text:
From its earliest origins, the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce has played a vital role in business, government and civic life in Melbourne and the state of Victoria. Its history dates back to 12 March 1851 and the 'counting house' of an accountant, Mr Octavius Brown.
Initial membership included some of Melbourne's most visionary business people including stockbroker J.B. Were, and the Chamber's founding President was merchant and politician William Westgarth. The Melbourne Chamber has consistently advocated for free trade and through the power and influence of its members, has been well positioned to play an active role in political life.
"From that year, 1851, the Chamber grew in membership and importance, and played a vital part in the business activities of Melbourne."
The Argus 19.12.1934
The Melbourne Chamber of Commerce was established as the gold rush transformed the Australian economy. In 1888, the Chamber took up residence in the very first brick house built in Melbourne, at the corner of William Street and Flinders Lane.
The mission of the Melbourne Chamber was to represent the best interests of business as well as to arbitrate mercantile disputes and represent the business community at the time, which included accountants, bankers, financiers, importers, shipping owners and brokers.
From that very first evening in the 'counting house', the Melbourne Chamber has been invitation only, with an influential membership base that has represented the city's key players in the advancement of Melbourne as a leading international economy.
The Melbourne Chamber has exerted influence at the highest levels – petitioning Queen Victoria in 1865 over customs duties; championing improvements to Melbourne's rivers and harbours to improve commercial activities and it was also an early supporter of the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia as a Federation of Colonies in 1901.
The Melbourne Chamber of Commerce was also an important supporter of the establishment of the Chambers of Commerce of the Commonwealth, which changed to the State Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1986 and in 1991 became the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) and recently rebranded to Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In July 2013, the historic Melbourne Chamber of Commerce brand was reintroduced as a premium offer to address the contemporary needs of medium to large organisations. View the current members of the MCC.
About the Melbourne Chamber


text:
Senator Collins Announces $10.525 Million to Replace Beals Island Bridge
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee, announced this morning that the U.S. Department of Transportation will award $10,525,000 in federal funding toward the replacement of the Beals Island Bridge in Jonesport, Maine. The funding is awarded from the successful Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program.
Weekly Column_2_0_0_0.jpg
The Critical Response We Need: The Senate Takes Action to Combat the Heroin and Opioid Abuse Epidemic
In a 24-hour period in June, six people overdosed on opioids in Sanford, one of whom died as a result. In Monmouth, three people overdosed on heroin in one week. And in April, two people died from overdoses in just two days in Biddeford.
Senators Collins, McCaskill Seek More Information on AstraZeneca's Position That Generic Competitors to Crestor Should be Delayed
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, sent a letter to AstraZeneca seeking more information on the company's position that generic competitors to Crestor® should be delayed from entering the market.
Senators Collins, King Announce More than $1.8 Million for Lead Abatement in Portland
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King announced today that the City of Portland will be awarded $1,568,592 in Lead Based Paint Hazard Control grant program funding and $246,275 in Healthy Homes Supplemental funding. The city will use the funding to help address lead hazards in 80 housing units, providing safer homes for low and very low-income families with children.
Bangor International Airport Receives License Allowing Transit Stops on Flights to and from Cuba
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, announced today that the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a license to Bangor International Airport, allowing the airport to provide refueling and services for flights to and from Cuba. Senator Collins wrote to OFAC and the State Department in support of Bangor Airport's application for this license, and she has authored legislation to allow U.S.
Senator Collins' Statement on Release of 28 Pages
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued this statement in response to the declassification of the 28 pages of the 9/11 Joint Congressional Inquiry:
Senator Collins' Statement on Terrorist Attack in Nice, France
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) released this statement today regarding the terrorist attack in Nice, France:
"I am appalled by the horrific terrorist attack in Nice that claimed more than 80 lives, including at least two Americans. This news is particularly troubling since France is still reeling from the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more last November as well as the Charlie Hebdo shooting last year.
Collins, King Announce More Than $1.6 Million in Funding to Expand Access to Rural Broadband & Invest in Telemedicine Innovation in Maine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a total of $1,644,596 in grant funding to four Maine school districts and a rural health care provider through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Loan and Grant program. The funding will help connect rural communities with medical and educational experts in other parts of the country, increasing access to health care, substance misuse treatment and advanced educational opportunities.
Sen. Collins and Anne Hall.jpg
Blue Hill Resident Anne Hall Unanimously Confirmed by the Senate as Ambassador to Lithuania
Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Anne Hall as the new Ambassador to Lithuania last night. Senator Collins introduced Ms.
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Senator Collins Meets with Maine's National Youth Correspondents
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Susan Collins today met with Sophia Wood of Auburn and Elise Kenney of Orono, Maine's National Youth Correspondents who are attending the Washington Journalism and Media Conference hosted by George Mason University and the Newseum. Sophia is a rising sophomore at Edward Little High School, and Elise is a rising senior at Orono High School.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Windows.Documents;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text.Projection;

namespace TestUtilities.Mocks {
    public class MockBufferGraph : IBufferGraph {
        private readonly MockTextView _view;
        private readonly List<ITextBuffer> _buffers = new List<ITextBuffer>();

        public MockBufferGraph(MockTextView view) {
            _view = view;
            _buffers.Add(view.TextBuffer);
        }

        public IMappingPoint CreateMappingPoint(SnapshotPoint point, PointTrackingMode trackingMode) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public IMappingSpan CreateMappingSpan(SnapshotSpan span, SpanTrackingMode trackingMode) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public Collection<ITextBuffer> GetTextBuffers(Predicate<ITextBuffer> match) {
            var res = new Collection<ITextBuffer>();
            foreach (var buffer in _buffers) {
                if (match(buffer)) {
                    res.Add(buffer);
                }
            }
            return res;
        }

        public void AddBuffer(ITextBuffer buffer) {
            _buffers.Add(buffer);
        }

        public event EventHandler<GraphBufferContentTypeChangedEventArgs> GraphBufferContentTypeChanged {
            add { }
            remove { }
        }

        public event EventHandler<GraphBuffersChangedEventArgs> GraphBuffersChanged {
            add {
            }
            remove {
            }
        }

        public NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection MapDownToBuffer(SnapshotSpan span, SpanTrackingMode trackingMode, ITextBuffer targetBuffer) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public SnapshotPoint? MapDownToBuffer(SnapshotPoint position, PointTrackingMode trackingMode, ITextBuffer targetBuffer, PositionAffinity affinity) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection MapDownToFirstMatch(SnapshotSpan span, SpanTrackingMode trackingMode, Predicate<ITextSnapshot> match) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public SnapshotPoint? MapDownToFirstMatch(SnapshotPoint position, PointTrackingMode trackingMode, Predicate<ITextSnapshot> match, PositionAffinity affinity) {
            return position;
        }

        public SnapshotPoint? MapDownToInsertionPoint(SnapshotPoint position, PointTrackingMode trackingMode, Predicate<ITextSnapshot> match) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection MapDownToSnapshot(SnapshotSpan span, SpanTrackingMode trackingMode, ITextSnapshot targetSnapshot) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public SnapshotPoint? MapDownToSnapshot(SnapshotPoint position, PointTrackingMode trackingMode, ITextSnapshot targetSnapshot, PositionAffinity affinity) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection MapUpToBuffer(SnapshotSpan span, SpanTrackingMode trackingMode, ITextBuffer targetBuffer) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public SnapshotPoint? MapUpToBuffer(SnapshotPoint point, PointTrackingMode trackingMode, PositionAffinity affinity, ITextBuffer targetBuffer) {
            int position = 0;
            for (int i = 0; i < _buffers.Count; i++) {
                if (_buffers[i] == targetBuffer) {
                    return new SnapshotPoint(point.Snapshot, position + point.Position);
                }
                position += _buffers[i].CurrentSnapshot.Length;
            }
            return null;
        }

        public NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection MapUpToFirstMatch(SnapshotSpan span, SpanTrackingMode trackingMode, Predicate<ITextSnapshot> match) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public SnapshotPoint? MapUpToFirstMatch(SnapshotPoint point, PointTrackingMode trackingMode, Predicate<ITextSnapshot> match, PositionAffinity affinity) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection MapUpToSnapshot(SnapshotSpan span, SpanTrackingMode trackingMode, ITextSnapshot targetSnapshot) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public SnapshotPoint? MapUpToSnapshot(SnapshotPoint point, PointTrackingMode trackingMode, PositionAffinity affinity, ITextSnapshot targetSnapshot) {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public ITextBuffer TopBuffer {
            get { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
People v. Sanborn (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 9, 2005)
There are two interesting things about this opinion. First, it's yet another in an infinitely long line of cases in which the defendant gets sentenced to (in essence) death in prison for molesting children. Infinitely. Long. Line. Sanborn is 34, and is sentenced to a determinate term of 24 years plus two consecutive terms of 12 years. So enjoy dying behind bars. Oh, by the way. They love child molesters in there. It'll be a great series of decades. If you somehow manage to survive them. Opinions will vary on whether that's the appropriate punishment. But it's definitely common.
Second, there's actually a double jeopardy claim here of a type I've never seen before. The jury begins to deliberate, and these deliberations last a long time. The jury eventually reaches a verdict on some (but not all) of the counts, but then there's a death in the family of one of the jurors, and she's excused. At which point the judge instructs the jury to rip up the verdict forms they've already completed and start anew. Which they do, and then convict the defendant on a ton of counts. In response to which the defendant argues that this procedure (in which he acquiesced) violates double jeopardy, since once the jury reached a verdict on the counts on which they agreed, jeopardy attached. So the post-ripping-up verdicts were impermissible.
Justice Hollenhorst rejects this claim, which seems right, though I might have articulated different reasons than his. Which actually puts it favorably, since I think that he doesn't really have any actual reasons, but instead merely discusses and distinguishes precedent, rather than expressing any actual policy or doctrinal arguments. My sense is that the verdicts are final only once they're accepted by the judge, or at least read in court, and hence the ripped-up verdict sheets don't count. Still, it's an interesting double jeopardy argument. And if the jury had indeed found the defendant not guilty in these initial verdict sheets, I'd have a tough time arguing that double jeopardy didn't attach, even though that still seems the right result. This case, however, doesn't present such a pristine and difficult case. Still, it's an interesting -- and novel -- issue. One I hadn't even thought about before, much less confronted in the real world.
One other thing. Does anyone really believe -- honestly -- that juries even pretend to follow instructions to begin deliberations anew once an alternate is seated? Come on. You know that it's pretty much a total fiction that they start deliberations all over. And if you didn't know it before this case, definitely go ahead and check out what happens here. The jury deliberates for eight full days without reaching a verdict, asking for some testimonial readbacks and the like. Then the alternate comes in and the jury instructed to deliberate anew. At which point the jury takes all of three and a half hours to reach a verdict on ten-plus counts. Oh yeah. I'm really sure they totally started over. Definitely. But Justice Hollenhorst doesn't care. It's a black box. Which means we just pretend that they follow our instructions. Even when we know that's a total lie.
Anyway. Enjoy prison, Mr. Sanborn. Good luck on your eventual habeas petition. Assuming, of course, you can find someone to do it for you. Without screwing it up. And without getting iced in prison first.
People v. Cross (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 28, 2005)
Judges v. Turkey (9th Cir. - Nov. 19-29, 2005)
In Re Koven (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 22, 2005)
Viva! v. Adidas (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 21, 2005)
U.S. v. Howard (9th. Cir. - Nov. 15, 2005)
Christoff v. Union Pacific (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 2...
Martinez Barroso v. Gonzales (9th Cir. - Nov. 18, ...
Chaffee v. San Francisco Public Library Comm'n (Ca...
Yount v. City of Sacramento (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. ...
The Santa Anita Companies v. Westfield Corp. (Cal....
Osman v. Superior Court (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 16, ...
In Re Rains (9th Cir. - Nov. 8, 2005)
U.S. v. Norris (9th Cir. - Nov. 10, 2005)
Brief Sojourn
Parkview Villas Ass'n v. State Farm (Cal. Ct. App....
Daniels v. Woodford (9th Cir. - Nov. 2, 2005)


text:
January 8, 2017 — Leave a comment
Marcus Rashford is the coming man for Manchester United, he once again proved to be prolific smashing a four minute brace against Reading.
The question is with the likes of Anthony Martial and Zlatan Ibrahimovic ahead of him at Old Trafford, would a move to a different Premier League side benefit the six cap England international?
The England striker has been played out of position wide on the left wing offering him less of chance at scoring.
It is arguable that a move to a less well known, wealthy club would give the prolific youngster some much needed time playing in his favoured central role.
Rashford could benefit from playing elsewhere.
One such squad that is seriously struggling for goals is Southampton with the joint second lowest goals tally, a loan move for Rashford could be a considered a very real option although with Mourinho already looking to offload Memphis Depay it maybe unlikely a loan deal could be struck without Manchester United making a move for another forward this month.
Burnley, West Bromwich Albion and Watford are also struggling to score but could with more goals reasonably target Europa League qualification. A loan move to any of these clubs would be considered a coup for many of the clubs and would almost certainly help Rashford build his profile.
It is really a question of Mourinho's long term plan for the young talent but it would be reasonable to suggest that should Marcus Rashford gain more time in his favoured strike role and more goals, he could well be the striker England are looking for.
This entry was posted in football, Uncategorized and tagged burnley, depay, England, europa league, forward, goals, ibrahimovic, loan, manchester united, martial, mourinho, old trafford, position, Premier League, rashford, reading, southampton, striker, watford, west ham, wing. Bookmark the permalink.
Barclays Premier League Previews (SO-SU)
Barclays Premier League Preview: Southampton
Manager: Claude Puel
Stadium: St. Mary's Stadium (Capacity: 32,505)
Captain: Jose Fonté
Top Scorer: Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mané (11)
Biggest Signing: Nathan Redmond (£11 million)
Prediction: Safety
Southampton have overachieved over the last two years and Koeman has built a squad capable of challenging the best..that is until he left this summer.
Although the club have seen a large number of departures over the last two years it feels as though the loss of Koeman could be the one that is felt the most on the south coast.
Southampton have an ability to play an attacking, exciting brand of football with a talented set of midfielders and attacking wide players offering width and pace. This coupled with prolific finishers made Southampton a feared force last year.
Austin will be hoping to start more this season as Pelle moves to China.
They have lost many of their core players that were there to create the chances whilst also losing both their top scorers, it will be interesting to see if they have ready made replacements or if they may become a poor man's Arsenal, all this talent and excitement but without the glue to hold it all together.
Saints will not be threatened by relegation but I also think the top half will be unattainable for the club. A lot of this though will depend on the man management and gameplan utilised by new manager Puel.
In terms of recruitment the outgoing list dwarfs the incoming one, they have lost some seriously talented players that were key to Southampton's outstanding 6th placed finish this season.
Nathan Redmond (Norwich City, £11 million)
Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg (Bayern Munich, Undisclosed)
Sadio Mané (Liverpool, £34 million)
Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng, Undisclosed)
Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur, Undisclosed)
Juanmi (Real Sociedad, Undisclosed)
Gaston Ramirez (Middlesborough, Released)
Kelvin Davis (Retired)
Southampton will be looking to bolster their squad further with them currently looking at goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
Redmond could be an important capture.
My Southampton XI (4-2-3-1): 44 F.Forster; 2 C.Soares, 6 J.Fonté (Captain), 17 V. Van Dijk, 21 R.Bertrand; 16 J.Ward-Prowse, 8 S.Davis; NA N.Redmond, 7 S.Long, 11 D.Tadic; 28 C.Austin
Barclays Premier League Preview: Stoke City
Manager: Mark Hughes
Stadium: Brittania Stadium (Capacity: 27,902)
Captain: Ryan Shawcross
Top Scorer: Marko Arnautovic (11)
Biggest Signing: Joe Allen (£13 million)
Prediction: Mid-Table
Stoke have made some impressing strides of late and have clambered up to being a fairly consistent mid-table side even if they did start the season struggling to find goals.
When you have quality like Xherdan Shaqiri and Ibrahim Afellay you can produce some good football whoever your opponents may be.
Shaqiri is one of Stoke's stars.
Stoke have the following to keep building and keep striving to outdo their nearest rivals with some good football and entertaining attacking coupled with strong defending makes them a formidable side.
They have leaders across the pitch, Shawcross, Adam, Crouch all of whom have huge amounts of experience and have given this team a real identity.
In terms of transfers Stoke have made the most of their money brining in two acquisition to make a difference whilst cutting the deadweight loose.
Joe Allen (Liverpool, £13 million)
Ramadan Sobhi (Al Ahly, £5 million)
Ben Barber (York City, Free)
Yusuf Coban (1899 Hoffenheim, Free)
Dominic Kurasik (Brentford, Free)
Alex Grant (Perth Glory, Released)
Peter Odemwingie (Released)
It looks as though much of Stoke's business is now completed, the chase for Berahino has gone cold now. It remains to be seen what else could be done before the season starts.
Joe Allen could make a real difference.
My Stoke City XI (4-2-3-1): 1 J.Butland; 8 G.Johnson, 20 G.Cameron, 17 R.Shawcross (Captain), 3 E.Pieters; 4 J.Allen, 6 G.Whelan; 10 M.Arnautovic, 14 I.Afellay, 22 X.Shaqiri; 18 MB Diouf
Barclays Premier League Preview: Sunderland AFC
Manager: David Moyes
Stadium: Stadium of Light (Capacity: 49,000)
Captain: John O'Shea
Top Scorer: Jermain Defoe (15)
Biggest Signing: Not Applicable
Last Season: 17th
Sunderland did very well at the tail end of last season as Allardyce steered them to safety sending Newcastle and Norwich down on the penultimate match of the season.
One man that was instrumental in Sunderland's survival was former Tottenham striker Defoe who picked up a healthy 15 Premier League goals last season for the Black Cats.
Defoe has a stunning strike record.
Sunderland have lost Sam Allardyce to England and must rebuild under Scotsman Moyes who takes his first job since being sacked as Real Sociedad manager. Sunderland are much a club in the Everton mould when Moyes first took over there.
The squad is full of experienced international players who most of whom are past their best but possess a wealth of knowledge regarding the Premier League.
Sunderland should have enough quality to see off other strugglers like Bournemouth and Swansea and if Defoe is kept well supplied up front there is no reason the veteran striker cannot score the tally he racked up this season.
Recruitment wise it has been very poor, no new faces plus a bunch of high profile departures, Sunderland's transfer strategy has been woeful.
David Moyes is the only new face.
Emanuele Giaccherini (Napoli, £2 million)
Santigo Vergini (Boca Juniors, £1.5 million)
Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday, Free)
Martin Smith (Kilmarnock, Free)
Danny Graham (Blackburn Rovers, Released)
Wes Brown (Released)
Steve Harper (Released)
They have lost some big names there, Giaccherini will be missed the most, failure to pull in any other players and with very few rumours, panic buying may be Moyes' strategy come August.
My Sunderland XI (4-1-3-1-1): 25 V.Mannone; 2 B.Jones, 16 J.O'Shea (Captain), 15 Y.Kaboul, 3 P. Van Aanholt; 6 L.Cattermole; 14 J.Gomez, 8 J.Rodwell, 7 S.Larsson; 22 W.Khazri; 18 J.Defoe
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged adam, affelay, allardyce, allen, arnautovic, austin, berahino, black cats, brittania, crouch, defoe, England, fonte, giaccherini, hughes, koeman, mane, mccarthy, moyes, pelle, puel, redmond, shaqiri, shawcrosss, sobhi, southampton, st marys, stoke, sunderland, wanyama. Bookmark the permalink.
West Ham United Preview
Manager: Slaven Bilic
Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Captain: Kevin Nolan
Top Scorer: Diafra Sakho (11)
West Ham had a good season last year under Allardyce and played some good football, with a good season under their belt they'll hope to kick on this year under a new manager before they move homes to the Olympic Park.
West Ham had a stunning first part of the season and had only lost 3 games by 8th November also had claimed some impressive scalps along the way. Losses to Manchester United, Tottenham and Southampton were nothing to be ashamed of either this run was huge for the London club. They were in the top 4 courtesy of this good form and a high profile 2-1 win over Manchester City on 25th October had rubber-stamped their credentials. They had also beaten Liverpool 3-1 in September they were showing that they were not a club to be taken lightly this astonishing form continued after November as they would only lose 3 more games before the turn of the year they cam in the form of narrow losses to Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton they finished 2014 in 6th place still impressive for the London club that had surpassed many clubs with both a bigger budget and better squad.
Sam Allardyce leaves the club after just 1 season.
The second half would not be so successful for West Ham between the 31st January until the 25th April the club would only win 1 game as they beat Sunderland 1-0. This amazing fall from grace saw them in 10th place no mean feat for the club as they failed to find the astonishing form which had won them many fans before New Year's Day. They were still playing attractive, free flowing football but the results were proving hard to come by. They finished the season with 3 straight losses and finished in 12th place. A respectable position but you can't help but feel had they kept up the pace and not gone off the boil then Europe was a very real possibility. This season could be an important 1 for the club.
West Ham have been a club that had rarely looked like it will win games but now they are looking the business. They have played some good games and built a squad around some key players such as the enigmatic captain Kevin Nolan who has been hugely prominent in English football over the last decade it is strange that he has few England caps to his name. Mark Noble is another really big part of the West Ham puzzle and his form at 1 point put him in contention for England. Noble is a truly important player his partnership with Nolan is a real contrast of light and shade which made them so effective for large parts of last season.
Although Sakho was scoring a lot of the goals Enner Valencia had a good season for the Hammers he himself netting 5 times. His ability to do things he has no right to do make him a standout player he has this outrageous audacity to attempt things that players should not attempt. Valencia has the ability to turn games on their head I have a feeling the striker will be a huge part of this season. He has a team around him that know how to provide the Ecuadorian with quality ball with which he can dazzle opponents and fans alike.
Enner Valencia celebrates scoring a goal for Ecuador.
Transfer business a strength for former boss Allardyce, Bilic has made a total of 6 signings whilst 8 players head for pastures new. He has brought in some rathe interesting players as well as bringing in Arsenal defender Jenkinson on loan. Ogbonna from Champions League finalists Juventus is a huge coup. He is a no nonsense centre back, his aerial ability is good and makes him a real handful at the set piece. Ogbonna could be key part of West Ham's season. Dimitri Payet is a good signing he offers an attacking outlet to compliment the forwards such as Sakho and Valencia he will be a real threat if defenders allow him the space to exploit them with his pace and vicious power.
Ogbonna poses after completing his signing for West Ham.
Veteran Carlton Cole goes he was just not providing enough to the squad although the former England striker could be a valuable asset to a Championship side. Downing the biggest transfer for West Ham this summer as he heads back to the north east to join Middlesborough an interesting transfer for both clubs he will be missed in London.
IN: Dimitri Payet (Olympique Marseille, Undisclosed)
Angelo Ogbonna (Juventus, €11 million)
Stephen Hendrie (Hamilton, Undisclosed)
Martin Samuelsen (Manchester City, Free)
Pedro Obiang (Sampdoria, Undisclosed)
Darren Randolph (Birmingham City, Free)
OUT: Carlton Cole (Free Agents, Free)
Stewart Downing (Middlesborough, £5.5 million)
Jussi Jääskeläinen (Wigan Athletic, Free)
Sean MacGuire (Dundalk, Free)
Nenê (Vasco de Gama, Free)
Guy Demel (Free Agents, Free)
Paul McCallum (Leyton Orient, Free)
Dan Potts (Luton Town, Free)
Some interesting signings and a rediscovery of that early season form could see them produce a stellar season it remains to be seen how much of that was down to manager Allardyce but we will see soon enough.
My West Ham United XI (4-2-3-1): 13 Adrián; 12 C.Jenkinson 21 A,Ogbonna 2 W.Reid 3 A.Cresswell; 4 K.Nolan (C), 16 M.Noble; 18 M.Amalfitano 27 D.Payet 11 E.Valencia; 15 D.Sakho
Bench: 1 D.Randolph 5 J.Tomkins 33 S.Hendrie 7 M.Jarvis 28 M.Lanzini 9 A.Carroll 20 M.Maïga
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged 2014, 2015, allardyce, april, Arsenal, attractive, big sam, bilic, boleyn ground, carlton cole, center back, champions league, championship, Chelsea, contrast, downing, ecuador, England, english, europe, everton, free flowing, goals, january, jenkinson, juventus, liverpool, london, Manchester City, manchester united, middlesborough, new years day, noble, nolan, north east, november, october, ogbonna, olympic park, olympic stadium, payet, rediscovery, respectable, sakho, september, southampton, sunderland, tottenham, turn of the year, valencia, west ham. Bookmark the permalink.
Tottenham Hotspur Preview
Manager: Mauricio Pocchetino
Stadium: White Hart Lane
Captain: Hugo Lloris
Top Scorer: Harry Kane (31)
Tottenham a team that have really challenged the top 4 in recent seasons and now a regular team in European competitions last year however was a difficult one for the north London club.
Although Tottenham threaten the top 4 clubs in league positioning wins are rare they suffered heavy defeats to Manchester City as they were humiliated 4-1 and Chelsea who blew them away 3-0. Liverpool also put them to the sword as that match ended 4-1. These big losses before Christmas did not look good for Spurs. They were having patchy runs of form here and there but nothing to suggest they were good enough. None of their stars were really stepping up bar Kane and Eriksen at regular and long intervals. Tottenham found themsleves in 10th in mid December before they went on a run of 3 wins over the festive period including a win over Swansea away from home which many teams found tough with Swansea really improving every season. Spurs rose 3 places to 7th before they faced Manchester United a game that looked rather bleak if you looked at Spurs track record against England's most successful club, they could only manage a 0-0 draw.
Tottenham players celebrate victory over Crystal Palace.
The 1st day of 2015 was the day that brought Tottenham's best result and a match that made a hero out of England striker Harry Kane. Chelsea were beaten 5-3 in a phenomenal match, it was unheard of to put 5 past Courtois. Kane was sensational and suddenly a fanfare arose from the British press and the cries to get the striker playing for England rose into a crescendo. This second half of the season would prove to be much more fruitful than their slow start. A 2-1 win over Arsenal at White Hart Lane on 7th February was sensational and the Spurs stars were beginning to perform and bring some life and electricity to White Hart Lane. A trip to Manchester United was tough viewing as they were downed 3-0 at Old Trafford. This left the club reeling. Their run-in was fairly kind and a 4-3 win over Leicester showed how dangerous the club can be on the attack. They were building something special. This assault on the upper reaches of the table that started on New Years Day. They ended the season with a 1-0 victory against Everton a result that showed they are able to play some attractive football and will be looking to build on that sort of form in the coming seasons.
Tottenham very much assured as one of England's could be clubs, they are missing 1 or 2 pieces of that puzzle a strand of that DNA that makes the Chelseas and Manchester Citys stand out. They found parts they didn't know they had last season such as a world class striker and keeper in Kane and Lloris both of whim have been the interest of Manchester United although it seems their interest in Lloris has cooled now they have 5 goalkeepers in their 1st team. There are a few positions they lack in and at times their defence was exposed last season even in their 5-3 victory over eventual champions Chelsea is not a healthy record. Their goal difference was only a +5 at the end of the season compare that to 7th placed Southampton who finished with +21 but 2 places lower in the league table. Tottenham's average season will need to be built on if they wish to play Champions League football anytime soon.
Tottenham's key player was undoubtedly Harry Kane. The young finisher was outstanding following Christmas. He scored 31 goals in all competitions this season that is an alarming amount of goals. That is just 1 less goal that Agüero managed last season. Kane's form earned him and England call-up. He scored on his debut and sent the country into delirium. The English striker saved Tottenham on many occasions and after becoming a cult icon after single handedly dismantling Chelsea he also scored the winner in the derby win over Arsenal. His finishing ability see him stand out as one of the league's best forwards. He is going to be key to both his club and country's fortunes for years to come.
Harry Kane got rewarded for club form by an England call-up.
Tottenham have been rather busy offloading players over the summer but have brought in a few fresh faces so they can continue to push for a top 4 place. They have brought in 3 new players the most notable being the acquisition of centre back Toby Alderweireld from the Spanish capital. He is a wonderful defender and could be a huge difference for a defence that at times leaked goals possibly the reason they have also brought in Wimmer. Kieran Trippier is another very canny signing a player that can be of service as back-up or in irritation system with Kyle Walker and Danny Rose. Tripper is quick and provides a counter attacker that can pose problems for slow midfielders if he is given room on the outside.
Alternierend in action for Ajax.
A total of 7 first team departures. Brad Friedel finally retires from football at the age of 44, a wonderful servant to the game and the Premier League the former USA goalkeeper will be missed. Kaboul also leaves having had a good career in north London a player that was a real asset to the Spurs team and understood what the club meant to the fans. Lewis Holtby leaves the club, the promising midfielder showed some real potential last season but Tottenham have so much depth in midfield Holtby was always going to struggle. Paulinho has also had enough of north London, he has a great couple of seasons. Some high profile departures could harm Tottenham although their recruitment seems very smart.
IN: Toby Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid, £11.5 million)
Kieran Trippier (Burnley, £3.5 million)
Kevin Wimmer (FC Köln, £4.3 million)
OUT: Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande, £9.9 million)
Brad Friedel (Retired)
Lewis Holtby (Hamburg, £4.6 million)
Younés Kaboul (Sunderland, £3 million)
Étienne Capoue (Watford, £6.3 million)
Benjamin Stambouli (Paris Saint-Germain, £6 million)
Vlad Chiriches (Napoli, £4.5 million)
Tottenham should have an interesting season and should their stars be in a good vein of form I see no reason they can retain 5th.
My Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): 1 H.Lloris; 2 K.Walker 4 T.Alderweireld 15 E.Dier 3 D.Rose; 19 M.Dembélé 8 R.Mason; 22 N.Chadli 23 C.Eriksen 17 A.Townsend; 10 H.Kane
Bench: 13 M.Vorm 16 K.Trippier 5 J.Vertonghen 27 K.Wimmer 6 N.Bentaleb 11 É.Lamela 9 R.Soldado
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged 31, aguero, alderweireld, Arsenal, champions, champions league, Chelsea, christmas, courtois, cult icon, december, derby, England, eriksen, europe, everton, february, friedel, goalkeeper, hotlby, kaboul, kane, leicester, liverpool, lloris, london, Manchester City, manchester united, new years day, old trafford, paulinho, pocchetino, potential, rose, southampton, spain, Spurs, swansea, top 4, tottenham, trippier, usa, walker, white hart lane, wimmer. Bookmark the permalink.
Sunderland Preview
Manager: Dick Advocaat
Stadium: Stadium of Light
Captain: Lee Cattermole
Top Scorer: Connor Wickham/ Jordi Gomez (6)
Sunderland a season that saw them head for relegation before a sterling fightback under Advocaat saw them find a way to stay in England's top flight. Sunderland live to fight another day.
Sunderland had a fairly average start to the season although they failed to secure a win until 4th October, they only lost 1 match and that was a 1-0 defeat away at QPR. They had managed wonderful draws against both Manchester United and Tottenham setting them up rather nicely. The 3-1 win over Stoke was unfortunately not a sign of things to come for Poyet and the Black Cats as 14 days later they would suffer a 8-0 humbling at the hands of Southampton. This would be a should destroying result for any side they returned home the week after only to once again fail to score as Arsenal won 2-0. Sunderland did manage 2 more wins before Christmas defeating Crystal Palace 3-1 in early November, and a crucial win over Tyneside rivals Newcastle just before Christmas. They finished the year in 14th place and relatively safe but with only 3 wins under their belts.
Ecstasy for Sunderland as they beat Newcastle.
After Christmas Poyet could only manage 1 more win before he was sacked mid-March and that was only a routine victory over strugglers Burnley. Prior to this rare win they had lost 3 games in a row and were looking in bad shape. Following the win over Burnley Poyet only survived a further 6 games. The final nail in the former Brighton bosses coffin was Aston Villa defeating Sunderland 4-0 at the Stadium of Light leading to Poyet's departure 2 days later. Sunderland were now languishing in 17th place just above the drop zone. Dick Advocaat took over and would only lose 3 times with Sunderland before the season was over. In just his 2nd game in charge Sunderland once again defeated Newcastle to do the double over their local rivals which has become something of a regular occurrence.
Sunderland would see May as the month they recovered as they won their 1st two games exacting revenge over Southampton with a 2-1 win and also beating Everton before 2 draws against Arsenal and Leicester before a loss to Chelsea on the final day. It was not perfect but Sunderland had done what they set out to do and Advocaat had taken Sunderland to 16th place and they were safe for at least one more season. Sunderland are going to need one hell of a change in fortune and gameplan if they want to get higher than they did last season.
Connor Wickham was by far their best player last year and it is hard to see where the goals will come from now he has joined Crystal Palace for an extortionate £9 million. Jack Rodwell is a promising midfielder his time at Manchester City stunted his career after limited success at Everton but it seems the 24 year old is trying to now rebuild his career in the north east and he is a very good player, his passing game is an asset to any time he sees space and has the talent to exploit it. His work rate is impeccable and with players like M'Vila and Cattermole around him they form a very hard working midfield. Jack Rodwell is sure to be in Advocaat's plans leading into this season. This could be a huge season for the 3 cap England midfielder.
Jack Rodwell is all smiles after scoring his first goal for Sunderland against Manchester United.
Sunderland have gone on a recruitment drive as well as securing M'Vila on loan from Rubin Kazan they have closed the deal on 4 new players whilst losing 3. Former Tottenham man Younés Kaboul is a big signing he not only brings Premier League experience but a defensive game that was something that was greatly lacking in Sunderland's armoury last season. They have also brought in Coates from Premier League rivals Liverpool another worthy addition to the side. Sunderland's recruitment doesn't see any big names but the new faces are more necessity than luxury.
Kaboul in action for former club Spurs.
Departures are fairly insignificant bar Wickham who leaves after 2 big seasons. It seems the striker got bored of the Sunderland circus and heads off to London. His goals will be missed. As will his searing pace and creativity a rare bright spark in the black clouds that gathered over the Stadium of Light last season.
IN: Younés Kaboul (Tottenham Hotspur, £3 million)
Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kyiv (£8 million)
Sebastián Coates (Liverpool, £2 million)
Adam Matthews (Celtic, £2 million)
OUT: Connor Wickham (Crystal Palace, £9 million)
El Hadji-Ba (Charlton Athletic, £500,000)
Anthony Réveillére (Free Agents, Free)
Sunderland have recruited well and Dick Advocaat is a very clever manager he will have a trick or 2 up his sleeve but in my eyes survival is highly unlikely.
My Sunderland XI (4-1-3-2-1): 1 C.Pantilimon; 15 Y.Kaboul, 5 W.Brown 22 S.Coates 3 P.van Aanholt; 14 J.Gomez; 8 J.Rodwell 4 L.Cattermole (C), 21 Y.M'Vila; 17 J.Lens, 19 D.Graham; 18 J.Defoe
Bench: 25 V.Mannone 12 A.Matthews 16 J.O'Shea 7 S.Larsson 4 L.Bridcutt 23 E.Giaccherini 26 S.Fletcher
Prediction: 20th (Relegated)
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Newcastle United Preview
Manager: Steve McLaren
Stadium: St James' Park
Captain: Fabricio Coloccini
Top Scorer: Papiss Cisse (11)
Newcastle's season was a number of things, all bad none good. The club made some very interesting signings in the likes of Cabella and Riviére both of whom failed to impress. Newcastle finished in 15th disappointing for such a large club.
Newcastle's demise could be pointed out to the latter part of the season when John Carver was in charge but you can't forget that Newcastle started the season with a run of 7 games without a win these included a humiliating 4-0 loss to Southampton where the Saints ran riot. They seemed to have a lot of luck facing the north east. This run however was followed by Pardew inspiring his side to a run of 5 wins including defeats of Liverpool and Tottenham that saw Newcastle climb and Pardew's stock rise, this signalled that Newcastle meant business and the impressive displays from players like Jack Colback and Daryl Janmaat as well as the scoring from Perez made Newcastle a tough side to beat.
Ayoze Perez on the ball for Newcastle against Manchester City.
On 6th December Newcastle became the first team to beat Chelsea that season in an emphatic 2-1 win at St James' Park, this was a heroic display from Newcastle and showed other teams that Chelsea were not as invincible as they had seemed early in the season. This was followed though by 3 straight defeats including a loss to local rivals Sunderland and that was that as Pardew left the north east of his own accord to join up with London club, Crystal Palace. This signalled a change in Newcastle's league standing as into the breach stepped John Carver and Steve Stone who would oversee the remainder of the season as caretaker managers and would see a horrific run of games leading to Newcastle being embroiled in a relegation battle that went down to the final game against West Ham at St James' Park.
John Carver oversaw Newcastle's biggest defeat of the season when they faced Manchester United and crashed to a 5-0 defeat. This was followed up by a solitary win before the run of games that would see Newcastle slip from mid-table obscurity into the relegation dogfight. They suffered 10 games only picking up 1 point a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion. They lost Sunderland who once again did the double over the Tyneside club and they suffered a defeat at the hands of already relegated club QPR on the penultimate weekend of the season. Their Premier League status was threatened but after Jonas Gutierrez inspired his team to 2 goals scoring 1 himself over West Ham and Newcastle could sleep easy that had retained their Premier League status, John Carver would not recover and was sacked as Mike Ashley brought in Steve McLaren.
The key player undoubtedly was former Sunderland midfielder Jack Colback, Colback joined the club with high hopes of outdoing his former club and local rivals Sunderland only to find himself being 1 of only a few bright sparks donning the famous white and black shirt. The midfielder was industrious and made 35 appearances over the course of the season. He was the rock at the heart of Newcastle and his dictating of pace from the centre of the park was class. He reads the game well and has given Newcastle cause for hope as we hurtle towards next season. Newcastle fans will be hoping their local lad can give Newcastle more of what he was capable of producing last season.
Jack Colback celebrates scoring against Everton.
Newcastle have made 3 important signings as well as seeing Darlow and Lascelles come after their year long loan at Nottingham Forest. The pick of the bunch is midfielder Wijnaldum who has been nothing short of outstanding throughout the Magpies pre-season. He has scored goals and created them, he is sure to be a worthy addition at St James' Park. Mitrovic also arrived and his scoring prowess is quite something, the forward managed 28 goals in 51 appearances for Anderlecht last season and at 20 years old is still improving as a player and is not short of confidence he and Ayoze Perez could be formidable for Newcastle for seasons to come. Chancel Mbemba has also finally arrived after questions about his age were answered and he could be a very important addition as Newcastle's defensive woes last season were something that McLaren is keen to address.
Geoginio Wijnaldum celebrates scoring a goal for Holland at the World Cup.
Newcastle see a number of departures, they sickeningly got rid of Argentina international Gutierrez who's treatment from the club has been disgusting. They also lose Ryan Taylor and their first choice left back Santon who was key to Newcastle's defence. The core of Newcastle has been ripped out and a gaping hole will be left by the departure of long time servants Taylor and Gutierrez who were at the club during the season in the Championship and helped them regain Premiership status it is a dark time on Tyneside.
IN: Chancel Mbemba (Anderlecht, £8.5 million)
Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV Eindhoven, £14.5 million)
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Anderlecht, £13 million)
OUT: Ryan Taylor (Hull City, Free)
Davide Santon (Inter Milan, £3.25 million)
Jonas Gutierrez (Free Agents, Free)
Remie Streete (Port Vale, Free)
Adam Campbell (Notts County, Free)
Newcastle will be hoping for a better season and if they can produce some good football a top half finish. McLaren will be hoping to find a regular finisher in his side as well that have struggled for an out and out goalscorer since the departure of Demba Ba.
My Newcastle United XI (4-1-2-1-2): 1 T.Krul; 22 D.Janmaat 2 F.Coloccini (C) 15 J.Lascelles 18 C,Mbemba; 4 J.Colback; 7 M.Sissoko 16 R.Aarons; 5 G.Wijnaldum; 45 A.Mitrovic 17 A.Perez
Bench: 26 K.Darlow 19 M.Haïdara 3 P.Dummett 24 C.Tioté 20 R.Cabella 10 S.de Jong 9 P.Cisse
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged 11, 15th, alan pardew, argentina, battle, cabella, championship, Chelsea, cisse, colback, coloccini, core, crystal palace, darlow, defence, demba ba, football, goalscorer, gutierrez, janmaat, john carver, lascelles, liverpool, magpies, manchester united, mbemba, mclaren, mike ashley, mitorvic, newcastle, north east, perez, Premier League, relgation, riviere, ryan taylor, saints, santon, servants, southampton, st james' park, steve stone, sunderland, toon, totteham, tyneside, west brom, west ham, wijnaldum. Bookmark the permalink.
Liverpool Preview
Manager: Brendan Rodgers
Top Scorer: Steven Gerrard (13)
Liverpool will be disappointed with their campaign last season after a slow start they were given life after Christmas by none other than their captain and hero Gerrard. A crazy finish saw the Anfield club finish 6th a finish that surprised many including Rodgers who will have been surprised considering his team was lacking in goals.
Liverpool had a dream a dream to send Steven Gerrard off with that 1 trophy missing from his personal trophy cabinet laden with honours including captaining England and a Champions League. Alas it was not to be for the Reds. The run of 3 straight defeats in November to Newcastle, Chelsea and Crystal Palace highlighted the difficult opening few months for the club. This saw them only net 2 goals and concede 6. The lowest point came in the grudge match at Old Trafford as their nemesis won 3-0.
Steven Gerrard walking out for his final game at Anfield.
This was followed by an outstanding run from 21st December until 16th March as Liverpool failed to lose a game and managed some tough away wins against Swansea and Southampton both of whom were strong at their respective homes last season. But this run was ended by Manchester United who did the double with a 2-1 win at Anfield in March stalling the progress made by Liverpool in the preceding months of wins and draws. A stuttering end to the season saw many Liverpool fans experience a case of deja vu as Crystal Palace took a 3-1 win before Stoke bullied Liverpool into submission by beating Gerrard in his last Premier League game 6-1 at the Brittania Stadium.
The elephant in the Liverpool dressing room will be can anybody step up and replace Gerrard. The candidate that many have cited is of course Jordan Henderson, but it's not the same it never will be as the last giant of Liverpool leaves and heads for Hollywood and the MLS. Henderson will obviously have a large part to play in the coming months and seasons should he stay at Anfield unlike Raheem Sterling. There is also big things expected of Sturridge who has an injury plagued season last season which saw him struggle and deprived Liverpool of the goals as Balotelli and Lambert failed to hit the target. If Liverpool are to succeed they will need to improve in front of goal and find that player that can change the game from the middle of the park.
Last season there were few players to choose from that really performed bar Gerrard and Sterling. Lazar Markovic turned up more often than not for the club with some good attacking displays and a varied passing game he was one of the shining lights in Liverpool's darkest times. Adam Lallana had a fairly good second half of the season with some good displays at times as he finally replicated some of the form he had shown at St Mary's on the south coast. Phillipe Coutinho also had a sterling run of form as the season and closed and many fans hope he can continue in that vein when the new season kicks off.
Phillipe Coutinho celebrates scoring a goal with Gerrard.
Liverpool have been busy in the transfer market bringing in 7 players all high profile names whilst offloading 6 players that have played a part in Liverpool's recent history. Liverpool have decided that they need goals and have brought in 2 new strikers and an attacking midfielder in Ings, Benteke and Firmino all of whom will provide goals. Former Villa hitman Benteke scored managed 15 goals last season, Ings netted 11 goals for Burnley whilst Brazilian Firmino scored 10 goals. Rodgers will be desperate that the new boys can score their goals and win games. He's also visited his favourite hunting ground Southampton and snapped up Nathaniel Clyne, right back being a problem position for Liverpool Glen Johnson never really made that shirt his own. The England right back could be a really good signing should he perform to his best ability. James Milner and Ádám Bogdán are 2 experienced players to bring in Milner could bring that professionalism and high standard in training that Gerrard offered, that air of confidence and experience that Gerrard exuded. Ádám Bogdán comes in as back-up and adds some experience to the squad.
Nathaniel Clyne in action for England.
The league's worst kept secret was that England midfielder Gerrard was thinking of leaving, he left the club to join MLS side LA Galaxy. Another secret was Raheem Sterling wanted to leave and win trophies, his transfer saga went on too long before he finally made the move to Manchester City. Glen Johnson also leaves the club after a difficult couple of seasons at Anfield as his performance level dipped leaving him being dropped by Roy Hodgson for his replacement at Liverpool Clyne.
IN: Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton, £10 million)
Joe Gomez (Charlton Athletic, £3.5 million)
Roberto Firmino (1899 Hoffenheim, £21.3 million)
Christian Benteke (Aston Villa, £32.5 million)
Ádám Bogdán (Bolton Wanderers, Free)
James Milner (Manchester City, Free)
Danny Ings (Burnley, Tribunal)
OUT: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, £44 million)
Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo, £5 million)
Sebastián Coates (Sunderland, £4 million)
Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy, Released)
Glen Johnson (Stoke City, Released)
Brad Jones (Free Agents, Free)
Javier Manquilo (Atlético Madrid, Loan Cancelled)
Liverpool will be different without Gerrard and will be a completely different prospect with the team. They have also lost their most complete, creative, attacking player Sterling to Premier League rivals. Their squad and recruitment make them a tough team to face this season and they will be confident of being able to fight but they will struggle to compete at the top of the table.
Steven Gerrard celebrates scoring against Leicester.
My Liverpool XI (4-3-3): 22 S.Mignolet; 2 N.Clyne 37 M.Skrtel 17 M.Sakho 38 J.Flanagan; 20 A.Lallana 14 J.Henderson (C) 10 P.Coutinho; 11 R.Firmino NA C.Benteke 15 D.Sturridge
Bench: 34 Á.Bogdán 6 D.Lovren 18 A.Moreno 4 K.Touré 23 E.Can 50 L.Markovic 28 D.Ings
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged 6th, anfield, benteke, bogdan, brittania, captain, champions league, Chelsea, christmas, clyne, coutinho, crystal palace, december, defeats, deja vu, elephant, England, firmino, gerrard, goals, henderson, hero, hollywood, icon, ings, injury, injury plague, johnson, la galaxy, lacking, lallana, liverpool, Manchester City, manchester united, march, markovic, milner, missing trophy, mls, nemesis, newcastle, november, old trafford, Premier League, red, rivalry, rodgers, roy hodgson, run, saga, south coast, southampton, st marys, stadium, Sterling, stevie g, stoke city, sturridge, swansea, transfer, trophy. Bookmark the permalink.


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text:
Q: Load-Testing a Java-Client-Server-Application we use spring-remoting for a Client-Server-Application. Now we are in doubt how to realize a real load test with serialized objects.
The problem is that many load testing toolkits are based on plain text HTTP communication, so it's very easy to parameterize the http-requests. Because spring-remoting is based on serialized objects we can't easily parameterize the http-communication to the server.
My first idea was to encapsulate the endpoint of spring-remoting and to call the service over client-side service classes. But how can I realize calling the remote-service from multiply clients to gain a real load test scenario?
Are there any solution for wrapping the client-side service in an easy manner?
Has anybody some experiences how to realize it?
Thanks for advice.

A: There is a discussion on the Spring forums about how to use JMeter to do testing. To use JMeter you'll need to write a custom Sampler. They have examples on the JMeter site.
Alternatively, you could try Grinder. Testing scripts are written using jython but it is arguably easier to create tests for non-standard protocols.

A: There is a commercial JMeter plugin which allows this, see:

*

*http://www.ubik-ingenierie.com/blog/load-testing-java-serialization-applications-with-jmeter/
To make your tests realistic, you will need to variabilize content in the
serialized objects.
This Java Serialization plugin will allow the following:

*

*Easy recording of traffic with JMeter Proxy Server, a Test Plan using
custom Sampler will be created

*Easy variabilization of requests (which will appear as XML) through as
easy syntax as for example ${searchedWord} where searchedWord can come from
a CSV or any user defined variable.

*Easy extraction of data from responses using JMeter standard Post
Processors

*Easy debugging of Request/Responses through standard JMeter View Results
Tree element
Disclaimer : I am member of the company that distributes this solution

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Thin Lizzy – "Vagabonds of the Western World" and "The Hero and the Madman"
Featured ~ alittlepieceofmyheart410024090
Photo credit: Bing.com
It's not a secret that I am a huge fan of the Irish rock band, "Thin Lizzy." The band had an influence on many bands with their twin guitars, bass playing & not to ignore Brian Downey's great drumming rhythm back in the 70's and early 80's. I have so many favorite songs of theirs but just wish I could have had the opportunity to see them in concert before the 1986 death of Phil Lynott. "Vagabonds of the Western World," and "The Hero and the Madman" are two of my favorite songs many favorite songs by TL. Both songs allow you to truly hear and appreciate the guitar riffs of original band member and guitar icon, Eric Bell. Both Phil Lynott and Eric Bell have stated in interviews that it was Eric who thought of the name "Thin Lizzy" when they were brainstorming, trying to come up with a catchy name for their band. Eric got the name from a cartoon character by Jack Prout, called "The Dandy Tin Lizzie." They all laughed because Bell stated it would be funny listening to the Irish try to pronounce it because they won't pronounce it with a (Th), they will leave out the H sound and just pronounce it with the T.
I absolutely love the guitar riffs in which Bell shows off his talents as one of the greatest guitar players in the business. Jim Fitzpatrick has done an amazing job on album covers for the band, as well as incredible paintings of Phil Lynott. I have included both songs below. "The Hero and the Madman" is a story telling song written by Phil Lynott. The music industry tried talking him out of it due to the length of the song, but Lynott wouldn't budge and the band recorded the song anyway.
"Vagabonds of the Western World" is the third studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1973. It was the band's last album with original guitarist Eric Bell and the first to feature the artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick, whose work would appear on many subsequent albums by the band.
Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic described the album as "brimming with attitude and dangerous swagger," and Thin Lizzy's "first sonically satisfying album," with "The Rocker" their "first bona fide classic". He described "Little Girl in Bloom" as "absolutely flawless," but criticized "The Hero and the Madman" and "Slow Blues" as "overblown" and "tepid" respectively. Pitchfork reviewer Stuart Berman remarked how Thin Lizzy were "starting to kick out the jams with greater confidence and consistency" on this album, with Lynott producing "the sound of a spiritually adrift musician ecstatically discovering his true calling." Canadian journalist Martin Popoff remarked the album's "crusty sound quality and style-searching waywardness", mixing influences ranging from American blues, to Motown, to early metal. He rated Vagabonds of the Western World the lowest of all Thin Lizzy's albums for four tracks which "seem either simple and out-of-character or dated", "bearing scant few traces of the high class Lizzy imprint."
Credit: Wikipedia.com
Song Lyrics –
I could tell you the story of a vagabond
A playboy of the western world
One day by chance he came upon
A fair young maid, a country girl
He told her that he loved her
And he took all of her silver
He told her that he needed her too
He said hey baby, you got eyes of blue
But he was a vagabond
Blue eyes, oh baby blue, oh blue eyes
The kind of eyes that say I do eyes
Oh baby blue, oh blue eyes
He roamed around the cities
Searching for his fortune and fame
No lady ever got to know his name
Shame, but that was his game
Gave a girl a baby boy
He said this child is my pride and joy
I'm busy running wild and free
Make sure he grows up like me
And I'm a vagabond
Oh I could tell you a story of a vagabond
He was a playboy of the western world
He wore an earring in his left ear
You see his father he was a gypsy
You just might meet him upon the highway
Pretty fine dancer too
But he's leave you blue, he'd leave
He'd leave you woman
Songwriters: PHILIP PARRIS LYNOTT
The hero he rode a white horse
Across the desert to where his woman was
He'd been riding for four days
When he saw the tower where she was locked
In the moonlight he left his old steed
Near the drawbridge that he crossed
And by way of a rope ladder
He tip-toed to where his woman was
If I recall you're the actor
Who followed the stars
The lost city of Mars
Hoping time would heal the scars
Knowing fate held no bars
Are you the one
That I think you are?
Are you the hero or are you the madman?
The madman climbed
The steeple spire
"Go higher" said the crowd
From down below
"But, the world's on fire" cried the madman
From the steeple spire
"You're a liar" cried the crown
The madman climbed the steeple spire
And let a crystal ball tear
Fall on the crown
Who took to the stage
Set the world ablaze
With your anger and your rage
With every new leaf
You turned and wrote a new page
Cleverly concealing
Your real age
Those that knew you
Were always quite amazed
Who can take this praise?
"You're the only one"
"Who can save us"
Said the wizard
"Or all is lost"
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2 thoughts on "Thin Lizzy – "Vagabonds of the Western World" and "The Hero and the Madman""
Saturday January 11th, 2020 at 02:10 AM
You a fan of Thin Lizzy? No…I don't believe it! lol… Great songs. I can hear Phil sing about anything and like it…My favorite is probably The Cowboy Song. It's the way he phrases things…I just wish he was still around.
alittlepieceofmyheart410024090 says:
Who would have ever guessed that about me? Lol…They really are great songs and Phil's voice made each song special. I love the Cowboy song too. He had a unique way of phrasing his words. I wish he was still around too!
CATEGORIES Select Category GRIEF LIFE MUSIC PEOPLE POEMS QUOTES SHORT STORIES Uncategorized
Movie & Television Theme Songs
Gospel Hip Hop
Music – A – Z


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Q: Rails 3- Active_admin and CanCan integration The title is very explanatory.
How can I integrate active_admin gem with cancan?
I need administrative roles.
Thanks

A: You may want to follow this guide
Robbie

A: for a simple case, assuming there are 2 roles:   normal_user , admin,
if you just want to "admin" to access "/admin" (activeadmin's default namespace), while "normal_user" can not, I suggest you take a look a hook method:
# config/initializers/active_admin.rb
config.before_filter :check_user_role

# define this method in applicaton_controller.rb
def check_user_role
  redirect_to root_path unless current_user.role == "admin"
end

A: Following link is also helpful to set cancan with activeadmin.
https://github.com/gregbell/active_admin/wiki/How-to-work-with-cancan

A: Nowadays there is a gem that do the work: https://github.com/11factory/activeadmin-cancan


A gunman who shot dead eight people in an upmarket beauty salon in California is said to have gone on the rampage after losing a custody battle over his son. Scott Dekraai, who is the former husband of one of the stylists, is said to have shot a total of nine hairdressers and customers at Salon Meritage, a beauty salon just blocks from the Pacific Ocean in the upscale seaside resort of Seal Beach.
His ex-wife, Michelle, is also reportedly among those who were killed. The 42-year-old, who used to work in the military, had allegedly threatened violence after losing a court case against Michelle - who was using the name Huff - over the custody of their seven-year-old son, Dominic.
The problem is twofold. First, the family court system is totally unjust. Second, there is simply no other recourse for the man who has been forcibly robbed of his children by the unholy alliance of ex-wife and family court. I have zero sympathy for any woman who would utilize the force of the law to deprive a man of his children, no matter how unhappy the marriage. In fact, one can quite reasonably argue that it is in the interest of women to demand a more equitable family court system; this should become more apparent when "winning" a child custody case amounts to a potential death lottery.
The ironic thing is that society tends to applaud a man who do anything and pay any price to get back his child. There are movies entirely based on this premise. So, why should it surprise anyone that increasing numbers of men are willing to resort to breaking the very law that took their children away from them? Throughout the West, the Muslims have shown the way: threaten sufficient violence in a credible manner and the law will be modified according to your will.


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Mikke Bjerk, właśc. Jan Mikke Bjerk (ur. 2 kwietnia 1984 w Sandnes) – norweski żużlowiec.

Reprezentant Norwegii w eliminacjach indywidualnych oraz drużynowych mistrzostw świata. Uczestnik finału indywidualnych mistrzostw Europy (Miszkolc 2006 – XI miejsce).

Wielokrotny medalista mistrzostw Norwegii na żużlu:
 indywidualnie – 9 medali (złote – 2002, 2013, 2014, 2015; srebrne – 2005, 2006, 2012; brązowe – 2004, 2011),
 drużynowo – 10 medali (złote – 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007; srebrne – 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012; brązowy – 2001),
 w parach – 2 medale (złoty – 2012; srebrny – 2010).

Bibliografia
 SPEEDWAY HISTORY INFO - HISTORIA ŻUŻLA | Mikke Bjerk

Linki zewnętrzne
 Jan Mikke Bjerk - niespełniona nadzieja norweskiego żużla

Norwescy żużlowcy
Ludzie urodzeni w Sandnes
Urodzeni w 1984

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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in Tennis
Best women tennis players
Women's tennis is Famous Sport Nowadays and Many people like to watch this game. Female Tennis has a huge amount of fans from all around the world. In Tennis different types of female players are available. Each player has different qualities and bobby than others. Some players are Known as Most Beautiful, Hottest, Some are tallest or Shortest, and some are funniest. Check today the Best Women Tennis Players List, Names, Photos, Details, and Biographies.
#10: Justine Henin
#9: Venus Williams
#8: Evonne Goolagong
#7: Billie Jean King
#6: Monica Seles
# 5: Margaret Court
#4: Chris Evert
#3: Martina Navratilova
#2: Steffi Graf
#1: Serena Williams
For all Tennis Players one of the important thing to know about the world's best women's tennis players. Names, photos, and other information which very important for a tennis fan.
1: Serena Williams
2: Steffi Graf
3: Martina Navratilova
4: Chris Evert
5: Margaret Court
6: Monica Seles
7: Billie Jean King
8: Evonne Goolagong
9: Venus Williams
10: Justine Henin
Born: On June 1, 1982, Liege, Belgium
Resides: Brussels, Belgium
Turned pro: 1999
Retired: 2008 & 2011
Career prize money: $20,863,335
50 career titles
7 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 4 French, 2 US Opens, 1 Australian
Justine Henin the former tennis player born June 1, 1982, in Liege, Belgium. Henin wins 50 Career titles in a complete tennis career. She is regarded as one of the powerful and Hottest women in tennis. Justine Henin is the best female tennis player on the list of Best Women Tennis Players.
Born: June 17, 1980
Resides: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
7 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 5 Wimbledon, 2 US Open
Current active player
Venus Williams is an American woman born on June 17, 1980, and become a professional tennis player in 1994. Venus Williams is the strongest Tennis lady of the Current time with 49 Titles. Williams is the 7th best female tennis player in the world.
Born: On July 31, 1951, at Griffith, New South Wales, Australia
Resides: Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia
Retired: 1983
Career prize money/NW: $1,399,431
7 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 4 Australian, 1 French, 2 Wimbledon
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 1988
The Former tennis player Evonne Goolagong was born On July 31, 1951, at Griffith, New South Wales, Australia, and become a tennis player in 1968. Evonne Goolagong is the 8th best female tennis player in the world with 68 Career titles.
Born: November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California
Resides: Chicago and New York
Career prize money: $1,966,487
129 career titles
12 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 1 Australian, 1 French, 6 Wimbledon, 4 US Open
Billie Jean King the Former tennis player belongs to America. She was born on November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, and become Professional Tennis Player in 1968. She played her first completion in 1968 and 1983 say bye-bye to this amazing game & Leave Tennis with 129 Career titles.
Born: December 2, 1973, at Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Resides: Sarasota, Florida
9 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 4 Australian, 3 French, 2 US Open
Monica Seles the Former tennis player belong to America. She was born on December 2, 1973, at Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, and become Professional Tennis Player in 1989. She played her first completion in 1989 and 2008 say bye-bye to this amazing game & Leave Tennis with 53 Career titles. Monica Seles earn from this field many and today her net worth is $14,891,762.
Born: July 16, 1942, at Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Resides: Perth, Western Australia
Career prize money approximately: $500,000
24 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 11 Australian, 5 French, 3 Wimbledon, 5 US Open
Margaret Court or Margaret Smith Court is a former tennis player born on July 16, 1942, at Albury, New South Wales, Australia. People knew her by the famous name Margaret Smith Court. Margaret Court Join Tennis in 1960 and retired in 1977 with 192 career titles. Smith Court is the 5th position in the list of Top women tennis players.
Born: December 21, 1954, at Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Resides: Boca Raton, Florida
Retired: In 1989
Chris Evert is a former tennis player born on December 21, 1954, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (United States). Chris Evert Join Tennis in 1972 and retired in 1989 with 157 career titles. Evert is 0n the 5th position in the list of women tennis players.
Born: October 18, 1956, in Prague, Czechoslovakia
Martina Navratilova is an American women's tennis player born on October 18, 1956, in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She becomes a professional tennis player in 1995. She Joins Tennis in 1995 and retired in 1994 with 167 Career Titles.
Born: June 14, 1969, at Mannheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, West Germany
Resides: Las Vegas, Nevada
Steffi Graf is a German women's tennis player born on June 14, 1969, at Mannheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, West Germany. She Started a professional tennis player career in 1982. She Joins Tennis in 1985 and retired in 1999 with 107 Career Titles. Steffi Graf is the 2nd woman on the list of Women Tennis Players.
Born: September 26, 1981, at Saginaw, Michigan
Career prize money/NW: $84,463,131
23 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 7 Australian, 7 Wimbledon, 3 French, 6 US Open
Serena Williams is an American women's tennis player born on September 26, 1981, at Saginaw Michigan. She becomes a professional tennis player in 1995. She Join Tennis in 1985 and active player of the current time. Serena Williams is the First woman with 72 Career titles in the list of Best Women Tennis Players.
More From: Tennis
Top 10 Most Beautiful Female Tennis Players
Barty named Aust Sports Woman of the year
Top Ten Hottest Tennis Player Woman
Female Tennis Players Pictures and Names
Major Tennis Tournaments
Maria Sharapova Pics – Maria Sharapova Hottest Pics


How can I lose about 20 pounds in less then 2 months?
I suggest you just diet. What do you do do you exercise? if you don't either way you can still loose weight :) I'm 5'7 and i used to weigh around 130 then i lost weight dropped to around 115 in less than 4 weeks. The secret is just how i eat. Try eating in sync and NEVER ever skip breakfast. You know that if you don't eat breakfast you'll get more hungry at night and in the afternoon so if you eat more during breakfast you don't get as hungry at night and during the afternoon.
Then drink a shake for lunch but for dinner you won't have to eat anything. If ever you do get hungry during dinner you need to think of this. I can always eat it in the morning. I mean why is it called breakfast? because you fast right? during the night? plus your fat burning acids are higher at night so you must also get a good nights rest or else instead of burning you might just store in all the fats. Always drink lot's of water as well to help in the detoxification process.
Allergy-Free Recipes: A little bit of a challange...?
It sounds like you need to eat dark green veggies. And you can have strawberry's , blueberry's, you can have pita bread, noodles, can you have goat milk or rice milk? You can have rice. Get some brown rice and cook it with about 1/4 cup of dried cranberry's and a large piece of garlic (mince it). Cook it altogether , Do not put any butter in it unless its from goat milk or soy. Bake some chicken up or a steak with it and then cook up some green beans, It's a great meal. You really have many choices of different things, you just need to think about what you like that you can eat. And then get creative. Don't be afraid you might actually see that you can be a creative cook after all. Now go have some fun.


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Mon cher ennemi (How Harry Became a Tree, littéralement Comment Harry devint un arbre) est un film réalisé par Goran Paskaljevic et sorti en 2002. Son action se déroule en Irlande en 1924.

Fiche technique
 Titre original : How Harry Became a Tree
 Titre français : Mon cher ennemi
 Réalisation : Goran Paskaljević
 Scénario : Christine Gentet, Goran Paskaljević, Stephen Walsh et Zhengguang Yang
 Photographie : Milan Spasić
 Montage : Petar Putniković
 Musique : Stefano Arnaldi
 Pays d'origine :
 Format : couleurs - 35 mm - 1,85:1 - Dolby Digital
 Genre : comédie dramatique
 Durée : 99 minutes
 Dates de sortie :
  :  (Mostra de Venise 2001)
  :

Distribution
 Colm Meaney : Harry
 Adrian Dunbar : George
 Cillian Murphy : Gus
 Kerry Condon : Eileen
 Pat Laffan : le père O'Connor
 Gail Fitzpatrick : Margaret
 Maighréad Ní Chonghaile : Maeve
 Des Braiden : le père de George
 Denis Clohessy : Tim

Distinction
 Mostra de Venise 2001 : sélection en compétition

Notes et références

Liens externes

Comédie dramatique française
Comédie dramatique britannique
Comédie dramatique italienne
Comédie dramatique irlandaise
Film français sorti en 2002
Film britannique sorti en 2002
Film italien sorti en 2002
Film irlandais sorti en 2002
Film se déroulant en Irlande
Film de Cattleya
Film réalisé par Goran Paskaljević


Uke makes with his rechterbeen ushiro geri to the abdomen of tori.
Tori steps with TRL slantingly to (Right) for to avoid the kick. Tori brings his linkerarm under URL during avoiding and catches URB. At the same time keeps tori for certainty a block-system with his rechterarm on to protect his face.
By the speed and the assessment of uke (those there uberhaupt are not) are atemi here not necessary.
Execute age ashi dori hard, so that uke is eliminated by the throw.
As soon as uke on the ground lies stretched and place uke's rechterenkel in the linkerknieholte of uke bring tori uke's linker leg. Directly hereafter brings tori ULOnderbeen omhoog and locks up this way UREnkel. Tori now brings TLA for UREnkel along and in the breach which is formed by the triangle of uke's bovenbenen. Tori twists himself and brings to his weight against ULOnderbeen to add strength the lock. Tori has now ashi garami permanently.


Katie & Robbie – Mudbrick Winery, Waiheke Island.
If anything stands out with these two amazing humans, its got to be how genuine and in love Katie & Robbie are. When they saw each other down the aisle it was magic. What can I say, about time Robbie haha! Thanks so much for having us be apart of your day, Ethan and I loved it!


text:
At Confires, we are consistently learning about innovative techniques and products in fire protection services. We are trained, authorized distributors, able to install and service all brands of systems, and we are proud to add Firetrace to our list of products.
At Confires, we are dedicated to fire safety. Our team of fire safety professionals designs, installs, and maintains fire alarms, sprinkler systems, extinguishers, kitchen hood/ventilation systems, and suppression systems. For over 30 years, we have been providing complete fire protection services. We can equip you with the leading products on the market, such as Firetrace.
For more information about Firetrace, contact Confires today by calling (888) 228-0917 or contacting us online.
About Firetrace
Firetrace is a global organization, and its team is proud to be creating a safer world, starting with critical assets in facilities. Firetrace's parent company, Halma PLC, is is a leader in health and safety solutions. Companies under Halma address many of the key problems in the world.
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There are several types of fire suppression systems available, each suited to a different environment. Engineered fire suppression systems will protect an entire room, whereas pre-engineered systems are used to protect small areas and micro-environments. Engineered systems from Firetrace use clean agents that are safe for electronics and can be inhaled without harming someone.
Pre-engineered systems are available in indirect release and direct release configurations. In direct release systems, the suppressant will come through the hole in the tube directly. In an indirect release system, the tube acts as a detection device and, through pressure change, directs how much suppressant the system should discharge through other pipes and nozzles.
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Last major update issued on October 17, 2007 at 14:40 UTC.
The geomagnetic field was very quiet on October 16. Solar wind speed ranged between 276 and 325 km/s (average speed was 303 km/s, increasing 10 km/s over the previous day) .
Solar flux measured at 20h UTC on 2.8 GHz was 67.1. The planetary A index was 2 (STAR Ap - based on the mean of three hour interval ap indices: 2.0). Three hour interval K indices: 00011101 (planetary), 10112100 (Boulder).
October 14-16: No obvious fully or partly Earth directed CMEs were observed in LASCO imagery.
A recurrent trans equatorial hole (CH295) will rotate into an Earth facing position on October 15-18. CH295 has become less well defined over the last solar rotation and has significantly decreased its areal coverage. A recurrent coronal hole (CH296) is currently rotating into view at the southeast limb.
Processed SOHO/EIT 195 image at 21:36 UTC on October 16. The darkest areas on the solar disk are likely coronal holes.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet October 17. Quiet to unsettled conditions are likely on October 18-19 becoming quiet to active on October 20-21 due to a high speed stream from CH295. Quiet is expected for October 22-23, while October 24 or 25 to October 26 could see unsettled to minor storm conditions due to effects from CH296.


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The danger of 'violent' women
The Finnish context
19th September 2016 15th September 2016
Satu Venäläinen is a doctoral student at University of Helsinki, Finland, in the department of Social Research. She is currently working on her PhD thesis in social psychology, focusing on ways in which violence committed by women is made sense of both in tabloids and in narratives by women serving a prison sentence. In this work, Satu looks at how media descriptions of women accused of violence are based on gendered expectations, and how women imprisoned for violent crimes negotiate the cultural conceptions that emphasize their deviance and abnormality.
Violence committed by women has become a hot topic in public debate in Finland over recent years. Some cases in which women have been accused of violent crimes have been followed extremely closely in the media. The reactions that these cases have aroused among the general public have been intense. For many, to think of women as perpetrators of violence feels unnatural and repulsive. Some, however, have seized the opportunity that talking about women's violence seems to offer, using it to challenge feminist views about violence against women as a serious social problem. In this thinking, the idea seems to be that women can be either victims or perpetrators of violence, but not both.
In my PhD research I have analysed how women accused of violent crimes are portrayed in Finnish tabloid news stories. I have been particularly interested in ways in which these portrayals are gendered, since such patterns have been observed in several other studies outside Finland as well. And indeed, what I found was that women accused of violence are often portrayed as abnormal deviants in Finnish tabloids. Their evil character is often emphasized, or they are seen as having an otherwise flawed personality. Sometimes they are portrayed as completely insane. While men accused of violence are often portrayed in the media in ways that allow society to view them as normal men despite their violent deeds, a much more condemning stigma is attached to women and their violence. Especially for tabloids that seek to compile stories with shock value, women's violence often seems to offer ingredients for sensational news reports.
When looked at from a gender perspective, it therefore seems that women accused of violence are often put on trial—not only due to the crimes of which they are accused, but also due to their crimes against femininity. Women's violence is not compatible with traditional assumptions that women are nurturing and passive by nature. In light of these assumptions, women who act violently seem to be acting in an unnatural, manly way. If gender is seen as a social system that is based on assumptions about differences between women and men, then women's violence poses a threat to this system. Therefore, "violent" women are dangerous because they threaten the naturalness of gender.
To assume that women and men are naturally different when it comes to violence usually works against feminist views on violence. Feminists have long tried to show that violence against women is linked to gendered power relations between women and men. These kinds of feminist views are however seldom visible in tabloid news. This means that women's violence is seldom made sense of in tabloids in ways that would allow readers to see it as happening in a gendered context, where women who commit violence may often also be victims of violence themselves. Furthermore, some, especially advocates of the men's rights movement in Finland, think that feminists want to maintain an image of violence as solely perpetrated by men. Here, the assumption seems to be that to talk about violence targeted at women by men automatically means that violence committed by women becomes unspeakable. Ironically, however, women's violence poses a much bigger problem for those who wish to maintain the idea of gender as a natural phenomenon than to feminists who aim to make the workings of gendered power visible.
One interesting aspect in tabloid stories is that they often portray women accused of violence as not only ill-willed deviants but also as deceptive. These stories may for example emphasize how those women have led investigators, along with the wider public, astray with their lies or by their unwillingness to confess to their crimes. Their feminine, ordinary kind of appearance is sometimes even taken to be merely a façade meant to hide what is assumed to be their true, violent character. However, what also caught my attention when I analysed the remarks of some of the commentators of these cases was that they occasionally talked about feminists in a similar way. Thus feminists were sometimes also portrayed in these news reports as deceptively trying to hide the truth about women's violence and its frequency. The knowledge that feminists try to spread about violence was seen as tainted by their ideological commitments and therefore of no value. Feminists, then, appear to be occasionally portrayed in tabloid news as co-conspirators who assist "violent" women in their assumed attempts to conceal their violent natures.
The fact that some groups or individuals feel a need to point out that feminists have gotten it wrong about the links between violence and gender tells us that to see feminists as truth-tellers in this matter is considered a threat. What, then, makes it dangerous to see feminists as truth-tellers when it comes to violence? Obviously, several issues are connected to this. One reason may be that to talk about violence targeted at women by men is not fitting with the assumption that gender equality has already been reached. Finnish society in particular is reputed to have attained high levels of gender-equality in various areas of life. However, despite some changes for the better, vast inequalities still prevail. This is evident for example in high rates of violence directed at women especially in domestic contexts. To remind the public about these existing inequalities is not often welcomed—it challenges the very basis of a progressive Finnish national identity. And for many, this identity is all the more precious in current times, when the risen number of immigrants arriving in Finland is perceived to put it under threat.
Therefore, the high investment that some Finns have in the idea of Finland as a gender-equal country makes it difficult to talk about links between violence, gender and inequality. There is a widespread assumption that women and men have the same opportunities, and that gender therefore is not linked to differences in power. For some, this means that women and men may equally well be perpetrators of violence, and that there is no marked difference in their victimization. Yet at the same time women's violence is met with abhorrence, and women accused of violence are publicly chastised.
The issue of gender and violence is incredibly thorny and complex. Too often it is talked about in ways that simplify its complexity, and ignore the gendered effects of power. We need ways to talk about women as both capable of violence and also as vulnerable to violence targeted at them by men. This is yet another reason why efforts to positively embrace the possibility of being considered a dangerous woman, who challenges commonplace notions that sustain the status quo, are truly valuable.
Boyle, Karen (2005). Media and Violence. Gendering the Debates. Lontoo: Sage.
Chesney-Lind, Meda (2006). Patriarchy, Crime, and Justice. Feminist Criminology in an Era of Backlash. Feminist Criminology 1: 6, 6–26.
Venäläinen, Satu (2016). "She must be an odd kind of woman": Gendered categorizations in accounts of lethal intimate partner violence in Finnish tabloid news. Feminism & Psychology, Epub ahead of print, doi: 10.1177/0959353516655370.
Venäläinen, Satu (2016). What are true women not made of? Agency and identities of "violent" women in tabloids in Finland. Feminist Media Studies, 16:2, 261–275.
Posted in Crime, Law & Politics, Peace & ConflictTagged 21st century, conflict, crime, Finland, media, media representations, research-led, tabloids, violence against women, women writers, women's violence
Claiming their voices
The half-way point!


Last weekend, I went to see Wong Kar-Wai give a talk about the use of music in his films at the Apple Store in Soho. I was surprised when they announced that Christopher Doyle would be there as well. WKW's films are so impressionistic, so centered around the moment and emotion that I think it's hard for him to talk about them in a way that's particularly revelatory. It's like talking about how beautiful a sunset is, you can't really add anything to what the sunset is. The language barrier probably doesn't help as well.
But, it's still always fun to hear him speak. His process is very intuitive, very in the moment, and it sounds like he and Doyle had some crazy times on set. Doyle claimed that they were very guerilla with their style, just running around and shooting. The mythology of their relationship is that Doyle and WKW worked together the most on Chungking Express, Fallen Angels and Happy Together, then drifted apart on In the Mood for Love. The frantic energy of those three films is largely about their in the moment capturing of city life, it's very different than the more mannered approach of WKW's more recent work.
I consider Fallen Angels the most well shot film of all time, full of shots that just burn themselves into your memory, and one of the examples they showed here was the final moments of the film, when "Only You" plays and the camera zooms along with a motorcycle then drifts off into a smoke filled sky. It's a perfect fusion of visual and emotion. Doyle seemed like a crazed homeless man at times, it's hard to connect him with the visuals he manages to capture, but I suppose that's the paradox of art. David Lynch seems like a nice, normal guy, but his movies are crazy. I think it's hard for some people to imagine a normal person making a movie as crazy as his stuff, but it makes sense to me. For me, making movies is about a journey through the subconscious, the process of writing is a matter of finding the ideas that stick in my brain, so strange things are always going to filter through to the stories, even if they don't filter to the outside world.
I'm hoping that WKW and Doyle's appearance here indicates Doyle's return for the next WKW movie. My Blueberry Nights dragged a bit on the rewatch, it has great moments, but lacks the energy and life of the best WKW movies. I think he's at a crossroads after 2046, which was a perfect summation of everything he'd done before. My Blueberry Nights added American actors and setting, but where will he go next? What will his next era of films be?
Either way, I'm eager to see Ashes of Time: Redux this weekend. I love the original, even after seeing it on the worst DVD I've ever watched. It needed to be restored, and will hopefully dazzle on the big screen. Expect a review after the screening.


Project 52, a new members' club comprised of 52 members from the local business community, will realise the vision for its brand new bar in St Helier through a collaboration with local joinery experts, Whittinghams Ltd., and interior designers, Waddington Interiors.
Designers from each company worked closely with the founding members of Project 52 to help focus their vision and create a story that would translate into the look, feel and personality of the bar through finishes, colours and the overall design.
The final design of the bar takes inspiration from the contemporary and industrial yet homely 'lived in' aesthetics of Soho House clubs, mixing rustic concrete and scaffold features with rich oily blue and peacock green colouring, copper leafing and pre-worn wooden flooring.
As a non-traditional members' club, Project 52 welcomes both male and female members and it will reflect this through subtle elements of design that will balance masculinity and femininity to align with the club's ethos. Unlike most members' clubs, non-members will also be welcome to relax and drink in the downstairs bar and lounge, however the upstairs snug and meeting area will be open to members only.


Find out more about SME Business Loans through crowdfunding via the Funding Societies.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platforms earn fees from matching borrowers with investors, but investors bear the full risk if loans default. Thus, it is important for investors to pay attention to the risks associated with the 'originate and distribute' model and look for lending platforms whose interests are aligned with investors.