text:
"I want the toughest road I can get and I want to fight all these guys." - Jim Miller
Jim Miller thought he was living in a bizarro world. Eight times he had toed the line in a UFC fight, and seven times he walked away with his hand raised in victory. The only man to defeat him, Gray Maynard, was fighting for the world lightweight championship. Miller's last five fights were all wins, and if there was a short list of contenders for Frankie Edgar's title, he was on it.
But in December of last year, Miller was going to be the foil for the phenom, 21-year old Charles Oliveira. On paper, the favorite should have been the scrappy New Jersey veteran, but to the rest of the world, all eyes were on the Brazilian youngster. Even those who waited on line for Miller's autograph worried for him.
"Who are you fighting?" they would ask.
"Charles Oliveira."
"He's got an amazing ground game. Are you scared?"
Even today, more than three months later, Miller sounds incredulous.
"Come on guys, I know what I'm doing too," he laughs. "So I felt a little disrespected leading up to it."
Then came fight night, and at UFC 124 in Montreal's Bell Centre, Miller did what veterans do if they feel like they're being given the short end of the stick – they win. And not only did Miller win, he did so in less than two minutes, forcing Oliveira to tap out to a kneebar that earned him Submission of the Night honors. Don't worry, Oliveira will be back and he may end up being the future of the 155-pound weight class. But Jim Miller wanted to make it clear that he's the present.
"I knew I would have a strength advantage once I got a hold of him," he said. "He was a dangerous kid, and technical, but I have a black belt in jiu-jitsu and I know how to use it. Once I got a hold of him, it was 'okay, I can power out of anything he throws at me, and it was just waiting on my opportunity to capitalize on something."
The victory lifted Miller's pro mixed martial arts record to 19-2, a slate that includes an 8-1 Octagon stint. For a frame of reference, note that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre's record is 21-2. But Miller is still not within striking distance of a title shot with Edgar and Maynard settling matters at UFC 130 in May and former WEC champ Anthony Pettis waiting in the wings should he defeat Clay Guida in June.
"It's just the way things have panned out in the division," said Miller. "There was always somebody to throw in there, and with (George) Sotiropoulos losing now (to Dennis Siver at UFC 127) it opens things up a little more, but I've got to get by this fight on the 19th. I don't know why I haven't been talked about more in contendership and stuff like that. I just keep fighting everybody put in front of me."
The next one in front of him for "this fight on the 19th" is unbeaten former WEC standout Kamal Shalorus. It's the classic high risk fight that Miller loves, but in terms of reward, he will be taking on a fighter who will be introduced to UFC fans for the first time this weekend, so there's not the usual bump in exposure he would be receiving for taking on a bigger name. Miller doesn't mind though, considering that the Shalorus bout does what he wants it to do – keep him busy.
"I would have liked one of the guys who's higher up and who has proven himself in the UFC and is at the contender level, but everybody was booked," he said. "It was either sit and wait and not be fighting until the summer, or fighting in March. He's undefeated, so it made sense. I like staying active, I like fighting every three months, I don't like to wait around and not have a fight to train for, so it's another day at work."
That's the aspect of the sport that Miller embraces the most. He's not about doing endless interviews, tweeting until his fingers fall off, or finding the one camera in a sea of thousands. He's here on business.
Fortunately for him, business this week involves a quick trip to Newark, and while he's won his last seven at home, the last one, at UFC 111 in March of 2010 was anything but easy as he eked out a close decision win over Mark Bocek. Yet Miller doesn't chalk up the difficulty of the bout to anything but the quality of his foe.
"It was just one of those fights, and he's a tough opponent," said Miller. "I knew it was a tough fight going into it with Mark, and fighting closer to home really doesn't have an effect on me. It doesn't matter who I'm fighting or where I'm fighting, it's still the same thing – it's me against another guy. Once I step inside there that's what I'm focused on, and I try to keep my mind focused on that."
In Shalorus, Miller will be taking on a standout wrestler who likes to swing for the fences while standing. That style led the Iran native to WEC wins over Will Kerr, Dave Jansen, and Bart Palaszewski, as well as a draw with Jamie Varner, but Miller believes he has the kryptonite for the "Prince of Persia."
"He's a very good wrestler, more of a control-type guy, so I think it's an interesting fight," he said. "I think I have an advantage on the feet and I think I have an advantage when it hits the mat. He's got an advantage in between in the wrestling, but the gameplan doesn't change for any of my fights and it's not gonna change for this one. I'm gonna go out and push the pace and use everything that I have to try to make him make a mistake, capitalize, and hopefully finish him."
And if all goes according to plan, it won't be sit around and wait, it will be on to the next one.
"I don't want to sit and wait ten months for a shot," he said. "I'd rather keep fighting. That's just who I am. I want the toughest road I can get and I want to fight all these guys. A couple people said, 'oh, it's a good thing for you with Sotiropoulos losing.' I wanted to fight him. Then it vindicates me earning that opportunity to fight for the title and become world champion. I'm only looking to fight the toughest and the best guys."
At this rate, Miller will fight everyone, and by the time he gets to the top, there will be no one left to fight.
He laughs.
"There's always going to be somebody. I want people gunning for me. When these guys who are fighting on the local circuit are doing an interview, I want the reporter to ask them 'what are you going to do if the UFC calls you and says you're fighting Jim Miller tomorrow?' I want guys to be basically dreaming about kicking my ass."
Having a bunch of hungry fighters dreaming about beating you? That's a scary proposition for most fighters, but if you think it is for Jim Miller, then you don't know him too well, because that's what he fights for.
"It keeps me on my toes."
Jamahal Hill Talks UFC 300 Main Event


text:
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Stretch marks are a normal part of puberty for most girls and guys. When a person grows or gains
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stretch marks.
Stretch marks happen when the skin is pulled by rapid growth or stretching. Although the skin is
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If you're noticing stretch marks on your body, you're not alone. Most girls and women have stretch
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Pastitsio - Lamb and Eggplant Casserole
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Casseroles are a bit like life. They're not always pretty, they can be messy and full of surprises, but when all is said and done, they are enormously satisfying. Casseroles have been with us since women began tending pots suspended over fire, but the idea of the casserole as a one-dish meal was initiated in America during the Great Depression. They became really popular in the 1950's when new materials for cooking appeared on the market and advertisers began touting the virtues of one-dish meals that freed women from kitchen drudgery. They remained popular through the 1970's but fell into disfavor as diner's became more sophisticated and diet conscious. I still have several casseroles in my permanent recipe rotation, but today's recipe was a test run. My family will be visiting in August and our two oldest grandsons are beginning to display symptoms of, what we call, "hollow leg syndrome" - they are always hungry. I like to have a casserole or two available to supplement regular meals while they're here. I'd seen this recipe in Gourmet magazine years ago. I clipped it because it was so much lighter than my version of this Greek classic. Pastitsio is a Greek casserole that contains layers of macaroni and chopped meat that are topped with a cream sauce. I made it this evening and must say I found it to be a nice, but not great, casserole. I expected more from this multi-step recipe than it could deliver. None of the steps are hard, but this is not a dish that you can throw together in minutes. I expect recipes this involved to be great and it missed the mark. I am, however, going to keep and recommend the recipe because it is a nice alternative to lasagna when you have a crowd to feed. Here's the recipe. You be the judge.
Pastitsio - Lamb and Eggplant Casserole...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Gourmet Magazine
Lamb Sauce
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound lean ground lamb
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 (28- to 32-oz) can crushed tomatoes
Cheese Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 garlic clove
1 whole clove
1/2 lb feta, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs
10 ounces penne (3 cups)
1) To make lamb sauce: Cook onion in oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add lamb and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, salt, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, and pepper and sauté, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in eggplant and tomatoes and gently simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is just tender, about 40 minutes. Remove lid and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2) To make cheese sauce: While lamb is simmering, melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and add garlic clove and whole clove, then bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Add feta, salt, and pepper and cook, whisking vigorously, until cheese is well incorporated. Remove from heat. Discard garlic clove and whole clove. Beat eggs in a large bowl and gradually add sauce to eggs, whisking.
3) To make pasta: Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just al dente, then drain in a colander. Toss half of pasta with lamb sauce and half with cheese sauce.
4) To assemble pastitsio: Pour pasta with lamb sauce into a wide shallow 3-quart baking dish, spreading evenly. Spoon pasta with cheese sauce on top, spreading evenly. Bake pastitsio, uncovered, in middle of oven until bubbling and top is golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
You might also enjoy these recipes:
Moroccan Shepherd's Pie - One Perfect Bite
Arroz con Pollo - One Perfect Bite
Microwave: Smoked Sausage Casserole - One Perfect Bite
Cheesy Squash and Tomato Casserole - Sugar and Spice by Celeste
Spinach Macaroni Casserole - Served with Love
Pierogi Casserole - Neo-Homesteading
70 comments :
- Sushma Mallya said...
Different casserole, but looks really delicious,loved the pic mary, have a lovely day,take care
- July 15, 2010 at 1:14 AM
- J e l e n a said...
Mary, I love the stories behind your recipe, always inspiring and always something to learn...a one meal dish in this part of the world is a mussaka....a reminence of the great Ottoman empire...mussakas with potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, anything that you can put in...but as you say these dishes are slowly being replaced by the modern tendencies in food...lighter, more pleasing to the eye...but there is nothing better to warm up the house then the oven baking a casserole..best to you...
- July 15, 2010 at 2:12 AM
- Diane said...
I must stop reading your posts first thing in the morning, now I am starved before I even think about breakfast LOL. Have a good day. Diane
- July 15, 2010 at 2:39 AM
- Pondside said...
That is true comfort food!
- July 15, 2010 at 2:45 AM
- nocton4 said...
yum yum, we have a teen with hollow legs too
love & care to you, thanks for such a wonderful blog xx - July 15, 2010 at 3:42 AM
- Priya Suresh said...
Beautiful casserole, looks awesome..
- July 15, 2010 at 3:43 AM
- cocoa and coconut said...
I loved the history behind the casserole, and your lovely analogy about life. Very uplifting...oh and of course it just looks fab! Doesn't look like my messy casseroles at all.
- July 15, 2010 at 3:53 AM
- Bakericious said...
looks cheesy and yummy
- July 15, 2010 at 4:36 AM
- July 15, 2010 at 5:26 AM
- pigpigscorner said...
casseroles can be ugly but they are always so tasty and comforting!
- July 15, 2010 at 5:34 AM
- Joanne said...
I have to say, I am a HUGE fan of casseroles. HUGE. Maybe it's the un-gourmet in me. But whatever. They are always comforting.
Pastitsio is a serious favorite as it has two of my loves - eggplant and lamb. This one looks incredibly tasty! - July 15, 2010 at 6:48 AM
- Big Dude said...
It sure looks good and I like the lifes philosohy comparison you began with.
- July 15, 2010 at 7:05 AM
- Simply Life said...
oh wow, that looks great!
- July 15, 2010 at 7:29 AM
- Katerina said...
Mary, perhaps the reason why it was not as satisfying is the recipe's fault. I can tell you that indeed Pastitsio is messy and time consuming, but the end result is absolutely worth it. Perhaps you were a little unlucky and the recipe was not as good. The original Pastitsio is made with ground beef, pasta and sauce mornay. In the weeks to follow I will try to post the recipe we are using in the family. Perhaps you can try it and tell me your opinion.
- July 15, 2010 at 7:35 AM
- PeggyR said...
That sounds very different. We love lamb and eggplant as well.
- July 15, 2010 at 7:41 AM
- From the Kitchen said...
Mary, this is one of our favorite "casseroles" and a lighter version is welcome. I've spent the past few days going through old (real) Gourmet's and trying to clip and toss. I realize I need an "intervention"!! Is back to 1979 too many issues to keep? Do we really need a second guest room?
Have fun filling up those "hollow legs"!
Bonnie - July 15, 2010 at 7:48 AM
- penny aka jeroxie said...
Such a beautiful and mouth watering dish!
- July 15, 2010 at 7:52 AM
- Joyce said...
I smiled when you said the grandsons have hollow leg syndrome:-) I like the lighter version of such a classic. Once again I thank you for sharing.
- July 15, 2010 at 8:02 AM
- Cathy said...
I've never added eggplant to my pastitsio sauce before, but have to say that it does sound yummy. The use of feta would be tasty too. Sorry it missed the mark for you.
- July 15, 2010 at 8:09 AM
- A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...
I'm trying to get over my aversion to casseroles. This looks like it might do the trick!
- July 15, 2010 at 8:19 AM
- Rita said...
Like you I find Casseroles very nice to have. We raised 4 boys so I know what Hollow leg syndrome means and now I have 2 grandsons with that same disease. Casseroles are my best friend when company is coming. Also nice to have sitting in the freezer.
- July 15, 2010 at 8:24 AM
- Martha said...
I am so wanting to get in the kitchen to cook and your posts don't help! This is a favorite of ours -- Jim really likes all food Greek! This will have to be a first on my menu when I get back in the kitchen.
- July 15, 2010 at 8:36 AM
- Foley said...
Looking at any of your food photos is an adventure in itself! Looks delicious - even though not a fan of lamb. Eggplant on the other hand I could have over and over!
- July 15, 2010 at 8:49 AM
- Claudia said...
I hav no lamb or eggplant casseroles in my repertoire. They may have fallen into disfavor but my family adores them - all those goodly flavors melding into one. This looks too scrumptious to not try.
- July 15, 2010 at 8:51 AM
- Unknown said...
Well, it might not have lived up to your expectations, but it sure does look spectacularly good :) I've never actually used lamb in a casserole before, gonna have to give that a try!
- July 15, 2010 at 9:32 AM
- NikiTheo said...
Wow, there are a lot more ingredients in this pasticio than a more authentic one! Sometimes you have to forgo the attempt to make something healthy in order to enjoy the dish. My family's recipe is fantastic. It's on my blog from this past winter if you wanna check it out. It's simple and easy, make the meat portion, toss w/ cooked pasta, make the bechamel for the top and bake. And it's great!
- July 15, 2010 at 9:37 AM
- Unknown said...
Casseroles are a lifesavor here, I love them and they just get better and better. THis looks great
- July 15, 2010 at 9:42 AM
- Ana Powell said...
I love making this dish too, so delicious ♥
- July 15, 2010 at 9:54 AM
- Lori said...
I like casseroles- this is a nice one.
I loved your analogy of life and casseroles- so true.
Enjoy your beautiful summer days and your family Mary! - July 15, 2010 at 10:00 AM
- Maggie said...
Oh this sounds so yummy. I'm seeing a new fella so this gives me something new and wonderful to try for him!
- July 15, 2010 at 10:20 AM
- Anonymous said...
Oh this looks so delicious! I love casseroles. Have a great day Mary!
- July 15, 2010 at 10:20 AM
- Susi's Kochen und Backen said...
I love Pastitsio but usually only get it when we go out and eat at a Greek restaurant. I'm bookmarking this recipe for the next time I find some good lamb! :o)
- July 15, 2010 at 10:21 AM
You can't tell that the recipe missed the mark by your photo! Beautiful!
- July 15, 2010 at 10:22 AM
- Adventures in Domestic Cooking said...
This looks sooo good!
Eggplant is wonderful! - July 15, 2010 at 10:30 AM
- Salsa Verde said...
Hi Mary,
What a fantastic and delicious meal!!
Lia. - July 15, 2010 at 10:43 AM
- Angie's Recipes said...
Casserole is like life :-)) I love the saying..but I must say that our casserole looks very pretty too!
- July 15, 2010 at 10:48 AM
- Gloria Baker said...
I love eggaplant and this look fantastic, nice recipe Mary, blessings, gloria
- July 15, 2010 at 11:00 AM
- Eliana said...
Love how you compred casseroles to life. So true. And this Pastisio looks amazing and almost like an awesome one I had a Greece while on vacation last month. Bravo!
- July 15, 2010 at 11:06 AM
- Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...
I love casseroles because they are simple, satisfying and serve a large group simply. Thanks for the recipe! Just goes to show casseroles can indeed be very unique and gourmet :).
- July 15, 2010 at 11:15 AM
- Kelly said...
Sorry to hear this didn't turn out perfectly, but glad you still shared so others can adapt and tweak. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm glad you did so it gave me the opportunity to follow yours. :-)
- July 15, 2010 at 11:30 AM
- Jennifer said...
Wow,that is gorgeous, another dish I have never attempted!
- July 15, 2010 at 11:53 AM
- Cherine said...
Looks so tempting!
- July 15, 2010 at 12:16 PM
- Maria said...
I love eggplant, one of my favorite veggies.
- July 15, 2010 at 12:26 PM
- Barbara said...
I agree, Mary. I have a nice repertoire of casseroles too...and they are so simple to turn to when you have company. I usually have one in the freezer for emergencies as well.
A lot of people don't like lamb, but my family loves it. So glad you gave this a trial run for us! - July 15, 2010 at 12:43 PM
- RamblingTart said...
Casseroles are one of my favorite things to eat. Always delicious, always savory, even if they aren't pretty. :-) Yours looks so hearty and delicious, Mary. :-)
- July 15, 2010 at 1:08 PM
- Chef E said...
Pasta is my weakness- I just made my mom's goulash recipe with lamb, was heavenly indulgence for my weekly meat meal!
- July 15, 2010 at 1:21 PM
- Brad said...
This looks outstanding. Lamb and Eggplant..who knew?
Brad - July 15, 2010 at 1:49 PM
- Jess @ Sugar High said...
I've never had lamb, but I adore eggplant. This sounds wonderful!
- July 15, 2010 at 2:44 PM
- Suman Singh said...
such a delicious and uinque looking casserole...love that eggplant in it...super yummy...
- July 15, 2010 at 3:23 PM
- RV said...
This is a luscious casserole. YUMM.
- July 15, 2010 at 3:24 PM
- CinnamonChoc said...
i was reading your entry in the middle of the night.and i was extremely hungry when looking at this recipe!i sure want to try this.nice to know it from u mary!good day :)
- July 15, 2010 at 4:11 PM
- Federica Simoni said...
ne mangerei una fetta...e farei pure il bis...deve essere una bontà!!:-))
Bravissima!!ciaooooooo - July 15, 2010 at 4:12 PM
- Joyti said...
I really like the fact that you provided a history of the casserole, it was very interesting. I think that casseroles are perhaps underrated because they're seen as old-fashioned. I haven't ever had a casserole, but this looks like a good one to try.
- July 15, 2010 at 4:21 PM
- Unknown said...
Looks tasty. I have a recipe for Pastitsio that I have saved as well, just never got around to trying it. One day perhaps...
- July 15, 2010 at 4:45 PM
- DailyChef said...
I like how you compare casserole to life :) Great looking recipe too. I don't think I've tried lamb in casserole before.
- July 15, 2010 at 6:02 PM
- citymouse said...
I made Pastitsio once about 20 years ago and all I remember was that it was a lot of work! I am a huge fan of casseroles and will probably give this a whirl since it will be different than the ones I usually make.
Thanks! - July 15, 2010 at 6:47 PM
- Judy said...
I have made this dish many times, and also moussaka. Love both of them. I have two Greek friends and they both make pastitsio and moussaka. Greek food is delicious.
PS Please come by my judyskitchen blog and enter my $70 giveaway. Deadline is Sunday, July 25, Midnight. Open to all. You may win a nice prize for kids or grandkids. - July 15, 2010 at 7:06 PM
- The Words Crafter said...
Mmmm, that looks good! And thank you for your encouraging words on my blog. It means a lot.
- July 15, 2010 at 7:43 PM
- El said...
Such a wonderful description and history. It looks like a wonderful dish. Thanks for sharing!
- July 15, 2010 at 7:49 PM
- Julie M. said...
I love lamb, so this seems like it would be an interesting casserole. I have three boys so we know all about the hollow leg syndrome. We do a lot of one dish meals in this house. Thanks for sharing!
- July 15, 2010 at 8:51 PM
- Deb in Hawaii said...
I really enjoy Pastitsio--my old roommate's mom, who is Greek used to make it and my favorite Greek restaurant here makes a good one too. Too bad this recipe didn't deliver the way you wanted it too--it does look delicious.
- July 16, 2010 at 1:44 AM
- Jeannie said...
Looks delicious and beautiful! My boys simply love casseroles!
- July 16, 2010 at 1:50 AM
- FOODESSA said...
Mary...glad you made an honourary place for the ugly duckling too...and after all...your casserole looks far from ugly ;o)
It looks delicious. I too make this recipe somewhat a little differently though...and enjoy it very much.
Have a great weekend and flavourful wishes, Claudia - July 16, 2010 at 8:50 AM
- Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...
You know I am there Mary with this Greek-inspired casserole.
- July 16, 2010 at 10:59 AM
- Evelyne@CheapEthnicEatz said...
LOVE the casserole is like life comment lol. I love casseroles in the winter. I have had this in Greek restaurants and to me it feels like a shortcut to a good moussaka. But a bit of tweaking could make it interesting.
Thank you for the amazing comments you left on my blog. really touched. I really enjoy yours too! - July 16, 2010 at 3:40 PM
- Sasha said...
I love your life-casserole analogy.
This dish looks amazing. I have to try it. - July 16, 2010 at 5:01 PM
That sounds delicious... warm, satisfying, and just perfect for our weather at the moment.
- July 16, 2010 at 6:42 PM
- CaSaundraLeigh said...
This sounds so tasty! I love one dish meals, and I have never tried lamb before!
- July 18, 2010 at 9:58 AM
- EJL said...
I love pastitsio, so I'm sorry this was less than impressive for you. I find a tablespoon or two of allspice and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg in the lamb sauce really brings this dish to another level.
Your posts always make me want to jump up and go get myself covered in flour. Thanks. - July 19, 2010 at 3:56 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Mary, just a note to say I linked to this post as I had pastitsio on my YamDaisy menu!
- July 19, 2010 at 9:50 PM


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Oh, mercy! Rangers put up 30 runs: In this Worst Summer Ever for sports, there have been glimmers of glorious frivolity.
Isn't it nice to have a moment when we can all kick back, stare at the 30 runs -- 30! -- that the Rangers hung on the Orioles and enjoy the distraction that comes with something that hasn't happened in baseball since the 19th century.
And it begs a question of particular relevance given that we're in the middle of the Little League World Series:
Should Major League Baseball have a "mercy rule?"
The easy (and obvious) answer, of course, is "no." But maybe there's something to the idea. Aside from the novelty (and the impact on record-keeping), there was little point to continuing the game after the Rangers' lead reached, say, 20 runs. (The Little League mercy rule is triggered at 10.)
Would anyone have blamed the Orioles if newly "un-interimed" manager Dave Trembley had forfeited the game during the top of the 8th inning? (Especially considering they still had a second game of a double-header to play immediately afterward. With the idea of salvaging a split, it's not such a ludicrous idea. I would have given him huge credit if he did forfeit Game 1.)
Perhaps you believe that professional players should have to take their defeats in any and all forms. I was on a JetBlue flight and watched the highlights probably half-a-dozen times, unable to look away, even after multiple viewings. It's hard to feel mercy when you're laughing.
But -- if the (not unreasonable) clever gamesmanship implications of a "mercy"-driven forfeit don't do it for you -- maybe MLB can (or should) learn a little sportsmanship from their pre-pubescent peers.
Tom Brady joins the Varsity Dads: Congrats to Brady (and Bridget). Aside from Tiger, I can't imagine a more theoretically ideal father if you had to grow up the son of a sports star.
Reader E.F. quickly responds with an astute observation:
"How about any father that is married to the mother? What is the point of having Tom Brady as a dad if you don't ever seen him because he lives 2000 miles away from the mom who will be raising him?"
Brandon Webb Milestone Watch: Consecutive scoreless innings streak ends at 42 after Prince Fielder ruins it with an RBI single in the 1st.
MLB Stud: Albert Pujols, who homered for the 5th consecutive game. (In case you were, like me, too enthralled by the Rick Ankiel story to notice that Pujols is still the king of the Cards.)
MLB Dud: Cole Hamels, who went to the 15-day DL, temporarily tweaking the Phillies' postseason-race chances (and his own NL Cy campaign).
NFL: Jerome Bettis admits to faking an injury in Steelers camp in 2000 in order to avoid getting cut.
Rather than thinking of this as scandalous, I think it merely pulls back the curtain on what I can only imagine is an incredibly popular -- and widespread -- tactic among players, particularly aging stars.
(But nevertheless, anytime in sports – especially in the hyper-macho world of pro football – someone deploys the phrase "faked it," it doesn't sit well with most fans' ideas about sports and meritocracy.)
More NFL: Eli vs. Tiki. Seriously, do you really care? Here are two of the least likeable personalities in the NFL of the past year. If they want to feud, let 'em. Neither deserves the air time or attention.
Vick Watch: Why would Stephon Marbury defend Michael Vick? Marbury had built up an incredible amount of good-will from his populist sneaker line. Then he goes and erodes it by taking an insanely unpopular position.
Meanwhile, an NAACP leader wants the NFL and the Falcons to let Vick return after he does his jail time. I think that's the wrong battle to pick.
Meanwhile, 50 dogs found on Vick's property will be euthanized if they are not claimed by today. The problem is that the dogs are so brutalized that a domesticated life is probably unrealistic, with euthanization the only humane thing left for them.
Golf: FedEx Cup "Playoffs" and the question: Does anyone really care? Mainstream pundits have made a mistake trying to make this about casual fans.
(I'm not quite sure what a "casual" golf fan is: Someone who only watches the majors? Someone who only watches if Tiger is contending on Sunday?)
I think the PGA's "playoff" marketing is about keeping the more avid golf fans interested, using language (if not appeal) that casual fans can understand.
CFB: Did somebody mention Tim Tebow? (No? Just me wedging him into the discussion? Oh well.)
More CFB: I just filled out my first preseason ballot for the Blog Poll Top 25. The process (not the poll itself) affirmed how difficult (and ludicrous) it is to try to rank teams now. My guiding principle was to rank them based how I think they'll end the regular season (as opposed to my ballot after each week's games, when I'll rank them based on actual performance).
For an example of another BlogPollster, here's the entry from EDSBS. I'm not one to talk, but needless to say, I don't have South Carolina at No. 6. (But my list is so uninspired, so far, that I have to give him credit for taking a flying leap now, when the premium should be on clever choices.)
The real surprise (especially to me, as I realized what I was about to do) was which team I ended up ranking No. 1. (Hint: It was NOT USC.) I'll reveal that (plus the entire Top 25) next Monday to kick off the week-long college football preview coverage.
(Wow, between the CFB preview coverage and the celebration of the blog's one-year anniversary, next week's going to be a big week.)


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This analysis was written for the Unz Review.
First, my writing on the wall
In October of last year a wrote an analysis I entitled The USA are about to face the worst crisis of their history and how Putin's example might inspire Trump and I think that this is a good time to revisit it now. I began the analysis by looking at the calamities which would befall the United States if Hillary was elected. Since this did not happen (thank God!), we can safely ignore that part and look at my prediction of what would happen if Trump was elected. Here is what I wrote:
Trump wins. Problem: he will be completely alone. The Neocons have a total, repeat total, control of the Congress, the media, banking and finance, and the courts. From Clinton to Clinton they have deeply infiltrated the Pentagon, Foggy Bottom, and the three letter agencies. The Fed is their stronghold. How in the world will Trump deal with these rabid "crazies in the basement"? Consider the vicious hate campaign which all these "personalities" (from actors, to politicians to reporters) have unleashed against Trump – they have burned their bridges, they know that they will lose it all if Trump wins (and, if he proves to be an easy pushover his election will make no difference anyway). The Neocons have nothing to lose and they will fight to the very last one. What could Trump possibly do to get anything done if he is surrounded by Neocons and their agents of influence? Bring in an entirely different team? How is he going to vet them? His first choice was to take Pence as a VP – a disaster (he is already sabotaging Trump on Syria and the elections outcome). I *dread* the hear whom Trump will appoint as a White House Chief of Staff as I am afraid that just to appease the Neocons he will appoint some new version of the infamous Rahm Emanuel… And should Trump prove that he has both principles and courage, the Neocons can always "Dallas" him and replace him with Pence. Et voilà!
I went on to suggest that Trump's only option would be to follow Putin's example and do the the Neocons what Putin did to the oligarchs. Clearly that did not happen. In fact, one month after the election of Trump I wrote another analysis entitled "The Neocons and the "deep state" have neutered the Trump Presidency, it's over folks!".
Less than a month ago I warned that a 'color revolution ' was taking place in the USA. My first element of proof was the so-called "investigation" which the CIA, FBI, NSA and others were conducting against President Trump's candidate to become National Security Advisor, General Flynn. Tonight, the plot to get rid of Flynn has finally succeeded and General Flynn had to offer his resignation. Trump accepted it. Now let's immediately get one thing out of the way: Flynn was hardly a saint or a perfect wise man who would single handedly saved the world. That he was not. However, what Flynn was is the cornerstone of Trump's national security policy. (…) The Neocon run 'deep state' has now forced Flynn to resign under the idiotic pretext that he had a telephone conversation, on an open, insecure and clearly monitored, line with the Russian ambassador. And Trump accepted this resignation. Ever since Trump made it to the White House, he has taken blow after blow from the Neocon-run Ziomedia, from Congress, from all the Hollywood doubleplusgoodthinking "stars" and even from European politicians. And Trump took each blow without ever fighting back. Nowhere was his famous "you are fired!" to be seen. But I still had hope. I wanted to hope. I felt that it was my duty to hope. But now Trump has betrayed us all. Again, Flynn was not my hero. But he was, by all accounts, Trump's hero. And Trump betrayed him. The consequences of this will be immense. For one thing, Trump is now clearly broken. It took the 'deep state' only weeks to castrate Trump and to make him bow to the powers that be. Those who would have stood behind Trump will now feel that he will not stand behind them and they will all move back away from him. The Neocons will feel elated by the elimination of their worst enemy and emboldened by this victory they will push on, doubling-down over and over and over again. It's over, folks, the deep state has won.
I then concluded that the consequences of this victory would catastrophic for the United States:
In their hate-filled rage against Trump and the American people (aka "the basket of deplorables") the Neocons have had to show their true face. By their rejection of the outcome of the elections, by their riots, their demonization of Trump, the Neocons have shown two crucial things: first, that the US democracy is a sad joke and that they, the Neocons, are an occupation regime which rules against the will of the American people. In other words, just like Israel, the USA has no legitimacy left. And since, just like Israel, the USA are unable to frighten their enemies, they are basically left with nothing, no legitimacy, no ability to coerce. So yes, the Neocons have won. But their victory is removes the last chance for the US to avoid a collapse.
I think that what we are seeing today are the first signs of the impending collapse.
The symptoms of the agony
- Externally, the US foreign policy is basically "frozen" and in lieu of a foreign policy we now only have a long series of empty threats hurled at a list of demonized countries which are now promised "fire and brimstone" should they dare to disobey Uncle Sam. While this makes for good headlines, this does not qualify as a "policy" of any kind (I discussed this issue at length during my recent interview with SouthFront). And then there is Congress which has basically stripped Trump from his powers to conduct foreign policy. This bizarre, and illegal, form of a "vote of no-confidence" further hammers in the message that Trump is either a madman, a traitor, or both.
- Internally, the latest riots in Charlottesville now being blamed on Trump who, after being a Putin agent is now further demonized as some kind of Nazi (see Paul Craig Roberts' first and second warnings about this dynamic)
- Organizationally, it is clear that Trump is surrounded by enemies as illustrated by the absolutely outrageous fact that he can't even talk to a foreign head of state without having the transcript of his conversation leaked to the Ziomedia.
I believe that these all are preparatory steps to trigger a major crisis and use it to remove Trump, either by a process of impeachment, or by force under the pretext of some crisis. Just look at the message which the Ziomedia has been hammering into the brains of the US population.
The psychological preparation for the forthcoming coup: scaring them all to death
Here are three very telling examples taken from Newsweek's front page:
Ask yourself, what is the message here?
Trump is a traitor, he works for Putin, Putin wants to destroy democracy in the United States and these two men together are the most dangerous men on the planet. This is a "plot against America", no less!
Not bad, right?
"They" are clearly out there go get "us" and "we" are all in terrible danger: Kim Jong-un is about to declare nuclear war on the USA, Xi and Putin are threatening the world with their armies, and "our" own President came to power courtesy of the "Russian KGB" and "Putin's hackers", he now works for the Russians, he is also clearly a Nazi, a White supremacist, a racist and, possibly, a "new Hitler" (as is Putin, of course!).
And then, there are those truly scary Mooslims and Aye-rabs who apparently want only two things in life: destroy "our way of life" and kill all the "infidels". This is why we need the TSA, 16 intelligence agencies and militarized police SWAT teams everywhere: in case the terrorists come to get us where we live.
Dangerous international consequences
This would all be rather funny if it was not also extremely dangerous. For one thing, the US is really poking at a dangerous foe when it constantly tries to scare Kim Jong-un and the DPRK leadership. No, not because of the North Korean nukes (which are probably not real nuclear capable ICBMs but a not necessarily compatible combination of nuclear 'devices' and intermediate range ballistic missiles) but because of the huge and hard to destroy conventional North Korean military. The real threat are not missiles, but a deadly combination of conventional artillery and special forces which present very little danger to the USA or the US military, but which present a huge threat for the population of Seoul and the northern section of South Korea. Nukes, in whatever form, are really only an added problem, a toxic "icing" on an already very dangerous 'conventional cake'.
[Sidebar – a real life nightmare: Now, if you *really* want to terrify yourself and stay awake all night then consider the following. While I personally believe that Kim Jong-un is not insane and that the main objective of the North Korean leadership is to avoid a war at all costs, what if I am wrong? What if those who say that the North Korean leaders are totally insane are right? Or, which I think is much more likely, what if Kim Jong-un and the North Korean leaders came to the conclusion that they have nothing to lose, that the Americans are going to kill them all, along with their families and friends? What could they, in theory, do if truly desperate? Well, let me tell you: forget about Guam; think Tokyo! Indeed, while the DPRK could devastate Seoul with old fashioned artillery systems, DPRK missiles are probably capable of striking Tokyo or the Keihanshin region encompassing Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe including the key industries of the Hanshin Industrial Region. The Greater Tokyo area (Kanto region) and the Keihanshin region are very densely populated (37 and 20 million people respectively) and contain an immense number of industries, many of which would produce an ecological disaster of immense proportions if hit by missiles. Not only that, but a strike on the key economic and financial nodes of Japan would probably result in a 9-11 kind of international economic collapse. So if the North Koreans wanted to really, really hurt the Americans what they could do is strike Seoul, and key cities in Japan resulting in a huge political crisis for the entire planet. During the Cold War we used to study the consequences of a Soviet strike against Japan and the conclusion was always the same: Japan cannot afford a war of any kind. The Japanese landmass is too small, too densely populated, to rich in lucrative targets and a war lay waste to the entire country. This is still true today, only more so. And just imagine the reaction in South Korea and Japan if some crazy US strike on the DPRK results in Seoul and Tokyo being hit by missiles! The South Koreans have already made their position unambiguously clear, by the way. As for the Japanese, they are officially placing their hopes in missiles (as if technology could mitigate the consequences of insanity!). So yeah, the DPRK is plenty dangerous and pushing them into their last resort is totally irresponsible indeed, nukes or no nukes]
What we are observing now is positive feedback loop in which each move by the Neocons results in a deeper and deeper destabilization of the entire system. Needless to say, this is extremely dangerous and can only result in an eventual catastrophe/collapse. In fact, the signs that the USA are totally loosing control are already all over the place, here are just a few headlines to illustrate this:
- Iran could quit nuclear deal in 'hours' if new U.S. sanctions imposed: Rouhani
- Israel: Netanyahu declares support for a Kurdish state
- Syrian forces take 3 more towns en route to Deir ez-Zor in first airborne operation
- Maduro calls for nationwide 'anti-imperialist' drills after Trump's threat of 'military option'
- Soldiers of the 201st (Russian) base in Tadjikistan have been put on high alert as part of a military exercise
- Confirmed: Turkey to end support for anti-government terrorists in Syria
- Russia Plans Huge Zapad 2017 Military Exercises With Belarus
A French expression goes "when the cat is gone, the mice dance", and this is exactly what is happening now: the USA is both very weak and basically absent. As for the Armenians, they say "The mouse dreams dreams that would terrify the cat". Well, the "mice" of the world are dancing and dreaming and simply ignoring the "cat". Every move the cat makes only makes things worse for him. The world is moving on, while the cat is busy destroying himself.
Dangerous domestic consequences
First on my list would be race riots. In fact, they are already happening all over the United States, but they are rarely presented as such. And I am not talking about the "official" riots of Black Lives Matter, which are bad enough, I am talking about the many mini-riots which the official media is systematically trying to obfuscate. Those interested in this topic should read the book Don't Make the Black Kids Angry by Colin Flaherty which shows that racist attack on Whites by Blacks (aka "polar bear hunting") are on the rise pretty much all over the county. Likewise, to anybody who stubbornly persists in ignoring the strong correlation between race and crime ought to read Ron Unz's seminal analysis Race and Crime in America. Now, before some self-appointed thought police volunteer accuses me a racism, I am not saying anything at all about the causes of the racial problems in the United States. I am only saying that racial violence in the USA is severe and rapidly getting much worse.
The second problem which I see threatening the US society is an extremely rapid delegitimization of the entire US political system and, especially, of the Federal government. For decades now Americans have been voting for 'A' and each time what they ended up with is 'non-A'. Examples of that include the famous "read my lips, no new taxes", of course, but also Obama promises to stop stupid wars and now Trump's promise to "drain the swamp". Americans have been lied to for decades and they know it. There is a widening chasm between the so-called "American values" taught in schools and the reality of power. While officially the USA are supposed to stand for democracy, freedom and all the other good things advocated by the Founding Fathers, the disgusting reality is that the USA are in bed with Wahabis, Nazis and Zionists. The all-prevailing hypocrisy of it all now threatens to bring down the entire US political system just as the no less prevailing hypocrisy of the Soviet system brought down the USSR (if interested, you can read more about this topic here). The simple truth is that no regime can survive for too long when it proactively supports the exact opposite of what it officially is supposed to stand for. The result? I have yet to meet an adult American who would sincerely believe that he/she lives in the "land of the free and the home of the brave". Maybe infants still buy this stuff, but even teenagers know that this is a load of bull.
Third, for all the encouraging statistics about the Dow Jones, unemployment and growth, the reality is that the US society is rapidly transforming itself in a three-tired one: on top, a small number of obscenely rich people, under them, a certain amount of qualified professionals who service the filthy rich and who struggle to maintain a lifestyle which in the past was associated with the middle-class. And then the vast majority of Americans who basically are looking at making "minimal wage plus a little something" and who basically survive by not paying for health insurance, by typically working two jobs, by eating cheap and unhealthy "prolefeed" and by giving up on that which every American worker could enjoy in the 1950s and 1960s (have one parent at home, have paid holidays, a second vacation home, etc.). Americans are mostly hard workers and, so far, most of them are surviving, but they are mostly one paycheck away from seriously bad poverty. A lot of them only make ends meet because they get help from their parents and grand-parents (the same is true of southern Europe, by the way). A large segment of the US population now survives only because of Walmart and the Dollar Store. Once that fails, food stamps are the last option. That, or jail, of course.
Combine all this and you get a potentially extremely explosive situation. No wonder that when so many Americans heard Hillary's comment about the "basket of deplorables" they took that as declaration of war.
And how do the Neocons plan to deal with all this?
By cracking down on free speech and dissent, of course! What else?
Their only response – repression of course!
YouTube, Google, Facebook, Twitter – they are all cracking down on "bad" speech which includes pretty much any topic a garden variety self-described 'liberal' frowns upon. GoDaddy and Google are even going after domain names. Oh sure, nobody gets thrown in jail for, say, defending the 2nd Amendment, but they get "demonetized" and their accounts simply closed. It's not the cops cracking down on free speech, it's "Corporate America", but the effect is the same. Apparently, the Neocons do not realize that censorship is not a viable strategy in the age of the Internet. Or maybe they do, and they are deliberately trying to trigger a backlash?
Then there is the vilification campaign in the media: unless you are some kind of 'minority' you are assumed to be nefarious by birth and guilty of all the evils on the planet. And your leader is Trump, of course, or maybe even Putin himself, vide supra. Christian heterosexual White males better run for cover…
Whatever may be the case, by their manic insistence, on one hand, to humiliate and crush Trump and, on the other, to repress millions of Americans the Neocons are committing a double mistake. First, they are showing their true face and, second, they are subverting the very institutions they are using to control and run this country. That, of course, only further weaken the Neocons and the United States themselves and that further accelerates the positive feedback loop mentioned above which now threatens the entire international system.
Us and them
What makes the gradual collapse of the AngloZionist Empire so uniquely dangerous is that it is by far the biggest and most powerful empire in world history. No empire has ever had the quasi monopoly on power the USA enjoyed since WWII. By any measure, military, economic, political, social, the USA came out of WWII as a giant and while there were ups and downs during the subsequent decades, the collapse of the USSR only reaffirmed what appeared to be the total victory of the United States. In my admittedly subjective opinion, the last competent (no, I did not say 'good', I said 'competent') US President was George Herbert Walker Bush who, unlike his successors, at least new how to run an Empire. After that, it is all downhill, faster and faster. And if Obama was probably the most incompetent President in US history, Trump will be the first one to be openly lynched while in office. As a result, the AngloZionist Empire is now like a huge freight train which lost its locomotive but which still have an immense momentum pushing it forward even though there is nobody in control any more. The rest of the planet, with the irrelevant exception of the East Europeans, is now scrambling in horror to get out of the path of this out of control train. So far, the tracks (minimal common sense, political realities) are more or less holding, but a crash (political, economic or military) could happen at any moment. And that is very, very scary.
The USA has anywhere between 700 to 1000 military bases worldwide, the entire international financial system is deeply enmeshed with the US economy, the US Dollar is still the only real reserve currency, United States Treasury securities are held by all the key international players (including Russia and China), SWIFT is politically controlled by the USA, the US is the only country in the world that can print as much money as it wants and, last but not least, the US has a huge nuclear arsenal. As a result, a US collapse would threaten everybody and that means that nobody would want to trigger one. The collapse of the Soviet Union threatened the rest of mankind only in one way: by its nuclear arsenal. In contrast, any collapse of the United States would threaten everybody in many different ways.
So the real question now is this: can the rest of the planet prevent a catastrophic collapse of the AngloZionist Empire?
This is the irony of our situation: even though the entire planet is sick and tried of the incompetent arrogance of the AngloZionists, nobody out there wants their Empire to catastrophically collapse. And yet, with the Neocons in power, such a collapse appears inevitable with potentially devastating consequences for everybody.
This is really amazing, think of it: everybody hates the Neocons, not only a majority of the American people, but truly the entire planet. And yet that numerically small group of people has somehow managed to put everybody in danger, including themselves, due to their ugly vindictiveness, infinite arrogance and ideology-induced short-sightedness. That this could ever have happened, and at a planetary scale, is a dramatic testimony to the moral and spiritual decay of our civilization: how did we ever let things get that far?!
And the next obvious question: can we still stop them?
I honestly don't know. I hope so, but I am not sure. My biggest hope with Trump was that he would be willing to sacrifice the Empire for the sake of the USA (the opposite of what the Neocons are doing: they are willing to sacrifice the USA for the sake of their Empire) and that he would manage a relatively safe and hopefully non-violent transition from Empire to "normal country" for the USA. Clearly, this is ain't happening. Instead, the Neocons are threatening everybody: the Chinese, the Russians, the North Koreans and the Venezuelans of course, but also the Europeans (economically), the entire Middle-East (via the "only democracy in the Middle-East"), all the developing countries and even the American people. Heck, they are even threatening the US President himself, and in not-so-subtle ways!
So what's next?
Truly, I don't know. But my overwhelming sense is that Trump will be removed from office, either for "high crimes and misdemeanors" or for "medical reasons" (they will simply declare him insane and unfit to be the President). Seeing how weak and spineless Trump is, he might even be "convinced" to resign. I don't see them simply murdering him simply because he is no Kennedy either. After that, Pence comes to power and it will all be presented like a wonderful event, a group-hug of the elites followed by an immediate and merciless crackdown on any form of political opposition or dissent which will immediately be labeled as racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, terrorist, etc. The evil hand of the "Russian KGB" (yes, I know, the KGB was dissolved in 1991) will be found everywhere, especially amongst US libertarians (who will probably the only ones with enough brains to understand what is taking place). The (pseudo-) "Left" will rejoice. Should this course of action result in an unexpected level or resistance, either regional or social, a 9-11 false flag followed by a war will the most likely scenario (why stray away from something which worked so well the first time around?!). Unless the USA decides to re-invade Grenada or give Nauru a much deserved thrashing, any more or less real war will result in a catastrophic failure for the USA at which point the use of nukes by the Neocon crazies might become a very real risk, especially if symbolic US targets such as aircraft carriers are hit (in 1991 when the US sent the 82nd AB to Iraq there was nothing standing between this light infantry force and the Iraqi armored divisions. Had the Iraqis attacked the plan was to use tactical nuclear weapons. Then this was all quickly forgotten).
There is a reason why the Neocons thrive in times of crisis: it allows them to hide behind the mayhem, especially when they are the ones who triggered the mayhem in the first place. This means that as long as the Neocons are anywhere near in power they will never, ever, allow peace to suddenly break out, lest the spotlight be suddenly shined directly upon them. Chaos, wars, crises – this is their natural habitat. Think of it as the by-product of their existence. Eventually, of course, they will be stopped and they will be defeated, like all their predecessors in history. But I shudder when I think of the price mankind will have to pay this time around.
The Saker


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Voters in Wisconsin's GOP primary Tuesday are poised to help former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wrap up his dogged, well-financed quest for the Republican presidential nomination.
But the winner-take-all primary and Romney's drawn-out battle with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have been overshadowed by the campaign to recall GOP Gov. Scott Walker, whose anti-union efforts since his 2010 election have cleaved the Badger State.
"Everything here is overwhelmed by the recall," says Don Taylor, the influential chairman of the GOP in Waukesha County, the state's most Republican redoubt. "This is the first presidential year that we have not zeroed in on the presidential race."
From Purple — To Red And Blue
It's no wonder.
Walker, who on June 5 will face the winner of a coming special Democratic gubernatorial primary, is presiding over a state often described as "purple" for its stir of Republicans and Democrats.
After more than a year of emotional battles over collective bargaining and budgets, voter identification laws and congressional redistricting, as well as a Walker recall petition drive that collected more than 900,000 signatures, Wisconsin has shed its purple hue.
It's now a red state — and a blue state — with ugly divisions that seem less geographic and more personal. They play out neighbor to neighbor, family member to family member, fueled by talk radio and special money that has poured into Wisconsin since Walker and Republicans took control of the governor's office and the state Legislature.
"It's been a very difficult state to be in," Cathy Waller, who runs the Waukesha County Republican office in suburban Milwaukee, said recently, choking back tears as she spoke about recall fever and accompanying animosity that has gripped the state.
"I can't stand it," she said. "It's got to stop."
The pace of local political news, however, continues to be so relentless that "even bloggers can't keep up," says liberal blogger Lisa Muxworthy.
"Every day," she says, "several major things happen." And they have had little, if anything, to do with Romney, Santorum and the GOP presidential nomination.
No End In Sight
The months of partisan intrastate warfare, while exhausting for many, have energized the bases of both parties in a state expected to be a presidential battleground in November.
In downtown Waukesha, a handsome collection of two- and three-story stone and brick buildings from the early 1900s, Democrats have been working on voter lists and contacts in four offices: two recall-related efforts, the local Democratic Party office and the pro-Obama Organizing For America shop.
Republicans are in a strip mall a few miles away, making their own contacts in a suite of offices, and in a cavernous call center that has accommodated big rallies and get-out-the-vote efforts. Romney recently opened his temporary headquarters a few doors away.
"I don't think the Democratic Party was ready in 2010," Bruce MacIntyre, a retired biology and physics professor, said during a recent evening coffee klatch at Sprizzo Gallery Caffe in downtown Waukesha.
Added Mary O'Herron, a retired rural letter carrier: "But Scott Walker has organized us."
At the Republican headquarters, Waller sees a similar dynamic on the GOP side.
"In my 10 years here, I've never seen anything like this so early — energized people, and a great base that's started working now," she said.
All of this has set up not only a battle royale in June for the governor's office, but another in the fall when control of the state Legislature (not to mention the White House) will be up for grabs.
"My opinion is that there are virtually no undecided voters left in the state," Taylor, the Waukesha GOP chairman, said during lunch across the street from his family-founded-and-operated Waukesha State Bank.
"We're not trying to convince anyone," he said. "Our focus is trying to get people to the polls."
Walker Challenges: Voting Booth And Investigation
Four Democrats are vying to take on the governor in June. They include Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost to Walker in a close race in 2010, and Kathleen Falk, a union favorite. They'll compete in a May 8 primary.
Three Republican legislators also face recall; a fourth targeted for recall has opted not to run.
Walker also continues to be shadowed by a grand jury investigation into his time as Milwaukee County executive. A half-dozen of his former aides have already been charged in the "John Doe" probe, which focuses on allegations that political work was done on the taxpayers' dime while Walker served as county executive.
Walker recently set up his own legal defense fund, while asserting publicly that he has been cooperating with the investigation. He's also defending the state's economic performance during his time in office. Though Wisconsin's unemployment rate has declined to 6.9 percent from a high of 9.2 percent as recently as January 2010, it had the worst job creation performance in the nation in 2011.
Taylor insists he's not worried about how Walker will fare in June.
"I'm confident because he has faith in the Lord," Taylor said. "Scott is very close to the Lord. I love the Lord, too, but I don't think I could be as fearless as Scott."
High Stakes, Spotlight On State
Waller and activists on the other side of the political divide know how high the political stakes are in Wisconsin, which is awash in big national money bankrolling both pro- and anti-Walker efforts.
"We understand that what's happening here is an example for both sides," Waller says. "We understand that however this state goes, so goes the rest of the country."
Walker last year pushed through what he called a "budget repair bill" that eliminated most public-sector union collective bargaining rights. In doing so he became both a national conservative icon and the bete noire of unions representing teachers and state workers hardest hit by the new law. (Walker exempted firefighters and law enforcement workers from the collective bargaining rollbacks.)
"The Koch brothers think they have a protege in Walker," says Kristin Hansen, a volunteer for President Obama's re-election effort in Waukesha County, referring to the wealthy anti-union industrialists who are big financial backers of the governor and the Tea Party movement.
"There's a Republican attack on Wisconsin," says Hansen, who works for the Wisconsin affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. "You try not to get paranoid, but they're attacking unions here, voter identification laws, women's rights."
"But we don't feel helpless," she said. "The organization surrounding the recall has meant that hundreds of people are involved who probably weren't involved before."
The Republican presidential primary, meanwhile, has failed to ignite the imagination of local party stalwarts.
"I do detect among my conservative friend passive support for whoever gets the nomination," Taylor, the county GOP chairman, said. But it will be the question over who will retain, or gain, control of the state Legislature that will animate the fall campaign season.
"I expect lots of enthusiasm and enormous turnout," Taylor said. "And, as a sideline, they're going to vote for president."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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This fonds includes records dealing with the Edmonton Eskimo Football Club, including game programs, media guides and fact books, bound hardcover team scrapbooks with media clippings dating from 1880-2007, ephemera including material relating to Peggy Miller (a CJCA promotion manager and an advocate for the Eskimos) as well as Canadian Football League publications such as rules manuals, statistics books, records manuals, and media guides for various Canadian teams.
The audio-visual material includes a video of highlights from Eskimos' 1954-55-56 Grey Cups and four films of the 1973, 1974, and 1981 Grey Cups and 1978 Schenley Awards. The photographs include various players, teams and games from 1892 to 1985.
The fonds is arranged as follows:
- Series 1 – Canadian Football League
- Series 2 – Ephemera
- Series 3 – Media Guides
- Series 4 – Program Guides
- Series 5 – Publications, Newspapers and Scrapbooks
- Series 6 – Audio-Visual
- Series 7 – Objects


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As criticism of sugary sodas intensifies, Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper are rolling out new vending machines that will put calorie counts right at your fingertips.
The move comes ahead of a regulation that would require restaurant chains and vending machines to post the information as early as next year, although the specifics for complying with the requirement are still being worked out.
"They're seeing the writing on the wall and want to say that it's corporate responsibility," said Mike Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates for food safety and nutrition.
Still, he noted that it was an important step forward. "Currently, people don't think about calories when they go up to a vending machine," he said. "Having the calories right on the button will help them make choices."
The American Beverage Association, which represents Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., said the calorie counts will be on the buttons people press to select a drink. Vending machines will also feature small decals, such as "Calories Count: Check Then Choose."
The vending machines will launch in Chicago and San Antonio municipal buildings in 2013 before appearing nationally.
Without providing specifics, the American Beverage Association said the machines will also boost the availability of lower- and zero-calorie drinks.
"We have market research that says consumers really like this — they like choice, they like the ability to make choices," said Susan Neely, president of the industry group.
A mock-up of a new machine provided by Coca-Cola showed 20-ounce bottles of its flagship drink and Sprite inside vending machines, with labels on the buttons stating "240 calories."
The soda industry has been under fire for fueling rising obesity rates. Last month, New York City approved a first-in-the-nation plan to prohibit the sale of sugary drinks over 16 ounces in the city's restaurants, movie theaters and stadiums.
Notably, the beverage industry fought aggressively to fight the ban and hasn't ruled out taking legal action to stop it from taking effect this spring.
This November, voters in Richmond, Calif. will also decide whether to approve a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks.
The decision to post calorie information follows the Supreme Court's decision this summer to uphold President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, which includes a regulation that would require restaurant chains and with more than 20 locations and vending operators with more than 20 machines to post calorie information.
McDonald's Corp. also announced last month that it would begin posting calorie information on its menus nationwide. Like the soda industry, the fast-food giant said it was a voluntary decision and not spurred by the pending requirement.
In addition to public health concerns, soft drink makers are dealing with shifting consumer habits. Soda consumption per person has been declining in the U.S. since 1998, according to the Beverage Digest. The decline is partly the result of the growing number of options such as flavored waters, bottled teas and sports drinks — which Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper also make.
As a result, Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper are focusing on developing more diet drinks, as well as expanding into other drinks to reduce their reliance on sodas.
There is no timetable for when all vending machines will be converted. Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper often work with third-party operators to provide drinks in vending machines; Neely said the companies will work with those outside operators to convert all machines over time.
Vending machines account for about 13 percent of sales volume, a figure that has remained relatively unchanged in recent years, according to Beverage Digest.
Soda consumption is often identified for playing a role in rising obesity rates, although other factors such as a lack of physical activity and overeating also contribute.
Last month, the New England Journal of Medicine published a decades-long study of more than 33,000 Americans that showed sugary beverages interact with genes that affect weight, meaning they are especially harmful to people who are hereditarily predisposed to weight gain.
Bonnie Sashin, who works as a communications director for a nonprofit in Brookline, Mass., says she stays away from sugary drinks, limiting herself to a can of Diet Dr Pepper or Diet Coke about twice a month. But she thought the move to display calorie information on vending machines was a positive development.
"Anything that helps us be more educated about calories is a good thing," Sashin said.
Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi


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Nobody Loves Me: The feeling you get when, after a long period of time, you check your email, phone messages, texts and social networking sites only to find no one has sent you anything. (In reality, its only been like a half hour...) Also Nobody Loves You
I took a nap for like 3 hours and when i went to check my phone nobody called or tried to text me. "Nobody Loves Me"
by Headcircus July 7, 2010
by JustYoDude April 14, 2018


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Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear
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White House tries to keep immigration on track
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 20, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday sought to keep delicate immigration negotiations on track, as a key Republican senator distanced himself further from a draft bill President Barack Obama's aides are readying in case congressional talks crumble.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio's office said Obama's plan "injected additional partisanship into an already difficult process." The White House, following the weekend leak of its draft legislation, insisted the president wants the bipartisan Senate group Rubio is a member of to put forward its own bill instead.
Obama spoke with Rubio on Tuesday to reiterate his commitment to the Senate process and to make clear that he had his own legislation ready, the White House said. The president also called Republicans Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona, two other GOP lawmakers involved in the immigration negotiations.
"It is, by far, the president's preference that the Senate process move forward, that the bipartisan group of eight have success, and that they produce a bill that wins the support of Democrats and Republicans in Senate," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Senate aides said privately Tuesday that bipartisan negotiations are in a good place and they did not feel as though the disclosure of details in Obama's draft bill would disrupt their process. In fact, Obama's backup bill could end up spurring GOP lawmakers to rally behind a congressional plan with many similarities rather than support legislation attached to the president.
While they differ on some key details, both sides are contemplating legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for most of the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S., tighten border security, crack down on businesses that employ illegal workers and strengthen the legal immigration system.
Rubio, a rising Republican star and favorite of his party's conservative wing, has particular incentive to publicly disavow Obama's proposals.
As one of his party's leading voices on immigration, Rubio will be called on to sell other conservatives on any deal and he knows that doing so will be harder if that deal has the president's stamp on it. He'll also have to convince Republicans that a bipartisan Senate agreement would be more conservative than what Obama would propose on his own.
Rubio's office, trying to further distance itself from the White House, insisted Tuesday that the senator's team had not been in talks with the administration on immigration. But Rubio spokesman Alex Conant later said that a representative from the senator's office participated in five meetings with administration officials.
Administration officials said they were willing to take hits from the Florida lawmaker if doing so gave him the cover to work with Senate Democrats to reach a deal.
"As long as Sen. Rubio and the rest of the gang are making real progress on immigration reform, we are happy to be on the sidelines and even serve as a punching bag every once in a while," Dan Pfeiffer, Obama's senior adviser, said.
The White House insisted it did not intentionally leak details of its immigration plan, which circulated widely at key government agencies. Top Obama aides tried to clear up the mess over the weekend, sending apologetic emails to the offices of the eight senators, including Rubio, at the center of the Capitol Hill negotiations.
Obama officials say the documents represent draft proposals, not a final bill. The president and his aides have repeatedly said publicly that the White House was readying legislation and would submit it to Congress if the Senate process stalls.
The draft White House proposal and the principles outlined by the Senate group overlap in many areas, though there are some key differences.
The administration's draft proposal would create a visa for those in the country illegally and allow them to become legal permanent residents within about eight years as part of a broader pathway to citizenship. The Senate group is looking at a 10-year timeline before people already in the U.S. illegally could get green cards.
While Obama's proposal calls for more funding for securing the border, it does not make border security a pre-condition for opening a pathway to citizenship. The Senate group's principles would require a border security trigger, though it's unclear how they would define a secure border.
Rubio's office has also criticized the president's proposals for not including a guest worker program or a plan for dealing with the future flow of immigrants.
Officials say the White House has not set a deadline for when the president would choose to abandon the Senate process and send his bill to Capitol Hill. Senate lawmakers have raised the prospect of drafting a bill next month.


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How about some golf and incredible views this summer along with complimentary golf, greens fees, and transfers? There are some terrific inclusions available at Sandals in both The Bahamas and St Lucia. Check it out, and then let's chat to get you booked! https://tinyurl.com/GolfwithaView
Showing posts with label The Bahamas. Show all posts
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Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Tips on Thursday - Love Happens
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Tips on Thursday - Passport Information
Passports are required for all travelers, including
citizens of the U.S. and Canada, who enter or re-enter the U.S. by air, land or
There are a few notable exceptions
pertaining to land and sea border crossings:
- U.S. citizens on cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port and travel to destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas or Bermuda are able to re-enter the U.S. with proof of citizenship other than a passport or passport card. Acceptable proof of citizenship includes a U.S. state-issued original or certified copy of their birth certificate (hospital certificates are not acceptable) or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization and a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license). Passports are required for cruises that begin in one U.S. port and end in another.
- Children under the age of 16 who are citizens of the U.S. or Canada are exempt from the passport requirement for land and sea border crossings. In lieu of a passport, children are able to use a U.S. state-issued original or certified copy of their birth certificate (hospital certificates are not acceptable) or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization as proof of citizenship for entry into the U.S. by land or by sea. Children entering or re-entering the U.S. by air are required to have a valid passport.
- A new, lower-cost alternative to the passport, called a passport card, is acceptable for entries into the U.S. by land or sea. The passport card is not acceptable for air travel.
- The following cruise lines require a passport for all sailings, regardless of destination or port of departure: Azamara Club Cruises, Crystal, Cunard, Fred. Olsen, Hurtigruten, Oceania, Orion Expedition Cruises, P&O, Paul Gauguin, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea, Star Clippers, Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and Windstar.
- Photocopies of required documentation are not acceptable in any circumstance.
- Even though passports are not required at this time for U.S. citizens who sail on cruises to the above destinations that begin and end in the same U.S. port, we strongly recommend that all cruise passengers travel with a valid passport anyway. This is because guests who need to fly to or from the U.S. unexpectedly during their cruise will likely experience significant delays and complications related to booking airline tickets and entering the U.S. if they do not have a valid passport with them. For example, a passenger missing a cruise departure due to a late inbound flight to Miami would need a passport to fly to meet the ship at the next port. Similarly, guests needing to fly to or through the U.S. before their cruise ends because of medical, family, personal or business emergencies, missing a ship's departure from a port of call, or a mechanical problem of some sort with the ship, would need a passport. Of course, situations like these are rare, but they can happen.
Passports are not required for U.S. citizens traveling to
or returning directly from Hawaii or a U.S. territory, including Guam, Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands.
Passports are required for cruise travel to all
International destinations not mentioned above, and for cruises that involve
air travel that begins or ends outside of the U.S. Passports must be valid for
at least six months after the last day of travel.
For information about obtaining a passport for the first
time, or about renewing a passport, visit the U.S. Department ofState's website.
Legal U.S. Residents (Non-Citizens)
Legal permanent residents of the U.S. must have a valid
passport from their country of citizenship and a valid Alien Registration Card
(Green Card) to enter or re-enter the U.S.
Non-U.S., Non-Canada Citizens
The following countries participate in a visa waiver
program with the U.S., and citizens of these countries must have a
machine-readable passport for entry into the U.S.:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San
Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the
United Kingdom
Citizens of the countries listed above who do not possess
machine-readable passports, and citizens of countries not listed above must present
a valid passport and a valid United States visa upon entry into the U.S. For
those whose travel plans include multiple entries into the U.S., such as a
cruise that begins and ends in a U.S. port, a multiple-entry visa is required.
All travelers, including U.S. and Canada citizens, are
responsible for verifying visa requirements with consular officials, and
obtaining visas where required, for every country visited during their trip,
including countries visited via connecting flights.
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If you want to understand what's behind the recent tension between Colombia and Venezuela, think "smokescreen," and then go back several months to some sick children in the Department of Meta, just south of Bogota. The children fell ill after drinking from a local stream, a stream contaminated by the bodies of more than 2,000 people, secretly buried by the Colombian military.
According to the Colombian high command, the mass grave just outside the army base at La Macarena contains the bodies of guerilla fighters killed between 2002 and 2009 in that country's long-running civil war. But given the army's involvement in the so-called "false positive" scandal, human rights groups are highly skeptical that the dead are members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation Army, the two insurgent groups fighting the central government.
"False positive" is the name given to the Colombian armed forces operation that murdered civilians and then dressed them up in insurgent uniforms in order to demonstrate the success of the army's counterinsurgency strategy, thus winning more aid from the U.S. According to the human rights organizations Comision de Derechos Homanos del Bajo Ariari and Colectivo Orlando Fals Borda, some 2,000 civilians have been murdered under the program.
The bodies at La Macarena have not been identified yet, but suspicion is that they represent victims of the "false-positive" program, as well as rural activists and trade unionists. The incoming Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, was defense secretary when the murders were talking place. Santos also oversaw a brief invasion of Ecuador in 2008 that reportedly killed a number of insurgents. The invasion was widely condemned throughout Latin America.
Diverting attention is what outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is all about. While his foreign minister, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, was laying out photos and intelligence claiming that Venezuela was hosting upwards of 1500 Colombian insurgents, a group of Latin American NGOs were uncovering a vast scheme by Uribe's Department of Administrative Security (DAS) to sabotage the activities of journalists, judges, NGOs, international organizations and political opponents. Some of these "dirty tricks" included death threats.
Because the U.S.—which has pumped more than $7 billion in military aid to Colombia—supplies the DAS with surveillance technology, Washington may end up implicated in the scandal.
The U.S. may also be tarred with the murder of Colombian trade unionists. According to Kelly Nichollas of the U.S. Office on Colombia, testimony at the trial of former DAS director Jorge Noguera indicated that the U.S. trained a special Colombian intelligence unit that tracked trade unionists.
Colombia is currently the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists. According to the International Trade Unionist Confederation's (ITUC) Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights, out of the 101 unionists murdered in 2009, 48 were in Colombia. So far, 20 more Colombian trade unionists have been murdered in 2010. In the case of Hernan Abdiel Ordonez, treasurer of the prison worker's union, who had complained about corruption, the government refused to provide him security in spite of receiving numerous death threats. He was gunned down by assassins on a motorcycle.
"Colombia was once again the country where standing up for fundamental rights of workers is more likely than anywhere else to mean a death sentence, despite the Colombian government's public relations campaign," said ITCU General Secretary Guy Ryder. "The Colombian authorities must take urgent and effective measures to guarantee the physical integrality of Colombian trade unionists."
Uribe certainly has reason to shift the attention away from Colombia and toward Venezuela. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is pressing its investigation of the "false-positives" murders, and Uribe's brother has been accused of working with death squads. Santiago Canton, an Argentinean and former head of the rights commission, said "If you put all this together, the extrajudicial executions, the espionage of human rights defenders, it's all really consistent over the years."
And where was the Obama Administration in all this? Firmly supporting Uribe, railing against Venezuela's suspension of diplomacy with Bogota, and, according to an investigation by the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), secretly funneling money to the media operations of Chavez's right-wing opponents. Right-wingers in Bolivia and Nicaragua are also receiving money.
"Between 2007 and 2009, the State Department's little known Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor channeled at least $4 million to journalists in Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela through the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF)," says NACLA's Jeremy Bigwood. In doing this, the State Department violated its own rules requiring that "all publications" receiving money "acknowledge that support." According to Bigwood, the U.S. waived that requirement for PADF.
Colombia is Washington's closest ally in the region, so it hardly surprising that Uribe's right-wing government and Washington's visceral hatred of Chavez should find common ground. But the attack on Chavez is also a proxy assault on the newly formed, 32-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the first regional organization not to include the U.S., Canada, or European countries.
Meeting in Caracas this past July, CELAC selected Chavez and the newly elected conservative president of Chile, Sabastian Pinera, as co-chairs of the forum that will draft statutes for the organization. While it seems like an odd pairing, the U.S. media's cartoonish characterization of Chavez is not shared widely in Latin America. "Chavez…has shown himself adaptable to making major compromises in order to further Latin American and regional integration," says Alexander Main of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.
And while Pinera is very conservative, according to Main, "his toned down approach to international relations indicates that he too is prepared to act pragmatically."
The Caracas meeting called for "political, economic, social and cultural integration" and affirmed the right of "each state to constitute its own political system free of threats, aggressions and unilateral coercive measures." Tellingly, there was no mention of "free trade" or "open markets," the so-called "Washington consensus" that characterized U.S. economic doctrine in the region over the past several decades.
As Latin America grows in economic strength and political independence, U.S. policy seems locked into a previous century when it was the major power in the region. Rather than retooling its diplomatic approach to fit the new reality in Latin America, Washington is expanding its military footprint.
It is will soon be operating out of seven military bases in Colombia and has reactivated its 4th Fleet, both highly unpopular moves in Latin America. Rather than taking the advice of countries in the region to demilitarize its war on drugs, the U.S. recently announced it is deploying 46 warships and 7,000 soldiers to Costa Rica to "interdict" drug traffic and money laundering. From 2000 to 2009, less than 40 percent of U.S. aid to the region went to Latin America's militaries and police. The Obama Administration has raised that figure to 47 per cent.
Washington and Bogota may try to demonize Venezuela, but they are playing to a very small audience, and one that grows smaller—and more irrelevant—by the day.
CONN HALLINAN can be reached at: firstname.lastname@example.com


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In the period 2018-2021, 12 percent of children aged 2 to 11 were overweight and 3 percent severely overweight (obese). Six percent were exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke at home. Overweight, obesity and exposure to tobacco smoke were less prevalent among children with higher educated parents than among those with lower educated parents. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in the Annual Report Youth Monitor 2022, based on new analyses with figures from the latest National Health Survey/Lifestyle Monitor.
Read publication
In 2021, a lower share of young adults in the Netherlands experienced high personal well-being. For the first time since surveys commenced, they reported high well-being less often than adults aged 25 and over. Young people's personal well-being declined the most in the areas of institutional trust, social life and health. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the 2022 Annual Report of the National Youth Monitor.
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In the first few months of 2021, 47 percent of young people in the Netherlands between the ages of 12 and 25 indicated that their lives were negatively affected by the coronavirus crisis in general. Another 43 percent experienced both negative and positive consequences. A majority really missed doing fun things outside and meeting up with friends or family at home. Young people also say that the coronavirus crisis has caused them to experience more stress about their education or work. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has reported this based on a survey entitled 'Perceptions 2021'.
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Young people aged 15 to 17 years in the Netherlands say they have little interest in politics. Once they are entitled to vote when they turn 18, they do start to find politics more interesting. At the same time, young people place a great deal of faith in politicians, more so than the older generations.
Read publicationNearly one in three 18-24 year-olds smoke, and one in five of this age group are overweight. At the same time, nearly 91 percent report their own health as good or very good. Young people who smoke and those who are overweight are less positive about their health than those who do not smoke and those who are not overweight.
Read publicationIf they are not at home, a smartphone is by far the most popular mobile device for young people to access the internet. Once online, they spend most of their time playing video games, watching films and accessing social networks. They also buy tickets for upcoming events.
Read publicationSlightly fewer than half of all people aged between 12 and 25 responded in 2009 that they had a religious denomination. This share has fallen by 6 percent points since 1997. Church attendance is low among young people. About one in seven goes to church or to a religious gathering at least once a month.
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