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Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake motivated by positive thinking
Tyler Greenawalt
November 17, 2020, 2:37 p.m. ·10 min read
Kenyan Drake's eyes lit up when he saw his stepmother mark the calendar. The date didn't matter. The location didn't matter. What excited him, though, was what they were doing that day.
When the day finally came, Janett Drake would load the minivan with Kenyan, his three younger siblings and drive to different food pantries around Marietta, Georgia. Sometimes they donated food, or volunteered their time, or delivered meals to the needy. And Kenyan loved every moment.
"Kenyan really, really adapted to it," Janett Drake told Yahoo Sports. "He's always just had that type of attitude where he was concerned about others. He was just excited about helping and feeling that he really was involved in helping."
Those moments formed a central theme in Kenyan's life – a thread of positivity and selflessness that fed itself from his childhood through his four years at Alabama and into his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals. He volunteered at a Boys and Girls Club in Broward County in Florida soon after the Dolphins drafted him in the third round of the 2016 draft and became a global ambassador for SmileTrain, a nonprofit organization that provides cleft repair surgery to underprivileged children.
"I'm just trying to use my platform to bring positivity to the world," Drake told Yahoo Sports earlier this year, "and just letting people know that what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong."
'A champion of the innocent'
Drake knows the world is in turmoil right now. But he tries not to dwell on the negative and instead focus on what he can do to inspire a better world in a positive way. He finds that path in helping children grow and live happier lives.
"I feel like I want to be a champion of the innocent and to continue to uplift kids so there is a better tomorrow," he said. "That's where you start."
Drake doesn't think the ugliness in the world is intrinsic. There is beauty and thoughtfulness in the world – you just have to be willing to look and listen. Children have the ability to see that far more than adults, Drake thinks, and that's where his sense of purpose derives from.
"Kids have this innocent bliss about them that is refreshing to be around," Drake says. "They haven't really stood the test of time that changes adults to become a worse [version] of themselves from when they were kids. If that makes sense?"
That's why he volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club as soon as he entered the NFL. And why he became an ambassador for SmileTrain.
He learned that from his family. From Janett bringing him to those food pantries. From his grandmother and great aunt keeping him busy as a child with books and lessons. From his father, William, who instilled the idea of positive thinking during Drake's early days on the football field. And from his mother, Yurinita, who passed on his grandfathers' sentiment of selflessness.
"He just grew up seeing that in his life," Yurinita says. "But that was just something that came normal for him."
His mentors passed it down to him, but being the oldest of five – one from his mother's second marriage and three from his father's second marriage – helped him learn how to be a leader. He regularly checks in on his younger brother, Tristen, calls his sister Anijah while she's stationed at Fort Bragg and retweets hype videos of his youngest brother Isaiah's baseball highlights.
"He's always been drawn to like younger kids and kind of like being a mentor to kids because he's kind of like a kid at heart," Yurinita says. "He's really good with kids, as far as just trying to be a positive influence on them. So I'm really proud of him for that. He's always really kind of had that in him."
"He's just always been, honestly, the brother who all of my siblings could go talk to quite honestly and just have a good conversation," Anijah adds. "Like if something's going on with me, the first person I think to call is my brother, because I know he'll say what I need to hear."
Kenyan, Anijah and Isaiah Drake. (Courtesy of Anijah Drake)
Drake's work at the Boys and Girls Club and SmileTrain is personal, too. He grew up going to several B&G clubs after school in the metro Atlanta area and wanted to give as many kids the same experience he enjoyed as a child. And for SmileTrain, he wanted to help give children the confidence to enjoy their life with a smile and visited patients in Mexico and Brazil.
He would typically show up to the clubs unannounced, according to Broward club co-CEO Chris Gentile, without an agenda and just play games with the kids or have one-on-one mentoring sessions.
"Whatever they were doing he wanted to be there at the heart of it as another kid," Gentile said. "And you would never know that he was the athlete on the field. You just know him as the individual that really wanted to give back and cared so much about kids and making a better life for them."
Drake brought some bigger initiatives to the club, too. He invited 75 members to the Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium for Thanksgiving dinner, made gingerbread cookies and handed out presents as Santa on Christmas. And his "My Cleats My Cause" campaign raised enough money to pay for all the memberships for the kids at the club.
"It really hit home for me," Drake said. "For those kids to be able to go there and have a safe haven to be able to be themselves and just enjoy a few hours of snacks and camaraderie with counselors and their peers, it meant a lot to me."
Never giving up on himself
When Drake's father, William, coached him between the ages of 8 and 12, he told Kenyan two things: Never think negatively about your performance, and always be prepared when your number is called. Those ideas stuck with Kenyan throughout his football career, even through tumultuous moments.
He was never featured at Hillgrove High school in Powder Springs, Georgia, according to head coach Phillip Ironside, but still rushed for over 100 yards in his first varsity action seven weeks into the season. Four years later, Drake watched as the University of Alabama brought in multiple running backs throughout his career – including Alvin Kamara and Derrick Henry – who ate into his workload. He never thought negatively about anyone ahead of him on the depth chart, and saw it more as a brotherhood than a competition.
"We all love each other like brothers, you know?" Drake said, looking back. "We understood that it was only one ball and we could really probably be on a field one at time … but if one of us went out there and had success, we feel like we all had success because we worked hard for it."
Derrick Henry (No. 2) and Kenyan Drake (No. 17) played together at Alabama from 2013-2015. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Then came the injury against Ole Miss on Oct. 4, 2015.
Drake caught a screen pass early in the second quarter, ran 10 yards up-field for the first down and took a punishing blow from multiple Ole Miss defenders that twisted Drake's leg so badly his left foot pointed the wrong way. He missed the rest of his junior season and didn't know if he'd play football again.
The injury didn't hinder Kenyan's spirits. William remembers visiting his son in the hospital after the game and said Kenyan didn't look distraught or upset despite knowing he'd miss up to six months.
"He was actually in pretty good spirits from where I would have been," William said. "He was laying on the table in a lot of pain. But he wasn't saying anything. It was like he was being tough. He was being strong."
Kenyan didn't wallow in self-pity, either. Alabama teammate ArDarius Stewart remembers Drake turning into a hype man for the Crimson Tide for the rest of the 2014 season. He'd try to keep a smile on everyone's faces, and even carried a box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies with him on the sideline to give to teammates after good plays.
"That was one of the most hilarious things that I have ever seen," Stewart says. "He kept us all motivated from every standpoint. If he saw his guys were down, he did everything he could to uplift [them]."
Drake came back to have a great senior season that included a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown in the national title game against Clemson in 2016. Alabama went on to win the title, and the Dolphins drafted Drake a few months later.
A similar trajectory unfolded in Miami after he was drafted in 2016. Drake averaged a healthy 4.8 yards per carry in 2017 after Dolphins traded Jay Ajayi to the Eagles but returned to a reserve role when Adam Gase brought in Frank Gore in 2018. Then, midway through the 2019 season, the Dolphins traded Drake to the Arizona Cardinals, which ended up being the opportunity he needed to stake his claim as a feature running back.
Right system, right coach
Drake played only eight games for the Cardinals in 2019, but he still recorded career-highs in total touches (151), total yards (1,162), touchdowns (eight) and yards per rush (5.2). He also was one of the most valuable running backs from an efficiency standpoint, according to Football Outsiders, where he ranked fifth in DYAR and third in DVOA.
"I always knew that, if given the opportunity to play and to get the opportunity to get the number of touches I feel like would warrant a certain amount of success," Drake said. "I felt like I could have that production and I was able to consistently get that production in Arizona because of the opportunity."
Drake attributes his success not just to the opportunity, but the players and team around him in Arizona. He praises Kyler Murray for his spontaneous play-making ability – something that forced defenses to leave space in the middle of the field for Drake to attack. He also credits his coach, Kliff Kingsbury, for trusting him with the ball and not being afraid to feed the hot hand.
"He's not afraid to call a play and kind of draw something up in the dirt, really, and go out there and let his athletes perform," Drake said. "He allows you just to be the athlete that got you to this position."
Kyler Murray and Kenyan Drake formed an early bond in Arizona. (Norm Hall/Getty Images)
Drake's 2020 campaign hasn't gone as well as he probably would have like. He has seen his yards per carry average drop despite a rise in rushing attempts. He still ranks seventh in the league with 612 rushing yards despite suffering an ankle injury in Week 7 and missing two games.
It's not the breakout year he wanted, but right now he's more focused on winning and, above all else, staying positive. With the Cardinals sitting at 6-3 atop the NFC West, that shouldn't be too hard.
"At the end of the day, you just have to continue to become the best person you can be from the experiences that you have," he says. "Because that's all we have is the experiences and the things that people teach us and you can't be afraid to live and not love."
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LOS ANGELES — Inside hospital rooms across America, where the sick are alone without family to comfort them, the grim task of offering solace falls to overworked and emotionally drained hospital chaplains who are dealing with more death than they've ever seen. Last week nearly a dozen died on a single day at the 377-bed Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, a gleaming, modern medical facility that is tucked into the northwest corner of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. Three more passed — within a span of 45 minutes — the next day. As he has each day for the past 11 months, Chaplain Kevin Deegan sits with the sick and dying, clad in a facemask, face shield, gloves and full body cover. He prays with them, holds their hands, gently brushes their foreheads and reassures them there is nothing to fear. Grieving families, unable to enter the hospital because of the deadly virus, watch through the iPad he's carried into the room with him. "All right, Miss Leticia, it's Chaplain Kevin. We're going to say some prayers now. Ok, my dear?" "She can hear you," he tells her son, Jayson Lim, urging him to talk to her. "Yo, Ma," Lim manages to say before breaking down in tears and burying his head in his hands. Later he'll pray with her. Deegan, who ministered to people undergoing hospice and palliative care before joining Holy Cross two years ago, is no stranger to death. But still, he says, he and his fellow chaplains had seen nothing like this before COVID-19 struck last year and began to kill people by the hundreds of thousands. Close to 400,000 people have died in the U.S. alone. Holy Cross is filled with so many COVID-19 patients that it has had to double up some people in intensive care rooms and put others in areas normally reserved for outpatient care and patient recovery. A makeshift area at the end of a hallway has even been turned into a hospital room. Deegan and about a dozen other chaplains cover shifts that extend to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As Chaplain Anne Dauchy prays for a woman during her last moments, the patient's loved ones watching through Dauchy's iPad can be heard sobbing in the background and saying words like, "I love you so much, Mamma" and "Thank you for everything.'" "We try to kind of reframe what a miracle is," an exhausted Dauchy says afterward. "Sometimes it's living another day, sometimes it's a patient opening their eyes. "Perhaps that's the miracle, that she's at rest and at peace and not suffering anymore," she says of the woman who died. When asked how he, Dauchy and the others manage to survive the turmoil emotionally, Deegan replies, "That's a good question. I have to be honest. I don't know." What he does know is when he saw doctors, nurses and other hospital staff risking their own lives to do everything they could to save others he felt he had to be there, right in the room with them, to offer comfort and be a surrogate for their loved ones who couldn't be there. He was sure he'd eventually be infected as COVID-19 patients began pouring into the hospital every day. So far he has not, and just last week he had his second dose of the vaccine. "Who knew PPE really works," he said with a chuckle during a rare lighthearted moment as he discussed the personal protective equipment he dons each day before work. On that Monday when 11 people died, including three he personally ministered to, Deegan went home and, after he tried to fall asleep, saw the faces and again heard the voices of the people who had sobbed and screamed at him, "Why? Why? Why?" Some families lash out at the chaplains, looking for someone to blame, said Monica Pantoja, a clerk at the hospital's intensive care unit who has been isolating at home after becoming infected herself. "They take a lot of heat and people don't understand that they're doing the best they can. I think their prayers mean more than anything to families," Pantoja said, speaking from first-hand experience. When her 72-year-old mother was hospitalized for three months with COVID-19, including several weeks on a ventilator, a chaplain called every day to put her on the iPad with her. Her mother is now recovering at a rehabilitation centre. There are other occasional victories as well. As Deegan prayed with another patient last week he encouraged her loved ones to talk to her through the iPad, and when one shouted, "Hi Mom," the woman, on oxygen, opened her eyes wider, raised her head slightly and tried to reply, although the words wouldn't come. "Who is that?", Deegan asked her. "Is that Marvin?" She nodded. Later, when he stepped out of the hospital, he found Leticia Lim's son Jayson waiting by the door to thank him as his mother continued her fight to live. "It was painful and at the same time it was heartwarming because I had the chance to pray with my mom, with the pastor," he said before turning to Deegan to tell him, 'Thank you, God bless you.'" "You're bringing tears to my eyes, " Deegan said as he removed his glasses to wipe the tears away before pausing to remember once again why he shows up every day. ___ Associated Press photographer Jae Hong and Associated Press videographer Eugene Garcia contributed to this story. John Rogers, The Associated Press
How all-Canadian division coaches, players plan to guard against predictability this season
A degree of contempt is expected to grow between the seven teams in the NHL's all-Canadian North Division, but the number of times the clubs play each will also breed some familiarity. The shortened NHL season has each team playing a 56-game schedule within its division. Some of the Canadian clubs will see each other nine or 10 times. During a 14-day stretch within the first month, the Vancouver Canucks will face the Montreal Canadiens five times, with a three-game series against Ottawa squeezed into the same period. The Winnipeg Jets will face the Calgary Flames four times in the first nine days of February. WATCH | CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo ranks the all-Canadian division: Most players and coaches agree the games will have a playoff feel about them, but teams will also have to guard against becoming predictable. "For all the teams you are going to have to come up with different sort of strategies and ways to mix things up, especially when you are seeing a team three times in a row," said Flames captain Mark Giordano. "Little things like the way you kill penalties or the way you are on the power play, the way your faceoffs are drawn up. Teams are going to be able to scout that. "You are going to have to change things up and have a lot of different plays in your book. It's going to be exciting." Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice said having a Canadian division is "going to be fantastic. The message boards are going to be awesome, funny as hell." It also means coaches will be tested on their ability to make subtle changes without completely deviating from their schemes. "You have to be real careful about how many times you are going to change your grip on your golf club because you are going to get a different trajectory every time," Maurice said. "You have to play well, play hard, but I do agree you are going to have to be fairly creative in how you approach the game." Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green said teams are constantly adjusting for opponents. "There are wrinkles that you throw into your team for a game, but there are certain things, certain staples that every team has that [indicates] how they play," he said. "You don't want to go change your whole system from game to game. "I think it's perfecting a system that works for your team. There are different things [you can do], faceoff plays, on special teams, certain things you can change." 'Different for everybody' Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said players will have to adapt. "You're going to have to learn on the fly," he said. "It's going to be different for everybody." Vancouver forward Brock Boeser said the schedule reminds him of his college days playing for the University of North Dakota. "You have to learn from game to game," Boeser said. "You watch film, you have to adjust to what you didn't do right in the game before and make sure you don't make those mistakes again." WATCH | NHL season begins amid rising COVID-19 cases: Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said reducing the number of opponents will make coaches focus. "It allows you to just zero in on a very small number of opponents, you get to know them very well," he said. "It frees up so much more time just to focus on our own team." Edmonton's Dave Tippett said the compressed schedule will keep coaches concentrating. "Sometimes you get into the regular season, games flow into each other," he said. "Every game [now] is going to be so important. The competition is going to be stiff. "I think it's going to be a playoff mindset coaches are really going to dig into. It's going to push coaches to be better. WATCH | CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo breaks down 9 NHL talking points: Vancouver forward Antoine Roussel, one of the Canucks who plays the game with an edge, said scores will be quickly settled. "It's going to be more edgy every night," he said. "You see the same guys all the time. "If something happens in game one . . . in game two you may have to answer the bell. The emotion and the fire in the games are going to step up, maybe linger longer." Playing more games against teams from the East will also give more exposure to young Canuck stars like Elias Pettersson and Quin Hughes. "I don't think our guys sometimes get the attention they deserve," Roussel said. "They could be in better position to market themselves as the best players in the league." Vancouver forward Tanner Pearson said the shortened season means teams must always keep an eye on the standings. "It's going to be different for a points race," he said. "You always talk about a four-point game when you play a division team. Now it's more crucial than ever." WATCH | NHL world honours Willie O'Ree on MLK Day:
Ankara has imposed advertising bans on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest after they failed to appoint local representatives in Turkey under a new social media law, according to decisions published on Tuesday. Under the law, which critics say stifles dissent, social media companies that do not appoint such representatives are liable for a series of penalties, including the latest move by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). It has caused concern as people turn more to online platforms after Ankara tightened its grip on mainstream media.
WASHINGTON — Back when the election was tightening and just a week away, Joe Biden went big. He flew to Warm Springs, the Georgia town whose thermal waters once brought Franklin Delano Roosevelt comfort from polio, and pledged a restitching of America's economic and policy fabric unseen since FDR's New Deal. Evoking some of the nation's loftiest reforms helped Biden unseat President Donald Trump but left him with towering promises to keep. And he'll be trying to deliver against the backdrop of searing national division and a pandemic that has killed nearly 400,000 Americans and upended the economy. Such change would be hard to imagine under any circumstances, much less now. He's setting out with Democrats clinging to razor-thin House and Senate control and after having won an election in which 74 million people voted for his opponent. And even if his administration accomplishes most of its top goals in legislation or executive action, those actions are subject to being struck down by a Supreme Court now controlled by a 6-3 conservative majority. Even so, the effort is soon underway. Washington is bracing for dozens of consequential executive actions starting Wednesday and stretched over the first 10 days of Biden's administration, as well as legislation that will begin working its way through Congress on pandemic relief, immigration and much more. Has Biden promised more than he can deliver? Not in his estimation. He suggests he can accomplish even more than he promised. He says he and his team will "do our best to beat all the expectations you have for the country and expectations we have for it." Some Democrats say Biden is right to set great expectations while realizing he'll have to compromise, rather than starting with smaller goals and having to scale them back further. "You can't say to a nation that is hungry, uncertain, in some places afraid, whose economy has stalled out ... that you had to slim down the request of their government because you have a narrow governing margin," said former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Biden's onetime Democratic presidential primary rival. New presidents generally enjoy a honeymoon period that helps them in Congress, and Biden's prospects for getting one were improved by Democratic victories this month in two Georgia special Senate elections. He may have been helped, too, by a public backlash against the deadly, armed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Biden's advisers have acknowledged they'll have bitter fights ahead. One approach they have in mind is a familiar one in Washington — consolidating some big ideas into what is known as omnibus legislation, so that lawmakers who want popular measures passed have to swallow more controversial measures as well. Another approach is to pursue goals through executive orders. Doing so skirts Congress altogether but leaves the measures more easily challenged in court. Trump made hefty use of executive orders for some of his most contentious actions, on border enforcement, the environment and more, but federal courts often got in the way. Biden's top priority is congressional approval of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan to administer 100 million vaccines by his 100th day in office while also providing $1,400 direct payments to Americans to stimulate the virus-hammered economy. That's no slam dunk, even though everyone likes to get money from the government. Any such payment is likely to be paired with measures many in Congress oppose, perhaps his proposed mandate for a $15 national minimum wage, for example. And Biden's relief package will have to clear a Senate consumed with approving his top Cabinet choices and with conducting Trump's potential impeachment trial. Nevertheless, the deluge is coming. On Day One alone, Biden has promised to extend the pause on federal student loan payments, move to have the U.S. rejoin the World Health Organization and Paris climate accord and ask Americans to commit to 100 days of mask-wearing. He plans to use executive actions to overturn the Trump administration's ban on immigrants from several majority-Muslim countries and wipe out corporate tax cuts where possible, while doubling the levies U.S. firms pay on foreign profits. That same day, Biden has pledged to create task forces on homelessness and reuniting immigrant parents with children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. He'll plan to send bills to Congress seeking to mandate stricter background checks for gun buyers, scrap firearm manufacturers' liability protections and provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. The new president further wants to relax limits immediately on federal workers unionizing, reverse Trump's rollback of about 100 public health and environmental rules that the Obama administration instituted and create rules to limit corporate influence on his administration and ensure the Justice Department's independence. He also pledged to have 100 vaccination centres supported by federal emergency management personnel up and running during his first month in the White House. Biden says he'll use the Defence Production Act to increase vaccine supplies and ensure the pandemic is under enough control after his first 100 days in office for most public schools to reopen nationwide. He's also pledged to have created a police oversight commission to combat institutional racism by then. Among other major initiatives to be tackled quickly: rejoining the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal, a $2 trillion climate package to get the U.S. to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a plan to spend $700 billion boosting manufacturing and research and development and building on the Obama administration's health care law to include a "public option." Perhaps obscured in that parade of promises, though, is the fact that some of the 80 million-plus voters who backed Biden may have done so to oppose Trump, not because they're thrilled with an ambitious Democratic agenda. The president-elect's victory may not have been a mandate to pull a country that emerged from the last election essentially centrist so far to the left. Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak predicted early Republican support for Biden's coronavirus relief and economic stimulus spending plans, but said that may evaporate quickly if "they issue a bunch of first-day, left-wing executive orders." "You can't be bipartisan with one hand and left-wing with the other," Mackowiak said, "and hope that Republicans don't notice." Biden had a front-row seat as vice-president in 2009, when Barack Obama took office, with crowds jamming the National Mall, and promised to transcend partisan politics. His administration used larger congressional majorities to oversee slow economic growth after the 2008 financial crisis, and it passed the health law Biden now seeks to expand. But Obama failed to get major legislation passed on climate change, ethics or immigration. He failed, too, to close the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which remains open to this day. Falling short on promises then hasn't made Biden more chastened today. He acknowledges that doing even a small portion of what he wants will require running up huge deficits, but he argues the U.S. has an "economic imperative" and "moral obligation" to do so. Kelly Dietrich, founder of the National Democratic Training Committee and former party fundraiser, said the divisions fomented by Trump could give Biden a unique opportunity to push ahead immediately and ignore conservative critics who "are going to complain and cry and make stuff up" and argue that socialists are "coming to kick your puppy." Biden and his team would do well to brush off anyone who doesn't think he can aim high, he said. "They should not be distracted by people who think it's disappointing or it can't happen," Dietrich said. "Overwhelm people with action. No administration, after it's over, says, 'We accomplished too much in the first hundred days.'" Will Weissert, The Associated Press


Over the past several years, it is you, dear reader, who have often thoughtfully touched base to ask, "Have you heard of this oil field song?" Sometimes the song is already on the list and the recording is in our possession… other times not.
Okay, so how did "Sweet Light Crude" come to Mr. Wilkinson's attention? By way of his cousin's daughter. Or as the Hub City Tipster put it: "Lydia Wright is the daughter of my first cousin Bill Dickson—who is the older brother of my cousin Noel Lee Dickson, who traveled many a mile with Wilburn Roach as his drummer—and Lydia is a friend of Gene Neptune's daughter. At least, that's how I remember it!" Ah, Mr. Wilkinson's affinity for genealogy plus the memory of Wilburn Roach … further reasons why we love him so much.
I was able to track down Mr. Neptune in Katy, Texas, three weeks ago. We've exchanged email and talked on the phone, and he has graciously shared background info on the song and his personal life. We have a few things in common, too: basic training at Ft. Polk, AIT at Ft. Sill in artillery, posting to Germany; graduates of North Texas State University.
Your humble reporter is preparing to embark on another installment of Smell That Sweet Perfume—"A Little West of Wichita Falls: Oil Patch Songs from North Central Texas, Panhandle-South Plains, and New Mexico." Yes, a bit of catch-all chapter. And "Sweet Light Crude"—a mix of gritty oil rig realism and peyote vision—will conclude the installment on a high note.
Please check out the wonderful video that accompanies Mr. Neptune's "Sweet Light Crude" on YouTube. That's Kelly Lancaster on the 'coustic guitar. And how 'bout Mr. Neptune's earthy, evocative vocals. Highly recommended, too, is the album, Sweet Light Crude: American Narratives. As the liner notes state, "SWEET LIGHT CRUDE is a diverse collection of narrative songs invoking imagery of red dirt and roughnecks, nightmarish political landscapes, lovesick sailors, railroad bums, dance cowgirls …." Available for purchase at www.mytexasmusic.com.
And while visiting mytexasmusic.com, grab a copy of Mr. Neptune's Prairie Dog Town. The title tune is a perfect fit for the prairie dog in song project. Long on the backburner, but not forgotten. Our anthem for this project is Alger Texas Alexander's 1934 "Prairie Dog Hole Blues" with memorable opening verse: "I'm going out to West Texas, jump in a prairie dog's hole/I'm going out to West Texas, jump in a prairie dog's hole/If I don't find my baby, I ain't comin' here no more." !!


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Local Music Reviews August 2018
Local Review: The Vistanauts – Apollo Down
By Russ Holsten
Posted August 2, 2018 in Local Music Reviews, Issue 356 – August 2018 Download issue as pdf
The Vistanauts
Apollo Down
Self-Released
Street: 04.12
The Vistanauts = Julian Cope + Ziggy Stardust
Apollo Down is a fun record. It's as if The Spiders From Mars got a ride in a yellow submarine—in space. A finely tuned rhythm section, with fuzz guitars layered over perfectly structured synth lines, allow Larsen's beeps, whirls and sonic tidal waves of cosmic debris to flood over every track on this record. The Vistanauts are Tom Larsen (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Stephanie Selcho (drums), Kent Rytting (lead guitar) and Anton Nielsen (bass).
It is hard to filter out this influence when listening to Larsen's band The Vistanauts, because Bowie is so much there on the surface. It's OK to imitate your heroes, and Larsen does just that—however, this isn't a Bowie tribute album. This is a Vistanauts record.
Whether it's Starman, Ziggy Stardust or The Thin White Duke, Bowie is, and always will be, one of the gold standards of interpretation. It is a badge of honor to be Beatles–esque or "that guy that sounds like Bowie." Local legend Tom Larsen does in fact "sound like Bowie"—so much so that Larsen heads a Bowie tribute band called Major Tom & The Moonboys.
Imitation is delivered in an original package with catchy sonic space freak songs that capture your attention with a glam rock, fun-house, mindfuck vibe. Larsen ties the whole album together in a pleasantly perfect, pretty pink boa.
"I'll just be there picking up the pieces after my tumble down," Larsen sings on the title track—The Vistanauts' version of The Man Who Fell to Earth. The song is everything at once and at times sounds like a nervous cockpit of a lost spaceship in which the computer has taken over. "Shhh" is a chaotic space age pop song. "Got a straight jacket brain," Larsen sings, "and a heart in the loo." Apollo Down is a great record that we are lucky to have locally, but the album deserves to be heard nationally. Larsen and his merry pranksters deliver on all 13 tracks. Seek out this album and share with your friends. –Russ Holsten
Editorial Note: An earlier edition of this review incorrectly named the bass player of the Vistanauts as Brady Anderson, as opposed to Anton Nielsen. Changes have been made to correct this error.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A zeolite or zeolite-type material is in fine powder form when it is synthesized or modified. Zeolites are applied in several processes, such as cracking, separation, purification, isomerization, refining hydrocarbon synthesis, synthetic fuel production and production of chemicals. Usually, fixed-bed or fluidized-bed reactor technologies are involved in these processes. Although as-synthesized zeolites are obtained in the form of a fine powder it might have not been used directly in such kinds of reactor technology. In addition, in cases where the process requires a fixed-bed reactor technology, the dilemma relies on the fact that powder causes very high pressure drops through the reactor and exhibits poor mechanical strength that can lead to damage of the catalyst or adsorbent, thus creating fines or dust at the reactor outlet. In fact, the presence of small particulates can lead to dramatic consequences on both the reaction and the equipment. Therefore, the zeolite has to be applied in a suitable particle size usually in the form of shaped mechanically stable macroscopic particles such as beads/spheres or extrudates/ pellets, because zeolite powder does not exhibit binding properties.


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Experts analyse and debate recent developments across UK government, politics and policy
Fairness and Equality
Electoral and Constitutional Reform
Party politics and elections
The accidental populists: why May and Corbyn ended up being isolated and unpopular
The fact that Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are now less popular than Nigel Farage is in large part the result of their attempt to lead the heterogeneous movements they inherited, writes Ben Margulies.
The Conservative and Labour parties are seeing an alarming fall in support. Thanks to the prolonged denouement of the Brexit crisis, both parties have bled up to half of their 2017 supporter base. A great deal has been written about why they have come to this pass, and for the most part the cause seems to be Brexit: the two parties are being torn apart because their voters cannot agree on the cultural and economic questions posed by globalisation. Others would say that the Conservatives and Labour are falling prey to the superior competitiveness of 'populists'. In an age when economic crisis, scandal, and the disintegration of mass parties have left political elites estranged from their electorates, no politician or party can easily prosper against the powerful appeal to anger and frustration made my populist leaders.
But this divide between 'elite' and 'populist', or 'establishment' and 'outsider' is not clean cut. The Conservative and Labour leaders have adopted extensive elements of populist framing, discourse and styles. Theresa May has raged against Parliament and the opposition; Jeremy Corbyn against the press, civil service, and the 'elites'. What features mark out this populism? Why is it different? And why hasn't it worked for its practitioners?
Firstly, populism can mean a 'thin-centred ideology' or political style, both of which will usually cast political conflict as a battle between a 'good' people and a 'bad' elite. The goal of politics is to make real the will of the people, which is portrayed as united and singular. Courts, bureaucracies or the mass media are seen as dubious at best, generally because elites staff them and they contain the popular will. Populists tend to discount the idea of a loyal opposition. Finally, many – but not all – theorists of populism focus on the need for a leader to represent and embody the people, usually through charismatic authority.
Jeremy Corbyn has long been associated with a sort of left populism, one which sees the people and elite as differentiated on economic grounds. Watts and Bale describe how Corbyn used populist framing in intra-party competition within the Labour Party. Although Dean and Maiguashca challenge this depiction of Corbyn as a populist, the dynamics of his relationship with the Labour membership, Parliamentary Labour Party, and the mass media suggest that Corbynism involves at least some populist features, namely appeals to 'the people', anti-elitism, a reliance on a direct electoral mandate for a superior sort of legitimacy, and a strong identification of the underlying political project with the person of the leader.
Theresa May, on the other hand, sometimes delivers a sort of right-wing, authoritarian populism. May claimed a mandate to deliver Brexit, and to this end she has often demonstrated an impatience with those institutions that might block this expression of the popular will. May's government initially resisted any suggestion that Parliament's consent was necessary to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty; in 2017, she called a snap election, complaining that Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP would vote against Brexit:
The country is coming together but Westminster is not. In recent weeks Labour have threatened to vote against the final agreement we reach with the European Union, the Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill, the SNP say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union and unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way. … they underestimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country because what they are doing jeopardises the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at home and it weakens the Government's negotiating position in Europe. If we do not hold a General Election now their political gameplaying will continue and the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next scheduled election.
In a single passage, May identified her cause with a morally righteous people, declared that people unified, condemned elites, and declared opposition illegitimate. Later, she would repeat her anti-parliamentary rhetoric during the battles over her ill-fated withdrawal deal in the spring of 2019.
So if May and Corbyn are both adept at using populist ideas and framing, why are they no longer enjoying the success that other populists – such as Nigel Farage, winner of the last two European Parliament elections – have enjoyed? To begin with, as leaders of the two dominant parties, Corbyn and May have different benchmarks for success – typically, a parliamentary majority on at least 35% of the popular vote. Very few populist parties elsewhere in Western Europe can reach those levels of support.
A deeper reason for May's and Corbyn's struggles has to do with the nature of populist leadership. Populists do not just inherit peoples. Rather, they tend to create them, using their rhetoric and persona in order to construct a certain idea of 'the people', and to gather together the like-minded under their banner. Donald Trump has done this to a great degree in the United States, convoking a Trumpian base which is distinct from, if not too dissimilar from, the Republican Party's base. Other populists accomplish this by founding their own parties.
Corbyn and May, on the other hand, became the figureheads of populist sentiments and constructs after the fact. Corbyn did not call forth his base in the Labour membership; left-wing and dissatisfied voters identified him as a maverick and rallied accordingly. May did not create the right populist project that she tried to head; rather, Brexit did, and May simply became leader of the most convenient institutional expression of that social formation. Some have stressed that populist movements can start without a leader, but what the British case seems to be telling us is that adopting a leader a posteriori risks picking one who cannot read 'the people', or change tactics when the people's identity or concerns alter.
The end result is that neither May nor Corbyn possesses the performative, communicative, and analytical skills necessary to be classic populist leaders. They do not control the definition and image of their peoples. They cannot necessarily incarnate them in the way a leader is expected to in many forms of populism – they cannot be the mirror image of their people. Nor have they imposed that image of 'the people' on the overall voter coalitions of their establishment parties, which predate their arrival.
And they seem unable to change their political messaging to fit new contexts. Corbyn is unable to provide a Brexit project that unites 'his people', because he did not create them. Rafael Behr stated that Corbyn was the chief liability of the Corbynist project – significantly, he added that Corbyn is unable to bridge the gap between his public image and his policies and tactics. May similarly took over a mandate she had not expected and tried to appeal to millions of UKIP voters through the performance of a right-wing, authoritarian populism built around the kernel of a hard Brexit. Between a lack of natural charisma and the strategic impossibility of enacting a hard Brexit without the risk of serious economic damage, her attempt to instantiate a sort of English nationalist subject failed.
Corbyn and May were never classic populists, and their leaderships never fully conformed to most definitions of populist tactics, style or political outlook. Nevertheless, both incorporated aspects of the populist style into their political practice. Still, they did not create their own populist movements – rather, they relied on populist tactics to deal with new political entities they could not adequately understand, embody or manage. The result has been increasing political isolation and failure, and perhaps a lesson for mainstream politicians wishing to join the populist bandwagon.
Ben Margulies is Lecturer at the University of Brighton.
All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of LSE British Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Featured image credit: Pixabay (Public Domain).
July 12th, 2019|Brexit, British and Irish Politics and Policy, Featured|0 Comments
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text:
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Location within Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley
Show map of San Fernando Valley
Panorama City (the Los Angeles metropolitan area)
Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Coordinates: 34°13′29″N 118°26′56″W / 34.22472°N 118.44889°W / 34.22472; -118.44889ƒim
Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born abroad, a higher percentage than Los Angeles as a whole. Known as the valley's first planned community after a transition from agriculture to a post-World War II housing boom, it has produced several notable residents. It is now a mixture of single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings.
Panorama City has three high schools, two recreational centers, a senior center, two hospitals and a chamber of commerce.
Former Panorama theater converted for church services, 2008
Panorama City is known as the San Fernando Valley's first planned community. In 1948, it was developed as such by residential developer Fritz B. Burns and industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.[1] The master plan was created by architectural firm Wurdeman & Becket.[2] Burns, seeing the tremendous potential fortune that could be made as large numbers of World War II veterans came home and started families, teamed up with Kaiser in 1945 to form Kaiser Community Homes. The vast majority of the houses were bought with loans issued by the Federal Housing Administration or the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the G.I. Bill.
Homes in the area were sold with racially discriminatory covenants. A "Conditions, Covenants, Restrictions" document filed with the county recorder declared that no Panorama City lot could be "used or occupied by any person whose blood is not entirely that of the white or Caucasian race."[3] Such restrictive covenants, which sometimes also limited ownership to people "of the Christian faith," were then common in many communities at the time. Although rendered legally unenforceable by the Civil Rights Act of 1968, they may still be found on some older property deeds.
De facto integration was accelerated by the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. The CRA-insured credit was provided to the entire community without regard to race or income, causing white flight as with many other areas of the San Fernando Valley.[4] During the period of desegregation busing, Panorama City was exempted due to its diversity.[citation needed]
Panorama City was once adjacent to General Motors'[1] largest assembly plant to date[citation needed]. Today, the Van Nuys Assembly plant has been replaced with a large shopping center named The Plant, which includes stores and restaurants such as Regency Theatres, Ross, Babies "R" Us, The Home Depot, Hometown Buffet, Blaze Pizza, In-N-Out Burger, Starbucks Coffee and others.
Panorama City touches Mission Hills on the north, Arleta on the northeast, Sun Valley on the east, Valley Glen on the southeast, Van Nuys on the south and North Hills on the west.[5]
For the most part, the community is a mixture of small single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings.[citation needed]
The 2010 U.S. census counted 69,817 residents in the neighborhood's 91402 ZIP code. The median age was 30.1, and the median yearly household income at that time was USD$41,467.[6]
In 2008, the Los Angeles Times Mapping L.A. project described Panorama City as an area that was "moderately diverse" ethnically, with a high percentage of Latinos and a significant population of Filipinos. Filipinos and Mexicans were the most common ancestries in the neighborhood. At that time, the breakdown was Latinos, 70.1%; whites, 11.5%; Asians, 11.9%; blacks, 4.3%; and others, 2.2%. Mexico (52.1%) and El Salvador (13.4%) were the most common places of birth for the 55.0% of the residents who were born outside of the United States—a high percentage for Los Angeles.[7]
As of the 2010 census, renters were occupying 64.8% of the housing stock, while owners held 35.2%.[6]
There were 2,849 families headed by single parents. The rate of 20.2% was considered to be a high one. There were 1,837 veterans, or 4.3% of the population, a low percentage compared to the rest of the city and county.[7]
The Panorama Recreation Center is in the community. The center, which also functions as a Los Angeles Police Department drop-in facility, has an auditorium, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, an indoor gymnasium, picnic tables, and unlit tennis courts.[8]
The Sepulveda Recreation Center is located in Panorama City.[9] The center has two indoor gymnasiums, both of which can be used as auditoriums. The center also has a lighted baseball diamond, lighted indoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, and lighted tennis courts.[10] The Sepulveda Pool is an outdoor unheated seasonal pool in the Sepulveda center.[10][11]
The Mid-Valley Senior Citizen Center is in Panorama City. The center has an auditorium, a kitchen, and a stage.[12] The building was originally a convalescent home. As of July 2000 the former convalescent home was being converted into the senior center.[9]
Government and infrastructure
The Panorama City Neighborhood Council is a city agency formed by volunteer elected officials and appointed officials. The purpose of the Panorama City Neighborhood Council is to provide an inclusive open forum for public discussion, and to serve as an advisory body on issues of concern to the Panorama City area and in the governance of the city of Los Angeles. The Council gained its official city role upon certification by the Board Of Neighborhood Commissioners on March 15, 2007.
Metro and LADOT operates fixed-route transit bus service in Panorama City. Metro Rapid lines 744 & 788 operates on Van Nuys Boulevard. Metro Local lines 152, 158, 166, 167, 169, and 233 operate the community. LADOT operates DASH bus service on their Panorama City/Van Nuys route. In 2027, Metro will open the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor light rail project with stations on Van Nuys Boulevard at Nordhoff Street & Roscoe Boulevard.
California's 29th congressional district
California's 18th State Senate district
California's 46th State Assembly district
Panorama City Chamber of Commerce[13]
Los Angeles City Council District 6
Panorama City Neighborhood Council[14]
Panorama City was the largest center of major retail outlets in the San Fernando Valley, starting with the opening of what would later become the Panorama Mall in 1955. At the time, this small complex included The Broadway and five other stores.[15] Three other major department stores — Ohrbachs, J. W. Robinson's and Montgomery Ward – opened nearby over the next ten years, and they were marketed collectively as the Panorama City Shopping Center. By the 1970s, the area had lost business to nearby communities.[16][17] The freestanding Ohrbach's building, designed by the architectural firm Welton Becket and Associates, is significant in that it represents "an early and important phase of commercial development" in the neighborhood. It is now the site of the Valley Indoor Swap Meet.[18]
The Panorama Mall remains an important local mall, with a Walmart and Curacao discount stores, the latter catering to the Hispanic market.[19]
Thirteen percent of Panorama City residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, an average percentage for both the city and the county. The percentage of the same-age residents with less than a high school diploma was high for the county.[7][20]
Schools within the Panorama City boundaries are:[21]
Panorama High School c. 2008
Panorama High School, 8015 Van Nuys Blvd.[22]
Liggett Street Elementary School, 9373 Moonbeam Avenue
Primary Academy for Success, elementary, 9075 Willis Avenue
Valor Academy Charter, middle, 8755 Woodman Avenue
Panorama City Elementary School, 8600 Kester Avenue
Chase Street Elementary School, 14041 Chase Street
Vista Middle School, 15040 Roscoe Boulevard
Burton Street Elementary School, 8111 Calhoun Avenue
Cal Burke High School, continuation, 14630 Lanark Street
Ranchito Avenue Elementary School, 7940 Ranchito Avenue
Michelle Obama Elementary School, 8150 Cedros Avenue
Alta California Elementary School, 14839 Rayen St
St. Genevieve High School, 2008
St. Genevieve Elementary School, 14024 Community Street
St. Genevieve High School, 13967 Roscoe Boulevard
Kaiser Permanente has a hospital and medical center complex on Woodman Ave. and Roscoe Blvd. serving the central and eastern San Fernando Valley.[citation needed] The complex covers three city blocks as a medical campus first opened in 1963. Mission Community Hospital is a private, for-profit hospital owned by Deanco Healthcare located on Roscoe Blvd. serving the neighborhood. Mission Community Hospital features a basic adult Emergency Room, surgical services, an inpatient psychiatric hospital, and inpatient medical services.[citation needed]
David Smith, volleyball player and Olympian[23]
José Benavidez, boxer[24]
Kirk Cameron, actor, Christian evangelist[25]
Candace Cameron Bure, actress[26]
Terry Gilliam, Monty Python member and film director[27]
Meagan Good, actress[28]
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, actor[29]
Hopsin, rapper[30]
Mike Shinoda, musician[31]
Giancarlo Stanton, Major League Baseball player[32]
Sara Velas, artist[33]
Steve Wapnick, baseball player[34]
Zack Britton Professional Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees
Van Nuys Boulevard
^ a b Najarro, Ileana (July 2, 2016). "Twenty-two years after Northridge quake, hope for a Panorama City neighborhood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
^ "Panorama City | Los Angeles Conservancy". www.laconservancy.org.
^ Colker, David (September 4, 1999). "Building a 'Future' in 1948". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^ Avila, Eric (2004). Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles. University of California Press. p. 41,235. ISBN 978-0-520-24121-3. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
^ "Colored map" (PDF). Mapping L.A. Los Angeles Times.
^ a b "Community Facts". United States Census Bureau.
^ a b c "Panorama City". Mapping L.A. Los Angeles Times.
^ "Panorama Recreation Center." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
^ a b Condon, Lee. "Destroyed Rec Center Rises Anew." Los Angeles Times. July 20, 2000. Metro Part B Zones Desk. 1. Retrieved on March 20, 2010. "the Sepulveda Recreation Center in Panorama City."
^ a b "Sepulveda Recreation Center." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
^ "Sepulveda Pool." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
^ "Mid-Valley Senior Citizen Center Archived 2010-01-04 at the Wayback Machine." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
^ "Panorama Chamber | Providing a voice and solutions to Business".
^ "Panorama City Neighborhood Council". www.panoramacitync.org.
^ "'Copter Takes Group To Broadway-Valley". Valley Times. October 10, 1955.
^ "8 Oct 1964, Page 48 - Valley News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
^ "Panorama City: Once vital business area awaits revival". Los Angeles Times. January 25, 1988. p. 24.
^ "Report - HPLA". historicplacesla.org.
^ "Valley La Curacao Store Earns Loyalty of Latino Customers by Speaking Their Language". Los Angeles Times. September 28, 1999.
^ Less Than High School Ranking - Mapping L.A. - Los Angeles Times "Less Than High School," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times]
^ [1] "Panorama City: Schools," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
^ [2] GreatSchools.com
^ "8 return to U.S. Olympic men's volleyball roster for Tokyo". NBC.
^ Mier, Saul. "Biography of Jose Benavidez jr". Top Rank. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17.
^ Mansour, David (May 2005). From Abba to Zoom. Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7407-5118-9.
^ "Candace Cameron Bure Biography (1976-1876)". filmreference.com. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
^ Plume, Kenneth. "Interview with Terry Gilliam (Part 1 of 4) - IGN". www.ign.com. Ziff Davis, LLC. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
^ "DallasBlack.com: Interview: Meagan Good". DallasBlack.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23.
^ "Ophronia Scott-Gregory and Monica Rizzo, "To Bell and Back," People, October 12, 1988". Archived from the original on November 9, 2014.
^ Marcus Hopson. florida.arrests.org
^ Apar, Corey. "Mike Shinoda: Biography". AllMusic.
^ "Giancarlo Stanton Stats, News, Bio". ESPN.
^ "Oct. 3: Sara Velas on The Velaslavasay Panorama". September 25, 2017.
^ "Steve Wapnick Stats". ESPN.
Panorama City Chamber of Commerce
Panorama City Neighborhood Council
Pacoima/Panorama City - CRA/LA
"Panorama City: It's not about the past; it's about potential". Los Angeles Times. April 25, 2004. Real Estate section, Neighborly Advice column.
Panorama City crime map and statistics
Coordinates: 34°13′29″N 118°26′56″W / 34.22472°N 118.44889°W / 34.22472; -118.44889
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panorama City, Los Angeles.
Places adjacent to Panorama City, Los Angeles
Granada Hills Mission Hills & San Fernando Arleta, Pacoima & Hansen Dam
North Hills & Northridge
Van Nuys & Sepulveda Dam Van Nuys Valley Glen & North Hollywood
Los Angeles city areas within the San Fernando and Crescenta Valleys
Districts and
Ventura Business District
Warner Center
Campo de Cahuenga
Los Encinos State Historic Park
San Fernando Mission
Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
Neighboring cities
and communities
LA Regions
Crescenta Valley
Greater Hollywood
Northeast LA
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Panorama City, Los Angeles
Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
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1948 establishments in California


text:
Wilmington Trust Announces Expansion of Wealth Management Team in New York State
Devon Bruce and R.J. Nicolli, Jr. appointed as Wilmington Trust's wealth management business continues to grow across New York
RJ Nicolli
Private Client Advisor
Devon Bruce
Senior Wealth Investment Advisor
NEW YORK—Wilmington Trust today announced that R.J. Nicolli, Jr. was appointed private client advisor for the Central and Southern New York regions, and Devon Bruce was named senior wealth investment advisor in the Central and Capital New York regions. Wilmington Trust added these new roles as its wealth management business continues to expand in the state.
"We've experienced an extremely positive growth trajectory, with double-digit revenue increases, over the last several years," said Kenneth Williams, group vice president and regional sales manager for Wilmington Trust. "We are committed to growing our talent in order to meet new demands of our clients, and are thrilled to add R.J. and Devon to our leadership team. Both exemplify the values of Wilmington Trust, and offer unmatched wealth advisory experience and personal connection to the communities they cover."
R.J. Nicolli, Jr., Private Client Advisor
Nicolli was promoted to private client advisor and is responsible for providing wealth management advice to high-net-worth individuals and families, entrepreneurs, business owners, and foundations and endowments throughout the Central and Southern New York regions.
Prior to his new position at Wilmington Trust, Nicolli worked as a senior financial advisor for M&T Securities. In this role, he advised clients in all areas of financial planning, including retirement planning, income strategies, asset and business succession planning, insurance strategies, and portfolio construction and management.
Nicolli earned a degree at Columbia College. He is a registered investment advisor and holds FINRA Series 7, 63, 65, and 26 licenses.
He is based in Wilmington Trust's office at 101 S. Salina St. in Syracuse, N.Y., and can be contacted at 315-424-4412.
Devon Bruce, Senior Wealth Investment Advisor
As senior wealth investment advisor for the Central and Capital regions in New York, Bruce is responsible for developing and implementing Wilmington Trust's customized investment advisory services for high-net-worth clients, foundations, and endowments.
Prior to joining Wilmington Trust, Bruce was a director at Pathstone and Federal Street Advisors where he provided wealth management advice to clients, including investment strategies, financial planning, and philanthropy.
Bruce earned an MBA with a concentration in finance from Boston University, and a bachelor's degree in economics from Union College.
He is based in Wilmington Trust's office at 300 Great Oakes Blvd. in Albany, N.Y. He can be contacted at 518-464-6196.
Maya Dillon
devon bruce ken williams syracuse albany wealth management rj nicolli
Other releases in Press Releases:
Wilmington Trust Reshapes Portfolio, Raising Allocations to U.S. Large-Cap and Emerging Markets Stocks to Overweight; Reduces Level of Tax-Exempt High Yield
Wilmington Trust 2021 Outlook Sees New Growth Opportunities Around the Great Pandemic, Global Reset, and a Transformed Financial Landscape
Sharon L. Klein Recognized by Crain's New York Business as One of the Most Notable Women in Financial Advice
Alvina Lo Recognized by Crain's New York Business as One of the Most Notable Women in Financial Advice
Defined Contribution Plan Advisors Get Investment Expertise and Operational Efficiency as Wilmington Trust and Neuberger Berman Partner on Collective Investment Trusts


text:
using namespace mo;

static mo::Log<mo::DefaultLogger> logInst("momo.log");

int main()
{
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  {
    LOG("The value of 'i' is ", i, ". ", 3 - i - 1, " more iterations left ");
  }
  LOG_WARN("Loop over");
  LOG_ERR("All good things come to an end.. :(");
  LOG_FATAL("Fatal error occurred.");
  LOG_DEBUG("Too many information.");
  LOG_DEBUG("ONE MORE");
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  return 0;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Joe Biden pushes assault weapons ban on Sandy Hook anniversary
Ten years after primary school shooting, President says US has 'moral obligation' to enforce stricter gun control laws
US President Joe Biden renewed his call for a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines on the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. AFP
Kyle Fitzgerald
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday again called for a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, saying America has "societal guilt" for waiting too long to address the issue in the decade since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
"We have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that can prevent these things from happening again," Mr Biden said on the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting.
"We owe it to the courageous, young survivors and to the families who lost part of their soul 10 years ago to turn their pain into purpose."
A decade after Sandy Hook: the ongoing fight for US gun reform
On December 14, 2012, a lone gunman shot and killed 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Massachusetts. The mass shooting re-energised the debate on enforcing stricter gun control measures.
Initial efforts to rein in the country's lax gun laws remained elusive for years at the federal level, leading Mr Biden and his predecessors to use their executive authority to impose regulations on bump-fire stocks, ghost guns and more.
Activists have had to work through state legislatures to pass hundreds of gun safety laws since the Sandy Hook shooting.
After a decade of failed efforts, a bipartisan group of US senators unveiled a gun reform bill that expanded background checks, enacted changes to mental health services and closed the so-called boyfriend loophole by including a provision that prohibits convicted domestic abusers from purchasing firearms.
Mr Biden signed it into law on June 25.
Still, he said more work must be done and that he is "determined" to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that were used at Sandy Hook Elementary School and in other mass shootings in the decade since.
"Enough is enough. Our obligation is clear. We must eliminate these weapons that have no purpose other than to kill people in large numbers," Mr Biden said.
"It is within our power to do this — for the sake of not only the lives of the innocents lost, but for the survivors who still hope."
Spurred on by the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, Uvalde, Texas, and Highland Park, Illinois, this year, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would prohibit the sale of assault weapons. It is not expected to pass the Senate before the new Congress is turned over next year.
During his tenure, former president Bill Clinton signed a bill into law that prohibited the purchase of certain semi-automatic weapons that were defined as assault weapons, as well as high-capacity magazines, but the law expired in 2004.
Gun reform activists have also called on Congress to enforce universal background checks and raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21.


Someone was being interviewed and was asked, "What is your present Pay Grade?" He replied that he was now on Grade Level Four One Nine (i.e., 419!) The interviewer was surprised that such a high level existed. The interviewee then clarified that he meant Philippians Chapter Four, verse Nineteen: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." It's a level where God is your life, support and mainstay. In the times we live in, Believers will need an upgrade in their pay level.
The present economic situation in the country is unhealthy and the projections for the future are scary. If there ever was a time when Christians need to live and be sustained supernaturally, it is now, "…for the just shall live by faith." (Galatians 3:11). We need faith that is anchored in God, His word and His antecedents to do better than survive these times.
Jesus had an interesting conversation with His disciples: "Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."" (Matthew 16:5). When they heard this, they began to reason among themselves that it was because they had forgotten to take bread with them in the boat before crossing the sea. They had thought that Jesus was worried about how they were going to survive without bread. Jesus diagnosed that their problem was 'little faith.' Little faith manifests as lack of trust and is prone to worry about survival (see Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 14:31).
Jesus referred them to two incidents that had happened previously: the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand men. Those events should have proved to the disciples that God was able to take care of their needs. If they had only reflected on those miracles they would have had a different attitude to their present challenge.
The disciples had witnessed the feeding of five thousand men (Matthew 14:13-21). In that instance, they were in a "deserted place" where there was no means of provision. There were no bakeries nor stores. Even if there was, they didn't have the money needed to buy enough food to satisfy so many people. The disciples' inclination was to send the people away so that they could fend for themselves. "But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (Mt 14:16). Jesus was neither desperate nor nervous because He knew exactly what He was going to do in the situation (John 6:6). When a disciple found that a boy had five loaves and two fish, Jesus requested that they be brought to Him.
"Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained." (Mt 14:19-20). Not only did God meet the needs of the multitudes, He went beyond. When it was over, there was extra left. Little becomes much when it is placed in the hands of Jesus.
On another occasion Jesus and the disciples found themselves in the wilderness and as always, there was a multitude that had come from all the regions to hear Jesus (Matthew 15:32-37). After three days, everyone had run out of supplies. "Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." (Mt 15:32). You would think that the disciples had learned a lesson or two about how Jesus managed crisis situations from their previous experience. Not at all. "Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"" (Mt 15:33). It's obvious that they had forgotten how Jesus had fed five thousand men under similar circumstances. Thankfully, they were able to gather seven loaves and a few little fish from the crowd. From this little, Jesus again fed four thousand men. At the end, they had seven baskets full of left overs.
Jesus was expecting that the disciples, having seen God's miraculous working on those past occasions should now have faith in God's ability to provide for them no matter the situation. He wasn't expecting them to be anxious about provision when they had enough evidence that God is a great provider.
God expects that the lessons we learned from one situation in life will be applied in other situations or enable us to face and overcome similar situations when they occur. When we experience breakthrough in one area of life it should give us ground to believe and expect breakthroughs in other areas too. When a math teacher gives a formula, solves one or two problems, he expects the students to apply the same principle in solving other problems. The student should not expect the teacher to provide fresh formula for every new problem. It is therefore unfortunate that people who have experienced God's miracle, provision etc fail to realise that the same power that worked in one situation can also work in another.
We sadly observe that through their journeys, especially in the wilderness, the Israelites failed to learn the lesson of trusting God. They didn't understand that the power of God was available for every situation in life. The Psalmist highlighted their typical attitude in the following scripture: "And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. 19 Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? 20 Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" (Psalm 78:18-20). They saw God cause water to flow out of the rock but they wondered if God could also provide food for them in the wilderness. They had a limited sense of the power of God. They failed to realise that the same supernatural power that produced water could also provide food. Eventually, God provided them food but the consequences were not pleasant. God is never pleased with unbelief.
The first time we are introduced to David he is coming from the field where he tended his father's sheep. (1 Samuel 16:11-12; 17:28). The next moment we find him was at the battlefield where Israel was being humiliated by Goliath, a Philistine giant. David volunteered to fight Goliath. As David stood before the giant he had in hindsight the victory that God had given him over the lion and the bear. (1 Samuel 34-36). That's why he could declare: "… "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine…" (1 Samuel 17:37). David could translate victory in one area of life into another. He knew that if God had delivered him before, then He was able to do it again. David understood that ultimately, "…the battle is the Lord's" (1Samuel 17:47) and "…If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
God expects us to trust Him in every circumstance of life. When God does something in one area of our life, it should make our faith to grow. Life experiences ought to breed faith in us. The God who heals headache can also cure ulcer; the God who provides admission can also provide the school fees; the God who provides a house can also provide protection. When we face challenges we should be able to remember how God had helped us in the past and trust Him for the present. We must never forget the testimonies that God had established in our lives, they should be reference points for future challenges.


AINA BJÖRKMAN born early 1900.
Aina was the one that had to stay at home and care for her elderly parents and a Brother , who stayed on the farm to handel the animals. And even though Aina never had a family of her own people say she loved children.
She knitted small dolls and other things she gave the Children that visited. And she stood on the porch waving to Children passing by.
The house had no central heating or running water. There were only woodstove and tilestoves to keep the warmth.The water had to be carried twice, once inside and once out again,when used.
The privy was on the yard next to the pigsty. If you needed a bath you had to heat water in the brewhouse and fill a tub placed inside the brewhouse .
Cows, horses, pigs, chickens and cats also had to be managed. Even thoug her brother took care of many things on the farm, he also had a family to attend in the nearby village. So Every saturday morning he left the farm and did not come back until sunday evening. Aina then had the total responsibillaty for Everything.
Household, parents and farm. It must have been hard. Sadly we never met Aina ,only Heard about her. A friendly and warm woman, so to honor her we now Place her name on the map.
We are more than certain She would have managed the B&B without any problems.


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Why doesn't pregnancy occur?
How can you optimize fertility?
When to go to a specialist?
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Intrauterine insemination
Genetic testing of embryos
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The second medical opinion
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Biological analyzes and tests
Discounts and financing
The holistic approach in infertility
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How to deal with stress
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Endometriosis and infertility
Endometriosis is an incompletely known condition, but increasingly common in young women.
What is the endometrium?
The endometrium is the lining that lines the uterus inside. The endometrium increases after menstruation, under the influence of estrogen hormones, until ovulation.
After ovulation, it transforms under the influence of progesterone, to promote the implantation of the embryo.
If the implantation does not occur, the hormone level decreases and menstruation begins, at which point the upper layer of the endometrium is removed with the menstrual blood.
How does it work and how do it produce effects and symptoms?
Outbreaks of endometriosis react hormonally, develop and then bleed during menstruation, similar to the endometrium.
Bleeding foci implanted in the abdomen (fallopian tubes, ovaries, intestines, abdominal cavity) causes menstrual pain, as well as the formation of clots and subsequent adhesions between the pelvic organs.
These adhesions alter the genital anatomy and function of the fallopian tubes and ovaries, reducing fertility over time and maintaining a state of chronic inflammation.
How is endometriosis detected?
Very often endometriosis is detected during investigations for fertility problems.
Sometimes it is detected by chance, during an ultrasound or surgery
If there is very severe menstrual pain, endometriosis is suspected and a diagnostic laparoscopy (a surgery that treats the disease) is recommended.
What are the risks of the operation?
For women who want children, surgery should not only aim to relieve pain, but also to protect or even improve fertility.
In advanced stages, if you try to loosen all the adhesions or remove the ovarian cyst, the effect may be reversed, and the operation may reduce the chances of successful in vitro fertilization (IVF), by affecting the adjacent healthy ovarian tissue. It is possible that after the operation, the ovary will no longer react to ovarian stimulation.
Other risks: damage to the abdominal organs – complications in the intestine or urinary tract
The operation improves fertility in the early stages of endometriosis.
In advanced stages, IVF is directly recommended, without the need for surgery beforehand.
What to do concretely if you have endometriosis and you want children?
Ask your infertility specialist before resorting to surgical treatments
Evaluate your ovarian reserve in time – AMH or AFC test
If you have been diagnosed with endometriosis in stages I-II, complete with other fertility tests (spermogram, AMH, tubal permeability); if there are no other problems and you are under 35 years old, try to get pregnant naturally 6-12 months then turn to IVF
If you have been diagnosed with endometriosis in stages III-IV, consider IVF directly
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a disease in which, for insufficiently known reasons, cells from the endometrium implant and function outside the uterine cavity, in areas other than normal. It is assumed that menstrual blood flows back to the abdomen, causing cells in the endometrium and that, in addition, there are immunological dysfunctions that allow ectopic implantation.
The location of these foci is extremely varied, most commonly in the fallopian tubes, ovaries, abdominal cavity, intestines or bladder.
What are the symptoms of endometriosis?
Increased menstrual pain, often overlooked
Infertility, often considered an unidentified cause
In advanced stages, it can affect the digestive tract or urinary tract with specific symptoms
Medication to treat symptoms (pain) – painkillers or medication that blocks the menstrual cycle
Surgery to remove or cauterize foci and loosen adhesions (to relieve pain and increase fertility)
Assisted reproduction – In vitro fertilization – if:
Endometriosis is in advanced stages (affects the ovaries, adhesions are extensive)
Pregnancy does not occur naturally or after 6-12 months after surgical treatment
There are other factors that reduce fertility – female age, reduced ovarian reserve, male factors
Can ovarian stimulation be performed for IVF without operating the endometriotic cyst beforehand?
Yes, ovarian surgery does not increase the chances of IVF success, but may even decrease them.
However, if the size of the cyst is very large, intervention may be required before IVF, but not for its removal, but only for decompression (its evacuation).
In this way, ovarian stimulation and oocyte sampling can be helped, without affecting healthy ovarian tissue and without reducing ovarian reserve.
What effect does pregnancy have on endometriosis?
Pregnancy is one of the most effective treatments, helping to relieve symptoms and regress foci of endometriosis. Lack of menstruation for many months is extremely beneficial for women with endometriosis.
Are there additional risks for IVF in women with endometriosis?
Endometriosis affects all stages of IVF, from ovarian stimulation to implantation; may cause resistance to treatment and the need to administer higher doses of medication.
There is also an increased risk of infection after ovarian puncture, especially if endometriosis outbreaks are intercepted. Antibiotics are administered prophylactically in this case.
Outstanding results have positioned us among the best performing fertility clinics in the world. We obtained spectacular results with new technologies and we reported the conception of the first child in the country from vitrified blastocyst.
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Gold Star Families Memorial to Honor Lost Service Members Ahead of Sept 11 Anniversary
Jessica Bringe | KIMT3
MANTORVILLE, Minn. - Remembering the sacrifices made in the 20-year aftermath of 9/11 is one of the many goals of a new monument being erected in Mantorville.
It's the first-ever Gold Star Families Memorial Monument to be created in Minnesota.
Dave and Kay Swenson lost their son, CPL Curtis Michael Swenson on April 2, 2010, in Afghanistan.
Kay recalled, "Curtis was 12-years-old during 9/11 when the towers were struck and I didn't know that that was going to be his fate at the time but I always go back to that date as kind of what really solidified his death."
"We're all suffering here too but it's going to get better," Dave added. "I mean all we can do is move forward and try to make our life a little better after this."
Now they're working to create a place for Gold Star families to honor the servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
Dave explained, "We've lost close to 2,500 service members in Afghanistan since 2001 and 4,500 in Iraq so that's what makes this so important. There are so many families out there that get to look at that and go, 'You know that kind of honors our family and our son or daughters.'"
Memorial co-chairman Scott Eggert was part of the Minnesota Patriot Guard that brought Curtis home.
"I would do anything to get Curt back, I can't," Scott said with tears in his eyes.
He hopes the memorial will remind Americans about the true meaning of sacrifice.
He added, "We'll be long gone and it will educate people on what this sacrifice is. We've forgotten that in this country. We need to get back to understanding what that sacrifice is."
It's a sacrifice Dave and Kay will live with for the rest of their lives and don't want others to forget.
"Keeping the sacrifice known as well," said Kay. "I think a lot of people, as well as 9/11, people forget. Their memories are short. So, I think as long there's good and evil in the world you're going to have war and you're going to have a need for things like this."
The monument looks to be a place where Gold Star families of all wars can come together and share their stories.
The hope is to have the Gold Start Memorial Monument completed by the spring of next year.
You can discover more about the monument by clicking here.


Seabrooke, L. (2006). Talking the Talk without Walking the Walk: Resolving the International Monetary Fund's Legitimacy Crisis. Paper presented at Crisis of International Legitimacy, Rockefeller Foundation Workshop, Bellagio, Italy.
Seabrooke, Leonard. / Talking the Talk without Walking the Walk : Resolving the International Monetary Fund's Legitimacy Crisis. Paper presented at Crisis of International Legitimacy, Rockefeller Foundation Workshop, Bellagio, Italy.
Seabrooke, L 2006, 'Talking the Talk without Walking the Walk: Resolving the International Monetary Fund's Legitimacy Crisis' Paper presented at, Bellagio, Italy, 08/05/2006 - 12/05/2006, .
Talking the Talk without Walking the Walk : Resolving the International Monetary Fund's Legitimacy Crisis. / Seabrooke, Leonard.
2006. Paper presented at Crisis of International Legitimacy, Rockefeller Foundation Workshop, Bellagio, Italy.
Seabrooke L. Talking the Talk without Walking the Walk: Resolving the International Monetary Fund's Legitimacy Crisis. 2006. Paper presented at Crisis of International Legitimacy, Rockefeller Foundation Workshop, Bellagio, Italy.


The #1 Danger in the American Diet – a toxin found in some of your favorite foods.
Why the "healthiest" foods in your diet could be making gas, bloating, cramping, and weight gain even worse.
How Dr. Gundry helped his own patients fight fatigue, weight gain, and poor health.
The groundbreaking results of Dr. Gundry's landmark 2013 study presented to the American Heart Association.
This powerful formula is designed to neutralize the effects of lectins – plant-based proteins that bind to your gut and damage your digestion and overall health. By protecting your body from lectins, you'll be able to support your digestive health, and even enjoy your favorite foods, pain free.


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Sunday, July 20th: Annual Ride for Independence motorcycle event to benefit Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation
Fidelco client SSgt Michael Malarsie, USAF (Ret) with his Fidelco Guide Dog "Xxon"
Heroes will again be honored at the fourth annual Ride for Independence to benefit the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation in Bloomfield, Connecticut on Sunday, July 20th. This family-friendly motorcycle fundraiser celebrates the freedom and independence that Fidelco Guide Dogs bring to men and women who are blind across North America, especially blinded military personnel.
The family-friendly event begins and ends at Fidelcos beautiful Bloomfield campus. Riders enjoy a scenic, police-escorted 50 mile route through the Farmington Valley and return to Fidelco for a gourmet barbeque lunch by Black Eyed Sallys, a live concert by the Southern rock band SHOVELHEAD and more. Non-riders are encouraged to attend to cheer on the riders and enjoy lunch, vendors, entertainment, on-site K-9 demonstrations and Fidelco puppy visits.
The 2014 Ride for Independence Grand Marshal is a blinded military hero and Fidelco client, Staff Sergeant Michael Malarsie, USAF (Ret). Malarsie was blinded in an IED attack while serving in Afghanistan in 2010. One year later, with his Fidelco Guide Dog Xxon leading the way, Michael returned to work as the only blind airman on active duty in the Air Force.
Fidelcos Field of Flags — a tribute featuring more than 500 American flags planted in honor of fallen military heroes, first responders, veterans and personal heroes — will be on display. For a $ 10 donation, a flag will be added to the Field of Flags on the day of the event or online at http://www.fidelco.org/honoryourheroes.
WHO: Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, blinded military hero SSgt Michael Malarsie (interviews available) WHAT: 2014 Ride for Independence motorcycle event to benefit Fidelco WHEN: Sunday, July 20, 2014; Registration 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; ride leaves at noon, lunch served at 1:30; K-9 demos all day Day-of registration: $ 40/bike (includes passenger) Non-rider: $ 15 each (includes lunch) WHERE: Fidelco, 103 Vision Way (formerly Old Iron Ore Road), Bloomfield, CT 06002 WHY: To support Fidelcos mission of promoting increased freedom and independence to men and women who are blind, especially blinded military personnel, by providing them the highest quality German Shepherd Guide Dogs
ABOUT SSGT MALARSIE: On January 3, 2010, in the remote mountains of Afghanistan, then-Senior Airman Michael Malarsie was blinded and severely wounded by a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) that killed four team members and blew him off a bridge. Blinded and broken, Michael stayed in the fight loading ammunition for his comrades. He was later awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for heroism on the battlefield.
Exactly one year later, following months of determined rehabilitation and painful facial surgeries, Michael was partnered with his Fidelco Guide Dog Xxon. Michael returned to active duty status as the only blind airman serving in the United States Air Force, leading a Wounded Airman Recovering Mentorship Program to help other wounded veterans transition to civilian life.
About Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Bloomfield, CT. Fidelco is an internationally accredited organization and an admired expert throughout the world for its highly valued German Shepherd Guide Dogs.
Each Fidelco Guide Dog takes two years, 15,000 hands-on hours and $ 45,000 to produce. They are given to clients at no cost. Fidelco provides 24/7 client support for the entire working life of its guide dogs typically 10 years. Fidelco relies solely on the generosity and financial support of individuals, foundations, corporations and civic organizations to help Share the Vision.
Fidelco has trained and placed over 1,350 German Shepherd Guide Dogs throughout North America in 41 states and five Canadian provinces. Fidelco pioneered In-Community Placement in the United States a process that allows all guide dog users to be trained in the communities where they live and work.
Fidelco also has placed hundreds of its German Shepherd Dogs with law enforcement agencies, first responders, search and rescue, and missing child recovery organizations to help protect our fellow citizens and keep our communities safe.
For more information, please visit http://www.fidelco.org or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/fidelcoguidedog
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Knicks' owner Dolan on Isiah Thomas: "I've always understood him"
By Kurt HelinOct 19, 2015, 5:15 PM EDT
I don't know about you, but if a "friend" of mine cost me $11.6 million dollars because he sexually harassed another one of my employees, that would pretty much end the friendship.
Not so with James Dolan and Isiah Thomas — as we covered earlier today, Dolan doesn't believe it.
Dolan believes his friend Thomas. Despite everything. The story of their continuing friendship is at the heart of a segment on HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" scheduled to air Tuesday night. In it Dolan makes some eyebrow-raising statements.
• "I think I've always understood him."
• Dolan says he has "a tremendous amount of respect" for Thomas' "skill and his talent."
"I don't know if I can explain it other than that there's something inside of both of us that's really quite similar: the tenacity, the stubbornness. Isiah's a guy who doesn't believe in his limitations, and I'm a guy who doesn't believe in his limitations."
• About those sexual harassment charges, a jury may have believed them but Dolan said he thinks Anucha Browne Sanders made up "a bunch" of the allegations against Thomas back in 2007. "I think a bunch of it she did, yes."
• Did Thomas understand how many fans were very upset when he — a man a jury found to have committed harassment — was put him in charge of the New York Liberty WNBA team? "We totally understood that, got it, accepted it. And not only accepted it, but respected their thoughts, their feelings around this issue."
Under Thomas, the Liberty were the top seed in the East and made it to the conference finals before losing. But winning is not the point, it's the optics. And how it brings Thomas and his voice back into Madison Square Garden, just down the hall from Dolan.
Set your DVRs for HBO on Tuesday night. Watch Dolan, then remember the real reason Phil Jackson is paid $12 million a year is to keep that owner at arm's length from any actual basketball decisions.


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How Rivetz Uses Your Smartphone to Secure Your Mobile Bitcoin Wallet
A security technology startup is aiming to challenge Apple Pay and other mobile payment solutions through a blend of hardware security and bitcoin.
Mar 3, 2015 at 8:05 p.m. UTC
Updated May 2, 2022 at 3:45 p.m. UTC
A security technology startup is aiming to grab a share of the growing mobile payments market through a blend of hardware-isolated security and bitcoin.
Rivetz develops software that, when released later this year, intends to leverage secure hardware environments embedded in Android-enabled smartphones to manage private keys for mobile bitcoin wallets. The company has partnered with several companies including mobile security firm Trustonic, identity computing solutions provider Intercede and BitPay.
The app will be available to users in the second quarter of this year, and according to Rivetz CEO Steven Sprague the project has garnered interest from several wallet providers including Mycelium and Breadwallet.
Sprague said that bitcoin's use as a mobile payment instrument has greater ramifications for the broader development of trusted computing and the Internet of Things. The company recently demoed its software solution at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The question of how bitcoin users protect the all-important private key is an old one. In a recent interview he said:
"Bitcoin has a huge challenge, which is how do I protect the private key? Trusted computing has spent $5bn on how do you protect the private key."
Securing mobile bitcoin
Rivetz's software acts as a second layer of security built into the phone itself. The app makes use of the Trustonic Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) – a hardware-isolated security platform built into millions of ARM-based Android devices – to protect users' bitcoin data and application integrity.
The app uses a Trusted User Interface (TUI) for secure PIN entry and display of the users' transaction details. The trusted UI allows the information to be securely configured by the end user and securely controlled by the TEE environment, by verifying the user interface of a mobile device.
When a user makes a transaction, a summary of the transaction is displayed in a new window by the TEE, ensuring that any non-secure applications stored in the rich OS environment cannot tamper with the payment details.
As a user experience, Rivetz presents another authorization layer on top of the steps included in whatever bitcoin wallet is being used. The user can review the address, amount and transaction fee prior to signing the transaction.
Advancing payments
Sprague told CoinDesk that the goal of Rivetz was to appeal to a wide audience of bitcoin users by supporting a full range of wallet partners.
"The technology will also support multi-sig and hierarchical-deterministic wallets in the near future," he added.
Sprague argued that bitcoin as a technology has the potential to reshape how people pay using trusted devices, as well as solve problems that have existed in the digital payments space for years.
"Hacking money is a really, really, really well-refined science," he said. "It's not just being developed because bitcoin started. Hackers have been stealing money for a long time."
The Internet of trust
The idea of securing transactions extends beyond the payment of money, said Sprague, noting that trust plays a central role in the concept of the Internet of Things.
Companies like IBM have drawn from the example of a smart house filled with interconnected appliances when describing how the bitcoin protocol could be used to facilitate device-to-device communication.
According to Sprague, homeowners who use their mobiles device to instruct their smart appliances will need the means to make sure that those appliances are receiving transactions from the proper source, noting:
"How do I assure that the washing machine is authorized? What if it's a rogue operator taking over a machine, or some guy who wants to trade soap futures and wants a million washing machines to order too much soap?"
If and when devices come to be used as security mechanisms for the home, Sprague added, owners need a means to identify themselves securely.
"It's not just about access," he said.
Yessi Bello Perez contributed reporting.
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Legal is a complex sector of high intensity and a range of sensitive areas. As such, our many clients from within the legal field put their trust in us to deliver advertising campaigns that are appropriate, professional and capable of delivering results.
As you can see by the scope of our work within legal services, we are deemed to be trustworthy by experienced, knowledgeable people within the field.
We hold the whole team in high regard. Their effectiveness, attention to detail and levels of support are second to none!
Vickie Butterworth - she's all over our business like a rash and always has our best interests at heart. The service from the rest of her team is also of the highest quality.
Dean the director exceeded all expectations when coming to the planning and execution of our marketing project and was always on hand to react to our needs and desires at all cost.
Since the day we started using the agency's services Nic has gone out of her way to ensure that we get value for money regardless of the work that entails.
Last summer, we worked with The Village Hotel Group and launched seasonal campaigns with the aim of developing brand awareness while also increasing their weekend-break bedroom occupancy.
Playing the biggest hits from the last 15 years, Key 103 promises upbeat songs to sing along to; boasting a music playlist as deep as it is broad, the station's connection to its home city of Manchester remains unrivalled.
Launched in 2014, men's fashion and lifestyle brand, The Couture Club was born out of a love for street style and for its home city, Manchester. With a focus on individuality and finesse, The Couture Club were looking to create an original, Manchester based campaign to unveil their new SS17 collection.