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Pre–season Quiz
Which of the following do not have contracts with Surrey for the coming season?
Mark Ramprakesh
Murali Kartik
Gareth Batty
Graham Gooch
Ricky Ponting
Jonathan Batty
Inziman-ul-Haq
Vikram Solanki
Matthew Maynard
Zander de Bruyn
Paddy Carlin
Jacques Rudolph
Mark Butcher
Graeme Smith
Freddie van de Bergh
Henry Blofeld
Steven Davies
Jon Lewis
Gary Keedy
Owais Shah
Chris Tremlett
Dirk Nannes
Arun Harinath
Stuart Barnes
Martin Bicknell
Rory Hamilton-Brown
The literary associations of Stoke Poges will be instantly recognised by all Googlies readers and doubtless some will be aware of its sporting associations. I was in this part of Buckinghamshire to attend a splendid wedding and was able to pop into the town (or is it a village?) to pay homage to the poet Gray in the churchyard he made famous in his Elegy. It is, in truth, a modest church but it was a pleasant day and worth the look and I fell into conversation with one of the locals. He was a fund of knowledge about the area and the Elegy and particularly about the nearby Stoke Park a late 18th/early 19th century pile which is now (and has been for over a hundred years) a country house hotel. It has a famous golf course on which famous golfers have played including, so I was told, Goldfinger in the James Bond film. The course was established by a previous owner of the house called "Pa" Jackson who was apparently "mad keen on sport" and was involved in founding the Corinthians football team, and had something or other to do with the establishment of lawn tennis on its modern lines. He was also often to be seen at Lord's.
The mention of Headquarters rather caught my ear and I asked about cricket in the area. The best-known local side is Farnham Royal who play in the Home Counties league but apparently cricket was played at Stoke Park up until the golf course was built which seems like a very poor substitution to me. The Stoke Park estate is very large and I asked if cricket was stilled played on some part of it but my man thought not. He did however have one or two views about cricket and I'm afraid your correspondent plunged rather than tiptoed into some very deep water. I suppose there are still people about who think that the standard of cricket played these days is inferior to the past, indeed there must be… because here was one. Bowlers are rubbish, batsmen can only play because they go out in suits of armour, even fielding (which most concede is beyond the dreams of earlier generations) is only characterised by players diving all over the place. How can people hold these views and actually see what they see? How can anyone describe Kemar Roach's catch in the recent ODI as "diving all over the place"? Diving, to be sure, but to stunning effect. How could you dismiss Finn's recent spell as rubbish? (Easy, of course, the New Zealand batsmen were more rubbish/rubbishier/rubbishist…and so on). What of Dhoni's double hundred? Rubbish bowling of course. I have met some people with robust traditional opinions here in Yorkshire but this particular sub-set of the Home Counties outdid them all. I thought it best not to ask his views about coloured clothing, day-nighters, scoop shots, Go-Go dancers and the rest, since I didn't need to.
I think my new-found friend sensed that I might not agree with him, most especially when he asked me directly and I said I thought he was talking bollocks. He thought that not an appropriate word to use in church (apparently god doesn't care for swearing…only for cricket bigots) and so I took my leave and went back into the famous churchyard.
Thomas Gray avoided the madding crowd by sitting there and contemplating "the sun upon the upland lawn" and the "rude forefathers of the hamlet" asleep in their graves. Well the forefathers might be asleep but the progeny are awake and complaining.
I asked my man, by the way, if he watched lots of cricket matches.
"Oh, I don't go to cricket any more"
"It's rubbish!"
Resting Matters
I regularly gripe about professional sportsmen constantly needing to rest. King Cricket took up my theme
There's an interview with Ian Chappell over at The Guardian in which he expounds on rest and rotation: "I can understand that you've got to give the fast bowlers a breather every now and then, but to rest batsmen is bollocks."
Broadly speaking, we agree with this and we think it highlights our main issue with the fixture list and the necessity for rest. However, first we'll nitpick.
In general, batsmen – and perhaps spinners as well – don't need physical rest in the way that fast bowlers do. We therefore see little point in resting them from a particular match. However, we do think that they can occasionally benefit from skipping a tour or series in order to retain their enthusiasm.
If that sounds unduly soft, let us explain. It's not about how the poor millionaires are suffering. It's more to do with top level sport being about incredibly fine margins and how enthusiasm can ensure that a player fully engages with practice and preparation and all that crap. If you want a batsman at his best for a particular Test series, enthusiasm is one of the ingredients you need and if you've eroded that by picking him for a seven-match one-day international series, you'll have to settle for him performing at 90 per cent or whatever.
But that isn't really the issue that's raised by Chappell's comments. What bothers us is the imbalance. If fast bowlers need resting more than batsmen, you're forever pitting one nation's very best batsmen against 'some of the better bowlers' from another country.
We suppose this comes back to that question of whether Test cricket should be about identifying the best team or the best squad. Part of us is fine with modern cricket being about having a great stack of bowlers to pick from. It's a decent measure of a nation's strength and it's the same for everyone. However, another part of us thinks it should be about trying to put together a McGrath, Gillespie, Lee and Warne or a Roberts, Holding, Croft and Garner.
Those sorts of attacks test the best batsmen in a way that 'the best options currently available considering we've got half an eye on the next match as well' don't and it therefore feels like something is missing from the game at the top level as a consequence.
England Matters
The Great Jack Morgan has been glued to the internet
Have you been following the (England) Lions tour of Oz? I have been trying to but i) the coverage has been almost non-existent in this country; and ii) it has been such a dismal experience that point (i) is almost understandable. In the first tour match, Victoria picked a strongish looking side that included the likes of Quiney, C Rogers, D Hussey, C White, Hastings and D Pattinson, but they won so easily (Lions 225-8, G Ballance 86; Victoria 227-2, C Overton 2-30) that they left out all those blokes for the next game. However, the unknowns of the Victorian XI won almost as easily (Lions 335-4, V Chopra 115, J Taylor 102, B Foakes 53; Victoria XI 336-6, M Coles 2-58). TSRJ (5-0-30-0) made his only appearance in this one, so I am assuming he is injured. In the last of the warm ups, it was mainly unknowns strengthened by Quiney and White and Victoria won with ridiculous ease (Lions 173, G Ballance 57; Victoria 174-2, S Kerrigan 1-31).
So to the first ODI v Aus A, who picked only three blokes of whom I had heard, but they won so easily they had blokes retiring (Lions 259-6, V Chopra 105, B Foakes 56; Australia A 260-3, C Wright 1-39). In ODI 2, the Lions thought they would put the Aussies in for a change but it made no difference of course: they still lost by a huge margin (Australia A 315-7, R Clarke 4-55; Lions 193, J Taylor 79). Perhaps they will change the name from Lions to Pussycats?
There seems to have been a feeling in recent years that everything in the England cricket garden is rosy, so it must be something of a shock for the powers that be to find that the England stiffs and juniors are so useless: perhaps we have not got things right after all.
The day after I complained about the lack of news about the Pussies, I saw the first news item about the tour and it was not good. Apparently, M Coles and B Stokes have been sent home for "ignoring the instructions given to them around the match preparation and recovery". Does this mean they were out on the piss? Dunno, but at least they have an excuse: all the others who presumably were following "the instructions given to them etc" were also crap, but have no excuses!
There is no end to the bad news from SA and Oz. The juniors were thumped out of sight again: England 210-8; SA 211-1 and Middlesex do not even have anyone good enough to get in the squad! Meanwhile, the England Pussies were also thrashed out of sight: AA 256-6 (S Kerrigan 2-27); Lions 143 (J Taylor 78*). TSRJ returned for this one, had figures of 10-0-57-1 and made 15, the third highest score. This is just embarrassing. Middlesex have a young bowler called Gurjit Singh Sandhu, who has had a few first team games and although I knew that the GS Sandhu in the AA team for this one could not be him, I had to look him up to make sure and, of course, it wasn't!
Another day, another hammering for the Pussies, but they might have been slightly unlucky in this one. AA 285-8 with Toby the best of the bowlers with 3-58; A Voges played in this one and made 81. Lions 240-9 (after 47overs), but all out because G Ballance, going well on 73, was hit on the head, had to retire hurt and never returned. V Chopra made 41 and TSRJ was next best with 24.
It is always good to hear from our Antipodean in London, Murray Hedgcock, who sent me this
Thank you as usual for Googlies and Chinamen, which always entertains, while often leaving me to scratch my Colonial head at the strange world of English club cricket.
Your latest issue was especially stimulating with Paddy Carlin's report questioning the expansion of both the SCG and Adelaide Oval, given the decline in cricket crowds. English visitors in Summer may miss the point that most big Australian grounds host a football code in Winter – the SCG is home to the Sydney Swans (Aussie Rules), and has of course staged much rugby (union and league) over the decades. The "other" MCC has 102,000 members – and a waiting list of 225,000, primarily because of the opportunity to see sport round the year. Five clubs in the Australian Football League (the national competition) are based at the MCG, so members can see club fixtures, and most of the finals. The Sydney ground is of course a bit titchy; current work will increase its capacity to just 48,000, which is probably a reasonable investment. The Adelaide redevelopment – a sad scar on a once-lovely ground – stems from the wish to establish a central stadium for Australian Football (Adelaide's grounds are spread round the suburbs). It will seat 50,000.
The Great Jack Morgan delves into his archive to report on more memorable matches
Middlesex were having a fairly ordinary season in 2005, but they enjoyed a pleasant mid-season sojourn at the Walker Cricket Ground at Southgate. It was an obvious choice for Glamorgan captain and former England off-spinner Robert Croft to bat first on the featherbed pitch prepared for the Division One Championship match on 15 June. Australian Test opener Matt Elliott looked good before he was run out for 59 off 97 balls with 8 fours out of an opening stand of 99 with Dan Cherry. Then ex-England A man David Hemp also impressed in a stand of 175 for the second wicket with Cherry before he fell for an excellent 103 off 97 balls with 18 fours and a six. Then it was the turn of Jonathan Hughes to share a big stand with Cherry as the pair put on a massive 241 for the third wicket before Cherry finally departed for 226 (his maiden first class century) off 349 balls with 32 fours and 2 sixes. Hughes continued to his maiden first class hundred before Croft finally put the nine Middlesex bowlers out of their misery by declaring at 584 for 3 off 133 overs with Hughes on 134* off 212 balls with 19 fours.
However, Middlesex also found the conditions to their taste with Ed Smith (92 off 119 balls with 13 fours) leading the way. He shared a second wicket stand of 101 with Owais Shah (49 off 96 balls with 7 fours) before they both departed to leave the stage clear for some more brilliant batting from Ed Joyce and Scott Styris (85 off 118 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes) in a stand of 235 for the fourth wicket. Joyce carried on to a splendid 155* off 188 balls with 23 fours and 3 sixes before skipper Ben Hutton declared as soon as the follow on had been avoided on 435 for 4 off 95.3 overs.
The visitors made a comparatively poor start to their second innings at 66 for 3, but then another unbeaten century from Hughes (100* off 121 balls with 12 fours) in an unfinished partnership of 190* with Indian Test captain Saurav Ganguly (84* off 118 balls with 9 fours) allowed Croft to set Middx a target of 408 to win in 80 overs. Alan Richardson had figures of 3 for 24 in the Glamorgan second innings and these were the only respectable bowling figures of the whole match.
Smith got off to a great start by hitting 4 fours in the first over, but Hutton was hit in the chest by England ODI man Alex Wharf and had to retire with the score on 24-0. However, this allowed the biggest stand of the match to develop between Smith and Shah and it was this partnership which swung the match in favour of the home team. When Smithy finally departed for a terrific 144 (his first century for the club) off 171 balls with 20 fours, the first wicket stand had been worth 288 (including Hutton's modest contribution) and it had been 478 runs since the last wicket had fallen. Joyce was the perfect replacement for Smith and despite losing Shah (for a brilliant 155 off 202 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes) after a rapid stand of 92, he was able to lead Middx home with 6 wickets and 13 balls in hand as he finished on 70* off 61 balls with 9 fours and a six and became the first batsman to reach 1,000 runs for the season.
Middlesex took 20 points and Glamorgan 6, but it was only Middlesex's second Championship win of the season. Only 14 wickets fell in the match while 1,683 runs were scored and the average of 120.21 runs per wicket was a record for the Championship and for any first class match that produced a positive result; it was also the fourth highest of any match ever in the world and the second highest in this country, beaten only by the Cambridge University v West Indians match in 1950, which, of course, we all remember well. In case you were wondering whatever happened to the careers of Hughes (234 runs in the match without being dismissed) and Cherry (242 runs in the match), I can tell you that Hughes was released at the end of the 2005 season with a career average of 23.57, while Cherry was released two years later with a career average of 26.05. Glamorgan finished bottom of the table with a spectacular fourteen losses from 16 matches and were deservedly relegated.
Ben Hutton won the toss and chose to bat first in the 45 overs National League Division One match against Nottinghamshire at Southgate on June 19 and openers Paul Weekes and Ed Smith (31 off 33 balls) got Middlesex off to a good start with a stand of 64. Owais Shah helped Weekes to add 76 for the second wicket, then Weekes and Scott Styris added another 52 for the third before Weekes fell for a glorious 106 off 106 balls with 14 fours and 2 sixes. Styris continued in the same vein, adding 63 for the fifth wicket with Ed Joyce before departing for a thrilling 82 off 64 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Joyce actually managed to increase the scoring rate with a sparkling 41* off 18 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes until the innings closed on 314 for 5; Ed had hit 16 (6,6,4) off the last three balls of the innings as Middlesex passed 300 for the first time in the league that season.
The Notts openers ex-Surrey batsman Darren Bicknell and ex-Northants allrounder Graeme Swann (capped once in an ODI at Bloemfontein in 2000) made a lively start, but they had slumped to 86 for 4 when 20 year old Samit Patel from Leicester arrived at the crease to join David Hussey from Perth WA, who hit 39 off 52 balls and this pair added 73 for the fifth wicket. Hussey's departure brought Test match keeper Chris Read to the wicket and he proved an excellent ally for Patel as the pair added a quick 72 for the sixth wicket before Patel fell for an impressive 82 off 79 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Read (45 off 36 balls with 5 fours and a six) maintained the asking rate, but when he was out at 252 for 7, the outcome was becoming clear. Former Test and Kent allrounder Mark Ealham (26 off 18 balls) tried to prevent the inevitable, but Notts were all out for 283 in the 45th over and Middlesex had won by 31 runs. Middlesex had a good season in the league, finishing second behind Essex: they were well clear of Northants in third place, but it has to be admitted that Essex were way out in front.
Hampshire skipper Shane Warne, from Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria, won the toss and chose to bat in the County Championship Division One match on 8 July at what Gideon Haigh in his book On Warne calls "the picturesque little Walker's Oval at Southgate". However the wicket was nothing like as placid as that for the recent game against Glamorgan and Hants soon sank to 61 for 4. Ex-Lancashire and England batsman John Crawley led a recovery and, getting some support from South African keeper Nic Pothas and Zimbabwean allrounder Sean Irvine (both with European passports), managed to take the score up to an inadequate 189 for 7 with a classy 62 from 85 balls with 6 fours. Then, however, captain Warne strode to the crease at no 9 determined to change the complexion of the game and this he achieved quite quickly, firstly in a stand of 100 with Dimitri Mascarenhas (39), brought up in Australia, but born in Hammersmith and then in a partnership of 53 with Hampshire's own Shaun Udal, whose grandfather had played for Middlesex in 1932. Warney finished with a fantastic 101 off 82 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes as he completed the second first class century of his career, the first having come earlier in the season at Canterbury. Shane had taken the total up to 355 all out and had ruined the figures of several home bowlers, the best of whom were Scott Styris 3 for 61, Mel Betts 3 for 62 and Chris Peploe 3 for 85.
Middlesex batted with some determination and credit goes to skipper Ben Hutton for a fairly dogged, but valuable 42, Ed Joyce for a more entertaining 54 off 93 balls with 6 fours and Jamie Dalrymple, who followed Hutton's example with a praiseworthy 62 off 129 balls with 5 fours and a six. Nevertheless, Middlesex finished 83 adrift on first innings and the performances of Udal (3 for 18) and Mascarenhas (3 for 38) stood out for the visitors. Zimbabwean Greg Lamb was the mainstay of the Hants second innings with a solid 51 off 105 balls with 8 fours, but wickets fell regularly at the other end to the Middlesex spin twins Dalrymple, who had not been invited to bowl in the first innings but who now took 4 for 53 and Peploe (3 for 77). Only Mascarenhas (35) contributed more than 19 as Hants were dismissed for a disappointing 192, but this left Middlesex a challenging target of 278 against the mighty Warne on a track that was taking spin.
Ed Smith and Owais Shah put Middlesex in with a chance with a second wicket stand of 94, both made 60, but these were innings of contrasting styles as Owais was able to lash his 60 in an hour with 10 fours and 2 sixes, while Ed followed in the painstaking style of Hutton, Dalrymple and Lamb and took more than twice as long for his 60 off 121 balls with 6 fours. Joyce looked good again before he was run out for 35 while Dalrymple and Paul Weekes added an extremely valuable 56 for the seventh wicket. It was incredibly tense right up to the end when Weekesy (39*) pulled a long hop from Warne to the mid wicket boundary just before lunch on day 4 and Middlesex had won by two wickets. Udal took 3 for 60 for Hants, but the big problem for the visitors was the extremely disappointing performance of their captain and star spinner who bowled as badly as anyone had ever seen him to take 2 for 108 (4 for 165 in the match) when he should have bowled his team to victory. The other spinners in the match (Dalrymple 4 for 53, Peploe 6 for 162, Udal 6 for 78 and Lamb 2 for 30) should not have been able to outshine the master, so something was seriously wrong.
Haigh says that Warne was in "no sort of form" and that "he was unable to bowl a bunch of Middlesex no-names out" and then explains how Warne analysed and corrected the problem before the Ashes series started. The only thing to disagree with here is his description of Middlesex's talented collection of Test, ODI and A Team internationals (only two of the eleven had not received an international call-up) as "no-names". Middlesex took 19 points and Hants 7, but the visitors had a far more successful season in the Championship: they finished second with 9 wins in 16 games and were only 2.5 points behind champions Notts. Middlesex's two wins at Southgate comprised 50% of their Championship wins in the whole season, they finished sixth, only stayed up by one point and would have been relegated if Surrey had not had points deducted for ball tampering. There were many injuries amongst the Middlesex bowlers so it was no surprise that the bowling was particularly variable and only Richardson (57 wickets at 25.23) showed the necessary consistency, though Styris (31 wickets at 23.55) actually topped the averages; the only other bowler with an average under 36 was Stuart Clark (15 wickets at 27.47) who played in only four matches. The batting was better, but still inconsistent at times: Shah (1650 runs at 63.46) and Joyce (1668 runs at 61.78) both had magnificent seasons, while Weekes (842 runs at 44.32) and Smith (1228 runs at 40.93) also did well. Irfan Pathan averaged 63 (he was out only twice in his three matches) but this did not really compensate (as he was signed mainly as a bowler) for his bowling average, which was slightly higher at 64.8.
Wisden Five
I travelled to Sheffield for lunch with the Professor to discuss this critical matter. He subsequently sent me this
We have tried over the years (with variable degrees of success) to guess the "Five Cricketers of the Year" chosen by the Editor in the Wisden Almanack. The principal difficulties of doing so, apart from remembering what happened last year - or yesterday come to that – are that there are very few "rules" and that the task is not to name the five that you would like but the five that the Editor might pick. So, for example, several years' ago I was all for naming Clare Connor in the list but it was not until 2009 that a woman was included for the first time.
The "rules" are:
1.There are five. Except, of course, in 2011, when one of the then Editor's selection was rejected and he declined to name a replacement and seemingly, as a result, got the sack.
2.The selection is based "primarily but not exclusively, on the players' influence on the previous English season".
3.You can't win it twice.
Players in the visiting Test side(s) tend to feature quite often as well, of course, as England cricketers together with county cricketers who have had an exceptional year. The Great Jack Morgan thinks the award should only go to Middlesex players but it appears that his advice to the Editor, in this regard, has heretofore gone unheeded.
2012 saw visits from the West Indies and South Africa and a number of prominent players in both sides have yet to be in the Wisden 5. Some new England caps were awarded and there were some notable County Championship performances.
This is, of course, a mug's game but here are my five…with my justifications:
Amla. A fantastic year, a not out 300 at the Oval. A "shoo in".
Compton. High scoring domestic season earning a call-up to the Test side in India.
Steyn. He didn't take shed-loads of wickets in a very short series (only one "5-fer") but such a high class performer and a little surprising that he hasn't won it before.
Kallis. Even more surprising that he hasn't been in the list. Unless my Wisden has a misprint (and there are people who look for such things) I don't think he has. Again only one big innings in the short Test series but a dominant presence.
Samuels. Chanderpaul got runs in the first Test but he already has the award and a case could be made for Sammy (a hundred in the second Test and the captain of an albeit well-beaten team). But Samuels seemed to the hold the stage, with bat and ball, as much as any West Indian did…of course it could go to Tino for his 95.
So, there are my five…if three come in I will count it as a result.
Big Bash Matters
The Professor sent me this
The "Big Bash" is equally dire but for the opposite reason - have you seen the cameras that the umpires have mounted on their caps (look like miners lamps) and the stumps have some chemical (presumably) that makes them fluoresce when they are hit - they pulse off and on and the bails fly off like sparks from a bonfire. Its all very tasteful and I really think they must give that a go at Headquarters.
Wallis Matters
Peter Burke sent me this
Dreadfully sorry to hear of Don's passing - he was a great character and we had some fun times when South Hampstead used to roll the Bush over in the 60's and 70's! Cost us young lads a fortune in the bar! He had mellowed when we used to meet a few years ago in the Bowlers Bar at Lords, but still as rude and sarcastic as ever!
And Arthur Gates sent me this
I first met Don when I broke into the Bush first XI along with Dave Jukes, Peter Minor and Graham Marchant and our third or fourth game was against South Hampstead. Don arrived at the Bush as if he owned the place and soon put these youngsters in their place. A booming voice allied to his physique set him apart from the other members of the South Hampstead side who we only knew by reputation, Bob Peach, Terry Cordaroy, Bill Hart, Len and Harry Stuubbs. True to form he was soon playing mind games and we were crushed for our first defeat of the season. Even though he wasn't everybody's cup of tea I got on well with him and I was very sorry to hear of his passing.
Charlie Pucket added
My only experience of Don Wallis on the cricket field was in the far-off days of my youth when Hounslow played at South Hampstead in August or September 1973 (whichever, it was the weekend before another of SHCC's appearances in the Middlesex Cup Final). Hounslow had the effrontery to bat first, which had not impressed Don, and were comfortably placed with opening batsman Glyn Evans 74 not out.
At this point it is important to explain that Glyn is a South African and was then an official at the South African Embassy - how he got that job has always amazed me because both he and his wife were passionately opposed to apartheid but it was the only way that two young graduates were ever going to be able to afford to travel in those days. Had things been different in South Africa, Glyn would have been a Springbok Hockey International (that honour fell to his two boys with 5 Olympics between them) and he turned down the opportunity of playing cricket for Northern Transvaal when he returned from his tour of duty.
Anyway, not for the first time, I digress. Don was now showing considerable displeasure at the failure of Ian Jerman and Ossie Burton to despatch these upstarts from West London and snatched the ball out of Ian's hands with the immortal line, "Give it to me. I'll show you how to do it" (or words to that effect).
Did I mention that Mikey and Alf Langley were behind the sticks and at first slip? Well, they were.
Glyn hit Don's only over for 26 to take him to his hundred and, years later, by his swimming pool in Jo'burg, Glyn was reminiscing about that day. The reason it stuck in his memory was because, given his job and the sporting arrangements in his home country, it was the first time he had ever played cricket with two black men encouraging him to see if he could hit the next delivery harder and further! I think it must have been about the time Mikey and Alf left for Shepherds Bush.
Paedophile Matters
You will be saddened to learn that the Barmy Army has run into some problems. Their finances have been hit by two debtors going into liquidation (both Australian firms I was told). Since they are determinedly anti-commercial they have little in the way of reserves to carry them through. And then there is the "Jimmy" problem. It seems that to have as the face of the organisation someone who appears to imitate a late and notorious paedophile might not be what I think marketing people might refer to as an optimal positioning strategy. So the upshot is a smaller Army than usual (more a platoon really) and no Jimmy. Still don't write them off too soon. They will regroup and reintegrate and, just like KP, they'll be back.
Marital Matters
CMJ reported a conversation with his wife Judy recently, apropos his MBE and MCC Presidency, "I asked my wife not so long ago, 'Did you ever imagine in your wildest dreams, I'd achieve all that?' 'To tell you the truth, darling,' she replied, 'I'm not sure you've ever appeared in my wildest dreams'."
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text:
As I was pursuing my new acting ambitions after I graduated from Michigan, I could not help but desire a taste of greatness. I surely had much to prove to the world and myself, as any graduate might with bright hopes for their future. The idea of being a great actor, when I chose acting, superceded the idea of being a "good actor" or a "good anything" for that fact. Who wants to be good when they can be great?
My father had instilled that desire for greatness, not by beating it into my head, but by imbuing it through rewarding good actions. A winning touchdown pass that I threw as an 8th grade football player in the last moments of a football game was a defining moment that said to me such feelings were worth pursuing. How wonderful were the rewards that came from winning and/or receiving that special something from Dad, even if it was just a pat on the back and encouraging words like "Great job."
After that ecstatic junior high school football victory, my father rewarded me with a twenty dollar bill and treated me and my friends to pizza. Extrinsic rewards worked well for me as I found that pleasing my father always worked to my benefit like following the law pleases our justice system.
When I received a trophy for Most Valuable Player on the high school football team several years later in 1981, I realized the road was few and far between those fleeting moments of great, heroic acts like throwing winning touchdown passes in the last seconds of a game. Unfortunately, there weren't too many moments like that day. Dad reminded me that the rewards of glory are few and far between and not to count on them for the fulfillment of one's destiny, pointing to a few former high school star athletes from his hometown who graduated and were still hanging out on a park bench reminiscing about their glory days.
My glory was a different kind of glory, but more sustaining. I learned it was through steady discipline, consistent action and riding the ups and downs of the rocky road ahead, for better or worse, over a long period of time, that was the way to greatness, if it were to be achieved at all. Sticking to it, like my father had done to become a doctor, was the way to a more successful future. Over the years Dad would point to that trophy, encouraging me that I could do anything if I set my mind to it.
This "greatness" thing was hanging over me like a huge cloud that defined my being. That I had to be something was culturally rooted in such films like On the Waterfront with Marlon Brando's character telling his brother about his desire to be a contender or Rocky Balboa waking up one day to realize he's not lived up to his potential; in sports with role models like Michael Jordan winning championship games for the Chicago Bulls and John Elway winning two Super Bowls in the twilight of his career; or maybe it came from just being an American where we are instilled with the idea that we are the greatest nation on earth. Wherever this idea of greatness took root, from great civilizations of World History to our great forefathers of America or in the great characters of the plays of William Shakespeare, the bug bit me hard and I wanted something more out of my life than mediocrity.
My father must have picked up on my anxiety when I told him about this desire for greatness.
To say "I want to be great" (at what I do with my life) is an admiral character trait. Great for what? Glory? What will be the relevance of such greatness? How can one's life be relevant? Relevance is the oft forgotten attribute missing in many so-called greats, in the tragic heroes and their flaws.
Greatness is too broad a term. All Ruth's homeruns, the many movies of a Woody Allen. So many famous people, so many accolades. Yet, each must ask despite his so called greatness, what is it that makes my life relevant.
Each of us has a capacity for relevance because relevance relates usually to the society, friends and family around us.
So after one becomes great, it is also important that such a life is indeed relevant. And should it fail to be relevant, such a life will be like a very beautiful but empty cup. It is great for its beauty, and empty of relevance. So if you do not have enough to strive for, I have reminded you of this other burden of relevance. This, however, is an easier more natural one because it is an easy habit to get into and measure everyday.
If a thing is irrelevant to you, then it must be avoided. Everyone's life can be relevant and therefore great.
My father, as much as he talked about "greatness," through his heroes like Winston Churchill and other political leaders, contemporary and historical, reiterated the necessity of relevance over the course of my life. When I got my first teaching position as a social studies teacher at a high school in Newark, NJ from 1990 to 1992, I realized that the way to my students' hearts and minds was in making subject matter relevant. Textbooks that were dry coupled with tasks that were boring had very little relevance to the lives of black Americans, forcing me to find other ways to reach them. Spending extra hours at the library to learn African-American history and their key role models throughout history would bring greater esteem upon me than almost anything I had done in my life, including winning a football trophy.
I would become a much better teacher when I worked on the attribute of becoming relevant rather than focusing on greatness.
At the end of my father's letter he advised me to keep writing and to keep a diary, which he had first encouraged when I went to Japan. It was an affirmation that he asserted throughout my life and he really did help me become a better writer, first through the confidence I gained in letters I wrote him and the several daily journals I kept for myself over several years and then later when I became a graduate student of writing, an English teacher and practicing writer myself.
I would not make the connection until much later in life about the influence of those letters - that through them, I was preparing myself for something I could not foresee. Where it was all leading, I would not know. But writing was my way of discovering my place in the world and my father gave me this confidence. Later, my knowledge of writing, both through the daily habit of doing it and the formal education I would receive would become the basis for more relevant acts in and out of the classroom.
Our lives are governed much more by positive influences than we may realize. It takes time to discover the thread of our existence and the reason why we are here on this planet and how it is shaped by very special role models such as people like my father or teachers in our schools and the great people who serve, in all walks of life, to inspire us through their presence.
The lesson of living a life of relevance would continue to play out over the next 25 years of my life until my father's death. Nor would that lesson diminish with his passing but rather grow stronger like an orchestra band beating a steady drum to the Stars and Stripes Forever.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
#include <pcl/point_types.h>
#include <pcl/impl/instantiate.hpp>
#include <pcl/features/3dsc.h>
#include <pcl/features/impl/3dsc.hpp>

// Instantiations of specific point types
#ifdef PCL_ONLY_CORE_POINT_TYPES
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#else
  PCL_INSTANTIATE_PRODUCT(ShapeContext3DEstimation, (PCL_XYZ_POINT_TYPES)(PCL_NORMAL_POINT_TYPES)((pcl::ShapeContext1980)))
  PCL_INSTANTIATE_PRODUCT(ShapeContext3DEstimation, (PCL_XYZ_POINT_TYPES)(PCL_NORMAL_POINT_TYPES)((Eigen::MatrixXf)))
#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


In a recent interview recent interview with CKUT's Rana Alrabi, Norman Cornett speaks about Naim Kattan's Farida. He elaborates on Kattan's life and how it influences his writing; on the importance of Farida in showcasing a much needed alternate vision of Iraq; and on the significance which the book holds in education, as it presents a portrayal of Iraq that is often omitted in the media today.
Cornett elaborates on the way in which Kattan is able to offer a portrayal of an often forgotten reality of Iraq: a country which is not solely defined by its political and social troubles, but one which has a long multicultural and multiethnic history.
Cornett goes on to explain why he felt compelled to translate Farida into English.
Furthermore, he stresses the importance that this alternate vision holds when it comes to education in particular, as his teaching has led him to realize that many students have no idea that a vibrant Jewish community existed in Iraq.
He explains that Naim Kattan's novel teaches readers of the complex reality of the country by allowing us to see "la longue duree," an approach to the study of history coined by Fernand Braudel.
As part of his educative approach, Cornett holds dialogic sessions, which are set up as a "catalyst for collective conversation in creative thinking and expression." He comments on how he encourages his students to discover history in these classes by setting up opportunities for them to interact, one on one, with the authors of studied works. In this way, he is able to "make history come alive" in his classes.
Naim Kattan was a guest, on numerous occasions, in Cornett's classes, and the experience was rewarding for both him and his students.


Food stuff, outfits and then a roof over the head -- these are often the 3 basic needs every-body ought to fulfill to have their particular loved ones safe and happy.
You should not have to worry about the quality of your Roofing, but we understand that you do. Therefore College Station Roofing tends to make our roofing services an obvious choice; saving you time and permitting you return to centering on just what really matters.
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When you await sub-par roofer to eventually get out for a house then hopefully make slips that may not be fixed, you're just extending the dwellings' safety & convenience.
Do you realize why Select College Station Roofing for Roofing?
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text:
Cyriocosmus nogueiranetoi är en spindelart som beskrevs av Fukushima, Bertani och da Silva 2005. Cyriocosmus nogueiranetoi ingår i släktet Cyriocosmus och familjen fågelspindlar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Fågelspindlar
nogueiranetoi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


When patients fail to comply with the medication regimen and lifestyle modifications that have been recommended by their healthcare providers, they are sabotaging their own health and recovery and causing frustration for their physicians. Non-compliance can undo the physician's efforts to help the patient and can cause avoidable and often serious complications that may lead to emergency room visits, hospital re-admission and worsening health.
To address the problem of non-compliance, Dr. Bramowitz believes that improved doctor-patient communication is key. He urges patients to prepare for appointments by writing down their questions and concerns, and bringing a copy to the physician. He also encourages his patients to bring along an advocate – a family member or friend who can help the patient remember the exact instructions and can reinforce the doctor's recommendations.
To contact Jefferson Cardiology, call (412) 469-1500 or visit the web site, www.jeffersoncardiology.com.


When in attendance at a Petes game it can be difficult grasp that the players, though playing older than their age insinuates, are mostly teenagers or, at maximum, a couple of years out of high school. While some sixteen and seventeen year olds are concerned about making curfew or hiding their phone from their teachers, Petes and other CHL rookies are adjusting to moving away from home, or even away from the country they were raised in, while acquiring the full time role of being a student athlete.
Post-OHL entry draft, we assume that the route to a Memorial Cup is all glamour. However, a lifestyle shift in an unfamiliar area is a taxing process for any teen, regardless of the programs and resources in place to aid the transition. Veterans of the team who exude confidence didn't arrive at their level of comfort without minor setbacks or feelings of uneasiness early on in their junior careers, as was the case with Petes defenseman Matt Timms.
Timms grew up in Waterdown, Ontario and was drafted 22nd overall by the Petes in 2014. Since then, he has evolved into a leader, a point per game player during his 2016-17 season (until he was plagued by a dislocated shoulder during the playoffs), and resilient veteran. He also quickly bounced back from a broken foot this season.
Although a lot of his success is self-produced, Timms refuses to take full praise for any of his accomplishments. "I couldn't give enough credit to my [defence] partner Kyle Jenkins. He was totally underestimated. I think he was a massive part of the success," said Timms, in reference to the Petes' previous season.
His admiration for those who have helped him along his athletic journey is not limited to the guys alongside him on the bench, but also includes his supporters at home, "My mom is extremely hard working. I really admire the way she handled me growing up. I'm just starting to realize all the sacrifices she made for me growing up in hockey and how she comes up to every home game, her and my grandparents, and its probably two and a half hours for them." He notes how much he looks forward to returning home in the summer.
"I just think the big thing is, you've got to grow up fast. It hits you like a brick wall" says Timms. He describes the changes fans aren't accustomed to thinking of when recalling the players, like a new school, new roommates, playing with guys three years older and developing a conditioned physique that wasn't fully demanded in minor hockey.
Fortunately, Timms has stepped into his fourth season comfortably adjusted, with full confidence. He has a stern passion for the game, outstanding vision on the ice, and ties a lot of the players together. His honesty in conversation, approachable attitude, and ability to keep things light on and off the ice has served him as an outstanding leader and important presence on the Petes roster.
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the hockey fan in your life? Petes Holiday Flex Packs are now on sale! Receive four regular bowl flex vouchers to be used between December 30 and January 20, as well as two Petes rocks glasses for just $59.99, a savings of over 40%. Read the top seven reasons why you can't miss out on the Holiday Flex Pack this year!


As the crowdfunding for the feature-length sequel to Escape winds down, creator Kennedy Baruch chats with The Escapist about the project and the future.
The Indigogo crowdfunding drive for Princess in Another Castle, the feature film followup to the YouTube hit Escape, is entering its final hours. While the project is only a little more than half-way to its goal, it looks like the film will still be made.
In an exclusive interview, seen below, writer/director Kennedy Baruch sat down with us to give us some insight into the project, including why the film is set in 1996, why a little girl is the main character, and how video games are used as an outlet for bullying and family problems. He also included some rough takes for the new film.
Escape proved to be very popular, and prompted the new movie. Baruch has promised more Zelda in the film, while saying that some of the mistakes in the original -- such as an extremely fragile GameCube, or a missing memory card -- won't happen here. "I've been paying attention," he said.
Check out the interview, then head on over to Indigogo and drop a few bucks on the film if you haven't already. The project still needs $4,300 in the next 35 hours.


GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Marshawn Lynch made the biggest news of what otherwise was a routine preseason NFL game by sitting during the national anthem prior to the Oakland Raiders' 20-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night.
Marshawn Lynch appeared to protest the national anthem.
The ex-Seattle running back, who came out of retirement to sign with his hometown Raiders, sat on an orange cooler with his arms resting on his knees, while others around him stood.
Although he rarely talks to the media, Lynch has voiced support for quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the anthem last season to protest what he saw as a pattern of police mistreatment of people of color.
Lynch did not play in the game.


text:
Full Print Issues
2017 Staff
Archives Ron's Reasons: An Illustrated Web Critique
Ron's Reasons: An Illustrated Web Critique
mjreditors
Commentary by Ron Reason
When the Great Falls Tribune redesigned its website, it sought to offer more choice to more readers and gain more advertisers. Here's a look at challenges and opportunities presented before and after the change.
Former Home Page: September 1, 2008 – March 1, 2014
Archival screen snapshot courtesy of Joe Addy, Webmaster, Great Falls Tribune
The lead story on the old home page sure took its time getting to the point, with a head and deck totaling an astonishing 33 words; a wordy habit carried over from newspaper layout. The new lead headline (facing page) gets to the point in a much more economical eight words, emphasizing the value and need for smarter headline writing.
The smaller horizontal photos in this central area posed a problem: Many images, especially the sports action shots chosen here, are too busy to translate to this small size. The revamped photo teasers in the redesigned page (facing) are more successful in presenting readable content.
In this sample, the former home page layout allowed 20 headline options for the home page visitor. The new version (facing page) offers nearly 60, not counting rotating galleries, which offer additional options. Obviously this was a remake about volume, volume, volume. The home page is deeper, of course, but offers more stories in photo and video form. Readers are visual creatures, and the new design plays well to that.
In this instance, the Great Falls Tribune staff actually had a fair amount of say in how the redesign went. They had almost full control of the content on the front page, including photos, videos, links, images, etc. They did get to choose their own color scheme as well, but as with most corporate overhauls, much of the design was determined by the owners, Gannett Corporation. They aimed to get readers more of the content they desired online by going with a heavy image/video site design, as you can see on the facing page. Web Master Joe Addy said they felt satisfied that the new site accomplished their goals.
New Home Page: March 2, 2014
October 10, 2014 home page was randomly selected for commentary below.
A bolder, slightly deeper header features a larger logo in caps and lowercase. This wisely moves beyond an old, stale trend for newspaper websites, shown on the older home page: all-lowercase logos (too casual) with a ".com" added, which was superfluous – we knew we were on a website, right?
A larger image in a quickly rotating "lead story" gallery creates a greater sense of hierarchy and action. Don't like the top item? Wait a few seconds, another option appears. Reflects the idea that greater updating and higher volume offers readers more choices and keeps them around longer.
High up, this "utility rail" clearly presents visitors with info on how to use the site, contact staff, or submit items. Very user friendly.
The "Brady Bunch" shapes in this block of teasers might threaten to get a bit monotonous. But, if the content of each square surprises, stories update often, and heads are well written, readers will stick around. The reverse white heads present a challenge: bottoms of images must be dark enough to ensure readability.
Content such as VIDEO is clearly organized (as with GALLERIES, farther down). But an ongoing challenge for news websites is to present content that truly deserves to be shown as video. The headline on this story – "data breach at Jimmy John's" – doesn't suggest a dynamic viewing experience so much as, perhaps, a talking head. Opening screen shots should also present some hint of action to come. If this content is from an automated feed, there may not be much you can do, but if published live and locally, these are things to look out for.
Readers are scanners. This rail serves them well. A vertical layout moves the eye quickly (and has since the days of The Wall Street Journal's "What's News" column). Reverse white-on-black text can get hard to read, but the narrow column and short bits of text make it work here.
BOX 10:
From a reader's standpoint, the lack of advertising on the home page template on this particular date may be a godsend. From a publisher's standpoint, it's a concern: Where's the revenue going to come from? The "Today's Deal" near the bottom of the home page might be moved higher, and might benefit from offering more than one product. Or, text-only ads (horizontal 1-or 2-lines, as in Google) could be subtly introduced between editorial elements, and might boost revenue.
Design consultant Ron Reason will be the University of Montana School of Journalism's Distinguished Pollner Professor for Spring 2015.
50th Anniversary of Vietnam: Through a Veteran's Lens
MJR 2015
I, Journalist
Standing Rock: Native journalists torn between passion and neutrality
Jason Begay - December 10, 2016
Story by Jason Begay, photos by Olivia Vanni See more of MJR's Standing Rock Coverage with this interactive web documentary. Even if it weren't for that...
mjreditors - December 24, 2014
Story and photos by Kate Siberell Studying weather and climate changeis like watching a pot of water on the stove. Both climate scientists and meteorologists...


CPU Load too high, HTTPS/SSL encryption uses most of the CPU resources.
And we don't have more money to upgrade this server.
So we decided to disable HTTPS/SSL to handle more Tracker requests.
"https://open.acgnxtracker.com/announce" is disconnect and disabled now.
But the "http://open.acgnxtracker.com/announce" is still working.
Don't worry, Public Tracker service with no closed.


text:
import _ from 'lodash';
import sinon from 'sinon';

const api = {
  on: sinon.spy(),
  connectionClosed: sinon.spy(),
  handleConnect: sinon.spy(),
  handleMessage: sinon.spy(),
};

const mockConstructor = sinon.stub().returns(api);

function resetAll() {
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function getEventCall(event) {
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  _.forIn(api.on.getCalls(), function(call) {
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  return callArgs;
}

function triggerEvent(event) {
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  const eventCall = getEventCall(event);

  eventCall.args[1].apply(null, args);
}

module.exports = mockConstructor;
module.exports.triggerEvent = triggerEvent;
module.exports.getEventCall = getEventCall;
module.exports.resetAll = resetAll;
module.exports._api = api;
module.exports['@noCallThru'] = true;


text:
Role of membrane dynamics processes and exogenous molecules in cellular resveratrol uptake: Consequences in bioavailability and activities
Dominique Delmas, Hung Yun Lin
In the fields of nutrition prevention and therapy treatment, numerous studies have reported interesting properties of trans-resveratrol (RSV), a natural polyphenol against pathologies such as vascular diseases, cancers, viral infections and neurodegenerative processes. These beneficial effects are supported by more studies showing the pleiotropic actions of RSV. Nevertheless, a crucial question concerning these effects is how the polyphenol, when applied to an organism, gains access to its targets. In this review, we focus on the biochemical and biological parameters involved in RSV transport, particularly the role of the phospholipid bilayer in RSV uptake (passive diffusion, carrier-mediated transport) and of exogenous molecules modulating RSV transport and effects. The dynamic processes of the plasma membrane reveal the importance of the role of lipid composition in the fluidity, the lipid rafts in RSV endocytosis and the ATP-binding cassette transporters in RSV efflux. Specific membrane receptors such as integrin αvβ3 contribute to RSV uptake and to activate signalling pathways involved in apoptosis. We discuss the role of intracellular receptors (i.e. aryl-hydrocarbon and estrogen receptors). In addition, circulating molecules (i.e. albumin, haemoglobin, fatty acids, lipoproteins) play a role as RSV carriers. Finally, we developed a hypothesis concerning the relation between RSV uptake and its biological activities.
Biological Availability
uptake mechanisms
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptors
vascular diseases
ABC transporters
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters
lipid composition
Integrin αvβ3
Lipid rafts
Delmas, D., & Lin, H. Y. (2011). Role of membrane dynamics processes and exogenous molecules in cellular resveratrol uptake: Consequences in bioavailability and activities. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 55(8), 1142-1153. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.201100065
Role of membrane dynamics processes and exogenous molecules in cellular resveratrol uptake : Consequences in bioavailability and activities. / Delmas, Dominique; Lin, Hung Yun.
Delmas, D & Lin, HY 2011, 'Role of membrane dynamics processes and exogenous molecules in cellular resveratrol uptake: Consequences in bioavailability and activities', Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, vol. 55, no. 8, pp. 1142-1153. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.201100065
Delmas D, Lin HY. Role of membrane dynamics processes and exogenous molecules in cellular resveratrol uptake: Consequences in bioavailability and activities. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. 2011 Aug;55(8):1142-1153. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.201100065
Delmas, Dominique ; Lin, Hung Yun. / Role of membrane dynamics processes and exogenous molecules in cellular resveratrol uptake : Consequences in bioavailability and activities. In: Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. 2011 ; Vol. 55, No. 8. pp. 1142-1153.
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title = "Role of membrane dynamics processes and exogenous molecules in cellular resveratrol uptake: Consequences in bioavailability and activities",
abstract = "In the fields of nutrition prevention and therapy treatment, numerous studies have reported interesting properties of trans-resveratrol (RSV), a natural polyphenol against pathologies such as vascular diseases, cancers, viral infections and neurodegenerative processes. These beneficial effects are supported by more studies showing the pleiotropic actions of RSV. Nevertheless, a crucial question concerning these effects is how the polyphenol, when applied to an organism, gains access to its targets. In this review, we focus on the biochemical and biological parameters involved in RSV transport, particularly the role of the phospholipid bilayer in RSV uptake (passive diffusion, carrier-mediated transport) and of exogenous molecules modulating RSV transport and effects. The dynamic processes of the plasma membrane reveal the importance of the role of lipid composition in the fluidity, the lipid rafts in RSV endocytosis and the ATP-binding cassette transporters in RSV efflux. Specific membrane receptors such as integrin αvβ3 contribute to RSV uptake and to activate signalling pathways involved in apoptosis. We discuss the role of intracellular receptors (i.e. aryl-hydrocarbon and estrogen receptors). In addition, circulating molecules (i.e. albumin, haemoglobin, fatty acids, lipoproteins) play a role as RSV carriers. Finally, we developed a hypothesis concerning the relation between RSV uptake and its biological activities.",
keywords = "Bioavailability, Integrin αvβ3, Lipid rafts, Resveratrol, Uptake",
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AU - Delmas, Dominique
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AB - In the fields of nutrition prevention and therapy treatment, numerous studies have reported interesting properties of trans-resveratrol (RSV), a natural polyphenol against pathologies such as vascular diseases, cancers, viral infections and neurodegenerative processes. These beneficial effects are supported by more studies showing the pleiotropic actions of RSV. Nevertheless, a crucial question concerning these effects is how the polyphenol, when applied to an organism, gains access to its targets. In this review, we focus on the biochemical and biological parameters involved in RSV transport, particularly the role of the phospholipid bilayer in RSV uptake (passive diffusion, carrier-mediated transport) and of exogenous molecules modulating RSV transport and effects. The dynamic processes of the plasma membrane reveal the importance of the role of lipid composition in the fluidity, the lipid rafts in RSV endocytosis and the ATP-binding cassette transporters in RSV efflux. Specific membrane receptors such as integrin αvβ3 contribute to RSV uptake and to activate signalling pathways involved in apoptosis. We discuss the role of intracellular receptors (i.e. aryl-hydrocarbon and estrogen receptors). In addition, circulating molecules (i.e. albumin, haemoglobin, fatty acids, lipoproteins) play a role as RSV carriers. Finally, we developed a hypothesis concerning the relation between RSV uptake and its biological activities.
KW - Bioavailability
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KW - Resveratrol
KW - Uptake


It has been revealed, just days after the announcement that Prince Harry will be shipped off to Iraq, that he will in fact be kept out of danger. His Household Cavalry unit as part of '1 Mechanised Brigade' (androids and that) will be posted to the British Headquarters in the Maysan province instead of patrolling the Iranian border like most of the unit's forces. It is believed that Harry may be seen as a "trophy target" for insurgents, being the third in line to the English throne.
Harry has previously threatened to quit the Blues and Royals (part of the Household Cavalry) if he failed to be assigned to an actual mission. Ohhh, get her. I think that while he is stationed out of harm's way somebody should just shoot him in the leg to stop his constant complaints and ensure he sees some kind of 'action' so as not to make the thousands of pounds spent on his training a total waste.
Surely the commanders of this young chap, previously known as the 'party-prince', were aware that this would be the case; his high-profile presence attracting unwanted and dangerous attention. It begs the question, why bother training him at all? A royal in war will always be a major target for assassination, more so than a politician or a journalist, especially to an enemy that is coming from a (previously) monarch and/or dictator ruled society. As long as he is there he will be, and put those around him, at risk.
His brother, Prince William who is also in the Armed Forces, will not be seeing any action (unless Kate's really up for it) due to the tradition of the 'heir and spare' arrangement, by which a direct ascendant to the throne must be kept out of danger during war-time. It is for this same reason that Prince Charles has spent his entire Naval career in Portsmouth harbour while his brother Andrew was involved in real battles during the Falklands.
The fact that the second in line to the throne would be present in an occupied country makes a statement of overwhelming arrogance to the occupied population - the last time a potential heir was on occupied land must have been over a 1000 years ago plus. And what if like Richard "cour de lion" Plantaganet he is kidnapped or worse killed? As a young man working in the army he may have an image problem' if he is coddled and kept away from action, amongst his peers but the British people are massively against the war in Iraq. What of Afghanistan ? Nato are supported by legal process of the U.N and there is a strong legal international presence. He should serve there where the vile elements of the Taliban can be confronted on a wholly unquestionable moral front.
Third in line , not bad considering his DNA is totally different too! Ding Dong!
Are you sure its a thousand years ago? Surely various royals visited Germany in the late 40s. And that was far more comprehensively occupied than Iraq.
Yes I do believe that the Royals never visited occupied Germany. they visited India for example but that was not a nation in the true sense of the word's modern meaning - the sub continent was a collection of fiefdoms. I cannot recall an occupied country oh hang on maybe Egypt counts here - because they were well established as a nation but we may have got over the embarrassment of occupying her by calling her a Protectorate or some such sophism.
ah - but if we can overcoming the problem on technicalities - then technically Iraq is an independent country that has invited UK and US troops to help it establish order.
Yes your right! But only after the nation voted in the rigged elections.
Actually the elections were remarkably free and fair compared to the first elections held in occupied Germany after WW2.
Of course that says more about German democracy in the late 40s and early 50s than it does about Iraqi democracy in the new millenium.


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text:
Doctor Who: Before The Flood. "First proper alien, and he's an idiot."
October 11, 2015 THE SINGING WHOVIAN	Leave a comment
Last week was ghosts who could carry weapons, a spaceship with writing on the inside and we saw that The Doctor was going to die…again! Or is he? We now have an episode which gives a split between the underwater base in 2119 and the same area before the…well you get the idea! With The Doctor, O'Donnell and Bennett landing in 1980 to where they find the same ship and see that it holds a body. The tivolian Prentis is alive and escorting the body of The Fisher King, a conqueror with a plan to take over the world. The story still was asking how does The Doctor meet his death? But, we do get a hint during the opening scene where The Doctor goes on about meeting Beethoven and discussing the bootstrap paradox (The Bootstrap Paradox or Casual Loop is a paradox of time travel that occurs when a later/future event is the cause of an earlier/past event, through some sort of time travel. The past event is then partly or entirely the cause of the future event, which is the past event's cause.) this definitely makes more sense when the episode reaches its conclusion. Also, we do wonder why The Doctor's ghost is acting differently to the others. The truth, well look back at that first scene of this episode.
The living characters mostly do get to shine in this episode, and some just suffer by comparison. O'Donnell, I really liked her. Why did she have to die so quickly in part two? Bennett gets a great deal more to do in this part. He really steps up to The Doctor and is willing to challenge his ways. You see a real look of agony and loss when he finds O'Donnell and she dies in front of him. Cass and Lunn really have a great dynamic; their communications with Clara are humorous and natural. Some comments I saw online saying how much they liked Cass and enjoying her communications, and the praise for actress Sophie Stone was very well earned. A deaf actress being front and centre in this show was a delight. The Fisher King is terrifying and not given a huge presence (though he towers over all the characters), we see plenty of him but not lots of him. It's good to see the whole idea of time is fixed still having an effect on The Doctor and his actions.
To have three people play one character sounds strange, but it works rather well for The Fisher King. Peter Serafinowicz and Corey Taylor of Slipknot fame respectively voice and provide the roars for the alien while Neil Fingleton takes his title of Britain's tallest man to good use to physically portray the creature. Paul Kaye, we wish we had more of you than just a quick introduction as a submissive moleman (who is called an idiot by Bennett) and shows the man behind the creepy looking ghost. It is a shame that Morven Christie is ghostified quite early in the episode, but Arsher Ali really gets to shine after her demise. Sophie Stone and Zaqi Ismali make great use of their time with Clara as Cass and Lunn, and you really feel happy with the screen time they get. Also, that scene when Cass is being followed by the ghost of Moran is a greatly filmed and very tense scene. Kudos to both Daniel O'Hara's directing and the superbly polished script by Toby Whithouse for that scene and also for creating a visually stunning episode which topples its opening part and makes your jaw drop at some of the twists and turns. A few of the twists are not a surprise, but well executed. Also, the breaking of the fourth wall by Peter Capaldi at the opening of the episode was so much fun and who didn't love that version of the theme being played on the guitar? Jenna Coleman, we have such little time and am sure that you will do some big things for us leading up to your departure. Let's see how Clara and The Doctor do next week when it comes to Vikings! For now, a great episode and brings the series back to near perfection yet again with top acting, stunning scenes and the best storytelling 2015 has to offer!
Final Rating: 9.5/10
2015CassClaraClara OswaldDoctor WhoghostsGuitarJenna ColemanLunnPeter CapaldiPrentisScotlandSeries 9The DoctorthemeToby Whithouse
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The Artek A110 Pendant Light, also referred to as the Hand Grenade lamp, captures mid-century modern minimalism and was originally designed for the Finnish Engineers' Association (1948-1953) and the Council Chamber of Saynatsalo Town Hall (1949-1952). Reintroduced here in the same design, the A110 Pendant features 2 cylinders (one inside the other) that leave a small gap to allow light to escape upward and a perforated ring at the bottom to diffuse the light downward.
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Liz Cheney suggests Obama 'siding with terrorists'
CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Liz Cheney joined her parents on a trip to the Middle East in March 2008.
(CNN) - Liz Cheney is picking up where her father left off when it comes to taking aim at the Obama administration, saying Tuesday the new commander-in-chief appears to be siding with terrorists.
In an interview on Fox News, the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney sharply criticized the new administration for agreeing to release photographs depicting alleged abuses at U.S. prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush administration.
"I think it is really appalling that the administration is taking this step," she said in the interview. "Clearly what they are doing is releasing images that show American military men and woman in a very negative light."
"I have heard from families of service members from families of 9/11 victims this question about when did it become so fashionable for us to side, really, with the terrorists," she continued. "You know, President Obama has a lot of rhetoric about support for American military families, support for our men and women who are fighting for us overseas. But if he really cares about them, then he wouldn't be making such an effort to release photos that show them in a negative light."
Late last month, Pentagon officials said the hundreds of photographs released are from more than 60 criminal investigations from 2001 to 2006, and show military personnel allegedly abusing detainees. But the officials rejected allegations by the American Civil Liberties Union that the photos show a systemic pattern of abuse by the military.
In her interview Monday, Cheney also echoed recent calls from her father for the Obama administration to release classified documents detailing information yielded from the aggressive interrogation techniques since denounced by the president.
"They seem only to be interested in releasing things that really paint American in a negative light and don't give the American people a full picture of what went on," she said.
Filed under: Extra • Liz Cheney • Popular Posts • President Obama
Obama Official Expected to be rejected by Senate Wednesday
WASHINGTON (CNN)– The Senate Democratic leadership is preparing to lose a vote Wednesday morning on the confirmation of David Hayes as Deputy Secretary of Interior. If that happens, it would be the first time Congress votes to reject one of President Obama's nominees.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman Jim Manley tells CNN that Democrats believe Republicans will vote in lockstep to block Hayes' nomination, and therefore, it will fail.
Republican objections to Hayes appear to have little to do with him or his qualifications, and more to do with an Obama administration policy.
Specifically, Utah Republican Robert Bennett has been leading his party's opposition to Hayes because of an Obama decision to cancel oil and gas leases in Utah.
"This is not about Hayes," Bennett spokeswoman Tara Hendershott tells CNN.
She says Bennett is blocking Hayes because the Department of Interior "has not provided any information he requested regarding the Secretary's unilateral decision to cancel the oil and gas leases."
If Republicans do successfully block Hayes' nomination, it will be the starkest illustration yet of what it means for Democrats to have 59 seats – just one shy of a filibuster proof majority – as the Minnesota Senate race remains unresolved.
Filed under: Extra • President Obama • Republican
'I was certainly naive,' says Elizabeth Edwards
(CNN) – Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic hopeful John Edwards, tells CNN's Larry King that at the time her husband was carrying on an affair with videographer Rielle Hunter, she did not suspect him of being unfaithful.
"Did you have an suspicion at any time?," King asks Mrs. Edwards in an exclusive interview set to air Tuesday night on CNN.
"No. No. None," Elizabeth Edwards replies. "He's been on the road for quite some time. He's a lawyer who traveled. He took cases all over. But I saw the way he treated me. I knew the way he treated me, the commitment he had to our family. I was perhaps, the one thing I could agree with Maureen Dowd, I was probably naive, I was certainly naive."
Edwards also tells King that she believes her husband loves her, but fell prey to a flaw.
"I believe through this whole thing, John has loved me," she tells King. "I just think that he had a frailty that allowed him to do something which was completely contrary to the rest of his life."
The political spouse was also candid about the impact that her husband's infidelity has had on their marriage as she continues to live with terminal cancer.
"You know what's double sad, if God forbid you left, John will probably be double crushed," King says in Tuesday's interview.
"I completely agree with that," says Edwards. "We've talked about that. We've talked about his work at rebuilding trust, and it's really important that he get to that place, quote in time so that he understands that what he took away he does his very best job to put back."
Updated: 6:38 p.m.
Programming Note: Watch Elizabeth Edwards' entire exclusive interview on Larry King Live beginning at 9 pm Tuesday.
Filed under: Elizabeth Edwards • John Edwards • Larry King Live
Crist makes it official
(CNN) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist officially announced his 2010 Senate run. CNN National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin reports.
Related: GOP gets 'big fish' in 2010 Senate race
Filed under: Charlie Crist • Florida • Marco Rubio • Senate
Recession hits Social Security hard
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The recession has taken its toll on Social Security. The officials who oversee the program forecast Tuesday that the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2037 - four years earlier than estimated last year.
The trust fund reflects a $2.4 trillion surplus paid into Social Security over 20 years that Uncle Sam has borrowed, spent and promised to pay back. Trust fund exhaustion represents the point at which only 76% of benefits could be paid out.
The main reason for the change in forecast: Demand for benefits has grown while money paid in has fallen because of growing unemployment and new tax breaks in the economic stimulus package passed in February.
Since the start of 2008, 5.7 million payroll tax jobs have disappeared. And another 4.3 million jobs are being filled on a part-time basis.
In the nearer term, the trustees estimate that Social Security will take in fewer taxes than the benefits that will be paid out by 2016. Last year, they estimated the near-term shortfall would occur in 2017.
Filed under: Economy
Obama's first 100 days: A look back
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Take a look back at highlights from President Obama's first 100 days in these clips from State of the Union with John King.
Related: The 44th president
Filed under: Obama administration • President Obama • State of the Union
Huckabee slams Republican leaders' 'listening tour'
Huckabee isn't a fan of the GOP's new 'listening tour.'
(CNN) - Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is continuing to deride his party's leaders in Washington, saying Monday he has trouble keeping a straight face over the GOP's newly-launched "listening tour."
"It's hard to keep from laughing out loud when people living in the bubble of the Beltway suddenly wake up one day and think they ought to have a listening tour; even funnier when their first earful expedition takes them all the way to the suburbs of Washington, D.C.," the former Arkansas governor wrote in a column on Fox News' Web site.
Earlier this month, Rep. Eric Cantor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney kicked off a campaign by party leaders to reshape the GOP's image, gathering at a restaurant in northern Virginia for the first of a series of town hall meetings.
The goal of the initiative, the National Council for a New America, is to connect Republican leaders with voters across the country to help get the party's electoral fortunes back on track.
"If some of these leaders had been listening already, they wouldn't need to form a group to start listening now," wrote Huckabee. "Some of the ones who have decided to start listening sure weren't listening last fall when they were supporting the TARP bailout bill that pretty much discredited any semblance of conservative conviction."
Huckabee echoed a similar sentiment last week, telling a California newspaper the GOP was at risk of becoming "irrelevant as the Whigs" if it moderated its policies.
Filed under: Mike Huckabee
U.S. to send emergency aid to Pakistan
CNN Senior Producer Charley Keyes
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The United States is rushing emergency aid to Pakistan - an initial $5 million - to help people uprooted by the fighting against extremists, according to the State Department.
The U.S. had urged the Pakistanis to launch the military action that in recent days has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their villages.
Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took a longer-term view Tuesday and discussed how the United States might triple aid to Pakistan over the next five years.
The State Department said Tuesday the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan and officials of the U.S. Agency for International Development were evaluating the needs of civilians fleeing the Swat valley and surrounding regions in northwest Pakistan.
"We are of course very concerned about the well-being of civilians who are fleeing the fighting in the area," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. "And we have personnel, USAID personnel, on the ground in Pakistan, not in the Swat valley, but in Pakistan, who are directing assistance to help them."
"We've provided a substantial amount of money through the International Organization for Migration," Kelly said at his daily briefing in Washington. "This is primarily to provide tents, provide shelter and emergency relief supplies, food and medicine to the affected populations."
Kelly said the $5 million was just an initial payment.
Filed under: Bob Corker • Bob Menendez • Dick Lugar • John Kerry • Richard Holbrooke • State Department
Obama, Biden honor top cops
CNN's Lauren Kornreich
The president met Tuesday at the White House with some of the nation's top cops. (Photo Credit: Shawna Shepherd/CNN)
WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Obama promised $2 billion in additional funding to help police officers keep their jobs at a ceremony honoring some of the nation's top cops in the Rose Garden on Tuesday.
Obama presented an award from the National Association of Police Organizations to a number of top cops from around the country who he said have "literally walked through fire" to help their communities.
"You've reacted quickly in crises to protect the innocent," Obama said. "You've reacted with compassion for those that were in need and you've literally walked through the fire to help your neighbors escape disaster. Now, that's what police officers do. You step into harm's way to form, officer by officer, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, the line between safety and violence, calm and chaos, home and despair."
The president said $2 billion in additional grants will be made available to help make progress towards his goal of boosting the number of police officers nationwide by 50,000. He called Vice President Joe Biden "the sheriff" and said he would make sure the money is spent as intended.
"The president and I recognize the bravery you display simply by putting on that badge every day," Biden said. "The officers honored here today have been singled out for going above and beyond the call of duty. And we commend you all."
Filed under: Joe Biden • President Obama
Alexander backs Crist Senate bid
CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby
(CNN) - Senate Republican Conference Chair Lamar Alexander was quick to endorse Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate run Tuesday.
"The thought of Governor Crist becoming Senator Crist is welcome news," the Tennessee senator said in a statement. "Three years into his first term as Governor, he's the most popular elected official in Florida's history because of his outstanding career as a no-nonsense attorney general, a progressive education commissioner, and a fiscally conservative chief executive who last year led Florida to its largest property-tax decrease ever. The U.S. Senate needs Charlie Crist, and I'll do all I can to help him get there."
Filed under: Charlie Crist


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>> Back GN'R Get In The Ring!
GN'R Get In The Ring!
[press release]
Tommy Hilfiger was carried away by his own security people kicking and screaming after attempting to pick a fight with Guns N' Roses main man Axl Rose at The Plumm on Thursday night.
According to The Plumm owner Noel Ashman, Hilfiger who took two swings at Rose, was fortunate that he found Rose in good spirits and a forgiving mood. Ashman said "Axl was a gentleman and had the good sense not to retaliate as he would have done some serious damage to Hilfiger."
Rose, who was at the club to play a surprise acoustic set with his band Guns N' Roses for actress Rosario Dawson's birthday party, filled out a police report and later dedicated the song "You're Crazy" to "My good friend Tommy Hilfiger" during the band's scorching performance, which left the way beyond capacity crowd screaming for more and gasping for air well into the wee hours of the morning. Said birthday girl Dawson of Rose: "They've never played all acoustic, this is history in the making, how much does this fucking man rock?!"


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Sophie Turner says that she took a prop from the upcoming season of 'Game of Thrones' that's 'a huge spoiler,' and she's been carrying it around in her wallet
Olivia Singh
Apr. 2, 2019, 11:40 AM
Sophie Turner stars as Sansa Stark on "Game of Thrones."
Helen Sloan/HBO
"Game of Thrones" stars Sophie Turner (who plays Sansa Stark) and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday and talked about the HBO show, which returns for an eighth and final season on Sunday, April 14.
"I took a scroll that was in one of the last episodes and it's a huge spoiler, and I've just been carrying it around in my wallet," Turner said when asked if she stole any items from the set.
Turner also took her corset, which she's "never going to wear because I hate it so much, but it's the only thing that stayed with me throughout the whole show."
Williams added that she took a coin and got one of the Arya's leather jackets that's covered in mud and blood and "still sweaty."
Watch the video below (Turner and Williams talk about props at 2:38).
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More: Sophie Turner Game of Thrones Maisie Williams TV


Calls for returning to "normal dialogue" and re-establishing "pragmatic" relations with Russia only show that some in the EU have not learned the lessons of the recent past, writes Linas Linkevi?ius.
Linas Linkevi?ius is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. He contributed this op-ed exclusively to EURACTIV.
Time and again the prophecies of Aleksandr Dugin, a geopolitical scientist, who has a strong effect on Kremlin's policies, are at the forefront of our minds. His recommendations have been consistently and persistently followed for quite some time already. Russia needs to strengthen Eurasia, which must become a weapon in its competition with the West, in competing with America in particular.
Western Europe must be torn away from the United States by consolidating as much as possible Russia's cooperation with "old Europe", particularly with the largest European states – Germany and France, while Iran should be one of its closest allies in the Islam world.
NATO held the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, where it agreed that Ukraine and Georgia would become members of NATO. It was a compromise wording, as some were firmly against the two countries being offered a NATO Membership Action Plan, which would have meant bringing Ukraine and Georgia closer to NATO membership in a bureaucratic way. The arguments such as "not to provoke" Russia and to act "in a pragmatic and responsible manner" were used then.
At the same time, the decision did not arouse respective emotions in the Kremlin. Moreover, at the NATO-Russia Summit in Bucharest, Russian President Putin urged his western partners not to cooperate with Ukraine, claiming that the country is an artificial creation, rather than a state. That seemed to have set off an alarm clock. However it was not heard, or the West comfortably chose not to hear it. Ukraine experienced the impact six years later, while Georgia witnessed warfare on its territory soon after, in August.
With Russian actions in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, areas of the sovereign country were occupied. The protests of the international community, NATO and the EU were forgotten within several months and the "pragmatic and responsible" position had the upper hand, i.e. cooperation with Russia was going on as usual. Russia did not ask for anything; it was the West that took the role as usual because "isolation is harmful, not profitable", etc.
Ronald Asmus, a former State Department official, even wrote a book about the eight-day war, A Little War that Shook the World. Unfortunately, the title needs to be adjusted – the war did not shake the world, as all was soon forgotten. The Kremlin was not provoked by action and signs of active support by Georgia's partners; it was provoked by inaction – that's what actually the so-called "pragmatic and responsible" politics is about.
We should have learnt from our mistakes, shouldn't we? As soon as we loosen the reins, the Kremlin sees it as a sign of our weakness, as another opportunity, or even an encouragement to act with more energy, to demand or negotiate on the new ground "gained". Such testing and probing tactics is consistently used in practically every crisis which – it is noteworthy – was directed by the Kremlin itself. Not only in Georgia. It was previously used in Transnistria, then in the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. Even in Syria, to some extent. By the way, Iran is, just as recommended by Dugin, one of its main allies there, together with the Assad regime and with the terrorist Hezbollah.
So what are the lessons we have learnt?
Calls for returning to the "normal dialogue", to non-isolation of Russia as isolation is not productive, to "pragmatic and responsible" behaviour can be heard again. There is a desperate search for ways wthat Russia (better say, the Kremlin) can "save its face" in this miserable situation. And those, who recommend and search, must be convinced that they will be thanked in the end.
We take on the role of demandeurs, we plead guilty to worsening relations again. We advocate for the Kremlin more often than they do it for themselves; and we desperately look for possibilities of opening "channels of communication" as if we had too few. One can hardly recall the times, with as numerous as we see now ministerial meetings, summit meetings, phone conversations, various Normandy and other "contact" formats. As a matter of fact, the Kremlin does not ask for them; it does not need anything. Those, who ask, are usually colleagues in the West.
There is no doubt that it is the Kremlin where the key to ending the aggression against Ukraine lies. Decisions made by the Kremlin do matter in setting time and action limits to the separatist gangs rampaging lawlessly with Russian-provided weapons, in how long the economic blockade against Ukraine is permitted to last. Let me remind you, and underline, that we do not want to see the link between Syria and Ukraine, and that we will not solve one crisis at the expense of the other. We look forward to constructive cooperation in the case of Syria, irrespective of belonging to different coalitions and differences in comprehension over how to deal with the crisis, and what future development of Syria might be.
The Kremlin has found a new enemy. It is Turkey. Unlike Russia, the Turks try in all possible ways to deescalate the situation. Anti-Turkish hysterics, in the true sense of the word, is going on in Russia. The "reliable and close" partner of yesterday has become a genuine monster. Mutual flights, strategic projects, and tourism are blocked; even football players may not sign contracts with Russian clubs. There is another example which shows the uselessness of phytosanitary norms when everything is highly politicised, when they serve the political purpose. Thus the import of numerous allegedly "low quality" food products from Turkey has been stopped.
Then again, counteraction is sought in the same "reconciliation" logic. There are proposals now – is this sheer coincidence? – to start establishing relations between the EU and Eurasia. Suggestions are now being made that Russia could be readmitted to the G8 club, even though Russia does not ask for it. Investment is being made in projects such as Nord Stream, which can undermine Europe's unity.
Nord Stream II has nothing to do with Europe's energy security, and makes no economic sense, except the geopolitical "benefit" of eliminating Ukraine and still heavier dependence of Europe on Russian suppliers.
It is now that European and Euro-Atlantic unity is evidently challenged, and the Harmel Report is recalled. I had to point out during the summer that in 1967, when a similar challenge was made to the unity, when France withdrew from the NATO military structure, when Americans were considering whether to diminish the presence of their forces in Europe, the proposal of "warming up" relations with the Soviet Union was put forward, which implied acting "pragmatically and responsibly".
In conclusion, it is just the same game again. It's like playing football, when Russians add elements of wrestling and rugby to it, and we adapt to it "pragmatically and responsibly".
then you say russia is escalating the turkey conflict. do you forget who shot down who's plane. and do you forget how turkey ran to nato and usa so quickly rather then approaching russia and apologizing.
an apology would have avoid all those russian sanctions and the hard lining coming so is turkey really wanted to defuse this tension they would have apologized plain and simple.
your opinion about ukraine and Georgia is very ignorant too. ukraine and Georgia where both considered under the russia sphere of influence and was part of a unwritten agreement that russia doesn't push it's influence west then nato and usa honor the same and don't push east eu and usa stop honoring their side of the deal.
your whole artile is clearly a distortion to demonize russia more. their are rules and agreements that have been standing written and unwritten that have been broken on the usa eu said. Russia responding as a angry bear should not be a surpise to the world..
please tell me what you think usa would be thinking and doing if let's say Mexico and canada said screw you America we will be russia better friend now and you can go eat a big dirty d.
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