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Wayne Rooney Did Not Participate In the Match Versus Saint Ettiene
21st February 2017Editorial team0 Comments
Filed Undernews
Wayne Rooney, the captain of Manchester United, has been recovering from a small injury and has missed the last couple of games. His playing in the English Football Cup final against Southampton is put in doubt, and he will probably be absent again from the Europa League final 32-leg against the French Saint-Etienne.
Rooney, the 31-year-old player for Manchester has not taken part in any game since February. The reason for that is his illness. Early before that, he was an unused substitute in the match against Watford. In mid-week, it will be the fifth game in a row he will not be participating in. By any means, he has to be part of the games or he will be lacking match sharpness for the showcase final at Wembley.
The defender of the team, Phil Jones, has not played in the Premier League since their game against Hull City, due to a foot injury. He will not play in the match against Saint-Etienne. Two other players – David De Gea and right-back Antonio Valencia has been out for the 2-0 win against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park but is expected to return after the rest.
Mourinho told reporters that De Gea was rested, according to the official United website. He added that Rooney and Jones are injured. He does not think they will recover in time. Antonio Valencia is rested, but Jones and Rooney have not trained with the rest of the team yet, so I do not believe that they will be able to play Wednesday. When he was asked if Rooney would be available against Southampton, he added that he does not know.
The last match before the illness and injury, for Wayne Rooney, was the second half against Hull City on 1 February. Comparing to that, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored five goals in his last appearance on the field. In this term, having scored just five goals in 29 appearances, Rooney is largely sidelined by the manager, Jose Mourinho, and in spite of being a club captain, he will probably not add any trophy to his collection anytime soon.
Jose Mourinho criticises the whole team for their calm approach in the build-up to Saturday night's 3-0 Europe League last 32 first-leg over Saint-Etienne at Old Trafford.
The lacklustre defending of Manchester gave numerous chances for Saint-Etienne to score a goal and it was only their profligate finishing, that allowed Manchester go in at half-time with a slender lead.
Mourihno added that he had the feeling immediately in the dressing room, since it was too noisy funny and relaxed. His assistants had the same feeling during the warm-up, some of the men were not focused to get the proper kind of adrenaline in their bodies. After the game started the first thing they did was a back-pass to the striker. He continued saying that the first-half was tough. Even with him on the touchline, it was tough to communicate. However, the second-half was a completely different story.
Having the game on their hands with a dominant second-half, Manchester are now more than confident of seeing the job through during next Wednesday's return fixture against the French team.
A-list Higuaín could be Wenger's greatest steal in years
Five signings Mourinho should target on his Chelsea return
Chelsea want Cavani, Real target Suárez, Grenier to Arsenal?
"Time and again Moyes overachieves at Everton"
It's been a quiet summer so far at Everton as manager David Moyes does his best to keep his squad intact. And the Life's A Pitch panel of football writers is full of admiration for the man it feels has forged a reputation as a manager who can achieve a great…
"City were really hurt by the nature of that defeat"
A combination of making no progress in signing a much-needed central defender and a couple of disappointing pre-season friendlies saw a section of Arsenal fans boo the team off the field after their match against the New York Red Bulls last weekend. And the Life's A Pitch panel of top football…
"Unforgivable that Arsenal haven't signed a centre-half"
Copyright © 2021 Life's A Pitch


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Dr. Andrew's Opinions
Welcome to our web site which is dedicated to dependency treatments, research and education. On this site you will find summaries of research articles, lectures and conferences from Dr Andrew Byrne and his colleagues. 75 Redfern St, Redfern, Australia. Phone 9319 5524
Benzodiazepine use in dependency patients
Richard Hallinan and Andrew Byrne, Redfern Dependency Practice
Richard Hallinan and Andrew Byrne, who are both committed to best practice in dependency medicine, presented this useful seminar on benzodiazepine use. The session began with an overview of the pharmacology of benzodiazepines, and some relevant comparisons were made with alcohol, opiates and major tranquillisers. Differences between the various benzodiazepines particularly in relation to half-lives were outlined, and indications, side effects, tolerance and withdrawal were all discussed. A handout was available detailing all of these points.
Special mention was made of benzodiazepine (BZD) use by patients on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and it was noted that this group of people often have particularly high levels of psychopathology and psychosocial distress, including higher rates of unemployment, incarceration, HCV, and HIV/HCV risk-taking behaviour. BDZ users on MMT also tend to be on higher methadone doses and to have higher blood levels, although methadone concentrations adjusted for dose are actually lower in this group. The reason for this is unclear as there is no evidence that diazepam increases the clearance of methadone. One hypothesis is that there is a tendency for rapid methadone metabolisers to seek BZDs, in which case split methadone dosing might be useful. It may also be that these people are self-medicating, or "just can't get enough of a 'good' thing".
An approach to BZD abuse in MMT patients was outlined. It was suggested we make sure that psychopathology (eg anxiety and depression) is adequately treated, alcohol problems are addressed and information obtained from the Doctor Shoppers Hotline in appropriate cases. Consideration should be given to moving from short to long acting forms of which diazepam is the most common. Also, supervised dispensing should be considered where 'control' or impulsivity are problems. It is also essential to optimise the methadone dose, being flexible about dosing times or, occasionally, split-dosing (which needs prior approval from the PSB).
Reasons for BZD use were outlined, and are important to understand when looking at treatment options. People take BZD for many reasons, including alleviation of anxiety and insomnia, self-medication of depression, self-medication of withdrawal from opiates and BZDs, to come down off stimulants, and to get an increased "buzz". So-called "Poly-drug users" swap from one drug like speed or heroin to another such as BZD, and may simply do this because BZDs are the cheapest or most available drug at the time. It was noted that BZDs in Australia are subsidised on the PBS, whereas they are very expensive and hard to obtain in the U.S. so it is no surprise that their use amongst the marginalized in the USA is far less.
Aims of treatment of BZD dependence were clarified within the overall context of harm reduction goals. This includes abstinence and it was pointed out that harm reduction has sometimes erroneously been seen to include legalizing drugs, which while worthy of discussion, is quite a separate issue. Our first dictum should be "Do No Harm" and we shouldn't forget that an important part of this is just saying "no" when appropriate.
When assessing a patient for treatment we need to understand their personal history of abstinence, by asking questions such as "when were you last abstinent?", "how many times have you achieved abstinence?", "how did you become abstinent?", and "what did it feel like when you were abstinent?". We need to understand that previous abstinence may not necessarily have been a happy and stable time for every patient.
It was pointed out that the statistics regarding measurement of harm relating to BZD use are limited, but nonetheless worrying. Doctors must weigh the harms and benefits of BZDs both in the community and in individuals (as we do with all other prescribing). PBS prescribing figures reached a peak in 1988 and have fallen since then. It is well accepted that some people function well on a small dose of diazepam, so this drug may have a useful place in legitimate treatment plans. It is gratifying that in Australia, appropriate regulation has seen the end of temazepam capsules, along with Mandrax (methaqualone and diphenhydramine), meprobamate (Miltown), bromides, barbiturates and high dose flunitrazepam, which have all vanished from scene.
Harm from BZD dependency was discussed, and includes an array of physical, social and behavioural disturbances. Special mention was made of the damage to nerves and blood supply when subjected to pressure for prolonged periods of time. This scenario can occur with overdose and increased use which leads to long periods of reduced consciousness in fixed positions. Nerve palsies, skin necrosis and the compartment syndrome can occur. Thrombosis and infections from injecting, criminal activity including prescription fraud, convulsions from withdrawals, and deepening of depression are all possible consequences of BZD use. Rates of domestic violence are probably parallel with alcohol abuse.
Treatment approaches to BZD use rely on an accurate diagnosis, which should depend on a detailed history with relevant physical examination. Urinary drug screening can be useful, along with information from pharmacists and reports from HIC services. Some unusual features of benzodiazepine users were noted, including possession of a Medicare card with a high terminal digit (8 or 9), fiddling with the position of furniture within the consulting room, talking to the GP with great familiarity and requesting the drug by specific name. The assessment of BZD use should parallel that which is done for opiate users, including the level of dependence and addressing resultant medical and social harms. Co-existent mental health issues should be treated and methadone treatment at optimal dosage. As with all other drug use, there is a spectrum of patterns of use, including non-dependent occasional use, irregular binge use, dual dependency (eg with opiates) and "pure" BZD dependency. It may be useful for the patient to keep a drug diary, as memory may fail in this patient group.
If considering regular prescribing of BZD with a view to abstinence, there are some useful "check-list" questions we can all ask ourselves. They include: "What alternative strategies has the patient tried?", "have I seen their drug diary?", "what is their motivation for abstinence?", "have I seen a UDS result?", "have I sought information from the HIC hotline?", "are they on optimum doses of methadone or pain treatment?", "is treatment for mental health conditions adequate?"
Prescribed BZD must be tailored for the individual, but it was emphasized that slow reductions in doses may take months in established dependency. It is unrealistic to expect a patient with long-term BZD dependency to be able to maintain abstinence following a 2-4 week reduction regime. Diazepam is the preferred BZD to use for reduction regimes owing to its long action and familiarity. Several case histories were discussed to help illustrate management plans.
Australian Health Insurance Commission (HIC) services were also discussed. There are two separate services: firstly, "Prescription Shopping Information Service". Doctors must first register if they wish to access any information. Doctors are given a PIN number, and can find out information on numbers of BZD PBS prescriptions and numbers of doctors seen, above a certain threshold. No information is kept on private prescriptions. Toll-free phone is 1800 631181. The second HIC service is a "voluntary agreement" print-out of PBS items available after the patient signs the consent form. Forms available from 1800 420074. These services may be useful not only because of the information they provide, but because patients know their doctors can access certain information about their BZD use.
The meeting ended after some complex but somehow familiar case histories with lively discussion about the various possible approaches.
Dr Jenny James. Daruk AMS.
Hep C in dependency patients: prevalence and outcomes
Hepatitis C virus prevalence and outcomes among injecting drug users on opioid replacement therapy. Hallinan R, Byrne A, Amin J, Dore GJ. J Gastro Hepatology 2005 20;7:1082-1086
This item from our own surgery shows that of 178 injectors on methadone/buprenorphine maintenance treatment, 75% tested positive for hepatitis C (HCV) antibodies. Of 130 untreated HCV cases, 53% had normal ALT enzyme levels and half of these were HCV-RNA negative, indicating probable viral clearance.
Older patients on methadone/buprenorphine were significantly more likely to have normal ALT levels and to be HCV-RNA negative. This might be explained by low levels of injecting and hepatitis C re-infection in this group.
Younger patients were less likely to have hepatitis B (HBV) immunity through vaccination or exposure, pointing to the need to target this at-risk group effectively for catch-up vaccination.
Of 58 active hepatitis cases meeting pre-liver biopsy criteria for subsidised HCV treatment, 34 had relative contraindications to antiviral treatment, including drug and alcohol/psychiatric reasons. There were 11 whose only contraindication was continuing to inject. Recent studies show that patients with active injecting drug use can still be successfully treated with HCV antivirals.
At the time of this clinical audit only 6 patients had ever been referred for specialist HCV assessment, however since the end of the study the rate of referral has increased considerably and several patients have completed or commenced HCV treatment, some in the primary care interferon prescribers project of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM).
This study emphasises a unique public health opportunity. The emerging epidemic of hepatitis C is occurring predominantly in the drug using population, thus detection and referral should be possible at methadone clinics, GPs, pharmacies, needle services and injecting rooms frequented by this population. Hence, despite the enormous looming problem of active hepatitis, liver failure and cancer, it is possible that early detection and treatment could avert many of the consequences and save health funds in the long term.
We believe that it is incumbent on all those who treat drug addicts to ensure that their patients have HIV and HCV testing at least annually, and recommend HBV vaccination where appropriate. This is as fundamental as doctors doing cervical cancer smears at certain intervals in appropriate women in the course of normal community practice.
Comments by Andrew Byrne ..
Buprenorphine, heroin drought, heroin prescription.
Foetal withdrawals with buprenorphine; uptake of buprenorphine in America; Australia's heroin 'drought' revisited; Barcelona death rates confirm protective effects from methadone;
From the plethora of publications on dependency recently I report on a number of items below so that readers may pick what might be relevant to their own practices, starting with a RCT of buprenorphine (pure) in pregnant women and results of foetal withdrawals.
Jones HE, Johnson RE, et al. Buprenorphine versus methadone in the treatment of pregnant opioid-dependent patients: effects on the neonatal abstinence syndrome. Drug and Alcohol Dependence (2005) 79;1:1-10 (Ref 1)
This shows favourable outcomes in 10 women and their babies on buprenorphine compared with 11 on methadone (randomised, double dummy trial). The proportion receiving medication for neonatal abstinence syndrome was lower in the buprenorphine and the doses used were lower (neither significantly due to the small numbers). Hospitalization period was significantly shorter in the buprenorphine treated subjects/offspring. This is yet another report showing the safety of buprenorphine in pregnancy. It is sensible that the combination drug was not used in these women. The best 'evidence' for the safety of buprenorphine in pregnancy comes probably from a lack of reports of serious foetal or maternal problems from France where the drug has been freely available from GPs for a decade.
Sullivan L, Chawarski M, O'Connor PG, Schottenfeld RS, Fiellin DA. The practice of office-based buprenorphine treatment of opioid dependence: is it associated with new patients entering into treatment? Drug and Alcohol Dependence (2005) 79;1:113-116 (Ref 2)
This piece attempts to categorize some characteristics of 96 buprenorphine prescribed addicts in America in comparison with 94 entering methadone maintenance at the same period. While not a piece of controlled research, it does indicate that methadone is more likely to attract previous methadone recipients while buprenorphine attracts a higher proportion who have never had methadone (or other maintenance) treatment.
Degenhardt L, Day C, Dietze P, Pointer S, Conroy E, Collins L. et al. Effects of a sustained heroin shortage in three Australian States. Addiction (2005) 100, 908-920 (Ref 3)
This is the latest and probably most comprehensive description of the so-called heroin 'drought' or shortage starting in early 2001 in Australia. There are detailed figures for crime, treatment entries, street prices, etc from three states. While NSW saw a temporary increase in crime, this was not seen in other states. The most dramatic effect was on overdoses which dropped by up to 75% from their high points around 1999. There appeared to be less injecting as shown by fewer syringes distributed. Treatment places were increased at the same time as the 'drought' began while Sydney's highest overdose area saw the opening of an injecting room which attracted thousands of injectors.
Most interesting are commentaries from 6 or 7 experts, each agreeing that a sustained drug shortage of this nature has never been reported before and that the cause was not an obvious alteration in drug policies (although some mention a 'tough on drug' strategy without documenting any substantial changes in customs, policing, treatment, etc).
Gossop points to police crackdowns in Canada and London resulting in enormous drug seizures and arrests, neither of which had any reported effect on illicit markets. None of the wise commentators speculates on China 'opening up' and causing opiates to be diverted from the relatively much smaller Australian market. The 'drought' began within weeks of the start of the so-called 'Chinese century' in January 2001. Ironically a commentator from the People's Republic writes in critical terms about 'harm reductionists' as though they were a pest to be eradicated. He is apparently proud that China 'has experienced a drug-free society for more than 30 years' without mentioning how this was achieved by the deprivation of civil liberties, travel, etc! And then he has the temerity to suggest that methadone and needle services should only be used as a last resort! Does he mean only when the HIV rates exceed 10% of the population? Or 20%? Hao then quotes a proverb using cats and mice to describe the drug war! His views, which some term 'zero tolerance', are so nauseating that they well plead the contrary case!
Brugal MT, Domingo-Salvany A et al. Evaluating the impact of methadone maintenance programmes on mortality due to overdose and AIDS in a cohort of heroin users in Spain. Addiction (2005) 100:981-989 (Ref 4)
This study followed over 5000 heroin users in a variety of treatment settings in Barcelona over a 6 year period, looking at mortality, HIV and other demographics. In 23,000 patient years of treatment there were just over 1000 deaths, one third from overdose, one third from HIV and another third from 'all other causes'. Only 11 overdose deaths occurred in patients currently receiving methadone treatment (50% were on MMT during the study period - mean dose 71mg daily). Being in methadone treatment conferred a 'protection' reducing the risk of death by a factor of 7. This also reduced the risk of contracting HIV.
Reported death rates dropped from 3.1/100 to 0.6/100 between 1992 and 1999 and the authors state: "the protective effects of methadone treatment was proved to have played a significant role." The overall decline is similar to that reported for France during the late '90s, where the drop in overdose deaths is attributed to massive increase in buprenorphine availability. Further, they estimate "that 86% of the overdoses and 38% of the AIDS deaths occurring among non-methadone users could have been avoided had they been in treatment."
This is not to say that all addicts should be on methadone for life. However, only a very experienced professional, after a complete assessment and probably knowing the patient for a time, should ever recommend a course of abstinence based treatments over supervised medical maintenance with psychosocial supports.
Despite containing possibly some of the most valuable lessons in the 40 years of methadone treatment, Addiction, true to type, gives this Spanish item no particular prominence. No editorial appears on the anniversary this month of this life-saving treatment. Methadone (along with related public health measures) has probably saved Australia from the HIV epidemic suffered in most other comparable countries. It also addresses addictions in a humanitarian manner for those unable or unwilling to go directly down the abstinence pathway. Even Australians who express disapproval of methadone treatment can still share in the multi-million dollar savings they have from its use in this country. Most New South Wales patients who were approved for methadone treatment are now off treatment (over 50,000 approved, ~17,000 currently).
Rehm J, Frick U, Hartwig C, Gutzwiller F, Gschwend P, Uchtenhagen A. Mortality in heroin-assisted treatment in Switzerland 1994-2000. Drug and Alcohol Dependence (2005) 79;2:137-144 (ref 5)
These authors report on the continuing success of the heroin prescription trial in Switzerland. Death rates have declined to rates comparable with other drug treatment subjects at around 1% per year, having been over 2.5% in the 1990s across the spectrum of drug users. This is all the more remarkable, they say, because only 'treatment refractory' subjects were admitted for heroin prescription, and these probably had a much higher expected mortality than the 2.5% estimated for opioid users generally in Switzerland in the 1990s.
(1) Jones HE, Johnson RE, et al. Buprenorphine versus methadone in the treatment of pregnant opioid-dependent patients: effects on the neonatal abstinence syndrome. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2005 79;1:1-10
(2) Sullivan L, Chawarski M, O'Connor PG, Schottenfeld RS, Fiellin DA. The practice of office-based buprenorphine treatment of opioid dependence: is it associated with new patients entering into treatment? Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2005 79;1:113-116
(3) Degenhardt L, Day C, Dietze P, Pointer S, Conroy E, Collins L. et al. Effects of a sustained heroin shortage in three Australian States. Addiction 2005 100, 908-920
(4) Brugal MT, Domingo-Salvany A et al. Evaluating the impact of methadone maintenance programmes on mortality due to overdose and AIDS in a cohort of heroin users in Spain. Addiction 2005 100:981-989
(5) Rehm J, Frick U, Hartwig C, Gutzwiller F, Gschwend P, Uchtenhagen A. Mortality in heroin-assisted treatment in Switzerland 1994-2000. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2005 79;2:137-144
Andrew's travels
Small talk: food, music and anniversaries. - Dear friends, family and neighbours, Some of my exploits of the last week will be of no interest, such as my routine dental visit which ended up with my ...
Andrew's Opera
Tenor Michael Fabiano wows audience in Sydney Werther. - Werther at the Sydney Opera House. Friday 22ndFeb 2019 The Sydney audience gave a rare standing ovation for American tenor Michael Fabiano after four rele...
Christmas 'post-card' from Andrew Byrne in Redfern ... - Accreditation albatross; Honour role; 'Ice' age; Successful OTP patients; Hep C; rat research using cannabinoids and amphetamine. Dear friends, neighbou...
Concord Dependency Seminars
Final Concord seminar (ever): life beyond maintenance ... - "The Exit Strategy Part 2: Is there life after methadone?" Tuesday December 7 2010 saw the final Dependency Seminar at Concord Hospital, which concluded w...
Old photos of Sans Souci peninsula 1890 to 1920
Steam tram at 'The Loop' (Bonney St). Click to enlarge. -
Vincent Dole in the Himalayas
Nepal Diary - Cover page - Please click on page to enlarge Posted by Andrew Byrne. Email: ajbyrne@ozemail.com.au
On this web site, Dr Byrne and colleagues have written summaries of many research articles, conferences and other events. These have been written largely to draw attention to peer-reviewed studies which may be relevant to clinical practice and public policy. While all care has been taken to be fair and accurate, readers are strongly advised to read the original publications before acting upon the information for clinical decisions.
Due to this brief form of communication, no responsibility can be taken for errors, mistakes or omissions.
Reputable sources of health information for the general public:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/ (opens in a new window)
HealthInsite, a search site for reliable health information, Australian Department of Health.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ (opens in a new window)
MedlinePlus, a search site for reliable health information, US National Library of Medicine.
Dr. Andrew Byrne's Opinions were previously published at http://www.redfernclinic.com/
Hep C in dependency patients: prevalence and outco...
Buprenorphine, heroin drought, heroin prescription...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Another question for you, administrator.
6 mins after I logged out from your site, my user name was still up there. Can you please tell me the reason?
Sounds like a glitch. Do a refresh and you should no longer see yourself online.
IT is nothing to do with refreash. I already figured out why I could still see my name. The reason was I closed the site without logging out.
But thank you for telling.
Do a search on their user name or part of their name.


Protos Client Portal - What is going on at your location?
Often times the security guards are the eyes and ears at the stores.
At Protos, security guards are encouraged to report any and all incidents that..
Protos Client Portal - Do you know where your Security Guard is?
Do you know where you guards are?
Have you ever been in the middle of a project, in a meeting or at home and thought, I wonder if the guard ever made..


Greetings. My name is Malacore and I am the guardian of Ye Dragon's Lair. You are welcome to visit our Home, explore the Lair and visit our dragons, fairies and our Little Alien Artist who DOES have a name but none of us are able to pronounce it much less spell it. Orpha is working in the Art Studio and she welcomes visitors as well.
I must warn you about one thing, however. Don't touch my treasure hoard! Like most dragons, I get a little cross about people bothering my treasure. (A tiny bit of smoke trickles from Malacore's mouth!) Now with that out of the way, please feel free to visit the Lair.


text:
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// Addr is ip:port.
type Addr struct {
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// Network implements net.Addr.
func (Addr) Network() string { return "turn" }

// FromUDPAddr sets addr to UDPAddr.
func (a *Addr) FromUDPAddr(n *net.UDPAddr) {
	a.IP = n.IP
	a.Port = n.Port
}

// Equal returns true if b == a.
func (a Addr) Equal(b Addr) bool {
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		return false
	}
	return a.IP.Equal(b.IP)
}

// EqualIP returns true if a and b have equal IP addresses.
func (a Addr) EqualIP(b Addr) bool {
	return a.IP.Equal(b.IP)
}

func (a Addr) String() string {
	return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", a.IP, a.Port)
}

// FiveTuple represents 5-TUPLE value.
type FiveTuple struct {
	Client Addr
	Server Addr
	Proto  Protocol
}

func (t FiveTuple) String() string {
	return fmt.Sprintf("%s->%s (%s)",
		t.Client, t.Server, t.Proto,
	)
}

// Equal returns true if b == t.
func (t FiveTuple) Equal(b FiveTuple) bool {
	if t.Proto != b.Proto {
		return false
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	if !t.Client.Equal(b.Client) {
		return false
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	if !t.Server.Equal(b.Server) {
		return false
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	return true
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Mr. Gilbride served as co-counsel to Empire State Development Corporation, the economic development arm of New York State, in conjunction with the ten-year renewal by the Buffalo Bills of the lease for Ralph Wilson Stadium and the related $250 million stadium renovation project. This representation complemented his prior representation of Erie County, the owner of Ralph Wilson Stadium, in 1999 in conjunction with the structuring, negotiation, and documentation of the multi-tiered leasing arrangement for the stadium. This representation included securing special state enabling legislation for consummation of the lease transaction and publicly funded renovation of the stadium complex, as well as engagement with the NFL general counsel's office on all league-related issues pertaining to the lease renewal.


text:
promotionFallbackMessage
Maestro returns with 5 new pedals
Guitar built from reclaimed ocean plastic
"Trial by fire" EVH tech job interview
Machine Gun Kelly reunites with Travis Barker for angsty, Whammy-heavy new single, Papercuts
By Sam Roche published 12 August 21
The guitar-centric track is the first single from MGK's forthcoming 7th album, Born With Horns
(Image credit: Machine Gun Kelly/YouTube)
With his last album, Tickets To My Downfall, Machine Gun Kelly reinvented his musical identity, distancing himself from the hip-hop image that drove much of his early success.
The LP – which arrived in September last year – saw the Cleveland native team up with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker for 15 tracks of unadulterated pop-punk, reminiscent of the early-2000s sound typified by the likes of Good Charlotte, Sum 41, and New Found Glory.
And while he partners once again with Barker – who is quite possibly the busiest drummer in music after only recently contributing to singles by Willow Smith, K. Flay, KennyHoopla and more – on his new track Papercuts, this time MGK opts for a more emo-style arrangement.
Following its stripped-back-sounding acoustic guitar intro, the track is rife with gain-y powerchords, and even features a Whammy-driven lead during the outro.
Check out the Cole Bennett-directed music video – which features a giant-scale version of MGK's trademark single-humbucker pink Schecter PT – below.
Papercuts is the first single from Machine Gun Kelly's recently announced new album, Born With Horns. Like Tickets To My Downfall, the album will feature Travis Barker's drumming and production. Commemorating the announcement, the pair recently got matching 'Born With Horns' tattoos on their forearms.
A post shared by the Blonde Don (@machinegunkelly)
In a recent interview with LA radio station KROQ, MGK vowed to "piss people off all over again" with his upcoming material, promising to "keep breaking the mould".
"Even when I say, 'Break the mould and piss people off all over again,' I just mean make them think again; make them have a moment of like, 'This artist is so polarizing [that] I have to tune in," he said.
Given his comments, and the nature of the new album's title, could we be in for some heavier material from Machine Gun Kelly? We await the answer with interest…
Nancy Wilson, Orianthi, Jennifer Batten to host women-only Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Los Angeles
Steve Vai postpones the start of his American tour
Slipknot announce 2022 Knotfest Roadshow North American tour
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson says he's against guitarists who have techs tune their instruments for them
D'Angelico unveils new, mid-priced Premier Bedford, EXL-1 electric guitars, new Sky Blue finish for Premier SS, DC, Mini DC models


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Author: Craig
By Craig January 26, 2023 0
WWE Hall of Famer and AEW commentator Jim Ross spoke about his dislike for Battle Royal-type matchups during the latest edition of his Grillin JR Podcast. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED. During the show, Jim Ross explained why booking these types of matches is incredibly difficult, and how they will inevitably hit a low point before only getting good towards the very end. Check out his full reasoning in the highlights below.…
Mark Briscoe wrestled for AEW on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite defeating Jay Lethal in a Jay Briscoe tribute match and we have to thank Tony Khan for getting this on air. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED. Prior to Jay's tragic death, AEW President Tony Khan pushed hard to get The Briscoes on AEW Dynamite in the past. However, Warner Bros. Discovery wouldn't allow it because of Jay's homophobic tweets from…
On next week's episode of AEW Dynamite, former WWE NXT wrestler Timothy Thatcher will make his debut. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED. In his debut match in All Elite Wrestling, Thatcher will face Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan in WWE). You can watch AEW World Champion MJF choosing Thatcher as Bryan's next opponent below: https://twitter.com/DirtSheetsCraig/status/1618627312731443201?s=20&t=ZAq-Yj6xZhPPrDUqnZ0W9Q Also on Dynamite next week we have – Darby Allin (c) vs. ROH TV Champion Samoa…
Big Kon (Konnor in WWE) recently confirmed to PWTorch that he has signed a multi-year deal with Impact Wrestling. The terms of the contract were not disclosed. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED. Big Kon made his Impact Wrestling debut last February in a loss to Josh Alexander before returning last November to join The Design faction, which also includes Cody Deaner, Angels, and Sami Callihan. "Impact Wrestling has rejuvenated me," Kon said. "It helped me find…
The Delaware News Journal has revealed the funeral service details for Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh): Jay Briscoe passed away in a tragic car accident in Laurel, Delaware. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED "The vigil for Pugh will be Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. at Lee Elliott Worship Center, 17237 Phillips Hill Road, Laurel. "The funeral will be Sunday, Jan. 29, at Laurel High School gym, 1133 S. Central Ave., Laurel,…
Brand New Lawsuit Brought Against Vince McMahon From Shareholders
A third lawsuit against Vince McMahon. According to Bloomberg, there is a third lawsuit against Vince McMahon brought against him by shareholders who are suing over McMahon's alleged history of paying to cover up sexual harassment accusations. They are seeking to sever their case from the consolidated action, which could keep the bylaw-related claims alive, interfering with any fee request. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED The suit, which was brought forward by…
AEW Casual Personality and WWE HOF Star Accused of Rape in New Lawsuit
RadarOnline is reporting that a woman has accused Mike Tyson of s*xual assault, which allegedly took place during the 90s, and is now seeking $5 million in damages. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED Here's what the court documents read: "I got in Tyson's limousine to pick up my friend from her house. I told him no several times and asked him to stop, but he continued to attack me. He then…
CEO Nick Khan Explains Why Vince McMahon Is Selling Up Now
The Bill Simmons show featured Nick Khan as a guest recently to talk about a range of subjects, including Vince McMahon return to WWE, a possible sale of the business, and more. The restored Executive Chairman discussed his choices and explained why McMahon wants to sell WWE in the modern day. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED On why Vince McMahon wants to sell now: "I think he's (Vince McMahon) ready. You…
The Bella Twins Go Live (VIDEO) To Question Aspects of Raw XXX
WWE Hall Of Famers The Bella Twins, Nikki & Brie, were advertised to appear at last night's RAW XXX, but they didn't appear. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED Instead of attending RAW, they decided to attend a matinee performance of the Broadway musical Wicked. It's not known yet but there is clearly some heat between them and WWE because they went LIVE on Instagram last night and expressed their displeasure about…
Saraya Denys Having Plastic Surgery
Saraya, an All Elite Wrestling star, has denied having extensive cosmetic surgery and retaliated against the peculiar troll fan who made the claims on Instagram. STOP – For the latest wrestling news sent directly to your phone just subscribe to the notifications by clicking the little red bell in the corner of this story – NO SIGN UP NEEDED Saraya, known to many in the wrestling world as Paige in the WWE fired back against a troll who claimed she underwent plastic surgery. When Saraya was a member of the WWE, she was more often referred to as Paige. Saraya…
Mark Briscoe releases statement about Jay Briscoe
Jake Roberts on what he hates about modern wrestling
Dave Meltzer says plans changing for Sami Zayn?


The Financial Conduct Authority, who are in charge of all regulated financial advisers in the country, have launched an investigation into 33 financial advisers who are suspected of giving poor advice.
SIPP pensions, in particular may be on the agenda, as the amount of compensation paid out over mis-sold SIPPs increased again to £112million from the FSCS in 2017/18. SIPPs were also mentioned in a letter to the Pensions Select Committee of MPs by the FCA's Executive Director.
SIPP pensions can be a great way for some people to save for retirement. But many SIPP schemes have been abused by marketing and investment companies, who persuaded people to make high-risk investments through them, for which they are not suitable.
This has led to thousands of claims for negligent financial advice against advisers.
The FCA has said that the ongoing investigation has so far resulted in four financial advisers stopped from holding senior positions at firms, and one banned outright from doing so.
The FCA was asked about enforcement action against SIPP providers, as the question about their own failures to stop pension mis-selling was asked again.
An FCA spokesperson confirmed that 2 SIPP providers were in the spotlight of the enforcement division of the FCA, relating to apparent due diligence failings on high-risk investments.


Purple wrestling shoes have a strong positive impact on wearers as they can feel the soft sole of the shoes. Along with the shade, the features of such shoes have been useful, making every step safe. So, if you are in search for some comfortable footwear options, check out the list.
Wrestling shoes are designed in such a way that wearers feel utmost comfort while wrestling. Moreover, the inner and upper sides of the shoes have some durable features that will keep the feet of wearers safe even in the most dangerous situations.


This is one of my favorite recipes during this season and throughout winter. It is a great way to use cold crop produce and fresh herbs for the garden or greenhouse. Perfect for a cozy evening against the damp cold! I am listing the conventional ingredients, but in the directions I will explain how I make it since I use what I have on hand and use as many fresh ingredients as possible. I try to cook completely without preserved items from stores, keeping as true to the earth as possible and as close to the food as God created it. In todays times, this isn't always easy and I find it to be a constant learning process.
In a large pot (my pot is a 6 quart pot) over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes.
Pour in chicken and vegetable broths. The best and cheapest broths to use are those that you save from cooking your own vegetables and chicken. I always strain and freeze all left over liquid for soup making. Thaw the broth and pour into pot until the pot is about 3/4 full.
Stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Since I do not own a noodle maker and my hands do not allow me to roll out my own noodles, I purchase freshly homemade noodles from my Amish neighbors. You can use any noodles that you prefer.
~ I will usually add more ingredients by doubling the vegetables, chicken and herbs to make a heartier soup.


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Nigeria: People With Mental Health Conditions Chained, Abused
Ban Chaining; Provide Mental Health Services
ABUJA, Nigeria, November 12, 2019,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Thousands of people with mental health conditions across Nigeria are chained and locked up in various facilities where they face terrible abuse, Human Rights Watch said today.
Detention, chaining, and violent treatment are pervasive in many settings, including state hospitals, rehabilitation centers, traditional healing centers, and both Christian and Islamic faith-based facilities.
"People with mental health conditions should be supported and provided with effective services in their communities, not chained and abused," said Emina Ćerimović, senior disability rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "People with mental health conditions find themselves in chains in various places in Nigeria, subject to years of unimaginable hardship and abuse."
President Muhammadu Buhari said in October 2019 of the Islamic rehabilitation centers that he would not "tolerate the existence of the torture chambers and physical abuses of inmates in the name of rehabilitation." But the government has yet to acknowledge that this abuse is rife in government-run facilities too.
Between August 2018 and September 2019, Human Rights Watch visited 28 facilities ostensibly providing mental health care in 8 states and the Federal Capital Territory, including federal psychiatric hospitals, general state hospitals, state-owned rehabilitation centers, Islamic rehabilitation centers, traditional healing centers, and Christian churches. Human Rights Watch interviewed 124 people, including 49 chaining victims and their families, staff in various facilities, mental health professionals, and government officials. The names of the victims have been changed to protect their safety.
Deep-rooted problems in Nigeria's healthcare and welfare systems leave most Nigerians unable to get adequate mental health care or support in their communities. Stigma and misunderstanding about mental health conditions, including the misperception that they are caused by evil spirits or supernatural forces, often prompt relatives to take their loved ones to religious or traditional healing places.
Human Rights Watch found that people with actual or perceived mental health conditions, including children, are placed in facilities without their consent, usually by relatives. In some cases, police arrest people with actual or perceived mental health conditions and send them to government-run rehabilitation centers. Once there, many are shackled with iron chains, around one or both ankles, to heavy objects or to other detainees, in some cases for months or years. They cannot leave, are often confined in overcrowded, unhygienic conditions, and are sometimes forced to sleep, eat, and defecate within the same confined place. Many are physically and emotionally abused as well as forced to take treatments.
A nun in charge during a Human Rights Watch visit to a state-owned rehabilitation center in southeastern Nigeria said they chain people to their beds "so they do not run away." The nun defended chaining a woman who had HIV "to stop her from going around the men." Human Rights Watch found another woman at the same institution chained naked to her bed.
The staff, except one older guard, would leave at 6:30 p.m. each day, leaving residents, including children as young as 13, with no one to help them. The facility has no electricity, so people are chained to their beds in total darkness. The nun said that, "The patients are given flashlights to use at night."
In a traditional healing center close to Abuja, Nigeria's capital, Human Rights Watch met a woman who was pinned to a tree trunk with an iron ring. She had been restrained like this for three weeks with her upper body naked. She was unable to move and so she was forced to eat, urinate, and defecate where she sat.
Chaining can cause serious injuries and psychological distress. A 35-year-old woman chained for 10 months in an Islamic rehabilitation center in Kano, northern Nigeria, said, "Everything about this (chaining) is difficult. You feel like you want to commit suicide … regardless of how you felt before coming here, you will get worse."
Adults and children in some Islamic rehabilitation centers reported being whipped, causing deep wounds. People in Christian healing centers and churches described being denied food for up to three days at a time, which staff characterized as "fasting" for "treatment" purposes.
In many of the traditional and religious rehabilitation centers visited, staff forced people with mental health conditions, including children, to eat or drink herbs, in some cases with staff pinning people down to make them swallow.
In psychiatric hospitals and government-run rehabilitation centers, staff forcibly administered medication, while some staff admitted to administering electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to patients without their consent.
In some cases, families took their children – including young adults – to religious and traditional rehabilitation centers for actual or perceived drug use or "deviant" behavior, including skipping school, smoking tobacco or marijuana, or stealing from their parents. Some children in the facilities – some as young as 10 – have been abandoned by their families.
Nigeria ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007. It has the obligation to ensure equal rights for people with disabilities, including the right to liberty and freedom from torture, ill-treatment, and forced treatment. While the Nigerian Constitution prohibits torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the government has not outlawed chaining. In a 2015 report, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture said that chaining "unequivocally amount[s] to torture."
The Nigerian government should ban chaining and urgently investigate chaining in state-owned rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals, and faith-based and traditional healing centers in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The government should also prioritize the development of quality, accessible, and affordable community-based mental health services.
"President Buhari denounced chaining as torture," Ćerimović said. "But it's not enough to raid these centers and shut them down. People rescued from these desperate conditions and other Nigerians experiencing psychological distress should have access to proper psychosocial support and mental health services."
Mental Health in Nigeria
A mental health condition refers to a range of experiences that affect a person's mood, thinking, and behavior. This includes depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar condition. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, spirituality, sexual orientation, or any other background. The World Health Organization (WHO) says a mental health condition will affect one in four people globally at some point in their lives.
Nigeria has fewer than 300 psychiatrists for an estimated population of over 200 million. Several mental health professionals told Human Rights Watch that quality mental health services are available only to wealthier citizens who can afford it. The lack of quality mental health care and its prohibitive cost often drives people to consult traditional or faith-based healers.
Nigeria's 1958 Lunacy Act allows the detaining of people with mental health conditions in mental health institutions, even without providing medical or therapeutic treatment. People spend years in institutions – sometimes decades – because Nigeria lacks adequate services to support them in the community. In all but one of the facilities Human Rights Watch visited, people were not allowed to leave or to challenge their detention.
In 27 of 28 facilities Human Rights Watch visited, all residents had been unlawfully detained. They did not enter the facilities voluntarily and could not leave if they wished to do so.
Victor, a 29-year-old Christian man held in an Islamic rehabilitation center in Kano since June 2018, said:
I heard that I would be here only for two weeks at first when I was brought here, then later that changed to one month, then two months. Now I am going on my third month here. Other people here say they were told the same thing, and they ended up staying here for years.
Akanni, a 22-year-old woman who had a mental health crisis following the death of her mother and who had been detained in a church in Abeokuta for five months at the time of a March 2019 interview, said: "When my father brought me, I didn't know that he would leave me here. I was not happy, but I don't have a choice."
Sometimes families pay healers to detain their relative at home and take them to a center. Shums, a 27-year-old man who said he had depression, was taken as he worked on his farm in early 2019:
Two men approached me and asked if they could talk with me. I complied and started walking with them. They jumped on me, handcuffed me, and put shackles on my feet. Then they brought me here [an Islamic rehabilitation center in Kano].
In 27 out of 28 facilities visited, staff chained or shackled adults and children. The youngest child chained was a 10-year-old boy and the oldest person was an 86-year-old man who also had a visual disability. Typically, staff fasten a chain to either both or one ankle of a person and connect it to a heavy or immovable object, such as a bed, tree, or car engine. In some cases, shackles consisted of an iron bracelet around both ankles, making it difficult for the person to move around. Some people are chained for a few days at a time as punishment, or for weeks or months to prevent them from moving or leaving.
Shums, a 27-year-old man with depression, was shackled by his leg to another man's leg in an Islamic rehabilitation center in northern Nigeria. "We are like this all the time. Even when we have to use the toilet or sleep," Shums said. Two other men there were also shackled together. The center's healer said one man had suicidal thoughts, "So I chained him to another person who is responsible, to prevent him from killing himself."
In a government-owned rehabilitation center in northern Nigeria, Human Rights Watch saw dozens of men and women chained. Many were chained by one ankle to a piece of iron welded to the concrete floor. Most had lived there for years, some for up to 15 years.
Staff at a psychiatric hospital in northern Nigeria insisted that chaining did not occur on the premises, but a researcher discovered a ward where people had iron shackles around their ankles.
Despite repeated requests, Human Rights Watch was not allowed to meet or speak to people held in federal psychiatric hospitals in Kaduna, Lagos, and Abeokuta. Two psychiatrists, one psychiatric nurse, and one mental health activist said that shackling occurs in federal psychiatric hospitals across Nigeria. A doctor who works in a psychiatric hospital in southern Nigeria said, "We have to use chains in some cases." A psychiatrist in a hospital in Lagos said that the staff there use handcuffs.
Tightly bound chains cause painful wounds as well as emotional suffering. Zain, who was chained in a traditional healing center in Abeokuta, said, "I was chained for three months until yesterday, with lots of injuries from the chains which are just starting to heal." Adedamola, a woman in her 40s held in a church in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria, for two years, said the chains would often injure her ankles.
Unsanitary and Degrading Conditions
People who are chained are forced to live in unsanitary conditions. Many must eat, urinate, defecate, and sleep in the same place, usually within the same place where they are confined.
Staff often provide a bucket or plastic bag to urinate and defecate in, usually in full view of others. Akanni, who was chained in a shed in a Christian church with an unrelated man for up to three days at a time, said, "They left me a bowl to urinate and defecate. I had to do it in front of the man."
People detained in some Islamic rehabilitation centers Human Rights Watch visited usually had access to toilets during the day, but not at night. Khalil, a young man chained in a center in northern Nigeria after his family accused him of stealing and drug use, said:
If you feel you are in need to use toilet, you wake up someone you are close to and ask them if they have any plastic bag. If you want to urinate, you use the bottle we use for [drinking] water.
Victor, the man chained in Kano, said:
Hygiene is a big issue here. When one person gets sick, it spreads quickly to other people. They refuse to give medicines when necessary because they say we will get hooked on it or they say the police will arrest them for getting it.
Another man said more than 60 people slept in his room: "More than 100 people use 1 toilet, the hygiene is very bad. When we are sick, and we request for drugs, it doesn't come until we are almost dead."
A woman in her 30s who was chained to a car engine in a shed together with two men by a traditional healer's home in Abeokuta, southwestern Nigeria, said: "I go to toilet in this place [where I am shackled] in plastic bags until they take it away at night."
People also had to urinate and defecate on themselves in two other traditional healing facilities Human Rights Watch visited. A 20-year-old woman said: "They tied me and kept me inside the room at the back for three days. I defecated and urinated on myself while I was in the room."
The government-run rehabilitation center in southeastern Nigeria had functioning toilets. Yet staff denied those chained there access to the toilets, and instead left them a bucket next to their beds.
In three facilities, staff did not allow people to bathe regularly. A traditional healer in Abuja said: "When people are locked up … they don't bathe sometimes for months until they feel better…. We just pour water with herbs on them without going very close to them."
Human Rights Watch also found that people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities were denied food in some Christian healing centers. Akanni, the 22-year-old woman who had been detained in a church in Abeokuta for five months, said:
When I first arrived here, I was tied with chains for three days straight so I could fast. For the three days I had no food or water. It wasn't my choice, but the pastor said it was good for me. Sometimes if they say I should fast and I drink water or take food, they (staff in the church) put me on a chain. The chaining is punishment. I have been put on chain so many times I can't count.
Another 27-year-old woman held in the same church said:
When I came here, I started screaming. They took me to the prayer room, where I was chained and forced to fast for seven days. After the first seven days they released me for a little bit and then again chained me for seven days.
Staff in the church and two other churches in the south confirmed the practice.
People in Islamic rehabilitation centers said that staff whipped them. Khalil, who was shackled for six months in such a center in northern Nigeria, showed researchers scars on his left arm that he said were from whipping.
An Islamic faith healer in northern Nigeria said:
If you are treating someone who is mentally unwell and he acts in a way that is causing disturbance, you will have to treat him. Some of them might be talking to themselves or suffer from lack of sleep…. For some of them, getting enough sleep will help. For others, we need to whip them – once, twice … up to seven times.
A dozen people in that center showed researchers scars on their arms, chests, and backs that they said were from floggings by staff.
Amina, who had a breakdown after her mother died and was taken to various Islamic healers and a psychiatric hospital, said she was tied with ropes, beaten, and spat on in one rehabilitation center in Kaduna, and then molested by a traditional healer in Abuja who came to her home: "He told me to undress, that it is the part of the healing process, and then he started touching my body," Amina said. "Explain to me, how is that part of a healing process? How is that Islamic?" Staff in a psychiatric hospital in Abuja also tied Amina to a bed and forcibly injected her with medication. "I peed on myself. I was on my period and they just kept sedating me."
Akanni said that staff had slapped her.
Faith-based and traditional healing centers might have the aim of caring for people who had nowhere else to go for support and help because of a mental health crisis or because they had been abandoned. Many traditional and faith-based healers interviewed seemed to genuinely care about the people in their centers. However, chaining strips people with mental health conditions of their most fundamental rights to dignity and humane treatment. Physical violence and sexual abuse further damages the physical, sexual, emotional, mental, and social well-being of an individual and can amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Forced Treatment
In psychiatric hospitals and government-run rehabilitation centers, staff said that people are given oral and injectable medication without their consent. In two psychiatric hospitals visited, patients were given electroconvulsive therapy without their consent.
In many traditional and religious centers visited, healers forced herbal and other non-medical treatment on people with mental health conditions. One traditional healer in Ibadan said that four people would hold a person down so that he could administer herbs.
Another traditional healer in Ibadan said "We have to force them to take the herbs that will heal them. Sometimes we get strong people, strong boys, to hold them down so we can put the chains on them and give them herbs."
A Christian pastor in Ibadan described using chains as a threat to make people take herbs. In front of a traditional healer's home in Abuja, researchers saw several women holding down a 12-year-old girl and making cuts on her back with a blade. They then smeared ground herbs into the cuts. The healer justified it by saying the girl had been stealing from her mother, and they had to let the evil blood come out of her.
Recent Government Action
On June 17 and September 12, 2019, respectively, Human Rights Watch sent letters to the federal government in Abuja requesting to meet with officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Women's Affairs and Social Development to discuss the findings but received no response. The two federal ministries have also not responded to an October 24 letter setting out concerns about chaining and abuse.
Since Human Rights Watch began investigating chaining in Nigeria in August 2018, several facilities have been closed. In September 2019, police closed an Islamic rehabilitation center in Kaduna that Human Rights Watch had visited in March. Another Islamic rehabilitation center in Kano was closed preventively in October.
While closing abusive facilities is a positive step, the government should ensure that it provides adequate psychosocial and mental health support in the community to people who have been freed. Otherwise, closing down these centers does nothing to address the desperate moves by families to look towards traditional and faith-based centers for loved ones with mental health conditions because of the lack of rights-respecting alternatives.
The Nigerian government should:
Completely ban chaining
Urgently investigate all state and private institutions where people with mental health conditions live in all 36 states and Federal Capital Territory with the goal of stopping chaining and ending abuses
Ensure that people rescued have access to psychosocial support and social services, including child psychologists and specialist support services for children
Train and sensitize government health workers, mental health professionals, and staff in faith-based and traditional healing centers to the rights and needs of people with mental health conditions
Conduct a public information campaign to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the rights of people with disabilities, especially among alternative mental health service providers and the broader community, in partnership with people with lived experiences of mental health conditions, faith leaders, and media
Progressively develop voluntary and accessible community-based mental health and support services, in consultation with people with lived experiences of mental health conditions and with the support of international donors and partners. This should include development of psychosocial support services and integration of mental health services in the primary healthcare system.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Human Rights Watch.


Limits to Growth Revisited: Are Economic Growth and Environmental Regulations Compatible?
Our blogs showcase the classes, travels, research, internships and events that comprise the Nicholas School experience.
Considering an environmental master's degree? Click here to learn why you should choose Duke's Nicholas School.


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Diaea multimaculata är en spindelart som beskrevs av William Joseph Rainbow 1904. Diaea multimaculata ingår i släktet Diaea och familjen krabbspindlar.

Artens utbredningsområde är Western Australia. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Krabbspindlar
multimaculata

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Some of us love long journeys by car or coach, some hate it. For some, long journeys aren't a chore, on the contrary, they're "road trips" – a time for adventure, exploration and endless, meandering conversations. For others, though, they're by turns boring, stressful and extremely uncomfortable. In short: something to be avoided at all costs.
Regardless of which camp you fall into, we can safely say that the coach journeys we're about to present to you in this article would be difficult to find appealing, even to the most open-minded traveller. So, with without further ado, here are three of the longest coach journeys.
If we embark on a long coach trip in the UK, we expect wifi, comfort, aircon and plenty of power outlets – and our trips are rarely longer than a couple of hours. Well, if you decide to take a trip along the Transoceánica, as the bus route is called, you're in for a bit of a shock.
Stretching all the way from Rio to Lima, this journey clocks in at whopping 102 hours, which is around four days travel time. With 12 sleeper seats, 44 normal ones and only two short breaks a day so the bus can refuel, traversing the Transoceánica is a test of endurance as much as it is a trip from A to B.
In November 1988, three men (Hughie Thompson, Richard Steel and John Weston) set out on a bus journey that would become the world's longest, according to the Guinness World Records. Taking more than a year to complete, the trio travelled in a double-decker from London, passing through Denmark, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Dubai, India, Singapore, Australia, Brazil and America. They arrived back in London in December 1989.
In a bid to strengthen political ties between the two communities, a local politician floated the idea of a bus service which covers the 4,000 mile stretch between Birmingham and Pakistan's Azad Kashmir region (AJK). Famously, the West Midlands has long established links with AJK, mainly because Birmingham is home to the largest population of Pakistani Kashmiris outside of the country, many of whom made the journey in the 1960s after the construction of a major dam.
The journey itself will take at least twelve days and pass through seven countries and, according to AJK's transport minister, promises to be a "thrilling ride".
Fancy a road trip? Wyatt Coaches provide high quality, reliable minibuses for hire with experienced professional drivers. Based in Barnsley, our coaches can comfortably transport you to destinations across the UK, from simple airport runs to big days out, sports team transportation, weddings and more. For further information on our buses, journey quotes or general enquiries, get in touch with our team today – we will be more than happy to help you.
Will UK Driving Licenses be Valid in the EU after Brexit?
Wyatt Coaches Ltd is a registered company in England.


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Verstappen overtakes Leclerc in final laps, wins F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
JEDDAH — Max Verstappen has won the 2022 Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a late fight with Charles Leclerc.
Pole sitter Sergio Perez lost out with a safety car just after his pitstop, allowing Leclerc to gain the lead. Leclerc controlled the race until Verstappen started a late push and took the lead on lap 46.
Carlos Sainz rounded off the podium, with Perez in P4.
Leclerc and Verstappen started their battle on lap 42 for the race win. As he did seven days ago, Leclerc let Verstappen through to get the DRS on the home straight. Second time around, they both locked up before the activation point.
Leclerc floored it first and opened a big enough gap to fend off a DRS chase. On the third occasion, Verstappen got the DRS down the home straight and made a successful move on lap 46.
After a successful start in Bahrain last weekend, the new rules and regulations once again demonstrated their worth with both Alpine drivers engaging in a multi-lap battle in the opening stint of the race.
Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton started on the hard tyres and attempted a long run and wait for a late safety car. Mercedes eventually made the pitstop on lap 41, just after it reopened following a closure. The Brit finished 10th. Nicholas Latifi retired after an accident at the final corner early in the race. Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas all lost power and retired on lap 37.
King Salman stands out for unprecedented support for horseracing
Olympic skateboarders set for 'spectacular show' at Street and Park World Championships in Sharjah
Garry Cook appointed chief of Saudi Pro League
British gymnast Ellie Downie retires at 23 for 'mental health, happiness'


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Thursday's NBA Draft a good one for Atlantic Coast, Southeastern conferences
By Raphielle JohnsonJun 26, 2015, 7:00 AM EDT
With Thursday's NBA Draft in the books, here's a look at the number of players picked for each school and Division I conference. Unsurprisingly Kentucky led the way amongst schools, with John Calipari seeing six of his players hear their name called and four going in the lottery. Kentucky, which boasts the top overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, became the first program in a decade to have four lottery picks in a single draft.
Kentucky fell one pick shy of setting a new record for most selections from a school in a single NBA Draft.
Kentucky was one of nine schools to have multiple players selected on the night. Duke's three freshmen gave the current national champions the second-highest number of selections, and they were one of four ACC programs to have multiple players picked. The SEC (Kentucky and LSU) and Pac-12 (Arizona and UCLA) are the other conferences capable of making that claim.
Kentucky – 6 (Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Devin Booker, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson)
Duke – 3 (Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones)
Arizona – 2 (Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson)
Louisville – 2 (Terry Rozier, Montrezl Harrell)
LSU – 2 (Jarell Martin, Jordan Mickey)
Notre Dame – 2 (Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton)
Syracuse – 2 (Chris McCullough, Rakeem Christmas)
UCLA – 2 (Kevon Looney, Norman Powell)
Wisconsin – 2 (Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker)
Schools with one draft pick: Arkansas (Bobby Portis), Boston College (Olivier Hanlan), Bowling Green (Richaun Holmes), Eastern Washington (Tyler Harvey) Georgia State (R.J. Hunter), Iowa (Aaron White), Kansas (Kelly Oubre Jr.), Massachusetts (Cady Lalanne), Michigan State (Branden Dawson), Murray State (Cameron Payne), North Carolina (J.P. Tokoto), Ohio State (D'Angelo Russell), Oregon (Joseph Young), St. John's (Sir'Dominic Pointer), Stanford (Anthony Brown), Tennessee (Josh Richardson), Texas (Myles Turner), UNLV (Rashad Vaughn), Utah (Delon Wright), Villanova (Darrun Hilliard), Virginia (Justin Anderson), William & Mary (Marcus Thornton), Wyoming (Larry Nance Jr.).
As for draft picks by conference, the ACC edged out the SEC for the top spot. Twelve players who played in the ACC last season were picked, with ten SEC products placing that conference second on the list. Following the SEC was the Pac-12 with seven selections and the Big Ten with five. The Big 12, Big East (which did not have a first round pick for the first time in league history) and Mountain West each had two products selected Thursday night.
The Atlantic 10, Big Sky, CAA, Mid-American, Ohio Valley and Sun Belt conferences had one player selected apiece, led by former Murray State guard Cameron Payne (OVC).
Tags: 2015 NBA Draft, ACC, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, SEC
Cliff Alexander, Aaron Harrison among early entrants not selected Thursday night
By Raphielle JohnsonJun 26, 2015, 12:52 AM EDT
Given the fact that there are only 60 available draft slots and the number of eligible players are even higher, there are bound to be players who don't get to experience hearing their name called at the NBA Draft. That was the case for some notable college players who made the decision to forego their remaining college eligibility to take their shot at the NBA Draft.
Among the players who weren't selected were former Kansas forward Cliff Alexander, former Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison and former UNLV forward Christian Wood. Wood, a player some believed to have a shot at being selected in the first round heading into the draft, may have been the most surprising omission amongst those who left school with eligibility remaining.
MORE: Karl-Anthony Towns goes first overall | Four Kentucky players picked in lottery
Some players decide to turn pro in hopes of landing a job anywhere in pro basketball, which will explain some of the players on the list. And while not being selected is certainly a negative, those players will have the opportunity to figure out which summer league situation (in Orlando, Las Vegas or both) represents the best opportunity to earn a spot on a team's training camp roster.
Thursday night represents a tough reality for these players, especially those whose draft status was hurt by issues away from the court. But even with that being the case, it doesn't have to be the end of the road for them. Below is the list of college players with eligibility remaining who were not selected in Thursday's NBA Draft.
Cliff Alexander, Kansas
Brandon Ashley, Arizona
Michael Frazier II, Florida
Aaron Harrison, Kentucky
Jerome Hill, Gardner-Webb
Vince Hunter, UTEP
Charles Jackson, Tennessee Tech
Trevor Lacey, NC State
Ashton Pankey, Manhattan
Terran Petteway, Nebraska
Walter Pitchford, Nebraska
Michael Qualls, Arkansas
Jherrod Stiggers, Houston
Deonta Stocks, West Georgia
Aaron Thomas, Florida State (declared academically ineligible)
Robert Upshaw, Washington (dismissed mid-year)
Chris Walker, Florida
Christian Wood, UNLV
Tags: 2015 NBA Draft, Early Entry
Kentucky becomes first school in ten years to produce four lottery picks
While Kentucky's 2014-15 season did not produce a national title, it produced a host of players who heard their names called during Thursday's NBA Draft in Brooklyn. Karl-Anthony Towns kicked things off as he was selected first overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and in total Kentucky had four players picked during the lottery.
That number is the highest for a college basketball program since North Carolina had four players selected during the lottery portion of the 2005 NBA Draft.
Willie Cauley-Stein (sixth to Sacramento), Trey Lyles (12th to Utah) and Devin Booker (13th to Phoenix) were the other lottery picks for John Calipari's program, which are the most lottery picks in a single draft since North Carolina had three players taken in the 2012 NBA Draft lottery.
"It just shows that our team was special," Lyles said after being selected. "It was unlike any other, and we've still got three other guys that are going to go tonight."
Unfortunately for Kentucky only two of those remaining players heard their names called. Andrew Harrison (44th to Phoenix; rights traded to Memphis) and Dakari Johnson (48th to Oklahoma City) were both second round selections, with Aaron Harrison going undrafted.
The six draft picks are tied for the most in a single draft in the history of the event.
Tags: 2015 NBA Draft, John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats
Karl-Anthony Towns becomes Kentucky's third top overall pick in program history
By Raphielle JohnsonJun 25, 2015, 7:48 PM EDT
With seven players from last season's 38-1 team available, Thursday's NBA Draft is expected to be a good one for the Kentucky basketball program. And the draft got off to a good start for John Calipari's program, as Karl-Anthony Towns was selected with the first overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Towns, who will join two other top overall draft picks in Minnesota in Andrew Wiggins (2014) and Anthony Bennett (2013), is the third former Wildcat to be taken first in an NBA Draft. He joins John Wall (2010) and Anthony Davis (2012), making Kentucky the first college basketball program with three top overall picks in the draft's modern era (since 1985).
Also on the board for Kentucky were Willie Cauley-Stein (drafted sixth by Sacramento), Trey Lyles (12th to Utah), Devin Booker (13th to Phoenix), Andrew Harrison (44th to Phoenix, traded to Memphis) and Dakari Johnson (48th to Oklahoma City). Aaron Harrison went undrafted.
Calipari was with the four players (Towns, Cauley-Stein, Lyles and Booker) who made the trip to Brooklyn, and Towns' "friend" Karlito was there as well.
Karlito's here and ready to go. #NBADraft #SucceedandProceed pic.twitter.com/ZTU8dF1Vg5
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 25, 2015
Former Ohio State point guard D'Angelo Russell was taken with the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers, with Duke's Jahlil Okafor being picked third by Philadelphia. Kristaps Porzingis (New York) and Mario Hezonja (Orlando) rounded out the top five.
Tags: 2015 NBA Draft, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky Wildcats
Dan Patrick Show: Karl-Anthony Towns discusses his development as a player, recruitment (VIDEO)
Tuesday morning former Kentucky forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show," discussing matters such as the pre-draft process, what it was like playing for his father growing up and the recruiting process that ultimately led to his becoming a Wildcat.
Towns, who isn't expected to be on the board too long in Thursday's NBA Draft, credited his father with improving his skills to the point where he could comfortably use both hands on the court. He also spoke about the strengths of the University of Kentucky as a whole, and not just its basketball program, as a major factor in his decision to become a Wildcat.
Tags: 2015 NBA Draft, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky Wildcats, SEC
Sam Thompson navigates NBA Draft prep while finishing degree at Ohio State
By Scott PhillipsJun 23, 2015, 9:30 AM EDT
Going through the NBA Draft process is an exhausting experience for college basketball players looking to take the next step in their career. Between two-a-day workouts, weight lifting, getting up extra shots and traveling between team draft workouts, the focus is on basketball and making it at the professional level once players enter their name in the NBA Draft.
For some seniors in the NBA Draft process like Ohio State's Sam Thompson, draft workouts continue on a daily basis along with completing the academic requirements that are necessary to earn a college degree. Thompson is one of many former student-athletes in the NBA Draft process who finished out the spring semester of classes.
After Ohio State's season ended with a loss to Arizona in the Round of 32, Thompson started working out at Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas to prepare for the rigors of professional basketball. To earn his degree in finance after the spring semester, Thompson also needed to complete four more weeks in five finance classes.
Between the two-a-day workouts, weights and completing assignments, Thompson had a grueling four-week stretch where most of his free time away from basketball was spent studying. After his first two weeks in Las Vegas, Thompson returned home for a week for final exams on campus before returning to NBA Draft process.
Thompson walked at graduation May 10 with his degree in finance. Now he hopes to hear his name selected during the 2015 NBA Draft.
"I made arrangements with all of my teachers to work remotely. Turn in some assignments online and stuff like that," Thompson said. "When I went away to workouts, it was a month before all my classes finished out. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But I knew that coming back and taking five classes was less likely than for me to finish up here and now. So that was just my biggest motivation."
Besides his high-flying, four-year basketball career at Ohio State — in which he became nationally known as "Slam" Thompson to some because of his aerial displays at the rim –Sam focused on his finance degree to plan for his life after basketball. Coming from a family that values academics, Sam often heard from his parents and siblings about sticking with basketball and his degree track during his final weeks of school. One of Sam's former teammates at Ohio State also had a similar experience with finishing up school while working out for NBA teams and it helped Sam to have the support of those people.
"The plan and the goal was for me to always get my college degree. [My parents] sort of set the standard in the house. They've been on me pretty hard about it," Thompson said. "I remember Aaron Craft last year, he was pretty adamant about getting his degree. He was another guy that balanced the NBA Draft process with getting his degree, so we had a few conversations."
Working out with other seniors like Penn State's D.J. Newbill, West Virginia's Juwan Staten and Syracuse's Rakeem Christmas at Impact Basketball Academy, Thompson noticed that other guys working out for the draft were also trying to complete a couple of classes. When his degree was finally completed, Thompson didn't have to worry about checking emails from professors or handing in assignments. It was back to his basketball dreams.
"A few guys left to take exams and stuff. I'm not the only guy doing it. It's just something that, as seniors, we have to do." Thompson said. "I liked finance and I really enjoyed my time at Ohio State. Just to say that I finished school and to walk out of there with a degree is all I need. I know how hard of a grind it is balancing being a student and being an athlete. I know how hard it is to get a degree in finance from Ohio State University without being an athlete. To be able to do both is definitely something I wanted to do for myself and it's something that's going to stick with me for the rest of my life."
Working on areas like his jumper and his handle the last few months, Thompson is hoping that he'll get a shot in the NBA because of his ability to defend multiple wing spots right away. If professional basketball doesn't end up working out, Thompson always has the backup plan of going into investment banking. Going back to school to get an MBA wouldn't be out of the question for Thompson if it meant furthering his career in finance. Even if he has a long career in basketball, Thompson knows that investment banking will be there for him after he retires from basketball.
"Obviously, being a financial analyst for a major investment firm is an 80- or 90-hour week. So it's not really feasible while I'm still playing," Thompson said. "That is definitely the Plan B if I'm not able to play professional basketball. I haven't exactly figured out how I want to use my degree while I'm playing, but I definitely want to stay sort of in the financial realm throughout my career so I can enter into it after my career. It's something I really enjoy and I've spent a lot of time over these past four years studying it. It's something that I'm definitely interested in going into."
During the NBA Draft process, Thompson has worked out for Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Utah. Although a minor muscle pull forced Thompson to cancel four other workouts during the process, he remained focused on getting his degree while pursuing his basketball dreams. Thompson is fully healthy now and hoping for an opportunity. It wasn't easy to go through five finance classes while working out for the NBA Draft, but Thompson got it done and he's satisfied knowing that he's done everything he can to put himself in position for success.
"Sometimes, I just needed some time to step away. But what choice do you have? You just have to suck it up and get it done," Thompson said. "Everyone just basically said the same thing. Obviously, the NBA Draft is the biggest thing in your life and you want to devote all of your energy and your time to it, but at the same time, you have a couple of more weeks of academic responsibility. It's just something you have to get done."
Tags: 2015 NBA Draft, Big Ten, Ohio State Buckeyes, Sam Thompson
Thursday's NBA Draft a good one for Atlantic Coast, Southeastern conferences June 26, 2015 7:00 am Cliff Alexander, Aaron Harrison among early entrants not selected Thursday night June 26, 2015 12:52 am Kentucky becomes first school in ten years to produce four lottery picks June 26, 2015 12:24 am Karl-Anthony Towns becomes Kentucky's third top overall pick in program history June 25, 2015 7:48 pm Dan Patrick Show: Karl-Anthony Towns discusses his development as a player, recruitment (VIDEO) June 23, 2015 10:59 am Sam Thompson navigates NBA Draft prep while finishing degree at Ohio State June 23, 2015 9:30 am Rawle Alkins, Mustapha Heron among players headed to adidas Eurocamp June 3, 2015 5:05 pm College basketball's seven biggest early entry losers for the 2015-2016 season April 27, 2015 12:48 pm College basketball's six biggest early entry winners for the 2015-2016 season April 27, 2015 12:00 pm Report: Yogi Ferrell to return to Indiana for senior season April 26, 2015 8:54 am Texas point guard Isaiah Taylor returning for junior season April 25, 2015 10:19 pm Providence announces return of point guard Kris Dunn for 2015-16 season April 24, 2015 1:52 pm Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski announces return for senior season April 24, 2015 12:55 pm Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield returning for senior season April 24, 2015 11:34 am Kentucky forward Alex Poythress returning for senior season April 24, 2015 11:15 am Louisiana forward Shawn Long to return for senior season April 23, 2015 9:22 pm Arizona forward Stanley Johnson enters 2015 NBA Draft April 23, 2015 8:01 pm Report: James Blackmon Jr. to return to Indiana April 23, 2015 12:18 pm UNLV sophomore forward Christian Wood to enter 2015 NBA Draft (VIDEO) April 22, 2015 10:46 pm Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell to enter 2015 NBA Draft April 22, 2015 6:30 pm Report: Kris Dunn to return to Providence for his junior season April 22, 2015 3:50 pm Caris LeVert to return to Michigan for his senior season April 21, 2015 11:07 am Kyle Wiltjer to return to Gonzaga for his senior season April 20, 2015 2:38 pm Utah's Jakob Poeltl will return to school for his sophomore season April 20, 2015 9:37 am E.C. Matthews will return to Rhode Island April 19, 2015 1:00 pm Purdue center A.J. Hammons to return for senior season April 18, 2015 2:36 pm College basketball's eight most important NBA Draft decisions April 16, 2015 1:42 pm Nebraska's Terran Petteway is heading to the NBA April 16, 2015 10:38 am Arkansas junior guard Michael Qualls to enter NBA Draft April 15, 2015 4:09 pm N.C. State's Trevor Lacey intends to declare for the NBA Draft April 15, 2015 2:44 pm Duke's Tyus Jones becomes third Blue Devil to enter the NBA Draft April 15, 2015 9:54 am Duke freshman Justise Winslow will enter 2015 NBA Draft April 14, 2015 4:54 pm Bobby Portis announces that he is turning pro April 14, 2015 1:45 pm Demetrius Jackson will return to Notre Dame for junior year April 14, 2015 11:40 am Perry Ellis is returning to Kansas for his senior year April 14, 2015 10:08 am Report: Olivier Hanlan to enter the NBA Draft April 13, 2015 3:47 pm Ron Baker, Fred Van Vleet to return to Wichita State April 13, 2015 3:10 pm Report: D'Angelo Russell to enter the NBA Draft April 13, 2015 2:29 pm Report: Virginia's Justin Anderson to enter the NBA Draft April 13, 2015 10:30 am Kansas guard Wayne Selden to return for junior season April 10, 2015 2:19 pm


Police did not release her name.
Trejo had a warrant for his arrest and was booked into the San Joaquin County jail, according to police.
The investigation is ongoing and investigators are asking anyone with information to call 209-937-8377.


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BIRD BAKERY, ELLIS HILL, MIRON CROSBY, etc.


text:
Q: How to create an iterator based on another collection I have a collection of Users List where User looks like:
User
-id
-uniqueKey (String)
I have another collection of List where ExternalUser has a uniqueKey also.
I want to loop through the List, but actually return a External User.
How can I create an iterator that does this?

A: Without having your sample code, it is hard to fully answer. However, this is a code sample that I believe would provide you with what you are looking for:
var externalUsers = users.Select(user => externalUserIds.Contains(user.UniqueKey));

That will provide you with a iterator of user object instances which have a UniqueKey of an external user.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


SportsAble can raise in excess of £20,000 each year through street collections – but we need the help of members and volunteers to make them successful!
RBWM has issued a licence that allows SportsAble to attend Ascot Races with collection buckets. We are allowed outside and inside the event. It presents a fantastic opportunity to raise money, spread awareness of our charity and talk to people about what we do.
We really need wheelchair users and people who can help to push them around the venue, so it is an opportunity for everyone to get involved.
Even if you can commit to one of the dates it will make all the difference – the more the merrier!
If you are interested, please email donovan906@btinternet.com to register your interest.


The Girl They Call Es: G.O.M.D.
The one and only J.Cole has given us the visuals for his song, G.O.M.D., off his latest album 2014 Forest Hills Drive! The Lawrence Lamont directed video depicts a slave rebellion orchestrated by Cole on a small plantation. This was one of my favorite songs off the album and I would never guess that a slave rebellion would be the concept for its video. But well done, Cole... well done.
I also have to mention that there is a lot of accuracy with imagery and wardrobe in the video, so kudos to whoever handled that. How would I know this? It's not a long story, but it's a story for another day.
Anywho, Cole just finsihed taking SXSW by storm and will continue to be on the road for most of the year. For more info on that, google. It's J.Cole, y'all. Don't act brand new.


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Home Money, Politics and Power Didn't See It Coming?
Didn't See It Coming?
Despite the reams of analysis produced by the chattering classes each day, the course of our politics is hardly predictable.
by Steve Erickson
Surely by now you've figured out that you shouldn't be listening to any of us, haven't you? One of the more nitwitted arguments of Marxist-Leninists-back when there were such people-was that history is a science and human behavior is as predictable as chemical interaction, rendering sociological results inevitable,; and if few of us in what passes for the commentariat these days would put matters in such a way, we still tend to view politics as a series of patterns determined by previous patterns, which are defined by ideology and demographics. Intangibles, X factors, monkey wrenches in the machinery-or, in other words, human beings acting like human beings-get lost in the accounting, and sometimes the result is a conventional wisdom that not only proves wrong but also didn't make sense in the first place.
To argue that this election is about demographics suggests major blocs congenitally programmed to support one candidate or another: Naturally, for instance, young people are going to vote for Barack Obama. Can anyone believe they would vote for the likes of Mitt Romney, at once so square and strange? But this is a stylistic estimation-one that, to be sure, was borne out in the last election-and, particularly among the young, style is a passing phase. The report a couple of weeks ago by The New York Times of a generation of 20-somethings growing up with the Obama economy and feeling increasingly hopeless reminds those of us willing to date ourselves that, 30 years ago, the prospect of a post-Woodstock generation supporting a wacky right-wing California governor going on 70 was equally unlikely. The result was the so-called Reagan Revolution and a new wave of young conservatives, and by the same token, if the Mormon dude with the underwear and airborne dog can come up with jobs for kids still sitting around their parents' house three years after college, then cars won't be the only thing riding the elevator of Romney's political fortunes.
To argue that this election is about ideology suggests that philosophically held views by a moderately conservative electorate will always trump the visceral. A month or so back, a consensus among the punditry amassed with startling velocity: Questions raised by the Obama campaign regarding Romney's experience at the private-equity firm Bain Capital weren't "working" politically and, moreover, weren't "fair game," though this is exactly the part of his biography on which the Massachusetts governor runs. Advanced most prominently by Newark Mayor Cory Booker, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and former President Bill Clinton, this argument was accepted not just as smart analysis but practically hard news, until more data-based evidence proved what any gut check suggested, which is that in an era when people's dreams of getting rich have been displaced by desperate hopes of making the house payment, an Ohio factory worker might be less sanguine about a nominee who eviscerates local industries, fires the employees, and stashes the profit in overseas bank accounts while refusing to release his tax returns.
The most spectacular personification of political expertise upended by the vagaries of human caprice is John Glover Roberts of Indiana, whose capacity for mindfuckery will never be sold short again after the recent Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. I would love to tell you that, alone among my fellow sheep baaing our insights in unison, I predicted Roberts's support for the law's constitutionality-and in fact I did; reasons to foresee such an outcome lay in both Supreme Court precedent and Roberts's own judicial philosophy and testimony during his confirmation hearings seven years ago. What I never anticipated, however, was that Roberts would be the deciding vote. Rather, I expected him to requisition the role of majority opinionator in a 6-3 decision once the so-called "decider" of newsweekly lore, Anthony Kennedy, made the judgment a fait accompli. When I woke to the news a week and a half ago and scoured the reports for details, I couldn't wrap my head around the 5-4 tally: Wait … what? Five to four in favor, with Roberts the deciding opinion? As in, the same five and four that add up to nine?
The right-wing notion that Roberts's arm was twisted is as ludicrous as the leftish fantasy that he's now turned into Earl Warren. What analysis didn't take into account about Roberts-didn't know how to take into account-was the Historical Ego. This is the same Historical Ego possessed by the same president that three years ago the chief justice swore into office, the Historical Ego that, in Obama's case, overruled the denizens of the Situation Room to green-light the pursuit of Osama bin Laden or insisted on pursuing health-care reform when there was little political percentage in it. The conservative Roberts had just enough vision-however else he might feel about the Affordable Care Act or however problematic or just plain unpalatable he might find it-to glimpse the forces of 21st-century inexorability gathering around the eventual reform of a health-care system that used to consume 10 percent of the national economy, now consumes 17 percent, and is on its way to consuming 25 percent, beyond which is a financial ruin even capriciousness can't contest. Historical Ego chose to hop the train bound for a flawed, maybe failed, glory rather than derail it, and anybody who wasn't busy watching everything else that didn't matter would have seen that coming.
Blog: Vox Pop Politics Election 2012
Steve Erickson has contributed to The New York Times, Esquire, Rolling Stone and Los Angeles.
Read more by Steve Erickson


Certiport's new certification exam helps instructors gauge students' 21st-century skills.
Employers are looking for candidates who can navigate, critically evaluate, and make sense of the wealth of information available through digital media—and now educators have a new way to determine a student's baseline digital literacy with a certification exam that measures the test-taker's ability to assess information, think critically, and perform a range of real-world tasks.
The test, iCritical Thinking Certification, created by the Educational Testing Service and Certiport, reveals whether or not a person is able to combine technical skills with experiences and knowledge.
Today's students need to be able to think critically and effectively solve problems while using technology, Certiport explains—going beyond simply searching for information. They also must evaluate the legitimacy of the information, put it in context, and then apply problem-solving and decision-making skills.
"The test and certification program is designed to help employers [and educators] know that a student is ready for the workforce or for academia," said Quinn Sutton, Certiport's senior vice president.
Designed for students with at least a 10th grade reading level, iCritical Thinking allows students to demonstrate the ability to think critically within technology-enabled academic and workplace environments. About an hour in length, the test features 14 tasks based on real-world scenarios such as extracting information from a database, drawing conclusions from a spreadsheet, or composing an eMail based on findings—tasks students would be expected to do in the 21st-century workplace.
The test simulates the use of common, vendor-neutral applications to measure students' information and communications technology (ICT) literacy skills. Each task takes about four minutes to complete. The test produces individual score and group report summaries for instructors.
Monica Brooks, Marshall University's assistant vice president for Information Technology: Online Learning and Libraries, said her school plans to use iCritical Thinking beginning in the fall.
Marshall University will use the certification in two different ways. A sampling of freshman will take iCritical Thinking as a part of their first-year seminar as a way to benchmark skills and inform instructors about the topics that need to be covered.
Marshall is also part of a state-run program that helps working adults receive a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree.
Brooks plans to use the certification at the end of her Instructional Technology of Libraries class to measure how well students learned the advanced digital literacy skills taught during the class.