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panamamission · 2 months

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How to Travel to Panama with Minors: A Complete Guide by Panama Mission India

Traveling to Panama together with your kids may be an exciting journey full of own family bonding and cultural studies. However, it also calls for careful planning to ensure a clean and enjoyable experience for all of us. This guide will help you prepare and make the maximum of your journey to Panama together with your youngsters.

1. Getting Ready for the Trip

1.1. Documentation

Make certain you have all of the important documents properly before your ride:

• Passports: Both adults and children want legitimate passports with at least six months of validity remaining.

• Visa: Check if you need a visa. Most travelers can enter Panama without one for up to 90 days, however it is always good to verify.

• Consent Letter: If best one parent is visiting with the child, you would possibly want a notarized consent letter from the other parent. This letter need to encompass information about the journey and contact information.

1.2. Health and Safety

• Vaccinations: Ensure your family is up to date on routine vaccinations. Check if any additional vaccines, like Hepatitis A and Typhoid, as they are important for travel to Panama.

• Health Insurance: Get travel insurance that covers healthcare for youngsters. Make certain it includes emergency evacuation coverage.

• Medications: Pack a small first aid package and any prescription medicinal drugs your kid might need. It is additionally beneficial to carry a physician’s word detailing any prescriptions.

2. Planning Your Itinerary

2.1. Kid-Friendly Destinations

Panama gives many own family-friendly locations to discover:

• Panama City: Visit the Panama Canal, discover the old city of Casco Viejo, and enjoy the interactive Biomuseo. The Amador Causeway is incredible for own family cycling and waterfront perspectives.

• Gamboa: Take a boat tour of Lake Gatun and go to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort for aerial trams, flora, and fauna spotting, and night time safaris.

• Boquete: This cool-climate metropolis is perfect for hiking, coffee excursions, and chook watching. It is extremely good for families who love the outside.

• San Blas Islands: You can relax on beautiful beaches and can observe about the way of life of the Guna Yala people living. These islands are perfect for a peaceful beach excursion.

2.2. Accommodation

Choose lodges that cater to families:

• Family-Friendly Hotels: find some hotels which has family rooms, swimming pools, and other services. Many hotels in visitor regions provide cribs or more beds if wished.

• Vacation Rentals: You can rent a house or condo that offers you extra space and the convenience of a kitchen, that is in particular helpful for households with young children.

3. During the Trip

3.1. Transportation

• Flights: Try to e-book direct flights to decrease journey time and pressure. If you have layovers, make certain they are lengthy enough for diaper changes, meals, and relaxation breaks.

• Ground Transportation: Once in Panama, you can use taxis, rental vehicles, or public transportation. Ensure that vehicle seats are to be had in case you plan to rent an automobile. Many taxis do no longer have seat belts inside the lower back seat, so it is critical to test this earlier. Ride-sharing apps like Uber would possibly offer higher automobile options.

3.2. Food and Water

• Food Safety: Panama has scrumptious and safe-to-consume ingredients, however for youngsters, keep on with bottled water and keep away from road food to prevent stomach issues. Restaurants in traveler regions generally have excellent hygiene standards.

• Familiar Foods: Pack some acquainted snacks from home. This can be beneficial if your baby does not immediately take to the local cuisine. Look for grocery shops or markets where you may purchase familiar objects or components to put together easy food.

4. Activities and Entertainment

4.1. Outdoor Adventures

• Beach Days: Panama’s beaches are stunning. Ensure your children are included with sunscreen, hats, and swimwear. Always maintain an eye on them while they are within the water. Family-pleasant beaches like Playa Blanca or Santa Clara have calm waters.

• Wildlife Encounters: Panama is rich in natural world. Visit places like the Metropolitan Natural Park in Panama City or the Jaguar Rescue Center in Gamboa for secure and academic natural world studies. The Summit Municipal Park is another fantastic spot to peer exclusive animals and study conservation efforts.

4.2. Educational Experiences

• Museums and Cultural Sites: Engage your youngsters with visits to academic attractions like the Biomuseo or the Panama Viejo ruins. The Interoceanic Canal Museum is some other tremendous location to study the history of the Panama Canal.

• Local Markets: Explore nearby markets just like the Mercado de Moriscos (Seafood Market) and artisanal markets for a taste of local subculture and crafts. These visits can be both academic and amusing, permitting kids to peer and learn about special ingredients and hand-crafted objects.

5. Safety Tips

5.1. Staying Safe

• Stay Together: Always keep an eye for your youngsters, specifically in crowded areas. Establish a meeting factor in case a person receives separated.

• Emergency Contacts: Have a list of emergency contacts, including the embassy of Panama, healthcare providers, and your resort. Familiarize yourself with the nearby emergency numbers.

• Local Laws: Learn about neighborhood laws and customs to make sure a smooth and respectful visit. This includes expertise visitors’ guidelines, get dressed codes for particular sites, and fashionable behavioral norms.

5.2. Health Precautions

• Sun Protection: Panama’s tropical weather manner robust sun exposure. Ensure your minors are blanketed with sunscreen, hats, and sun shades. Reapply sunscreen regularly, specifically after swimming.

• Hydration: Keep your children nicely-hydrated, specially all through outdoor activities. Bottled water is suggested. Make certain to hold enough water for day trips and encourage everyday drinking.

6. Making Memories

6.1. Capture the Moments

• Photographs and Videos: Document your ride with lots of pictures and videos. These can be cherished reminiscences on your own family. Encourage youngsters to take their personal pictures to look the ride from their attitude.

• Travel Journal: Encourage older kids to maintain a tour magazine. This may be a fun manner for them to document their stories and reflections. Provide them with notebooks and colored pens or pencils to make it a creative interest.

6.2. Enjoy the Experience

• Relax and Have Fun: Traveling with youngsters can be unpredictable. Stay bendy, preserve a tremendous mindset, and experience the particular stories that come with own family travel. Embrace the surprising moments and consciousness on making the experience exciting for each person.

Conclusion

Traveling to Panama with your children can be exciting and problematic so you should take advise from Panama embassy to avoid any last minute complications. By planning earlier, staying updated, and specializing in protection and comfort, you can ensure a memorable enjoy filled journey and experience. Whether exploring the bustling streets of Panama City or exciting at the serene seashores of the San Blas Islands, your family is certain to create everlasting experience on this beautiful and diverse country.

Remember, the important thing to a successful journey is guidance which you can get at Panama Mission India. With the right making plans and mind-set, your own family can enjoy all that Panama has to provide, from its colourful culture and records to its stunning herbal splendor. Happy travels!

#passport #visa #panamanian passport renewal #panama ship registry #panama consulate in india #embassy of panama in new delhi #panama visa india #panama embassy #embassy of panama

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carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory · 3 years

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The Hunt Is On! Eggs-traordinary Animals That Hide Their Eggs

by Shelby Wyzykowski

Just once every year, an eggs-tra special day rolls around when a certain long-eared, fluffy-tailed fellow comes hopping down the bunny trail to your home. He brings with him all of the egg-ceptionally tasty springtime goodies that he knows will satisfy your sweet tooth. Your basket gets filled to the brim with chocolate rabbits, pastel-colored confections, and chick-shaped marshmallows, just to name a few delectable treats. It’s a holiday candy lover’s dream! But then you may just notice one thing that’s missing…where are all the eggs? No, the Easter Bunny didn’t forget them. He’s giving you a bit of a challenge this year. He’s remembered an old German tradition that started hundreds of years ago. It was so long ago that he had a different name…Osterhase! Osterhase would secretly lay eggs in the back garden so children could enjoy the outdoors and hunt for their Easter eggs. So, like long ago, you get to look outside (virtually) for eggs too! But as you search and discover egg after egg, little do you know that, beyond your garden, there are many more eggs concealed in secret spots. In fact, they’re all over the world…in mountain forests, on ocean shores, and in steamy swamps. But they’re not hidden by the Easter Bunny. All sorts of animals hide their eggs too! Let’s take some time to eggs-plore the planet and learn more about these eggs-traordinary creatures. Let’s go on an egg hunt!

First let’s search out West for the eggs of a plump, short-tailed bird called the American Dipper. They love to live in and around pristine mountain streams ranging from way up in Alaska and all the way down into Panama! That’s a lot of places for them to hide their eggs, so, for now, let’s just focus on one of the Dipper’s favorite spots in Montana’s Rocky Mountains. Dippers are the only songbirds in the United States that love to routinely swim. And they have several adaptations that make dunking and diving quite easy for them. At the base of their tails, they have what is called a uropygial (oil) gland. They use their beak to collect oil from this gland and, when they preen, it makes their feathers waterproof. They also have nictitating membranes (extra eyelids) and flaps of skin covering their nostrils that protect their eyes and beak when they’re submerged.

But all these swim-friendly features can also help immensely when Dippers nest. To keep their eggs safe from predators, they sometimes build their nests in hard-to-reach spots like cliff ledges, on boulders, and under bridges. But there is one very special, watery way that Dippers like to raise their chicks…behind waterfalls! It can get wet if you live behind a waterfall, so a Dipper nest is specially designed to withstand such damp conditions. The dome-shaped nest is about the size of a soccer ball and has multiple layers of moss, bark, leaves, and coarse grass. The thick, outside shell of moss absorbs moisture so the inside, lined with grass, stays cozy and dry. After around two weeks of incubation, the clutch of four to five eggs hatch. Mom spends a lot of time on the nest, but both parents feed the sparsely-downed chicks up to twenty times an hour! They must fly back and forth through the veil of falling water to get to and from their hungry babies.

After a little over three weeks, the fledgling Dippers are old enough to leave the nest. So, they must bravely make their first trip through the curtain of cascading water. Then they watch and learn from their parents how to wade, swim, and dive in the stream to hunt for food. Sadly, the Dipper’s preferred meals (crayfish, tadpoles, fish eggs, and aquatic insects) become scarce when streams are tainted by humans. Poor practices in logging, mining, and farming can cause these birds to abandon polluted areas. Luckily, for now, they do manage to find new locations with clean, cold, rushing water that they can happily call home.

Now let’s travel a few states over to Florida, one of several Southern states where the American Alligator glides through the waters of slow-moving rivers, lakes, and sweltering marshes. In June and July, the female alligator creates a huge nest out of mud, plants, and sticks. It can be up to two to three feet high and as wide as seven to ten feet! The nest needs to be this big because the mother alligator lays as many as thirty-five to ninety eggs. Once the nest is filled with eggs, she completely covers them up with more vegetation. As the eggs rest hidden and undisturbed for several weeks, an interesting process occurs within the massive mound.

Photo credit: Rene Ferrer from Pexels.

Alligator embryos do not have chromosomes that determine gender, so the temperature of the nest determines how many of the young are girls and how many are boys. If, for example, the nest is located on a sunny riverbank (somewhere around 91 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit), the offspring are mostly male. The temperature of a nest in a cool, shady spot might hover around 86 degrees, and that environment produces mostly females. Around the end of August, the baby gators, still safe in their eggs, start making high-pitched noises. This lets their mom know that they’re ready to break out. She uncovers the nest for them to hatch. When the hatchlings are tiny, they hang out in a small group called a “pod”, but mom is always close by keeping a watchful eye on them. Unfortunately, climate change is beginning to affect the behavior of temperature-dependent species like the alligator. They are beginning to nest earlier and earlier in the year to preserve the correct male to female ratio. The alligators instinctively know that they need to keep a gender balance to allow their species to successfully thrive!

Our last stop covers a wide area, so get ready for the toughest challenge of our hunt! We’re going to search for the eggs of the Loggerhead Turtle. They like to swim in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. But between late April and early September, the females leave their aquatic homes to nest on the beaches where they themselves hatched decades earlier. Safely under the cover of darkness, a female Loggerhead will use her powerful rear flippers to dig a hole in the sand. After she lays around one hundred eggs, she once again uses her flippers to expertly cover up her eggs. She does such a thorough job that she erases any sign of her nest…it’s a safe and cozy hiding place for her eggs! They need to be well-hidden because the mother Loggerhead does not watch over her nest. Instead, she returns to the sea, leaving the concealed eggs to develop on their own.

Like alligators, the gender of sea turtle embryos is temperature dependent. A nest in warmer sand produces more females (this biological fact concerns marine scientists because global warming will disrupt the proper male to female ratio). After about two months of incubation, the baby turtles hatch and wait for nightfall. Then in a joint effort, they all climb out of the nest together and make a mad dash for the ocean waves. But their journey is fraught with danger.

Predators such as birds, crabs, dogs, and even raccoons are anxiously waiting to make these little turtles into scrumptious evening snacks. And the hatchlings have another, more insidious hazard to deal with…artificial light. To reach the ocean, the hatchlings use the natural light (the moon and stars) horizon to guide them. But beachfront lighting, highway lights, and campfires can disorient them and lead them in the wrong direction. It’s true that the odds are stacked against them, and even though it’s a treacherous trek to the water’s edge, many do make it. And then the real adventure begins for these little ones in their new ocean home!

Now that we’ve finished our egg hunting eggs-pedition, and you’ve fervently feasted on your Easter treats, your once-filled basket contains only some crumpled foil, a clump of Easter grass, and one squashed jelly bean. And, unfortunately, the only thing that you’ve got plenty of are the pangs of an eggs-cruciating stomachache. But while you’re laying back in your favorite comfy chair recovering from the day’s egg-citement, think about all those creatures out there in the world that work so hard to hide their eggs in the most interesting of places. And that leads you to wondering that maybe, just maybe, there might be one more egg still hidden in your garden. It might be hiding behind the daffodils or under the old wheelbarrow or in the tulip bed. And when you feel better, and you go back outside and find that last egg, it seems to me that would be an egg-cellent way to end an eggs-tra special day.

Shelby Wyzykowski is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

#Carnegie Museum of Natural History #Egg Hunt #Kidsburgh #Spring activities for kids #Spring #Alligators #Sea Turtles #American Dipper

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thepropertylovers · 3 years

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A Tour of The 30A Beach House We Stayed At Last Week

Good morning, and happy Monday!

I thought it would be fun to start the week off with a little tour of the beach house we stayed at last week on our last vacation of the summer. Our favorite beach in the world is on a stretch of highway on the gulf coast of Florida called 30A (it’s directly between Panama City and Destin). The waters are crystal clear, the sand looks like sugar, and the beaches are absolutely stunning.

We stayed in this super fun mid-century modern home that had been updated a few years earlier, but still had its original charm (thankfully!). It was so different from the typical style we prefer in a house, but I think that’s why we loved it so much: it truly felt like a vacation home.

I sent photos to my older sister who said she loves “the brick floors and the modern vibe” and I couldn’t agree more. The brick floors are striking and one of the first things you notice when you walk in the door. The cool thing is, they’re actually throughout the entire home! Every room has them and they look to be original to the house, which was probably built in the late 50’s, early 60’s, if I had to guess.

It wasn’t an extremely kid-friendly house, but when you’re at the beach, little else matters than how close in proximity you are to be able to walk to the beach. So we made it work!

The other thing that immediately grabs your attention is all the art in the home! There were so many beautiful paintings and sketches and drawings all displayed throughout every room, giving the house a sense of sophistication and a “collected over time” vibe.

There is a long hallway off the living room that leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms, and the way the art was displayed against the bright white walls made it feel like a museum or art gallery. It was stunning to look at and fun to walk through. Of course, the kids had fun, too, bolting down it as fast as they could.

Though the bathrooms were small in size (which made them hard to photograph), they were big on charm. I didn’t get a photo of the Jack and Jill bathroom that Nick and Beau & Matt shared, but it was all white with subway tile along the shower and walls. Ours was a bit more dramatic with dark grey walls and brass accents. And of course, those brick floors!!

The kids had fun every morning in the sunroom seeing how many lizards they could find and catch. They were everywhere; climbing on the screens, hiding in the plants, and as the days went on, the kids got better and better at finding them. It was so cute.

The backyard was sort of this secret garden courtyard, with lush greenery and drooping trees that provided a lot of privacy. There was also this gorgeous stucco fireplace that was fun to pose and take pictures around, but I can’t imagine EVER using it in Florida. It was in the 90’s the entire time we were there, and there was so much humidity that you immediately felt wet when you stepped outside. But, that just made the ocean feel all the more enjoyable!

Personally, we’re not big on open concepts in a house, but in this beach house, it totally worked. Beau & Matt would be in the kitchen cooking up something amazingly delicious while we and the kids would be in the living room watching TV and Nick in the dining room, and we could all still hangout since all three were technically one big room. It felt easy and fun and the perfect way to relax on vacation.

We used Airbnb to book it and, as always, it was an extremely easy and smooth process. We miss this house already!! It was the perfect getaway with friends and family to end the summer with.

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megalium · 4 years

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Chinese Spam Network Aims to Discredit U.S. COVID

A pro-Chinese digital propaganda network is attempting to discredit COVID-19 vaccines distributed in the United States, according to a new, independent report by the social media research firm Graphika.

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The influence campaign is part of a propaganda network that has bought and repurposed thousands of fake YouTube, Twitter and Facebook accounts to defend China’s response to the pandemic — and to criticize the U.S. While the network’s earlier efforts failed to attract an organic audience, its recent maneuvers are more sophisticated and are gaining momentum, having been amplified by Chinese diplomats and influencers in Latin America, Pakistan and Hong Kong, Graphika found in a report released to the public Thursday morning.

“It’s trying to adapt to survive,” said Ben Nimmo, one of the report’s authors and the head of investigations at the New York City-based Graphika. “There have been this handful of occasions where it has gotten some traction from amplifiers.”

While much of China’s COVID-19 messaging is in Mandarin and is targeted at bolstering domestic support, its English-language propaganda also serves a function, said Nick Monaco, a senior China analyst for the digital consulting firm Miburo Solutions. Highlighting America’s problem-plagued response to the pandemic can be an effective diplomatic tool for the Chinese Communist Party, said Monaco, who was not involved in Graphika’s new report.

“It’s an opportunity to promote the Chinese authoritarian model as more efficient and more effective,” Monaco told FRONTLINE.

Graphika’s investigation, which spanned the last six months on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, builds on the firm’s three previous reports on the network, which, in addition to COVID-19 messaging, has promoted content related to arms control, economic development in China and political conflict in the U.S.

The network first emerged in 2018, using fake Twitter and YouTube accounts to spread criticism of exiled billionaire and Steve Bannon associate Guo Wengui, as well as of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. But its activity has increasingly focused on the U.S. over the last year, as the Trump administration ramped up its rhetoric against China and the country’s Sinovac vaccine suffered disappointing clinical trial results in Brazil.

In February 2020, as the Chinese Communist Party faced growing criticism for its lack of transparency regarding COVID-19 — a period explored in the new FRONTLINE documentary China’s COVID Secrets — the network shifted its focus to defending China’s response to the pandemic. In June, the accounts began posting crudely edited videos attacking America’s failing efforts to contain the pandemic.

While many videos contained slanted takes on legitimate news stories, others promoted false claims. One video posted by network accounts in November, titled “Comparison of China and the United States in the fight against COVID-19,” said that the U.S. pandemic strategy included drinking hand sanitizer. And two videos in January 2021 suggested without evidence that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine currently being distributed in the U.S. is unsafe. One video, titled “Vaccines Will Not Get America Out of This Mess,” said: “The safety of the [U.S.-developed Pfizer-BioNTech] vaccine was in doubt, but it was quickly approved.” America’s second COVID vaccine, developed by the Massachusetts biotech company Moderna, was not mentioned.

The ramping up in messaging over the last year has corresponded with a move toward more sophisticated tactics. While the network seems to have had tens of thousands of bot accounts at its disposal since 2018, each had relatively few followers and were frequently taken down by platforms. In 2020 alone, YouTube deleted more than 20,000 of the network’s accounts, according to Google’s Threat Analysis group. A Twitter representative told FRONTLINE the platform has taken large-scale action against network accounts, including mass removals in August 2019 and June 2020. Facebook took down a wave of accounts in September 2019 and has since worked with Graphika to detect and delete new ones.

Since mid-2020, however, the network has improved the fake accounts’ ability to imitate humans.

In one case, a Twitter account that had been dormant since 2009 added a profile photo and began tweeting the network’s videos in January 2020, when it also began replying to political figures and celebrities. Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Lijian Zhao retweeted the account, as did China’s ambassadors to Iran, the Dominican Republic, France and Panama.

The network’s traction with real humans represents a shift, Nimmo said. But even with recent upgrades, Nimmo said the operation is still relatively unconvincing, with the video voiceovers often including grammatical errors — pronouncing “U.S.” as “us,” for example — and idioms that do not translate into coherent English.

“Yes, it’s a very large-scale network; yes, it’s spammy; yes, it’s starting to get signs of breakout in some areas, in individual cases,” Nimmo said. “But fundamentally they’re still not very good at what they do.”

Many of the spam accounts appear to be purchased from “like farms” that sell fake engagement to influencers, the report said — for example, Facebook pages created in Bengali that later began posting in Chinese and amplifying the network’s videos. Graphika used multiple behavioral cues to determine whether accounts were likely part of the network, including posting the same pro-regime videos, interacting with other demonstrably fake accounts created around the same time, and beginning to post network content after having been dormant for years.

Graphika can’t determine who is behind the accounts, Nimmo told FRONTLINE. Disinformation researchers from the Stanford Internet Observatory and the digital consulting firm Miburo Solutions also told FRONTLINE it can be difficult to determine whether Chinese influence campaigns are organized by the ruling Communist Party or by nationalist citizens.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. did not return a request for comment before publication.

Even with limited results so far, the network’s scope — including the bulk purchase of fake accounts and the posting of multiple unique videos per day — suggests an organized and funded effort, Nimmo said. “It’s hard to imagine something of that scale would be a bunch of amateurs.”

The Graphika report comes at a sensitive moment for China’s government, as a World Health Organization team on the ground in Wuhan is conducting its long-awaited investigation into the origins of the pandemic.

The U.S. State Department did not comment on the specific content of Chinese propaganda covered in Graphika’s report but told FRONTLINE it supports a “robust and clear” investigation of how the pandemic began.

“We do not know, and cannot know, the full origins of the virus and its spread until we have full transparency from the [People’s Republic of China]. It is imperative to have transparency on the early days of the pandemic, including to identify important lessons about how future pandemic emergence events can be averted,” a State Department spokesperson wrote in a statement to FRONTLINE.

In addition to Graphika, others have found evidence of widespread disinformation seeded by Chinese sources. Reports from the European Union and the Stanford Internet Observatory have also documented digital messaging designed either to praise the Chinese government’s pandemic response or to discredit COVID-19 response efforts in the United States dating back to February 2020.

FRONTLINE found that the Global Times, a newspaper based in Beijing and operated by the Chinese Communist Party, has posted 24 digital stories mentioning the unfounded conspiracy theory that COVID-19 actually began in Fort Detrick, a U.S. military base in Maryland that studies infectious disease. The earliest was published in March 2020; the most recent was published this week. The claim has also been amplified by Chinese government officials, including a foreign ministry spokesperson who in March tweeted a link to a conspiracy website alleging that the virus originated in the U.S.

In March 2020, ProPublica found that a network of thousands of fake and hacked Twitter accounts had begun posting China-friendly messages about the burgeoning pandemic. One account impersonating the U.S.-government-funded Radio Free Asia touted China’s donation of protective equipment to Italy. The accounts were linked to a company on the payroll of Chinese state media, ProPublica reported.

China has also pointed its digital propaganda apparatus at Taiwan, whose independence is not recognized by the Chinese government. An August 2020 report from Graphika and the think tanks Institute for the Future and the International Republican Institute found that social media accounts based in China spread misinformation discrediting Taiwan’s response to the pandemic.

In one Twitter post, an account imitating the Associated Press used a photograph of victims in body bags from the 2006 Indonesia earthquake to claim that Taiwan was concealing COVID deaths. Other accounts, pretending to be from Taiwan rather than the mainland, used the hashtag #TaiwanPneumonia to suggest the virus originated there, the report found.

“A lot of this stuff has been among the more malicious disinformation I’ve seen,” said Monaco of Miburo Solutions.

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thenewleeland · 7 years

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I have 2 for you: #1 (which of your stories is your favorite), and 10. What are some facts readers may not know about "He's a Goalie, She's a Keeper?"

1. Of the fics you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

Of the 14 I have published yet: The Goalie AU, because I loved the setting, the mountains of fluff and I spent so much work on it. The Indy AU I love for different reasons, it is my one large WIP and I really like how the characters fit into it (at least IMHO) and the Turtledove AU is just funny to write. The fourth candidate would be the “Galaxies League” finale, as I wrote it for myself mostly and it was tons of fun using all the soccer terms I’ve learned through reading match reports and watching games in English.

So these four are the favourites, but if I have to pick one, it would be the Goalie AU.

The rest of those ten, I either find decent, o.k. or I (almost) abhor them.

10. What are some facts readers may not know about “He’s a Goalie, She’s a Keeper?

Apart from the long writing process I mentioned earlier:

- All the jokes used are from the year 2010 and Robert Green’s blunder while playing for England against the USA in the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

- I have no idea why I renamed Kes “Gabriel”.

- Jyn not being able to decide whether to protect herself or to keep a hold of her food and drink was based on a real event.

- I’m still not quite sure if the Spanish word “Chiquitita” and “Caramba” were used in a way one would actually use them.

- The part about Saw was written months after the scenes surrounding it.

- Bodhi is a very successful musician/actor in this AU.

- The World Cup Cassian wins takes place in 2022, but not in Qatar, but in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Mexico does win the final, which is played in the Azteca, thus fulfilling his dream in an even more special way. [These three not having to qualify paves the way for other CONCACAF nations to secure a berth at the WC. Apart from Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, El Salvador and Jamaica are the ones to qualify.] It also makes Jyn very happy, as for the two years Mexico would normally be qualifying, they have friendlies all around the world.

- Currently stands at 49 comments and 49 kudos. (Which is weird, as it seems many people commented without kudoing, perhaps it would have been better to split the story for easier reading and to get some more readers through more chapters than through one big oneshot?)

- Many people loved the title, I spent quite some time thinking about it and was very unsure about the pun.

- It was named “Goalie AU” and “The Happy Story” before getting his name, because writing it was my way to “recover” from angsty stories, annoying and frustrating work days etc.

- I think the statue was over-the-top, but hey, I wanted them to have a lasting legacy.

- Cassian staying with one club for his entire career (at least after going to England) is meant to be a nod to his loyalty. I had a rough idea about having Cassian mentioning in the bar scene that he “was goalkeeping since he was six years old”, but I felt like that would be disrespectful considering the original context of said phrase.

As you see, I’m WAAAAAAY too invested in it!

#Rogue One Soccer AU #Lee replies #Lee rambles #(And whines)#So #A normal post

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eurotickets20 · 5 years

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Northern Ireland new boy Jordan Thompson eager to stay on Michael O'Neill's radar for Euro 2020 climax

Gifted black pool midfielder impressed the national boss in recent friendly win over Luxembourg. Jordan Thompson is determined to be battle-ready for Northern Ireland’s Euro Cup 2020 climax. Football fans can book Northern Ireland Euro Cup Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.

Jordan Thompson flourished in friendly fire against Luxembourg earlier this month. The black pool midfielder made his debut on last summer’s Central American tour. He impressed in his first start in a 1-0 win over the Red Lions a fortnight ago.

It was a vibrant bow in front of the Windsor Park faithful. It was a timely reminder of the 22-year-old’s playmaking qualities for watching Michael O’Neill. The Northern Ireland boss singled out Thompson for praise after the game. Branding his performance terrific and hailing the Newtownabbey native as one for now.

And the former Manchester United youth player, who cut his teeth at Old Trafford alongside Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay, hopes it’s a sign of things to come.

“I felt I did well against Luxembourg and it’s always great to hear a manager say positive things about you after the game,” said Thompson.

Making my debut against Panama last year was special. I came on for the last 10 minutes and I remember the atmosphere was electric. It was a bit mad to win my first cap there, but starting against Luxembourg and playing at Windsor Park was extra special.

“Michael pulled me the day before the game and told me I had been playing well and had earned the opportunity. It was a dream come true.”

Thompson joined League One black pool from Rangers in 2018. He is acutely aware that his three caps to date have come in friendlies. His next target is a competitive game time. He is realistic to know O’Neill has a healthy-looking engine room at his disposal for Northern Ireland’s remaining Euro Cup 2020 qualifiers.

Skipper Steven Davis, Blackburn’s Corry Evans and Middleborough pair Paddy McNair and George Saville are all currently ahead of him in the midfield pecking order for Northern Ireland Euro Cup 2020 qualifiers.

"There's a lot of competition for places and the likes of Davo is brilliant," he said

Every match he always seems to be the standout performer. I was pleased with how it went against Luxembourg and it makes you want more. I want to kick on now and stay in and around the squad. Michael has told me to keep performing week in, week out for the black pool and take my chances when they come.

“It’s up to Michael if he puts me on, but my aim is to be ready."

Whenever we go away again, I have to be ready to come on and play if required. There's no doubt Thompson has grown as a player in the past two years and benefited from a productive loan spell with Livingston prior to last year’s permanent move to Bloomfield Road.

He helped Livi secure promotion to the Scottish Premiership 16 months ago before agreeing to join the black pool on an initial two-year deal last summer. Thompson, who made three appearances for Rangers under Mark Warburton four years ago.

Thompson said I knew my time would be limited at Rangers, so going to Livingston on loan did me the world of good. And since I’ve come to the black pool I feel I’ve really kicked on again. League 1 is a good league and getting games under my belt always helps.

“When black pool came in for me I rang a few people in the Northern Ireland set-up, including U21s coach Ian Barraclough. They all said good things about the club. I decided to give it a crack and it has worked out well for me so far.

I’m playing regularly and the move has also helped me get into the Northern Ireland Euro Cup 2020 qualifiers set-up which is a real positive.

“I want to keep improving, add to my assists and goals, get on the ball and make things happen. As long as I'm playing well for the black pool, hopefully, I can win more caps for Northern Ireland."

O'Neill's men resume their Northern Ireland Euro Cup 2020 qualifiers campaign with a trip to Holland on October 10 followed by a friendly against the Czech Republic in Prague four days later.

Football fans can get Euro Cup Tickets through our trusted online ticketing market place. EuroTickets2020.com is the most reliable source to book Euro Cup 2020 tickets.

#eurocuptickets #eurocup2020tickets #euro2020tickets #eurocupfinaltickets #eurocuphospitality

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ultrasfcb-blog · 6 years

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World Cup 2018:

Roman Torres scored the late goal that sealed Panama’s World Cup spot, and celebrated with his manager Hernan Dario Gomez

England v Panama Date: Sunday, 24 June Time: 13:00 BST Venue: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium Live radio and text coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website

Damion Potter was appointed British Ambassador to Panama in August 2017 and has witnessed first-hand how the Fifa World Cup – and Sunday’s match against England – has gripped the nation.

Last October, two months after becoming British Ambassador to Panama, I was back in London accompanying a delegation of Panamanians to promote trade and investment.

As part of this, Panama’s Trade Minister gave a keynote speech to the City of London. I won’t forget his presentation in a hurry.

Only a couple of hours earlier Panama had qualified for their first-ever World Cup, with a last-minute goal against Costa Rica.

Unable to contain his enthusiasm, the Trade Minister opened with several replays of the goal which had already gone viral in Panama, showing it from every angle on the big screen while he jumped around the stage in front of a delighted audience who could see just how much this meant to him, and to his country.

He was not the only one celebrating.

Five thousand miles away, the party was still going strong in Panama City. As the match came to a close Panamanians spilled out onto the streets to the sound of reggaeton, fireworks and car horns as the entire country revelled in the team’s success.

President Juan Carlos Varela declared the next day a national holiday, recognising in his midnight tweet what was already visibly apparent: no one was going to work the next day.

Living and working in Panama showed me first-hand the passion and excitement their first World Cup meant and I was already looking forward to being in Panama for their games, but this was given an extra twist last December when they were drawn in the same group as England.

Suddenly all eyes were on not just the World Cup but how the team would perform against players which are household names in Panama.

Many here watch the Premier League – nearly every time I get a taxi in Panama the conversation inevitably turns to Manchester City, Manchester United or Liverpool and their recent victories or setbacks. This means the chance to face England in the World Cup has really captured their imagination.

Potter swapped shirts with Panama’s President Varela ahead of the match against England on Sunday

In the last few months I’ve been invited on TV half a dozen times to talk about football which has been a great opportunity to promote the UK to a wide audience across Panama.

This has seen me doing everything from wearing a top hat and tails at a tea party on a morning TV show, to offering my opinion on the best fish and chips!

Just a few weeks ago, Panama played Northern Ireland in what was their last home game before travelling to Russia.

Panama’s President had invited me to watch the match with him from his box in the national stadium. The atmosphere was electric; everyone in the stand had their own Panamanian flag, and the live bands made sure everyone was dancing through most of the game.

Panamanians know how to party and they were determined to send their team off in style – the game started 10 minutes late as the firework display just kept going.

The game finished a ‘diplomatic’ 0-0, which also spared me from another Panamanian tradition in the national stadium – if Panama score, everyone throws their beers up in the air in celebration and it’s impossible to avoid getting drenched.

Late last year I hosted an event to watch one of Panama’s first international friendlies after qualifying, against Wales in Cardiff.

Panamanians are passionate people, and with the win against Costa Rica fresh in their minds, emotion was running high as they faced a European side. They took heart from a 1-1 draw.

I’m sure if they can manage the same result against England they will be celebrating as if they had won.

And they have kept the party going since the start of the World Cup.

For the game against Belgium on Monday the country came to a standstill. No national holiday this time, but with the game kicking off at 10 in the morning local time, many people stayed at home to see it live; and most of those who went to work still managed to find a screen to watch it.

The streets were empty for those 90 minutes. On the TV coverage of the game, and with the Panamanians watching from here, you could see the pride that everyone took in singing the national anthem before the game.

People told me it was a dream come true to see the team standing there in the stadium.

Highlights: Belgium 3-0 Panama

Many thought they were still dreaming by the end of the first half, as they kept a clean sheet against Belgium. Although they ultimately lost 3-0, Panamanians were happy with their side’s performance against a team ranked third best in the world.

With hopes running high and seeing results such as Croatia beating Argentina 3-0, there is a belief here that Panama could come away with a point against England on Sunday, and possibly more against Tunisia the following week.

Diplomacy is a funny old game. I’ve spent the last year working to strengthen bilateral relations.

With football very much front of mind, President Varela found time to swap football shirts with the Foreign Secretary on his recent visit to the UK, where he also met the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers and the UK’s private sector to speak about UK-Panama relations.

We’re always looking for new and creative ways to engage Panamanians. The friendlies with Wales and Northern Ireland, and in particular the World Cup match against England, have been a gift.

On Sunday, I will host 120 senior Panamanian contacts for the match. I suspect I will be one of only a few wearing an England shirt. I will cheer loudly if the Three Lions win, although perhaps less so than if I were on more neutral territory.

One of the guests will be the Trade Minister who showed the City of London that incredible moment against Costa Rica.

He has promised me that, should Panama score, he will jump in the nearest swimming pool. I expect that would be just the start of the celebrations.

If Panama win, it will be an incredible place to be – unless you’re the British Ambassador.

BBC Sport – Football ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/football/6702/

#Barcelona

#Football

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years

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'He started his trade presentation with football replays' - life as the British Ambassador to Panama

England v Panama Date: Sunday, 24 June Time: 13:00 BST Venue: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium Live radio and text coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website

Damion Potter was appointed British Ambassador to Panama in August 2017 and has witnessed first-hand how the Fifa World Cup – and Sunday’s match against England – has gripped the nation.

Last October, two months after becoming British Ambassador to Panama, I was back in London accompanying a delegation of Panamanians to promote trade and investment.

As part of this, Panama’s Trade Minister gave a keynote speech to the City of London. I won’t forget his presentation in a hurry.

Only a couple of hours earlier Panama had qualified for their first-ever World Cup, with a last-minute goal against Costa Rica.

He was not the only one celebrating.

President Juan Carlos Varela declared the next day a national holiday,[1] recognising in his midnight tweet what was already visibly apparent: no one was going to work the next day.

Pick your England team to face Panama[2]

England v Panama: Six things to look out for[3]

The ‘film star’ defender leading Panama’s England challenge[4]

More about Panama – country profile[5]

Suddenly all eyes were on not just the World Cup but how the team would perform against players which are household names in Panama.

<!–

In the last few months I’ve been invited on TV half a dozen times to talk about football which has been a great opportunity to promote the UK to a wide audience across Panama.

This has seen me doing everything from wearing a top hat and tails at a tea party on a morning TV show, to offering my opinion on the best fish and chips!

Just a few weeks ago, Panama played Northern Ireland[6] in what was their last home game before travelling to Russia.

Panamanians know how to party and they were determined to send their team off in style – the game started 10 minutes late as the firework display just kept going.

Late last year I hosted an event to watch one of Panama’s first international friendlies after qualifying, against Wales in Cardiff.[7]

Panamanians are passionate people, and with the win against Costa Rica fresh in their minds, emotion was running high as they faced a European side. They took heart from a 1-1 draw.

I’m sure if they can manage the same result against England they will be celebrating as if they had won.

And they have kept the party going since the start of the World Cup.

People told me it was a dream come true to see the team standing there in the stadium.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Diplomacy is a funny old game. I’ve spent the last year working to strengthen bilateral relations.

We’re always looking for new and creative ways to engage Panamanians. The friendlies with Wales and Northern Ireland, and in particular the World Cup match against England, have been a gift.

One of the guests will be the Trade Minister who showed the City of London that incredible moment against Costa Rica.

He has promised me that, should Panama score, he will jump in the nearest swimming pool. I expect that would be just the start of the celebrations.

If Panama win, it will be an incredible place to be – unless you’re the British Ambassador.

References

^ next day a national holiday, (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Pick your England team to face Panama (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ England v Panama: Six things to look out for (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ The ‘film star’ defender leading Panama’s England challenge (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ More about Panama – country profile (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Panama played Northern Ireland (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ against Wales in Cardiff. (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

'He started his trade presentation with football replays' – life as the British Ambassador to Panama was originally published on 365 Football

#&039He #ambassador #British #football #Life #Panama #presentation #replays&039 #started #trade

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megfournier-blog · 6 years

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spontaneous peru trip

about a five days earlier, i decided to book a tour on the Incan trail. now, there i was.

before coming abroad, one of the things that i knew i really wanted to do was hike the 4 day incan trail to machu picchu. in my mind, i was planning to hopefully do it at the end of my trip. however, when i went online, trips were entirely booked through the rest of the year, with the exception of a single spot in march. i thought it through for half a day, then decided to jump on the chance and book my place on the only available trek, 5 days away.

i found a flight, informed my professors, packed my bag, bid farewell to my host family (who once again thought i was crazy), and tuesday afternoon hopped on the bus from supermaxi to the airport. i was on my way.

well, what an odd journey to cusco it was. after about a million ticket-related problems due to booking a last-minute flight through some sketchy british discount website, i was about to board my first plane to panama city (wut) when i was spontaneously upgraded to first class. i took it happily, though in a sorority t-shirt, joggers, and hiking boots, i can’t say that i looked the part. i got into panama late at night, and walked around looking for something mildly decent to eat until it was time for my late night, overnight flight to lima. once again, i was upgraded to first class, where i sat next to a multi-million dollar ceo who was probably apauled by my appearance in comparison with her pastel pantsuit. if she was, she did a decent job of hiding it, and we chatted the entire flight. her company helps fund sustainability-focused start-ups around the world, and her view on the role of management was incredibly interesting. the time definitely passed quickly.

the lima airport in the middle of the night is a cultural experience all of its own. hundreds of backpackers, families, and other travelers opting for the overnight connection to save money line the hall, camped out, trying to get some sleep. i had my sleeping bag for the trek with me, so i figured that if i was going to lug the thing with me, i may as well get some use out of it. needless to say, i may have taken the “camping out” thing a little too seriously.

that wasn’t even really the strangest part. god knows why, but for some reason, the airport makes everyone move about every 45 minutes. so, every 45 minutes, all night, hundreds of sleepy-eyed strangers peeled themselves off the floor and trudged over to the next hallway, dragging their stuff behind them, and plopped back down on the floor. in some ways, i think it was a bonding experience.

by the time i finally got to cusco, it was 5 am and still completely dark out. i took a taxi to my hostel, kokopelli, and threw my stuff in storage before heading off to check out the main square. the plaza de armas was dead quiet. the only people moving around were the shoe shiners setting up their stations on the side of the square, and the occasional woman unpacking a refolding her handiwork to get ready to display. absolutely no one crossed the center of the square. once it seemed early enough, and my stomach was hungry enough, i decide to walk to san blas, a neighborhood known for its cute and artsy café culture and beautifully worn streets. i came across a place serving hot, home brewed (finally not instant) coffee from beautiful clay mugs. the servers were smiling a friendly, which was a nice change after spending so much time alone. i chowed down on farmer’s pumpernickel toast, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, cheese and avocado- one of the best breakfasts i think i’ve ever had.

i wanted to get to know the city, and since my planning period didn’t exactly give me much time to research cusco, i decided to go on a walking tour. the guide took us to the merced, a church and small square where tons of street food vendors hang out; san pedro market, an open air space littered with people and filled with the strangest fish and meat products i’d ever seen, tons of fruit and nuts, artisans, and rare cheese and butter sculptures; and la compañía and iglesia de san francisco, the churches of two different religious orders in colonial peru. he pointed out different elements of incan architecture, the most impressive of which were the walls created from rocks that fit perfectly together, with absolutely no grout or sealer of any kind between them. more than that, the rocks were giant, and it leaves you wondering how in the world the incans got them there. we also went to a small market in a plaza tucked away between buildings, where a man played a traditional incan spiritual reflection song on entirely antique instruments. we stopped to try street pastries similar to humitas, then went to a chocolate shop, where we sampled different kinds of dark chocolate, cacao, cacao nibs, milk chocolate, coca chocolate, ahi chocolate, and a few different types of chocolate pisco. we ended the tour next to a super cool artisanal market, so i walked around and got a few different woven textile things to bring home.

afterwards, i decided to go back to the plaza and climb up to the stop of the iglesia de la compañía, which overlooked the main square. when i got hungry, i went over to san pedro for something to eat, and decided on a passionfruit, mago, banana, and papaya smoothie, which the lady refilled three times after i finished my first glass. satisfied, i wandered around the city, back through san blas, and up to a cool lookout point on the top of the mountain. i met a cool spanish couple, and we walked around and watched the sun set.

just after sunset, it was time for me to go to alpaca expeditions and meet my tour group. there were nine of us, but only seven at the meeting: myself, aaron, a 32 year old from the us; tom, 31, china; megan, 27, us; megan’s dad mike, 55, us; linda, 32, amsterdam; and her friend tim, 32, amsterdam. everyone seemed friendly enough, and i was pleasantly surprised with the number of people that were traveling solo like me. our guides, eric, 23, and teddy, 28, walked us through what the trek would look like and how we would get ready. they handed us our bags to pack into for the trek and scales to make sure they weighed no more than 7 kilos, then sent us off on our way.

afterwards, time, aaron, and i decided to go get dinner. we settled on a vegan place with an incredible view of the plaza, and i chowed down on some african curry- super delicious. we walked over to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant for ice cream and more conversation before parting ways to head back for our hostels. once i got home, i packed my stuff into the other bag and got organized before jumping in to bed for a short nap.

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usnewsaggregator-blog · 7 years

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GLENN HODDLE: England have huge advantage at the World Cup

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/sport/glenn-hoddle-england-have-huge-advantage-at-the-world-cup/

GLENN HODDLE: England have huge advantage at the World Cup

Gareth Southgate said he didn’t spend time worrying about who England might get in Friday’s World Cup draw because it was out of his control.

But I know from my own experience at the France ’98 tournament what he’d have gone through during the draw itself. Basically, you are sitting there hoping you don’t get the Group of Death!

England have certainly avoided that and for me the big bonus is the order of the fixtures, playing Tunisia and Panama first, with the strongest-looking team, Belgium, last. Having Tunisia in the opening game means England should be on the front foot right away, the incentive is there to do the business and qualify before they play Belgium.

Alan Shearer set England on their way to victory at the 1998 World Cup in France

It’ll help to clear the mind, going out with the sole intention of victory. It worked for us when we also played Tunisia first in Marseille, winning 2-0 and going on to qualify with six points.

If Belgium were up first, with their superstars like Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, there might be a conflict in how to approach it. Playing Belgium second would be even trickier, any slip-up in the first match and your World Cup might be over even before the final group game, as happened in 2014 when we lost to Italy and Uruguay in our first two matches.

The World Cup began in earnest with the draw. You look around, see all the other managers there, and realise we are about to pit our skills against the best in the world.

England played Tunisia first in 1998, winning 2-0 and went on to qualify with six points

As soon as you know who you are playing and where, you need to put a plan of action in place.

We set up friendlies against Morocco and Chile once we knew Tunisia and Colombia were in our group. I’m sure Gareth would ideally want to test his players against a team from North Africa and Central America so they can get a sense of how Tunisia and Panama play.

You also have to put a travel itinerary together sooner rather than later. If you’ve got a long flight for one game, do you arrive earlier, have a couple of training sessions and then fly back straight after. There is a lot to consider, but decisions need to be made.

Gareth Southgate was beaming after England were drawn with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama

And while you will try and make things as normal and comfortable for the squad, you’ve got to accept 23 individuals have their own likes, dislikes and different needs. There will be downtime, boredom time and you won’t be able to please everyone all the time.

Modern technology will help Gareth scout the opposition easier than we did. He’ll send trusted people to watch them play live, but come kick-off against Tunisia, our players will know what to expect.

Videos were important for me. You’d be able to generally work out the shape and strategy of a team after watching an hour. After that, you are looking for weaknesses and vulnerabilities to be exploited.

England boss Southgate helped England beat Tunisia in Marseille during the 1998 World Cup

The interesting thing is not to flood the players with too much information. As a coaching team, we were looking at all three opponents as soon as the draw was made. I knew going into the tournament that Colombia played a very high defensive line that could be beaten by serious pace. So Michael Owen was always going to play against them in the final group game, regardless of what happened in the first two matches.

So Gareth will be looking at Panama and Belgium, but as far as the players will be concerned, all the attention will be on Tunisia. How to beat them and get off to that fast start. Doing it that way can mean squeezing a lot of information into the players before the second game, which is why Gareth will be delighted there is a six-day gap between Tunisia and Panama. He’ll use that time. If people think international management is a part-time job, I assure you it won’t be for Gareth between now and next summer. There are so many things people will want to throw at him and there will be a lot of key decisions to make on selection for Russia.

The squad looks to have opened up by the encouraging friendlies against Germany or Brazil, even if they lacked the real competitive edge. Gareth will have a thousand things to check on between now and the World Cup; can Ruben Loftus-Cheek show consistency to add to the talent we saw in the last internationals, has Adam Lallana recovered the sharpness after his injury; can Harry Maguire’s ability transfer on to the big stage in Russia?

Southgate speaks with Belgium manager Roberto Martinez at Friday’s World Cup draw

There is still time for others to sneak in. We shouldn’t write off players like Jack Wilshere because he is too talented to ignore, he can see pictures on the pitch others can’t. Jack really has to get a clear guidance from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal whether he wants to be a deep-lying midfielder or No 10. It’s vital for his mindset because at the moment he’s just floating along, and if Arsene can’t give him a definitive answer, he should go and play somewhere else in January so Gareth can have a proper look at him.

He played deeper for Roy Hodgson and did well there. I put Dennis Wise in a similar role and gave him a three-touch rule. He could only touch the ball a maximum of three times in a row. If he took any more in a training game, it’d be a free-kick to the other side. Arsene should try the same with Jack if it’s decided he is best-served as a holding midfield player.

Though the game against Belgium might be to decide group winners rather than qualification — and I hope it is! — it still looks a mouth-watering game. Hazard and De Bruyne are among the best three players in the Premier League; Hazard is the best at taking players on, De Bruyne at passing.

With Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany, Mertens, Lukaku and many others, Belgium should be seen as contenders. But their mentality is a question-mark when the pressure is on. They have so many top players who think they should be starting, how would they react if Roberto Martinez leaves them out to try and get the right balance in the team?

Original Article:

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#advantage #england #glenn #hoddle #world

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ozsaill · 7 years

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Holiday gifts that cruisers want

As avowed minimalists, this feels slightly awkward putting a post of holiday gifts together. But the reality is that there are useful needs to meet in a life afloat. This peek into what works hopefully aids those anticipating a similar path: a personal look what’s worked for us, and what’s on our wish list, as idea fodder for gifts to the the sailors in your life. It’s organized into four angles:

Best additions to Totem this year

Wish list: functional gifts

Wish list: what the crew really wants!

Especially for kids

I. Best additions to Totem this year

This is a shortlist of items that had the biggest positive impact on board in the last year. Some are practical, some are just for fun / quality of life, a few are a bit of both.

Paddleboard – finally got one on board after The Great Kayak Debacle of 2016. Weighing pros/cons, we picked the durability of a fixed board over a space-saving inflatable. A shorter (10’) Jimmy Styx model (year-end closeout!) is right-sized for our humans and has provided hours of fun and fitness. Siobhan paddles in front of Totem, photo at top.

Underwater dome lens – talk about bang for the buck. Only $50 to get some of my favoritest pictures ever. Just fit the GoPro inside and swim! It’s so flippin’ cool to have split images with above/below water…like this one showing Totem floating in crystal Bahamian water while a nurse shark dozes on the sand below.

Pic made possible with a dome port lens over GoPro. Me on deck, Jamie in the water; Staniel Cay, Bahamas.

Winches – Jamie likes to fondle our new Andersen stainless steel winches. No, seriously. Aside from the fact they are incredibly sexy mirror-finish stainless, the engineering of these makes them a better mousetrap, starting with guts that require less maintenance. Ribs on the drum don’t need as many wraps for sufficient friction, and they’re kinder to lines than conventional drum texturing. Jamie is all the warm fuzzies from that ribbed drum. I kinda want to get a lascivious picture of him with one.

Mantus scuba– we used to wish for dive gear on Totem, but it never made sense; a mix of upfront cost, equipment x 5 crew, limited space, and just not being die-hard divers. But we do really like getting underwater…a lot! Adding a pair of Mantus tanks has been perfect. Good fun for more marine exploring beyond our freediving skills, plus peace of mind as added safety equipment (invaluable if an anchor fouled below freediving depth / hang time capability).

Kids dive with Mantus scuba. There’s that dome port lens again too!

ACR ResQLink+. This personal locater beacon (PLB) was added to our safety kit for taking off to the Bahamas and beyond. My worst nightmare is losing on-watch crew overboard; I still worry when Jamie’s on watch and I’m “sleeping” off watch – these help me actually relax, knowing he’s basically attached to an EPIRB.

Drone – we picked up a Phantom 3 pro during the post-holiday-sales last year. I know, have been lame about sharing the footage (will provide room & board on Totem for anyone who can train us up!) but – WOW. The images are amazing! I love the bird’s eye view it offers of our life afloat! New Years Resolution: learn editing and share some videos. I’m not kidding about hosting someone who can school us! (Aline are you reading?! )

Culebra, Puerto Rico

Dinghy. When our trusty Avon finally gave up (well, it was 19 years old) in Thailand, the Highfield we replaced it with was… suboptimal. Not big enough, didn’t ride as well. A dinghy is one of the most frequently used bits of gear on board so we felt the gap. The 10.5’ AB (aluminum, double floor, bow locker) we picked up at Tradewind Yachting Services in Nanny Cay in September is AWESOME.

TOTEM shirts! New earlier this year, we adore these super-soft, organic cotton shirts and LOVE seeing people wear them. If you order Totem gear (Ts, caps and a hemp market bag too), send us a picture!

Show your (neutral, water-based) colors with a yummy soft Totem Tshirt!

II. Wish list: practical

The next set… well, they aren’t exactly sexy holiday gifts. But the way our family looks at the world is in more practical term (I just realized how crazy that probably sounds to a lot of readers- yes, chucking convention to live on a boat with no fixed address is very practical. Really!): these are the practical wish-list expenditures. Right now we’re saving all our pennies to transit the Panama Canal but; some of these we expect (chaps, shade) others are less likely.

Dinghy chaps. Fabric covers fitted to the hypalon tubes extend their life by preventing chafe and reducing UV exposure. These are labor intensive and custom made, haven’t rationalized this expense just yet.

Outboard. Dinghy theme lately? Our outboard has been struggling for over a year, something that dependably gets a full load on a plane would be sweet. This 15hp Yamaha would do us right.

Repaint Totem’s hull. It’s so beat up, the guys working in the shipyard in Grenada were laughing at us—all in good fun—and asking if they could give her a makeover! Hey, there’s a dugout canoe associated with almost every ding, those are good memories…OK yeah it would be nice to have a pretty boat again.

Cockpit shade. We have an AWESOME, pretty new (2016) bimini frame (thank you to the great guys at TurboXS!)…but it still lacks the whole fabric-shade-that-attaches-to-it part. It will be really nice to get the last mile of this addition completed.

Sailrite. We’ve gone back and forth on these durable sewing machines. Cons: machines need to be used to stay workable; they are heavy, and they take up a chunk of storage. But in the Pro column: Jamie could do a lot with one, like dinghy chaps and cockpit shade! He’s a sailmaker, used to be a hands-on in the pit guy and knows his way around a pro machine. Our M.O. to date: Jamie fixes other cruiser’s Sailrites that have stopped working after languishing in a locker by bartering for usage to get a project done.

Making our dodger soft sides in Jacksonville: thanks Patty!

Countertops. The formica installed in Thailand, unfortunately, is not good. It’s a long story. But the formica is nearly worn through, the trim wasn’t done right, and a bunch of other stuff. For the Someday files. Solid surfacing would be so dreamy!

Solid state external drives. The movable parts on hard drives, in computers and external drives, have shorter lifespans with the small constant motions of a boat. SSDs would be less prone to failure. The multiple of expense is unfortunate (and almost rationalized by failed drives!). The only downside: external SSDs are mostly small, so you’d need a bunch to accomodate all the photo and video files a family accumulates. Sample: this Samsung 2TB drive, ~$800.

III. Wish list: just for fun

What’s your heart’s desire? I asked everyone on board to contribute their “wish” gift idea for something they have zero need for, but a dose of desire. This turned out to be difficult: we are pretty good at being satisfied with what we have instead of craving what the boat next door has! But there are some great ways to be indulgent on board. The top five are our personal picks, the rest are from family brainstorming.

Niall: PADI dive certification. (shhh: I think we figured out how to do this affordably enough in Bonaire next month! He doesn’t read the blog – don’t spill the beans anyone!!)

Mairen: horseback riding. (still with the experiences. C’mon Mairen it’s about Stuff! She never got beyond “more art supplies then?”)

Siobhan: a puppy. KIDDING. Except she wasn’t. Her BATNA wish is to have any book she wants for a year. Qualified with “you know I use the library mostly.” People, she reads a LOT. Thank goodness for ebook loans from our hometown library!

Jamie: Code zero with a continuous line furler on a sprit. Because the sailmaker’s boat is a little bit like the cobblerss kids… often wanting. Here’s why Jamie thinks this is a winner sail for cruisers.

Behan: fancypants freediving fins, and lessons to go with them. (As long as we’re daydreaming, I’d learn from supermama and freediving champion Ashley Chapman at Evolve Freediving, with a whole- family lesson!)

More Totem crew wish-list picks that may generate ideas for giftees on your list:

Water-friendly drone. We’re having so much fun with the ‘regular’ drone, imagine one that lands on the water, or follows behind the dinghy – saltwater spray be damned?! This very cool looking Splash Drone 3 lands on the water and floats. Whoa. Or the QuadH2O: double whoa.

Mini home theater projector. We watched movies outside on the Delos deck once upon a time; I harbor dreams of hosting anchorage movie nights with a film displayed on a sail “screen.” One that’s bright enough, not to big, and doesn’t draw too much power, decent speakers…or 3 out of 4. Like this maybe (and wow, that’s a good price!)?

New computer. OK, not family but Jamie. The Toughbook that is our navigation computer doubles as his personal machine, but doesn’t play well with Windows 10. Newer models do. Still a big fan of Toughbooks for their durability on board.

Camera equipment. Better underwater shots with an Olympus Tough: the GoPro is awesome for environmental shots, but fails on macro, and those are fun to take underwater. Above sea level, I traded in all my Nikon gear to migrate towards Sony’s mirrorless a7 series, and will always be drooling over lenses.

A dozen Luci lights. We have one and it’s fantastic: indulgent wish list version,- how cool would a strand of them be hung tiki-light style around the cockpit?!

IV. Just for kids

The genesis of this year’s list is a question fom one of our coaching clients. Less than a year from taking off cruising and looking for Christmas gift ideas for their four children, they had this assignment for our kids: “What is 1-2 things do they wished they had or have had on the boat, and what are their favorite 3 things/toys they cannot live without?” Simplifying slightly I asked our kids what things on the boat were most important to them. Turns out phrasing matters. Answer #1: friends. Their friend showed up a few minutes later; asked the same questions she looked at me as if to say “duh” and said – “My family, of course.” It took a lot of prompting to come up with Things You Put Under a Christmas tree. But we got there, and this is good!

Quality snorkeling gear: mask, snorkel, fins…also good rashguard and wetsuits. Shorties are great for extending in-water time! Many cruisers (and most boat kids) spend a lot of time in the water; get good stuff that won’t fall apart, it’s harder after you leave. The kids really like the masks they got from Divers Direct in Florida this year, and they’re very reasonably priced (holiday sale: $40?!).

Beach fun: boogie boards and beach bocce are our favorites.

Fishing kit. Get kids their own tackle box, handline, a net to grab stuff that goes overboard; even a Hawaiian sling spear if they can handle it.

Field guides. Not kid books, but GOOD field guides. Identification of underwater life was a big hit from the time we started cruising with littles. Region-specific matters, I believe: the Gottshall two-book set is amazing for Pacific Mexico; DeLoach guides rule for the Caribbean: one for Reef Fish, one for Coral, one for, well, everything else (Reef Creatures).

Scooters. Bikes are impractical; kids like wheels and folding scooters fit. Utility varies by cruising grounds (not a lot of roads in some oceanic regions!), but these are great get-around fun.

Arts & crafts. I’m not very crafty, so packaged kits like Klutz are perfect for me. Getting good materials will serve you later: these watercolors are richly pigmented and last a long time. Oragami, beading, or whatever! There are lists for this in Voyaging with Kids.

Chocolate. Yes this was on their list. Clearly these are my children.

Board games, cards. Our current favorite is Dread Pirate (thank you Sallianne and Doug!). Try cooperative games! Family Pastimes games got us started… Pandemic is the classic. This post about games cruisers play lists a number of other favorites on board.

Legos. Our lego days are over, but the kids know these are huge for the younger set.

Totem and Utopia, rafted up for Thanksgiving last week: because 1) better with friends and 2) drones rock!

Want more ideas?

Here are the Christmas gift posts from the last few years. They’re all aimed at cruisers, but each with a slightly different take:

Gifts that give a little more (2016). Focusing on sourcing gifts that contribute in some way to a greater good than just the Thing.

Gifts under $50 for sailors (2015). Keeping the costs contained! OK, there was one item over $50.

Gifts for cruisers (2014). Tried & true: fun, functional gifts that cruisers can use.

from Sailing Totem http://ift.tt/2hURhhS via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Sailing Totem

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wionews · 7 years

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Nawaz Sharif unseated by Supreme Court: Army notches up another victory in Pakistan

On Friday last, Nawaz Sharif, the third term prime minister of Pakistan, was ejected from office, by a landmark judgment of the country’s Supreme Court [SC]. With this development, Pakistan has burnished its notorious reputation of ousting all serving PMs in its 70 years of existence and reinforcing a palpable sense of déjà vu. Earlier Pakistani PMs were ousted by Governors-General, military coups or no-confidence motions in 1958 and 1977. The military dictator Zia-ul Huq even hanged a PM – Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The last elected PM before Sharif, Yousuf Raza Gilani, of the Pakistan People’s Party [PPP], was also ejected from office by the SC in 2012. Following the verdict, Sharif resigned as PM and the Cabinet also stood dissolved. It is not clear whether Sharif can appeal this decision.

No Pakistani PM has served a full 5-year term in office and Nawaz Sharif is the latest addition to this list.

Already marked out internationally as the global hub of terrorism, the judicial coup against Sharif, is another blow to Pakistan’s tattered image as a faltering democracy. During half of its existence, Pakistan has been under the jackboots of its powerful and imperious Army. No Pakistani PM has served a full 5-year term in office and Nawaz Sharif is the latest addition to this list. He has been on this list before. His earlier two stints in office were also rudely cut short, the last one in 1999, by General Pervez Musharaf’s military coup.

After months of hearings and investigation in the so-called “Panamagate” affair, the five-member SC bench delivered a unanimous verdict indicting Sharif and his close family members for corruption, His two sons and daughter have also been implicated. The SC’s verdict disqualified Sharif from holding the office of PM. The verdict is based on a technicality. The SC judged him to have violated Articles 62 and 63 of Pakistan’s Constitution. These two provisions require all MPs to be truthful and righteous, conditions introduced by past military dictators ostensibly to keep legislators on a leash and manipulate and blackmail them when needed.

The fact that the political class in Pakistan has a reputation for being highly corrupt has strengthened the hands of the Army which has projected itself as the final bastion of the State – defender of its security and ideology.

These two provisions have been a useful tool in hands of the powerful military establishment or the “deep state” to control politicians in Pakistan. The fact that the political class in Pakistan has a reputation for being highly corrupt has strengthened the hands of the Army which has projected itself as the final bastion of the State – defender of its security and ideology. The Army’s corrupt Generals and officers go scot free. The Core Commanders of the Army in Pakistan are derisively called “crore commanders” by the people of Pakistan. The Judiciary in Pakistan has mostly toed the Army’s line and has justified military coups on the dubious legal principle of “doctrine of necessity”.

The SC-appointed Joint Investigation Committee [JIT] in which 2 Brigadiers from the Military Intelligence and the ISI were inducted as members, produced a damning report, documenting corruption charges against Sharif, concealing facts, submitting forged documents, money laundering and illegal acquisition of properties abroad.

The SC has directed the National Accountability Court [NAC] to file criminal charges for money laundering and other related acts of criminality. If convicted by the NAC, the Sharifs will be banned for life from standing for election and holding political office. The SC has ordered cases to be filed against all of them within six weeks. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also been directed by the SC to de-notify the prime minister from his National Assembly seat to fulfil the technicalities of implementing the order. The SC directed the ECP to disqualify Sharif for not disclosing his role in the Dubai-based Capital FZE Company in his nomination papers, saying that this meant he was not 'honest' and 'truthful'. The SC-appointed Joint Investigation Committee [JIT] in which 2 Brigadiers from the Military Intelligence and the ISI were inducted as members, produced a damning report, documenting corruption charges against Sharif, concealing facts, submitting forged documents, money laundering and illegal acquisition of properties abroad.

The Panama papers had named many international leaders, businessmen and officials and Nawaz Sharif is the second victim, apart from the PM of Iceland. The latter resigned when the Panama papers were made public in 2015. Nawaz Sharif’s name did not figure in the Panama papers but names of both his sons and the daughter figured in the documents. His daughter Mariam is Sharif’s political heir. This is the third time that Nawaz Sharif has been rudely shoved aside from office. The last time he had to go into exile following a Saudi-brokered deal with dictator Musharraf. Sharif spent 10 years in exile in Saudi Arabia before returning to Pakistan.

The Army has used a more sophisticated method of toppling Sharif via a judicial coup. The old fashioned direct military coup is no longer on the menu.

Though expected, the SC decision has caused a political upheaval in Pakistan, a fragile democracy by any reckoning. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz [PML-N], Nawaz Sharif’s political party has a comfortable majority in Parliament. Hence, the PML-N will have to elect a new PM and have him/her confirmed by the Parliament. As long as the PML-N can decide on the new candidate the party’s majority in Parliament will ensure the confirmation of the PM-nominee.

The other option would be to call fresh elections, a demand that will be pressed by Opposition parties. New elections are not due till August 2018. Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz’s brother and CM of Punjab has been named to succeed PM. Shahbaz is far less charismatic than his brother but has been CM thrice of Pakistan’s most populous and influential Punjab province. Meanwhile, a close confidante and businessman, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a senior leader of the PML-N and former Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources, has been named as interim PM. Shehbaz has to be elected to the National Parliament before he can assume charge as PM. Abbasi is expected to keep the chair warm for him.

While the Army has denied any conspiracy, it does take a leap of imagination to absolve the military establishment and the “deep state” of culpability. Relations between Sharif and the Army nosedived after media leaks of a bruising meeting wherein civilian officials warned Army officials of Pakistan’s increasing global isolation because of the Army’s policies on using terrorism as an instrument of State policy. The tussle of control over foreign policy, particularly towards India and Afghanistan has continued for quite some time. Sharif’s inclination to normalise relations with India, his apparent friendship with PM Modi and criticism of the Army’s support for jihadi militants, must have upset the Army whose fundamental belief of eternal hostility towards India and use of jihadi proxies was being questioned.

This led to a long drawn out tussle with the Army extracting its pound of flesh in the form of the sacking of officials involved in the media leak. Singed by the media leaks, the Army, in all probability, crossed the Rubicon and decided to bring down Sharif. The Army has used a more sophisticated method of toppling Sharif via a judicial coup. The old fashioned direct military coup is no longer on the menu. The Sharif family has no doubt acquired massive wealth and is perhaps not innocent of some of the charges. The case against them, however, is far from proven. Hence, the lingering suspicion that Sharif’s ouster was a well-organised conspiracy by the Army.

Instability in Pakistan and the Army’s overpowering role in politics, policy making and support to jihadi terrorism have severely damaged relations with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India and caused a huge setback to regional cooperation efforts in SAARC.

The Sharif episode is part of a long political saga and is a cause for concern for all. Instability in Pakistan and the Army’s overpowering role in politics, policy making and support to jihadi terrorism have severely damaged relations with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India and caused a huge setback to regional cooperation efforts in SAARC. As history repeats itself in Pakistan, India can only wait and watch this domestic power struggle play out with the Army again.

One fallout in India has been demands for transparency in investigation into the 500 odd Indian names, including those of many BJP-friendly famous personalities who were named in the Panama papers. Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has to defend the Indian government’s stand on this issue in the media. In so far as terrorism is concerned, India can expect no change. Even as the Pakistan Opposition parties like the PPP and cricketer-turned-politician or Imran Khan’s PTI celebrate Sharif’s fall, Opposition leaders too have skeletons in their cupboard and could meet the same fate as Sharif. Pakistan is caught in a bind with no escape route from the binary Civilian-Military struggle for power.

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ultrasfcb-blog · 6 years

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World Cup 2018: Frank Lampard column on England v Tunisia

Tunisia v England (19:00 BST on Monday, 18 June)

Learn how to observe:

Watch stay on BBC One and the BBC Sport web site, pay attention on BBC Radio 5 stay

I’m assured England will beat Tunisia as a result of we have now obtained higher particular person gamers and, as a group, we have now regarded good in our current friendlies.

However I do not assume we must always underestimate them and it is going to be a troublesome recreation – the opening match of the World Cup isn’t simple and it’s even tougher as a result of we’re anticipated to beat them.

On this state of affairs, should you go right into a recreation considering that as a participant, then it may well have an effect on you negatively if issues don’t go as deliberate – if, say, after 20 minutes you aren’t having the form of dominance that you simply thought you’d.

That’s whenever you want a cool head and that’s the place a few of the gamers who’ve been in that scenario earlier than will be capable to assist, and guarantee no-one panics.

For lots of this squad, although, it isn’t simply the primary recreation of this match, it’s their first recreation of any World Cup.

It’s going to really feel big for the brand new boys within the England group and I do know from my very own expertise that proper now they’ll positively be nervous.

There isn’t any different match in soccer that, as I obtained near it, made me really feel the best way a World Cup did.

World Cup 2018: England squad arrive in Russia

I keep in mind my nerves intensifying as we obtained nearer to the beginning of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with the journey over there, the build-up of followers, and fulfilling all our media commitments on prime of the strain of ready for the match to begin.

However being nervous just isn’t essentially a nasty factor. My finest match for England was Euro 2004, which was additionally my first main finals.

I fed off that pleasure within the days earlier than it began and I most likely had the fearlessness of youth.

It was all new and thrilling for me so I want to assume loads of our youthful gamers can do the identical and use the stress to get pumped up and produce their finest.

‘The night time earlier than – when your nerves are worst’

The night time earlier than the primary recreation is when your nerves are worst. The England employees might be placing on some actions for the gamers to attempt to preserve them busy, however I used to be by no means one for that form of factor.

While you get into that 24-hour interval earlier than a match, you are inclined to have your personal routine – I attempted to stay intently to the one I had week-in, week-out at Chelsea.

A very powerful factor at that time might be to not over-think issues as a result of by then the work is completed – the health work and the tactical work is all there, and it’s nearly getting your self in the correct way of thinking.

Alan Shearer: World Cup is a life-changing alternative

Issues are by no means fairly the identical, although. Earlier than our first recreation of the 2014 World Cup in opposition to Italy, I keep in mind a few hundred followers had been exterior singing England songs whereas I used to be having a therapeutic massage.

That modifications the entire facet of your considering, however not in a adverse approach. I felt proud, and really patriotic that folks had come all that solution to Brazil.

Quite a bit is claimed about our followers however, in my expertise as a participant at main tournaments, they’ve at all times been incredible.

No matter occurs to England in Russia over the following few weeks, they’ll get nothing however help from our supporters who’re out right here.

The ways England must beat Tunisia

Frank Lampard’s England XI to face Tunisia

England should discover a approach by way of Tunisia’s defensive block to begin their World Cup with a win, and Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard could have a key function in making that occur.

I’m anticipating Tunisia’s ways in Volgograd on Monday to be the identical as of their pleasant in opposition to Spain final week, once they solely misplaced 1-Zero to a late purpose.

They may have 10 males behind the ball, in a 4-5-1 form, and England’s job is to search out an attacking formation that may break them down.

I believe Gareth Southgate will go together with the identical strategy he did in opposition to Nigeria at first of June, when he used Alli and Lingard as attacking midfield gamers, versus second strikers.

They may each be additional ahead than Jordan Henderson – who I believe will get the nod within the function that Gareth calls the one pivot, or deeper midfielder – and they are going to be barely behind Raheem Sterling.

Eric Dier would most likely give the group extra stability in midfield however Henderson provides a bit extra drive from that place, which England will certainly want on this recreation.

I may have gone down unsuitable life path – Sterling

We’re going to dominate possession so, up entrance, Harry Kane must be a goal man who stays up there and pushes the Tunisia defence way back to he can to go away some house for Sterling, who’s prone to begin forward of Marcus Rashford.

Alli and Lingard even have to remain excessive as a result of, with three central defenders and Henderson within the group, they won’t want to come back again and get the ball in their very own half an excessive amount of.

To make their function work, they’ll have to be cellular and discover house in between Tunisia’s strains, staying on the transfer to make angles so individuals behind them can play the ball by way of to them as shortly as doable.

That’s one thing that England have struggled with previously, as a result of we have now not regarded for the ahead cross. That has to vary.

If we are able to discover Alli and Lingard in some good attacking areas, they’re each very intelligent gamers with nice consciousness, and so they can harm Tunisia from there.

‘A pleasant stability’ – why the Alli-Lingard pairing works

Alli and Lingard have one other accountability too, which is to run past Kane and Sterling. For each of them, it’s a large a part of their pure recreation, though they’re barely totally different in the best way that they do it.

Alli has obtained that actual directness along with his motion into the field, with these angled runs of his that I really like seeing him do for Tottenham.

He won’t be capable to try this a lot from this barely deeper function, however he will certainly get some alternatives in opposition to Tunisia, and Panama too.

Shearer and Jenas choose their England XI

Lingard performs extra off his intelligence, along with his runs into the field after laying the ball off.

He can transfer the ball after making one or two touches and I really like the best way he generally simply pops it off and immediately will get into good positions.

There’s a good stability between them as a pairing – the one drawback for them will come as England go additional into the match.

In opposition to stronger sides, they must tackle the extra disciplined facet of the function, which is able to discover them having to do much more work additional again, however that’s not a problem in these first two matches.

Frank Lampard was chatting with BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan in Moscow.

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investmart007 · 6 years

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MOSCOW | The Latest: Coach Loew concedes Germany looked nervous

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/eQa69w

MOSCOW | The Latest: Coach Loew concedes Germany looked nervous

MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Sunday at the World Cup (all times local): 9:30 p.m.

Germany didn’t play the way it usually plays. Coach Joachim Loew isn’t sure why.

MOSCOW, Mexico’s skillful, World Cup champion, No German team , offered a guarantee, the group stage, daunting enough, captain Marcelo

Stymied by Mexico’s skillful forwards and speedy counterattacks, the defending World Cup champion played a sloppy first half, failed to take its chances and ultimately conceded a goal that held up in Mexico’s 1-0 victory.

Loew says “We looked nervous and we were not able to play the way we wanted to play. We will have to analyze why that was the case.”

Germany is now in an unfamiliar position. No German team had lost a World Cup opener since 1982. In the four previous World Cups, Germany won its opening matches by a combined score of 20-2.

For a defending World Cup champion, however, the position is more familiar. Three of the past four have failed to make it out of the group stage.

Reminded of that statistic, Loew offered a guarantee.

“We will not suffer that fate,” he said. “We will make it to the next round.” ____ 9:22 p.m.

Philippe Coutinho has scored for Brazil in the 20th minute, firing the ball past Yann Sommer after the Swiss goalkeeper failed to stop a push forward from Neymar and captain Marcelo. The Barcelona midfielder sent his powerful strike curling into the top right corner of the Swiss goal. ___

8:37 p.m.

It’s daunting enough for a smaller country with less of a track record to take on a team like England. But Tunisia’s taking pressure to another level.

Coach Nabil Maaloul has said ahead of Monday’s opening match against England that his team is carrying not only the hopes of 12 million Tunisians but also those of Africa as a whole and of the Arab world.

African teams have made a disappointing start to the World Cup.

Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria have lost their first matches. Senegal plays Poland on Tuesday.

On the other hand, Maaloul said England players are having to contend with higher expectations. That’s why he expects the match in Volgograd to be tight.

— Associated Press writer Pan Pylas reported from Volgograd. ___ 8:20 p.m.

Cheers erupted across Mexico as the national team bested Germany in its first match of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament.

Police have encircled the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City in anticipation of throngs of fans who traditionally flock there to celebrate big soccer wins. Immediately after the game, some danced in front of the monument. Drivers honked horns and exuberant families ran through the streets waving the Mexican flag and twirling green jerseys in the air.

Mexico beat Germany 1-0, with Hirving Lozano scoring the winning goal. It was the 22-year-old winger’s first World Cup goal. ___ 8:08 p.m.

Brazil coach Tite has stuck to Neymar and core players who have performed well in recent matches. Neymar and Willian will be flanking Gabriel Jesus in attack to kick off the five-time champions’ campaign in Russia.

As expected, Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic fielded a defensive side with Haris Seferovic as the lone striker, and formation that can provide a two-line defense in front of goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Lineups:

Brazil: Alisson, Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marcelo, Casemiro, Paulinho, Philippe Coutinho, Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar.

Switzerland: Yann Sommer, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Fabian Schaer, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami, Xherdan Shaqiri, Blerim Dzemaili, Steven Zuber, Haris Seferovic. ___ 7:51 p.m.

Mexico has upset Germany 1-0 in their opening World Cup game, leaving the defending champions with a tougher task to qualify for the knockout stages.

In his World Cup debut, Hirving Lozano scored Mexico’s winning goal in the 35th minute, picking up Javier Hernandez’s pass inside the penalty area and dodging Mesut Ozil before firing past Manuel Neuer from 10 yards.

After Lozano’s goal, Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa pulled off a spectacular save to keep the score level, palming Toni Kroos’ shot onto the crossbar.

Mexico pulled back into a more defensive formation midway through the second half as key players tired and had to withstand heavy pressure from Germany.

Germany is bidding to become the first team to retain the World Cup title since Brazil in 1962. It hadn’t lost an opening game since 1982. ___ 7:35 p.m.

Rafa Marquez has gone on as a second-half substitute for Mexico to become just the third man to play in five World Cups.

The 39-year-old Marquez entered the game in the 72nd minute with Mexico leading defending champion Germany 1-0. He joins fellow Mexican Antonio Carbajal and Germany’s Lothar Matthaus in the elite group.

He played four matches in each World Cup as Mexico was eliminated in the round of 16 each time. ____ 7:15 p.m.

A Colombia fan cycled alone for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) across seven European countries to reach Russia to watch his national team play in the World Cup. The 43-year-old Daniel Quiroga initially was going to make the journey with a brother and a friend, but the other two backed out of the adventure.

Four years ago, Quiroga rode from Colombia to Brazil to the 2014 World Cup with the pair, but was on a motorcycle for that journey.

After the tournament ended, he set a harder challenge for Russia and chose a bicycle.

He started out in Portugal and went through Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia before making it to Russia.

He wore a Colombia jersey signed by members of his family and says, with a laugh, that “those signatures gave me even more energy.” ___ 6:55 p.m.

Mexican fans have chanted a homophobic slur at Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer during the World Cup game in Moscow.

FIFA has repeatedly fined the Mexican football federation over the chant. It rang out at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium in the 24th minute of Mexico’s game against Germany on Sunday with the score at 0-0.

Fans in Mexico use the chant to insult opposing goalkeepers as they take a goal kick. Widely considered a slur, some argue there is no discriminatory intent.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport canceled two fines against Mexico in November, ruling the chant was “insulting” but not meant to offend, though it left other fines in force. ___ 6:45 p.m.

Germany is in an unfamiliar position for a World Cup opener — trailing at halftime.

Hirving Lozano scored from 14 yards out in the 35th minute to give Mexico a 1-0 lead in Moscow. He took a pass from Javier Hernandez and wrong-footed Mesut Ozil to score his eighth international goal.

Both sides put pressure on the goalkeepers in a high-energy first half at Luzhniki Stadium. Germany had five shots on goal to Mexico’s four. German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer stopped a header just short of the goal line.

Germany has won its last seven World Cup openers, outscoring opponents 20-2 in its last four. ____ 6:40 p.m.

Hirving Lozano has wrong-footed Germany’s Mesut Ozil and scored from about 14 yards out to give Mexico a 1-0 lead over the defending World Cup champions.

Lozano took a pass from Javier Hernandez and got around Ozil and had a clear path to the net in the 35th minute. It was his eighth international goal.

Both teams had several chances before the opening goal. German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved a header, and Germany later had two shots on goal in a 3-minute span.

Germany trailed only once in the last World Cup, 2-1 to Ghana, and has outscored opponents 20-2 in its past four World Cup openers. ___ 6:10 p.m.

Panama coach Hernan Dario Gomez is not in the business of sugarcoating the truth ahead of his team’s historic World Cup debut.

He admits Panama has trouble scoring and says it will need a good day to have any chance against Belgium on Monday.

The blunt and honest Gomez doesn’t even hide his starting lineup, the normal procedure for coaches these days — even those trying to keep expectations minimal.

Asked if Panama could match Iceland’s draw with Argentina, he didn’t bother picking the right words. He says this Argentina “is not at the same level as Belgium right now.”

— AP Sports Writer Tim Booth reported from Sochi. ___ 5:50 p.m.

Belgium will keep defender Vincent Kompany on the 23-man roster for the World Cup even though it’s likely to be later in the group stage before the veteran sees the field.

Coach Roberto Martinez said Sunday he would not be making any roster changes. Kompany suffered a groin injury in a friendly against Portugal earlier this month and the Red Devils added Laurent Ciman to their camp as a precaution. Ciman was sent back to Brussels on Saturday to await final word on Kompany’s status.

Martinez says there is a stronger chance now of Kompany now appearing in the group stage and that his experience is important to have around the squad. ___ 4:55 p.m.

Aleksandar Kolarov’s curling free kick in the 56th minute has helped Serbia to a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in its World Cup opener.

Serbia, which missed out on the 2014 World Cup, had the early advantage in a tough group in Russia that includes five-time champion Brazil and Switzerland, who were set to play later Sunday in Rostov-on-Don.

After a scoreless first half, Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas withstood a barrage of Serbian challenges to open the second with the boisterous Costa Rican fans cheering him on at Samara Arena.

But after David Guzman was handed a yellow card, Kolarov curled the free kick over the wall and Navas, who plays for Real Madrid, was not able to reach it.

____ 4:35 p.m.

South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong has warned his players about the new replay system being used for the first time in the World Cup.

He’s telling them that the video assistant referee can’t be tricked.

Shin says “the players are aware of this. We are training the players.

There are 32 cameras that are targeting the pitch. So you might be able to fool the referee, but you cannot fool the cameras. The players know this, and that is something we have emphasized.”

Shin is famous for using some trickery in his tactics. But he says his players have been schooled about the new system, which will detect a dive or a faked contact with another player.

He says “the VAR has really come to the forefront and it’s become an important part of the game.” ___ 4:15 p.m.

Captain Aleksandar Kolarov has given Serbia a 1-0 lead against Costa Rica. His free kick curled over the wall and diving Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas wasn’t able to reach it before it sailed into the upper right corner in the 56th minute. The free kick came after a yellow card on Costa Rica’s David Guzman. ___ 3:48 p.m.

The opening half between Costa Rica and Serbia was back and forth, right from the start: Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header was off in the opening minute and moments later Marco Urena’s angled shot for Costa Rica was saved in the left corner by Vladimir Stojkovic.

Following a corner kick, David Guzman popped the ball to Giancarlo Gonzalez but his header sailed over the net in the 12th minute.

Branislav Ivanovic’s cross was knocked out of the box by Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas three minutes later.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic challenged Navas in the 27th from just outside the box, but Navas fell on the ball.

Urena’s right-foot strike from outside the box in the 39th went over the bar. A short time later Calvo’s chance was wide, and Stojkovic gestured for his side to calm down.

Milinkovic-Savic’s bicycle kick from in front of goal was ruled offside in the 42nd. ____ 3:15 p.m.

Sweden coach Janne Andersson says one of his staff got into a closed South Korea training session and was asked to leave, leading to a squabble between the teams over spying ahead of their World Cup game on Monday.

Andersson says the staffer, who is entrusted with scouting the opposition, thought the practice session at South Korea’s pre-World Cup training camp in Austria was open. Andersson says the coach left when asked and “watched from more of a distance.”

The incident has created a frosty atmosphere between the teams ahead of their game in Nizhny Novgorod.

Andersson says his team analyzes all opponents and the incident has been overblown, but adds “it’s very important that we show respect for opponents … If it has been perceived in another way, we apologize.” ___ 2:40 p.m.

Veteran defender Branislav Ivanovic is set to become Serbia’s most capped international player when he starts against Costa Rica in the World Cup. It will be his 104th international appearance and Serbia’s first at the World Cup in eight years.

The former Chelsea star surpassed Dejan Stankovic, known as “Deki,” who played 103 games for the national team from 1998-2013, through three different eras: Yugoslavia, Serbia-Montenegro and finally Serbia.

Johan Venegas, Francisco Calvo and David Guzman will be making their World Cup debuts for Costa Rica. The rest of the Costa Rica starting lineup was involved in Brazil in 2014, when the team lost a quarterfinal match to Netherlands on penalties. ____ 2:20 p.m.

Midfielder Alan Dzagoev has ruled himself out of Russia’s two remaining World Cup group games because of injury.

Dzagoev hurt his left hamstring during Russia’s opening 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia and tells Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency he’s in pain when walking and will only resume light training Monday.

Dzagoev says “there’s nothing good about the biggest tournament going on without you. I hope I can still play. I hope to God that we make the knockout stages and maybe I’ll be able to play.”

Dzagoev has played 58 times for Russia and was expected to be a key player for the host nation at the World Cup. ___ 12:45 p.m.

Diego Maradona has given his version of an exchange with an Asian fan that witnesses perceived as racist.

British television staff working in Spartak Stadium in Moscow during Argentina’s 1-1 draw with Iceland on Saturday reported seeing Maradona respond to South Korea fans calling his name.

On Twitter, BBC presenter Jacqui Oatley posted that Maradona “obliged with a smile, kiss and wave. Then pulled his eyes to the side in a clearly racist gesture.”

In a Facebook message early Sunday, the Argentina great says he saw “an Asian boy wearing an Argentina T-shirt.”

He adds: “I, from afar, tried to tell them how nice it seemed to me that even the Asians cheer for us. And that’s all, guys, come on.”

FIFA statutes prohibit acts of discrimination by teams, officials and fans at games it organizes.

In a response to The Associated Press, FIFA refers to its anti-discrimination rules without commenting on the incident.

Maradona also apologizes for smoking a cigar in the VIP seats, despite a FIFA ban on smoking at World Cup stadiums. ___ 12:20 p.m.

Moscow police are investigating a taxi crash that injured eight people, including two Mexican World Cup fans, when the driver plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk near Red Square.

Video circulating on Russian social media and some news websites showed the taxi veering onto the sidewalk Saturday and striking pedestrians. The source of the video was unclear.

City police released a video Sunday of an interrogation session with a man identified as the Kyrgyz taxi driver, in which he says he briefly fell asleep at the wheel in the crash and accidentally accelerated. It was unclear whether the man spoke under duress.

The man says he hadn’t slept in 20 hours, and ran away after the accident because he was afraid that angry bystanders would kill him. He was later detained.

Moscow police would not comment Sunday on whether the crash would affect security measures for the World Cup, which is being held in 11 Russian cities over the next month. Among the security concerns has been the possible use of vehicles as weapons.

The Mexican Embassy told The Associated Press that the two injured female fans met with embassy representatives and were not hospitalized. The Mexican national soccer teams plays against Germany on Sunday in Moscow.

By Associated Press

#captain Marcelo #daunting enough #Mexico's skillful #Moscow #No German team #offered a guarantee #the group stage #TodayNews #World Cup champion

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savaces · 8 years

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Halloween Songs For Children

Here's the woods close to some deserted practice tracks where art faculty kids dangle up weird effigies to set the mood. Moreover this creepy pumpkin design, Makoodle also has some free Halloween bingo cards you possibly can download in a spider net or skull design. This Halloween playlist would not be full without Monster Mash.” Originally released by Bobby Borris” Pickett in 1962, horror punk legends the Misfits (minus Danzig) recorded a cover in 1997, with bassist Jerry Only performing the lead vocals. We have plenty of concepts and sources right here to help you make Halloween with your young learners enjoyable and academic. Amsterdam Spook presents its fifteenth annual Halloween costume social gathering on Saturday, October 31 on the Panama nightclub. The Shaggs' description is much less scary than the Misfits' description, although, and even means that it might be enjoyable.” Not particularly scary. You'll discover all of the creepy, spooky, and awesome songs to make All Hallow's Eve simply depraved. But in the event you're lacking the spooky soundtrack, your evening will likely be a bit, nicely, lifeless. In all cases, we've got one of the best Halloween playlist for all of your sexy cops, superheroes and bloody zombies. So don your witch's hat or pop in your vampire fangs and queue up the 14 songs under. In a few of his performances, together with the one depicted in the video above, he would use macabre props throughout performances, main some to argue that he was an early pioneer of shock rock.” He released I Put A Spell On You” in 1956 and the track shortly turned probably the most essential rock and roll songs of the period. Given the maintain they'll have over our imaginations, it's hardly surprising many poets have drawn on nursery rhymes as a source of inspiration. Dress up a couple of empty tin cans as Halloween characters and you have an excellent knock ‘em down game. A kind of songs everybody will know the phrases to without actually knowing how or why. These Nursery Rhymes for children have been handed down through the years and due to the quick nature of the verse can easily be remembered by most youngsters from a very early age. Halloween is basically a big excuse to decorate up and act like a freak in public. The theme for the legendary Exorcist, widely thought-about to be the scariest movie of all time, no words are needed to ship shivers up the spines of even the hardest of men. With the recent loss of the King of Pop I might be a traitor if I failed to mention this song. These spooky glowing ghost faces seen on Love This Pic are so easy to make, simply using balloons, glow sticks and a black marker! Essentially the most-downloaded Halloween track of all-time ought to be a staple in your scary soundtrack. This one is not so much for 2-steppers as those that like to swing their air guitar a la Sir Cliff, but nonetheless it is a Halloween favorite. That is proper, he did the Monster Mash, and having Bobby Borris” Pickett's huge Halloween hit on your playlist this weekend will virtually definitely go down as a graveyard smash. An all-time rock basic, this features the extensive use of cowbell - a late percussive addition steered by producer David Lucas after the monitor was thought finished. Here is our list of three common songs to play at a Halloween get together that fit proper into the temper. To capitalize on my boys' love of Halloween (and holidays normally), our mommy school activities this month are going to have rather a lot to do with pumpkins, scarecrows, owls, and foolish monsters. The first is a recording which you can simply listen to, whereas the second is a video that you may watch and see the ESL occasion vocabulary flashcards similtaneously hearing the correct pronunciation. My kindergartner LOVES this e-book filled with acquainted nursery rhymes and utterly intriguing new artwork. They're maybe finest recognized for their version of The Hearse Tune”; a a long time-old, morbid kids's tune that audiences would possibly know from its inclusion in Scary Stories to Tell in the Darkish. Halloween is arguably one of the vital enjoyable holidays of the yr, and but, so http://frozen.disney.com.au/sing-along-songs few appear conscious of the unbelievable plethora of Halloween music. Rockwell had been generally unknown earlier than this massive hit propelled them to #2 within the US pop charts. These songs are the type that get embedded in a younger thoughts for an entire lifetime. For Halloween it has a very thrilling sound to it. Once you listen to The Flight of the Bumblebee ” envision ghosts flying all over or goblins scurrying about. It's A Hip Hop Halloween Evening is a family-friendly Halloween track for party monsters of all ages! Other songs I prefer to sing this time of year include Tamlin and a fun tune I learned from Ian Robb called the Guy Fawkes Tune. Halloween was influenced by the ancient Roman competition Pomona, which celebrated the harvest goddess of the identical name. Because Spotify has a seemingly unlimited provide of Halloween playlists to choose from. Launched just earlier than A Nightmare on Elm Avenue four: The Dream Grasp in August 1988, and hitting the Scorching a hundred's top 20 that October — but under no circumstances affiliated with the brand new movie's soundtrack — the duo were ultimately sued by New Line Cinema for copyright infringement. You may print 8 Halloween bingo playing cards at Child Scraps and they are in an amazing 5X5 size that would be excellent for older children. There's a performance of The Workhouse Boy by Grendel's Bane on YouTube with the lyrics on the page and it is nicely creepy. Assembled earlier than you is a nightmarish checklist of hip-hop songs that could make Michael Myers choke on candy corn and even give Freddy Krueger nightmares. It has two very essential issues needed for a great Halloween jam: monsters and a dance suggestion. As a comply with-as much as last yr's Halloween top 10 , listed below are the 25 Prime Halloween Songs. Here is a good printable record of Halloween words There's a collection of fingers-on activities to do with kids and use the phrases and links to Spanish Halloween printable games too. Another iTunes youngsters's artist that I would recommend for Halloween is NOOSHI. I used to listen to this all the time once I was little, even when it wasn't Halloween. Though the film is before your little dancers' time, this groovy Halloween dance tune remains to be a dance transfer starter at the moment!

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