#'oh the players should boycott'

[fortyfive-forty]

i've been ruminating a lot on it because i think i'm bad at putting my thoughts into words but i need y'all to understand that while there are absolutely a lot of Not Good Things about the finals being held in saudi arabia for three years...the way people seem to treat is as morally black and white is shortsighted and unhelpful.

realistically the players traveling there will be protected. it may be uncomfortable, it's certainly not ideal, but they will travel there for a few weeks, play their tennis, then leave. there are a lot of women, a lot of queer people who actually live in saudi arabia who cannot just leave, who are actually subjected to laws and social climates...and to me it just seems very disrespectful to that actual lived experience, for everybody to sort of turn their noses up and get on their high horses. of course, if the players wish to opt out, that is their choice, but that is their choice to make. that's their judgement. not ours.

and then, what about a tournament like miami? florida is literally experiencing one of the worst active regressions that i've seen in the us (granted i'm young). things like critical race theory and lgbtq+ ed are being removed from curriculums, rights for trans youth, trans healthcare, etc. are going backwards. abortion rights? gun violence? and yes i know that the laws and climate in saudi arabia are different gravy, i understand that, but my point is, no one would ever DREAM of arguing against hosting a tournament in miami despite all of these issues. and we can extend this to a lot of other tournaments! i mean, all the outrage about fifa hosting a world cup in qatar, but we don't have any of these sentiments about doha? i've seen other people bring up that the finals were hosted in singapore when gay marriage was still illegal there. we've already talked about italy's fascist prime minister. and i could go on and on and on about the war crimes of countries like the us or the uk - is the us not participating actively in genocide right now? where is the standard? if you argue against hosting the finals in saudi arabia for the reason of human rights, to me it seems you have to uphold that standard for the location you do land on. and i can guarantee, you will not find a single country in the world with clean hands.

i want to be clear i am not arguing that hosting the finals in saudi arabia is a good thing, especially for three years, especially because it's definitely going there because of money, and not for any of the "good" reasons i think some people want us to believe about "improving the region" (which is very weirdly white savior-esque anyway). i don't really have an official "conclusion" to this discussion.

what i am arguing is that i think a lot of the protests against saudi arabiahosting the finals are more an example of implicit anti-arab bias and islamophobia, rather than genuine discussion. key word implicit: i don't think most people are purposefully trying to be anti-arab/islamophobic. or at least, i'd like to believe nobody is. but i also think, particularly in the west, there is already so much of this xenophobic sentiment ingrained. and this is why i think it's really really REALLY important to check ourselves when we talk about it instead of just jumping straight to the human rights conversation without a second thought.

i'll say it plainly: i don't think the finals should be held in saudi arabia. but for me, it has more to do with sportswashing, with the dangers of the way money is thrown around in sports, and because i think it's more evidence that the wta doesn't care about player welfare but rather about making a profit (what else is new). human rights are absolutely a concern of mine, but how is it fair to hold saudi arabia to a standard that we don't seem to care about for literally anybody else?

literally look at the us's ugly ugly history, past and present, and tell me why we deserve to host a tennis tournament.

#long post #idk. this is not even all my thoughts #this is long and confusing and convoluted and i'm sorry #but i need y'all to understand it's not as easy as just saying 'oh we can't host it there' #'oh the players should boycott' #it's more complicated than that #and again i'm not really arguing one way or another #i do have my own opinion but i'm not positing that as The Right Choice #i'm definitely open to a lot more discussion on it #because i know i don't have the full perspective either #but i'm tired of seeing takes talking about how 'evil' it is to host the finals there #the way that it's happened and my suspected reasons for it (money)? yeah that's fucked up! #but just the fact that it will be hosted there...hold your horses. slow your roll #saudi arabia is like. a real country with people who actually live there and experience their own regime #god forbid they get to watch some tennis #and again. i just don't think you can ever really talk about these kinds of things and not bring up #the way countries like the us ALWAYS go unchecked #also like. gay marriage wasn't legal federally in the us until 2015. so. were do we go from here

[gaast]

If you genuinely think that Nintendo said "you don't have to cancel SWT 2022 because of the hardship it would provide for the players who were expecting to go" and yet they canceled SWT 2022 at huge cost to themselves ANYWAY, then man oh man do I have some bridges in NYC to sell you.

Look, it doesn't make sense. We're arguing over whether SWT 2022 can happen. The people running the event have absolutely every motivation to put it on in 2022 even if they can't get licensed for 2023. The only thing shutting down 2022 is Nintendo saying "shut down 2022." Nintendo is lying.

Look at the company's past behavior. Why was Smash pulled from EVO? Licensing disputes with Nintendo. They're fine with their party game not having tournaments. They want as much money out of it as they can get, and they won't let you make a cent more off of it than they think you deserve. It's not about image--unlicensed tournaments having a bad scene never reflects badly on the company or its games. Just the community.

I don't think VGBC is throwing a temper tantrum, because if they are it's an expensive one, and I don't think that they'd endorse calls to boycott the shit they ostensibly love unless they felt personally insulted. Meanwhile everything they said about Nintendo goes right along with how we know Nintendo to operate--opaquely, often letting people THINK they'll get what they want until it would be most damaging to change their minds and hurt them. Let's not forget that this company actively sought to get a disabled man as much time in prison as they could to make an example of him because he dared to pirate their games--doing literally no harm to them or their bottom line. These people want to punish anyone who doesn't comply with their demands or who tries to make a dollar they think should be theirs.

Nintendo is lying.

[morlock-holmes]

You might enjoy dragon age for its combat system, as it works a lot like mass effect (being made by the same company). Its romance options are also more diverse

Oh yeah! I think I got one or two of those from a bundle or something, I'll have to check them out.

The funny thing is, I don't even really think of it from a diversity perspective, but from a sort of player friendliness perspective.

I tend to think that in Mass Effect style RPGs the NPCs should be what I think the kids call "player-character-sexual", i.e. open to pursuing the romance storyline with the PC regardless of the gender you choose at character creation.

Because you generally choose your character's gender on one of the first screens of the game, without having any way to know what the effects will be.

Like, especially in Mass Effect, because you're supposed to take your character between three games. Like, if you're playing the game when it first came out, by choosing a gender for your character at the beginning you're excluding yourself not only from certain storylines, but from storylines that haven't even been written yet at the time you're making the decision!

But of course, being able to consider something like that to be an apolitical decision is a luxury of the modern day. Back then, if you built a game like that the bean counters started to have nightmares about Fox News call-outs, maybe followed by boycotts and even congressional hearings.

#mass effect #politics #Game design #game design

[donspitch]

DEMOCRATS. YOU'RE BEING RAPED.

Violated. Robbed. Abused. Trashed.

The Supreme Court did a number on you. What's your response?

"We'll work it out." What else is new? That's the approach that got us where we are today. The Supreme Court is stacked against you, so you're up a river without a paddle.

If that wasn't bad enough, your  so-called allies, especially the Joe Manchins are holding your head under water. You're choking.

It's about time you learned that politics is a tough game. It's not a spectator sport. The other side knows that.  They'll lie, cheat, steal, violate you, to win. They'll tell people in the desert in August when it's 120 degrees, to dress for snow and they'll do it.

You don't have to be dishonest to win. But you have to be hungry. And show America that you have the recipe to feed that hunger. What I'm suggesting may be hard to swallow, but it's better than the alternative. 

There are many critical issues Joe Biden wants Congress to deal with now. Nothing more important than voting. If the Democrats lose the voting issue, you can kiss Democracy Goodbye. 

Start with Joe Manchin. He shamefully is contributing to the destruction of the American way of life. He wants to make nice to the Donald Trump's of the world. People with no scruples. They may throw a bone the Democrat's way, with Infrastructure, but that's small potatoes compared to the people's right to vote.

What about their reaction to investigate January 6? It screams so loud, it's deafening.

Yes, Manchin wants everyone to be able to vote, but it's obvious it's not in the Republican's playbook. It's Step 1 in making minorities Second Class Citizens. In spite of his desire to work with Republicans, it's not going to happen. What are the alternatives? Some creativity. And toughness.

Picket State Houses around the country where they are creating restrictive voting laws. Non- stop.

If it's not too late, have MLB players boycott the All Star Game. .70% of all NFL players are African American. They should give a strong message that what the Republicans are doing is not acceptable. Sit out a game or two. Show the world that they are not Second Class Citizens. Voting is too important to them and their families. They will not have their rights taken away. .Put pressure on those businesses who are supporting the Republican Party. Publicize their names. Don't do business with them.

Back to Manchin. Someone should instruct him on the concept of relationships. His little state gets an unusual amount of Federal aid and gives very little in return. If Manchin wants to be a Republican, let him be a Republican. See if they'll tolerate his grandstanding.

How many West Virginians are on Obamacare? Where would they be with the Republican's plan? Oh, there is no plan. Twelve years of threatening to have one.

In 2019, West Virginia was one of the six poorest states in the country. A poverty rate of 16%. They were receiving the fourth most federal aid of any state. Where does the money come from? Those states with a surplus are paying more than a fair share in taxes, part of which accommodates the financial needs of West Virginia. Should we filibuster against doing this?

Relationships to work, are give and take. It's time for Manchin to do a little giving and less taking. Agree to some form of a filibuster to get the voting issue passed. It might go a long way to benefit his state and certainly help our state of the union.

[channelmono]

6/6 BLM Update: My various thoughts on “returning to normal” amidst the future we’re still fighting for, and how to remain a long-term ally

So as some of y’all might’ve noticed, things on social media are returning to “normal”, in the sense that not everyone is loudly protesting about political matters as much anymore.

I have a few thoughts on this, mainly regarding the really uneven idea of where we are “going back to normal”, and what we still have yet to accomplish. The fact is that the “normal” we want to return to is not good enough. Police brutality is still a thing, systemic racial discrimination is a thing, accountability by the justice system NOT driven by mass protest has yet to occur, and while gestures have been made to reduce it, we are not done yet, nor should we be. 

Bear with me on this, there’s a few important, but somewhat contradictory things I want to go over:

One thing I’ve established in the last week over and over is the importance of patience in advocacy. The understanding is that we need to act persistently and as fast as we can, while being as smart as we can.

But another side to this is that “as fast as we can” doesn’t mean “immediate”, because the truth is that law is slooooowwwwwww. There are rare exceptions to this principle (like with emergency votes), but that’s just how modern logistics be. The consequence to this is that it may feel like “nothing new is happening”, which may lead to folks erroneously concluding that “oh, I guess the problem was solved then”, but that’s not quite true.

The reality is not that nothing is happening, but more like we’re living in slow motion.

Some history for context: the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott (the anti-segregation one instigated by Rosa Parks) lasted an entire year and 16 days. It did not change the world overnight, but this individual protest directed specifically against public transit is considered seminal to the US Civil Rights Movement as putting a spotlight on the injustice within our government finally got the government to not just notice, but to concede and begin correcting it.

It showed that there is power in the people, and that the government is not insurmountable (to quote Arnie, “if it bleeds, we can kill it.”). As long as you stay loud, you can motivate change.

Compare this to now -- people of THE ENTIRE WORLD are protesting for the US government to revamp its justice system. As we highlight more of the unconstitutional and immoral actions of the police, more of us are coming around to demanding not merely incremental reforms to save black lives, but to completely abolish and redo the system. 

The hatred of the police is making them panic and doubtful, and the president is relying on increasingly flimsy narratives that the world is finally able to keep pace with in disproving and ridiculing.

As we continue shouting our voices, we matter, and as our demands have yet to be fulfilled, we must keep our voices strong for the foreseeable future.

---

Now, with all that said… I get why people are tired and slowing down. Advocacy is exhausting, and we have our own careers, hobbies, and livelihoods to return to, which is to be expected. Do we NEED to give this movement our complete, undivided attention at the cost of our own individual lives and health? It would be inconsiderate to say “yes”.

We need to remain loud, but we also need to pace ourselves as individuals -- you, as a human, were not built to shout for an entire year, not just because it’s straining, but because you probably don’t have enough to say for that long. On an individual level that’s perfectly fine to rest. 

BUT REMEMBER, in the same way as the government isn’t JUST “a bunch of individuals”, this movement isn’t JUST “a bunch of individuals” either. We are all acting as a singular voice shouting out BLACK LIVES MATTER. And even if you aren’t taking part in its voice, you can still do all you can to support it and make it even louder.

Say you’re in a long, loud football playoff match; you believe in a team, but if you need to take a break, take it, because you deserve rest. However, don’t leave the stadium; the world is still watching all the big players, and the teams need all the support they can to win, and when you feel ready to cheer them on again, make it loud and proud.

In other non-sports-metaphor words lol, we’ll need your all help for this long-haul campaign, my friends. We don’t need you to be here 100% of the time, but when the time comes for the next big change and we need you the most, we’re asking y’all to at least stand by our side. 

Thank you for reading! Stay smart, stay safe, and may peace be with you, my lovely monitors! 🖤🖤🖤

#black lives matter #black life matters #politics #no signal studio #channel mono

[this-lioness]

Kind of a vent

We have two friends who are a couple. We met this couple because we frequent their local business, and we gradually got more familiar and friendly with them.

I know they would like to be closer friends with us, and we are generally OK with that — they’re nice people and we enjoy bullshitting and joking around with them — but we are a little gun shy because they are at the opposite end of the political spectrum from us. They have casually said things to us that are blatantly racist, but they are the type of people who probably don’t realize it because they have “a black friend”, and they assume that means they’re not REALLY racist. But also the husband shares some absolutely awful shit on his FB so, yeah, sorry dude, you’re a racist.

Like... the wife casually talked about “Jewing someone”, in front of my fucking husband who is half Jewish. And it doesn’t bother him — not in the sense that he feels moved to say anything, he just mentally chalks it up to her being a typical local — but it really bothers ME.

One of the STUPID memes the husband shared was this list of “rules” that people on public assistance should have to abide by, all of which were racist, xenophobic and / or based on common but provably incorrect political lies. Except of course he wouldn’t believe that even if you calmly explained, and the idea of debating someone about their personal politics is so fucking exhausting, I am so tired of talking about anything even remotely political.

And yet I feel like saying, “Hey, I used to depend on public assistance to live. I used to be functionally homeless. Why don’t you look me in the eye and tell me what a useless drain on society I am?  Or is it because when you posted this list you were clearly picturing a bunch of brown people.”

SO ANYWAY, we haven’t bent over backwards to BE better friends with them, we’re just sort of like, “Oh yeah, we’ll totally have to get together to do something some time.”  And it’s slowly getting to be problematic, because I think they are at the point of like... explicitly inviting us to go out and do specific things at specific times.

But like... then what? The more comfortable they get with us, the clearer it’s going to be that we don’t think or believe the way they do, and I’m not interested in smiling politely through somebody’s racist bullshit.

And we can’t exactly invite them to things where our other friends are present. They’re going to know when we host parties and do things. What happens when they wonder why we don’t invite them to our annual New Years party, alongside our pagan, bi, trans, and poly friends?

What do we say? “Sorry, but you’re fucking horrible?” Because technically they are NOT horrible. We know that ultimately they are good people, they just believe terrible, shitty things because that’s how they were raised, and they are surrounded by people who think the same way they do.

Social media memes like to make it sound like it’s so easy to just cut people like this out of your life, but it’s more complicated than that. Adult relationships are full of nuance and also gross inconvenience.

We are already boycotting a restaurant we liked because the owner went over and had a friendly cup of coffee with two dudes having a loud, disgustingly racist conversation over breakfast. We cannot boycott every single business here because the owners are racist. We will have nowhere left to go.

We live in Trumpville. MAGA hats are everywhere. The local high school football team made openly racist comments to a visiting team with mostly black players. Everyone here just assumes you think and believe like them, and it’s shocking when they reveal that to you by saying the sorts of rancid shit they reserve for “their kind.”

I am fine having a friendly but ultimately professionally removed relationship with this couple and nothing more. They want more, and I don’t really have a way to navigate that without offending them, which means either sucking it up and letting them be offensive, or making enemies of them, and then I guess we also don’t get to use their business anymore.

So that’s part of my frustration.

The other part stems from the fact that this husband and wife have always made it very, very clear that their business is separate from their friendships — which is 100% understandable and fair, and we have always been cool with that. They don’t do “favors” for us where their business is concerned and we don’t ask for or expect them to. This is their livelihood, end of story.

Except last week the wife messaged me excitedly and said she had a “project” for me. She wanted me to redesign their logo for them.

I said no problem, worked up some sketches and found one they really like. I’m now in the process of refining it.

She never once mentioned PAYING me for this work. Which... look, I do favors for friends all the time, professional and otherwise, I don’t give a shit. This one’s on me.

Now she just messaged me that she’s got another “artsy fartsy project” and she wants me to design decals for a trailer they just bought.

And she still hasn’t mentioned PAYING me. As if I do this for fun.

Like... this is my fucking job, lady. It goes both ways.

What she DID do was ask if I had a personal logo that they could put on the trailer, to incorporate into the design.

First... this does me no good. I get no business from a logo. “Exposure” having any value to artists or designers is a very well-document professional myth.

Secondly, I know FULL WELL that her husband would NEVER agree to work my logo into the design: it’s rainbow-colored.

Sure enough, when I showed her the logo, her response was, “Cool. So do you mind if we change the colors?”

Yeah.

Now I’m just... annoyed. They still need to get the trailer painted so... what I think I’m going to do is take measurements and say, “Okay, so the design is going to cost $X. Getting the vinyls made will be pricey, so let me know if that works in your budget,” and let her either pay it happily or balk in offense.

Making and keeping friends as an adult is so fucking hard.

EDITED TO ADD: She had posted some nice old vintage photos of women hanging out together, and a comment I made on it vanished. I thought at first it was a FB glitch, but she mentioned seeing it, so now I’m thinking she deleted it because it mentioned lesbians.  Man, come on, I don’t have time for this shit...

#oc #rant

[nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany]

2:00PM Water Cooler 7/31/2019

Digital Elixir 2:00PM Water Cooler 7/31/2019

By Lambert Strether of Corrente

Trade

“Trump’s Bid to Dismantle Global Trading System Poised for a Win” [Industry Week]. “Thanks to a U.S. veto on new appeals judges, the WTO’s dispute arm is expected to start slipping into the institutional equivalent of a coma at the end of this year. That has set off a scramble by the European Union, Canada and other countries to set up a temporary alternative allowing the use of arbitrators rather than three-judge panels to hear appeals. But by creating that system, WTO members may be giving Trump and aidesーwho, like him, have deep-rooted skepticism of multilateral institutionsーthe very thing they want. Arbitration would above all provide the flexibility the U.S. is after, Vaughn said. It would see disputes treated as individual cases, avoiding the precedent-dependent system the WTO appellate body has become.”

“Inside the lose-lose trade fight between Japan and South Korea” [Nikkei Asian Review]. “[There is a] growing ‘Boycott Japan’ movement spreading across South Korea. South Koreans have also stopped buying cars, beer, cosmetics and just about anything else bearing the label ‘Made in Japan.’ Some are even canceling their summer holidays…. Well-organized protests are not uncommon in South Korea, and they tend to pass relatively quickly. But these boycotts — which in South Koreans’ minds are tied with the emotionally-charged issue of wartime labor and a sense that their most successful companies are under attack — may be different. The movement kicked off shortly after the decision by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration on July 4 to tighten controls on exports of three chemicals essential for making semiconductors and flat panel screens used in smartphones and TVs. By choking off supplies of the chemicals — Japan’s market share for two of them stands at more than 90% — the Abe administration was essentially taking aim at the engine that powers South Korea’s high-tech economy.”

“USDA gave almost 100 percent of Trump’s trade war bailout to white farmers” [New Food Economy]. • Deceptive headline erases class: “The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has documented that the program has disproportionately helped wealthy landowners and a recent analysis by Donald Carr, a senior advisor for EWG, argues that the MFP has deepened the disadvantages of black and minority farmers.”

Politics

“But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist 51

“They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery.” –Frank Herbert, Dune

“2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination” [RealClearPolitics] (average of five polls). As of July 30: Biden continues rise at 32.2% (32.0), Sanders flat at 16.2% (16.2%), Warren up at 14.3% (14.0%), Buttigieg flat at 5.6% (5.5%), Harris up at 10.8% (10.5%), others Brownian motion. Sanders opens a little daylight between him and Warren, for the first time in two weeks.

* * *

2020

Delaney (D)(1): Naughty, naughty:

so someone edited John Delaney’s Wikipedia page

pic.twitter.com/dFMHiz15XD

— Sarah Flourance (@BookishFeminist) July 31, 2019

Gabbard (D)(1): “Tulsi’s Last Stand?” [The American Conservative]. “Gabbard has been perhaps the most interesting Democrat running for president and Wednesday night could be her last stand. She gets to share the stage with frontrunner Joe Biden, like Hillary Clinton a vote for the Iraq war. There is no guarantee she will get another opportunity: the eligibility criteria for subsequent debates is more stringent and she has yet to qualify…. Gabbard has so far been unable to penetrate this madness despite being young (she’s 38), attractive, telegenic, a military veteran, a woman of color, and an articulate, passionate opponent of the regime change wars that have brought our country so much pain.”

Warren (D)(1): The liberal Democrat enforcers are coming for Warren:

Maybe Warren really believes that single-payer is the only way; if so, I’ve misjudged her policy acumen. Either way, that was a bad night for someone who should be leading the progressive charge 7/

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) July 31, 2019

The Debates

“Sanders, Warren battle centrists in testy debate” [The Hill]. “But on Tuesday night, the moderates came out swinging at Medicare for all with grave warnings about the electoral consequences.” • Oh.

“The Centrists Did Not Hold” [Jeet Heer, The Nation]. The Deck: “Both the moderators and centrist Democratic candidates failed in their attempts to gang up on Sanders and Warren during Tuesday’s debate.” • So we’ve normalizes the idea that the moderators are not refs but players? One more reason to get the networks out the debate business. More: “The fusion of entertainment with politics continued apace with CNN orchestrating the Democratic primary debates as a professional-wrestling donnybrook. Led by Jake Tapper, the CNN hosts consistently tried to get the two factions to attack each other, while bizarrely elevating John Delaney for much of the debate.

“The Middle Ground Did Not Fare Well in the Democratic Debate” [Jacobin].

“‘Do or die:’ The pressure is on struggling 2020 Democrats to break through at Detroit debates” [McClatchy]. “With the leading candidates increasingly separating themselves from the rest of 2020 Democratic presidential primary field, this week’s second set of debates are shaping up to be most crucial for the bottom half of the pack who are dwelling in single digits and struggling to raise money. It’s those campaigns that are preparing to take a more aggressive posture in Detroit as they fight for survival ahead of a traditionally slow summer fundraising period and stiffer requirements to qualify for the next debates in the fall…. The next debates aren’t until September, when polling and donor requirements for entry will tighten. Seven candidates have indicated they’ve already crossed the necessary thresholds, with at least two others claiming they are close to doing so.” • Hence, beyond ideology, the aggressiveness of Hickenlooper, Delaney, et al., and the relative quiesence of Buttigieg and O’Rourke, who have already made it to the the next debate round. I would expect the same dynamic to be in play in tonight’s debate as well.

2019

“California Aims to Make Trump Release Taxes by Requiring It for Primary Ballot” [Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine]. “California governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation making disclosure of five years of income-tax filings a condition for appearing on the state’s presidential-primary ballot, beginning next year.” • Here the Constitutional qualifications and requirements for the Presidency. Article II, section 8:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

I don’t see the grounds on which California gets to add additional qualifications for a Federal office. Further, the additional qualifications are blatantly aimed at a political enemy of the California Democrat power structure (California is a one-party state). What happens a tit-for-tat struggle begins with states dominated by Republicans? We won’t have national elections any more. Back to the article:

But the latest bill passed on a strict party-line vote, and Newsom signed it on the grounds that because of its size and stature, California had a “special responsibility to require this information of presidential and gubernatorial candidates” (it will apply to candidates for Newsom’s own job after 2024).

This is a 21st century states’ rights argument, except only for large states. Where is it written that any state has “special responsibilities”?

Realignment and Legitimacy

“DSA Members, America’s New Left” [New Left Review]. “But the five dsa members, all from California chapters—and spanning a range of positions, from neo-Kautskian electoralism to libertarian party-building—offer a vivid sense of the debates agitating the group’s membership base. How will dsa convert its newly acquired supporters into political organizers? What fields of activity should it bestow its (still limited) resources upon? Most pressingly, how should it relate to the Sanders 2020 campaign, and to the Democratic Party as a whole? Can the long-term goal of building an independent working-class party be reconciled with dsa’s current practice of running candidates on Democratic ballot-lines?” • Interviews with five DSA members. Interesting!

“No, Professors Aren’t Discriminating Against Conservative Students” [Pacific Standard]. “The idea that left-wing college professors are both brainwashing undergraduates and discriminating against conservative students has emerged as one of the most consistent right-wing lines of attack against American higher education over the last few decades. While conservative undergrads, like many types of students, may often feel isolated, a new working paper led by a public policy professor who tells me he’s a ‘lifelong Republican’ suggests that any evidence for bias in grading against conservative students is at best minimal and most likely absent.”

Stats Watch

Chicago Puchasing Managers Index, July 2019: “[T]he lowest reading in 4-1/2 years” [Econoday]. “New orders sank deeper into contraction with employment falling into contraction for the first time in nearly two years and to its deepest level of contraction in nearly 10 years… Though conclusions are difficult to draw based on uncertainties over the make-up and size of Chicago’s sample, the drop in this report could reflect trade-tension issues.”

ADP Employment Report, July 2019: “ADP estimates that private payroll growth in Friday’s employment report for July will rise 156,000” [Econoday].

Employment Cost Index, Q2 2019: “Wage pressures are flat and will not stand in the way of a Federal Reserve rate cut that is expected this afternoon” [Econoday]. “The lack of acceleration in employment compensation readings hints at available capacity in the labor market.”

State Street Investor Confidence Index, July 2019: “Global institutional investors continued to reduce their exposure to equities and were even more risk averse in July” [Econoday].

Tech: “Privately Owned Scooter Companies Don’t Have a Future” [Jacobin]. “Nearly two years ago, dockless e-scooters started appearing on the sidewalks of major cities across the United States, eventually fanning out to Europe, Asia, Australia, and beyond. In most American cities, the companies didn’t bother getting permits or checking their services would be legal; they just dropped off their scooters.” • Scooter economics seem quite similar to ride “sharing” economics, i.e. not and never going to be profitable.

Manufacturing: “The CEO of one of the world’s largest airlines said Boeing needs to get its ‘s— together’ as the ongoing 737 Max crisis hits the carrier’s profits” [Business Insider]. “The CEO of one of the world’s largest airlines said that Boeing needs to get its “shit together” as the ongoing grounding of its 737 Max planes extends beyond predictions and the carrier’s profits take a hit…. Ryanair, the biggest low-cost carrier in Europe, had ordered 135 of the 737 Max planes, with the first 58 of those planes due to arrive by summer 2020. The airline was the fifth-biggest in the world by seating capacity in 2018, and is the world’s largest airline by number of routes.”

The Biosphere

“Whose fault is plastic waste in the ocean?” [Deutsche Welle]. “Because plastic is so tough, it can last for centuries without breaking down. That means plastic made in the past, mainly in richer nations, has accumulated, often in the ocean. Experts say this, along with the lack of data on plastic from marine and other sources, makes blaming individual regions for ocean plastic unhelpful.” •

“Geoengineering is very controversial. How can you do experiments? Harvard has some ideas.” [MIT Technology Review]. “For years, several Harvard climate scientists have been preparing to launch a balloon capable of spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere, in the hopes of learning more about our ability to counteract global warming…. ‘It’s an extremely high-profile institution that’s decided they don’t want to wait for the regulatory regimes to greenlight this,’ says Wil Burns, co-director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University.”

Health Care

“The Plausible Path to Medicare for All” [The American Prospect]. “The flailing second-tier Democrats in the presidential debates who attack Medicare for All and its sponsors are indeed doing the work of Republicans. It is indeed possible to get to universal coverage under the auspices of Medicare, without bankrupting the public treasury or increasing net costs to the middle class. And the coverage would be better, more reliable, and more cost-effective than even the best insurance that people now get from their employers. Today’s employer-provided insurance is riddled with deductibles, co-pays, denials of reimbursement, limits on which doctor or hospital you can use, and loss of insurance when you change jobs. Sanders and Warren are right about all that. But the transition problems are far from trivial. The biggest problem is that the people who will save money when they no longer pay premiums are not the same people who will likely pay more in taxes*. So the sponsors of Medicare for All should recognize that a better transition strategy may be the best way to disarm critics, among centrist Democrats, Republican attackers, and the press; and to reassure the electorate and make Medicare for All the big winner that it can be. The best of the transition approaches are those proposed by Jacob Hacker, with a close legislative counterpart in the Medicare for America Act co-sponsored by Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Jan Schakowsky.” • I would be more sympathetic to Kuttner if TAP and its ilk hadn’t, through unremitting effort, themselves created the need to “reassure the electorate.” I also remember the fantastically destructive role played by Hacker in the liberal Democrat bait-and-switch operation against single payer in 2009-2010. I know this is the genetic fallacy, but it’s very hard for me to believe that TAP and Hacker are operating in good faith. NOTE * So #MedicareForAll is a downward transfer of wealth? And this is a bad thing?

Black Injustice Tipping Point

“Whites get half of mortgages in Detroit, nation’s largest majority black city” [Bridge]. “Home loans are heating up in Detroit after years of a frigid lending market, but a majority of loan dollars now go to whites, who comprise just over 10 percent of the population. African-Americans, who still make up fourth-fifths of the city, are now far more likely to buy homes in the suburbs than Detroit. The findings come from a Bridge Magazine analysis of hundreds of thousands of federal mortgage records from 2007 to 2017.”

Class Warfare

“The Roepke Lecture 2019: ʺWar, capitalism, and the making and unmaking of economic geographiesʺ [Erica Schoenberger, Johns Hopkins]. Worth a listen over a cup of coffee:

(I owe a hat tip to an alert reader for this, but I can’t find the comment where the suggestion was made.O)

“The tyranny of productivity” [The Week]. “More than 100 years ago, states began listening to workers’ demands and limiting the hours employers could make people work. Later, in the 1930s and ’40s, the federal government did the same thing on the national level. And governments didn’t just guarantee people the free time to pay attention to things one might deem “unproductive” — they also helped them find unproductive things to do. Indeed, early 20th-century political leaders made playgrounds and public spaces a priority. Teddy Roosevelt, who helped create the national parks system, ensuring Americans’ access to wild and beautiful places, frequently described the power of nature in decidedly non-instrumental terms. ‘There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm,’ he once wrote. Later, during the depths of the Great Depression, workers hired by the federal government built some of the country’s most gorgeous public architecture — including, as Odell notes, the Oakland rose garden she so enjoys. But, in the second half of the 20th century, government increasingly shied away from policies aimed at anything as unproductive as beauty and pleasure and devoted itself to economic growth, instead.”

“IBU strike shuts down Alaska ferries” [Alaska Public Radio]. “In Ketchikan, approximately 30 picketing ferry workers stood on the sidewalk outside Alaska Marine Highway System terminal where the ferry Columbia was set to depart for Bellingham, Washington…. The union had warned the night before that a strike was imminent if it didn’t get a contract deal. It’s been negotiating for the past three years. An impasse last week led a majority of members to vote to authorize taking direct action.”

“These Are the Wealthiest Towns in the U.S.” [Bloomberg]. Handy map:

News of the Wired

“Daemons are the programs that run the internet. Here’s why it’s important to understand them.” [The Conversation]. “Internet daemons optimize how computers actively manage systems toward certain goals or highest-efficency states. Optimization is another way to understand algorithmic governance. It is at once a way of thinking and a way of doing. To optimize is to calculate optimal states that solve social and political problems. Optimization also involves ways to actualize these states…. The technical connotations of optimization obscures its social and political implications. For example, an optimal amount of news to include in Facebook’s NewsFeed or shorter passenger wait times on Uber are technical decisions and business ones.” • Optimization is not neutral!

“Behold, the most (intentionally) poorly designed website ever created” [Ars Technica]. • Here it is. Looks like Twitter’s designers examined this site closely.

* * *

Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Today’s plant (Re Silc):

Re Silc writes: “My 3-year-old bristly locust love southern vermont.”

* * *

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So do feel free to make a contribution today or any day. Here is why: Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of small donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals. So if you see something you especially appreciate, do feel free to click this donate button:

Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated.

Readers, I have redesigned the image above because the composition of your Water Cooler donations has changed. For the last few months, donations have shifted to monthly donations in smaller amounts, with very few one-time donations in larger amounts. While I’m very happy to have enabled small contributions (Luke 21:1-4), the lack of larger contributions has cut into the trickle of funding from Water Cooler that I really do depend on. In other words, your contributions are way down. (Readership and comment counts have not fallen, so I don’t think Water Cooler editorial content as such is the issue, though do feel free to drop me a line if you have thoughts.)

So, I redesigned the image to emphasize one-time donations, while still enabling smaller monthly donations. And if you’ve been waiting for a good excuse to contribute, perhaps last night’s debate coverage will provide an excuse!

If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!

2:00PM Water Cooler 7/31/2019

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[kob131]

Was Link Summoning a mistake?

It’s been quite a while since Yu-Gi-Oh introduced the new summoning mechanic, Link Summoning. And for a while now, Link monsters have dominated the meta and the game has still undergone a massive power creep. So this brings ti question:

Was Link Summoning a mistake?

My answer? Yes and no.

To put this simply: Link summoning in and of itself is not a mistake. When you look at Link monsters that have caused considerable issues (Needlefiber, Summon Sorceress, Isolde, SPYRAL Super Agent, Firewall, Gumblar, Guardragons ect), their summoning requirements did cause problems but what really went wrong was their effects. For all of these, they gave the user much more consistency or resources than normal. Which isn’t exactly something unheard of in Yu-Gi-Oh. After all, the top deck at the beginning of the Link format was Zoodiacs and those cards gave players insane advantage to the point the deck didn’t care about Link monsters. 

And if the cards had been limited more (like Isolde locking you into Noble Knights for a turn), would the meta still care? No. If the cards were attached to a different summoning mechanic (like having Guardragons be Fusions or Needlefiber being a Synchro), would that stop the meta from breaking them? It hasn’t before. And I can prove it with Firewall because Dewlorn is STILL Limited for years now because the goddamn WATE focused Synchro can still FTK if we had more than one of him around. And again, it’s a Synchro that needs a specific Tuner monster.

Things like massive draw power, free special summons, self bouncing and hand destruction have always plagued the game. Even if you slapped these effects onto Trap cards, which are famously slow even before Links, they would still probably break the game. Not like Links themselves have issues since Extra Linking was a pretty foolish idea, but you give these effects to any card that isn't nigh impossible to use or extremely restricted and it’ll be broken no matter what. What should have been done is that generic Links should have had basic effects (kind of like what you see with Code Talkers) and powerful links should have been locked to their archtype (like Needlefiber and Isolde). 

That probably would have helped the power creep a little...but Yu-Gi-Oh, as a game, is inherently more and more volatile as it grows older. You bring out cards that are meant to be quirky or gimmicky and eventually a set of cards will inevitably break that card. As much as I don’t like the idea, set rotation does have a purpose. That is, staving off this very issue. In order for this to not happen, the competitive scene would need to boycott cards that break the game...and by nature of being a competitive scene, at least one guy is gonna be a jackass, use the cards and everyone will follow suit because it wouldn’t be fair to let this one asshole win because of his cards, not his skill.

So really, just like Ragnarok in Norse Mythology, this was always gonna happen. All we could have done is stave it off for a while.

#yugioh

[sssskinheadzine-blog]

Sabotage interview V2.0

On the 14th of May 2015, around the time we first started out as SSS, we posted an interview with Swedish band Sabotage ( Link here - https://skinsstandingstrong.tumblr.com/post/118961336678/sabotage-interview). After 3 and a half years, we decided to catch up with vocalist Robban and see what’s been happening!

Hiya Robban, to start, could you give us a bit of an insight into what’s been happening with Sabotage since we last interviewed you?

 Hi Jake! Depending on what you would expect from a band, both a lot and not very much has happened considering it was about four years or so since the last interview. We are a slow band because of our family situation and (nowadays) travel distance for the bass player, but let’s catch up a bit.

 When we last spoke we had just played our first gig at PSK and released our second record; a 12” mini LP. Since then we have played six more gigs in Stockholm, one in rural Fagersta and three abroad – in Badalona, Catalunya, in Helsinki, Finland and Lleida, Catalunya.

 We have also recorded and released a few more records; the 7”EP ”A Furore Normannorum Libera Nos, Domine” on PST Records, and the ”Den Nya Värdegrunden” 10”EP (BDS, CUR, RPO). We did record six songs earlier this year that are to be released on two split 12”, one with canadian No Heart (it’s actually a split LP) and one cover EP with Lleida band Codi De Silenci.

 The line-up has changed aswell. Slebbe quit due to too little time/too many bands, and we decided we were good with only one guitar so we politely offered Silvio the bass slot, which he wasn’t up for. This turned out to be really good news, as we then could recruit eager and multi talented Johan, who really added up well and have contributed to Sabotage with some great ideas for tunes and irresistable bass lines.

 We know you’ve had some shit from the reds over the past couple of years. Can you tell us why that started, and are they still trying to make things hard for you or have they finally given up?

 The Stockholm internet based reds is only a problem when we play in Stockholm and they can threaten the organiser/venue owner with financial boycott. We have been pulled from a couple of gigs because of this – I think two, both organised by the same organiser, in my personal opinion a spineless twat – but have managed to organise a couple of gigs on our own. We try to not announce ourselves, but let our ”fans” read between the lines that we are going to play in order to keep the landlords out of the firing line.

 Why do you think they do it?

The internerd reds? Sabotage is a band with skinheads in it that aren’t part of the German festival pc oi! thing, and we are patriotic and speak our mind. That’s enough for them to label us full on nazis. Those people belong mainly to the hardcore scene and would rarely attend an oi gig anyway, so I can’t really see why they should be bothered or worried about losing their safe spaces in the first place...

 Actually it’s unfair to reds as in communists to call these people ”reds”. I mean, proper reds wants an armed revolution… this is more a case of liberals, you know wealthy globalist social justice warrior gender bender refugees welcome safe space junkie hipsters.

 Oh, we were also pulled from the Streetpunk Winter Riot Fest in Bratislava, Slovakia, because some guy from the antifa band Rozpor had spotted me in a Kill Baby, Kill-t-shirt somewhere online... That’s the level of things…

You’ve got a split with Canadian No Heart coming out soon, we’re really excited for that one. Has Sabotages sound changed at all for this record or will it be the same as we know and love?

I think the sound is pretty much the same, not too much distortion; lengthy songs with quality lyrics. The split with the canadians is in production, but the cover split with Codi de Silenci is stuck in the layout process but hopefully will be taken care of as I write this.

 Can we expect to see you invading English shores anytime soon?

Actually I’m not sure of our gigging status in the near future as Johan has moved to Småland. We have one gig coming up, in Slovakia, but we’ll see after that. You know me, I’ll take every opportunity to go to England, so if there’s the slightest interest, we’d definitely work on it!

 It's a shame to hear that Sabotage may not be able to gig anymore. Although with the shrinking scene and people being seperated by distance, it's something that seems to be happening more and more, don't you think?

I’m not sure it’s that drastic, it’s just that I don’t know how things will turn out in the nearest future. I’m sure we will continue to exist in one form or another in the future.

The scene is shrinking and growing from time to time. Shrinking is not necesarily bad, you get rid of the subcultural tourists and keep the die-hards. But even die-hards are aging with all that comes with it… work, families etc, so it’s just natural. Plus the music based subcultures are pretty much dead among the youth since a couple of decades, nothing to do about it really.

The scene in Stockholm is as polarised as the swedish society as a whole… the cucks have their own party scene going. I’m fine with that.

Cheers for the interview Robban, again. And best of luck with Sabotage in the future! Any final words for the readers?

Thanks a lot Jake, I’m happy SSS is back. Also cheers to all our supporters world wide, and every one keeping the skinhead- and oi scene alive for those of us that still enjoy it!

3 and a half years on, thanks again Robban for taking the time for an interview. All the best for you and for Sabotage in the future!

As he said in the interview, Sabotages split with Canadian “No heart” is currently in production, while the split with “Codi De Silenci” is in the layout process. Be sure to keep a eye out for these releases (As they’re 3 great bands, sure to be killer!) And support Sabotage!

#skins #skinhead #skinheads #england #sweden #oi #oi! #rac #rock against communism #interview #zine #magazine #fanzine #sabotage #noheart #codidisilenci

[thebachelordiaries]

Jocks And Finance Bros: Bachelorette First Impressions

Becca, I hope you like jocks and finance bros. 

If not, you’re shit out of luck.

Becca dates one athlete and they beat that one dating preference of her’s to death by casting 18 or so former athletes. Kind of like how they beat “Let’s Do The Damn Thing” tagline to death.

I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am.

A letter to the men on this season of The Bachelorette:

Do you think you deserve this goddess of a woman, Becca Kufrin? You probably don’t. You probably think too highly of yourself to know this.

Maybe two of you will be good enough for her. Five of you may turn out to be decent people, but that’s me being generous. If it’s anything like JoJo’s season, we will have just one or two decent men. ABC producers, please don’t let me down. Oh wait, you already did with the super-short bios. 

This season we have 25 28 men vying for Becca’s heart, or at least a blue checkmark on their Instagram page. At least one of you will get fake engaged on Paradise and six of you will move from middle-of-nowhere USA to Los Angeles and move back home within a year. I’m not sure which guys will do that yet, but it’s always fun to guess!

Anyway, good luck with your 15 minutes of fame!

Signed,

The Bachelor Diaries.

WTF: No Q&A?

ABC did not include the usual Q&A in this year’s cast bios. I’m so offended. How will I truly understand these men if I don’t know what kind of fruit they’d be or what kind of superpower they’d want?

I would boycott this season because of this, but I have literally nothing better to do on Monday nights, or any night for that matter. I’m still going to try my best to roast these men, of course. It shouldn’t be that hard.

Despite no Q&A’s, I will still form my own opinions on these guys. I, like Kanye West, am a free thinker. Go poopidy-scoop yourself, ABC.

Ok, now let’s get to know these men:

Alex, 31, Construction Manager

Alex is the male equivalent of the basic white girl. He likes country music, his dog, the beach and skiing. He probably has “Let’s go on a hike together!” on his Bumble profile and regularly wears a Patagonia dad hat.

Blake, 28, Sales Rep

We already met horse boy Blake on After The Final Rose. He either played baseball or football in college. Thanks for being so concise, ABC. However, he looks like a baseball player to me. While originally from a small town in Colorado, he definitley lives in LA now. He also believes “two people need to be independent in order to truly love each other” so I think that means he’s into open relationships and or will cheat on you.

Chase, 27, Advertising VP

Chase, unlike Blake, was definitley a college baseball player who was apparently good enough to be in the College Wold Series but evidently not good enough to go pro— at least longterm. We also met Chase on ATFR and I don’t remember much about him. He likes “adventure” and the “outdoors” so he’s quite the special snowflake.

Chris, 30, Sales Trainer

What even is a sales trainer? Chris hopes to retire by 40. In this economy? Good luck with that. He is passionate about “fitness” and “health” which is so unique and different. I feel like I really got to know him through that piece of information.

Christian, 28, Banker

Christian is a former semi-pro soccer player who moved to the US from Mexico when he was three. I feel like his picture makes him look like he has a little head, but other than that he seems alright.

Christon, 31, Former Harlem Globetrotter/ Professional Dunker

I spent a good 30 seconds wondering why two guys with the same name didn’t have their last name initials included in their bios. It took another 30 seconds to notice that Christon was spelled differently than Christian. So this dude is a professional dunker in LA. My first thought is that he’d have a pretty good intro video package for The Bachelorette. Anyone want to put money down that he gets one?

Clay, 30, Pro Football Player

Clay was on his way to the poetry slam but somehow got lost and ended up on the Bachelorette. He allegedly doesn’t curse but is a fan of hip-hop music. I think he is the “famous” football player who was in talks to be on this season. Apparently I should care. Never heard of him. 

Colton, 26, Former Pro Football Player

“Hi, my name is Colt and welcome to my Youtube Channel!” That’s the vibe I’m getting from this picture. I’m also getting Blake Griffin vibes. He just looks strangely tan here. Colton may have a job at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I’m curious to know if he has a story as to WHY he is involved with CF. He also lives in Denver and has a dog named Sniper, which is awkward because the neighboring city of Boulder just banned assault weapons.

EDIT: He was the guy who asked out Aly Raisman via public video and they briefly dated. I shipped them so hard. I AM SHOOKETH.

Connor, 25, Fitness Coach

I feel like I’m going to be sick if I hear one more guy talk about how they were “almost” a professional athlete and how much they lo0o0o0ove working out. I’m sadly only at the beginning of this cast list. Someone pray for me. And someone pray that Connor’s eyebrows grow back after that terrible wax job.

Darius, 26, Pharmaceutical Sales Rep

Darius works for big pharma yet claims to be dedicating his life to helping others. Err, okay. He likes to dance and travels a lot so my guess is he’s probably not ready to settle down at age 26 despite his 36-year-old hairline.

David, 25, Venture Capitalist

David looks like every finance bro who lives in West Village and only dates 22-year-old Instagram models. The only difference is that he lives in Denver instead of Manhattan, which by society’s standards makes him more wholesome. He also loves guacamole, but dislikes avocado, which roughly translates to: I don’t cook and eat Chipotle for dinner every night.

Grant, 27, Electrician

The only way Grant is making it past night one is if he shows up fully dressed as a member of the Village People or as Bob The Builder. If not, he has no chance.

Garrett, 29, Medical Sales Rep

Pro tip to ABC: The letter A comes before the letter R in the alphabet. These names are out of order. 

Anyway, Garret reminds me of Ben Afleck in that his face just makes me want to punch him..in the face. Besides the fact that he also works for big pharma, he actually has outdoor hobbies besides “I enjoy fresh air and walking in the woods” like fly fishing and showshoeing. I’m hoping he isn’t a giant jerk because I kind of like him.

Jake, 29, Marketing Consultant

I thought his name was “Joke” at first because I am a terrible person. I think Joke...I mean Jake...is from the same city as Becca. (I’m assuming Minnesota only has one city) I feel like all hot people in cities have this inner-circle where they know of each other, so maybe they’ve crossed paths before.

Jason, 29, Sr. Corporate Banker

Andrew Keegan? I love your work. “Jason” likes sports and singing along to Disney movies. He contains multitudes. 

Jean Blanc, 31, Colognoisseur

I love that ABC took a smart, educated, immigrant with a successful job and gave him a fake occupation on television. Jean Blanc is a cologne connoisseur. I feel like he would smell good. 10/10 would smell him.

Joe, 31, Grocery Store Owner

I feel like a lot of these bios are the equivalent to what it’s like to drive in an Uber. The driver is always explaining to you how successful they are and where they traveled as a way to prove they aren’t some loser driving you around. Joe’s bio screams “Yeah I own a grocery store but also worked in finance before I burnt myself out, so don’t judge me.” Nobody was judging you, but now I am.

John, 28, Software Engineer

John hopes to be the first Asian male to make it out of night one on The Bachelorette. I can already tell he’s better than most of these guys: he works at a start-up in Silicon Valley, likes wine, plays guitar and bakes banana bread. He deserves a rose, dammit!

Jordan, 26, Male Model

Robert Mills, who is like an important ABC guy or something, called Jordan the “greatest Bachelorette contestant of all time.” Clearly he’s trying to make us forget about Chad. Good luck with that, Robert. Definitley not happening.

So Jordan is probably this season’s villain. Whatever, I don’t care. I DO care, however, that his bio is bragging about a mediocre 4:24 mile time and “sprinting to the finish line.” The time was written as “4.24″ by ABC and a comma is also missing from that sentence. ABC, let me know if you want to hire me as an editor. Back to the mile comment: A mile is an endurance mid-distance race. Nobody is technically sprinting in it, unless it’s a tactical race. Puns don’t work if they’re factually incorrect. 

Kamil, 30, Social Media Participant

Kamil works in real estate and is a part-time model, but ABC decided to call him a “social media participant.” He’s originally from Poland but lives in Upstate New York, which is evident based on the fact he’s wearing a denim button-up shirt.

Leo, 31, Stuntman

It’s crazy how fast Alex Bordy grew his hair in a year. “Not Alex Bordy” is a stuntman in LA, which I heard is a pretty sick job. I am personally a fan of his hair. He knows how to tame those curls and probably rocks a great man bun. I would love to know what products he uses.

Lincoln, 26, Account Executive

Lincoln has a lot of things going on in his bio. He moved to Boston from Nigeria as a teenager, went to college in Kentucky and moved to Santa Monica for work. We met him on ATFR and he was super nervous, cute and had an accent to make most girls swoon. I’d say make him The Bachelor but 26 is too young in my opinion.

Mike, 27, Sports Analyst

How come every Ohio sports fan names their dog Riggins? Based on his hair, I’m assuming Mike is a radio sports analyst. That hair on television? No thank you. Hopefully Leo can give him some tips to make his hair look decent. Did you know: Becca’s psycho ex Ross used to have long hair? It was not cute. But I don’t think Becca is going to send the long-haired guys home immediately a la the notoriously shallow Andi Dorfman.

Nick, 27, Attorney

I’m excited for Nick to be on the show because I know him by association. Let me explain: A friend of mine went to school with one of his friends and periodically stalks her social media. The friend is a girl, so I think he’s friends with mostly girls, which may explain why he loves to “brunch.” He looks terrible in this photo. Nick gives me polished, sexually ambiguous vibes based on how he appears on Insta. I also knew he was going to be on the show before R*ality St*ve, which made me feel powerful. It was a rush.

Rickey, 27, IT Consultant

I know of Rickey too. He was a Bodybuilding.com Spokesmodel Search finalist in 2017. Hashtag #rightreasons. I’m not sure how “online personal trainer” translates to IT consultant, but ok. Side note: I don’t think bodybuilders look good in suits so he might go home night one. 

Ryan, 26, Banjoist

Before the “Yanny or Laurel” debate there was the “Ryan or Brian” debate on After The Final Rose. Evidently the answer is Ryan. He’s the new Wells and I could not be more excited to watch this babe on my television screen. He plays at least four instruments and loves to sail. He also screams “family money” but it’s ok, we can mooch off his parents together.

Trent, 28, Realtor

Can you imagine having a child and naming it Trent? This guy never had a chance. He is a realtor and a part-time model (I swear I wrote the same thing a few contestants up) and has appeared on covers of romance novels, but I certainly wouldn’t call him the next Fabio.

Wills, 29, Graphic Designer

Wills is a graphic designer who loves Harry Potter. I see no problem here. Except for maybe his porno-stache.

Prediction corner: 

Welcome to the prediction corner where I never get anything right. Oh, you know what happens because you read spoilers? Please keep that information to yourself. I like to find out what happens on my own.

Without further ado, here are my baseless predictions:

First Impression Rose: The guys who got the First Impression Rose on the last three seasons became engaged to The Bachelorette. If that happens this year I demand a scientific case study to explain the power of first impressions on women. Anyway, I think Ryan gets it.

Season Villain: Jordan (that was easy)

Next Bachelor: Blake (don’t ask me why)

Winner: Garrett (I like him)

Comment below to let me know your early favorites!

#The Bachelorette #Becca Kufrin #abc #Arie Luyendyk #chris harrison #photo credit ABC

[sinrau]

sara.ziegler ( Sara Ziegler, sports editor): It’s been an incredible couple of days in the sports world, with athletes using their voices in ways that are nearly unprecedented. The NBA is on pause again tonight, though games in the playoff bubble will resume tomorrow. Before games start up again, though, we wanted to stop and talk about what this strike has meant, what it might accomplish going forward and how the players are changing the conversation.

What did you all make of Wednesday’s strike?

chris.herring ( Chris Herring, senior sportswriter): I had already seen the reports about the Celtics and Raptors contemplating whether to call off their game Thursday. But then Milwaukee beat everyone to the punch by doing it themselves. And I probably should have seen that possibility there, given the Bucks’ proximity to the Jacob Blake shooting, and the vocal nature of their players concerning police brutality.

dubin ( Jared Dubin, FiveThirtyEight contributor): I think for me the biggest thing was the domino effect the Bucks’ decision not to take the court had not just in the NBA, but in other sports. WNBA players have been leading on social justice issues for a while now, and once the NBA players decided not to play, it made sense that WNBA players would follow suit. But seeing players from MLB, the NHL and even the NFL take similar stands was notable.

dre.waters ( Andres Waters, FiveThirtyEight contributor): The snowball of everything was what really caught me by surprise too.

I understood the NBA as a whole being active and speaking up, because that’s become normal. But, when I saw the MLB and NHL was when I realized just how big this could get.

chris.herring: Yeah. I was kind of stunned when the reports on Wednesday night were coming out about the player meetings. At one point, LeBron James walked out, and it briefly looked like the season might be over. I’m still thinking about what kind of statement that would have sent, if that had been the case.

I’ll wonder for a while what that would have done, or how things might have been different.

tchow ( Tony Chow, video producer): I remembered it took a moment to fully realize what was happening. Seeing the images on Twitter of the empty courts was pretty jarring at first, and you could almost feel a collective sense of “holy shit, this is big.”

dubin: Right. And at first, it just seemed to me like George Hill was going to sit out. He’d said earlier in the week that the players should never have come to Orlando in the first place, and then he was listed as inactive for the game.

Oh, and before we get into everything else: The coverage on NBATV was absolutely riveting. I thought Bob Fitzgerald and especially Jim Jackson did a remarkable job, and then Sam Mitchell, Chris Webber and more people kept rotating in and out and making it even better.

chris.herring: I found myself peeling away from all the coverage at times. Maybe that’s weird. But it feels weird that people have to put their pain on display for some folks to realize how serious the subject of police brutality — and the lack of justice when it happens — is in the Black community.

The pandemic has magnified it for whatever reason, and the players protesting did, too. But it shouldn’t take all this to draw attention to it. I’m glad the attention is there now, though.

dre.waters: The craziest part to me was when I saw Elle Duncan’s tweet about the only other boycott of a game in the NBA in 1961.

And seeing this boycott is about the same issue of racial injustice really hurt.

sara.ziegler: That’s a great point, Dre. Black athletes are still having to fight the same fights, 60 years later.

dre.waters: I guess I’m pretty young … so I had never heard much about the Celtics boycott. But as soon as I saw the tweet, my only thought was WTF…

dubin: It’s definitely uncomfortable to watch people process such raw pain on TV. It shouldn’t take something like that to raise awareness for an issue that’s been so glaringly obvious for so long, but if it did make even one person more aware and wake them up to how much it affects Black people (and specifically young Black men like the players are and the former-player commentators once were), I feel like that’s good.

What stuck out to me, too, was how proud it seemed like the former players were of the current players for taking this stand. That was a big part of what C-Webb said, and you’ve seen guys like Bill Russell say the same thing on Twitter and elsewhere since. Considering how often former-player commentators rag on today’s game and some of the players, it was pretty striking.

sara.ziegler: Kenny Smith walking off the TNT set was also very moving, to me.

I confess that I was a little surprised that they did decide to start playing again — I thought this was it for the season. Did that surprise you guys?

tchow: I definitely thought by Wednesday night, after hearing those reports about the meetings Chris mentioned, that the season was done. It was difficult to see how they would continue and get back on the court after that.

dubin: It didn’t help that the reports about the meetings were conflicting, depending on whose timeline you were following. I think that contributed to making it seem more like the season was over.

dre.waters: The reports about the Lakers and Clippers voting not to continue is when I really thought it was over, honestly.

sara.ziegler: And LeBron! Seems like it would be hard to keep going if your biggest star doesn’t want to play.

dubin: Right. When we heard LeBron walked out of the meeting, I thought it was done. But then within like a half-hour, we heard that the votes from the Lakers and Clippers were more of an informal poll. Or something. It was all a lot, obviously.

dre.waters: Who could imagine the playoffs without LeBron and two of the favorites to win the championship?

dubin: Plus, the Bucks were the first team to not take the court, and the day before, it was the Raptors’ Fred VanVleet talking about how the players need to “ put our nuts on the line ” to get something instead of just T-shirts and slogans. Those might be the four most likely teams to win the title. Their willingness to sacrifice so much for real change was powerful.

chris.herring: Yeah. The season would have been over — there would’ve been no coming back from that.

sara.ziegler: How strange will it be on Saturday to just go back to playing the games? I don’t really want to “go back to normal” right now.

chris.herring: It probably depends on who you’re asking. It might be a bit strange for some of the players. I truly wonder how someone like George Hill — who’s already said he doesn’t know why they went down to Florida in light of some of this stuff happening — feels at a time like this.

I think them coming back after a couple days will feel normal to a huge number of fans. And that, in some ways, is the problem. It’s certainly an enormous part of the challenge, with the media, too: Instead of focusing on issues, we inevitably shift our attention back to the games. It’s why stuff seemed to get through so much more at the beginning of the pandemic, IMO: There weren’t other things like sports to distract us from the reality of how shameful this stuff is.

dubin: I think that for the teams that make the second round, having their families be able to come down within a few days could be a source of relief. Not necessarily to distract from what they want to accomplish, but being away from their families when another shooting happened has to have played a role in so many guys just saying enough is enough and we don’t want to be a distraction right now.

chris.herring: Amen to that part. The family members who are quarantined are supposed to be able to join them on Monday.

tchow: I can’t imagine the story of what happened Wednesday night and why it happened will go away anytime soon? I’m sure there are fans or media personnel who can’t wait to go back to covering Luka Dončić triple-doubles and James Harden highlights and all that. But it’s hard to see a world in which the media at large goes back to business as usual and covering these playoffs without constantly reminding fans of what happened this week.

dre.waters: I’m really interested to see how they go about covering this going forward. Much like we’ve talked about all through the quarantine, what is the new “normal”?

tchow: Or maybe I’ll reword that. It will say a lot about the U.S. if, by this time next week, we’re only reading about the Lakers’ chances of making the Finals or if Russell Westbrook will return to play.

dre.waters: They mentioned in the statement that the league and networks will use advertising spots to promote civic engagement, etc. What does that actually look like?

dubin: Also, does that actually do anything? I saw Diana Moskovitz say that the NFL has been doing that for a few years, and I didn’t even know about it. Seems … not effective.

chris.herring: I keep saying how conflicted I feel about all of this in one sense: The decision to stop playing — not just for a day, but for the rest of the season — would have been monumental. It would have been the biggest statement you could possibly make. I think LeBron probably could have triggered something along those lines by himself.

I also think it would have been incredibly risky. Not every player could afford to do that. It could have triggered a lockout. But I also imagine it would have helped the players get a seat at certain tables and afforded them more power to ask for more action, or more money for certain things to tackle some of these highly systemic problems.

The feeling I had after hearing that, one day later, they’d agreed to go back to play was similar to how I felt when Colin Kaepernick settled his suit with the NFL.

No sense of disappointment on my part whatsoever. Because I know how much it must be to bear that weight on their shoulders. And it’s personal to their lives, as far as money and the ridicule they face by staying in that moment. But I will always be curious about whether more could have been achieved had they gone all the way with it and ended the season. We’ll never know.

sara.ziegler: I completely agree with you, Chris. I wish we could know what response would have had the best outcome.

tchow: What I would give to be in these meetings to learn how much it took for the players to agree to come back to play. Because this is such a drastic statement, I can’t imagine the players would agree without some reluctance. With the initiatives and commitments they announced, I want to know if the players think this is enough. Is it a good enough start? I have so many questions.

dubin: There has been some positive movement already:

Breaking: Senate Majority Leader @SenFitzgerald says the state Senate will convene Monday for the special legislation session called for by @GovEvers.

— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) August 28, 2020

That’s explicitly what the Bucks asked for in their statement.

sara.ziegler: Oh, wow.

dubin: But it’s something a lot of people have said the past few days: For all this to be on the shoulders of NBA players is asking way too much of them. It’s so much responsibility and so many different competing and possibly conflicting motivations. Even handling it the way they did is pretty incredible.

chris.herring: Absolutely, Jared.

That part is so important: It’s not their responsibility.

dubin: Like, a) it should not have to fall to Black people to fix systemic racism; b) it should not have to fall to young people to fix systemic racism; and c) it should not have to fall to young, Black people who are separated from their families at such a fraught time to fix systemic racism or anything else, really.

chris.herring: It’s so bizarre to me that they’ve done so much to shine a light on all this stuff, yet people still expect more of them, as if it’s not people that look like them that are being shot and disproportionately killed while unarmed. That they’d play in the middle of a pandemic that’s disproportionately infecting and killing off their community, and play in a bubble away from their families. That a number of them have started organizations to support voting reform. That a number have spent time talking about solutions with police and people in their cities. And yet people will hit them with a “ What about China? ” as if the players don’t actually care about the stuff in their backyards and their own communities.

(I also think a ton of people disingenuously ask that question, much the same way people ask “ What about Chicago? ” whenever a community of folks is rightfully up in arms over a police shooting.)

sara.ziegler: ^^^ THIS

dubin: Definitely agree with that. But also, it’s possible for people within the NBA (or outside it) to have been wrong on things relating to China and 100 percent right about this.

chris.herring: Absolutely.

tchow: From the statements we’ve seen both written and those that players have read aloud or said to the media, it feels like this action comes more from just exasperation and frustration. They are TIRED. And I think that sentiment can be shared by a lot of Americans right now.

dubin: It’s exhausting and frustrating to me, and I’m a white man who doesn’t have to physically fear for my life in every interaction I have with police. I can’t imagine how it is for people who have to live that reality every day.

chris.herring: I’m quite tired of people being held to a standard of caring about something that the critics don’t hold themselves to — especially when the players appear to be taking actionable steps on so many other human rights issues that are happening in this country.

dubin: Also tired of people pretending that because (some) NBA players make hundreds of millions of dollars, these things don’t affect them.

tchow: YUP

dre.waters: AGREED!

dubin: Also, every player in the NBA has family and friends who are not in the NBA. They also were not in the NBA from birth. They had to grow up into the people they are now. So, they didn’t always have this fame or money or influence.

And then something that doesn’t get talked about a lot: most NBA players are, comparatively speaking, HUGE compared to the rest of the population. In a world in which police can exaggerate the size of Black men to justify being scared and then using force, already being really, really big could make things even more dangerous for them.

dre.waters: That’s a great point, Jared.

tchow: Yeah, one thing I’ve noticed recently is the number of NBA players who are sharing NEW stories about the times they’ve been profiled by the police and a lot of their interviews to the media have acknowledged that “when I leave the court, I’m still Black” sentiment.

dre.waters: Watching all the coverage of this should be a reminder of that. How many Black commentators and former players have we seen still mention that they have the same talks with their families and loved ones that every other Black family has to have?

sara.ziegler: I hope that white fans are listening to that — and really hearing it.

chris.herring: I’m cynical. But I hope at some point I’m wrong for being that way.

What Happened In The NBA This Week?

#IFTTT #WordPress

[socailmediaandthecity]

Week 7: Digital Citizen case Study - Sustainability vs Fast Fashion

Sustainability is often paired with corporate social responsibility or the concept of corporate citizenship (Joy et al. 2012, p. 273). The term, corporate citizenship, is the recognition of companies from the mainstream fashion industry can't keep continuing with business that isn't sustainable, and why the slow fashion movement is so significant (Milne 2020). Whereas, sustainability has many definitions, with three common factors . . . 

Environmentally friendly acts: An activity that can be continued indefinitely without causing harm (Joy et al. 2012, p. 273)

Ethical acts: Doing onto others as you would have them do to you (Joy et al. 2012, p. 273)

Sustainability acts: Meeting the needs of a current-generation without compromising those of future generations (Joy et al. 2012, p. 273)

Fast fashion refers to low-cost clothing collects that mimic current luxury fashion trends. These trends run their course with lightning speed, with today's latest styles swiftly trumping yesterday's, which have already been consigned to the trash bin (Jang et al. 2012, p. 62). Over the past decade, sustainability and ethical conduct have begun to matter in fashion, companies have realised that affordable and trend-sensitive fashion, while typically highly profitable, also raises ethical issues (Jang et al. 2012, p. 62). 

Popular Instagram account 'Diet Prada' is an example of a fashion activist account. Similar to cancel culture and watchdog culture, the account is notoriously known for calling out copy-cat designers. Diet Prada also exposes the big fashion players for not upholding their corporate citizenship, highlighting the impact the industry has on our planet, as well as educating their followers on the importance of being a sustainable consumer. The following are quotes from Diet Prada featured on their Instagram captions and in interviews, on their thoughts about fast fashion brands and sustainability . . . 

Diet-Prada: "The back end of many companies still need work - diverse staffs numbers are low . . . buzzwords like transparency, sustainability, fair-trade were definitely super niche a decade ago. Any time we see work by young designers we're always amazed at how they're building their businesses around these issues, rather than as an after through or marketing gimmick. There's a new generation ready to make meaningful change, hopefully, big brands catch up soon" (Allwood 2019) 

This quote raises the first issue in the fashion industry; In the 21st century, demand for sustainability is stronger than ever, with businesses jumping on board with marketing strategies for their business to appear more sustainable, rather than employing strategies in their operations to BE more sustainable. 

Diet Prada: "Fashion is an extremely self-protective industry that's built on the exploitation of all sorts, not just design and IP theft, but also unfair labour, model abuse and environmental impacts" (Moran 2018) 

This quote illustrates the second sustainable issue in the fashion industry. Diet Prada has identified, fashion brands copying each other, particularly fast fashion brands copying luxurious brands. This 'copy' strategy practised by fast fashion labels contribute to sustainability issues. Fast fashion steals ideals from big runways and produces the item at high quality, low price, another way they're contributing unethically to the industry, as well as contributing to the planet by burning the unsold garments season after season. It is recorded Zara on average, release 500 new designs a week and 20,000 per year (Hampton 2019). For most retailers, it takes around 40 weeks to get items out to the market where for the fast-fashion company Zara it takes as few as one week (Hampton 2019). 

Diet Prada: " I see the fast-fashion churn (as the problematic trend) because it builds this expectation that everybody should have a disposable wardrobe. Just look at the amount of clothing everybody's buying, every year, to keep up with this social-media ideal: Like, oh, I already posted that. I can't wear it again. In terms of (environmental) impact, it's huge. And then you add all the intellectual property issues on top of that. But at the same time, we're seeing some of this churn coming from top-down" (Farley, A 2019) 

Finally, this quote reinforces the impact societies values and social media have in fuelling fast fashion brands business models. Wastefulness is an ineradicable feature of any business model predicated on responding to trends quickly (Hampton 2019). According to Refinery 29 "one particular factory in Tunisia, North Africa produces 1,2000 pieces per day, 150 per hour" in reference to Zara's manufacturing warehouses.

I’m not suggesting we boycott fast-fashion brands like Zara, I understand some people aren’t in the financial position to buy every piece item of clothing from sustainable companies. Occasionally I love shopping at Zara because they have some really nice quality clothes, but it’s about understanding that the pieces you buy are investment pieces. If you know you’re only going to wear it only a couple of times and then throw it out at the end of the season, don’t buy it! For example, I bought a leather jacket from Zara about 7 years ago and only threw it out last week as it got a tear. Although, I bought from a fast-fashion brand I kept the item in my closet for over 5 years, not following the conventions of fast fashion wear once then throw away. 

I wonder, Are fast-fashion labels men in their twenties the new designer drug? (season:1 episode:4)

References: 

Allwood, E.H 2019, 'Diet Prada: In Fashion, #MeToo Is Just Getting Started - The formerly anonymous duo discuss five years of fashion industry vigilantism', Dazed Digital, viewed 1 May 2020, < https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/47150/1/diet-prada-interview-fashion-industry-controversies-scandals-2010s>.

Farley, A 2019, 'How the Diet Prada Cofounders Became The Fashion Industry's Most Influential Watchdogs', Fast Company, 22 May, viewed 1 May 2020, <https://www.fastcompany.com/90345174/most-creative-people-2019-diet-prada-tony-liu-lindsey-schuyler>.

Hampton, R 2019, 'Zara's Quest for Sustainability Reveals The Limits of Fast Fashion', Slate, 18 July, viewed 1 May 2020, <https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/07/can-zara-be-sustainable.html>.

Jang, J, Ko, E, Chun, E & Lee, E 2012, 'A Study of a Social Content Model for Sustainable Development in the Fast Fashion Industry', Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 61 - 70. 

Joy, A, Sherry, J.A, Venkatesh, A, Wang, J & Chan, R 2012, 'Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands, Fashion Theory, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 273 - 295. 

Milne, E 2020, ‘Week 7: Digital Citizenship Case Study - Instagram, influencers and the slow fashion movement’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Modules via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 29 April, viewed 4 March 2020. 

Moran, J 2018, 'Will Diet Prada Save Fashion From Itself?' PaperMag, 21 March, viewed 1 May 2020, <https://www.papermag.com/diet-prada-instagram-interview-2550882432.html>. 

#mda20009 #swinburne university of technology #digital communities #Social media #fast fashion #dietprada #sustainability

[megamikethomson]

Head League: 10 things to pay special mind to in Boxing Day and bubbly installations

Head League: 10 things to pay special mind to in Boxing Day and bubbly installations

1) Leicester without Vardy intend to party like it's 1963

Consistently for the greater part a century people have been seeking after a rehash of the Boxing Day fun of 1963, when the 10 top-flight installations created a record count of 66 objectives. We can't get a precise rehash of that this year since half of the groups who were in the First Division in those days are presently in the lower associations (in spite of the fact that, as it occurs, Ipswich and Fulham are meeting in the Championship this Boxing Day so Mick McCarthy could point to advance if his group show improvement over the 10-1 thrashing that Jackie Milburn's side endured against Fulham in '63). Be that as it may, the current year's Boxing Day installation list has hurled an indistinguishable blending to the '63 timetable, as Leicester have Everton. In those days, Everton, as opposed to Leicester, were the shielding champions and they lost 2-0 in what ended up being the most reduced scoring match on that record-breaking day. Both Leicester's objectives were scored by Ken Keyworth, who we will portray as the Jamie Vardy of his time in the event that we can determine that we just mean he was his group's most productive striker. Vardy, mind you, has not been productive this season however he scored a cap stunt in his last home match and would have been wanting to continue the latest relevant point of interest in the event that he had not proceeded to bounce into that handle on Mame Biram Diouf at Stoke. His suspension saves Everton's languid focal guard from adapting to his speed, however Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani could present various difficulties. Leicester could locate their different suspensions increasingly dangerous: the club didn't enroll sufficient guarded spread in the mid year so the unlucky deficiencies of Robert Huth and Christian Fuchs offer Everton a chance to recuperate from their Merseyside derby frustration – and retaliate for the thrashing of '63. PD

• Vardy to serve three-coordinate boycott after red card request is dismissed • Lukaku to sign new Everton bargain however may leave in summer – Raiola • Leicester battling yet Man City composed book on awful title safeguards

2) The signs are useful for Liverpool against Stoke

This will be the current year's other rehash of the 1963 Boxing Day plan, or rather it would have been if the current year's match had not been pushed back to 27 December. Fifty-three years back a 6-1 home triumph over Stoke helped Liverpool on their way to their first top-flight title in over two decades and, in the long run, a great time of household predominance. The parallels are self-evident. Isn't that so? All things considered, we should perceive what Joe Allen needs to state about that. The Welshman comes back to Anfield in awesome, free-scoring frame and will without a doubt be instrumental in Stoke's endeavor to pick up their first group succeed at Liverpool since 1959. In any case, Glen Johnson could be considerably progressively significant, thus also will Bruno Martins Indi, who has become the support of Stoke's resistance since joining the club in the mid year, particularly with Ryan Shawcross still apparently battling for greatest wellness. In the mean time, in the event that Daniel Sturridge is equipped for enduring an hour and a half, at that point he should begin for Liverpool instead of Roberto Firmino, who has glanced in genuine need of a rest in late games. PD

• Liverpool's Mané will make a beeline for Gabon with crushing sadness • Klopp acclaims Sturridge for helping Liverpool to derby triumph

Daniel Sturridge could come back to the Liverpool beginning lineup. Photo: John Powell/Liverpool FC by means of Getty Images 3) Arsenal and West Brom would like to think not to fuel old contentions

For some time it resembled this, finally, would be the period of generosity towards Arsène Wenger. Be that as it may, at that point his group lost two extreme away matches in succession and lo, Arsenal fans will again spend Christmas Day squabbling about their chief and the manner in which he plays his adaptation of imposing business model. The second 50% of Wenger's rule at Arsenal has not all been about property advancement, there has additionally been some group building, however the inquiry stays with respect to whether the supervisor has laid tough enough mental establishments. Beating West Bromwich Albion at home would not resolve that contention however it would at any rate convey Arsenal fans the endowment of flitting reprieve from in-battling. In 1963 the quarreling was all in the West Brom camp before their Boxing Day meeting with north London rivals: their players picketed in the approach the game in fight at being told by their chief, Jimmy Hagan, that they needed to prepare for it in shorts in spite of the outlandishly chilly climate (it isn't certain whether the solidifying conditions additionally blocked exposed headbutting yet Hagan in the long run arrived at a comprehension with the players, who proceeded to draw 4-4 with Spurs). The later past gives a superior pointer to West Brom's visit to the Emirates, obviously. What's more, according to West Brom's ways to deal with their large away games so far this season, we can depend on Pulis attempting to make this a troublesome counterpart for Arsenal and a nerve racking watch for everybody. PD

• Özil wins ownership more than you may might suspect

4) Moyes and co could make life hard for Manchester United

Give us a chance to stop with the 1963 examinations now. Truth be told, let us not specify the past by any stretch of the imagination, in case we carry a tear to the eye of David Moyes. Be that as it may, in the event that we should specify the Scot's past encounters at Old Trafford, let us focus on the successes he appreciated there during his 11 years as Everton director. Eh? In any case. Reveal to you what, let us simply think back to Sunderland's triumphant last match, a 1-0 triumph over Watford enlivened by Adnan Januzaj, who, oh dear, is ineligible for the prospective match against his parent club. Poor Moyes can't get a break when Old Trafford is included. Yet, his responsibility is to make his own karma regardless of the powerless hand he is managed, and on Monday that will involve picking an appropriate substitution for Januzaj. Odds are Moyes will stout for John O'Shea. Try not to giggle! The Irishman did well in a back three when Sunderland made life intense for Chelsea a fortnight prior and redeploying that framework appears as though Moyes' most obvious opportunity with regards to exacting hopelessness on Manchester United supporters, once more. PD

Man Utd close in on Benfica's Lindelof to fortify barrier • Ibrahimovic: the more seasoned I get, the better I get, similar to red wine

5) Memories of Brown group talk give light help to harsh test

It is accurately a long time since Hull met Manchester City on Boxing Day 2008 and Phil Brown significantly conveyed his half-time group chat on the pitch, with his group effectively 4-0 down. "I thought it was decent and cold and I figured I would keep the young men alive on the grounds that they looked as though they were dead," he stated, and the novel move sort of worked – they drew the second half 1-1, and the game finished 5-1. City were in the last three at the time, while Hull were 6th; via season's end City were tenth and Hull, who won just a single additional alliance game, stayed away from transfer by a point. Manchester City, who at the time had not completed in the main four since 1978, have just neglected to do so once since, when they came fifth in 2010. The knee damage continued by Pablo Zabaleta in the success over Arsenal implies that no overcomers of the 2008 game will show up in this one – Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart additionally played that day and stay on City's finance – however Hull may discover their errand is no less imposing. SB

• Snodgrass dismisses new Hull agreement and targets January flight • Touré: I need Manchester City to be greater than Manchester United

6) Carroll could have a whale of a period in Swansea

Swansea have been so devilish away – no, that isn't the correct word – so timid away that it is anything but difficult to overlook that they have been moderatelySo they are positively equipped for beating West Ham. In any case, that doesn't appear to be likely, as Slaven Bilic's side have shown proof of taking care of in ongoing games and, in Andy Carroll, have a forward who could unleash ruin against the gentlest focal barrier in the Premier League (once more). PD

• West Ham would prefer not to sell group's 'top player' Payet, says Bilic

Andy Carroll prepares himself for Swansea City. Photo: Avril Husband/West Ham United through Getty Images 7) When will Conte's Chelsea quit winning?

With Diego Costa and N'Golo Kanté suspended, is the end near for Chelsea's triumphant run? Michy Batshuayi would like to think not. Costa's one-coordinate boycott gives the Belgian striker, for whom Chelsea paid £33m in the mid year, a chance to demonstrate his value. It is up to Bournemouth, then, to demonstrate that without Kanté's security Chelsea's guard is unmistakably increasingly helpless. Bournemouth have been unbalanced out and about so far this season yet they succeeded at Stamford Bridge last term and Eddie Howe, and fanatics of a nearby title race, would respect a rehash of that outcome this year. PD

• Conte targets Bakayoko and Sidibé after £60m Oscar bonus • Chelsea to dismiss credit offers for appointee striker Batshuayi

8) A gathering of disappointing finishers at St Mary's

Disregard Mauricio Pochettino: what these two groups share for all intents and purpose is an incensing inefficiency. Both make a ton of possibilities, both will in general miss a large portion of them. Southampton gave indications of progress in their last match, that 3-1 win at Bournemouth, when they delivered a sharpness that they had frequently needed. They will presumably need to create that once more, and imitate the power and speed they appeared at Bournemouth, in the event that they are to dispense a third progressive away destruction on Tottenham Hotspur. PD

• Lloris signs new agreement to 2022 – taking him to age 35 • The changing substance of White Hart Lane – in pictures

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min passes up on an opportunity against Burnley at White Hart Lane. Photo: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images 9) Palace try to stop away spoil at Vicarage Road

Three thrashings in their last four games have seen Watford slip from seventh to twelfth, yet on the off chance that the sentiment of tensely investigating their shoulde

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[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/politics/back-in-the-super-bowl-tom-brady-and-the-patriots-cant-escape-donald-trump/

Back in the Super Bowl, Tom Brady and the Patriots can't escape Donald Trump

The New England Patriots have gone to the Super Bowl each year that Donald Trump has been president, and with his favorite team in the championship again this year, the president’s relationship with the Pats and star quarterback Tom Brady is back in focus.

Trump has repeatedly hailed the Patriots as “winners,” touted his friendly relationship with Brady, team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick and has even suggested as a candidate and president-elect that they supported his presidency. He has also dined with Kraft at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.

Congratulations to Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the entire New England Patriots team on a great game and season. Will be a fantastic Super Bowl!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2019

Brady’s ‘MAGA’ moment

When asked about his relationship with Trump, Brady has largely been evasive, but amid ongoing speculation about Brady’s political leanings, fans have continued to tie the Patriots to Trump.

Donna Connor/WireImage via Getty Images, FILE

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady chats with Donald Trump at the WBC Lightweight Title Fight, June 25, 2005.

In Sept. 2015, Brady was spotted with a “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker. He was also known to have golfed with Trump before the business mogul became president.

During an 2015 interview on the Dennis and Callahan Interview Morning Show on Boston sports radio station WEEI, Brady confirmed that the hat was indeed from Trump.

“Now that he’s running for president he sent me a hat and he gave it to RKK weeks ago,” Brady said, calling the team owner by his initials. “So it found its way to my locker.”

“I’ve known [Trump] since 2002 when I judged one of his beauty pageants … so I’ve known him for a long time,” Brady added. “He always gives me a call and different types of motivational speeches at different times.”

Thank you to Tom Brady, Coach Ditka, Coach Bobby Knight and all of the many champions that have been so supportive!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2015

Last week, actor Daniel Radcliffe — most known for his film role as “Harry Potter” but also a notable NFL fan — told Variety that although he doesn’t think the Los Angeles Rams will defeat the Patriots at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta Sunday, he is rooting for the Rams “because the whole world is rooting against the Patriots, sorry.”

Asked if Brady should retire, Radcliffe said, “no,” but “he should just stop winning things.”

Then he cited Brady’s relationship to Trump:

“Take that MAGA hat of your locker! I feel like that was the moment where as a country, we were all like c’mon dude … you’re awesome, we’re behind you, don’t put that in there.”

Trump fuels the fire

Amid continued backlash from fans over the “MAGA” hat and a constant stream of questions about his politics, Trump put Brady and the Patriots back in the spotlight, announcing a day before the 2016 general election that Brady and Belichick are supporting his campaign for president while addressing thousands of supporters at a rally.

“Donald, I support you, you’re my friend and I voted for you,” Trump claimed that Brady told him.

Trump also read a letter he said he had received from Belichick, saying, “You’ve proved to be the ultimate competitor and fighter. Hopefully tomorrow’s election results will give the opportunity to make America great again.”

Although Brady did not confirm nor deny the claims at the time, his wife, super model Gisele Bundchen, denied the reports in an exchange on Instagram.

“Gisele I heard you and Tom were backing Trump! Is that true?” one user wrote.

“NO!” Bundchen responded.

Then, while speaking at a pre-inaugural dinner, the president-elect said that Brady and Kraft called to congratulate him for winning the election.

When asked on WEEI’s Kirk and Callahan show in January 2017, Brady did not deny that he called Trump, but appeared to downplay it, saying, “I have called him, yes, in the past. Sometimes he calls me. Sometimes I call him.”

“But, again, that’s been someone I’ve known. I always try to keep it in context because for 16 years you know someone before maybe he was in the position that he was in,” he added. “He’s been very supportive of me for a long time. It’s just a friendship. I have a lot of friends. I call a lot of people.”

A surprise no-show

During the 2017 Super Bowl, which took place two weeks into Trump’s presidency, fans compared the Patriots’ historic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons to Trump’s unexpected win against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

What an amazing comeback and win by the Patriots. Tom Brady, Bob Kraft and Coach B are total winners. Wow!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017

“What an amazing comeback and win by the Patriots. Tom Brady, Bob Kraft and Coach B are total winners. Wow!” Trump tweeted at the time.

One day after the win, tight end Martellus Bennett told reporters that he would not participate in the traditional White House visit, where the Super Bowl LI champs were set to be honored by Trump.

Molly Riley/Pool via Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Donald Trump, center, displays a jersey while standing with Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, left, and Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots LP, right, at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 19, 2017.

“Basic reason for me is I don’t feel accepted in the White House. With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices, I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t,” Bennett said.

And after that, several other players including defensive end Chris Long, running back LeGarrette Blount, defensive tackle Alan Branch and linebacker Dont’a Hightower announced that they would also not attend, with some citing their opposition to Trump.

But everyone wanted to know: What about Brady?

After much speculation, the team’s star quarterback surprised many when he announced on April 19 — the day of the visit — that he would not be joining his teammates at the White House.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images, FILE

Tom Brady of the New England Patriots holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Feb. 5, 2017.

Brady cited “personal family matters” and Trump did not publicly comment on Brady’s absence.

“I am so happy and excited that our team is being honored at the White House today,” Brady said in a statement. “Our team has accomplished something very special that we are all proud of and will be for years to come. Thank you to the President for hosting this honorary celebration and for supporting our team for as long as I can remember. In light of some recent developments, I am unable to attend today’s ceremony, as I am attending to some personal family matters. Hopefully, if we accomplish the goal of winning a championship in the future years, we will back on the South Lawn again soon.”

It is not uncommon for players to skips visits to the White House — often citing scheduling issue. In 2015 Brady said that a “family commitment” prevented him from attending the ceremony held by then-President Barack Obama.

Trump’s feud with the NFL

Trump ignited a public war with the National Football League and some of the league’s biggest stars when he slammed black players like former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who routinely took a knee during the national anthem to protest institutionalized racism and police brutality. Trump also lambasted NFL owners for allowing the protests to continue and called on fans to boycott games.

The feud which has been ongoing for two years was sparked at a 2017 rally in Alabama, where Trump suggested that team owners should respond to players who protest and say, “Get that s– of a b—- off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!”

When asked about Trump’s comment in Sept. 2017 during an interview on WEEI’s Kirk and Callahan show, Brady called Trump’s comments “divisive” and voiced support for players who protest.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Members of the New England Patriots kneel on the sidelines during the National Anthem before a game against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sept.24, 2017n in Foxboro, Mass.

“Yeah, I certainly disagree with what he said. I thought it was just divisive,” Brady said. “Like I said, I just want to support my teammates. I am never one to say, ‘Oh, that is wrong. That is right.’ I do believe in what I believe in. I believe in bringing people together and respect and love and trust. Those are the values that my parents instilled in me. That is how I try and live every day.”

After hosting the Patriots in 2017, Trump rescinded a White House invitation to last year’s Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, after several players announced that they planned to boycott the visit.

The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

Whoever wins the Super Bowl this year, a question that cannot be avoided is whether they plan to visit the White House.

#Bill Belichick #Donald Trump #election #election news #Florida #Football #hail #indian politics #Mar-a-Lago #New England Patriots #political news #political news articles #politics news #Robert Kraft #Super Bowl #US politics

[smartwebhostingblog]

Why Colin Kaepernick&#039;s Nike Ad Sets the New Bar for Leaders

New Post has been published on http://brummy80.com/why-colin-kaepernicks-nike-ad-sets-the-new-bar-for-leaders/

Why Colin Kaepernick's Nike Ad Sets the New Bar for Leaders

If you haven’t been on Twitter in, oh, about ninety seconds, you might have missed the furor over quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s starring role in a new Nike ad. In case you did, it’s simple: a full-frame black-and-white photo of Kaepernick’s eyes with the caption, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Kaepernick’s role as the instigator of NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem as a protest against police brutality has already sparked angry talk of boycotts, throwing away Nike shoes and the like. But I’m going to steer clear of the controversy and the politics, because I’m more interested in Kaepernick’s example for leaders.

“Wait a second,” you might be saying, “are you telling me I should be inciting rage against my company?” Not on purpose.

Public anger is one outcome of Kaepernick’s stance, but that’s not why he knelt. If he was doing this just to make people mad, it would be nothing but an empty PR stunt. He would deserve the criticism. No, what makes Kaepernick a powerful role model is that he’s risked his career to speak up about what he feels is right.

When we think of great leaders, we typically bring up mental images of inspiring speakers, brilliant motivators and daring innovators. Truly great leaders are often those things, but they’re also more. Speaking, motivating–those are things they do, but it’s who they are that inspires their people to walk through fire and sets their competition back on its heels.

Great leaders stick their necks out. They take a stand. They lead with character and values. They fight for unpopular causes because they’re right. They know that nobody was ever inspired by a focus group or tracking poll, but by someone with a great deal to lose who is willing to lay their reputation on the line for what they believe in. They know they’ll be opposed; in fact, they count on it. Opposition, resentment, fear–those are indicators that they’re doing something right.

You don’t need to spark a social movement like Kaepernick has done. That’s probably not where your passions lie. But what about about attacking gender inequality in your field? What about taking on a giant competitor that’s ripping off its customers? What about inventing a technology or a brand that challenges a stereotype, or being the one to call out the naked emperor, like the finance nerds in The Big Short? Those are acts of rebellion and dissent, and dissent moves the world forward. Not always easily, not always quietly, but necessarily.

When your Colin Kaepernick moment as a leader comes up, what will you do? Here are some important things to remember:

Lean into it quickly.

Be the first person to stand up and speak out. If you’re not, someone else might beat you to the punch, and then you’ll look like a coattail rider, not a leader.

Make your message calm and rational.

Nobody wants to be shouted at, so let the people who disagree with you do all the shouting. Be icy cool and let your position do the shouting for you.

Make your position, and the reason for it, clear.

The reason kneeling during the anthem has won Kaepernick as many supporters as detractors is that he did it for a specific reason: to protest police violence against black people. Don’t leave any ambiguity about why you’re speaking out.

Have a specific goal.

Do you want to change a law? Grab market share? Win a legal concession from a rival? Know what you want and make sure everyone else knows it.

Don’t back down.

You will get pushback. Plan on it. Kaepernick’s suing the NFL because he can’t get a job, but he hasn’t backed down. Stand strong and you’ll earn respect.

[awesomecolorfulcollectorwombat]

Why Colin Kaepernick&#039;s Nike Ad Sets the New Bar for Leaders

New Post has been published on http://brummy80.com/why-colin-kaepernicks-nike-ad-sets-the-new-bar-for-leaders/

Why Colin Kaepernick's Nike Ad Sets the New Bar for Leaders

If you haven’t been on Twitter in, oh, about ninety seconds, you might have missed the furor over quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s starring role in a new Nike ad. In case you did, it’s simple: a full-frame black-and-white photo of Kaepernick’s eyes with the caption, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Kaepernick’s role as the instigator of NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem as a protest against police brutality has already sparked angry talk of boycotts, throwing away Nike shoes and the like. But I’m going to steer clear of the controversy and the politics, because I’m more interested in Kaepernick’s example for leaders.

“Wait a second,” you might be saying, “are you telling me I should be inciting rage against my company?” Not on purpose.

Public anger is one outcome of Kaepernick’s stance, but that’s not why he knelt. If he was doing this just to make people mad, it would be nothing but an empty PR stunt. He would deserve the criticism. No, what makes Kaepernick a powerful role model is that he’s risked his career to speak up about what he feels is right.

When we think of great leaders, we typically bring up mental images of inspiring speakers, brilliant motivators and daring innovators. Truly great leaders are often those things, but they’re also more. Speaking, motivating–those are things they do, but it’s who they are that inspires their people to walk through fire and sets their competition back on its heels.

Great leaders stick their necks out. They take a stand. They lead with character and values. They fight for unpopular causes because they’re right. They know that nobody was ever inspired by a focus group or tracking poll, but by someone with a great deal to lose who is willing to lay their reputation on the line for what they believe in. They know they’ll be opposed; in fact, they count on it. Opposition, resentment, fear–those are indicators that they’re doing something right.

You don’t need to spark a social movement like Kaepernick has done. That’s probably not where your passions lie. But what about about attacking gender inequality in your field? What about taking on a giant competitor that’s ripping off its customers? What about inventing a technology or a brand that challenges a stereotype, or being the one to call out the naked emperor, like the finance nerds in The Big Short? Those are acts of rebellion and dissent, and dissent moves the world forward. Not always easily, not always quietly, but necessarily.

When your Colin Kaepernick moment as a leader comes up, what will you do? Here are some important things to remember:

Lean into it quickly.

Be the first person to stand up and speak out. If you’re not, someone else might beat you to the punch, and then you’ll look like a coattail rider, not a leader.

Make your message calm and rational.

Nobody wants to be shouted at, so let the people who disagree with you do all the shouting. Be icy cool and let your position do the shouting for you.

Make your position, and the reason for it, clear.

The reason kneeling during the anthem has won Kaepernick as many supporters as detractors is that he did it for a specific reason: to protest police violence against black people. Don’t leave any ambiguity about why you’re speaking out.

Have a specific goal.

Do you want to change a law? Grab market share? Win a legal concession from a rival? Know what you want and make sure everyone else knows it.

Don’t back down.

You will get pushback. Plan on it. Kaepernick’s suing the NFL because he can’t get a job, but he hasn’t backed down. Stand strong and you’ll earn respect.