saw something good, the event. Then Channel 7 ran a story about another crime committed in Oakland - East Oakland.  Channel 7 didn't bother to talk to anyone else at the Oakland Marathon who was ...

Oakland Councilmember and candidate for Mayor of Oakland Jean Quan held her kickoff event Saturday at "Humanist Hall" one block from Broadway Auto Row (or what's left of it after the economic downturn). The event was a rousing and surprising success. Surprising to this blogger because of not just the number of people who came but the range of people from the perspective of well-known Oaklanders, like Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, Assemblywomen Mary Hayashi, and longtime Lakeshore Business representative and politico Pam Drake, a number of people from the Oakland School Board and the education community, and a lot of new Oaklanders. The idea that Councilmember Jean Quan would lose votes to Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan always seemed silly in this corner, and because Kaplan's relatively new to Oakland, doesn't have the history of working with Oakland's school system, and is young. That was confirmed Saturday. Quan's event was more like a "Jean...

Washington, DC - March 21, 2010 Congratulations to President Obama and Congress for the historic passage of the health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) , along with the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HR 4872) which makes improvements to the Senate bill. The reforms should provide quality, affordable health care to nearly all Americans for the first time in our nation's history. So what does this mean for mental health care? As a Clinical Psychologist in private practice for the past 3 years, I have seen many patients struggle to afford the psychological treatment they needed for their mental health. When I first began my practice in 2007, essentially all of my patients were paying for therapy out of pocket, or without the help of their insurance benefits. In the Bay Area, the average cost is $150 per therapy hour, with some therapists allowing a sliding scale fee...

Most of us imagine feeling happy and content should we ever achieve the wealth, fame and notoriety associated with being a celebrity. However, the experience of being a person who is highly visible in the media can take a tremendous toll on one’s psychological functioning. Even the most grounded actors, musicians, professional athletes, and high-ranking officials are vulnerable to the deleterious effects of being in the media spotlight. In his research, Jib Fowles, author of Star Struck: Celebrity Performers and the American Public ( Smithsonian Institute Press ), found that the average age of death for celebrities overall, was 58, compared to an average of 72 years for other Americans. His findings also revealed that celebrities are almost four times more likely to kill themselves than the average American. This article serves to explore the negative psychological impact of being in the media spotlight, which leads many celebrities to struggle emotionally. As you read ...

The possible sale of The Golden State Warriors has got "Warriors to SF" fans excited once again. The last time there was this much interest in the possibility was 1997 through 1998, when the Warriors were temporarily playing their games at the HP Pavilion in San Jose until the newly refurbished Oakland (Oracle) Arena was finished. Then, like today, the idea of the Warriors moving to San Francisco was floated in the media, and without checking with anyone in Oakland regarding the Warriors lease situation, and that's happening again today. The idea of the Warriors moving to SF has spread like wildfire online and offline. Someone forgot to call Oakland City Attorney John Russo. Aside from representing the City of Oakland in legal negotiations with its sports teams, Russo was also an Oakland Councilmember and was there when the Warriors were waiting for the then-new Oracle Arena to be complete. Today, he says that the idea of the Warriors going to San Francisco is ju...

In the fall of 2009, people around the world became transfixed by world-renowned golf champion Tiger Woods , for reasons other than his golfing prowess, when his extramarital affairs became publicly known. Experts and laypersons alike quickly speculated that Tiger was a ‘sex addict’ as alleged details of his sexual endeavors were exposed for public consumption. Many of us read the headlines and watched the news clips with mixed emotion as he and his family struggled to cope with this difficult time. Some of us may have even scrutinized people in our own lives, wondering “could he or she be a sex addict too?” But truthfully, how many of us are actually familiar with the clinical definition of a sex addict? This article serves to clarify sexual addiction as defined by experts in the field of clinical psychology. Is sexual addiction a recognized clinical disorder? The American Psychiatric Association (APA) does not currently recognize sex addiction as a mental illness...

The latest news in the California Governor's Race is only indirectly related to the race itself, but still part of it. California Attorney General and candidate for Governor Jerry Brown has won a court judgement ordering CVS and other retailers operating in California to take Pro Choice Beauty Care products off their shelves. Pro Choice is the largest distributor of professional hair and nail products in America. According to Legal Newsline , the judgement, handed down last week, calls for Pro Choice to pay $1.25 million in penalties and costs and calls for CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid, Long's Drug Stores, Walgreen Company, Ralphs Grocery Company, Kmart and Target to take Pro Choice products down immediately. In a statement Jerry Brown said: "Pro's Choice sold thousands of containers of pollution-causing hair products to consumers who unknowingly exposed themselves and the environment to harmful pollutants," Brown said. "Today's agreement will r...

Cal ASUC - from 2008 meeting on fight The Cal ASUC Senate (or The Associated Students of The University of California) passed a very controversial bill last Wednesday night, that called for the University of California campus system to divest from Israel. The reason for the bill's creation was concern that the University of California was investing in companies that supplied Israel with materials used in alleged war crimes. According to t he Daily Californian , ASUC Senators voted 16 to 4 to pass the bill, following a hearing that drew 80 speakers and four hours of discussion. According to the blog Desert Peace , Student Senator Rahul Patel said "In the 1980s the Berkeley Student Government was a central actor in demanding that the university divest from South African apartheid. Twenty-five years later, it is a key figure in shaping a nationwide movement against occupation and war crimes around the world." He's right. This blogger remembers the riot tha...

Please join us as OaklandSeen proudly unveils its new online destination, OaklandSeen.com! Official Launch Party for OaklandSeen.com DJ fflood Thursday March 25, 6-9pm Somar Bar / 1727 Telegraph. Ave, Oakland no cover / cash bar / donations gladly accepted More About OaklandSeen After building a solid foundation through radio and social networks, OaklandSeen presents OaklandSeen.com, a web portal dedicated to sharing genuine voices, striking images, investigative stories, and daily updates by and about our own community. OaklandSeen forges a pioneering new model for media and community engagement. Its information network highlights issues important to working people, people of color, young people. OaklandSeen links radio broadcasts, social networks, community news, blogs, and web resources to share a compelling mix of Oakland’s most credible and exciting voices -- yours! This spring, OaklandSeen presents OaklandSeen.com, a web portal that will locate Oakland's multir...

A City of Oakland, California ordinance that would set-aside public campaign money and transfer it to what is called voter education about the new ranked choice voting system was delayed by the Oakland City Council last week. That's excellent. Really, there's no need for an ordinance that is really just a power-grab on the part of incumbent Oakland politicians. The proposal, if it were implemented, would eliminate public financing for Oakland City Council elections. Think about that. The idea launched by Oakland Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente (District 5) and by Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan (At-Large) would take election assistance money away from potential new political threats running for office - like Libby Schaaf who's running for Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan's seat in District 4 - and give it to a program that can be done for less than $225,000: educating voters about ranked-choice voting. It does not take a quarter of a million dollars to do...

Oakand Mayor Ron Dellums  In the 2010 Oakland Mayor's Race, this news: Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is running for reelection . This blogger learned the news from a good friend who's been involved in Oakland political and nonprofit circles for over 3 decades. In the "funny who you see on the same plane flight" book, this person was on the same San Francisco to Chicago flight late Tuesday night. That's when the information that's been largely hidden from the public was shared. "Dellums is going to give it a go and see what happens" the person said. Also Mayor Dellums had a fund-raiser over the weekend. The foundation for Ron Dellums' campaign for reelection as Mayor of Oakland has started. While, as of this writing, I still don't think Dellums can win, the Mayor does have three things going for him. First, he's the incumbent and he's theoretically able to defend his record better than anyone else. Second, and perhaps th...

As the news that the Oakland, California teacher's union's planned one-day walkout was moved to April 22nd from March 24th, this blogger ran across a paragraph in the East Bay Express that has information that was incorrect. In "Some Hard Truths About Oakland Teachers", Robert Gammon wrote: ...the City of Oakland has nothing to do with teacher salaries. Teachers are employees of the Oakland Unified School District, which is a completely separate legal entity that gets its funding from the state, not the city. So the city has no say in how much teachers make. And thus comparing teacher salaries to cops' salaries, as some commenters want to do, is ridiculous, because they're paid by different entities. Gammon's wrong and he should look at Section 33678 Subdivision (B) of the California Health and Safety Code . The common misconception about California Redevelopment Law and Tax Increment Revenue, is that redevelopment revenue can't be used to prov...

The richest person in the world is Carlos Slim Helu , but who Carlos Slim Helu? The Richest Man In The World reportedly makes $30 million a month. Carlos Slim Helu, who tops The Forbes billionaire list, is the Lifetime Honorary Chairman of Telefonos de Mexico. Mr. Helu, whom the Christian Science Monitor weirdly described as "the portly cigar-smoker", is the first man from a developing country to become Richest Man In The World. That's another way of saying Carlos Slim Helu is the first person of color to top the Forbes billionaire list. How Carlos Slim Helu got there is by purchasing a controlling interest in Telmex in 1990, along with a group of investors, and used that to leverage the buying of as many telecom companies in Mexico and Latin America as possible. Now, his family owns 90 percent of Mexico's telephone lines and 80 percent of its cellphone. He's used that to finance his business operations around the World. Carlos Slim Helu owns almos...

On March 18th The Seattle P.I., the website that was once connected to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, turns one year old. This month of March, and to the total surprise of this blogger, his work turned up on the "City Brights section" of Seattle P.I. It's great to at the Seattle P.I. (as it gives me a reason to focus on a city I love, Seattle) and at SFGate.com , and at Examiner.com , and at Zennie62.com, and the 100 blog network we have there, and on Youtube.com , Blip.tv , and five other video sites, and about 30 social networks and bookmarking sites and on CoLoursTV . The one problem is the Seattle P.I. appears to be using the Zennie62 RSS feed but not formatting the result. Thus, the blog posts come out without paragraph breaks, leaving one long "go" of words all mushed together. The damage is done when it reads "posted by Zennie Abraham" - it wasn't posted by Zennie Abraham. He's me, as you know. Thanks, Seattle P.I.; ple...

Anquan Boldin, a fast yet powerful and sure handed, angry-running NFL wide receiver, was acquired in a trade from the Arizona Cardinals to the Baltimore Ravens during the NFL Free Agency period. The move is yet another score in the storied career of Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome. The Ravens gave their third-round and fourth-round draft choices in the 2010 NFL Draft to the Cardinals for Boldin and a fifth-round pick in the same draft. But it's the Oakland Raiders who needed, and should have got, Anquan Boldin. Of all NFL teams, the Oakland Raiders lack an experienced deep threat, sure handed wide receiver who's feared in the NFL. There's no one pass-catcher on the Oakland Raiders squad that has been effective for the Oakland Raiders. And while much of the problem is due to poor coaching in the passing game, Raiders receivers have done little when they've caught the ball. Anquan Boldin would have been the perfect player around which to rebuild the Oakla...

Related searches: u.c. berkeley, california berkeley, uc action day, california education, student protests berkeley, berkeley, california, uc system protests Tomorrow is March 4th, Student Action Day in Berkeley and around the University of California's statewide campus system. Student Action Day is held to protest the dramatic tuition increases and budget cuts that have plagued U.C. system students. In the video below , The Daily Cal asks "Where will you be on March 4?" Many of the students presented said they would be in class or studying for a midterm. But as one looks around the Internet, Student Action Day is a Worldwide happening, just on different days. For example, The University of Toronto had a student action day November 5th, 2008 and there was one November 5th at the University of Ottawa. In fact, the Student Action Day was nationwide in Canada and all over the same issues that the U.C. Student Action Day is about: tuition and budget cuts. ...

Related searches: city of oakland, city and county of san francisco, california crime news, takeover robbery in san francisco, oakland eatery, restaurant news If anyone needs a sign that the economy is not what it used to be, they got one today. According to SFGate.com , a San Francisco restaurant experienced an Oakland-style robbery. Chaya Brasserie on 132 The Embarcadero was robbed by seven people, all men (no description), and all with knifes. They tied up the two people who were there at 12:15 in the morning today, Wednesday, and took money out of the cash register. This is a robbery that, in the past, as little as three years ago, would have happened in Oakland. In fact it did. In April of 2006 Grand Avenue between Lake Park (where the Grand Lake Theater is) and Mandana Avenue was haunted by a robber who first hit Smity's bar, then Bangkok Palace Restaurant. In the c ase of Bangkok Palace, one of the employees, 29-year-old Sonethavy Phomsouvandara, was shot ins...