#then you have the corrupt politics of fifa

[carefreefc]

watching football through a leftist intersectional feminist lens is so painful i could write a sub stack essay about this

[bopinion]

2024 / 16

Aperçu of the Week

"You can't knock on opportunity's door and not be ready."

(Peter Gene Hernandez, better known as Bruno Mars and my sons favorite soundtrack while he's cooking)

Bad News of the Week

Sport actually has nothing to do with politics. Because the competition is carried out by individuals who (can) stand outside of systems. Nevertheless, sport is often instrumentalized by politics by stylizing successful athletes as symbolic figures for the strength of a system. I can still remember the Olympic Games in the 70s and 80s very well, in which the athletes of the USA and the Soviet Union competed against each other in many ways as a priority. And Rocky IV, of course.

It is fitting that sports organizations have always been suspected of being corrupt - often rightly so, see FIFA. It is therefore clear that it is almost always not the athletes who are the problem, but the officials. Do you need proof? How about China and doping? Because there was a big boom this week, as a journalistic investigative team from ARD (the BBC of Germany) found out.

At a national swimming competition in China at the beginning of 2021, 23 swimmers tested positive in the mandatory doping tests - which means negative in this context. This was then covered up. With the knowledge of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). The agency did not consider it worth investigating the banned substance trimetazidine, for which the Russian figure skating prodigy Kamila Valiyeva was banned for four years in the same year. The Chinese swimmers, however, were not. In the following Summer Olympics in Tokyo, three of them won gold and two silver.

We can see that China today is what the Soviet Union (and to some extent the GDR) used to be - a regime that abuses even its top performers to score points at international level. The staff looking after athletes (including doctors who have long since thrown the Hippocratic Oath overboard) still have more say than the athletes themselves. An institution that was set up to prevent malpractice can also be corrupt. At the major sporting events this summer, first the European Men's Football Championships and then the Olympic Games in Paris, spectators will not know whether they are cheering on a fake. And the athletes themselves won't know whether the competition was fair at all.

Good News of the Week

At last, US weapons are back in Ukraine. For months, the Republican “Freedom caucus” in the House of Representatives had been standing on the brakes. And Ukraine lost. Because, as is generally the case in the NATO context, all other members cannot compensate for the loss of by far the most capable partner country. It is therefore a great relief that the rationalists in the USA have regained the upper hand. And are now giving the badly shaken Ukraine hope again.

The following still applies: if Putin can subjugate Ukraine or impose a dictated peace on it, he will not sit back contentedly in his armchair in the Kremlin and enjoy the day of victory. He will continue in his quest to bring the Soviet Union back from the dead. Even if the Baltic states are members of NATO, they would be his next victims (not to mention Moldova, for example). Because apparently he could simply allow himself to do this without being stopped. The democracy of the whole of Europe is being defended in Ukraine, that must not be forgotten. So my heartfelt thanks to the US Congress.

A positive side effect of all this is that the same financial package, which Joe Biden will undoubtedly sign as soon as possible, contains even more. Namely 26 billion US dollars for the suffering population in Gaza - in your face, Benjamin Netanyahu! And 8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region - in your face, Xi Jinping! The USA are back on the world stage where they belong. I would not have thought it, but I must now pay tribute to a member of the Republican establishment. So thank you, Speaker of the House James Michael “Mike” Johnson. Hopefully I'll get over it...

Personal happy moment of the week

My son was in trouble with a teacher. A misunderstanding - that had developed into a solid crisis due to a certain stubbornness on both sides - was now threatening to cost him his participation in a project that is important to him. I took his side and was called in for a “clarifying discussion”. This was then canceled because the teacher (probably looking for reinforcement and arguments) consulted with other teachers. And “received very positive feedback on his behavior”. Disciplinary measures were not taken “because he is so committed and keeps the group together.” So a serious accusation suddenly turned into high praise.

I couldn't care less...

...that a Belgian court acquitted a driver who was driving with a blood alcohol level of 2.1. Because he suffers from the extremely rare “home-brew syndrome”: the body produces alcohol itself, which leads to the usual symptoms such as reduced responsiveness etc. Anyone who is a danger to themselves and, above all, to others on the road should not be allowed to drive - for whatever reason. After all, the disability of no blind person is their own fault. But no court in the world would allow him to drive.

It's fine with me...

...that for the first time in the history of the USA a criminal trial is taking place against a (former) president. I don't care whether or not you can plead guilty to election interference by falsifying business records because of hush money payments to a porn star. I just wish that a proven notorious liar and cheat, who is also a sexist, racist, homophobe and incidentally “unfit for office”, would finally have to take responsibility for his actions in court.

As I write this...

...April lives up to its name: first you can go swimming and two days later it's snowing. Candles are set up in the vineyards to warm the tender buds. And the hedgehog that has been hibernating on the terrace under our barbecue probably thinks it has woken up too early. Allergy sufferers are happy about the abrupt end of the pollen season. But everyone misses spring.

Post Scriptum

Everyone gets their life from their mother. She is the primary caregiver that all humans have in their first perceptions. That's why I've never understood why so many men simply devalue this in the course of their lives - and grant women fewer rights than themselves. Poverty, discrimination and a lack of equal rights cost lives, according to the latest UN World Population Report.

Not only is there no progress towards equality, there is actually a decline. The rights of “women, girls and gender-diverse people are being pushed back more and more,” says Dr. Natalia Kanem (head of the United Nations Population Fund). Lack of representation and limited self-determination force one in four women under a male-dominated yoke. And sexual violence is a problem in almost every country in the world. No man can want that. Not for his mother, not for his sister, not for his daughter. And not for his wife either. Shame on you!

[opiatemasses]

Qatar - the real winners of the World Cup?

Forget Argentina, Qatar may still controversially be regarded as the biggest winners of the World Cup despite being the first host nation to get eliminated after just two games.

Back in 2010, Qatar was announced as host for the World Cup 2022. Shock and disbelief rippled around the globe and the world of football. The tiny country of Qatar is famous for being oil-rich, but it is also known for its appalling record on human rights violations, corruption, and fraud.

As a consequence, some decided to boycott the tournament. 

However, fast forward to 2022 with one blow of the whistle and the first kick of the ball, for many the thrill of the World Cup drowned out worries about fraud, abuse, and discrimination against the LGBT community. 

On paper, Qatar was not a logical choice to be host for a number of reasons: It’s record of human rights abuses is in direct contrast to traditional sporting ethics and values. Additionally, its lack of infrastructure, poor football facilities, and finally, a summer climate not conducive to competitive football that would necessitate a re-ordering of the football calendar.

Qatar are arguably the most controversial World Cup host since the 1930’s. They were accused of bribing FIFA to host the World Cup, with allegations of corruption. The FIFA President alleged that Spanish and Qatari representatives agreed to vote for each other in their respective 2018/2022 bids and acknowledged collaboration with political motivation during the voting process.

Qatar had a strategy to use the lead up to the World Cup to significantly increase its impact in international sports. They have subsequently hosted numerous prestigious sporting events over the past ten years and raised their profile internationally by investing in sports through sponsorship agreements, purchase of football clubs, acquisition of broadcasting rights, and the construction of cutting-edge sporting facilities.

Qatar have been accused of using sportswashing to rebrand their public image:  the process of using major global sporting platforms to distract from the shadier elements of their regime, restricted women’s rights, criminalisation of the LGBTQ community and allegations of corruption. Leading up to the event, newspaper headlines were dominated by shocking stories of Qatar’s poor treatment of migrant workers.

Sportswashing is not a new practice, with examples dating as far back as the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and more recently the Beijing Olympic Games. According to authors Brannagan and Giulianotti (2018) ‘state leaders may cut through the cacophony of the global information society to send a series of widely heard, reputation-enhancing messages over a sustained time" by hosting a mega-event like the World Cup’.

A recent Give Me Sport twitter thread reported how some fans are sensationally coming up with conspiracy theories that Argentina was rigged to win the World Cup! Such theories cite how, as one of the all-time greatest footballers, Lionel Messi will attract headlines for decades to come and is now inextricably linked to Qatar.

A feature of sportswashing is displacing undesirable internet search results with ones that are more relevant and abundant. Now when you click on Qatar, instead of human rights abuses you are more likely to see images from the Qatar World Cup. One of the most powerful images is the iconic photo of Messi lifting the trophy – which, incidentally, just happens to be the most liked post in history.

Media coverage throughout the tournament featured fans having a good time, walking the streets of Qatar, and enjoying the football – images that will be projected around the world, into people’s homes.

Rather that Qatar’s seedy underbelly, I will remember Qatar as a good World Cup, although it would have been even better if England had managed to bring it home! Qatar have certainly played a clever game, and I’m not talking about football.

N0938291

Here is a link to a questionnaire created to understand your opinions of Qatar securing the opportunity of hosting the World Cup. I want to know what you think, please share your thoughts.

Complete the survey

[theladyship]

While this looks like a goofy take, it’s been discussed numerous times how sports and football and particular have served as a perfect outlet for social and regional conflicts, and thus for a long time have replaced military conflicts.

This quote from 2014 sadly is outdated. We have seen the IOC and FIFA and UEFA turn openly corrupt and borderline evil, focusing entirely on the commercialization of sports, exhausting the market with endlessly split TV rights and new tournaments, while ignoring any political implications such as dictatorships and human rights violations. There’s a decline in the quality and the overall appeal of the international tournaments, the former peak of professional football and audience interest.

Obviously the recent political/ military conflicts are not directly linked to the decline of sports but it certainly makes you wonder if loosing this playing field of allegiance and folklore, this outlet of stress and conflict is going to prove very problematic in the long run.

i love football because being a hater is not only normal, it is in fact highly encouraged

[kittyprincessofcats]

So, the ISU banned Russia and Belarus from Worlds

1. First things first: FUCKING FINALLY! I’m honestly angry it took them this long. When every other sport has been banning Russians and cancelling their events in Russia left and right, when even FIFA (FIFA!!!) banned Russia, when even the IOC asked sports’ governing bodies to ban Russia (the same IOC who couldn’t bring themsleves to actually ban Russia from the Olympics over doping), when almost every other sport had already done it, when the French government had already announced it wouldn’t let the athletes from Russia in... It was honestly getting embarrassing for the ISU to not do it. Which is the only reason I’m a little salty, because it shouldn’t take this much outside pressure for them to do the right thing just once. But at least they finally did it, thank fuck.

2. It’s heartbreaking and embarrassing that it took a tragedy as terrible as a literal war for this to happen, when between the doping scandal, the corrupt judging and the continued child abuse, the ISU had more than enough reasons to ban Russia way before this. (Especially the doping scandal... would they have just let Valieva compete? Again?)

3. “But this is unfair to Russian athletes!” Literally - shut up. Ukrainian athletes can’t go to Worlds because they’re currently being bombed and are dying. SHUT UP. It’s so freaking telling how some of you never complain when the Russian girls get overscored to hell and back, when they undeservedly get gifted everyone else’s hard-earned medals and titles, when they literally dope at the Olympics... but the moment they don’t get to compete because their country started a war, it’s suddenly “unfair”. SHUT UP. If anything, this means we’ll finally get a fair women’s competition with deserving winners and wihout judging BS.

4. Russian FS people being mad about this decision has me laughing so hard. Like, that guy who was like “No one will want to watch without our athletes”? Hilarious. Who’s gonna tell him that I literally didn’t want to watch until now? There’s a reason why, except for the Olympics, I didn’t watch any women’s events with Russians it this season.

5. “But sports shouldn’t be political!” I agree, but they unfortunately are. There’s a reason why skaters represent a specific country, why they have their flags raised and anthem played during the victory ceremony, etc. You can’t say that a skater “represents Russia” but then claim that their participation has nothing to do with Russia - that’s not how it works.

6. “But Putin and his supporters won’t care if Russian skaters are banned!” WRONG. You underestimate just how deeply political figure skating is in Russia. Every medal won by a Russian athlete is treated like it directly reflects on the government and on Putin himself. When Plushenko “only” won silver at the Vancouver Olympics, Putin threw a whole fit over it. After Pyeongchang, Zagitova and Medvedeva were given awards by Putin and took part in a pro-Putin rally (how much of that they did willingly is a question I can’t answer). When Zagitova won Worlds in 2019, Putin took the time to congratulate her. If I remember right, the Russian National (football/soccer) team also got some award for doing well in the World Cup. Sport is state-sponsored in Russia, successful athletes are constantly being held up by the media as reasons why Russia is supposedly better than other countries. Not to mention the whole state-sponsored doping scandal? Are people forgetting about that? Russia wasn’t named “ROC” at the Olympics because some individual Russians doped, it was because the Russian goverment made them dope. These skaters are not just skaters, they are Putin’s propaganda mouthpieces, whether they like it or not.

7. “But if Russians don’t get to compete, no one else’s victory will really count!” Shut up, Plushenko. I’ve said it to Eteri before and I’ll say it to you again: Sports aren’t based on “would haves” and “could haves”. If we only counted the medals that were won when every possible contender for gold was there, quite a lot of medals suddenly wouldn’t count. (If anything, we should investigate how many of those Russian medals were won with doping and therefore genuinely shouldn’t count.)

Honestly, it’s just really fucking rich that some people think a country that wasn’t even banned for doping is one that suddenly needs their right to compete defended.

tl; dr: what I said on twitter:

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

If you want evidence of that it might be useful to pay attention to the last world cup, which was also played in a country with an autocratic, government with homophobic laws and which Harry did talk about the fact that he was watching it. /

This year it’s not only about non existent gay rights but also about exploited migrant workers who were forced to build the stadium and everything with barley to no salary, without any safety precautions while also being forced to sleep in a room with many others on a mattrass and having no contact to friends or family. They died due to non existent safety for example by falling from big hights or bc they were either over worked or killed. They had to work 24/7 when it’s very hot up to 50 degrees, couldn’t escape bc they didnt have the financial means or/and bc many of them got robbed of their passport when they arrived. They aren’t allowed to change their jobs. They have to work there until everything is done..or until they die bc of exhaustion or bc they get killed after being punished. Some families of the victims didn’t even get the news of their loved ones deaths until they found out themselves. The numbers aren’t clear bc nobody watched over it (voices say it could be up to 15000 deaths), 70% of the death cases can be expected to be unsolved. But the exact numbers don’t matter bc it’s a fact: people are dying every fucking day bc of the World Cup.

The Stadium gets air conditioned with large nozzles while being half open so it’s STILL way too hot for the players but it’s also a bad for climate change. Qatar is too little for so many viewers so people fly over from Dubai to the stadium with shuttle planes which is also bad for the climate. FIFA gets payed by qatar. The wc shouldn’t have taken place there at all in the first place. It’s against what fifa originally stands for (but that shouldn’t surprise anybody). It’s not only a way to small country for such an event, it’s too hot there still even now where it takes place in winter season and there’s absolutely no human rights neither for workers nor in general for people who live there. And it’s bad for the climate even tho fifa claims to be climate neutral. People in power made sure to make it happen by corruption (paying for votes, paying people/celebrities for advertising the wc to their countries as a good thing. David Beckham gets payed 180 million dollars for his deal with Qatar). According to human rights organizations the fifa has done little to nothing to campaign for better human rights in Qatar, it was done by ngo‘s and international governments. Fifa forbids teams to wear any slightly political statements on their clothes even when just for training events. Players of some countries are threatened with hard punishments in case they dare to make any political acts/statements. And you already know about the non existent gay rights there. But to add my shit here, some hotels don’t even accept lgbt people as their guests, you get arrested and put into prison up to 7 years when you get caught, in the past there haven already been death penalties done to gay people. The Qatar World Cup ambassador said being gay is a ‚damage to the brain‘. I could go on but I’m sure you know about all this stuff. It’s not even half of what I could write down here.

I just wanna say, this isn’t about canceling ‚celebrities‘ who support the wc publicly, this isn’t about canceling people who watch the wc. This should be about canceling fifa. And by watching the World Cup your actively support them. Still, if you wanna watch, do it. But maybe don’t tweet about if you have 35 mio followers. And to say ‚other world cups in other countries were just as bad‘. No. That isn’t an argument. That is just to minimize and to relativise the damage that’s been done in Qatar to so many people and to our planet. Nobody is saying it hasn’t been bad long before Qatar happend. But that’s not a reason to boycott the World Cup this year or to at least be aware of what’s happening there. I feel like most people don’t know. I have seen all kinds of arguments why Louis can watch the World Cup bc ‚it’s his interests‘, ‚he has a broken arm, leave him alone‘ and blah blah. This isn’t about him at all. But it’s totally fair to criticize him for being so carefree in using his big influence to support such an event so openly.

Oh anon - Of course I'm aware of all this. I have known that the Qatari world cup was being built on migrant labour since it was announced. Through international trade union networks, I have taken some very small acts of solidarity, as I was asked to, over the last twelve years.

I'm sorry if this is condescending - it's easy to make assumptions from anons. But one of the important changes in politics I've seen over the last twenty years is that information about what is wrong with the world that is rooted radical analysis, has often been separated from radical analysis about how to change things. When I was learning about migrant exploitation labour in my early twenties - I learned that alongside learning about union struggles in NZ and overseas and how to act in solidarity. I think it's really important to learn from historic struggles how change has been made.

Because without that what you get is a long list of what is wrong with the world, and then a demand for an action that there has been no organising around, no collective

None of this is about Louis for me. It is about basic political principles of who has a right to call for a boycott and what the purpose of politics is.

I'm not going to post any more anons about this subject unless they at least engage with what I have to say about this, because I don't want to spread this sort of lack of analysis of political change. I'm really interested and engaged in all questions about how we create change and there important ideas that I've hardly touched on - so if people want to have those conversations come back and we can chat - but I'm not going to post more anons like this.

[oneworldcup]

Bigger than football.

'One World Cup' is a documentary all about the biggest sporting event in the world from one of the most multicultural cities in the world, Toronto Canada.

Its a documentary that takes a fresh approach to issues around racism and prejudice in context of the sport of football/soccer (whatever you want to call it) as well as this massive global event known as the FIFA World Cup.

The world has changed so much since I shot 'One World Cup'; it has become a document of simpler times.

Since then there has been Occupy Wallstreet and the Arab Spring. There were riots over the Brazilian World Cup and a massive FIFA corruption scandle. There have been wide spread racial injustice protests, a global pandemic, Trump and too many other things over an eventful decade to name.

Many of these things I have documented in this blog, making connections between sport and social or political issues. My eyes have been widened. I now know what sort of organization FIFA is. However, I told myself and many of the people in the doc that 'One World Cup' wasn't really about the FIFA World Cup anyway. Its about the fans, the phenomena around the World Cup and the sport itself. Its about meeting people from around the world and finding something in common. Usually its sports and beer.

Although the World Cup has come to another conclusion, a rather epic one at that, this documentary's purpose remains. FIFA needs football, football does not need FIFA.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Random brazilian curiosity:

We have a huge problem with three major criminal organizations who are involved in politics and corruption: Comando Vermelho, PCC and FIFA.

Disclaimer: Before you say comparing FIFA to the other two is unfair to the victims of the violence caused directly or inderectly by PCC and Comando Vermelho look up the absurd death tool on the construction of stadiums in Quatar for the World Cup and how while it is more than usual the misstreatment of involving building preparations for the World Cup is a pattern.

[28whitepeonies]

About your anon of gay men and the world cup. I'm a queer woman so maybe they'll decide it doesn't apply but just to add my 2 cents.

I love football, more my club than my NT (which sucks but not as much as England, sorry Louis) and I have never missed a tournament if I can help it. I'm not watching this one because I'm not comfortable with everything around it (lacks of rights, the dead of so many people, FIFA being even more corrupt than we ever thought) BUT I can't help checking results and such. And that's being properly distracted by life because most matches are during my working hours.

Honestly if I were stuck at home, bored af as Louis probably is I'd be watching it too (and annoying my mutuals with my comments).🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi anon

Thanks for sharing your perspective on this, queer people will have a whole range of responses to the World Cup and I want to be really clear that however folk choose to engage with it is up to them. What we do as individuals here in terms of watching it/not watching it has little impact but people choosing what they engage with based on what they can and do enjoy is important. I hope you find the right balance that works for you.

I watched five minutes of the England game yesterday to see if they’d defy FIFA and the FA anyway and then turned it off, that’s probably five more minutes than I’d have watched of any World Cup at this stage.

I also have some much bigger thoughts about this expectation that a fairly non-political musician like Louis, where I think there is an active decision to not wade into political issues on social media, should join the debate on this as opposed to doing what he wants and tweeting about his enjoyment of a sport as usual.

Be angry at the FA, be angry at FIFA, be angry at Qatar, be angry at the British Government for centuries of imperialism, be angry at the european teams or their captains if you like for backing down over a fucking meaningless, watered down armband protest no one asked them to stage. If you want to do something that’s meaningful, get out in your communities and organise against oppression. But I think anger at Louis or any other gay person is misdirected anger, and I think it shows a real narrow worldview.

In relation to this.

[eabhaalynn]

My 11 Songs of the Decade (because 10 would be boring and is overdone.)

Cigarette Daydreams – Cage the Elephant

The song… This is the closing song of Cage the Elephant’s 2013 album, Melophobia, and the third single released from this album. It describes the pain of someone’s search for their own identity through the musings of a parted lover.

For me… To this day, this is the song I cry to. This always has been me and my friend Iona’s song. It will forever be inseparable from the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens in Belfast, from rainy summer’s days and rants about our seemingly massive problems with GCSEs and girls from school. When she went abroad for her gap year, I couldn’t bear to listen to it. It’s another one of these songs that manages to articulate what it feels like to be young and thinking too much.

Key lyric…If we can find a reason, a reason to change Looking for the answer If you can find a reason, a reason to stay Standing in the pouring rain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvVJ0v6Vta8

Ribs – Lorde

The song… This is a deep house influenced electronica song that discusses Lorde’s stress over ageing. It was released on her debut album, Pure Heroine, in 2013. It begins ambiently and builds to become increasingly more frantic as the song progresses.

For me… Despite being released when I was a young teenager, this song was written when Lorde was sixteen or seventeen. It articulates exactly what it feels like to be that age, at that stage of life. I’m quite sure teenagers across the globe can relate to that. This song has been the soundtrack of my teenage years, the imagery is both relatable and accessible. Listening now, it gives me a sense of nostalgia, a yearning to be back where I was a year, or two or three years ago. Even now, it is the sound of being alone in a crowd. It is musically perfect, and a piece of exceptional songwriting.

Key lyric…This dream isn't feeling sweet We're reeling through the midnight streets And I've never felt more alone It feels so scary, getting old

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qaeoz_7cyE

Sign of the Times – Harry Styles

The song…  This is Harry Style’s debut single as a solo artist. It was released in early 2017 and appears on his self-titled debut album. It is a power ballad with eclectic influences from genres such as soft rock, indie rock, glam rock and psychedelic soul. It features Styles’ vocals alongside choral harmonies throughout. It is essentially about avoiding emotion during times of grief and hardship.

For me…This is the song of me leaving school (for the first time). Listening to it now coughs up all the feelings of relief, and yet uncertainty. Excitement, but also nerves. Summer 2017 was a turning point for me. I had had a terrible couple of years over my GCSEs, and overall, my second school was a far better place for me to be than my first one ever was. At the time though, I didn’t know this. Sure, how could I? This song helped me figure out my feelings, and make sense of feeling happy when I really didn’t know what I should have felt at all.

Key lyric…We don't talk enough, we should open up Before it's all too much Will we ever learn? We've been here before It's just what we know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN4ooNx77u0

Ride – Lana Del Rey

The song… This song comes from Lana Del Rey’s third EP, Paradise, released in 2012. It served as the first single of this re-release. It is a ballad that includes, among other themes, parental problems, loneliness and alcohol misuse. Del Rey sings over a string drenched, piano driven melody.

For me… This is the song of every summer. It has never been an exceptionally happy song for me, but it is the embodiment of what it is to feel young and alive, if a little bit tired. The glamour of it, alongside the acknowledgement that everything isn’t perfect, but that they will be okay if you just go with the flow, was exactly what I needed at the time it was released. The blissful uncertainty of the summers of being 14 and 15, partnered with the irrelevance of the future, is exactly what this song will always be about for me.

Key lyric… Been trying hard not to get into trouble But I, I've got a war in my mind I just ride, just ride

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_-3di1yx0

Don’t Delete the Kisses – Wolf Alice

The song… This is the second single from Wolf Alice’s second album, Visions of a Life. It is characterised as dream pop, synth pop, shoegaze and indie rock. Frontwoman Rowsell referred to it as “one of those, you know, ‘head out the window on a long drive’ kind of tunes.’

For me… If ‘ribs’ is the sound of being seventeen, then surely this is the sound of falling in love. This song is the ultimate love song. I am absolutely convinced of it. It is greater than any one person as it is simply the sound of the feeling. I am very lucky that I actually was falling in love for the first time at the time this was released. I will always be indebted to Ellie Rowsell for being there to tell me in plain English how I was feeling. This song has defined every ‘lovey dovey’ mood I have been in for the last two and a half years. I’m sure most people of my age feel the same. It was written for the era we are living in and it is perfectly suited to it.

Key lyric…I see the signs of a lifetime, you 'til I die

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqxE-zppu30

Motion Sickness – Phoebe Bridgers

The song… This is the third single from Phoebe Bridger’s 2017 Debut album ‘Stranger in the Alps.’ It describes “being in love with someone who is super mean to you… like conflicted feelings.” Bridger’s stated to radio station KCRW that the song was written about fellow musician Ryan Adams.

For me… Admittedly, I discovered this song late in the decade. But it’s a song about feelings. Like, really hard feelings. This decade, and especially the latter half of it, threw up a lot of feelings, about a lot of things. I suppose this is fairly standard for most people approaching the end of their teenage years. It’s angsty, without being too bothered about anything. It’s raw and honest; articulating everything I’ve felt about everyone at one stage or another, and I’m equally, I’m sure it articulates enough people’s feelings about me.

Key lyric… You said when you met me you were bored And you, you were in a band when I was born

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sfYpolGCu8

A & E – Brand New Friend

The song… This illustrates the rise and fall of a relationship, and in doing so highlights the more melancholic acoustic side of Northern Irish indie pop group Brand New Friend. It was initially released in 2016 as the closing song of their debut EP, American Wives, but was remastered and re-released on their 2017 album Seatbelts for Airplanes.

For me… This is the song of the medicine application. Bearing in mind I know this band, and know that there is a well-developed meaning to the song that has nothing to do with me, this is the song that I have listened to, and seen live, countless times from the day I decided I wanted to be a doctor to the day I got into medical school and beyond. It is a rare and beautiful connection to have to a song like this, and one for which I am forever going to be grateful. Now, I can’t hear the song live without bawling my wee eyes out. I have come so far, and the band have too, and the song has been with us every step of the way. That truly means the world to me.

Key lyric… She wants to be a paramedic / Wants to save a strangers life / Now she wants to hold my hand / Does she know she’s saving mine?

https://open.spotify.com/track/5RmOfF1s5zW2B942H9OGXT?si=hsauA8iXQN6mXQnL8s0fBw

Brazil – Declan McKenna

The song… McKenna initially self-released this song in December 2014. It is critical of FIFA, of their awarding of the 2014 World Cup to Brazil without addressing the deep rooted and extensive poverty affecting the Nations people. It gained widespread media attention throughout the FIFA corruption scandal, before featuring on his debut album, ‘What do you think about the Car?’ in July 2017. It is an indie rock song that is driven by guitars and synths.

For me… This song was the sound of 2016 and 2017. It was released a while before this but I was fairly late jumping on the bandwagon. It’s a political song, speaking of the injustices behind FIFA and their 2014 World Cup in Brazil. As an angry little leftist, I have always appreciated this. I can only appreciate it more knowing that Declan McKenna himself was only fourteen when he wrote it. For me the song has many happy memories attached to it, from the long summer walks from my house to the nearest village to see my friends who were working as sailing instructors, to attending a tiny gig of Declan McKenna’s in the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast and being about 6 feet from his face while he was 6 feet from the cusp of fame.

Key lyric…Because you've had your chances, yeah you've had enough I'm gonna burn your house down to spread peace and love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duHjQ3BE6D8

Robbers – The 1975

The song… This is the sixth single from the 1975’s self-titled debut album. It was released as a single in May 2014. The song’s concept follows an ill-fated robbery, and was inspired in part by the 1993 film ‘True Romance.’ It is essentially about a relationship in which the partners are too focused on each other to notice the destruction they are each causing.

For me… This song is fairly definitive of my teenage years as a whole. The narrative of a toxic relationship that the writer could not, or would not leave, was one that I always managed to connect to, across all aspects of my life as a young teenager, encountering uncomfortable situations within school and with different people and groups of friends. Matty Healy was (and honestly still is) one of the biggest crushes I’ve ever had. I’ve now heard this song live three different times, at three completely different phases of my life. It is a song with so much meaning, and yet one that has grown and evolved with me throughout the decade.

Key lyric… Now everybody's dead And they're driving past my old school And he's got his gun, he's got his suit on She says, 'Babe, you look so cool'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyy3YOpxL2k

Get Well Soon – Ariana Grande

The song… This is the final song on Grande’s 2017 album ‘Sweetener,’ it is a soul ballad with layered vocals, and is inspired by Grande’s personal anxiety and trauma following the May 2017 terrorist attack following her concert in Manchester. In memory of the 22 victims of this attack, there is a 40 second moment of silence at the end of the song.

For me… I am, and have been, a very anxious person for a very long time. This is something I have never really hid away from, but also never felt up to talking openly about. This song manages to describe the feelings associated with anxiety in a way I have never heard any mainstream musician attempt before. Ariana’s concert which was attacked in May 2017, that which inspired this song, immediately followed her concert that my father and sister had attended, and so the whole song and sequence of events is and always has been very close to home for me.

Key lyric…I'm too much in my head, did you notice? (Girl, what’s wrong with you? Come back down)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXU4P6j3TNY

She’s Thunderstorms – Arctic Monkeys

The song… This is the first song from the fourth studio album by arctic monkeys; Suck it and See, released in 2011. It originated when Alex Turner was looking for a new way of complimenting someone. It begins with an Eastern inspired riff and is fairly heavily guitar led, characteristic of this period in the Arctic Monkey’s discography

For me… I’d be lying if I said this isn’t one of my favourite songs of all time. I chose it for this list because it is my favourite song by the arctic monkeys, who are my favourite band. Its subject, Alexa Chung, basically leads the life I wish I had. Even more so at the time this song was written than now. I remember being twelve or thirteen and just wanting someone to write something like this for me. The sheer detail of the lyrics is beautiful and so captivating, they played a huge part in helping me find my love for music in an accessible way. I loved, and still do love, the relationship they had. I feel like it translated so well into his music, and into the popular culture that shaped my teenage years exceptionally well.  

Key lyric…Here is your host, sounds as if she's pretty close When the heat starts growing horns She's thunderstorms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQSQnHh4rPE

[the-real-xmonster]

What’s Next for Yuzu?

Hello girls/guys, apologize for suddenly going MIA this past weekend - I was out of town and didn’t bring my laptop with me. I’ve got tons of questions sitting in my inbox about the men’s event (as well as leftovers about the ladies’), which I’ll try to get to in the next couple of days. First, though, in this post I’d like to put together some general thoughts regarding our beloved Yuzu.

What Happened

The margin of 22.45 points between Nathan and Yuzu sounds awful on paper, but it could be accounted for in a fairly straightforward manner using the 2 jumping mistakes that Yuzu had: the popped 4S in the SP and the UR 4S in the LP. If Yuzu had landed those 2 Salchows properly, all else being equal, he could have won. That’s not my crazy Hanyu fan persona talking, it’s math.

His (relatively) clean Otonal SP was awarded 110.53 at Rostelecom Cup so that mistake in the SP in Saitama cost him upward of 15 points - 14 of which was because of the missing element itself, and the rest because of the reduction in PCS it induced (and I’d be the first to admit that it should’ve cost him even more had the judges strictly followed the ISU recommendation on PCS for programs containing a serious error).       

His clean 4S in the LP at GP Helsinki was awarded 13.44 points, so the UR in Saitama cost him about 7.5 points.

(at least) 15.00 + 7.5 = 22.5, which is enough to cover the margin and allow Yuzu to win, and that’s before we account for the fact that a cleaner LP would’ve easily netted him more than 95.84 in PCS.

I’m not throwing these numbers out here to kick off a game of what-ifs. I’m doing this only to show you that the hot take of “Yuzu couldn’t have won even if he had skated cleanly” is bullshit. You don’t have to swallow it from anyone, not even Yuzu himself.

Do I think that the margin of victory should’ve been narrower than 22.45? Yes, I unequivocally do, not because I think Yuzu was underscored (I do not think so) but because I can poke a bunch of holes in the scores Nathan got. +4/+5 for his quads/3As were excessive, mainly because he didn’t have much in the way of creative entries, his landings were still a pain point because of the lack of flow, and while the size of his jumps on average was acceptable, it wasn’t outstanding. His LP ChSq was still blink-and-you-miss-it. His edgework and control have improved this past year, but were still not enough to justify +4/+5 on his StSq and +9 for his SS. His transition or lack thereof (and that’s not only my opinion but reportedly his coach’s too) should’ve resulted in a TR score well below 9. The list goes on.

What We Can Do

Trigger Warning: the stuff you’re about to read is not rosy.

A few people have been asking me what we, as fans, could do to let the ISU know what we think of their arbitrary judging practice. My answer is: we can make as much noise as we have time for on social media and we can reach out to them directly. For the latter purpose, yes, they have a Contact Us page on their official website. Select Figure Skating from the dropdown list and unleash on them your choice message. Only remember, if you will, to keep your arguments logical and your tone civilized. Much more likely than not, they'd go silent for weeks before replying to you with a polite little piece of mail saying your concern has been duly noted and will be looked into. (Why do I know that? Because I sent them just such a message after the disaster that was the score Mao received for her free skate at Sochi 5 years ago.)  

I would advise you to keep trying and at the same time I would advise you not to have your hope up that it will do much good. Sporting governing bodies for the most part are not known for either their responsiveness or their tendency to eventually honoring fans’ wishes. Accountability and transparency are concepts as foreign to them as a double Axel is to Yuzuru Hanyu. It took, for example, an FBI investigation and brazen corruption in the realm of hundreds of millions of dollars for some changes to be done to FIFA. Considering the scale of the ISU and its weight on the public’s mind relative to FIFA, I can’t imagine any such drastic thing is going to happen to it anytime soon. In fact, the last time a major change was introduced to figure skating was 15 years ago with the establishment of the Code of Points, and back then it took an Olympic-scale scandal involving blatant misconduct to bring about the changes. What happened in Saitama last week was nowhere near as grave (at least I haven’t seen any evidence of anything more nefarious than your garden variety judging biases / irrationality) so to hope that we could leverage it to change the ISU’s way forward is close to magical thinking. 

So let me tell you what will, in all likelihood, happen next season. Provided that he continues landing his quads regularly enough, Nathan’s PCS is not going to go down from 94-95, on the contrary it will go on to increase since he’s now a 2-time World champion and generally speaking the number or World titles one has tend to correlate positively with one’s PCS. He has no reason to regress on the base value of his layout either, so a back-to-back clean Nathan is going to score in the 320+ range. You don’t have to like it and it’s completely within your rights to be mad about it / keep writing to the ISU about it, but unless and until any material change is forthcoming, you’ve got to accept that as the baseline of your expectation.

Which brings me to the next and last section of this wall of text:

What Yuzu Can Do

If there’s anything I’m sure of about Yuzu’s personality, it’s that he is not prone to mere wishfulness, he’s a man of action and he loves to win. I’m also 100% certain that he is capable of logically coming to terms with the reality of the competitive landscape as I’ve described above and of figuring out an action plan for next season.

So if I were Yuzu, I’d reckon that I cannot rely on my PCS alone to carry me to titles so in order to stay ahead of the field I’d need to up my TES. Now, if the last week in Saitama has taught me anything, it’s that I can’t rely on getting decisively higher GOEs either. So what do I do? The natural conclusion is that I need to increase my BV, which means adding more quads, which, under the revised Zayak rule, means adding more variety of quads (with the way the new SOV scales according to an element’s BV, doing this would help maximizing my GOE potential too). Hence, you heard Yuzu’s take that next season he needs to aim for 4A, 4Lz, and possibly 4F. Some people have asked if I thought Yuzu was just being reckless when he stated that - I don’t think so, I believe he’s smart enough to have thought about it and arrived at the logical conclusion.

As a side note, I also believe Yuzu is smart and self-aware enough to, once the disappointment has cooled off, understand that it’s not because he’s lacking something or he didn’t work hard enough or his skating somehow had gotten worse, it’s just, matter-of-factly, how the system currently works and thus there are extra steps involved in regaining his World title.   

I guess what I’m trying to say with this extremely very long note is, yes, it was disappointing, yes, the magnitude of the loss, on paper at least, was hard to swallow, and yes, things could have turned out differently had Yuzu been injury-free and able to compete in his top form, but don’t let all that frustration make you forget to appreciate the miracle he conjured (normal people don’t just take half a season off because of a serious injury and then come back to win a Silver medal at Worlds) or to celebrate the fact that he’s staying and he’s still hungry for success. If Yuzu himself can continue loving this sport enough and being hopeful enough to stay, you should be able to do the same without giving way to bitterness - that, I think, is the least of what we can do for him. After all, if, as Yuzu said, he is coming home, we’d need to be there to warmly welcome him back, right?      

[accrafreepress]

Football People - Selwyn Sackey

Selwyn Sackey

Football is a game of emotions. It has its high and lows. There will always be a dip but the most important thing is how you rise up and exceed expectations. In football, there have been a number of great nations in the game that have taken the fall. Germany’s exit in the 2000 Euros brought about the famous ‘Reboot’ by the German Football Association and the German Government. 

They invested in community youth football making sure every community has football pitches for kids to come and train by experienced and trained coaches. The talents spotted are sent to the national team academy. All Bundesliga clubs are required to have academies. This initiative was rewarded 14 years later at the Maracana stadium, in Rio de Janeiro.

2014 World Cup was the crowning moment for German football but the twilight for Ghana football. 21st June 2014 Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza. Group G game between Ghana and Germany ended 2-2. The game was spoken about as the best game in the tournament. The happenings during the tournament and the aftermath began the wreck of the great ship, Ghana Football Association.

Out of that storm, produces the Dzamefe Commission white paper which has never seen daylight. It is obviously ignored and the wisdom in it will clearly be untapped just like other commission reports.

2019, already tops interesting years for this beautiful tropical country. Football as the passion of the nation has always been used by the government as a tool to calm the chaos. Proper investment in the preparation of Black Stars to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. The coach of the national team was quoted saying this is his best camp ever in his national team career. Good intensions by the Father of the nation, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to put in his best to make the team win the 2019 AFCON after 37 years.

This was not only for the team to win the trophy and get the four million dollar price. It was for the football loving people of Ghana. The pride of being African Champions in the midst of our lowest point in football. This was also going to be important for the grand Year of return party in Ghana this December. Unfortunately, football doesn’t reward knee jerk reactions. Football demands years of planning, investments, and developmental patience.

‘Number 12’ did to Ghana Football what the 9/11 plane did to the World Trade Center. Now we must rebuild; statutes and structures. That is the mandate of the Normalization Committee. After this, they hand over to the “Football People”. Who are the “Football People”? A football person is someone who owns a football club or is involved in football administration. But do we think it is right for the “Football People” to manage the day to day affairs of the Football Association considering conflicts of interest? Which accompanied with bribery and corruption lead to the crash of Ghana Football.

The question then becomes, who should manage Ghana Football? If you look at the history of Ghana football, it has always been a group of passionate men who take time out of their daily businesses to invest their time and money in their favourite clubs. These men have done this for years and to say you will not let them have a say anymore in Ghana Football will be difficult. Where there hasn’t been any ruling saying members of the old association have been suspended from football, they have every right to take over after the normalization.

I still believe there are honest football experts in the old regime. They have great ideas and are ready to solve the problems we faced in the past. They also understand the traditions and dynamics of the local game which no novice will be able to handle. You will have to get your hands dirty sometimes. The Normalization committee members will tell you it’s been a struggle.

The bigger struggle now is how can we trust the people to take over Ghana football to do it right? People have declared their interest to lead the football family. The politics has begun and you don’t expect it to be clean. Football people are going against each other when we need them to be together. Going forward we need a unifier, someone to calm the environment and lead the family with honesty and the right modern ideas. The league should be run autonomously rather than the Football Association like we previously did. The Association has more to do with grassroots development and management of the game.

Football is now a multi-billion global industry managed by people with football degrees and masters in various departments of the sport. Football Administration and Governance, Football Law and Intermediary, Football Business and Finance, Football Business Marketing and Sponsorship, Football Media and Broadcasting, Football Journalism, Football Stadium Events and Hospitality, Football Management and Coaching, Football Scouting and Talent Identification, Football Scientist and Psychologist. The game is being studied in universities all over the world.

Organised by the International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES) in partnership with three universities, De Montfort University in Leicester (England), SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), the FIFA Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport was created to promote management education within the sports world. It has grown to become a top graduate programme developing all-round managers who can cope with the increasingly complex world of sport.

The International Football Business Institute in Brussels with most of its alumni working in UEFA and major European clubs. The University College of Football Business in England with its campuses at the Wembley Stadium in London and Etihad Stadium in Manchester. UCFB also partners Real Madrid Graduate School; Universidad Europea at the Santiago Bernabeu. Most Universities in England and Europe have football courses in their curriculum. We also have the Cruyff Institute in Barcelona and Amsterdam teaching the values of Johan Cruyff and the philosophy of F.C Barcelona and Ajax. Italy known as the hub of football tacticians have their sanctuary at the Coverciano. The School that produced Antonio Conte, Carlo Ancelotti, Massimiliano Allegri, Maurizio Sarri and Claudio Ranieri. The school also houses all Italian national teams from Under 15 upwards. Other countries like India, China and USA have taken up this initiative.

Ghana is a football nation; our history defines that from the days of Ohene Djan. He fought for Africa from battling for one slot in the world cup with Asia and Oceania to Africa getting one slot in the 1970 world cup. Today, Africa has five slots in the World Cup. Top coaches like C.K. Gyamfi, Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, Ben Kuofie, Lepowura Alhaji M.N.D Jawula, Sam Arday, Fred Osam- Duodu and Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie are the ones that built the Ghana Football we had. We need to tap into their knowledge and also with modern Football Professors to create a football curriculum to be introduced in our universities and then build a football university and an academy.

Not everyone wants to do the sciences, law and engineering. Passionate football students should also be flown abroad to study football courses and gain experience in the international industry There are passionate football fanatics who would love to see their professional lives in the sport. This will create jobs and contribute massively to the GDP of the country.

We talk about the decline of our ex-footballers after they retire. This is the best solution to give them a life after their playing careers. We have searched for solutions on how to reward our players without monetary incentives. Let’s give our players scholarships to study football courses in universities. Through this they gain their coaching licenses, talent id certificates, intermediary certificates and degree and masters certificates. This way we get our ex-footballers and individuals who are passionate about the game to run the clubs, the association and develop football in Ghana.

This creates an ecosystem where all the football brains together are working to develop the game and keep Ghana at the top forever. These passionate and hardworking individuals will be the Football People.

[theharrowing]

Omggggg. I love the cups your watching! I am not a sports watching person myself (I actually brought my phone and my book to read at the bar while people watched) nor do I drink tons (which is good because I seem to have developed a bit of an intolerance to alcohol) so I had 2 beers and have not been drinking for a few hours since. It has been quite interesting to watch the cup and discussions around it because there is so much around politics and corruption with Fifa and just... oof. I won't go into it but yeah.

I am sorry that you can't celebrate with your family. Leaving can do that but I am glad you have friends to spend time with as well! Are you able to visit your family sometimes?

-Eggnog 🥚🥛

i visit home occasionally but i’m not on the best terms with everyone so it’s always A Thing. i’m a burn bridges and move on type and i have a handful of family members who i chose to cut out. i saw some of my family in the beginning of this month, tho! and that was nice. i miss my dads apple pie. but i don’t miss my dad lmao. so this year i’m learning to do it myself.

i feel like there’s always shady politics within the world of sports. exploitation and so on. i tend to only really care about college sports for that reason. though, i’m sure that vein of sports has its own seedy shit.

i had a long day of prepping for tomorrow (and i fell asleep on the couch whoops!) i hope you had a lot of fun today!

[orbemnews]

The Growing Fallout From the Super League Fight The fallout from the Super League is spreading The biggest business and policy story in the world at the moment isn’t about taxes or infrastructure. It’s about the fate of European soccer, as the fight over the Super League draws in everyone from Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase to President Emmanuel Macron of France to the N.B.A. star LeBron James. Critics have denounced the proposed league, which would guarantee 15 of Europe’s top teams a spot, as a cash grab by the richest clubs. We’ve also heard from sports executives who argue that the plan could hurt the economies of cities whose teams are excluded. JPMorgan, which is backing the plan, faces a backlash. Irate soccer fans denounced the bank for providing over $4 billion to finance the creation of the league. (“#JPMorgan” was a trending topic on Twitter yesterday, and not in a good way.) The bank was brought into the deal through its relationship with the Super League’s chief architect, Florentino Pérez, the billionaire president of Real Madrid. Its bet is that supporting a star-studded competition, in a sport with a gigantic worldwide fandom will pay off in the long run, not least through broadcast rights. JPMorgan’s involvement was vetted by its internal reputation committee, which assesses high-profile and potentially controversial assignments, according to people briefed on the decision. But that committee didn’t fully expect the emotional reaction from sports fans that has flooded the airwaves around the world, these people added. Big media and tech companies could get entangled. Many are expected to bid on the broadcast rights for the Super League, with speculation surrounding Amazon, Apple and Facebook. But they may have to worry about more than ratings. Political leaders like Mr. Macron and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain (and even Prince William) have spoken out against the league; is that a fight they want? And do they want to run afoul of FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, or UEFA, its European counterpart, and risk losing out on rights to the World Cup or other high-profile competitions? Others in the sports world tied to the proposal may get caught in the middle. Mr. James, for instance, is a part-owner of Liverpool, a founding member of the Super League, through his partnership with the Fenway Sports Group. But he wasn’t involved in the club’s decision to join the league, a person briefed on the matter said. Nevertheless, there is growing concern that athletes outside European soccer and minority owners of teams could get pulled into the global debate over the league, potentially putting them at odds with fans of the world’s most popular sport. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING The White House seeks to exploit a rift between big business and Republicans. The Biden administration is courting corporate America to support its infrastructure initiative, taking advantage of a rift with Republicans over political and social issues like restrictions on voting rights. But opposition to higher taxes and more regulation may yet reunite the estranged allies. Exxon Mobil unveils a $100 billion plan to profit from carbon capture. The oil giant said it would make a business based on trapping the carbon emissions of industrial plants around Houston. But the strategy would require government support, including a new carbon tax — which has little political backing. Amazon is accused of corrupting the recent warehouse unionization election. The union, which lost the vote 2-to-1, said the e-commerce giant had intimidated and surveilled workers. If the National Labor Relations Board agrees with the claims, it could order a new election. Xi Jinping warns against economic decoupling. In a speech today, the Chinese president called for greater global economic integration and made thinly veiled critiques of America’s efforts to reduce its dependence on Chinese exports like computer chips. “Bossing others around or meddling in others’ internal affairs will not get one any support,” Mr. Xi said. Oatly files for an I.P.O. The oat milk company — whose backers include Oprah Winfrey, Blackstone and the state-owned Chinese conglomerate China Resources — disclosed in its prospectus that sales more than doubled last year, to $421 million, though it lost about $60 million. It’s reportedly aiming for a $10 billion valuation, betting on the plant-based food trend. Activists send a message to asset managers More than 140 racial justice leaders published an open letter in The Financial Times urging asset managers to match their pledges on social and political issues with their votes at coming shareholder meetings. Of top importance: votes on board diversity, racial equity and political spending disclosures. The top three asset managers have significant power to influence corporate decisions. BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street control about 80 percent of all indexed money, making them a dominant force in the governance of public companies. The activists behind today’s letter — including Rashad Robinson, the president of Color Of Change; Alicia Garza, the principal of Black to the Future; and Derrick Johnson, the president of the N.A.A.C.P. — argue that the money managers are not sufficiently exercising their power: In 2020, BlackRock voted against all 48 resolutions to expand policy-influence disclosures that received more than 20 percent shareholder support at S&P 500 companies. Of the 178 S&P 500 companies that had no Black directors as of their 2020 annual shareholder meetings, BlackRock voted to support the entire board at 163 and Vanguard did the same at 166. The “big three” asset managers made commitments to racial justice after the killing of George Floyd last year. They’ve incorporated that focus into their voting guidelines: BlackRock has said it may vote against directors when it considers a board to be “insufficiently diverse.” State Street said it would vote against certain directors at firms that do not disclose diversity data this year and firms that do not have at least one director from an underrepresented community next year. When it comes to voting rights, BlackRock and Vanguard signed a recent letter opposing “any discriminatory legislation” that would make voting more difficult. The activists are asking funds to do more, including: Oppose all-white boards. Oppose directors in charge of political spending at corporations that “failed to address their role in funding elected officials” in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Support shareholder demands for racial equity audits. The letter sets the stage for a potentially contentious proxy season, targeting specific shareholder resolutions at a host of S&P 500 companies in its “voting guide” for investors. Neuberger Berman, which manages $429 billion in assets, said yesterday it plans to vote against management at Berkshire Hathaway on topics including diversity reporting, which also features in the activists’ guide. “We’re trying to behave like owners and shareholders and help make the company better,” Neuberger’s C.E.O., George Walker, told CNBC. “Software, data, electronics and biology are changing the world. But they won’t reach every American or ensure national competitiveness without public investment.” — Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, on his support for the Biden Administration’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan in a USA Today op-ed. (He did not address the increase in corporate taxes that would pay for it.) What can public companies reveal through private channels like Discord and Substack? Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook is expanding into audio, including Clubhouse-style chat rooms, podcasting and more. An interesting wrinkle about the announcement was that it was made in a private Discord chat with Casey Newton, a reporter who writes a Substack subscription newsletter. Facebook sent a message that the traditional gatekeepers are gone. The private channel chat was just one sign; another was Mr. Zuckerberg saying so explicitly. “If you look at the grand arc here, what’s really happening is individuals are getting more power and more opportunity to create the lives and the jobs that they want,” he said of the new media age. What about fair disclosure? Mr. Zuckerberg was speaking on social media but using a restricted channel. Companies can’t selectively disclose material information but the S.E.C. has said that “most social media are perfectly suitable methods for communicating with investors.” Still, the rules were designed to ensure that no one can get a jump on other investors, so channels don’t qualify “if the access is restricted or if investors don’t know that’s where they need to turn to get the latest news.” Dan Primack of Axios asked, “So how does revealing big new product news on a private Discord server fit into that?” Assuming Facebook’s product announcement qualifies as material — which given the company’s size it may not — past rulings can help answer this question, which will arise more often as the media splinters into niche networks. “Issuers must take steps” to let investors know the news channels they’ll use, the S.E.C. wrote in a 2013 investigation of Netflix after its C.E.O., Reed Hastings, posted data about the company on his private Facebook page. The S.E.C. didn’t take action, noting “market uncertainty” about how fair-disclosure rules applied to social media at the time, and said it would consider each case individually. Facebook also published a blog post yesterday announcing its new audio products, which could help address fair disclosure concerns. A Facebook spokesperson told DealBook the post was intended to complement the Discord discussion. THE SPEED READ Deals The British government will examine Nvidia’s $40 billion takeover of the computer chip designer Arm over antitrust concerns. (BBC) The co-heads of Credit Suisse’s prime brokerage unit are resigning, after the Swiss bank lost nearly $5 billion from the meltdown of Archegos. (WSJ) The office-furniture maker Herman Miller agreed to buy a top rival, Knoll, for $1.8 billion, betting on both office reopenings and employees outfitting home work spaces. (Bloomberg) Politics and policy How much sway does the N.R.A. still have? (NYT) The House approved a bill that would let banks work with cannabis companies where cannabis is legal. (Reuters) The Treasury Department named John Morton to lead a climate hub, meant to coordinate work on finance, tax and other issues. (Treasury) Tech Apple readmitted Parler to its app store, after the conservative social network altered its content moderation policies. (NYT) Elon Musk asserted that Autopilot hadn’t been activated in the Tesla involved in a fatal car crash in Texas, though he offered little evidence to back his claim. (CNN) China appeared to shift its tone on Bitcoin by calling it an “investment alternative,” in what industry experts said may represent greater acceptance of crypto. (CNBC) Best of the rest The main pandemic shifts in population were confined to people leaving New York and San Francisco. (NYT) The downside of missing out on office gossip. (WSJ) “My whole life, I worked on the idea that government can be an instrument for social progress.” Walter Mondale, the former vice president and champion of liberal politics, died on Monday at 93. (NYT) We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to dealbook@nytimes.com. Source link Orbem News #fallout #Fight #growing #League #Super

[lucassvazquez]

hi, im a bit new and just wanted to ask, what’s so bad about Qatar hosting the World Cup? thank you :-)

There many reason why people are so against Qatar hosting but the main reason is the horrible living conditions of the workers. Their wages are very low, and they’re often forced to work in ridiculously hot weather. They’re also not allowed to change jobs or leave the country without permission. Several media outlets have reported that 1200+ workers have died so far. I’m still not entirely sure about the accuracy of that number but the number is still very high compared to previous host nations. Also, Qatar was ranked in the top five countries in the world in terms prevalence of modern day slavery. Officials will also supposedly face difficulty travelling due to the recent ban from Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia since they cut off political ties with Qatar. There is just too much corruption and human rights violation for them to remain the host nation for 2022. Not to mention FIFA supposedly accepting millions of dollars in bribery for their votes. Rumor has it Qatar went as far as flying 3 senior members to rio in a Qatari jet for a “chat”. And the extreme heat will surely effect the players too; I mean FIFA is seriously considering moving the tournament to winter.. which is a whole new level of ridiculous. There were also rumors that Qatar would screen athletes who could be LGBT to ban them from entering the country but I can’t find any good sources on this so idk how accurate it is. This is a very quick summary but yeah, it should definitely be stripped away from them. 

[onestowatch]

Make Music Thought-Provoking Again: An Interview with Declan McKenna

Hook-ups. Love. Break-ups. Regret. Empowerment. Uncertainty. Listen to any pop song today, specifically those from younger artists, and the lyrics will more than likely embody one of the themes listed above. More often than not, they’re written to appeal to the masses, to relate to a scenario all of us may be going through or feeling--while foregoing their personal touch along the way. In the world of pop lyricism, it seems there is no place for complexity. Enter Declan McKenna. The 18-year-old songwriter has proven that complexity can be popular, and in a sea of generic lyricism, McKenna digs deeper. His first single, “Brazil,” which speaks on the corruption during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, amassed over 20 million streams on Spotify, and took the number one spot on Sirius XM’s Alt Nation’s Countdown for three weeks back in 2016. 

We see even more of this intricate and thought-provoking songwriting on his debut album What Do You Think About The Car?, which dropped July 21. Rather than use his experiences from relationships like many other artists, McKenna’s lyrics were written through reactions and impulses to issues happening around the world over the past four to five years. Each catchy song is initially deceiving to the ears. While the music feels light and poppy, the lyrics are telling a different and often darker story. Whether it’s tackling religious hypocrisy on “Bethlehem” or speaking out against transgender conversion therapy, and more specifically highlighting the death of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn on “Paracetamol,” McKenna isn’t afraid to tackle taboo topics, and it’s because of this that many have compared him to Bob Dylan. 

McKenna is already hard at work on his second album, juggling the demands of touring with writing. I spoke with him the day before his album released about his glittery upcoming US tour, admiration for Run The Jewels & St. Vincent, and the negative stigma aligned with millennials. 

OTW: When did you first start writing and develop interest in making music?

DM: I started to have an interest in music from a pretty young age. There’s a little clip at the start of the album from when I was four years old, and I was very much into music then if only because of my older siblings’ influence on me but as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in music. I first started writing probably only a few years after that, really. I was still in the single figures age-wise when I started writing songs. I was in band with my sister and my cousins but yeah, a pretty early start I think.

OTW: Because your lyricism and the ideas you write about are more complex, did you start out just writing in general, or writing lyrics? 

DM: I think I’ve always tried to have some kind of depth to the lyrics I’ve written. Sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully especially first starting out, but I think what you write about is something you learn. You develop your own sort of skills, almost like imitating and taking from a lot of the artists you know already, and I think what I’ve written about is not only a reflection of that, but a reflection of how I’ve grown up, the world I’ve grown up in, friends I’ve got, family I’ve got. They’ve all sort of pushed me to write in a certain way.

OTW: For me personally, you’re breaking the mold of what people expect artists, especially younger artists, to write about. You’ve proven that complexity can be popular. What made you want to write about taboo topics like American politics, police brutality, being transgender, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, even though they may not directly affect you?

A lot of it is just kind of hearing about something and being like, “Oh, that’s wrong.” Like, that’s the kind of official thing, that’s just been like, “Oh that’s shitty” or you know whatever it is you write about, and just wanting to write a song about it--having that sort of impulse. I think in the grand scheme of things of what I do, there’s just a lot of stereotypes around young people and pop musicians, as well as together seen as ignorant or unintelligent or not insightful or anything, and not to say that I am like the most intelligent thing since whatever, [laughs], but I think I try and make a point to at least try to say something, to say something that I actually care about because I think there are a good range of artists out there doing it. I think it’s important to do that, and in the world of pop it can be shallow and I think you have to understand that, but appreciate that but also it can be great, and it can be whatever you want it to be. I think that’s why I like doing and making it what I want it to be. Whether its very meaningful or just for fun, I want it to be all those things whenever I think it’s appropriate.

OTW: Does your track “I Am Everyone Else” go along with this theme of writing from other people’s perspective?

Potentially. It’s kind of a weird one because the writing was really staggered so that song for me was about kind of a bunch of different things at once, but it all revolves around that theme that you can say whatever, you can do whatever, but no one understands everyone. And you can’t pretend to do that. I think that is sort of vaguely what that song revolves around, even with the lots of different things that happened at that time in my life.

OTW: Are there any artists that have inspired you or influenced you to write about bigger topics?

DM: Yeah, I think so. One for me at the minute that I really love is Run The Jewels. I’m a big fan of them. There is such a wide range of hip-hop, and a wide range of things that people write about but people do slate it for being shallow, even though I very strongly disagree. They are just a really great example of very powerful music, and they also just come across as really nice guys which I think makes a difference when they put across their opinions and views, and you can kind of relate to them or just have a nice impression of them. It really helps with that, and I think that’s what is really nice about Run The Jewels.

OTW: How do you make these heavy topics feel light, specifically “Brazil” because it’s a really catchy song but the root of it is corruption. 

DM: I think it comes from listening to a lot of The Beatles, honestly. I know everyone kind of references The Beatles quite a lot, but I feel like you can say a lot with sound. Like entrusting sound with lyrics, or having something that’s kind of bittersweet, something they do quite a lot, can actually maybe say more about how you feel, and you can also have lyrical content that expresses your feelings about it. For example, how the World Cup in Brazil might have been seen, compared to what was happening behind the scenes, you know, it could be two different things between the music and the lyrics, which is kind of fun to mess around with even if it’s very vague. People might not pick up on it because it’s not an obvious thing but it can just be fun in your head to work out these things, and it can mean different things to you and nothing to someone else, or even if it means something completely different to someone else, which is kind of the beauty of music.

OTW: I love that! How did you get yourself in the headspace to write about these situations?

DM: I don’t know, it often just happens. I try as often as possible to focus on writing but it can be really hard to just make yourself do it. A lot of it is just an impulse thing. I think a lot of it just comes down to what you see, what you hear, and kind of keeping notes in your head, and making sure it will all come together at one point, or something can happen that just inspires you. I tend to try to go on impulse as often as I can, although the more and more I’ve been touring, the less easy that is because being like busy all the time and tired catching up on sleep; it’s not as easy. Your writing becomes very different because you actually have to focus and learn to put time aside for it, and I think that has changed my style of wiring now, especially going into the second album. Not so much with the first because obviously a lot of those songs came before I was heavily touring.

OTW: I want to touch on a few of your tracks that were released prior to album. “Paracetamol” is a really beautiful track. Can you talk a little bit about how it came to be? I know a little bit about the background, but the title specifically?

DM: Paracetamol. It wasn’t originally the title of the song. I never originally had a bridge or anything when I first went into the studio with it. It’s kind of a weird little story of how it came about. We actually found a little Agogo bell in Neil’s studio, the producer I was working with, and it was about in tune with the song. It kind of worked, we were doing this samba rhythm with it, and I was like “Maybe we can have something like that in the song,” and we just started this whole other section because I felt like it needed something else, and I didn’t have any lyrics. On my walk home, I was just thinking about what would fit here? What would go with like what I wanted to say in the song? And I pretty much wrote the lyrics on the walk from the studio to the train station.

 A lot of the song is based around people thinking that their opinions can be right in regards to how other people identify, and that certain people can be changed, or to tell someone it’s a choice, and that it can be changed, and fixed with something like therapy, and I wanted to compare that to like an everyday drug. Like, “Oh, you can cure yourself with Paracetamol” because it would be just as messed up an idea to consider that someone can be changed through medicine. It was a very simple little metaphor, but it felt right at the time to kind of make sense of the theme of the song, and give it a slightly different section to break it up a bit.

OTW: Let’s talk about the video for “The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home.” In the beginning of the video we see a young girl say, “I think the way we view ourselves is very different to the way other people views us.” For you personally, why do you think our generation is negatively viewed/has the stigma that it does?

DM: I don’t know, I think it’s easy to because I think the mistakes that young people make now, as compared to a while ago, are documented. If someone says something silly at a young age or does something silly, it gets filmed, it gets documented, it gets posted online. The Internet is a thing which has been popularized, and people often blame that but it just means that you can see more of peoples’ lives, and it means that people are insecure and a bunch of things, but I don’t think it means that people are unintelligent. I don’t think it means that people are naive, or anymore naive than a young person would have been awhile ago. I just always find it quite hypocritical that the generation that gave us all of these phones, the Internet, everything, and marketed them to us and made us want them are now kind of saying, “You’re always on those things that we made you want to have.” [Laughs]. Yeah, I just struggle to understand how anyone could actually have that opinion of the younger generation.

OTW: Let’s talk about the new album. If there are three feelings that you want your listeners to experience while listening to the album, what would they be?

DM: That’s really hard because I don’t want people to feel sad, but also, it does kind of have that. [Laughs]. I don’t know, I think I want people to feel excited listening to it. Just every feeling that is the opposite of bored, basically. Happy, excited, but like with a slight tinge of melancholy just for good measure. That’s what I want because I think, like we were talking about earlier with the happy sound and slightly darker lyrics, I don’t want the music to make people feel down about bad things. I think music in itself should be enjoyable, and I think even when songs have a hard topic, I want people to be happy and excited and enjoy them. 

OTW: What is your favorite song off the new album, and why?

DM: Properly, I have to say “Humongous.” I love playing it live, and I really love all of the production and everything we did with it. It’s not one I listen to and have anything I would change. I feel like since it’s the most recent one I wrote for the record, I just still relate to it as much as I could a song I wrote yesterday because I’ve changed a lot, definitely as I wrote a lot of songs on the album so I think it being not that old to me even is quite a special thing and quite nice because I’ve often spent a year or two after writing a song waiting for it to come out, and with that one, it was out within a month.

OTW: With the new album, what can fans expect at your live show during your US tour? 

DM: Confetti and balloons hopefully, if we can find them in America. Glitter. Dancing.

OTW: I think you just need to go to a Party City when you get here. They’ll have everything you need.

DM: Yeah I’ll find a college town or something, I think we try more and more to keep the shows really upbeat and party-esque. We try to put as much into it as possible so we’ll probably come up with fresh ideas but lots of just bright, shiny things. [Laughs].

Photo: Birger Hagevold Johansen

OTW: Sounds good! I’m so bummed that California isn’t a stop on your US tour. When can we expect you on the West Coast?

DM: Yeah, I was expecting to come in April but we had to cancel that whole tour. It was a bit crap. Hopefully before the end of the year but I don’t know. I’m really hoping to come back because I love being in the warm places. [Laughs]. Yeah, I’m up for that.

OTW: If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be? 

DM: I say this all the time, but St. Vincent. I just, I don’t know. I try and make my live show and make everything, somewhat...It’s all kind of somewhat inspired by her live show. As a performer, as a songwriter, I really look up to her so I would love to be able to create something with her.

OTW: Who are three artists on your OTW list?

Feet - They’re a really cool new band from Coventry in the UK. A lot of different sounds. It’s like psych, punky, indie rock, and it’s really really well written music, and there’s a cool video out for a song called “Petty Thieving.” Yeah, they’re really good.

Jealous of the Birds - It’s a product of Namoi Hamilton. She supported us out in Ireland, Dublin, and Belfast. She’s from Northern Ireland, and has some of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in a long time. Yeah, I really really love her.

The Rhythm Method - They’re sort of coming up in a minute from London, and they’re very cool. It’s somewhere been the streets and PC music, and it’s really interesting. I’m looking forward to them releasing more music. They only have a few tracks out.