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Time seemed to freeze around us.
The Joker's kiss was everything I'd ever imagined, and at the same time, nothing I'd ever felt. It was almost as if he'd sucked the air right out of my lungs with the first graze of his lips, because I felt so lightheaded while he kissed me that I feared for a second I might float right out of the room.
The shock of his actions rendered me completely unresponsive to the kiss at first, however, and the only thing I could do at that moment was to stare with my eyes wide open. The Joker had his eyes closed, but when he didn't feel me respond, he increased the intensity of the kiss by pressing his lips harder on mine, and shoving one hand in my hair to keep me in place.
THAT got a reaction out of me. I couldn't fight the low mewl that escaped my lips, and the noise allowed his tongue to slip between my lips and explore my mouth. To my surprise, he tasted somewhat sweet as his tongue swept around inside. Finally, my eyes fluttered shut from the sensation, and that's when I began to kiss him back.
My sudden responsiveness made the Joker growl and snake his free arm around my waist, pulling my body flush against his so that I could feel every inch of muscle through his expensive deep black tux, as well as the growing hardness between his legs.
Our lips melted together perfectly as we moved in sync and our tongues battled for dominance. The weeks of temptations and innuendos and barely repressed sexual desire came boiling to the surface through our lips, and the passion of it all absolutely swept me away.
The kiss made me see bursts of light behind my eyelids, and in the back of my mind, I realized that I couldn't for the life of me, remember my name, or anything else for that matter, because apparently, my brain was melting. I couldn't get over how good it felt; I didn't know that kisses could actually make my knees weak and my heart threaten to leap out of my chest. THIS is what all the romantic novels and smutty books that Roxanne was obsessed with were writing about. THIS is kissing.
The duration of the kiss felt like hours to me, when in reality it was just enough time for every single guest in the room to get over their initial shock. I had time to process a dark energy approaching me from behind before a pair of strong hands grabbed me by my waist, and threw me down hard on the granite-tiled floors.
Nothing would have worked better to shock me out of my hazy state of mind short of dousing my entire body with cold-water shot from a fire hose. I then raised my head and turned just in time to see the Joker get cold-clocked by none other than Bruce Wayne.
The look in Bruce's eyes were nothing short of feral as he glared ferociously at the man I'd been kissing passionately not three seconds prior.
It was then that I'd noticed the room had been completely silent throughout the entire ordeal. Every guest was looking on as if they'd just received box-tickets to the world's most highly anticipated event. The women all collectively gasped at the sight of Bruce punching the Joker, and the men flinched.
Bruce stood over the Joker who was clutching his chin, a large, triumphant, unmistakably sleazy grin plastered onto his face. Bruce's body was coiled tightly with barely restrained fury, and I could even see his fists shaking with adrenaline.
"No, no, no no, Katherine, YOU IDIOT. What the FUCK have you done?!" I berated myself. I desperately urged the world to stop spinning and my limbs to quit imitating heated jell-o because I had to do something to fix this, dammit!
My head snapped back to the scene between Bruce Wayne and the Joker when I heard everyone in the room gasp and shriek with terror.
The Joker was now fully smiling up at Bruce, his hands no longer covering his face, and I, just like everyone in the room saw the absolute last thing we wished to see.
Whatever make-up the Joker had used to camouflage his scars were wiped off and smudged all about his face, revealing the hideous marks trailing from the corner of his lips almost to his ears. And the fact that the Joker was smiling so wildly only emphasized his scars, and strained the stitched skin that held his smile together.
"Ha, Ha, Ha," The Joker said, smile still in place. "Hee hee. Oh ho, ho, Ohhhh, Brucey-boy . . . why the uh, long face?" The Joker mocked. He seemed entirely unfazed by the fact the Bruce looked murderous.
Bruce's fists were clenched even tighter. "You like taking advantage of innocent women, Joker?" Bruce sneered. "Or should I call you Jack?"
The Joker raised an eyebrow at that, glanced at me still lying on the floor, struggling to regain my equilibrium, and then glanced back at Bruce, his grin expanding further as his eyebrows furrowed.
"Hmm, strange. I don't appear to recall any uh, resistance when I kissed your date there, Mister Wayne. How interesting that you say that, though. Maybe you and I aren't referring to the same kiss . . ." The Joker paused, and relished in the twitching of Bruce's mouth the more he spoke.
"This like watching the countdown of a ticking time-bomb," I thought to myself as I observed their conversation. "If I could just get myself up on my elbows, I could . . ."
"But then again, YOU weren't the one kissing her"
"AGH!" I wailed, falling back to the cold floor. My right shoulder throbbed painfully and I realized that when I fell it must have been dislocated.
The sound of my agonized wail caused every head in the room to turn to look at me. Bruce however, was the only one who actually paused and lost his guard when I screamed. The Joker, ever the opportunist, took advantage of Bruce's momentary lapse of focus, and tried to kick Bruce's feet out from under him.
Bruce didn't turn in time to dodge the onslaught, but he did manage to impressively cushion the blow by spinning mid-air to land on his hands instead of his back. The Joker got up quickly and made a move to kick Bruce in the ribs. Bruce caught the Joker's foot, however, jumped up to his feet, and shoved the Joker backwards.
The Joker then began to laugh, and pulled out a knife from a secret pocket within his tux.
"You know." He growled, licking his lips. " You fight awfully well for a pampered rich kid."
Bruce pulled up his fists to his body in a boxing position. "Yeah, well. I've picked up a few tricks."
The Joker grinned. "Ooh. I do like tricks." He purred. He glanced to the side of the room where I sat, before looking back at Bruce.
"Speaking of tricks . . ." The Joker's hand shot in and out of his inner tuxedo pocket with lightning speed as he pulled out a handful of pellet-sized balls. The joker burst out into his signature laughed as he tossed the balls into the air.
The room was filled with panic as the balls exploded on the floor, and smoke billowed up from each small pellet as the room filled with dark gray smoke. People began screaming and scrambling to find the exit before some terrible catastrophe went down.
But before the smoke could obscure Bruce's vision of the Joker, he launched himself at the clown and tackled him to the floor.
Bruce straddled the Joker and reared back his arm to unleash a series of blows to the Joker's face.
Finally, Bruce stopped and grabbed a handful of the Joker's tuxedo, forcing the Joker's face up.
"Cute trick, but did you really think that it would succeed in distracting me?"
The Joker's eyes rolled in his head for a few moments before he began to laugh. He looked at Bruce, and smiled.
"Who said anything about distracting you?"
Throughout the entire ordeal, I had been clutching my arm to my body and struggling to regain my balance. Finally, the sight of the Bruce attacking the Joker forced enough adrenaline through my veins to allow me to stand up with minimal difficulty.
"Oh, God." I thought desperately. "Bruce is going to get hurt, I need to get"
My thoughts were interrupted as two cloaked, masked figures flocked each side of my body and grabbed me by my arms.
I screamed as the masked figures then proceeded to manhandle me and force me in some direction, away from Bruce and the Joker.
I tried kicking away from them with everything I had; I was using my arms, my legs, my feet, my head; anything and everything I had. Hot, and severe pain shot through me when my struggling only served to dislocate my arm further. Any movement I then made caused tears to well up in my eyes and a scream to rip from my lips. I had no choice but to allow the figures to lead me away as my right shoulder throbbed angrily for fear that I would pass out from the pain.
Bruce heard me scream and reflexively turned in the direction of the sound. The Joker's legs then came up around Bruce's torso and the Joker used Bruce as leverage to swing his entire body up and pin Bruce to the floor, sharp little knife still in hand.
"Oh, Brucey, Brucey, Brucey. Such amateur-like behavior . . ." The Joker scolded. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you to uh, stay away from women?" The Joker then pretended to pause before gasping dramatically.
"OH, that's right! Your mommy was murdered!" The Joker laughed hysterically, and Bruce growled as he fought to free himself from the Joker's hold.
"Whoa! Hold on there, big boy," The Joker said, grabbing Bruce and slamming his head on the hard floor. There a small knife still poised in the Joker's hand, and he pressed it against Bruce's throat.
Bruce coughed and glared up at the Joker. "And what about you?" Bruce asked.
The Joker tilted his head. "And uh, what about me?"
"You don't usually go around dressed up in your Sunday best and kiss other people's dates." Bruce stated. There was a steel glint in Bruce's eyes as he remembered the kiss.
The Joker seemed to be remembering it too, because a slow grin crept up one of the corners of the joker's mouth.
"Hmm . . . and uh, why don't I do that again?"
Bruce smirked. "You like her."
All signs of amusement vanished from the Joker's face as he stared into the Brown eyes of Bruce Wayne. Bruce's smirk grew.
The Joker scoffed, and that scoff then turned to laughter.
"Oh, Bruce. Grasping for straws now, are we?"
"You LIKE her, don't you?" Bruce accused. "That's why you kidnapped her and that's why you kissed her."
The Joker licked his lips and his eyes narrowed in a rare expression of genuine fury. "You're treading on veeeeery thin ice, Mister Wayne . . ."
"How does it feel, Jack?" Bruce said, the Joker flinched at the use of that name. "How does it feel to be weak?"
With that, Bruce forced his head up and it made contact with the Joker's nose with a sickening crack. Bruce then used his leg to land a blow to the Joker's ribs, effectively forcing the air from the Joker's lungs.
The Joker kneeled on the floor, clutching his ribs, and wheezed, trying to get the air back in his lungs.
Bruce took this opportunity to get to his feet.
"You see, Joker," Bruce began, not sparing the gasping clown a glance. "The thing about love . . . is that it leaves you vulnerable; It makes you human." Bruce said human like one would say cockroach. "You can't even defeat a 'pampered playboy' like me, and you know why?"
Bruce turned around to face the Joker and deliver the final blow only to see him pull the trigger.
A loud gunshot reverberated within the walls of the elegant dining hall.
There was no sound from either man save for the Joker's soft wheezing as he clutched the rifle gun in his left hand.
Bruce touched the small hole in his suit with his right hand, before collapsing to the floor.
A few moments went by before the Joker finally had enough oxygen to pull himself up from the marble floor, and get to his feet. He staggered forward, slowly heading towards Bruce's body.
Without a second glance, the Joker picked up his feet a bit more, hurried past Bruce, and headed to the door. The joker leaned on it heavily, before chuckling quietly to himself.
"You know what's funny, Brucey?" The Joker asked, a smile crawling across his face. "I've never been referred to as a . . . human."
With that, the Joker exited the room with Bruce still facedown on the floor; the sound of the heavy mahogany doors closing echoing behind him.
I winced and hissed loudly as the goons continued to drag me around, and the pain was starting to grow unbearable.
I had no idea why the goons were leading me UP the stairs to the top of the building. It didn't look like the plan was to necessarily LEAVE the building, and I wondered why, but I was in much too much pain to be concerning myself with it at that moment.
My momentary lapse of focus caused me to slip on one of the infinite stairs, and the goon holding my injured arm pulled me up, exacerbating my pain to the point where I couldn't stop myself from crying out loudly.
"AY! Robbie! Be a bit more careful, dipshit!" The other goon hissed angrily. "She's the boss' so don't break her."
'Robbie' scoffed indignantly. "The bitch fell, what am I s'posed to do? Fly her up the stairs?"
"Stop bein' a smartass. You wanna piss off the boss?"
Robbie didn't answer.
"That's what I thought. Now shut up and stop bein' an asshole."
I think that Robbie must've muttered something about the goon's 'mama' under his breath, but it was ignored and we continued up the stairs.
The persistent throbbing in my arm died down to a low thrum of pain by the time we reached the roof of the building, yet I couldn't risk injuring it more by trying to escape the two goon's iron-like grips.
The goon on my left open the heavy door and shouldered his way through, pulling me behind him by yanking on my uninjured arm. When all three of us were through the door and to the roof, the goons started pushing me forward.
My eyes widened dramatically, and I opened my mouth to yell out or scream when I realized that we were approaching the edge of the roof.
The height of the building was DEFINITELY enough to kill someone three times over, so there was no hope of getting out of THAT alive.
THEN I began to pull and writhe and twist out of the goon's grips, ignoring the sharp, white-hot pains in my right arm.
The goons didn't budge, though, and they only continued to pull my body at the same pace.
My eyes were closed during the struggle, however. So I failed to notice the dark green and purple couch near the edge of the roof and shrieked at the top of my lungs when the two large goons suddenly flung my body in the air, only to land safely on the furniture.
My head was spinning and my breath was coming out in short gasps as I filled my lungs with the air that had whooshed out suddenly from screaming so loudly. It was then that I absorbed the reality that I had not been flung off the roof and sent to my inevitable death, but was seated within a somewhat strangely . . . casual living room setting?
Alongside the green chair was a deep purple loveseat and a small brown coffee table resting upon a giant red-spotted white rug.
To say that I was confused would be an understatement. Curiously I glanced at the two goons who stood a few feet apart from one another with their hands behind their backs and their legs firmly shoulder-width apart.
They said nothing, nor did they even grace me with a look as I sat there awkwardly.
Since it appeared that I would be waiting for a moment, my mind wandered in a direction that I truly resisted.
The Joker.
The Kiss.
The Fight.
I stood up straighter as the hairs on my arms rose. Fear and anxiety bubbled in my stomach as I contemplated what might be happening to Bruce at the hands of the Joker. Was there any chance that he'd survive the encounter, or would his name be added to the exceedingly large list of casualties at the hands of that . . . maniac?
I had no doubt in my mind that Bruce would be harmed, though. With literally nothing and no one to defend him, the best that Bruce could hope for would be to get knocked unconscious and left relatively alive.
With a tinge of regret, I doubted that Bruce would be able to find it in his heart to forgive me for that kiss, though.
"What did you possibly expect letting THE JOKER, kiss you like that?" I asked myself.
There was a split second of denial. A moment where I fought against the truth; that I, Katherine Quinzel, let myself fall prey to the Joker's lips.
But in my heart, I knew that I honestly just couldn't help myself. The act was just so forbidden and taboo and sinfulMy mind simply short-circuited and I was helpless against it all. The feeling was like nothing else I'd ever felt. Not with Bruce, and not even with my first, Malcolm. I've never had every nerve in my body simply catch on fire from the sheer intensity of just one kiss.
And I let him kiss me.
But what does this mean, exactly? Against all odds, do I truly hold feelings for the Joker?
I wasn't aware of the amount of time that had passed before my contemplations were once again interrupted as a loud BANG erupted from the other side of the roof.
My head swiveled around, and my eyes instantly locked with the almost glowing onyx pools of hate that were the Joker's eyes.
His face twisted into the nastiest snarl, and at that moment he looked like a demon from hell, and growled furiously.
"Jesus, who THE FUCK'S idea was it to make these buildings so GODDAMN TALL, with so many fucking STAIRS?" The Joker fumed.
His chest was quickly rising and falling, and his right hand clutched his torso tightly as he began to stagger over to where we all were.
No one was stupid enough to say anything about his injuries, though. And my heart dropped like lead into my stomach as I realized that he must've been injured fighting Bruce.
Whether or not my concern was aimed at the Joker, or at Bruce, I didn't want to think about.
The goons parted so that the Joker could walk over to the purple loveseat, where he fell unceremoniously into the chair.
He spent a good minute or so just breathing with his head craned up, staring blankly at the night sky before tilting his head to acknowledge my presence across from him.
He flung his arms wide open and gestured to the quaint little arrangement.
"Do you, uh, like the digs?" He asked.
I looked about the arrangement once more.
"It's . . . tasteful."
It was best to say very little in the moments where the Joker's mood couldn't be determined.
The Joker scoffed and lowered his arms. "Yeah, What a uh, dumb question. Of course you like it! That couch is the only thing between you and thousands of feet of . . . no-thing."
I couldn't resist the urge as my head began to turn and I saw that the couch was, in fact, the only thing in between the roof and me.
'Is this how the Joker wants to kill me?' I thought morbidly as I slowly turned back around and met the Joker's eyes that were dancing with malice.
The Joker licked his lips. "You know, Kitty. I think it's been too long since you and I've had a little . . . heart-to-heart chat, dontcha think? I mean, look at you!" The Joker's eyes roamed slowly over my body and left a trail of goosebumps everywhere that his eyes met my exposed skin. "You landed yourself the most highly desired date in the city, AND you uh, made out with Gotham's most notorious criminalall in . . . one day!"
The Joker smiled. "You must be feeling quite . . . special, hmm?"
My lips curled sarcastically. "I'm not quite sure about the choice of the word 'special' . . ."
The Joker grinned before looking away mock-thoughtfully.
"Well now that just uh, that won't do, now will it, Miss Quinzel? Hmm . . ." The Joker looked back up at me, and this time, his onyx eyes searched directly into my hazel ones.
"See, ordinarily, I'd ask you to uh, put in your two cents, but you seem to be a bit . . . distracted . . ." The Joker licked his lips without breaking eye contact with me.
"Now, uh, why. Would. THAT. BE, hmm?" The Joker asked with a devious smirk. He stood up slowly from the purple loveseat and began to saunter over to where I sat on the green couch.
"What could have possibly dragged your attention away from this, uh, mysterious and dastardly-handsome mad-man, Kitty?" The Joker flopped down right next to me on the deep green couch, and leaned in so that our faces were only about a foot apart.
"I'm not"
"Shh . . ." The Joker said, placing his purple-gloved index finger on my lips. "Don't lie to me Kitty, you KNOW I don't like liars . . ."
I blinked rapidly. 'He's going to do it again.' I thought, excitement bubbling up from my stomach. 'He's going to kiss me again, and help me, God, I'm going to let him.'
He was closing the distance between us until our lips were literally inches apart, and I fought. I fought against my feelings. I didn't want the butterflies to be fluttering in my stomach, or for the warmth to spread inside me. I didn't want my muscles to relax around him, or to be pulled so deeply by him.
I wanted none of it, yet even with every inch of my willpower, my body would not obey my commands, and soon I felt my eyelids begin to flutter shut as I waited for the electric jolt that resulted from such contact.
"Are you worried about Bruce?"
My eyes snapped open and my mind was shocked into alertness.
"Whawait, wha" I spluttered, trying to make sense of the unexpected question.
The joker's eyes were burning holes into my skull with the sheer intensity of his gaze.
"I saw you with him, kitty." The Joker growled furiously. "The way you laughed with him, the way he fucked you with his eyes . . . I saw you giggle and flirt, as the playboy took my things."
The Joker's hands shot out and grabbed my face tightly, tangling themselves in my hair and completely messing it up.
"Joker," I pleaded, fear polluting my mindI couldn't get any words out.
"YOU BELONG TO ME!" The Joker roared. His chest rose and fell and he was heaving angrily. "He CAN'T touch you because you ARE MINE!"
With that, the Joker crushed his lips to mine. This kiss was NOTHING like the first one. Everything was so raw and passionate. I tasted blood in my mouth as I felt the Joker nip and bite my lips ferociously before using his tongue to lick the injuries.
I whimpered at the pain and put my hands against his face to try and push him away from me.
Something wasn't right. The Joker had never acted this way with me. He was rough and violent, but almost . . . crazed. Desperate even.
The Joker growled when I almost succeeded in pushing his face away. He then removed one hand from my hair to snake his arm around my waist and pull me to him tightly, making me extremely uncomfortable because I was leaning really far back in his arms.
"MINE." The Joker growled against my lips, making my face flush and my heart race.
I didn't know what to do. He was everywhere. I could feel every inch of his body, regardless of all the clothes he was wearing, and the scent of gunpowder and something spicy that coated his body threatened to consume me.
When his tongue finally swept into my mouth, I moaned loudly. All of these emotions, these feelings, my senses, EVERYTHING was too much.
I couldn't handle what I was doing. How many people I was betraying.
People like Bruce.
My eyes shot open, and with a strength I didn't posses, I shoved the Joker away from my face and down onto the couch.
I was panting and heaving, and my entire body was coiled, and ready to, if necessary, fight.
But the Joker just laid there where he fell, with his eyes wide open, panting as heavily as I was. He just looked so . . . disoriented. He stared up at the night sky and blinked from time to time.
I realized I'd completely forgotten about the goons' presence on the roof with us, but when I looked around it seemed as if they'd left sometime ago while the Joker and I were . . . doing what we were doing.
I had no clue as to what I might've been expected to do in that moment. The Joker wasn't saying anything. I wasn't saying anything, and anyone could've cut the tension with a fucking knife.
After a few minutes of dead silence, the Joker let out a small chuckle.
The sound instantly put me on even higher alert.
The chuckle was soon joined by another, and then another, until finally, the joker dissolved into a borderline crying fit of laughter.
"Look at me!" he exclaimed, flinging his left arm to cover his eyes. "I'm weak! The playboy . . . that asshole was right. She's made me weak . . ."
I had no idea what he was talking about, or whom the joker was referring to, but the mention of Bruce sent a sharp pang in my heart.
My hands began to shake, and I looked down at the floor.
"Is he alive?" I asked quietly.
The Joker snorted crudely. "Not unless the poor bastard's immune to bullets."
Moisture began to collect in my eyes as the numbness began to spread. The Joker's words couldn't be clearer: Brice is dead. I killed him.
Bruce is dead, and it's my fault.
My fault.
MY fault.
I'm responsible for the death of the man that rescued me, and allowed me a place in his home. Oh God, Alfred, heI killed Bruce and I
The tears began to fall in earnest now. There was nothing I could do about this. I KILLED A MAN all because of my deceptions.
Will Roxanne ever be able to look at me the same way?
I sniffled.
Huge mistake. The Joker flung himself up into sitting position so quickly that I actually screamed.
The Joker looked disgusted. His face with curled with repulsion, and he regarded me with so much hate that I flinched away.
"You're . . . crying?"
I didn't respond. I couldn't look at him, and I still couldn't stop the tears.
There was a pause.
"Did you love him?" The Joker asked me. His voice was quiet, and seemingly calm. And he sounded so sane in that moment that I managed to glance up at his face, which was now a mask of indifference.
Did I love Bruce?
I admired his power and charm and way with people, as well as his strength that emerged from the death of his family.
I liked the way he smiled, or how he would say my name. I felt a great debt to him for giving my best friend and me a place to stay in our time of need. I liked his sense of humor, his sense of style, the almost mocking-quality to his voice . . . but did that mean I loved him?
"No." I said, just as the thought crossed my mind. I didn't love Bruce. I couldn't love him.
I couldn't love Bruce because I was already in love with the Joker.


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COLUMBIA — Missouri kicker Andrew Baggett admits he was nervous before the Tigers' first football game of 2012 on Saturday.
But as the game wore on, the redshirt freshman who narrowly beat out senior punter Trey Barrow for the place-kicking job, said he felt good.
Baggett, a 6-foot-2 kicker from Lee's Summit says his right leg, the one he kicks with, is shorter than his left. He's not exactly sure why, but thinks it might be a result of taking a hard kick to the shin while playing soccer in high school.
After coming to Missouri, Baggett realized his right leg was an inch and a half shorter after he had trouble doing squats while working out. He was told by trainers that his hips had adjusted, making his legs uneven by about a half inch. For that, the athletic department gave him lifts to wear on the bottom of his right shoes.
Now Baggett says he can squat 500 pounds, 185 pounds more than he could before.
But Baggett did not get to test his leg much in Saturday's game. His work consisted of nine extra point attempts. He missed one of the nine.
"It was disappointing that he missed that one PAT," said David Yost, Missouri's offensive coordinator. "As a young player, you've got to learn that you've got to be ready to go at all times. You've got to be all focused, your team's counting on you. You can't have that happen because in a tight game that could be crucial."
When Missouri plays Georgia on Saturday, extra points will be much more meaningful than they were in the Tigers' 62-10 win Saturday over Southeastern Louisiana.
Field goals could be even more important. Baggett did not even attempt a field goal in the game Saturday. The kicking team lined up for a 41-yarder in the second quarter, before a false start penalty pushed them back 5 yards. Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel then changed his mind and sent the offense back on the field to go for it on fourth-and-9.
"We always go in with the yardage that we're going to kick," Pinkel said. "That's all planned. We make that decision Thursday morning."
Pinkel said that he doesn't discuss the length they choose, but based on that play, the distance for the game against Southeastern Louisiana was somewhere between 42 and 46 yards.
Missouri passed up long field goal attempts three other times in the game, though one was the last play of the game when the Tigers converted on fourth-and-1 to run out the clock.
The two other times, Missouri passed up kicks of 51 and 49 yards to go for it on fourth down.
"I know the coaches were trying to help me," Baggett said. "They want me to make my first field goal. It's kinda something important to kickers."
Baggett, who made a 51-yarder during pregame warmups, said the coaching staff just wanted to be safe. He said that the rain and poor weather conditions were factors in the decisions as well.
So Baggett will have to wait at least until Saturday before attempting his first field goal. Until then, he will have to try to get himself mentally ready.
"I just kind of reassure myself, you know," Baggett said. "Tell yourself that, 'You're fine. You don't need to try to kill it. It's not that far. You can make it. You're here for a reason.'"
Yost said he hopes Baggett will continue to get better as the season goes on, but acknowledged that the kicker could still be replaced quickly, unlike former Missouri kicker Grant Ressel, who earned the coaches trust after strong performances in his sophomore and junior years.
"He (Ressel) had a pretty good leash before we were gonna start talking about having somebody else kick," Yost(cq) said. "Andrew understands that. All we can focus on right now is the next kick he has, and go out and do the best he can."
Baggett says he watches a lot of football and often critiques the kickers in each game. This Saturday, all eyes will be on him if the Tigers need a field goal late in the game against Georgia.
Supervising editor is Grant Hodder.

subset: commoncrawl


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Happy Birthday Frei Otto!
Frei Otto, German architect and structural engineer turns 89 today. The 1972 Munich Olympic Stadium is perhaps his best known work. The pioneering tensile structure, which stood in considerable contrast to the strict, authoritarian stadium that was its predecessor, was meant to present a different, more compassionate face for Germany. Today, Frei Otto is still active in practice, working alongside architects such as Pritzker prize winner Shigeru Ban on the Japanese Pavilion at Expo 2000. Thanks for your contributions and Happy Birthday Mr. Otto!


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Zombies in West Yorkshire Travel Ad
I've had a lot of fun creating the sound design for an ad campaign for MCard, which is being introduced to public transport in West Yorkshire, UK. "It's so easy a zombie could use it" is the concept and it's prompted a few of the most fun and creative dialogue recording sessions I've had! A surround sound 30sec trailer is being shown in cinemas across West Yorkshire, which points people to a 4min version on the FaceBook page. It was fantastic to collaborate with Thomas E. Roach on the 5.1 mixing and it was very exciting to hear it all finalised at the Dolby Atmos equipped dubbing theatre at Sound Firm studios in Melbourne. I'm incredibly grateful to both - they did an amazing job!
I have recently finished the score for a short film called Junana by director Chantal Bertalanffy. Spoken in mainly French, but also Japanese and a little English (plus filmed in Japan). The score takes a little influence from composers such as Joe Hisaishi, Tan Dun and Yoko Kanno, and was kept fairly minimal. This stripped back approach really identifies with the main character who is beautiful and curious, though also is yet to find a direction in life, and is young, quiet and naive. The extremely talented Lily Thornton played cello beautifully, bringing the score to life and helping us identify with the main character.
Space Trash Men
It was a pleasure to help out director Ben Childs and the team for the upcoming short film The Space Trash Men. The earth is full of trash and someone has to haul it out into space. I designed all sorts of alarms, beeps and blips to give the spaceship some character. Currently the film is in post-production.
Ben and the team impressively gathered together all the funds they needed through PledgeMe, and you can follow on Twitter @spacetrashmovie.
I am very pleased to announce that a selection of my tracks have been added to Syncbubble. Founded by Simon Elms at Eclectic (London), Syncbubble allows you to search for tracks by tempo, genre, mood and much more, plus audition tracks against your uploaded footage and share the results. It includes a vast array of fantastic music by Eclectic, plus music by artists such as Alexandre Desplat [Kings Speech, Fantastic Mr. Fox], Cliff Martinez [Drive] and Clint Mansell [Filth]. Find out all about Syncbubble here.
Cycle Cities - Eco and Fit
Shortly after completing music and sound design for the first Cycle Cities animation by the very talented Natasha Tonkin and Yeshen Venema (see below), a further two thirty second ads were commissioned. The ads are entitled Cycle Eco and Cycle Fit. The brief was simply to keep with the same style and instrumentation - Natasha had great confidence in me and gave me free reign to write what I saw fit which was fantastic. After just a couple of emails between us and a bit of tweaking to the initial sketch we had something we were both really happy with that could be refined and detailed to create what you hear. You can follow Cycle Cities on Twitter @CycleCitiesEU and also @thepandahorse, @yeshandtash.
Workhouse Music
I am thrilled to have joined the team at Workhouse studios, London, assisting in arranging tracks. Bear Grylls has been back with his rapids swimming, cliff climbing antics in Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell on the Discovery Channel, which I have worked on, and I am currently part of the team writing music under the Workhouse umbrella for a prime time show to be broadcast on Channel 4.
From Workhouse Music website:
"With hundreds of hours of prime-time, award-winning TV behind them, Workhouse brings together some of the UK's most successful and in-demand composers. Coupled with an immense on-site pool of talent, including hit pop and dance producers, world-class musicians, programmers and orchestrators."
Cycle Cities
Natasha Tonkin of Pandahorse has directed and animated this promotional video for Cycle Cities, for which I thoroughly enjoyed composing the music and creating sound design. Cycle Cities spans several cities across Europe and this was commissioned by the London Borough of Merton as a project partner to help promote the benefits of cycling rather than driving. They loved it so much they asked for two more 30 second animations, which will be online shortly. Follow on Twitter @CycleCitiesEU.
This was a short film made in collaboration with AnOthermag.com and COS stores in celebration of Frame at Frieze Art Fair 2012. Music and sound design were created for this project. The split screen presents us with the world of design and fashion meeting art.
I jumped at the chance to work with the Live Film Orchestra on this one. The idea of creating sound for the film without using the actual notes was a challenge, but one I was excited to take on and bring the film to life with all the "non-musical" sounds musicians make whilst playing. It presents a striking message - what would film be without music?
A Walk To London
A short animation by Amber Gao and her team which was commissioned by the London Transport Museum. Music by Charles Mauleverer and sound design by myself. Really great fun to work in that cartoon context and it went down very well at the Museum in 2012.
About Rob
Rob Ashbridge is a composer and sound designer working in the media industry, currently based in Melbourne.
Recent work includes writing music for prime time television shows with Workhouse studios in London, including The Taste (Channel 4) and Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell (Discovery Channel), sound and mixing for NSPCC advert, plus composing music and creating sound design for promo animations for Cycle Cities, a scheme known across several cities in Europe. Other projects include music for fashion store COS and sound design for the LFO.
Back in Melbourne after spending the new year in UK...getting back into projects and meeting new people!


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I have a couple of extra tickets for tonights game let me know if you are interested.
I am leaving and wont be able to check again before the game so if you want the tickets I will leave them at the main entrance with one of the security.
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What does ABG mean in Gaming?
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#1 97L will be a threat this weekend.07-21-2010, 07:02 AM
I'm a member over at WeatherUnderground and though Masters is a GW believer, he's a pretty good weather guy. :D Looks like we are in for some heavy rain and some wind.
May the FORCE be with you!
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Radical history.
In Israel's war of independence in 1948, American Communists were deeply involved in the covert shipment of arms to the new state of Israel, and Communists were prominent among those Americans wounded or killed in battles protecting Israel from Arab attack. How do we know this? It says so in a standard reference book found in hundreds of American libraries. The Encyclopedia of the American Left, published by Oxford University Press, was selected by Choice and Library Journal as one of the ten best reference books published in 1990. It sold so well that a second edition appeared in 1998. Reference books are expected to summarize the scholarly consensus and to present reliable information. In fact these claims about the role of American Communists in Israel's founding, made in the second edition, have no basis whatsoever in any historical literature. Yet this and other distortions in this reference work have gone unchallenged by the historical profession.This last year has not been good for the reputation of American historians. The first exhibit: Joseph Ellis, a professor at Mount Holyoke College, winner of a National Book Award for his biography of Thomas Jefferson and the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers. The Boston Globe discovered that, contrary to what he told his classes and claimed in interviews, Ellis had never fought in Vietnam, worked in the civil rights movement in Mississippi, or even been a high-school football hero. Embarrassed by revelations that Ellis had lied to his students, Mount Holyoke after some hesitation suspended him for a year without pay and lifted his endowed chair.
Ellis's classroom transgressions were bad enough, but at least no evidence has come forward regarding irregularities in his books and scholarly works. But not long after Ellis had been identified as a fantasist, the best-selling author and historian Stephen Ambrose was exposed as a plagiarist. Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard noted the disturbing similarity between passages in The Wild Blue, his popular account of B-29 combat missions over Europe, and a previously published book, Thomas Childers's Wings of Morning. Sleuths quickly unearthed four additional Ambrose books with substantial borrowing from other writers dating back to 1975. Coming just weeks after the considerable success of the World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers" based on his book, the charges received considerable attention. Ambrose, a former professor at the University of New Orleans, admitted the unauthorized borrowing, explained that his books are researched and written by a team of employees, expressed mild remorse, and suggested that the plagiarism issue was something that academics took too seriously. His publisher did not seem overly concerned that its best-selling author repeatedly used other writers' words.
While journalists were scouring Ambrose's books, another high-profile scholar, Doris Kearns Goodwin, came under fire for the same offense. Formerly a professor of government at Harvard, the best-selling author of The Fitzgeralds and The Kennedys and a Pulitzer Prize winner for No Ordinary Time about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt still serves on the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, an institution that takes student plagiarism very seriously. Goodwin confessed to extensive, unattributed, and improper use of material and to making a private financial settlement to Lynne McTaggart, author of a biography of Kathleen Kennedy. Goodwin's embarrassment was compounded not only because she was forced to admit to additional acts of plagiarism in other books but also because she had previously publicly chastised Joe McGinness for improperly borrowing from her own work. She attributed the plagiarism to her sloppy note-taking methods. Goodwin stepped down from service as a commentator on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, but, despite calls from The Harvard Crimson for her removal, she remains on the Harvard Board.
The most serious recent charges of academic fraud, however, were leveled at the Emory University historian Michael Bellesiles. In 2000, reviewers hailed his Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture as a major work of scholarship destined to change the terms of the debate on firearms in American life. Bellesiles claimed that he had demonstrated that gun ownership was a far less common phenomenon in early American life than had been widely assumed, and his publisher advertised the book as a direct challenge to the National Rifle Association and its values. In addition to a glowing front-page review in The New York Times, Arming America was praised by academic historians and pundits and received the prestigious Bancroft Prize, awarded by Columbia University for the best book in American history. Within a year, however, disturbing questions about Bellesiles's use of sources and data began to emerge. Critics were unable to find not merely some of the documents he cited, but some of the document collections he had claimed to have examined. Skeptics also discovered he had not quoted accurately from records they did unearth, and they were unable to verify a number of his claims. Quantitative historians demonstrated that figures he had calculated about the percentages of colonists who owned guns were mathematically implausible and based on flawed sampling techniques. By the end of 2001, Emory University had undertaken an investigation to determine if he had committed fraud, and, if so, how he should be penalized.
The charges against Bellesiles are of a different magnitude than the sins of Ellis, Ambrose, and Goodwin. Whatever their culpability, none has been accused of inventing documents or deliberately misquoting or mischaracterizing historical evidence in the service of an ideological cause. But such actions, while certainly not common among historians, are, unfortunately, not once-in-a-blue-moon occurrences.
Paul Buhle is a faculty member in American Civilization at Brown University and one of the luminaries in the study of American radicalism. Like many of his colleagues in this area, he has impeccable radical credentials. He attended the University of Illinois, where he became a socialist and an activist in Students for a Democratic Society during the 1960s. At a brief stop-over at graduate school in Connecticut he started Radical America, a journal devoted to American history and popular culture, before arriving at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1967 for further graduate training. While his S.D.S. colleagues turned to violence and increasingly apocalyptic rhetoric, Buhle nurtured Radical America, which was supported by grants from left-wing foundations and devoted to "throwing monographs at an intellectually keen audience" instead of bombs.
Even before he received his Ph.D. in American history in 1975 for a dissertation entitled Marxism in the u.s. 1900-1940, Buhle had made a mark as a prominent figure among New Left historians. Since then he has written, co-authored, or edited at least eighteen books and innumerable articles. He writes for such journals as Radical History Review--a publication that plainly states it "rejects conventional notions of scholarly neutrality and `objectivity' and approaches history from an engaged, critical, political stance"--and contributes regularly to Tikkun. As the history profession has become increasingly politicized in recent decades, Buhle has increasingly written for more mainstream journals, including the prestigious Journal of American History, and has contributed to the Organization of American Historians' professional Newsletter. He founded and continues to direct the Oral History of the American Left at the Tamiment Library of New York University, an ambitious effort to develop an extensive archive of interviews with hundreds of radical activists. Along with his wife, his fellow Brown historian Mari Jo Buhle, a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant," and Dan Georgakas, Buhle co-edited the Encyclopedia of the American Left.
There is no reason why radical historians cannot do good history; one can disagree with the conclusions another historian has reached, dispute the significance he places on certain facts, or challenge the interpretive framework he uses, and still recognize that he has illuminated a problem, or uncovered new information, or challenged old preconceptions. Years ago, in Radical America, Buhle himself insisted that radical historians had to be scrupulous about their facts. Criticizing the discipline of history, he nonetheless praised many of its practitioners by noting: "The most important positive feature we see is that, through imposition of fairly rigorous standards of evidence, the profession has helped to produce a great mass of historical writings which, although they may often ask trivial questions, nevertheless provide data that is generally reliable."
Where he once gloried in standing on the margins of the historical profession, Buhle now claims to inhabit the middle of a broad stream. In a featured essay in The Newsletter, he wrote: "Every scholar has a perfect right to political and personal views: rigidly anti-Communist, Communist or (for the great majority of us) `other.'" Leave aside the less than perfect balance--anti-Communists are rigid while Communists are just, well, Communists. Focus instead on the suggestion that Paul Buhle works in the mainstream of some wide scholarly consensus that lies between the rigidities of anti-Communists and Communists. In fact, the span of acceptable politics in Buhle's worldview is far left of center. He is willing to put Stalin on the left as an extremist, but only if one agrees that Harry Truman is an extremist of the right. Writing in Radical History Review in 1994, Buhle judged Truman as "America's Stalin" and went on to declare, "when the judgment of the twentieth century's second half is made, every American president will be seen as a jerk. After Truman, Nixon yields only to Reagan--still another Truman heir--as the jerkiest of all."
Apart from the coarseness of the writing, how accurate is the radical history produced by Paul Buhle? A review of some sections of the Encyclopedia of the American Left shows that it is about as accurate as The Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Take the issue of the funding of the Communist Party, U.S.A. by the Soviet Union, by now about as established and uncontested a "fact" as one could imagine. (Among other evidence are the receipts signed by the party leader Gus Hall for millions of dollars handed over to him by K.G.B. couriers.) The first edition of The Encyclopedia of the American Left gave little attention to the issue of Soviet funding of American Communism. When the second edition appeared in 1998, after abundant documentation of Soviet subsidies had been published, Buhle felt compelled to offer a convoluted and deceptive account of the issue.
He first noted that secret ties between immigrant radicals and their homelands were not unusual. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Germans, Irish, and other ethnic Americans were constantly sending money back to comrades in their homelands and "inevitably, legal niceties were avoided." Of course, this was money from America to foreign countries, not the other way around. He did allow that the Bolshevik revolution had changed this pattern in some ways. But, while there were Soviet subsidies to American Communists, he insisted that most of the money still flowed the other way--from Americans to the U.S.S.R.; "the overwhelming flow of money went from American shores to the Soviet Union, mainly for specific campaigns, such as food support in the early 1920s and war relief in the 1940s." But this deliberately confuses apples and oranges. The huge amounts of funds, openly raised and openly sent to the U.S.S.R. for famine relief in the early 1920s and war relief in the 1940s, cannot be compared to Moscow's clandestine subsidies to a revolutionary political movement within the United States. Further, the bulk of the famine and war relief was not even from immigrant radicals as Buhle implies but from a broad spectrum of Americans motivated by humanitarian concerns. For example, Herbert Hoover, no friend of Bolshevism, spearheaded the Russian famine relief campaign in the early 1920s.
As for the specific monies transferred to the C.P.U.S.A. by the K.G.B., Buhle is silent. Instead, in another entry written with fellow co-editor Dan Georgakas, he attributes the C.P.U.S.A.'s ability to support a daily newspaper, despite a lack of advertising and a paucity of members, not to Soviet subsidies, but partly to "the strength of library subscriptions in the Soviet Union and its bloc." In contrast to these relatively benign-sounding library subscriptions, Buhle tries to divert attention by pointing to C.I.A. funding of an ex-Communist leader: "Heavily funded by C.I.A. sources, ... Jay Lovestone, now fervently anti-Soviet, used his personal network of associates to shape labor's own counterintelligence agency. Millions of dollars were passed to friendly labor officials in Europe, particularly in France and Italy. Later, connections between the C.I.A. and heroin gangsters reputedly began in a complex alliance against French Communists."
East bloc libraries and institutions did purchase thousands of subscriptions to C.P.U.S.A. publications. But these were a lesser indirect subsidy of American Communist activities and were not in the same league with Soviet delivery to the C.P.U.S.A. of millions of dollars in cash subsidies, subsidies that go unexamined in The Encyclopedia of the American Left. Moreover, whatever the merits or morality of the C.I.A. funding of Jay Lovestone's anti-Communist activities, there is far less documentary evidence to support the charge that the C.I.A. was linked to "heroin gangsters" than to evidence demonstrating Soviet subsidies to the C.P.U.S.A. to support espionage.
Diverting attention to the C.I.A. is Buhle's favorite tactic when confronted by stories of Soviet money. He is not careful whether the stories are true or not. In one essay published in the Newsletter, he linked the C.I.A.-funded American Committee for Cultural Freedom to the "highly prestigious scholarly series `Communism in American Life.'" According to Buhle, the `Communism in American Life' series "was secretly planned by the board of the American Committee for Cultural Freedom, with generous funding arranged for a handful of scholars." The `Communism in American Life' books were critical of the C.P.U.S.A., and linking them to the C.I.A. was Buhle's way of discrediting them. Yet Buhle's cited source, Sigmund Diamond's Compromised Campus, made no such charge. Diamond, a vociferous critic of the A.C.C.F., discussed the attempt of the A.C.C.F. to play a role in the `Communism in American Life' project and its recommendations for authors. But Diamond also wrote that the Fund for the Republic, creator of the `Communism in American Life' project, rejected the proposals from the A.C.C.F., and he says nothing about C.I.A. funding of the project. Contrary to Buhle's assertion, there is no evidence that the series was planned by the A.C.C.F. or that the C.I.A. arranged the funding.
It is not only on the issue of funding that the Encyclopedia of the American Left engages in falsification and obfuscation. The new evidence from Moscow archives has documented not only extensive Soviet financing of the C.P.U.S.A. but also direct Party participation in espionage against the United States. Those like Buhle who have devoted their lives to trumpeting a distinctly American, independent radicalism have been discomfited by these revelations. Rather than confront the issue, they have dissembled.
The first edition of The Encyclopedia of the American Left did not have an entry for "Secret Work." Enthusiasts for American Communism long had ridiculed stories of a party underground and Communist involvement in espionage told by ex-Communists such as Whittaker Chambers, Louis Budenz, and Elizabeth Bentley. By the time the second edition appeared in 1998, the documentary material emerging from Russian archives had established that the C.P.U.S.A. had an underground secret apparatus that cooperated with Soviet intelligence. The Venona documents, deciphered cables between K.G.B. spies in the United States and Moscow, began to appear in 1995 and further confirmed the widespread participation of American Communists in espionage. The issue had to be confronted, so for the 1998 edition Buhle wrote an entry on "Secret Work."
Buhle admitted that some top-level Communists were aware of Soviet espionage but found a convenient scapegoat: the same Jay Lovestone, party leader in the late 1920s, who had also served as his foil on the issue of funding. Lovestone was a handy villain because he indeed had connections with Soviet intelligence, but chiefly because after the mid-1930s he became a leading anti-Communist and in the 1950s assisted the C.I.A. "A handful of trade union officials--most prominent among them, Jay Lovestone, former Communist Party leader and future associate of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.)--and some liberal intellectuals apparently traded secret communications with the Soviet regime in the 1930s, but the substance of them involved personal information without any great importance or high-level security connections." Buhle loathes Lovestone because he became an anti-Communist. By implying that the only Communist leader who spied for the U.S.S.R. also spied for the United States, he tried to suggest that the whole issue was at least morally equivalent. But, of course, when Lovestone aided the C.I.A., he was an American citizen helping an American security agency, hardly the same thing as an American citizen assisting a hostile foreign power such as the Soviet Union.
Nor was Lovestone the most significant C.P.U.S.A. leader to participate in Soviet espionage. Earl Browder and Eugene Dennis, who led the C.P.U.S.A. from 1930 to 1959, a period during which the party was far more important than it had been during Lovestone's brief reign in the 1920s, were closely connected to Soviet intelligence. Buhle never names the "liberal intellectuals" he says also engaged in Soviet espionage, possibly because there were none. Nor does Buhle explain why they or anyone else would use espionage channels to provide, as he writes, "personal information" to the U.S.S.R.
When he turned to the issue of espionage in the 1940s, Buhle's essay in the Encyclopedia first justified spying and then trivialized it. Buhle first stated that the Office of Strategic Services, America's chief World War II intelligence agency, gave a new dimension to left-wing secret work by hiring radicals and thus "unleashed an unprecedented flurry of left-wing spy activity, some of which inevitably continued into the Cold War era." But he never explained why it was "unprecedented" or why it "inevitably" continued. Likewise, he noted that the employment of so many left-wingers on the atomic bomb project "virtually ensur[ed] the passage of some highly classified information to a power which at the time was a formal ally." Once again, he eschews any effort to explain who spied, or why any left-winger would inevitably be a source of information for the U.S.S.R. One obvious implication is that the American government was responsible for whatever espionage took place because the atomic bomb project and the O.S.S. hired left-wingers. Buhle does not seem to recognize that his assumption that left-wingers would "inevitably" want to assist the U.S.S.R. by turning over secret information provides a very powerful rationale for the Truman administration's Loyalty-Security Program that Buhle himself despises.
Regardless of the inevitability of Communists spying for the Soviet Union, Buhle dismisses the significance of the espionage issue. "Such intrigues had almost no role in the day-to-day activities of the American Left, save for the need of Communists to deny the existence of spying by or for the Russians and for anti-Communist socialists to insist upon its central importance to American Communists at large." But how can what Buhle calls "an unprecedented flurry of left-wing spy activity, some of which inevitably continued into the Cold War era," be irrelevant to historical debates over whether the C.P.U.S.A. was a legitimate participant in domestic politics during the Cold War era? Further playing down the importance of espionage, he reduces the "secret apparatus" to "rumors circulated within and without the Left concerning possible Russian agents" and adds speculation that "American Communist leaders may have informally assured members that the Russians could penetrate the renowned American security state.... Garrulous old-timers who had served in the Spanish Civil War and World War II sometimes hinted and even bragged about what they might be able to do in a moment of international crisis."
Immediately after belittling the significance of "such intrigues" involving the Soviet Union, Buhle suggests that there was more significant "secret work" committed on behalf of Israel by American Communists: "Little was said within the Left or outside it concerning the largest incident of illegal activity: the shipment of arms and assorted war materials to the new state of Israel." Apart from its irrelevance to the issue of Soviet espionage, the question of American Communist covert assistance to Israel in 1948 is presented without any supporting evidence. Neither of the two sources Buhle provides at the end of his entry says a word about the issue.
His further claim that "among those Americans wounded or killed in battles protecting Israeli gains from Arabs, Communists played a prominent role" is unsupported by any evidence. Yehuda Bauer, the distinguished Israeli historian, called the claim "sheer nonsense." The former national president of the American Veterans of Israel, Simon Spiegelman, labeled it "absolutely false," noting that most of the forty Americans and Canadians who died in 1948 were actually connected to one of the right-wing Israeli political movements The most thorough account of the Jewish role on the American left does not mention any such volunteers. American Communists would have trumpeted this sacrifice in the late 1940s, but there is no evidence they ever did. Jewish Currents, a magazine founded by ex-Communists whose writers and editors have run innumerable articles about Israel and Communism, has never mentioned "the prominent role" played by American Communists fighting and dying in the Israeli War of Independence.
We contacted Jewish Currents regarding Buhle's claim of Communists fighting in the Israeli war of independence. The magazine in turn got in touch with several veteran radicals, including the Daily Worker's correspondent in Palestine in 1947-1948, who unanimously dismissed the assertion as laughable or outrageous.
We also contacted Professor Buhle directly and asked for the documentary basis for the claim. Buhle responded that it was based on oral history interviews but he could remember only the name of one of the interviewees and was not sure if that was the correct one. We obtained a copy of the interview from the Tamiment Library at New York University. It contained no support for the Encyclopedia's assertion. Additional inquiries to Professor Buhle requesting the documentary basis for the published claim in the Encyclopedia produced no specific sources.
It was Labor Zionists and the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee that coordinated the vast majority of the fundraising and arms shipments that went to Israel in 1947-1948, not, as Buhle implies, American Communists. The Czech Communist government shipped arms to Israel, and there are rumors of I.R.A. contributions. Some stray American Communists might even have been involved. But how could this constitute the "largest incident of illegal activity" on the part of the Left? Even if one or two oral history interviewees claimed to know a stray American Communist who fought and died in Israel, how could a responsible historian accept it as the truth in the absence of any documentary evidence? And even if there were one or two such obscure people, how did they become transmogrified into playing "a prominent role"? A handful of American radicals immigrated to Israel in the 1950s to escape McCarthyism in the United States. But there is no evidence of how many were Communists or how many were killed or wounded in subsequent Israeli wars. By 1950, the C.P.U.S.A., which had supported the founding of the state of Israel in large part because the Soviet Union had done so, was actively hostile to Israel and all manifestations of "Jewish nationalism," in parallel with a similar Soviet shift.
Nor, of course, are the two cases--American Communists secretly spying against the United States for Stalin, and American Communists secretly working for Israel--comparable, even if the latter were true. An American Communist who moved to Israel and fought in its armed forces was not violating any American law. An American Communist who secretly turned over classified U.S. government information to representatives of another government was breaking the law and betraying his country. Buhle's unsupported and spurious claim functions in The Encyclopedia of the American Left as a distraction from the issue of secret work by the C.P.U.S.A. on behalf of the U.S.S.R.
Buhle concluded his exercise in damage control by speculating that the collapse of both the U.S.S.R. and "the Cold War leadership of the American labor movement" might turn up new "documentation of secret relationships between Americans and either the K.G.B. or the C.I.A." Only in the mind of a left-wing extremist who equated Harry Truman with Joseph Stalin could American trade unions assisting an American government agency be equated with American Communists assisting Stalin's U.S.S.R. Buhle added, "as of the late 1990s, documents examined in the Soviet Union or reprinted for scholars offered little that was new in regard to illegal or secret work by Soviet sympathizers." In fact those documents have revealed a great deal that was both new and illuminating to anyone with eyes to see. It was simply that Buhle did not want to see, and so he shut his eyes and pretended nothing was there.
Buhle is not the only contributor to the Encyclopedia of the American Left whose ideological enthusiasms are far stronger than their analytical abilities or truthfulness. The editors display a penchant for authors whose preferred method of dealing with unpalatable material is to ignore it. One entry on Finnish-American radicalism reports on the thousands of American Finns, mostly Communists, who moved to Soviet Karelia in the early 1930s but conveniently forgets to mention that hundreds of them were murdered by Soviet political police during Stalin's purges. No Holocaust denier could do better. There has been no uproar about the lies and distortions in this mendacious reference work and no one has called Paul Buhle to account for his peculiarly creative facts about American Communists fighting in the Israeli war of independence. If he truly does inhabit the mainstream of the historical profession, it is in deep trouble.
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Title Annotation: | The Encyclopedia of the American Left |
Author: | Klehr, Harvey; Haynes, John Earl |
Publication: | New Criterion |
Geographic Code: | 1USA |
Date: | Jun 1, 2002 |
Words: | 4401 |
Previous Article: | The fortunes of permanence. (The survival of culture: X). |
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Nuvvyo intros 4-tuner Tablo model
June 27, 2014 1:55 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsNuvyyo is making available the 4-tuner version of its Tablo, a retail box that consumers install and hook up with an antenna and a storage device to be able to receive and record over-the-air HDTV. The newest Tablo DVR provides four TV tuners for to simultaneously receive and/or record that many live TV streams.
Vendor CTOs: abstract expressionism
June 27, 2014 12:31 am | Articles | CommentsIf you want to know what is going on in technology, from macro trends to specific innovations, and how they interrelate, CTOs are the people to talk to. Thexton, Ferris, Reynolds, Carlucci, and Brockman on the joys of virtualization, the cloud, and software defined networking.
NSA fears prompt Germany to end Verizon contract
June 26, 2014 11:56 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsThe German government is ending a contract with Verizon over fears the company could be letting U.S. intelligence agencies eavesdrop on sensitive communications, officials said Thursday. The New York-based company has for years provided Internet services to a number of government departments, although not to German security agencies, said Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate.
Analysts expect Shaw's subscriber base continued to erode in latest quarter
June 25, 2014 11:49 am | by The Canadian Press | News | CommentsShaw Communications is fighting an uphill battle according to analysts, who say its heavy reliance on television puts it at a disadvantage to other telecommunications companies that also offer wireless services. The Calgary-based company is expected to report Thursday an improvement on the three previous quarters, but opinion is split on whether the third quarter will be a blip or signal a return to growth.
Google to show off smart home gadgets, wearables
June 25, 2014 11:43 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsAn Android update, wearable gadgets and so-called smart home devices are just some of the innovations Google is likely to show off at its two-day developer conference, which begins Wednesday in San Francisco. In recent years, the conference has focused on smartphones and tablets, but this year Google's Android operating system is expected to stretch —into cars, homes and smartwatches.
Cox Business will debut indoor small cell offering this year
June 24, 2014 12:27 pm | News | CommentsCox Business plans on having an indoor small cell service available this year with the initial elements of an outdoor offering in place later this year and into the first half of 2015. With mobile network operators (MNOs) looking to extend the reach and speeds of their 3G and 4G services, small cell deployments could be the next big thing for cable operators, but coming up with a specific game plan has been a work in progress.
Brazilian carrier taps Entone, Minerva for new TV service
June 23, 2014 1:04 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsTIM Brasil is using Entone's Hybrid TV system as the basis for a video service it has tested in two cities and plans to launch commercially later this year that will blend free to air and over the top (OTT) content. The carrier has also deployed Minerva Networks' platform to define and manage content from multiple sources.
T-Mobile offers iPhone trial, free music streaming
June 19, 2014 1:05 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | CommentsStarting Monday, June 23, people can sign up for T-Mobile's Test Drive online. A few days later, they'll receive an iPhone 5s fully loaded and ready to go. As for streaming music, even after subscribers exhaust their data allotments, they will still stream music for free.
Cox Business debuts dual Wi-Fi router; access to CableWiFi hotspots
June 17, 2014 1:17 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsAs of last week, Cox Business data customers can tap into more than 250,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation from other members of the CableWiFi Alliance at no additional charge. Also on the Wi-Fi front, Cox Business has deployed a gateway from Cisco that enables public and private SSIDs for its business customers.
AT&T accepting applications for free school connectivity
June 13, 2014 1:16 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsThe non-profit organization Connected Nation has signed on to administer the selection process for AT&T's $100 million commitment to provide free mobile broadband Internet access to select middle and high school students in Title 1 schools across the country.
Comcast, Universal Orlando Resorts team up on Wi-Fi
June 12, 2014 12:16 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsUsing hotspots provided by Comcast, Universal Orlando Resort has luanched a new Wi-Fi app that lets theme park attendees check out waiting times on rides as well as use interactive maps to help find park destinations. The Universal Orlando Resort App is available as a free download for Apple and Android mobile devices.
A tale of two telcos: BT and Verizon balancing wireless with wireline
June 10, 2014 6:42 pm | by Jim Barthold, special to CED | News | CommentsSpecial Report from Genband's Perspectives conference: BT is using strong wireline infrastructure get back into the wireless business -- an "inside-out" strategy, while Verizon plans to leverage a strong wireless position while it gradually evolves its wireline network -- an "outside-in" approach.
Telefonica taps Amdocs for BSS upgrades in Chile, Peru
June 9, 2014 1:14 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsTelefónica subscribers in Chile and Peru will be able to move between all customer interaction channels, whether self-service or agent assisted, via the Web, call center or at the retail store, across its entire quad-play offering – wireline, wireless, Internet and TV.
Amtrak opens bidding for Wi-Fi network
June 9, 2014 12:51 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsAmtrak is looking for proposals on how to upgrade its on-board Wi-Fi service on trains running the Northeast Corridor. The goal is to increase available bandwidth per train from the currently available 10Mbps to a minimum of 25 Mbps. The company is soliciting bids for a proof-of-concept project.
Media: AT&T dangles offering NFL Sunday Ticket to wireless subs
June 9, 2014 12:23 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsAT&T is trying to gain traction for its $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV by sending up a trial balloon that it could offer the NFL's Sunday Ticket to its wireless phone subscribers. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that AT&T's management floated the possibility of offering NFL Sunday Ticket to its phone subscribers without having it count against their data caps.
Report: 802.11ac starting to push WLAN market
June 9, 2014 12:17 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsDespite a downward dip in revenue in the first quarter, the wireless LAN equipment market is on a roll, according to a recent report by Infonetics Research. The global wireless LAN equipment market saw its first down quarter since the end of 2012, with revenue shrinking 11 percent sequentially in the first quarter of this year to $1.1 billion. Overall, the market was up 3 percent from the same period a year ago.
Report: Apple Teaming with AT&T, T-Mobile for Prepaid Push in Retail Stores
June 9, 2014 12:05 pm | by Ben Munson, Wireless Week | News | CommentsApple will reportedly partner up with AT&T and T-Mobile in order to offer prepaid account activations for iPhones purchased in Apple's retail stores. 9to5Mac said Apple Stores will begin stocking AT&T GoPhone SIMs and activations kits and T-Mobile SIMs, allowing customers to buy full-price iPhones and walk out of the store with a connected device.


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Senior Member
let say i have all platinum badges, when i play dominion will i be matched with people stronger ? playing with noob is boring.
Junior Member
I have: Gold 2742 Takedowns Platinum 1847 Points captured and neutralized Silver 95 Wins Hopefully that helps a little
Currently Plat 8642 Takedowns 3408 Points Captured and Neutralized Currently Gold 221 Wins
i have killed alot of people and had more wins it says i only won 3 times and had 0 kills i dont get it
Rise from the grave! All joking aside, make sure you change the combo box from Classic to Dominion.
Retro Teddy Bear
I got Platinum Points Captured and Neutralized too easily. I don't think it should count Neutralized, or at least be 2000-2500. I only have 60 wins and 1577 takedowns (both at silver), not very proportionate to Points Captured and Neutralized. Then again, I don't know why the badge you have would matter. The only time I think it would is if you have all Platinum.
Nexus Crawler
Holy necro batman!


text:
Hi all, I need urgent help here. Just yesterday I had my first encounter with the annoying warning that pops up after 45 minutes of inactivity on an application. If I wanted my app to auto-end, I'd add it to the auto-end list. How do I get rid of this ridiculous warning? It happened when I was running Pandora and had my phone plugged into the sound system in our shop. We're having a huge party tomorrow and were going to use my phone for the music, but obviously this will be a big problem if someone has to remember to poke it every 40 minutes to prevent this warning. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!
It's the same thing reported in this thread: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/mo...ne-running-advanace-task-killer-bionic-3.html (Post #24)
I listen to Pandora and I heart radio all day at work and sometimes don't touch my phone for 2-3 hours and I've never experienced this. Sent from the rocket in my pocket, my all powerful DROID BIONIC.
I get this pop up with my AIM app. always pops up and i can't stand it either. I love the bionic to death but there's just so many lil things that drives me insane. Car dock always trying to read your incoming text 45 minute notice to terminate app Stay awake while charging not sticking to set preference Pictures lacking size preference. I rather take a 5mp pic than a 6 or 8. Even a 3mp is more used on my dx than anything over 5.
These all sound like setting issues and not phone issues. Somehow the phone was set/you accidentally turned some of these features on.
It pops up on my phone if I run Pandora all day. I've gone 4 hours without looking at the screen doing yard work, so I assume that message had been up for 3hrs 15 mins. It never actually shuts down the app. So unless you want it up on an HD TV or something you are good
I have it set to "Nighttime saver". This did happen around 8 PM so it was probably within the night time zone... I suppose that could be responsible. Especially since some people report not having this issue at all... I've set it to "Performance mode" and I'll try again and see what happens. I just did it and started up Pandora, so we'll know in about 45 minutes. Thanks for the tip, hope that does it! When the message popped up for me, it killed Pandora. Pandora was still running but stopped playing music. When I closed the dialog and went back to Pandora, it would not play music or anything. I had to end the task and start it up again before it resumed. Also, for what it's worth, I had no service when this happened. I was only connected through wifi.
I use the night time saver but i work during the day. Also if you click on the info button next to nighttime saver mode it says it shuts off data after 15 minutes between 10pm and 5am. I don't think it could be the source of the problem but who knows. Sent from the rocket in my pocket, my all powerful DROID BIONIC.
You're right it seems unlikely. However, I just ran it for about an hour and a half and got no 45-minute inactivity warning... so that could actually be it. I've changed it to the maximum battery saver mode and we'll see if it suddenly starts happening again. I'll post the results.
Yea definitely make sure u post your result. I'm curious to see what happens. Sent from the rocket in my pocket, my all powerful DROID BIONIC.
Yep, it was the battery saving mode. After going into Maximum battery saver and running Pandora for 45 minutes, the error popped up and it killed my 4G connection at the same time, killing Pandora's stream. I'm assuming it would also kill wifi if that was running, which is what would've stopped the music last night. So if you want to run apps like Pandora for more than 45 minutes in the background, go to Performance Mode. Thanks everyone for the help!
I get the same pop up on Facebook sometimes. What I did was pull the battery and I haven't got the pop up since! did nothing else but a battery pull. Didn't touch Facebook none and hasn't popped up in 4 days.


text:
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text:
- Date:13 Jan 2014
- Kick-off:20:00
- Venue:Villa Park
- Attendance:36,097
- Benteke (75)
- Wilshere (33) Giroud (34)
Live Commentary
- 95:33 +5.33
Short corner taken by Mesut Ozil from the left by-line.
- 95:11 +5.11
Ron Vlaar makes a clearance.
The referee signals the end of the game.
- 93:59 +3.59
Wojciech Szczesny restarts play with the free kick.
- 93:05 +3.05
Clearance by Laurent Koscielny.
- 91:55 +1.55
Clearance made by Per Mertesacker.
- 91:45 +1.45
Ron Vlaar takes the free kick.
- 90:10 +0.10
Clearance made by Mathieu Flamini.
- 88:58
Santi Cazorla manages to make a clearance.
- 88:57
Clearance by Per Mertesacker.
- 88:53
Bradley Guzan restarts play with the free kick.
- 88:31
Free kick awarded for a foul by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on Ashley Westwood.
- 86:44
Clearance by Per Mertesacker.
- 86:42
Matthew Lowton produces a cross.
- 85:30
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joins the action as a substitute, replacing Tomas Rosicky.
- 84:23
Gabriel Agbonlahor is booked.
- 84:12
Gabriel Agbonlahor challenges Mesut Ozil unfairly and gives away a free kick.
- 84:02
The ball is delivered by Leandro Bacuna.
- 82:39
Clearance by Per Mertesacker.
- 82:05
The ball is crossed by Matthew Lowton.
- 81:34
Fabian Delph takes a shot. Wojciech Szczesny catches the ball.
- 78:13
Mesut Ozil crosses the ball.
- 77:58
Corner taken by Santi Cazorla.
- 77:32
Mesut Ozil crosses the ball.
- 75:16
Christian Benteke grabs a goal with a headed effort. Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal.Assist by Matthew Lowton.
- 74:36
Clearance by Laurent Koscielny.
- 73:30
Shot by Christian Benteke went wide of the right-hand upright.
- 73:25
A cross is delivered by Leandro Bacuna.
- 73:00
Andreas Weimann comes on in place of Karim El Ahmadi.
- 70:19
Clearance made by Laurent Koscielny.
- 69:08
The ball is crossed by Fabian Delph.
- 68:54
Free kick crossed by Ashley Westwood.
- 68:40
Tomas Rosicky comes on in place of Serge Gnabry.
- 67:55
Unfair challenge on Karim El Ahmadi by Mathieu Flamini results in a free kick.
- 67:06
Matthew Lowton delivers the ball.
- 65:32
Nacho Monreal leaves the field to be replaced by Kieran Gibbs.
- 64:41
Ashley Westwood takes the chance to get an effort at goal. Wojciech Szczesny safely holds on.
- 62:55
Clearance by Laurent Koscielny.
- 62:45
Wojciech Szczesny takes the free kick.
- 62:15
The assistant referee flags for offside against Christian Benteke.
- 60:46
Santi Cazorla takes a shot. Bradley Guzan makes a block.
- 59:44
Free kick taken by Laurent Koscielny.
- 59:22
Christian Benteke gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Laurent Koscielny.
- 58:45
Clearance by Mathieu Flamini.
- 55:23
Ashley Westwood challenges Jack Wilshere unfairly and gives away a free kick.
- 55:17
Leandro Bacuna delivers the ball.
- 54:46
Free kick taken by Laurent Koscielny.
- 54:37
Free kick taken by Bradley Guzan.
- 54:12
The referee blows for offside.
- 53:28
Bradley Guzan takes the free kick.
- 52:26
Direct strike on goal from the free kick comes in from Leandro Bacuna. Olivier Giroud gets a block in.
- 51:27
Jack Wilshere challenges Gabriel Agbonlahor unfairly and gives away a free kick.
The referee blows the whistle to start the second half.
The ref blows to end the first period.
- 51:23 +6.23
Christian Benteke concedes a free kick for a foul on Jack Wilshere.
- 50:16
Free kick taken by Jack Wilshere.
- 50:04
Leandro Bacuna challenges Mathieu Flamini unfairly and gives away a free kick.
- 48:51
Clearance made by Ciaran Clark.
- 48:48 +3.48
Serge Gnabry manages to make a clearance.
- 48:37 +3.37
Corner taken by Ashley Westwood from the right by-line.
- 48:29
Leandro Bacuna takes the chance to get an effort at goal. Wojciech Szczesny makes a block.
- 47:33
Christian Benteke fouled by Mathieu Flamini, the ref awards a free kick.
- 47:15 +2.15
Santi Cazorla concedes a free kick for a foul on Fabian Delph.
- 46:45 +1.45
Clearance by Per Mertesacker.
- 46:32 +1.32
Antonio Luna takes the free kick.
- 46:06 +1.06
Unfair challenge on Ashley Westwood by Jack Wilshere results in a free kick.
- 45:55
Shot by Karim El Ahmadi went wide left of the goal.
- 45:50
Corner from the left by-line taken by Ashley Westwood.
- 45:42 +0.42
Free kick taken by Wojciech Szczesny.
- 45:17 +0.17
Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Per Mertesacker by Christian Benteke.
- 44:00
Corner taken by Mesut Ozil from the right by-line.
- 42:03
The ball is delivered by Gabriel Agbonlahor.
- 38:03
Santi Cazorla takes the free kick.
- 38:03
Jack Wilshere restarts play with the free kick.
- 37:29
Free kick awarded for a foul by Ashley Westwood on Santi Cazorla.
- 36:30
Mesut Ozil fouled by Fabian Delph, the ref awards a free kick.
- 36:19
Clearance made by Serge Gnabry.
- 36:13
Leandro Bacuna sends in a cross.
- 35:44
Per Mertesacker manages to make a clearance.
- 34:30
Olivier Giroud slots the ball left footed into the goal. Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal.Assist by Jack Wilshere.
- 33:31
Jack Wilshere scores with a left foot finish. Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal.Nacho Monreal provided the assist for the goal.
- 32:50
Wojciech Szczesny takes the free kick.
- 31:32
Foul by Nacho Monreal on Gabriel Agbonlahor, free kick awarded.
- 29:23
Bradley Guzan restarts play with the free kick.
- 29:04
Free kick awarded for a foul by Serge Gnabry on Ciaran Clark.
- 28:39
Santi Cazorla crosses the ball in from the free kick.
- 27:59
Unfair challenge on Serge Gnabry by Karim El Ahmadi results in a free kick.
- 27:31
Clearance made by Ron Vlaar.
- 24:28
Leandro Bacuna crosses the ball.
- 22:26
Christian Benteke concedes a free kick for a foul on Nacho Monreal.
- 21:46
The ball is crossed by Fabian Delph.
- 20:30
Leandro Bacuna replaces Ron Vlaar.
- 13:34
Serge Gnabry takes a shot. Nathan Baker gets a block in.
- 13:08
Clearance by Ciaran Clark.
- 12:07
Fabian Delph takes a shot and went wide of the right hand upright.
- 11:17
Foul by Olivier Giroud on Ron Vlaar, free kick awarded.
- 10:24
The ball is delivered by Nacho Monreal.
- 6:39
Olivier Giroud takes a shot. Nathan Baker gets a block in.
- 6:00
Free kick awarded for a foul by Gabriel Agbonlahor on Mathieu Flamini.
- 5:56
Clearance by Bacary Sagna.
- 4:28
Bacary Sagna delivers the ball.
- 2:57
Corner taken short by Santi Cazorla.
- 2:29
Nathan Baker manages to make a clearance.
- 1:14
Karim El Ahmadi receives a caution.
- 0:49
Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Jack Wilshere by Karim El Ahmadi.
- 0:10
Per Mertesacker makes a clearance.
The game begins.
Match Preview
Szczesny happy with Arsenal defence Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is confident Arsenal's mean defensive streak can see them stay ahead in the race for the Barclays Premier League title. The Gunners will set out to return to the top of the table when they travel to Aston Villa on Monday night. Since shipping six at Manchester City last month, the Arsenal rearguard have been breached just once, at West Ham on New Year's Day, to restore their status of holding the best defensive record in the top flight. Szczesny is scheduled to return between the posts at Villa Park having been rested for the 2-0 FA Cup win over Tottenham last weekend. And the 23-year-old Pole, who has kept 14 clean sheets in all competitions, feels there is growing confidence in a back line which has developed into an effective unit - no matter what the personnel. "I prefer to play behind the same back four because we have got a very good understanding, but you have to give credit to the players that have come in, when everyone does as well as they been doing recently it really doesn't matter," Szczesny said. "Thomas Vermaelen has done really well when he has been in the team as have the others, like Nacho Monreal and Carl Jenkinson. "As long as the players coming in are in good shape and bring in the same principles into the game, it doesn't make much difference. "Hopefully they can maintain that form because the amount of clean sheets we have kept lately has made me very happy." Szczesny added in the Arsenal matchday magazine: "Clean sheets or something we have always wanted to improve because over the last few years we haven't been the strongest in the league defensively. "Last season we improved a lot, but I think now we are showing much more consistency in our defending. "There is still room for improvement, but I have to credit the defenders and the shape of the whole team." The current Arsenal defence may not yet have earned legendary status as the one which drove Wenger to his first Double in 1998 or on which the Invincibles of 2003/2004, but the French coach feels the foundations are promising. "We had a very stable and solid defensive record since the start of the season, with two blips - one was against Villa in the first game and one was when we played at Man City," he said. "But overall our defensive record has been absolutely top and that is what we want to keep until the end of the season, and even improve." Arsenal have a superb record at Villa Park, where they were last beaten in the Premier League back in December 1998. Monday's trip to the Midlands will also present an opportunity for the players to lay to rest their 3-1 home defeat by Paul Lambert's men on the opening day of the season which sparked much criticism of the direction Arsenal where heading. Wenger, though, insisted: "It is not about revenge. "The opening day of the season is not Villa's fault, and what happened after the game is not Villa's fault. "We just had to face dissatisfaction from people and our fans, that was completely normal. "Villa is just another game. What is always important is the next game and to produce a good performance." Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has once again emphasised he does not feel immune from the the sack, insisting he "never stops worrying" about it. Villa are on a poor run of form, having won only one and lost five of their last seven games in all competitions. The midlands outfit's record at their own ground for the entire campaign to date has been disappointing, with it showing just two victories and six defeats from 10 top-flight fixtures And last weekend they suffered a 2-1 FA Cup third-round reverse at Villa Park against Sheffield United - a club that have been struggling this term towards the lower end of Sky Bet League One. Lambert - under whom Villa finished 15th in the Premier League last season, his first in charge of the club - said after a 1-1 home draw with Swansea in December that although he has a good relationship with his chairman Randy Lerner, he always works with "that fear" of losing his job. Returning to the theme this week, Lambert said: "I never stop worrying. I'm not immune from it. "The relationship between me and Randy is what it is. You are never immune from anything, and I would never view it that way. "You just keep going - there is no secret formula to it. You just keep going and don't lose focus on what you are trying to do. I will never waver from that." Lambert has also been keen to stress how bad a week he has had off the back of the Sheffield United result. Before the game, he had caused a stir by saying that most fellow top-flight managers would probably prefer to do without the FA Cup. After the match - for which he fielded a first XI showing only four changes - he claimed that comment had been taken out of context. And asked ahead of the Arsenal contest how he had been feeling in the days since the cup tie, Lambert said: "The same way I do after every other game (Villa have lost). "I don't sleep great, I don't eat great. The usual stuff. "It is just the life of a football manager. It is a great job, but you don't feel great (after defeats). "And contrary to other people's reports, I never degraded the competition at all. "I tried to win the game, I put the best team out I possibly could and we got knocked out. Good luck to Sheffield United. We weren't good enough." There were boos from Villa fans at the final whistle in the Sheffield United game and while Lambert has expressed his understanding for the supporters' frustration, he has also called for them to "stick with it" and do all they can to help the team on Monday night. "I don't have any problem with the crowd," Lambert said. "If the team is not performing, then you expect people to vent their frustration - that is normal. "But we are a young side. "Last year, we played Newcastle at home and we were getting beaten 2-0 in the first half. "Then we scored, and for about 40 minutes, it didn't matter what we did, that crowd was right with us. They were brilliant that time. "Because you are in your second year, it might be a different view, but if they can stick with it and see us through the hard times when we need them... because we certainly need them. "They have been excellent for us overall, and we expect if we are not performing that certain things will happen. "But we're hoping on Monday that they will get right behind us." Villa will assess the condition of defenders Ron Vlaar and Nathan Baker ahead of the Arsenal match. Both club captain Vlaar and Baker sat out the Sheffield United game with calf and hamstring problems respectively. Forward Gabriel Agbonlahor, who also missed the cup tie, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan are fit despite having had niggles, but the contest is too soon for midfielder Chris Herd and defender Joe Bennett to make their comebacks after injury.
Aston Villa
- Bradley Guzan
- Ciaran Clark
- Ron Vlaar
- Nathan Baker
- Matthew Lowton
- Karim El Ahmadi
- Fabian Delph
- Ashley Westwood
- Antonio Luna
- Gabriel Agbonlahor
- Christian Benteke
- Leandro Bacuna
- Nicklas Helenius
- Andreas Weimann
- Marc Albrighton
- Jed Steer
- Yacouba Sylla
- Aleksandar Tonev
- Wojciech Szczesny
- Bacary Sagna
- Per Mertesacker
- Laurent Koscielny
- Nacho Monreal
- Jack Wilshere
- Mathieu Flamini
- Serge Gnabry
- Mesut Ozil
- Santi Cazorla
- Olivier Giroud
- Tomas Rosicky
- Lukas Podolski
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
- Lukasz Fabianski
- Carl Jenkinson
- Kieran Gibbs
- Ju-Young Park
Match Report
Form Guide
- Aston Villa
- Arsenal DLDWWW
Last Meetings
- Arsenal
- 1 - 3
- Aston Villa
- 17/08/2013
- Arsenal
- 2 - 1
- Aston Villa
- 23/02/2013
- Aston Villa
- 0 - 0
- Arsenal
- 24/11/2012
- Arsenal
- 3 - 0
- Aston Villa
- 24/03/2012
- Aston Villa
- 1 - 2
- Arsenal
- 21/12/2011
- Arsenal
- 1 - 2
- Aston Villa
- 15/05/2011
Top Scorers
Aston Villa
- L Kozak 4
- G Agbonlahor 3
- C Benteke 3
- K El Ahmadi 2
- L Bacuna 2
- F Delph 1
- A Weimann 1
- A Westwood 1
- A Luna 1
- A Ramsey 8
- O Giroud 7
- T Walcott 5
- M Ozil 4
- L Podolski 3
- P Mertesacker 2
- N Bendtner 2
- J Wilshere 2
- B Sagna 1
- SG Cazorla 1
- M Flamini 1
- S Gnabry 1
Aston Villa
- Total goals 44
- Goals per game 19
- 1 (For) 3 (Against) Period 0-10 mins
- 2 (For) 4 (Against) Period 11-20 mins
- 2 (For) 3 (Against) Period 21-30 mins
- (For) 2 (Against) Period 31-40 mins
- 1 (For) 2 (Against) Period 41-50 mins
- 1 (For) 3 (Against) Period 51-60 mins
- 5 (For) 4 (Against) Period 61-70 mins
- 5 (For) 2 (Against) Period 71-80 mins
- 2 (For) 2 (Against) Period 81-90 mins
- Total goals 64
- Goals per game 39
- 3 (For) Period 0-10 mins
- 4 (For) 1 (Against) Period 11-20 mins
- 3 (For) 3 (Against) Period 21-30 mins
- 2 (For) 1 (Against) Period 31-40 mins
- 3 (For) 4 (Against) Period 41-50 mins
- 3 (For) Period 51-60 mins
- 7 (For) 3 (Against) Period 61-70 mins
- 5 (For) 1 (Against) Period 71-80 mins
- 9 (For) 5 (Against) Period 81-90 mins


text:
Ok, no pool, no "free breakfast..." but if you like, clean, rooms, nicely appointed, personal attention, passionate owners. then come here. I loved this place. The fixtures in the bathroom were "retro," but carefully maintained.
- Reservation Options:
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- Also Known As:
- Downtown Hotel Nampa
- Downtown Inn Nampa, Idaho