#Peter Balko

[dearhummingbird]

rec us these nonfiction books you speak of

I’ve been on a bit of a kick with these three categories lately but I think there’s something for everyone on this list. I have more if you want specific recommendations but I think this’ll do for now, so here you go, go forth—

Memoir / Autobiography / Character study:

People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo—and the Evil That Swallowed Her (Richard Lloyd Parry)

Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (Zora Neale Hurston)

Heavy: An American Memoir (Kiese Laymon)

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Caroline Fraser)

The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt’s Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (Anne-Marie O'Connor)

The Descent of Man (Grayson Perry)

All The Truth is Out (Matt Bai)

The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster (Sarah Krasnostein)

The Cost of Living (Deborah Levy)

The Secret History of Wonder Woman (Jill Lepore)

Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster (Stephen L. Carter)

Assata: An Autobiography (Assata Shakur)

Eve: A Biography (Pamela Norris)

A Cup of Water Under My Bed (Daisy Hernández)

Social justice:

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Matthew Desmond)

Violence All Around (John Sifton)

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy (Ta-Nehisi Coates)

Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? (Michael J. Sandel) 

Columbine (Dave Cullen)

Negroland (Margo Jefferson)

Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America (Jill Leovy)

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger (Rebecca Traister) 

The Killer Angels (Michael Shaara)

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Michelle Alexander)

The Lines Becomes A River: Dispatches from the Border (Francisco Cantú)

A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America (T. Christian Miller, Ken Armstrong)

Laramie Project (Moisés Kaufman & Tectonic Theater Project)

The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump (Michiko Kakutani)

History:

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (Candice Millard)

Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia (Peter Pomerantsev)

Up Is Up, But So Is Down: New York’s Downtown Literary Scene, 1974-1992 (by Brandon Stosuy, Dennis Cooper, Eileen Myles)

The Library Book (Susan Orlean) 

A History of Bombing (Sven Lindqvist tr. by Linda Haverty Rugg)

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (John Carreyrou)

Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Hunter S. Thompson)

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South (Radley Balko)

The Library Book (Susan Orlean) 

Misc:

The Fall of Language in the Age of English (Minae Mizumura)

Reality Hunger: A Manifesto (David Shields)

Fic: Why Fanfiction is Taking Over the World (Anne Jamison)

[korkep-blog]

Losoncon is tüntettek a tisztességes Szlovákiáért - Képriport

Több százan a losonci tüntetésen,

„Kérjük, hogy Ján Kuciak és Martina Kušnírová meggyilkolása ne legyen a szőnyeg alá söpörve, hanem legyen kivizsgálva, hogy megtalálják e szégyenteljes cselekedet elkövetőit és megrendelőit.  Követeljük, hogy nemzetközi nyomozók is vegyenek részt a nyomozásban, akik garantálják, hogy a vizsgálat objektív lesz. Másik követelésünk  hogy új kormány alakuljon korrupt kapcsolatokkal rendelkező személyek nélkül. Olyan kormányt akarunk, amely igazságosan kormányoz“ – hangzott el a Losoncon megrendezett tiltakozó akció zárasaként, melyet a rendezvény szervezője, Krasimír Damjanov olvasott fel.

    Krasimír Damjanov

    A pontban 17.00 órakor a Köztársaság téren megkezdett rendezvényen több százan vettek részt. Nemcsak Losoncról, de a járás távolabbi részeiből is. A szervezők szórólapokon keresztül is kérték a résztvevőket, hogy őrizzék meg a nyugalmukat, tartózkodjanak az agresszió, az erőszak minden formájától. Arra is kértek mindenkit, hogy ne engedjék magukat senki által ilyen cselekedetre provokálni, ne használjanak pirotechnikai eszközöket, füstölőket, bármilyen „egyéb fegyvert“, mellyel veszélyeztetnék a többi tisztességes embert.

  Jozef Pročko

  „Itt állunk, nem tehetünk mást, már nem bírjuk tovább. Nem tudjuk tovább hallgatni és nézni a politikusainkat, akik a közszolgálatot csak úgy mint a hatalomhoz való jutás lehetőségét értelmezik, hogy aztán azt minél hosszabb ideig megtartsák és saját gazdagodásukra használják.“ – mondta a bevezetőjében Krasimír Damjanov.

    Majd szónokok sora lépett a színpadra. Közöttük többen olyanok, akik 1989. novemberében ugyanitt álltak a színpadon. Nem gondoltuk, hogy annyi év után újra ezt kell tenni – mondták.  A beszédek egyik legfontosabb gondolata az erőszak volt, hangsúlyozva, hogy ez nem az az eszköz, amellyel élni kellene.

  Marcela Belová

Az országszerte a humoráról, iróniájáról ismert Jozef Pročko ezúttal a könnyeivel küszködött. Ján Kuciak testvérének levelét olvasta fel, s mint elmondta, nem volt könnyű feldolgoznia annak tartalmát.

  Lukáš Pelč

  Peter Balko

  Miroslav Sekula is több mint 30 év után állt színpadra. „Nyolcvanéves édesanyám pár perce felhívott és arra kért, ne lépjek fel, mert félt. … azt kérdezem, hogy hol élünk, 30 évvel a bársonyos forradalom után, hogy az anyáknak újra félniük kell a fiaikért. … látva a hírt az eseményről, tudatosítottam, hogy milyen naiv vagyok, amikor azt gondoltam, hogy a demokrácia a belső szerkezetével együtt valahogy majd tovább viszi a dolgokat … de nem, ez nem így megy…“ – mondta többek között. Megjegyzésével más anyák szerepére és félelmére is utalt.

    Marcela Belová, a SME járási lapok hálózatának helyi főszerkesztője elmondta, hogy az ország nagyon rossz jeleket sugároz magáról külföldre, mert ma is úgy írnak rólunk, mint egy nem normális országról, amit gazdag emberek kis csoportja irányít, ami valóban nagyon szomorú.

    Losonc népszerű, fiatal művészei (Lukáš Pelč, Peter Balko) is felszólaltak, akik évek óta tesznek és nem is keveset a losonci kulturális és társadalmi élet fellendítéséért. Most hazajöttek, mert úgy éreztek, itt kell lenniük és ki kell állniuk azért, amiért több helyütt az országban.

  Ľudovít Hroboň

  A szónoklatok sorát a losonci evangélikus egyházközség lelkésze, Ľudovít Hroboň beszéde zárta.

    Puntigán József

[rpsabetto]

The Line [Čiara]

(Slovakia / Ukraine 2017)

Director Peter Bebjak’s The Line is an Eastern European testosterone flick, a less cheeky sort of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels set at the Slovakia–Ukraine border. It’s a genre flick, and a good one: excellent performances all around boost Peter Balko’s tight, vigorous screenplay.

A lot is going on with Adam Krajnak (Tomáš Maštalír), the head of both his household…

[allbestnet]

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set by Wizards RPG Team

Clean Code by Robert C. Martin

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns

No More Mr Nice Guy by Robert A. Glover

Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd Edition by Thomas H. Cormen

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe

Player’s Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons) by Wizards RPG Team

C Programming Language, 2nd Edition by Brian W. Kernighan, Dennis M. Ritchie

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford

Three Felonies A Day by Harvey Silverglate

Design Patterns by Erich Gamma

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared M. Diamond

Code Complete by Steve McConnell

The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt, David Thomas

Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell

The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker

The Demon Haunted World by

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

She Comes First by Ian Kerner

Head First Design Patterns: A Brain-Friendly Guide by Eric Freeman

The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

How to Prove It by Daniel J. Velleman

The Flavor Bible by Karen Page, Andrew Dornenburg

Models: Attract Women Through Honesty by Mark Manson

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter

C++ Primer (5th Edition) by Stanley B. Lippman

A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss

Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52) by Scott Snyder

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition by Robert B. Cialdini

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay

A Random Walk down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig

Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski Ph.D.

A History of God by Karen Armstrong

The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Time Management for System Administrators by Thomas A. Limoncelli

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Ender’s Game (The Ender Quintet) by Orson Scott Card

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches by Don Jones, Jeffery Hicks

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins

How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff

Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris

Getting Things Done by David Allen

Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael Feathers

The World Of Ice And Fire by George R. R. Martin

Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman

A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine

Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump, Tony Schwartz

Head First Java, 2nd Edition by Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates

Effective Java (2nd Edition) by Joshua Bloch

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

The Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin

The Mind Illuminated by Ph.D.) Culadasa (John Yates

Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko

Ready Player One: A Novel by Ernest Cline

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Manufacturing Consent by Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) by Brandon Sanderson

Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited by Steve Krug

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann

Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K Vaughan

The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition by Thomas A. Limoncelli

A People’s History of The United States 1492- Present by Howard Zinn

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

The Problem of Political Authority by Michael Huemer

The Baby Owner’s Manual by Louis Borgenicht M.D., Joe Borgenicht

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee

Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) by George R.R. Martin

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi

What’s the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank

Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne PhD

How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren

Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning

Elements of Style by William; White, E. B. Strunk

Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

On Killing by Dave Grossman

On the Historicity of Jesus by Richard Carrier

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

What Every BODY is Saying by Joe Navarro, Marvin Karlins

HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites by Jon Duckett

[garudabluffs]

Militarization Of Police Means U.S. Protesters Face Weapons Designed For War   #1 Best Seller          July 1, 2020

BALKO: So civil asset forfeiture, it's one of those concepts that's so absurd that if somebody already hasn't heard of it and you tried to explain it to them, it doesn't sound real. But it's based on this legal fiction that a piece of property can be guilty of a crime. And it dates back to English common law where, you know, if you killed someone with a knife, the knife would become sort of the property of the king. But it's been expanded in the United States and particularly in the drug war to these really absurd lengths, where if, you know, somebody in your house is caught with drugs or, say, your son, you know, sells drugs, sells some pot out of your house, under a civil asset forfeiture, the police could claim that your house itself is guilty of that drug crime, and they can confiscate it and sell it. And the money goes back to the police department. And so in civil asset forfeiture cases, I mean, you see these absurd court names of cases like United States of America versus $156,000 or State of California versus, you know, a 1987 Corvette.

But now you have this policy that allows the SWAT teams to start actually generating revenue for the police department. You go out and you serve these drug raids, and anything you find in the house, sometimes including the house itself, can be leveraged or can be sold, and the money goes back to the police department.And this is where we really see just an absolute explosion in the use of SWAT teams to serve drug warrants. Peter Kraska, a criminologist at Eastern Kentucky, has been writing about this his - you know, most of his academic career. And, I mean, we're talking, you know, SWAT - the number of SWAT raids in a particular town or city, you know, growing by five, six, seven hundred percent, 1,000% over five or 10 years in the '80s and '90s.

“You know, we could dramatically reduce the footprint of policing in the U.S. And I think what we would end up with is police departments that are more efficient. There would be a lot fewer police officers. But the ones that remain, you could be more selective about. You could pay them more.

But there are - you know, policing has become our kind of go-to resource for every other area in which we've sort of failed to, you know, take care of people or to address certain social ills. My sort of pet issue is, you know, there's no reason why our traffic laws need to be enforced by police officers. You could use cameras with the right policies. You could use sort of the equivalent of parking meter enforcers, unarmed people who could just - you know, if you committed a traffic violation, they could write your plate number down and send it in. You get a ticket in the mail.

We could also just have fewer traffic laws. I mean, I think a lot of - we've seen - particular since Ferguson, we've seen that a lot of the traffic laws are more about generating revenue for local governments than they are about actual highway safety.”

42-Minute Listen   READ MORE / Transcript https://www.npr.org/2020/07/01/885942130/militarization-of-police-means-u-s-protesters-face-weapons-designed-for-war

COMMENTS “..the author is well known as a libertarian.” amazon.com 1* review

[dearyallfrommatt]

Alt-weeklies are dead. Blogs are dead. Bootlickers and the civility police won.

 The above story from The New Republic written by Alex Pareene was brought to my Twitter world by Radley Balko, superlative journalist and maybe the only self-described libertarian I’d let thrive after the Purge. In short, it discusses the recent emasculation of Deadspin and how it’s indicative of the death of the “rude press”. That is, the elimination of smaller, shall we say less respectful outlets like Splinter and Gawker, publications that would stick their fingers into they eyes of the rich and the very much richer.

 And it’s not just those web-based publications’ deaths that article warns of. It’s the slow extinction of the alt-weekly or alt-monthly, all to be replaced by boutique publications that won’t be so gauche as to upset their betters. In other words, they’ll be “civil” because “civility” might be the most important thing we’re missing in this cold, cruel world.

 The first writing gig I got out of college was at an alt-monthly and the only “regular job” I’ve ever had was with an alt-weekly, so I might be a bit biased on this matter. Twenty-some-odd years ago in Gainesville, FL, a pair of cats named Colin Whitworth and Mike Podalsky started MOON Magazine, maybe the altest alternative magazine that wasn’t a ‘zine that I’ve ever seen. I mostly wrote about music and Gainesville being what it was, there wasn’t much sticking-in-the-eye that needed doing.

 Though I do remember them pissing of a real estate guy so badly he started his own “alt-monthly” in competition. It lasted one issue as I recall. Every afternoon at 4:20, we'd have a “staff meeting” and the magazine run pieces from severely left-wing sources going after the destruction of the Everglades or the dangers of the Cassini probe. It was that kind of magazine.

 After I left Gainesville for Athens, I took up with Flagpole Magazine, a music/news/arts weekly in Michael Stipe’s hometown. Athens is a different town and publisher Pete McCommons was a different breed. An old school newspaper man contrasted to Mike and Colin’s “young upstarts”, Flagpole was a gentler poke that nevertheless contrasted well with the bought-and-owned-by-the-chamber-of-commerce local daily, The Athens Banner-Herald. He still gave a lot of room to his staff to go nuts, notably my direct editor Ballard Lesemann.

 When I left college in 1997, I had already worked in actual, for real newspapers for almost a decade. Furthermore, I’d grown my hair long and discovered Hunter Thompson, so I was by no means inclined to go back to covering school board meetings for some small town weekly. MOON went the way of the dodo sometime in 2001, and though I left in 2002, Flagpole’s still kicking.

 I rarely made anything close to a living at writing, but I’m thankful of my time with the alts and grateful to Colin, Mike, Pete and Ballard for letting me share the ride with them and have a little fun. So, again, grain of salt. One thing working on alternatives taught me was that “complete objectivity” was not only impossible but unnecessary so long as your cards are on the table, so I ain’t going to put no shuck on you.

 Now, I won’t summarize or really explore what the above-linked New Republic piece goes into. I highly recommend it be read and considered with much gravity. Even if you don’t agree with its conclusions - or even the need for the existence of “rude journalism” - do study on what it suggests. Do we really want a world where the extremely rich, either as individuals or as a group, can shut down publications that don’t show proper fealty and people who’re willing to tell the Boss Man to take this job and shove it?

 The responses to Radley’s retweet and others I’ve seen elsewhere are telling indeed, though. While there are plenty of sympathetic voices, not a few folks are saying “well, good, fuck ‘em”. There is a negative view of journalists, but if anyone suggests that it’s caused by recent events in the business are lying or stupid or ignorant or all three. For as long as there have been rich dudes willing to start wars for more wealth, there have been plenty of poor bastards willing to die for them. Nowadays, we have folks willing to pay Major League Baseball for what they used to get for free, and not even blink an eye.

 A lot of it’s political. Right-wing media doesn’t have the same problems in getting funding because, well, most rich people are quite fine with the nuts and bolts of conservative thought. The economic side, anyway, which spells less taxes or regulation; the social side, they have enough pull to not have to worry about anyone griping unless they piss off someone higher up the ladder.

 Which is extremely amusing, since these are the same folks who stay constantly stricken with the vapors about how much money Hillary Clinton (or Elizabeth Warren or Barrack Obama or Bernie Sanders or fill-in-the-blank-here) bring home. The “common people”, they’re saying, don’t need hoity-toity nerds who can string sentences together and count without taking off their shoes telling us that they’re favorite rich guy needs a kick in the nuts for being the type of bastard that needs kicking in the nuts on a regular basis. The hooting baboons that support digital frat houses like Barstool are happy to stick it to those PC creeps, man, rebelling in that way that hurts the actual elite not one tiny bit.

 They also hate the corporate media and social media sites, which they will tell you endlessly in the comments sections of corporate medias’ pages on social media while FOX and CNN have a special on it every other week. They hate “political correctness” trying to tell them that the “natural order” isn’t just boozy white dudes watching the Pats and gorging on chicken wings, making  cracks about the opposing quarterback being homosexual or making “hey-it’s-just-a-joke” jokes about Serena Williams or some WNBA playing being a “man, baby”.

 There is most definitely a place for big mainstream news sources like CNN or The New York Times or TIME Magazine. A professor of my in journalism school used to repeat the quote, paraphrased from memory, that “journalism is the first rough draft of history”. Despite what the right wing has been screaming for years, whoever the president is, the big papers are rarely out for his blood. Once you become president, you are a “Washington insider” and all the corporate media really cares about is making money. 

 Whatever he says about the “Washington Swamp” and “fake news”, Donald Trump’s been part of that world, as is every Washington politician or media figure. FOX News is the mainstream media and the Washington Examiner has plenty of backing to keep that so. Who funds The Federalist? That publication has its place but that question must be asked. To do otherwise is to tell the powerful that you’re just fine with them running things, thank you very much.

 But there needs to be a place for a small, scrappy paper speaking for the weird and shat-upon, flicking the earlobe of the rich and powerful and running ads for weekly drag shows. The dirtbag center - that’s what I’m calling the tedious middle-class bourgeoisie spawn that all voted for Trump because they hated Hillary but don’t want to admit it and were shocked as the rest of us, deal with it - wants to be kept fat and saucy while their kids joke about “learning to code” and they all grind themselves down in a miserable existence. Sticking it to the media and the elite, man, all up in the “intellectual dark web,” man, just like Peter Thiel or Bari Weiss, man.

 This is one of those things that shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does, because these people are that guy who started a one-run magazine to get back at Colin and Mike for saying hurtful things about them being crooked. In America, at least, there has always, always been a group of people who will kick down for the benefit of their upper-class betters and do it with a smile on their faces. It’s why dumbass country boys went to die for slavery and why thick-necked hardhats smashed picket lines and assassinated union leaders.

 Like the story notes, we all thought that blogs would be the new hotness, but that lasted just long enough for Google to deciding that “do no evil” was bad for the bottom line. People, especially wingnuts, boo-hoo about Facebook or Twitter without acknowledging or even recognizing that Mark Zuckerberg is a greedy little shit and Jack Dorsey is quite comfortable with cosplaying Nazis. Thanks to Ajit Pai’s bought-and-sold ass, Net Neutrality - about the only thing that keeps the internet from being anything other than a glorified Want Ads - is going to be that much harder to make reality.

A lot of this goes back to the “civility” thing, or lack thereof, NYT columnists bemoan whenever they get caught out being a dipstick. We’re too mean to each other, they say, we don’t know how to respect each other, they say. Rich people know how to run things better than the hoi polloi, so do sit down and be quiet like nice children. Or else. 

 Because here’s the thing, friends and neighbors: the rich, I mean really rich class in this country do not give a solid gold shit about you apart from how much more money they can squeeze out. Suck up to Elon Musk all you want and bemoan Bill Gates having to pay so much in taxes that he’s still a billionaire afterwards all you want. They are not going to let you on the space ship with them once they’re done fouling the waters and scouring the land.

 You can cheer the death of Deadspin all you want, hoot at the firings of journalist who say bad things about Trump or the cops or Tom Brady, and general be gleeful that the media all should “learn to code” to your heart’s content. Because it won’t end there. Conglomerations are already scooping up weekly and small town dailies, shuttering the superfluous and give everyone the same story in the same tone while kissing the proper butts.

 In the end, we need an antagonistic press. We need someone willing to piss off the deep pockets and old families and moneyed interests. We need someone that’ll give a voice to left-handed, bisexual, transvestite furries who love swing dancing. Or even just a little time, a slice of acknowledgement that the world isn’t just boozy obnoxious white dudes on barstools or bitter wine moms sniping on Facebook. You can cheer the downfall of such, but all you’re doing is putting the noose around your own throat and saving the Powers That Be a little time.

 You may not want to rock the boat, friends and neighbors, but have no illusions. When the rubber hits the road, the Wealthy Elite will throw you over. Don’t make it easier for them.

[krasnaya-ledi]

Rhetorical Analysis: “What You Eat is Your Business”

(I was quite proud of this homework assignment, so I’m posting it on tumblr.)

          If one should ever desire to read an article charged with narrow-minded ideas about the injustices inflicted by government regulations and rules, this would be that exact paper. While its author, Radley Balko, clearly has experience writing and researching sources and events in order to back and support his own ideas, he has a reoccurring tendency to never address counterarguments or even refute them. Instead, he riles the reader to his side by painting whatever position stands in opposition to his own as some oppressing evil. To his own credit however, even if his conclusions and comparisons seem a bit far stretched when bluntly stated, for the most part, his build up to them remains simple to follow, allowing the reader to, at the very least, understand why he has arrived at such conclusions, even if the reader doesn’t fully buy into them.

           The ultimate idea that Balko supports is basic enough to be stated simply as the notion that it is not the place of the government or governing officials to try to control the wide spread epidemic that is obesity. However, he breaks it down into specific key points and positions that both explain why and also reveal his own personal beliefs on the matter. For starters, Balko is very clearly against the idea of socialized medicine and health care, and states as much almost verbatim in various forms throughout his essay. Just as well, he equates obesity and personal health in general to being purely about personal choice and responsibility. Therefore, in that light, the government should have no right to interfere with the personal choices of the individuals. He then claims that regulation makes the “food companies responsible for the bad habits of unhealthy consumers” (par. 6). In that light, he also then believes that the current fashion that the government has adopted is not only “the wrong way to fight obesity” (par. 3), but that the optimal way to fight obesity is to “remove obesity from the realm of public health” (par. 8). He even goes as far to state that certain laws that socialize health care are “a huge entitlement … which effectively removes any financial incentive for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.” (par. 4). Ultimately, his issue seemed to be with the notion that government mandates should inconvenience or financially burden anyone other than the sole person who has health problems.

           A significant portion of Balko’s support for his claims stems from him name-dropping particular politicians, the activists, and the platforms that they have either supported or pioneered themselves. He then proceeds to use their own articles or statements against them, then provides his own, one-sided analysis of the error of their ways without adding outside support for his own claims. In this exact form, he references an ABC News special where journalist Peter Jennings investigated the leading causes of obesity in Americans in a segment titled “How To Get Fat Without Really Trying.” Without giving any details of what was actually contained in, or said in the special, Balko summarizes the whole of it as an attempt to “relieve viewers of responsibility for their own condition … with an impassioned plea for government intervention to fight obesity” (par. 7). He uses this same tactic when addressing a rather long piece that Hillary Clinton wrote for the New York Times that apparently claimed a demand “for yet more federal control of health care” (par 4). He never once even gave a word to the reasons contained in that article, or allowed a moment to step up to the challenge and refute whatever reasons could be contained therein; he simply summarized the entire work into a mere sentence to paint whatever logic or reasoning that could have been stated there as irrelevant and just plain wrong. Balko uses this device as a standard method for using outside references as supposed evidence to support his claim. However, this approach seems to only weaken the validity of his argument, since he fails to provide any actual solid support for his own reasoning since he only makes vague analyses of his sources and then uses his own analysis to tear them down in merely a sentence or two.

           However, he does present his own logical conclusions quite well. Almost every single claim he offers, or stance he takes, he is able to logically explain a support for that idea on his own merit. He does this mainly by using if/then statements that oversimplify the problem into black-and-white scenarios, excellently crafted so that it nearly goes undetected. However, almost every paragraph in the article can be simplified and reworded to fit this mold. For example, Balko offers a hypothetical situation when talking about personal responsibility stating that “If the government is paying for my anti-cholesterol medication,” then “what incentive is there for me to put down the cheeseburger?” (par. 5) This pattern of using if/then statements and hypothetical situations reverberates throughout the whole of the essay as his own way of trying to present his claims in seemingly logical ways. However, this does allow for hefty fallacies to creep into his own words as he places his assumptions. His largest fallacy that he doesn’t address or qualify is his notion that good health or obesity are purely the results of good choices. This does not allow any room for diseases, syndromes, or genetic factors that present things such as obesity or generally poor health as symptoms. This rather egregious oversight on Balko’s part puts a severe dent in his claim that obesity should not be the responsibility of the government or public health.

           With such a fallacy and a rather clear avoidance of daring to address opposing views, readers who carefully analyze this paper and his claims are quick to start to discredit his claims. Despite his seemingly impressive credentials, Balko’s only real appeal to instill a sense of credibility to his words lies in his strategic choice of name dropping. Despite using what can only be loosely described as sources due to his poor utilization of their contents, the fact that he does include names of authority or familiarity and their works, allows him to appear to be well researched and read on the topic. Particularly, he name drops famous food companies such as McDonald’s, Safeway, and Kroger, giving off the appearance that he is not only well read, but in touch with the common man. These very illusions are shallow and fall apart with further study.

           A rather critical mistake he makes when trying to establish a reason to believe, let a lone listen to him is when he creates almost an air of contradiction. Throughout the article, his views on minimizing governmental influence in healthcare and his distinct choice of aligning the Democratic political party with socialized medicine – something he is explicitly against – he creates the implication that he aligns himself with more conservative, or Republican ideals. While this easily can earn him some credibility with those who identify themselves to a similar political affiliation, he makes a near fatal error. Balko claims “It’s difficult to think of anything more private and of less public concern than what we choose to put into our bodies” (par. 8). While this does support his individual claims of the right of choice and personal responsibility, it aligns as a far more Democratic ideology that what goes with our bodies and what goes into them is an individual choice – such as with the topics of women’s reproductive rights and health and illicit drug use. Ultimately, that statement, when tied to his pointed attempts to place obesity under the personal choice and responsibility category discredit him from being able to fully win over any credibility via political party alliance.

           To his credit, upon first read, Balko quiet effectively rallies the reader to his side with what feels like a near war cry against the evil that is in allowing the “government between you and your waistline” (par. 1). He continuously attaches words with distinctly negative connotations to the opposing side, leaving the reader bitter towards and soured against the idea of having the government regulate and control any part of the food industry and subsequently, our right to choose to be fat. He refers to regulation a manipulation or intervention (par 3), and even refers to socialized health care as a “huge entitlement that requires some people to pay for other people’s medicine” (par. 4). Put into that light, it automatically pits the reader against the idea of government mandates, for who wants to be manipulated or be forced to pay for someone else’s health care? Similarly, he paints the idea that anyone who buys into “a society where everyone is responsible for everyone else’s well-being is a society more apt to accept government restrictions” lacks intellectual distinction and is merely a brainless follower, poisoning the metaphorical well. This not only creates a subliminal insult to the intelligence of those who have an opinion contrary to Balko’s but picks at the reader’s sense of pride and fear so that they then either deem themselves more wise by siding with him, or that to side against them would equate them to being seen as dumb.

           He continues to blatantly refer to those who stand in favor of government regulation as “a growing army of nutritionist activists and food industry foes” (par. 7). Ouch. For those undecided about the topic, this then implants the idea that to side with the opposition to his platform would make them some sort of loathsome member that only follows because of a shared mob mentality. Balko continues to perpetuate this rather skewed view in almost every other sentence, giving the article overall a rather bitter and angry tone that rallies the casual reader to Balko’s side much like hate-filled speech full of propaganda.

           Balko throughout the piece continues to come across as a man trying to write a research paper, but in reality, almost the entirety of the article, reads like an opinion piece. Balko continuously fails to provide hard evidence to any of the claims he makes, relying solely on his purposefully skewed diction and appeals to faux relatability to attempt to sway his reader into rallying against having the government regulate our right to be fat. For such a polarized and unresolved topic, the lack of real insight this provides is ultimately disappointing.

 Works Cited

Balko, Radley. (2004). What You Eat Is Your Business. Cato.org. Cato Institute.

[jadagul]

Paypal, Censorship, and Regulation

@slatestarscratchpad asked in his links roundup why online payment processors can produce such a threat to free speech, and why no one has been able to do an end-run around it.

I think online payment processors are an underappreciated threat to free speech compared to eg Trump, political correctness, etc – they’ve also been harassing the nootropics community and making it really difficult to sell otherwise-legal chemicals. Bitcoin is apparently so rarely-used that a lot of businesses wouldn’t be profitable if they had to go Bitcoin only; anyone who can figure out a nonjudgmental way to send money online would have quite the business opportunity, not to mention the thanks of a grateful Internet.

The comments section get partway to the explanation, but the actual answer is that the government very actively intervenes against that possibility. Indeed, you can see this happening with Bitcoin right now.

But the more interesting historical note is that the current threat people are discussing comes from PayPal. But PayPal was originally founded specifically to solve this problem! The founders were by and large ideological libertarians who were founding the service in the same spirit as the offshore bank in Cryptonomicon.

The reason this didn't work out is that the government doesn't want it to work out, for basically the same reason ideological libertarians do want it to work out. David Sacks has a comment on that here:

PayPal had begun to be used by a substantial number of online gambling sites. Although this was perfectly legal at the time, a number of state attorneys general (including Eliot Spitzer) were looking to make a name for themselves by investigating whether PayPal was "aiding and abetting" online gambling.

In conjunction with the eBay acquisition, PayPal announced that it was prohibiting these transactions. This was inevitable even without the acquisition, but as a stand-alone company PayPal would have been an easier target for politically-minded prosecutions.

We already had some experience with this: the State of Louisiana had previously shut down PayPal for a week due to the arbitrary decision of some bureaucrat (I forget why). This was reversed, but the legal issues seemed never ending.

Reason Magazine had a long-form article (by Radley Balko!) about this in 2005.

In September 2004 Bill Quick received a notice from PayPal, the online payment company that facilitated reader donations to his Daily Pundit blog. The notice warned Quick that his account was on hold, and that it would be terminated unless he removed "hate" content from his site. ...

Both letters came a month after PayPal announced an abrupt shift in its terms of use. The company would no longer permit customers to use the service for purchases associated with "mature audiences," gambling, hate paraphernalia, or prescription drugs, along with a long list of other prohibitions. ...

That's a far cry from the libertarian vision founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin originally had for PayPal.... Thiel and Levchin had hoped PayPal would grow to become an extra-governmental system of currency, something reminiscent of the world described in Neal Stephenson's novel Cryptonomicon, in which programmers use encryption to create an offshore data haven free from government control.

...

More class actions followed. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer cited PayPal for posting a user agreement that "wasn't clear enough." He also subpoenaed all documents pertaining to PayPal's use in online gaming sites, suggesting the company was in violation of New York gambling laws. Spitzer's investigation was followed by a U.S. Justice Department determination that PayPal's use by gaming sites was a violation of the USA PATRIOT Act.

The financial pressures of battling aggressive government officials and opportunistic class action lawyers, all while trying to stave off a better-funded competitor, soon became too much for the still-young company to bear....

In July 2002 PayPal executives sold the start-up firm to their longtime nemesis, eBay. Jackson notes that the sale had some obvious benefits....

But there were significant drawbacks too--most of them for consumers. Instead of allowing its customers to transact voluntarily with anyone they please, eBay, whose conciliatory approach is touted within the company as its "culture of community," settled the PATRIOT Act charge with the Justice Department for $10 million and agreed to bar its customers from using the service for online gambling. Shortly thereafter, PayPal announced the even stricter policy that ensnared Quick and Merritt (though both accounts were later reactivated). The new terms of service prohibited the use of PayPal not only for adult-oriented purchases but for "non-adult services whose Web site marketing can be reasonably misconstrued as allowing adult material or services to be purchased using PayPal."

[torentialtribute]

Cheltenham Festival 2019, Day 3: Robin Goodfellow’s racing tips – Best bets for Thursday, March 14

Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips for day three of the Cheltenham Festival featuring the Stayers Hurdle.

     Spiritofthegames (right) could provide Dan Skelton with another success at Cheltenham

CHELTENHAM

ROBIN GOODFELLOW

1.30 Kildisart (nb)

2.10 First Assignment

2.50 Monalee

3.30 Paisley Park

] 4.10 Spiritofthegames (nap)

4.50 Epatante

5.30 Rogue Angel

GIMCRACK

]

1.30 Lostintranslation

2.10 Flemcara

2.50 Road To Respect (nap)

3.30 Supasundae (nb)

4.10 Romain De Senam

4.50 Epatante

5.30 The Young Master

Northerner – 5.30 Squouateur (nb)

JLTVICES CHASE

1.30: GRADE ONE – 2 MILES 4 FURLONGS

There is little doubt Defi Du Seuil and Lostintranslation are the form picks and the score stands at one piece between them this season. Conditions will favor the latter, but Defi Du Seuil is the classier horse and could finish on top again.

However, KILDISART represents a stable already among the winners this week and is narrowly preferred after impressing with a cozy win on Trials Day over course and distance. He has a little to find on official ratings, but looked to have a good bit in hand when winning last time and would appreciate a decent gallop.

Backing Mengli Khan is probably not for the faint-hearted but last year's third in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle with soft ground since chasing home Summerville Boy and he was favorite to beat Le Richebourg at Leopardstown over Christmas

BEST BET: KILDISART 9-1

NEXT BEST: MENGLI KHAN 14-1

PERTEMPS NETWORK HURDLE

2.10: LISTED – 3 MILES

Connections of FIRST ASSIGNMENT were probably disappointed when their progressive, short-priced hurdler was beaten at Haydock in November , trying to follow up his nine-length Cheltenham defeat of Boyhood a week earlier.

Paisley Park and Shades Of Midnight finished has lost nothing in defeat that day, though, narrowly finished in front of him and the former is a short price for the Stayers' Hurdle, while Shades Of Midnight lifted a Grade Two on its next start.

First Assignment then followed the path of the last 30 winners by running in this calendar year at Warwick. Others to catch the eye include Leopardstown qualifier winner Cuneo, runner-up Walk To Freedom and third-home Thermistocles, while Notwhatiam has improved after switching to Dan Skelton and shaped well in the Warwick qualifier.

BEST BET: FIRST ASSIGNMENT 11-1

NEXT BEST: NOTWHATIAM 12-1

RYANAIR CHASE

2.50: GRADE ONE – 2 MILES 5 FURLONGS

A cracking renewal with a host of possibilities and preference for MONALEE on Footpad and Road To Respect can only be marginal. The selection appears better at today's trip than trying to stretch beyond three miles.

If he can find some rhythm at the head of affairs, with Rachael Blackmore on board, he should deliver a big performance judging by his effort here in last year's RSA Chase, when only Presenting Percy was too strong.

Last year's Arkle Chase winner Footpad moves up in trip, which should not have really fired over two miles, with his jumping looking anything but as exhilarating as it used to be. This trip could also be a better test for Road To Respect.

BEST BET: MONALEE 4-1

NEXT BEST: ROAD TO RESPECT 9-2

STAYERS HURDLE

3.30: GRADE ONE – 3 MILES

This is arguably more competitive than the betting would have you believe, but PAISLEY PARK has stamped itself as a class act this term in winning all four starts. The manner of his runaway Cleeve Hurdle win confirmed him as a star.

His connections report him to be thriving and he has progressed with each run, so is clearly a worthy favorite with no concerns about conditions.

West Approach has chased home the selection of a couple of times this season and appeals as an each-way wager once more, while Black Step forward significantly on what he achieved in the Cleeve Hurdle behind Paisley Park because he was thought in need of the run that day. Grueling conditions could bring a career-best performance.

BEST BET: PAISLEY PARK 15-8

NEXT BEST: WEST APPROACH 22-1

BROWN ADVISORY AND MERRIEBELLE PLATE CHASE

4.10: GRADE THREE – 2 MILES 5 FURLONGS

Dan Skelton has proved this week that he is a superb target trainer and SPIRITOFTHE GAMES could provide the Midlands handler with another success.

The selection ran well at last year's Festival, taking fifth behind stable and winner Mohaayed in the County Hurdle, and his season looks to have him prepared for a handicap chase at this meeting. The cheekpieces which served him well last season are back on today.

The handicap fought out by Siruh Du Lac and Janika here on Trials Day looks a pivotal piece of form, while Bouvreuil has been placed on three of his four starts at the Festival (brought down on his other one) and could run a big race if the wind operation works.

BEST BET: SPIRITOFTHE GAMES 8-1

NEXT BEST: JANIKA 9-2

NATIONAL HUNT MARES 'HURDLE

4.50: GRADE TWO – 2 MILES 1 FURLONGS

EPATANTE has been a little fresh for her own good in two UK starts since joining Nicky Henderson from France, but she is extremely talented mare and connections reach for the hood in order to encourage her to settle a little better.

She has sauntered through both starts for her new handler this winter and could be a tough horse to get off the bridge if her rider can encourage her to drop her head and concentrate.

Posh Trish looks the chief rival to trouble the selection as she possesses tenacity and resilience in equal measure and, like so many of her fellow Ditcheat inmates, has become a professional winner.

BEST BET: EPATANT 9-4

NEXT BEST: POSH TRISH 6-1

FULKE WALWYN KIM MUIR CHALLENGE CHASE

5.30: 3 MILES 2 FURLONGS

ROGUE ANGEL may not appear the most obvious selection in this competitive finale, but he could run better than his recent form. It was only last November that he claimed an honorable second place in the Cork National.

The 2016 Irish National winner has been seen for 11 weeks, but his completed form figures following a break or more than two months read respectably (1213272489513), so the absence isn't a concern and the last six winners of the race have all worn headgear.

That last statistic augurs well for Any Second Now, who was a sizeable point at last year's Festival and looks a live contender following an encouraging run in a graded company at Navan. Measureofmydreams also has a huge chance for powerful connections.

BEST BET: ROGUE ANGEL 20-1

NEXT BEST: ANY SECOND NOW 9-1

PETER SCUDAMORE – EIGHT TIMES CHAMPION JOCKEY

                   Pertemps Network's typically wide-open Final but it's worth taking a chance on Black Mischief improving on his first attempt at the trip.

Last seen when fourth in a qualifier at Wincanton on Boxing Day, Black Mischief was a winner over 2m 3f at Haydock in November prior to that, finishing strongly to get up close home.

He shaped like a horse who would appreciate further. His pedigree offers hope in this regard, his dam being a half-sister to a 3m winner. Defi du Seuil and Lostint are closely matched in the JLT Novices 'Chase on their two previous runnings this season but Defi strikes me as classier.

He can confirm winning Scilly Isles Novices' Chase form and add this JLT prize to his win in the Triumph Hurdle two years ago. The Ryanair Chase is a high quality affair but at the prices I will take a chance on last year's winner Balko Des Flos bouncing back to his best.

Footpad, Frodon, Monalee, Road To Respect and Un The Sceaux will provide stiff competition but if Balko Des Flos returns to the level he showed when beating Un The Sceaux in similarly testing ground 12 months ago, he will be a match for any of them.

HAYLEY MOORE – PRESENTER FOR SKY SPORTS RACING

                   My head tells me that solid Monalee will go close in the Ryanair Chase for jockey Rachael Blackmore but I am going to be ruled by my heart and go for FOOTPAD.

Things have not gone smoothly this season for Ruby Walsh's mount but his form at the Cheltenham Festival is excellent and the longer trip he faces here should be fine for him.

Last year's Arkle Trophy Novices' Chase winner reminds me a little of my father's Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Sire De Grugy. Like all great horses, they are prone to the odd mistake because they are pushing themselves to the imit and leaving l ittl e margin for error about their fences in an attempt to gain precious inches.

Footpads defeat at Leopardstown about Christmas at the Hands of Simply Ned was a little disappointing but horses who have had a fall on their previous start can often need a bounce back to their best.

Trainer Emma Lavelle has a great chance in the Stayers' Hurdle with Paisley Park and could also go close in the Pertemps Network Final with Flemcara. I saw him win at Chepstow, where he went through testing ground well.

CAPTAIN HEATH (MARCUS TOWNEND)

The Irish appeared to hold all the aces in the staying hurdle division until the emergence this season of PAISLEY PARK. The way he stormed away from the best of the British hopes in the Cleeve Hurdle here in January was a real statement performance. He'll be tough to beat if he reproduces that.

FORMCAST (NIGEL TAYLOR)

Frodon has improved to win three of its four starts this season, two of them over this course. He would have to give weight to this field in a handicap and can make a hat-trick of victories today.

CAPTAIN HEATH'S SELECTIONS

1.30 LOSTINTRANSLATION 7-2

2.10 TOBEFAIR 33-1

2.50 MONALEE 9-2

3.30 PAISLEY PARK 15-8

4.10 KING'S ODYSSEY 22-1

4.50 EPATANTE 9-4

5.30 ANY SECOND NOW 9-1

FORMCAST'S SELECTIONS

1.30 DEFI DU SEUIL 3-1

2.10 CUNEO 14-1

2.50 FRODON 11-2

3.30 PAISLEY PARK 15-8

4.10 RIVER WYLDE 11-1

4.50 POSH TRISH 6-1

5.30 TOUCH KICK 20-1

BEAT THE FAVORITE

Our football experts like to go against the grain with their tips. Here are their picks to trounce Thursday's fancied runners …

JAMIE REDKNAPP: IT'S ALL GUESS WORK (5.30)

CHRIS SUTTON: THE STORY COUNTER (2.50)

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[freebetalerts-blog]

Greatwood Handicap Hurdle: Runner-by-runner guide

(New post on FreeBetAlerts.com) - https://freebetalerts.com/2018/11/17/greatwood-handicap-hurdle-runner-by-runner-guide/ #Freebets, #HorseRacing, #Tips

Greatwood Handicap Hurdle: Runner-by-runner guide Please share.

1. OLD GUARD (Paul Nicholls/Lorcan Williams) Smart hurdler who won this from 7 lb lower mark in 2015, and was third from 3 lb lower last year. As good as ever last term, wins including listed event at Kempton and National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell (by one and a half lengths from Lil Rockerfeller). Two strong efforts this season, though passed up good opportunity when second to Nautical Nitwit in West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby last time. 2. VERDANA BLUE (Nicky Henderson/Jeremiah McGrath) Impressed when winning listed event on reappearance (by seven lengths from Old Guard) at Kempton and took another step forward when oozing class and quickening clear to beat If The Cap Fits by two and a quarter lengths in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton last weekend. Emphasis on speed suited there, and faces a different test here, but leading contender nonetheless under 5-lb penalty.

Verdana Blue is too good for her rivals in the @UnibetRacing Elite Hurdle (Grade 2) and is now 2-2 over obstacles this season.🏆 pic.twitter.com/XejVlJHc0v — Wincanton Racecourse (@wincantonraces) November 10, 2018

3. MOHAAYED (Dan Skelton/Bridget Andrews) Raced on worst of the ground when disappointing in this race 12 months ago, but continued progress thereafter, culminating in two and three-quarter lengths win in County Hurdle here at the Festival. Creditable fourth to Silver Streak in Welsh Champion Hurdle (Limited Handicap) at Ffos Las last time, shaping as if the run would put him right, and no surprise to see an improved effort here. 4. CHARLI PARCS (Nicky Henderson/Barry Geraghty) No win on these shores since Kempton debut, but ran well on two occasions last term, including when second on reappearance at Newbury (fluffed lines at the last). Creditable three and three-quarter lengths fourth of 16 to Midnight Shadow in Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr when last seen in April, and no great surprise to see him start to fulfil his potential this term, still only a five-year-old after all. 5. WESTERN RYDER (Warren Greatrex/Richard Johnson) Good bumper horse who translated that to hurdling last term, winning novices at Chepstow and here (by two lengths from Lalor) before finishing sixth to Summerville Boy in Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, likely to have been fifth had he not been hampered and carried wide two out. Not in same form when fifth in 2½m Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree final start, but drop in trip here should suit and big effort expected from opening BHA mark of 145.   6. SILVER STREAK (Evan Williams/Adam Wedge) Won Swinton Handicap at Haydock (by three quarters of a length from Chesterfield) in May and made light of five month absence when following up in Welsh Champion Hurdle (Limited Handicap) at Ffos Las last time (by three lengths from Le Prezien, asserting quickly run-in). Yet to flourish on track with very testing finish, but not one to rule out in current form despite 6 lb higher mark. 7. CAIUS MARCIUS (Nicky Richards/Brian Hughes) Won at Perth in August and Market Rasen (listed event, by 11 lengths from Theclockisticking) in September. Creditable eight and three quarter lengths third to Fidux in listed event at Ascot last time, but handicapped to the hilt now and this looks much tougher. 8. MIDNIGHT SHADOW (Sue Smith/Danny Cook) Sprang 25/1 surprise when making successful handicap debut in Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr (by one and a quarter lengths from Claimantakinforgan) in 2017/18, and ran at least as well on form when neck second to Innocent Touch in handicap at Wetherby last time. Unfashionable, but respected.

A brave effort from Midnight Shadow and Danny Cook to hold off all-comers in the QTS Scottish Champion Hurdle at AyrResults ▶️ https://t.co/7iJOPsvjqx pic.twitter.com/vLKq4rCLrY — Racing UK (@racing_uk) April 21, 2018

9. LE PATRIOTE (Dr Richard Newland/Sam Twiston-Davies) French recruit who has won two of four starts since being fitted with cheekpieces, confirming reappearance promise when winning seven-runner event at Ayr (by two lengths from Chti Balko) last time, typically travelling strongly and well on top at finish. Still of interest despite 6 lb rise. 10. IRISH ROE (Peter Atkinson/Henry Brooke) Small mare who was one of the success stories of last season, winning mares’ novices at Southwell and Cartmel, and two handicaps at Doncaster. Shaped as if better for run when two and a half lengths third to Lady Buttons in listed Mares’ Hurdle at Wetherby last time. Likely to be closer to form here.

11. STORM RISING (Dr Richard Newland/Charlie Hammond) Won two of final four starts for Denis Hogan, both in July, but taken form to new level since joining current yard, winning pair of handicaps (here and at Wetherby) from BHA mark of 123. Chunky 14 lb higher here in better race but not one to dismiss lightly. 12. NUBE NEGRA (Dan Skelton/Harry Skelton) Spanish Flat recruit who won juvenile at Market Rasen and novice at Doncaster in 2017/18, also shaping very well when four lengths third to Veneer of Charm in Fred Winter at the Festival. Not at best when 21 lengths fifth to We Have A Dream in Anniversary Hurdle at Aintree final start, but remains capable of better in big-field 2m handicaps such as this. 13. EQUUS AMADEUS (Tom Lacey/Tom Scudamore) Proved better than ever when winning handicap at Wincanton (by half a length from Mick Thonic) last time, deserving credit for pegging back one who’d been left alone in front. 4 lb higher here. 14. BRIANSTORM (Venetia Williams/Gavin Sheehan) Winning Irish pointer who showed fairly useful form in novice hurdles for Warren Greatrex last season, winning soft-ground events at Taunton and Sandown, both from the front. Pulled up when upped markedly in class for Mersey Novices’ Hurdle final start. Sold for £46,000 in May. 15. MAD JACK MYTTON (Jonjo O’Neill/Aidan Coleman) Mixed hurdling and chasing over last couple of years, winning handicap hurdle at Aintree in 2017/18 from BHA mark of 131. 1 lb lower here and caught the eye when good four and three quarter lengths fourth to Storm Rising in conditional event here last time. Stable in good form.   16. VADO FORTE (Tom Lacey/Robert Dunne) Made good progress in early-2018, winning at Warwick (novice event), Taunton and Plumpton (by half a length from Mr Antolini). Shaped well when easy-to-back five and three quarter lengths third to Ballymoy at Chepstow last time, travelling well before fading, and demands of this race should suit. 17. DEYRANN DE CARJAC (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) Lightly-raced five-year-old who showed fairly useful form in bumpers and ran to similar level over hurdles, winning maiden at Warwick (by 20 lengths from Sgroppino) in May. Good two lengths second to Pym in novice at Chepstow last time, trying to give 6 lb to useful rival. Handicap debut. 18. NOT THAT FUISSE (Dan Skelton/William Marshall) Won maiden at Uttoxeter and didn’t need to improve to win weak novice at Aintree in May. Well held after five months off at Chepstow in October, but showed benefit of recent run when four and a half lengths second to Seddon in novice at Stratford last time, pulling clear of rest. Big ask at this stage. 19. NIETZSCHE (Brian Ellison/Danny McMenamin) Step back in right direction when sixth to Mister Universum at Warwick in May and ran well in first-time tongue strap when second on Flat (1½m) at Newmarket earlier this month. Well handicapped on old form, including when sixth in this race 12 months ago, and no surprise to see him go well at a price. 20. MAN OF PLENTY (Sophie Leech/Sean Houlihan) Poor effort at Market Rasen on return in September, but quickly returned to form when five lengths fifth to Storm Rising in conditional event here last time. No win since September 2014, though. Conclusion: Ultra competitive as always. WESTERN RYDER strikes as being well treated based on his excellent effort in the Supreme over C&D in March and gets the nod but there are stacks of dangers, headed by County winner Mohaayed and the thriving Verdana Blue. Silver Streak is also much respected as he goes in search of a hat-trick valuable successes, while four-year-old Nuba Negra could go on again this term.

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[stalosa]

Voľby do VÚC: zoznam zvolených poslancov Nitrianskeho kraja

Voľby do VÚC: zoznam zvolených poslancov Nitrianskeho kraja

Odporúčame: Voľby do VÚC: noví župani Nitriansky samosprávny kraj Infogram   Priezvisko Meno Strana Počet hlasov Alföldi Martin NEKA 3618 Andráši Róbert SMER-SD, SNS, MOST – HÍD 3249 Antošová Eva SMER-SD, SNS, MOST – HÍD 6968 Bačík Alexander SMER-SD, SNS, MOST – HÍD 4407 Baláž Peter SMER-SD, SNS, MOST – HÍD 3940 Balážová Marta NEKA 3069 Balko Daniel SaS, OĽaNO, KDH, ŠANCA, OKS, NOVA 6225 Bátovský…

[avanneman]

Republicans Show Some Bottom (but not much)

You may remember Bottom’s Dream from A Midsummer Night’s Dream—“past the wit of man to say what dream it was: man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was--there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had, but man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream, because it hath no bottom.”

Well, I thought the same might be said of the Republican Party, that there was no depth they would not descend to, if only Donald Trump told them to do so. But, clearly, I was wrong. Trump’s grotesque mistreatment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, everyone’s favorite racist authoritarian xenophobe,1 has brought almost everyone on the right scrambling to Jeff’s defense. “You leave Jeff alone! He was hating foreigners when you were marrying them!”

More surprisingly, there’s been similar kickback to Trump’s most recent banality, his vicious attack on America’s transgender soldiers, an offensive undertaken, I would say, entirely to change the subject from you know, everything else Trump has been doing.

So, yeah, Republicans are showing some bottom. Unlike their leader, they aren’t entirely devoid of shame. They have a bottom. Of course, as that continuing farce in the Senate over the “repeal” of Obamacare shows, Republicans can sink a loooong way before hitting it.

Afterwords Sen. John McCain’s impassioned speech on behalf of Mitch McConnell’s massive, and massively cynical, subversion of legislative practice—“Do as I say, not as I do”—reflects Establishment Republican hypocrisy. Republicans have been lying to their base for the past eight years and now they are turning those lies into legislation.

The Washington Post’s Radley Balko, in an excellent column devoted to examining Sessions’ numerous bad ideas and hypocrisies, notes the following: “it’s uncanny how neatly Sessions’s support for or opposition to federalism seems to align in opposition to protection for minority groups. When a federal government policy offers more protection for a marginalized group, Sessions sings the praises of local control. When it’s the state or local government policy that affords them more protection, Sessions wants to impose federal law.” Just an old country boy. ↩︎

[korkep-blog]

Városnapok Losoncon, hetedszer

Hagyományos időpontban, hagyományos helyszíneken, hagyományosra tervezett tartalommal rendezték meg Losoncon a négynaposra tervezett városnapokat.

Hagyományos időpontban, hagyományos helyszíneken, hagyományosra tervezett tartalommal rendezték meg Losoncon a négynaposra tervezett városnapokat. Programján vásár, sportversenyek, koncertek, sörfesztivál, filmvetítések, kulturális programok, színházi bemutatók, főzőverseny szerepeltek. A rendezvényre idén is több ezren voltak kíváncsiak.

  A város több helyszínén zajló rendezvénysorozatot Alexandra Pivková, Losonc polgármesterasszonya ünnepi köszöntőjével és egy  söröshordó megcsapolásával nyitották meg. Utóbbi nem véletlenül került a programba, hiszen a városnapok szerves részét képezi a sörfesztivál, melyen 9 sátorban közel 70 sörfajtát lehetett kóstolni. Egy rimaszombati vállalkozó közvetítésével először volt jelen a (Tiltott) Csíki sör. Önálló sátra volt a losonci sörfőzdének is, melynek termékei az utóbbi hónapokban több országos elismerést is megkaptak.

    A 325 éves hagyománnyal rendelkező, kétnapos losonci (nógrádi) vásárt a város fő utcáin rendezték meg, melyről  jó szándékkal is csak azt tudom megfogalmazni, hogy színvonalában elmaradt az előző évektől.

  A Nógrádi utcában felállított eredeti kézműves termékeket bemutató és áruló bódékat leszámítva csak igénytelen „tucat termékeket” lehetett látni. Nekem hiányoztak a környékbeli vállalatok bemutatói, a könyvek, az utcai zenészek stb. A gasztronómiai sátrak a szokásos termékeket kínálták szokásos színvonalon.

    Ugyancsak a hagyományoknak megfelelően a Köztársaság téren, a rendezvény fő színpadán tartotta meg ünnepi ülését a losonci városi képviselő testület, melyen átadták a Losonc város és a polgármestere elismeréseit. A város díját Peter Balko (kulturális és közösségi tevékenység),  in memorian Lenka Dedinská (pedagógiai tevékenység) és Pavol Filčík (kulturális, iskolaügyi, közösségi tevékenység) kapták meg.

    A város díszpolgárává választott Jozef Klinda, környezetvédelmi szakembert, akinek nevéhez fűződik többek között a szlovákiai természetvédelmi területek létrehozása, számos publikáció megjelentetése. Utóbbiak közül a legújabb a Ján Jiskra és a losonci csata c. vaskos, több száz fényképpel, dokumentummal és térképpel színesített  könyv, melyet a rendezvényen Európa nap c. program keretében mutattak be.

  Az 1451-ben a Losonc melletti Királyhegyen lezajlott, Hunyadi János és Ján Jiskra seregei közötti ütközet eseményeit feldolgozó, számos egyéni (történelmi) megközelítést is tartalmazó kötettel hamarosan portálunk olvasói is megismerkedhetnek.

  Dedikál: Jozef Klinda.

  Az Európa Nap keretében a losonci Apolló moziban vetítették le a 2017-ben Lux filmdíjat nyert Számi vér c. filmet is. A Városi Múzeum (régi városháza) előtti Városháza téren az „utcai filmszínház” keretében vetítettek filmeket – már amennyit az időjárás megengedett. A program további részében cseh, szlovák és magyar folklórcsoportok is bemutatkoztak valamint átadták a Salgótarján-Losonc Nemzetközi Maraton futás legjobbjainak díjait, melyről már beszámoltunk az olvasóinknak.

    Az idén örülhettek a régi autók és motorkerékpárok szerelmesei. Ezeket ezúttal a Masaryk utcán csodálhatták meg a megfelelő nosztalgiával rendelkező (de mások is) érdeklődők. Az autók egy ismert korabeli traktor vezetésével a város főutcáján is felvonultak.

    Ugyancsak az utcában rendezték meg a speciális kerékpáros akadályversenyt, mely akadályainak leküzdésében a résztvevőknek nem egyszer akrobatikus tudásra is szükségük volt.

      Hatodik alkalommal rendezték meg a babgulyás főző versenyt, melyen az idén is 7 csapat vett részt, akiket, pontosabban a főztjüket gyerek- és felnőtt zsűri értékelte.

  Babgulyás főző verseny gyermekzsürije,. Bal oldalt: Pavol Baculík.

    A Városháza mellett felállított mesesátorban számos meseszínházi előadás várta a legkisebbeket és felnőtt kísérőiket. Az interaktív bemutatók moderátora Miroslav Kasprzyk volt.

    A városnapok legnagyobb rendezvénye a VII. Mega Street Dance Party, azaz  egyszerűen „utcabál” volt, melyen több mint 4000-en vettek részt. A rekordok könyve ezt 2006-tól a legnagyobb ilyen jellegű  szlovákiai rendezvények közt tartja számon.

  Az idén első ízben volt belépti díjas, melynek értékét a résztvevők levásárolhatták. A szervezők viszont kevésbé gondolták át, hogy  egy kapu kevés a beléptetéshez. Itt még este 10 óra körül is hosszú sor állt. A résztvevőket szigorúan ellenőrizték, azok nem vihettek be semmilyen szúró, vágó, mások testi épségét esetlegesen veszélyeztető eszközt.

      A rendezvény egyik újdonsága a városnéző kisvonat volt, amely Pápáról érkezett Losoncra és óránként indult körútjára a Köztársaság tér – Városliget – Zsinagóga – Régi városháza – Masaryk utca – Köztársaság tér útvonalon.

    A Köztársaság téren felállított színpadon  folyamatosan zajlottak a bemutatók és koncertek, már amennyit az időjárás megengedett. Ez az idén nem nagyon fogadta a kegyeibe a szervezőket. A rendezvény második napján az ismert Mária Čírovának is csak néhány számot engedett meg, a további esti koncerteket a több hullámban érkezett eső elmosta. Ugyanezen ok miatt lemondták a városligetbe tervezett zárónap (VII. losonci legenda)  sokak által várt teljes programját is.

    Volt viszont programon kívül érkezett bemutató. A Campana Batucada brazil szamba dallamokat játszó csoport évente visszatérő vendége a városnapoknak. Az idén nem szerepeltek a hivatalos programban, de végül mégis eljutottak Losoncra. Fergeteges dobshowjuk ezúttal is sikert aratott.

    Puntigán József

[idly]

St. Peter is like the Lionel Messi of extreme vetting. https://t.co/WbNp42pkRp

— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) February 19, 2017

[korkep-blog]

Így szavaznak majd Besztercebánya megye közszereplői, sportolói, művészei

A Denník N napilap arra volt kíváncsi, hogyan szavaznak majd a szombati megyei önkormányzati választáson Besztercebánya megye híres közszereplői, sportolói, művészei.   Ozo Guttler,Expres Rádió, Korben Dallas együttes   Biztos, hogy elmegyek szavazni. Lunter úrra fogok voksolni, mert...

A Denník N napilap arra volt kíváncsi, hogyan szavaznak majd a szombati megyei önkormányzati választáson Besztercebánya megye híres közszereplői, sportolói, művészei.

  Ozo Guttler,Expres Rádió, Korben Dallas együttes

  Biztos, hogy elmegyek szavazni. Lunter úrra fogok voksolni, mert számomra ő az egyetlen választható demokratikus jelölt. Az akire szavazni szerettem volna visszalépett Lunter érdekében, aki jelenleg az egyetlen választás Besztercebánya megyében. Aznap utazni fogunk a zenekarral Szlovákiában ezért kénytelen voltam megváltoztatni az utunkat annak érdekében, hogy szavazhassunk.

  Matej Tóth, olimpiai bajnok sportoló

  Az állandó lakhelyem Besztercebányán van, így ott fogok szavazni. Biztos elmegyek. Minden választáson részt veszek, ha épp Szlovákiában tartózkodok. Ráadásul Besztercebányán most nagy a tét, egy demokratikus jelöltre fogok szavazni.

    Martin Macharik, aktivista

  Ján Lunterre fogok szavazni. A személyes, ügyes és becsületes története számomra garancia, hogy a megyénk hosszú idő után egy komoly vezetést kap, amelynek érdekében áll dolgozni és nem csak lopni

    Jana Dubovcová, egykori ombudsman

  Biztosan elmegyek szavazni, Ján Lunterre. Megszólított az életútja.

  Eva Kováčechová, a Jogi Tanácsadó Központ igazgatója

  Biztos elmegyek szavazni és nemcsak azért, mert a fasizmusnak nincs helye a megyénkben. Arra az emberre fogok szavazni, aki már bebizonyította, hogy eredményeket tud felmutatni, amelyek reményt adnak, hogy a valódi pozitív eredményeket a megyében is láthatjuk majd. Nem elég nekem, ha egy ispán azzal büszkélkedik, mennyit spórolt a megyében. Számomra az a fontos, hogy a kerület előre haladjon és érvényesüljön az emberek pedig végre lássák, hogy a megye és megyefőnök is csinál valamit.

  Dalibor Surkoš, Nagykürtös polgármestere

  Természetesen készülök szavazni. A mi megyénkben ez nagyon fontos. Még nem döntöttem biztosan, de biztos nem Kotlebára szavazok. Találkozni fogok Lunterrel, mert eddig erre nem került sor, kíváncsi vagyok, mond-e vlaami újat. Őszintén megmondom, első választásom Mičev volt, most Kašper szimpatikus. A járásunkban háromszor járt és bejárta az egész megyét. Lehet, hogy Lunter is meggyőz, meglátjuk. Számomra fontos, hogy ne legyen ott Kotleba.

    Peter Balko, író

  Elmegyek szavazni és Lunterre voksolok. Besztercebánya megyét az utóbbi négy évben egy olyan ember vezette, akinek nincs ott semmi keresnivalója. Kotlebának nincs semmi keresnivalója az élpolitikában sem. Tetszik nekem Lunter programja, de ez egy nagy gesztus is, amit a megyének kellene megtennie annak szimbólumaként, hogy nem akarjuk ott a szélsőséges Mariant.

    Denník N borítókép: Aktuality.sk