The latest details on Tiger Woods’ arrest paint a scary picture for the golf superstar.
Woods was arrested early Monday morning on suspicion of DUI in Southern Florida. Woods released a statement later Monday in which he apologized for the incident while also claiming he hadn’t been drinking.
Details of the police report might reinforce Woods’ claims, although it sounds like the former world No. 1 was in absolutely no shape to be driving a vehicle.
According to the arrest report (can be seen below), Woods was asleep in his car when police found him. The car was still running and the right blinker was flashing, while the police reports say Woods “had extremely slow and slurred speech” once the cops spoke with him. Woods claimed he was returning from California where he was golfing and asked how far he was from his home, although he was stopped driving away from his home.
Woods’ story to the police reportedly changed, and he didn’t know where he was. He also failed the field sobriety test. However, according to the report, Woods took a breathalyzer test at the testing facility and blew zeros.


The Alabama man authorities said they have concluded strangled Denise A. Comeau to death in 1992 is also a suspect in the 1993 death of Vicki J. Lehtinen, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said today.
James Earl Johnson, who died in Alabama in 2008, was identified as the man responsible for the December 1992 murder of Ms. Comeau. The DNA also linked Mr. Johnson to two rapes in 1993 and 1995. The confirmation came Monday.
On Dec. 11, 1992, Worcester firefighters who went at 12:50 a.m. to a fire at 141 Austin St. found the body of a woman inside the boarded-up house. Ms. Comeau's body was so badly burned that she could not be immediately identified. Authorities learned she had been strangled.
That man, Mr. Early said, was Mr. Johnson.
City detectives headed to Alabama in October to recover DNA from James Earl Johnson, a man who had died at the age of 61 while living in Alabama. Authorities said he lived in the city for 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s and died in 2008.


Shirley Mae Fulton, 80, of Harmony Twp., died Wednesday, April 18, 2012, in Good Samaritan Hospice, Wexford.
Born August, 19, 1931, in Ambridge, to the late William and Isabelle Webb Fulton, she was a member of Grace Church (Anglican) Sewickley. She was a receptionist for the financial department of the H.H. Robertson Company, Ambridge.
Surviving are two nieces, Heather Fulton Sportato and Amy Fulton; a great-niece, Mara Sportato, and a great-nephew, Anthony Sportato.
Friends will be received today, April 20, 2012, from 4 to 8 p.m. in the GABAUER-MATTER FUNERAL HOME, www.gabauermatterfuneralhome.com, 1133 Church Street, Ambridge, PA 15003. A funeral service will be conducted at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the Grace Church (Anglican), 325 Church Lane, Sewickley, PA 15143 with Rev. John Porter officiating. Everyone is asked to please meet at church.
Private interment will follow in Sylvania Hills Memorial Park, Daugherty Twp.
If you so desire, contributions may be made to the Laughlin Memorial Library, 99 11th Street, Ambridge, PA 15003 or to Good Samaritan Hospice, 146 Neely School Road, Wexford, PA 15090.


Northern Lebanon wrestlers too much for Annville-Cleona.
Northern Lebanon had more goals in mind than just a victory in its Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 wrestling match against Annville-Cleona Wednesday night.
ANNVILLE – Northern Lebanon had more goals in mind than just a victory in its Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 wrestling match against Annville-Cleona Wednesday night.
The Vikings were also looking to get some of their younger wrestlers experience, so they could be ready when called upon in postseason matches.
In the end, Northern Lebanon got all it wanted in a 62-9 win over the Dutchmen, a victory in which three Vikings had their first varsity bouts.
Kai Whitman and Nick Goodyear won their first varsity matches, both by pin. Whitman won the 160 bout in 5:52 over Evan Heilman, and Goodyear won the 285 bout in 1:00 over Daniel Davies.
Another Viking, Keaton Bender, made his debut as well. However, at 126, Adriel Merjudio defeated him 4-3.
A-C won only one other bout, when Zach Renninger pinned Chase Bressler at 5:38 in the 145 weight class. But the Dutchmen's head coach was looking more at effort than the score against the 2017 team state finalist.
Brandon Breidegan opened the match with a pin in 1:03 over Gavin Knox in the 106 bout. That was the first of six pins for the Vikings (4-0, 4-0). In addition to the falls by Whitman and Goodyear, there were: Blaise Bressler's pin over Daniel Tobias at 1:21 of the 170 bout, Luis Negerios' pin over Dion Lopez at 2:56 of the 195 bout, and Cole Messimer's pin over Ben Barnhart at :38 of the 220 bout.
Northern Lebanon also had two technical falls. Stephen Herb won a 20-5 score in 5:36 against Tyler Speraw at 152. At 182, Ethan Herb posted an 18-1 victory over Caleb Turner after 2:58 of grappling.
Three more Vikings won by decision. Kyler Anspach won 7-4 over Matt Inman at 113. Colin Leonard took a major decision over Hayden Funck 18-5 at 132. At 138, Nicolas Winter defeated Michael Moran 12-6.
At 120, Seth Fischer won by forfeit for Northern Lebanon.
Though it turned into an easy win on the scoreboard, Wallace said that his squad was not quite up to its own expectations after the New Year's break.
Wallace will likely have the Vikings back in regular-season, non-holiday shape when they wrestle their next match, at unbeaten Pequea Valley next Monday.
113: Kyler Anspach NL d Matt Inman 7-4.
120: Seth Fischer NL won by forfeit.
126: Adriel Merjudio AC d Keaton Bender 4-3.
132: Colin Leonard NL md Hayden Funck 18-5.
138: Nicolas Winter NL d Michael Moran 12-6.
145: Zach Renninger AC p Chase Bressler 5:38.
152: Stephen Herb NL tf Tyler Speraw 20-5, 5:36.
160: Kai Whitman NL p Evan Heilman 5:52.
170: Blaise Bressler NL p Daniel Tobais 1:21.
182: Ethan Herb NL tf Caleb Turner 18-1, 2:58.
195: Luis Negerios NL p Dion Lopez 2:56.
285: Nick Goodyear NL p Daniel Davies 1:00.


Discover new homes for sale at McQueen Landing, Lennar’s latest community in the prime Gilbert location on McQueen and Guadalupe.. Discover five floorplans ranging from approximately 1,927 to 2,267 square feet of living space including three to four bedrooms, two and one-half to three and one-half bathrooms and two-car garages. Homes feature a brand-new cutting edge two-story home design boasting spacious Great Rooms with expansive owner's suites, granite or quartz kitchen islands and covered patios.
This prime location is just two miles away from Old Town Gilbert with plenty of shopping, entertainment and nightlife, as well as in close proximity to the US 60. McQueen Landing is situated within the boundaries of the award-winning Gilbert Public School district.


Not even taking into consideration that wonderful kid that keeps staring back at you in the mirror, it's getting a little ugly. Though October has only been with us for five trading sessions, the Nasdaq Composite now stands down 3.2% month to date. The Russell 2000? -3.8%. Yes, after Thursday and Friday, both the Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 are down for the month, as well.
Especially badly beaten last week were the Consumer Discretionary stocks, with the focus on multi-line retailers. Although this group did seem to rescue itself over the past couple of quarters, but now it seems to be the next group to sputter -- after housing, the autos, the airlines... You did notice last week's numbers released by Reis showing mall vacancies at their highest level since 2011, and mall rents in decline, right?
Do we even get started talking about Information Technology? You may have noticed the Technology Select SPDR ETF (XLK) close below it's 50-day simple moving average on Friday, but did you happen to notice where the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) went? That one made short work of both the 50-day and 200-day SMA, closing the week well below both of them. Ugly is the word, but does it get even worse? Let's explore.
Not only has the Fed Chair sounded hawkish, he seems quite comfortable with it. Markets are finding this a bit scary, so they let a little air out the tires on the long end of the Treasury curve, not to mention equity markets. In fact, according to some JP Morgan research already making the rounds this morning, Chair Powell's post-FOMC announcement press conferences alone have cost U.S. equity markets up to $1.5 trillion in aggregate value.
You already know, if you read me, that I have been openly pleading with the Fed to cool it for a month or two, while markets adjust to the impact of removing $50 billion worth of potential liquidity from the economy each and every month.
That increased level of quantitative tightening starts right now. The number is comprised of $30 billion worth of Treasury holdings, and $20 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities -- and it's not quietly running in the background. S&P 500 forward-looking valuations have fallen from 18.3x earlier this year all the way down to the 16.9x -- where they stood this weekend, according to Yardeni Research.
This rather sharp reduction in forward-looking valuations, which brought today's valuations nearly in line with their longer-term averages, has been camouflaged by outstanding macroeconomic performance, stand-out earnings growth, and a scarcity of available shares brought about through corporate repurchase programs.
I have told you that over the last quarter of the year that I will be using rallies to enlarge my cash position. I am not running for the hills, and like some more famous traders, I reserve the right to change my mind on a whim, but that's how I am thinking right now -- unless this Fed Chair shows me that he "gets it."
You do realize that the whole decade or so that central banks were easing policy, that equity and debt performed well side by side, right. So, what did you think would happen?
As China came back from the "Golden Week" holiday, the PBOC announced that it would reduce the Reserve Requirement Rate (RRR), or simply the amount of reserves that commercial banks are required to hold, by 1%, starting on October 15. This supposedly will free up 1.2 trillion yuan, or close to $175 billion, in U.S. currency. This had the effect of weakening the yuan versus the U.S. dollar, and is intended to stimulate the sagging Chinese economy.
For those keeping score, this is the fourth such cut made by China's central bank this year. In response to these moves, traders in Shanghai sold Chinese equities aggressively. At last glance, the Shanghai Composite was off more than 3.7% response.
Then there is Italy. No doubt in my mind that some of the selloff at the long end of the curve in the U.S. last week was based on a perception that Italy would avoid crisis. This morning, yields on Italian sovereign debt have once again spiked, with that nation's ten-year now giving up more than at any point in the last four years.
Don't forget the ECB's plan to wind down their quantitative easing program is still slated to reach the zero bound by the end of the year. On top of that, the ECB's re-investment plan, at this time is slated to focus on higher-quality sovereign debt -- such as German debt -- over that provided by more-troubled economies. I have my doubts about this plan running smoothly. U.S. bond markets are closed today for the bank holiday.
I would imagine that some of this safe-haven value might find it's way back into those markets if Europe is not on board with the latest version of the Italian budget. That would make pushing upward on short-term U.S. rates that much more dangerous. You kids at the FOMC getting this? Hello. Is this thing on?
In recent days, I have been asked two questions by retail investors that I thought I should address. The first one was simple. I was asked why I have not written about any airlines in recent memory. The answer here is simple. I mostly write about trades that I am implementing myself, or at least considering, but may not have room on my book without moving other items around. I have just not been crazy about the airlines in a good while. While I have not recently held shares of any airline specifically, and have geared my Transports allocation toward the rails this year, I always maintain a long position in the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN) as one of my core positions as a mild hedge, just in case my other choices in this space backfire.
Fortunately, as commodity prices, rise -- and more specifically , as oil prices rise -- what is seen as higher overhead for an airline is also seen as more highly valued cargo, and in a growing economy... there is greater demand for such cargo. This is a tailwind for the rails, for the truckers and for maritime shippers.
What I am trying to demonstrate here is the performance of the Dow Transports in aggregate versus the S&P 500, using the S&P 500 as a base adjusted to zero. So, the Transports, year to date are under performing the S&P 500 by 2%, even though the DJTA is up 5% for 2018. Get it?
Now separating the Dow Jones U.S. Railroad Index (DJUSRR) from the Dow Jones U.S. Airline Index (DJUSAR), the stark difference in performance between the two becomes apparent to even the untrained eye. My longs in this space are CSX Corp (CSX) , which I have held since 2017 and is at +40%, and Union Pacific Corp (UNP) , which I have held since July +19% .
If I were to add another rail to these holding at this stage of the game, I would look most closely at Kansas City Southern (KSU) , Canadian National (CNI) and Canadian Pacific (CP) , due to the obvious benefit likely to be experienced by these three rails in the wake of the recent NAFTA redux (known as the USMCA).
The other reader question was on managing risk, and how to be agile in doing so. Many of you have commented on my use of the sale of options to raise revenue and drive lower my net basis costs on my long positions. Someone asked if I change this tactic, do I become less confident in the direction of the broader indices. The answer is absolutely, I do.
It is at times like this, when the Fed is being rough on markets, that you will notice me sell puts with discounted strikes without taking any equity stake in names I like. Close followers know that this is how I have approached both Apple (AAPL) , and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) .
Even in conjunction with my long equity positions, if I do write put options, I will be much more likely to accept a lesser premium for a strike way out of the money than to risk getting smashed in the nose by Mr. Market. I will also increase my writing of calls as a part of my scheme for reducing basis, as I cut back on the shorting of puts. In short, yes... if you play this game, focus and agility are key parts of adaptability, and adaptability is how one survives in this sport.
No data-points scheduled for release today (Bank holiday).
At the time of publication, Guilfoyle was long CSX, UNP, XTN equity. Short AAPL, AMD puts.


Israel weighs response to expulsion of envoy from Caracas, may cut relations with Chavez's regime.
Israel is weighing its response to Venezuela's expulsion of its ambassador in Caracas, with the options ranging from kicking Venezuela's envoy out of the country to cutting off diplomatic relations with Hugo Chavez's regime. Venezuela's Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that "it has decided to expel the Israeli ambassador and part of the personnel of the Israeli Embassy" to protest the Gaza operation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel's ambassador Shlomo Cohen has been informed in writing that he and his diplomatic staff must leave Venezuela within 72 hours. He said the letter did not refer to any severing of diplomatic relations. Chavez has condemned the campaign, condemning Israelis taking part as "murderers" and urging Venezuela's 15,000 Jews to take a stand against the Israeli government. "Now I hope that the Venezuelan Jewish community speaks out against this barbarism. Do it. Don't you strongly reject all acts of persecution?" Chavez said. "How far will this barbarism go?," he added in an appearance on state television. "The president of Israel should be taken before an international court together with the president of the United States, if the world had any conscience." Foreign Ministry spokesman for the Hebrew media Yossi Levy issued a statement saying, "Israel will continue to defend itself from its enemies, including Hamas and Iran, with whom Venezuela has close ties. Every country has to decide which side it is on in this war - on the side of those fighting terror or those supporting it. It is no surprise that Venezuela has again shown the world what side it is on." Chavez's expulsion of the Israeli ambassador went one step further than his actions during the Second Lebanon War, when he recalled his country's chargÃ© d'affaires from Tel Aviv. Israel responded to that move by temporarily recalling Cohen. Diplomatic officials said there had been almost no contact between the embassy and the Venezuelan government in recent years, and that the embassy deals primarily with the non-governmental sector in the country, as well as with its Jewish community. Hamas expressed its appreciation Wednesday for the move and taunted Egypt and Jordan for maintaining their relations with Israel. "As we look with great satisfaction at this courageous step, we are surprised and deplore that some Arab countries still allow the Israeli ambassador to remain in their capitals," the group said in a statement. Jerusalem, meanwhile, is bracing for the possibility that Ecuador, one of Venezuela's three main allies in the region, may follow suit. Venezuela's other main allies in Latin America are Nicaragua and Bolivia, none of whom have ambassadors in Israel. Diplomatic officials said, however, there was little fear of a snowball effect that would impact relations with key players in the region such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru or Mexico. AP contributed to this report.


The stage is set for a hilarious Golden Globes. But the comic might want to make this his final gig as host – or risk becoming a parody of himself.
Ricky Gervais is back for a third go-around as host of the Golden Globes.
Much of Ricky Gervais' success – and a big reason the Golden Globes is must-watch TV on Sunday – rests in that he keeps things fast and funny, with little concern for what anybody else thinks.
He could have listened to others and endlessly milked his original UK version of "The Office," but wisely moved on after a dozen episodes and a special. Ditto for "Extras," which used celebrity cameos to tackle the superficiality of stardom and gaining fame through too many cheap laughs.
Gervais should seriously consider sticking to his formula: Declare victory and leave after Sunday’s Golden Globes – or risk becoming a parody of himself.
Don't get us wrong: His great stints over the last two years punctured the Hollywood egos mushrooming in every corner of the Beverly Hilton. Gervais knows he’s there to entertain the anonymous folks at home, not the big names in the crowd. His approach takes on an almost performance art aspect – he’s running the game while mocking the players and the absurdity of awards season.
His takedowns last year of everyone from Mel Gibson ("I like a drink as much as the next man – unless the next man is Mel Gibson.") to Bruce Willis ("Please welcome Ashton Kutcher's dad!”) to Hollywood Foreign Press Association head Philip Berk ("I just had to help him off the toilet and pop his teeth in.”) sparked a controversy that's built anticipation over the last year leading to Sunday night's show.
We expect Gervais to come out swinging. But he would be wise to remember that even Ali and Frazier only fought three times.
Gervais' strength comes, in part, in the unpredictably of a man who is justifiably proud that he’s “never really succumbed to peer pressure.” But playing the same game too long could edge him dangerously close to his worst nightmare: becoming the catchphrase spouting character from the show within a show on "Extras" ("Are you having a laugh?").
Gervais, who once swore he’d never return to the Golden Globes podium, has been less than definitive on possible a fourth go-around next year: "This is – no one believes me now – this will be the last time,” he recently told NBC’s Matt Lauer. “The last time for a while, at least. "
In a little over a decade, Gervais has created comedy not only on "The Office" and "Extras," but in podcasts and animated shows with writing partner Stephen Merchant and their oddball pal Karl Pilkington. He's made Pilkington the star of an unlikely comedy travel show, and cast a dwarf to star in his latest effort, "Life's Too Short." He's appeared in some movies (including the underappreciated "The Invention of Lying") and has offered a variation on standup that isn’t about telling jokes as much as offering observations on everything from Humpty Dumpty to Noah's Ark, with much unprintable material in between.


DVD of Democracy Now! daily show for Monday, February 11, 2019. For more daily shows, browse our archives. Show DVDs can be purchased from any show page by selecting Media Options > Get DVD.
Greenwald: How Can Democrats Support Trump's Push for Regime Change to Seize Venezuela’s Oil?


The Supreme Court will get its first chance to decide whether to hear the networks’ case against Aereo on Jan. 10.
That’s when the court will meet to decide what cases to hear after the early part of 2014, according to the court’s docket. The judges’ decision could be announced as early as the following Monday. The court could also delay a decision.
The Aereo case is one of dozens the judges will consider taking.
Aereo uses millions of small antennae to beam networks’ signals to subscribers’ laptops, tablets and other devices. Networks contend that the company is illegally retransmitting its signals and violating copyrights.
Broadcasters are asking the court to overturn a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision in New York that said it was legal for Aereo to air local stations in the New York market. Aereo has said it looks forward to having the issue resolved, and has expanded to other markets, including Boston, Atlanta, Houston and Denver, even as the networks dispute its right to do so.
In their filings, ABC, CBS, NBC Universal and Fox have said the 2nd Circuit ruling allows for widespread copyright violations. The NFL, Viacom, the National Association of Broadcasters, PBS, Viacom, ASCAP and the Copyright Alliance are among those who have submitted filings supporting the broadcasters’ position.
A ruling on a similar case is expected soon from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, and two other appellate courts are due to consider other cases involving online transmission of broadcast signals. The high court judges may wait for rulings on those issues before they weigh in.


WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is exploring how to dismantle or bypass Obama-era constraints intended to prevent civilian deaths from drone attacks, commando raids and other counterterrorism missions outside conventional war zones like Afghanistan and Iraq, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations.
Already, President Trump has granted a Pentagon request to declare parts of three provinces of Yemen to be an “area of active hostilities” where looser battlefield rules apply. That opened the door to a Special Operations raid in late January in which several civilians were killed, as well as to the largest-ever series of American airstrikes targeting Yemen-based Qaeda militants, starting nearly two weeks ago, the officials said.
Mr. Trump is also expected to sign off soon on a similar Pentagon proposal to designate parts of Somalia to be another such battlefield-style zone for 180 days, removing constraints on airstrikes and raids targeting people suspected of being militants with the Qaeda-linked group the Shabab, they said.
Inside the White House, the temporary suspension of the limits for parts of Yemen and Somalia is seen as a test run while the government considers whether to more broadly rescind or relax the Obama-era rules, said the officials, who described the internal deliberations on the condition of anonymity.
The move to open the throttle on using military force — and accept a greater risk of civilian casualties — in troubled parts of the Muslim world comes as the Trump administration is also trying to significantly increase military spending and cut foreign aid and State Department budgets.
The proposal to cut so-called soft-power budgets, however, is meeting with stiff resistance from some senior Republicans on Capitol Hill, as well as from top active-duty and retired generals and admirals, who fear perpetual conflicts if the root causes of instability and terrorism are not addressed.
In a sign of mounting concern over the government’s policy review, more than three dozen members of America’s national security establishment have urged Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to maintain the thrust of the Obama-era principles for counterterrorism missions, saying strict standards should be maintained for using force outside traditional war zones.
The former officials, in a letter sent on Sunday to Mr. Mattis, warned that “even small numbers of unintentional civilian deaths or injuries — whether or not legally permitted — can cause significant strategic setbacks,” increasing violence from militant groups or prompting partners and allies to reduce collaboration with the United States.
Indeed, immediately after the Special Operations raid on Jan. 29, Yemeni officials suspended further commando missions, pending an assessment of what went wrong, although they later backtracked.
The letter’s 37 signatories included John E. McLaughlin, who was the acting C.I.A. director for President George W. Bush; Lisa O. Monaco, President Barack Obama’s Homeland Security and counterterrorism adviser; and Matthew G. Olsen, who served as a national security official in the Bush Justice Department and as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in the Obama administration.
The White House did not respond to a request for an interview about this article.
Mr. Obama imposed the civilian-protection rules in May 2013 as part of an effort to recalibrate counterterrorism operations after he had overseen a steep increase in military and C.I.A. drone strikes in places like Yemen and tribal Pakistan.
Critics, including inside the government, worried that the strikes were causing too many civilian casualties, driving terrorist recruitment and undermining support among local partners in the regions. In response, the Obama administration developed the rules, known as the Presidential Policy Guidance.
Under those rules, cabinet officials generally must agree in high-level deliberations that a proposed target away from a traditional war zone poses a threat to Americans. That is intended to limit strikes targeting generic groups of suspected low-level foot soldiers. And there must be “near certainty” that no civilians will be killed.
By contrast, in a standard war zone, military commanders can approve a strike without interagency review in Washington, and some civilian casualties are acceptable under the laws of war, as long as they are deemed necessary and proportionate to a legitimate military objective.
Military operators have chafed under the 2013 rules, but the Obama administration saw them as a signature accomplishment in the era of drones and open-ended war on terrorism. In his last year in office, Mr. Obama issued an executive order requiring the government to disclose annually its official estimate of civilian and combatant deaths from counterterrorism airstrikes away from war zones.
Still, in its final year in power, the Obama administration declared the area around Surt, Libya, to be an “area of active hostilities.” It then started a sustained campaign of 495 airstrikes targeting Islamic State militias there. Mr. Obama revoked the Surt declaration hours before Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
The Obama administration also permitted the Defense Department to carry out an escalated campaign of airstrikes last year in Somalia that the United States Africa Command started without going through the process laid out by the 2013 rules. Instead, those airstrikes were justified under an expansive theory of collective self-defense to protect African Union and Somali forces being trained and advised by the United States.
Against that backdrop, officials said, both the Central Command, which oversees military activity in Yemen, and Africa Command, which oversees it in Somalia, had already been developing proposals by mid-2016 to ask for parts of Yemen and Somalia to be declared active-hostilities zones, officials said. They submitted those to the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s “J5” directorate, which handles strategic plans and policy.
As a result, the Pentagon was in a position to swiftly bring the ideas forward to Mr. Trump, whose inauguration raised expectations that the White House would be more permissive. The officials said that Mr. Mattis signed one-page memos to Mr. Trump asking for each authority, backed by about five pages of supporting material, within days of Mr. Trump’s becoming president in January.
Several officials said Mr. Trump signed off on making parts of Yemen an active-hostilities zone at the same dinner with Mr. Mattis five days after his inauguration where he approved the ill-fated raid on a Qaeda compound in Yemen. At the time, they said, the expectation was that the Somalia proposal would be swiftly signed, too, and that the larger 2013 rules could be jettisoned swiftly.
On Jan. 28, Mr. Trump signed a presidential national security memorandum directing the military to give him a plan within 30 days to defeat the Islamic State. It said the plan should include “recommended changes to any United States rules of engagement and other United States policy restrictions that exceed the requirements of international law regarding the use of force,” a veiled reference to rescinding the 2013 limits on airstrikes.
But the momentum for rapid change broke, the officials said, after the Yemen raid, which resulted in numerous civilian deaths, including of children; the death of a member of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 and the wounding of three others; and the loss of a $75 million aircraft.
As a result, Mr. Trump’s national security advisers — first Michael T. Flynn, who has since resigned, and now Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster — have slowed the review process down while letting operations in Yemen, and soon Somalia, play out as test runs, the officials said.


An angry mob has killed eight people after setting fire to a house in northern Nigeria belonging to a man who tried rescuing a Christian student accused of blasphemy.
The Zamfara police spokesman, Shehu Mohammed, confirmed the incident which took place on Monday in a town called Talata Mafara.
He explained that Muslim students from the village protested against a colleague who they accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Under my watch we will work to ensure that there is no place for violence in the name of religion, ethnicity, or in any guise whatsoever.
The accused was protected by a Muslim man who escorted the student to the police station. This act incurred the wrath of the mob who set fire to the Muslim man’s house killing eight of its occupants.
“The man who saved the student and his wife are not among the victims,” Shehu Mohammed added.
Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has described the act as barbaric and unacceptable, assuring that the law will take its course.
“Under my watch we will work to ensure that there is no place for violence in the name of religion, ethnicity, or in any guise whatsoever,” he added.
A dawn to sunset curfew has since been imposed in the town, while the technical school of the students has been closed.


Holt Primary School celebrated gaining a prestigious Artsmark Gold award, by holding a ‘golden’ afternoon creating hand made Christmas tree decorations.
The Arts Council England awards aim to encourage schools to develop creativity in youngsters and demonstrate a commitment to a broad and balanced curriculum.
Holt Primary, which had to put together a portfolio as part of its application, was praised for community projects including inter-school choir and variety concerts, trips to West End musicals and work with Holt Festival, Norwich Go Go trail and north Norfolk children’s arts organisation Falcon.
The school also runs after-school music, drama and art clubs, and runs workshops with visiting artists.
Year 4 teacher and arts co-ordinator Eleanor Haynes said the award recognised Holt Primary School’s commitment to learning through the arts.


CREVE COEUR, MO (KTVI) – When you hear the name “Clinton,” the former president or secretary of state might come to mind. But it is their daughter who is generating buzz in the St. Louis area.
The visit is part of an eight-city tour to promote the book.
“It’s Your World” encourages young people to think big on a variety of global issues, including poverty, women’s rights, education, and the environment.
Clinton told a crowd of students and parents that her perspective on life has been shaped by her experiences in Little Rock, Arkansas, the White House, and her travels around the world.
Administrators with Saul Mirowitz said the lessons featured in “It’s Your World” fall in line with the lessons taught at the school.
Zoe Shacham, an eighth grade student, said she was excited to hear Clinton speak.
“She motivates you to make the world a better place. She motivates you to get your voice heard out there,” she said.
School leaders said they were honored to have Clinton speak to students.


ASPEN, Colo. — Officials say Highway 82 east of Aspen has been hit with avalanches, likely adding to the challenge of reopening it for the summer.
Independence Pass Foundation Executive Director Karin Teague told The Aspen Times that the highway was in “good shape” until reaching an area near Green Mountain last week.
She says an avalanche has sent snow and debris across the highway through Independence Pass that could cause problems for the Colorado Department of Transportation when it starts plowing.
The department aims to reopen the scenic pass, which reaches an elevation of 12,095 feet, before Memorial Day weekend.


16% of this provider’s 184 patients who are 65 and older filled at least one prescription for an antipsychotic drug, compared to an average of 3%.
53% of this provider’s 197 patients filled at least one prescription for an antibiotic drug, compared to an average of 34%.
45% of this provider’s 197 patients filled at least one prescription for an opioid, compared to an average of 18%.
32% of this provider’s prescriptions were for brand-name drugs, compared to an average of 17%. This is far more than peers.
$39 was the average price of a prescription from this provider, compared to $55 among peers.
64 is the average number of prescriptions (including refills) per patient, compared to an average of 21.
This provider's address and specialty information was last updated on May 24, 2018.


World Bank wants govt to continue with its set of planned reforms, including the crucial GST and cut down on the bureaucratic cost of doing business.
WASHINGTON: It is not impossible for India to be in top 100 ranking of ease of doing business report next year if it continues with its set of planned economic reforms, including the crucial GST and cuts down on the bureaucratic cost of doing business, a top World Bank economist has said.
"If the changes that we saw thus far can be kept up and strengthened a little, it is not impossible for India to be in top 100 (ranking of the ease of doing business report) by next year," the World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Kaushik Basu told PTI.
"There are countries which have moved 30-40 places at one go, but usually these are small countries. For a big economy like India, it is difficult, but from what we have seen thus far, it is not impossible," Basu said after the World Bank in its report released yesterday said that India jumped 12 places in the ease of doing business from 142 last year to 130 this year.
Basu, who served as the top economic advisor during the previous Manmohan Singh government, described this as a "remarkable achievement" for a country of the size of Indian economy and that too in the first year of the reform.
"We have usually seen in other countries when the reforms start, in the first year, you get a small movement then in the second and third year, you get a big movement. And India had a reasonably substantial movement in the first year itself. So one is very hopeful," he said.
However, he felt there is still a long way to go.
"There is a lot of serious interest in India to cut down bureaucratic costs of doing business for small and medium-sized firms. It is important however to recognise that this is just a start. There is still a long way to go," he said.
Responding to a question, Basu said there are three areas where India needs reforms and initiatives.
"First, India needs to cut down transactions costs and the bureaucratic hurdles it places on individuals and small enterprises. As I just said, there is reason for optimism on this," he said.
"Second, India needs better infrastructure--roads, railways, ports. There has already been improvement in infrastructural investment. But the momentum needs to be kept up," he added.
"And, third, is inclusiveness. India is a diverse society and you have to have policies so that all groups feel included, and part of society. This entails health and educational interventions for the disadvantaged," he said.
"Inclusiveness goes beyond economics, but, done well, it can yield rich dividends for the economy," he said.
Going back to economic reforms, Basu said there are a couple of big ticket items on the agenda. He described the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the biggest one.
"If, India can move so that by next year, after the budget, you have a GST in place, that can make a very big difference. It will not be a perfect GST to start with but it should be possible to make amendments and improve it over time," he said.
"Here is one very simple statistic. In India, a truck carrying freight goes from one city to another spends on average 60 per cent of the time stationary; and the bulk of that time is because of check posts, doing paper work, paying taxes and levie," Basu said.
"Once the GST is in place, India can very easily have a rule that there will be no check posts on the way. All charges will be paid at the source or at the destination," Basu said indicating implementation of GST would help considerable improvement in ease of doing business ranking.
Observing that the design of economic policy requires a lot of skillful professional thought, Basu said luckily, there are very good professionals - Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanian, to name just two - in the Indian government.
"They must be used to design policy better. And it should use people not just from those in government. There is excellent skill in India's universities, the Delhi School of Economics, Indian Statistical Institute, Indira Gandhi Institute. India needs to give voice to these professionals and their independent voices," he said.
Considered as the top world economist, Basu said India's economy is looking very good.
"In the World Bank's table of growth projections for major economies in the world India is topping the list for this the next year. Something similar is true of IMF projections. I do not think this has happened before. The Indian economy has some deep strengths and must continue to build on them," he said.
"But as I said before, we do not live by the economy alone. We have to attend to several diverse reforms and an active policy of inclusiveness and the promotion of shared prosperity," Basu said.


As you may have seen, the 2012 Zagat San Francisco Bay Area guide was unveiled today. The usual suspects are atop the list, but with these numbered rankings, it’s always interesting to see who’s on the bottom.
Last year’s “winner” was the inimitable Pier 39 Hard Rock Cafe, which clocked in with a Food Score of 12. Sadly, Hard Rock Cafe isn’t even in this year’s guide, which means it’s time to use highly scientific methods (carefully thumbing through the book) to crown a new bottom dweller — or should we say dwellers.
Sliding under the likes of Zeitgeist and Warming Hut (both with scores of 14), and the crop of restaurants that notched 15 (including American Cupcake, The Brixton, Buca di Beppo and several others) are two San Francisco institutions: The Tonga Room and Mel’s Drive-In.
Both received food scores of 13, which as best can be determined, put them at the bottom of the list in San Francisco proper.


LBK.MC on Madrid SE C.A.T.S.
Feb 26 Spanish lender Abanca scrapped plans to launch a takeover bid for rival Liberbank on Tuesday, saying it had been unable to carry out due diligence before taking a final decision on whether to make an offer.
MADRID, Feb 22 Spanish regional lender Abanca on Friday confirmed it had approached Liberbank's main shareholders regarding a potential takeover, which could value the former savings bank at around 1.7 billion euros, although it said no deal had been reached yet.
Spain's Unicaja and Liberbank confirmed on Wednesday they had held talks about a potential deal, driving shares in both banks higher on expectations of a tie-up.
Dec 12 Spain's Unicaja and Liberbank confirmed on Wednesday they had held talks about a potential deal, driving shares in both banks higher on expectations of a tie-up.
Dec 12 Spanish banks Unicaja and Liberbank on Wednesday both confirmed preliminary contacts on a potential corporate operation.


El Cajon, an eastern suburb of San Diego, lies in a valley surrounded by mountains. A city of roughly 100,000, El Cajon enjoys a mild Mediterranean-type climate and offers a good base for exploring the attractions of San Diego County and all of Southern California. The city has three campgrounds that cater exclusively to RV campers. Within 10 miles of the city are an additional two campgrounds, both of which can accommodate both RVs and tents.
Reserved exclusively for RVs, El Cajon’s Circle RV Park (circlerv.com) has 165 sites with full hookups, including cable TV. Each landscaped campsite features its own concrete patio area. Other facilities at the RV park include a clubhouse, fitness center, heated outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, guest library, restrooms, showers, TV lounge, propane service, poolside barbecue grills and coin-operated laundry facilities.
Oak Creek RV Resort (oakcreekrv.com) lies in the foothills a short distance east of center-city El Cajon. Each of its 120 RV campsites has full hookups, including cable TV and telephone, and features a paved parking pad and picnic table. Campers looking for outdoor recreational activities need only drive a few miles farther east to the Cleveland National Forest. But the resort itself has a number of recreational facilities, including a seasonal outdoor swimming pool, horseshoe pits and a fitness center. Other amenities include a clubhouse, Wi-Fi, hot showers, restrooms, laundry facilities, picnic area with barbecue grills and a pet walking area.
Another RV-only campground, Vacationer RV Resort (vacatonerrv.com) offers 147 gravel campsites with concrete patios and full hookups, including cable TV and telephone. The campground’s clubhouse features a full kitchen, TV lounge, billiard table and guest library. Other campground facilities and services include Wi-Fi, heated outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, dog run, picnic area with barbecue grills, showers, restrooms and coin-operated laundry facilities. Several restaurants are within walking distance.
Six miles northeast of El Cajon in the neighboring town of Lakeside, Rancho Los Coches RV Park (rancholoscochesrv.com) serves RVers primarily but maintains a limited amount of sites for tent camping. This pet-friendly park has 142 RV sites and all have with full hookups, including cable TV; five sites are set aside for tent camping. Facilities at Rancho Los Coches include a recreation hall with kitchen, heated outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, Wi-Fi, exercise room, restrooms, showers and guest laundry. Among its other amenities are an historic windmill house and rose garden.
The campgrounds at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve (santeelakes.com) accommodate both RVs and tents and also offer 10 rental camping cabins. Three of the rental cabins are on pontoons and float on the waters of the lake. All 300 RV sites feature full hookups, and many also have cable TV. An additional 109 sites are set aside for tent camping. Other amenities include free Wi-Fi, a general store, seasonal outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, clubhouse, lake boating and fishing, hiking trails, guest laundry and playgrounds.
Amerman, Don. "Campsites in or Near El Cajon, CA." Travel Tips - USA Today, https://traveltips.usatoday.com/campsites-near-el-cajon-ca-105897.html. Accessed 25 April 2019.


Donald Trump Donald John TrumpRussia's election interference is a problem for the GOP Pence to pitch trade deal during trip to Michigan: report Iran oil minister: US made 'bad mistake' in ending sanctions waivers MORE is again dominating the media’s coverage of the presidential race, frustrating his Republican rivals who can’t gain traction for their own campaigns.
Trump’s proposal to bar Muslims from entering the United States provoked wall-to-wall coverage, even though it has little chance of becoming U.S. law and has been repudiated by Democrats and Republicans alike.
The constant media attention has been the main ingredient in Trump’s lasting popularity. It has contributed to keeping him well ahead of his rivals in national presidential polls and surveys of states with early primary contests such as New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Even negative coverage can be a boon to Trump, helping to firm up his base of supporters and communicate his wildly popular brand of straight-talking, anti-establishment conservatism that he punctuates with unapologetically outrageous statements.
Trump’s proposal to bar Muslims from the U.S. came at a point when his media coverage had faded. Prior to those comments, the number of times he was being mentioned on television compared to other candidates was at its lowest point in months, according to data compiled by The GDelt Project, which monitors news coverage.
And it came on the heels of a poll in Iowa that showed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) surging past Trump to claim his first lead of the cycle in an early-voting state.
Many Republicans viewed Trump’s proposal as a calculated effort to recapture the spotlight and stake out the far-right position on an issue that animates the base.
They believe the media has fallen into his trap.
Trump’s media dominance is hurting the other candidates who have to spend valuable campaign dollars on ads that have, for the most part, produced only small returns on investment.
Trump has spent only $300,000 on a series of radio ads in early-voting states, a stunningly small amount for a candidate who has spent months atop the polls.
By comparison, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and a supporting super-PAC have spent more than $30 million on ads so far this cycle. Bush’s poll numbers are in the single digits.
But there’s little reason for Trump to spend on additional advertising when he’s already on television at all hours.
Following Trump’s proposal Monday — which was nothing more than a short paragraph released by his campaign in a statement emailed to reporters — he did an interview with Greta Van Susteren on Fox News. He then received coverage of his rally later that day from every major cable news outlet.
Trump followed that up with phone calls into shows on Fox News, MSNBC, ABC and CNN, some of them lasting a half hour or more. MSNBC replayed its phone interview with Trump later in the day.
Republicans see a double standard in Trump coverage. No other candidate has a standing offer to call in for interviews, particularly on the Sunday news shows. But Trump — who pulls massive ratings for the networks — does that regularly from Trump Tower in New York City.
“The [media and Trump] are obsessed with each other to the detriment of the other candidates, and thoughtful voters, frankly,” Gail Gitcho, a former spokeswoman for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s presidential campaign, said in an email. Jindal dropped out last month.
That frustration is also boiling over once again among the GOP contenders who have long taken issue with the media’s focus on Trump.
This week, Bush scolded reporters in New Hampshire, saying that his proposals to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and deal with Syrian refugees were being ignored.
And businesswoman Carly Fiorina, another GOP candidate, directly accused Trump of floating his controversial proposal because of the poll that showed Cruz passing him in Iowa.
Those are sentiments shared by many conservatives, who worry that one of the most experienced field of candidates the party has ever put forth is being wasted by the media’s obsession with a showman leveraging his unique set of skills to hijack the process.
The explosive comments tossed aside the gun control debate and the focus on the terror attack in San Bernardino, Calif., which had dominated news coverage in the days before.
“The nation was hit by a terrorist attack less than seven days ago. For five days, the country and its press focused on the killers,” Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly said on her Tuesday night show.
“On the sixth day, Donald Trump decided he’d like to get back into the media headlines.
Still, Kelly acknowledged that she opened her own show with an extended segment that focused on Trump’s Muslim remarks.
The sum total has media giants, and even some of Trump’s rivals, lauding his mastery of the media.
“The fact that Trump now owns the media — and this episode is just more proof of it — is one aspect that has everything else in this campaign turned upside down,” said conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh on his Wednesday show.
Armstrong Williams, a close friend of Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson who hosts a conservative political radio talk show and owns several television stations, said Trump is just playing the game better than anyone else.
“He’s the front-runner and he’s surging like never before, and the media doesn’t know what to do with him, so you can’t blame him for getting headlines for saying outrageous things,” Williams said.


The NPS later removed the retweets, but one NPS account has already noted it will cease tweeting.
We have received direction from the Department through [the Washington Support Office] that directs all [Department of Interior] bureaus to immediately cease use of government Twitter accounts until further notice.
PWR parks that use Twitter as part of their crisis communications plans need to alter their contingency plans to accommodate this requirement. Please ensure all scheduled posts are deleted and automated cross-platform social media connections to your twitter accounts are severed. The expectation is that there will be absolutely no posts to Twitter.
This does not affect use of other approved social media platforms. We expect further guidance to come next week and we will share accordingly.
Hail to our glorious new leader!


India on Tuesday asked Israel to stop all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories and emphasised that it supports a negotiated solution resulting in a 'sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine'.
"The Palestinian cause is of paramount importance to India. In fact, India was the first non-Arab country to recognise the state of Palestine on November 16, 1988, pursuant to the Algiers Declaration of November, 15 1988," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said on Tuesday.
Krishna made the remarks while intervening at ministerial meeting of the NAM Committee on Palestine here in Tehran. The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held in Ramallah but Israel had prevented it on the grounds that some members did not have diplomatic relations with Jerusalem. Krishna termed Israel's move as 'unfortunate'.
"NAM Committee had aptly condemned this blatant action of Israel in strong terms," he said. The minister said the conflict in West Asia is essentially political in nature and cannot be resolved by force.
"In line with our support for the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, India supports a negotiated solution resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as it's capital, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel as endorsed in the Quartet Roadmap and UNSC Resolutions 1397 & 1515. In addition, we have also supported the Arab Peace Initiative," he said.
Krishna said that India has called for an end to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and for an early and significant easing of restrictions on the free movement of persons and goods within Palestine.
"The continuing settlement activities in West Bank and East Jerusalem are threatening the basic premises of the two-state solution. We think that freezing of illegal settlement activities by Israel should be the first step for resumption of direct talks," he said.


For Ottawa designer Krista Norris, the sight of Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau giving two of her scarves to Sasha and Malia Obama was a surprise she wasn’t banking on.
Grégoire-Trudeau gave the gifts to the U.S. president’s daughters as part of the Trudeaus’ visit to the White House for a state dinner Thursday.
Norris has an online shop that supplies individuals and retailers with her designs, which are made in a factory in Toronto.
Norris said she was honoured Grégoire-Trudeau chose to use a Let Girls Learn event Thursday, a program championed by first lady Michelle Obama, as the venue for giving the gifts to the Obamas. Let Girls Learn is an initiative aiming to improve access to education for girls around the world.
“I really loved that it was a part of that conference,” said Norris.
Norris is excited to see what will come of the increased publicity. “I think since it was done authentically, you can’t really pay for this kind of exposure.
During her White House visit, Grégoire-Trudeau was wearing a dress made by another Canadian designer.


MANILA, Philippines – AMA Online Education steered past McDavid to take an 80-65 victory Tuesday in the 2019 PBA D-League at Paco Arena in Manila.
Franky Johnson played big in this season opener for the Titans with his 24 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Joshua Munzon also registered a double-double with his 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, as fellow rookie Troy Rike collected 15 points and eight rebounds.
"Buti nag-jell kami nang maaga. At least, nag-sama sama sila," said a jovial coach Mark Herrera.
Johnson's early spurt allowed AMA to take a 10-0 lead as they went on cruise control in the wire-to-wire victory, annexing the lead to as much as 18, 71-53 early in the fourth period.
Newcomer Kib Montalbo also chimed in six points and five assists for the Titans, in a game where Andre Paras only saw four minutes of action.
AMA grabbed a share of the Aspirants Group lead together with opening week winners Cignal-Ateneo and UST.
McDavid, on the other hand, leaned on Jason Melano who collected 15 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
AMA ONLINE EDUCATION 80 – Johnson 24, Rike 15, Munzon 12, Parcero 8, Montalbo 6, Yu 6, Dela Virgen 5, Garcia 2, Bederi 2, Tambeling 0, Estibar 0, Paras 0, Asuncion 0, Liwag 0, Gonzaga 0.
MCDAVID 65 – Melano 15, Martinez 10, Escosio 8, Diputado 7, Canada 6, Sorela 4, Colina 4, Monte 3, Pena 2, Cruz 0, Villanueva 0.
Quarters: 21-14, 45-35, 62-53, 80-65.


HP's Ann Livermore said HP needs the open-source community to pursue its "next-generation data center" strategy.
Hewlett-Packard's ambition to build the "next-generation data center" depends on Linux and open source, an HP executive said at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Wednesday.
"We believe there is a tremendous need for contributions from the open-source community combined with the technology and innovation of companies like HP," said Ann Livermore, executive vice president of the Technology Solutions Group within HP.
Although her address was light on news that hadn't been reported before, the forum gave Livermore an opportunity to talk to the Linux community about HP's next-generation data center strategy.
HP's next-generation strategy is to develop products and services that will help data centers run more effectively, reliably, easily, securely and efficiently.
HP ships one Linux-based server every minute, Livermore noted, and has been shipping them for nine years.
The energy efficiency of all servers has become the issue "every customer wants to talk about," she said, and applauded the new functionality added to the Linux kernel that improves energy efficiency by putting Linux systems into low-power states when there's a pause in computing.
HP is a member of the Linux Foundation, a nonprofit group supporting Linux, and has made its own contributions to Linux with the common operating environment (COE) software for data center management. LinuxCOE 4.0 was released by HP earlier this year under the general public license governing open-source software. LinuxCOE helps automate the lifecycle management of software, including provisioning, configuration, compliance, patch management and delivery to a desktop computer.
For one longtime Linux believer, the notion of Fortune 500 companies such as HP investing in Linux is something that's hard to believe.
"Ten years ago, this would be unthinkable," said David Ames, IT manager for the Linux Foundation, as he looked across the exhibit floor at the logos of IBM, Dell, Intel, Oracle and others marketing to the Linux crowd.
"It's nice to see that Linux is an enterprise-class system, that people are embracing it and that it generates this kind of money flow," said Ames. "It's an amazing thing."


Egyptian security forces shot dead 24 militants belonging to the country's Islamic State affiliate in central Sinai, 70 kilometers from the crash site of a Russian passenger plane the group claimed it brought down, security sources said on Monday.
Security sources said they killed the militants as they hid in a mountainous cave and that they arrested eight of them.
Sinai Province, Islamic State's Egypt branch, is active in North Sinai where two years ago it launched an insurgency and has since killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen. It is rarely active outside that area.


Dr Komal Prasad, Consultant Neurosurgeon and Spinal Surgeon, said there was a common misconception that neurosurgeons only perform brain surgery, however they are the only physicians who treat the entire spine as well, including the spinal cord.
“Choosing a neurosurgeon for your brain as well as your spine health will ensure you’re getting the most experienced and relevant medical attention,” Dr Komal said.
The Department of Neurosurgery at Health City is equipped with state-of-the-art operating microscope for various minimally invasive brain and spinal procedures. Health City offers treatment for various diseases of the brain including brain tumours and spinal conditions like neck pain, back pain, surgery for herniated disc and Sciatica.
“The minimally invasive approach we use result in smaller scars, shorter recovery times, less post-operative pain and shorter hospital stays. In fact, many patients are home within 24 hours after this kind of minimally invasive spinal procedure,” said Dr Komal.
Health City opened this service on September 14th, and offers patients with brain or spinal health issues a world-class specialist treatment at an affordable price.
Health City Cayman Islands, the vision of renowned heart surgeon and humanitarian Dr Devi Shetty, is supported by two major healthcare organizations, Narayana Health and the U.S.-based Ascension, which is that nation's largest faith-based and non-profit health system, providing the highest quality care to all with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Health City Cayman Islands provides compassionate, high-quality, affordable healthcare services in a world-class, comfortable, patient-centred environment. Offering healthcare to international, regional and local patients, Health City Cayman Islands delivers excellence in adult and paediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery, neurosurgery & spinal surgery, medical oncology, orthopaedics, sports medicine, paediatric endocrinology, sleep lab, blood bank with apheresis, bariatric and pulmonology.


Photos from the 2018 MLB All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington on Tuesday, July 17, 2018.
“America’s Got Talent” outscored Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in viewers Tuesday night.
The NBC contest averaged 11.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings released Wednesday afternoon. The game drew 8.7 million. The American League beat the National League, 8-6, in 10 innings.
But the game and “AGT” tied in reaching the 18-to-49 age group. Each telecast posted a 2.1 rating for young adults.
“AGT” started its judges’ cuts round. In a memorable segment, “AGT” presented a married acrobatic team, Mary and Tyce. The two, named Duo Transcend, suffered a major blunder on the trapeze when she fell through his hands. He was blindfolded during the stunt. She landed on a mat, got up and learned they were moving to the next round.
NBC ended its prime time with “World of Dance” and 5.9 million viewers. Fox started prime time with the pregame and 4.3 million viewers.
The prime-time averages for the night: NBC with 9.5 million total viewers, Fox with 8.8 million, CBS with 4.8 million for reruns, ABC with 1.9 million for mostly reruns and The CW with 740,000.
But with 18-to-49 viewers, Fox had the edge over NBC.
CBS offered reruns of “NCIS” (5.5 million), “Bull” (4.4 million) and “NCIS: New Orleans” (also 4.4 million).
All-Star Game MVP Alex Bregman of the Astros speaks to the media after the game.
The Astros' George Springer (4) celebrates with his American League teammates at the end of the game.


Taking prime minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Housing for all by 2022’ forward, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has amended the EPF Scheme, 1952 to provide assistance in acquiring affordable houses to the EPF members by allowing withdrawal from PF to the extent of 90 percent of the total PF accumulation and also facilitating payment of instalment of housing loan.
An MoU to facilitate ‘Housing for All by 2022’ was signed between Central Provident Fund Commissioner, VP Joy and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), CMD, M Ravi Kanth recently.
The major objective of this scheme is to assist in building houses for workers integrating with housing programmes of the central and state governments.
The salient features of this scheme include bringing together all stake holders like workers, employers, financial institutions & housing agencies to provide workers’ need for housing, constituting housing societies for collective action to arrange housing units from public/private housing providers, apply to the concerned PF office through the society for getting certificate of fund and contribution and channelling the corpus of EPF savings to build affordable housing for the working class, withdrawal of up to 90 percent of accumulations in members Provident Fund Accounts is allowed among others.


Meet The Cronut's Humble Offspring: The Doughscuit! : The Salt The Cronut is old news. A Chicago restaurant offers the latest doughnut hybridization: an impossible mix of doughnut-fried sweetness and crumbly biscuitness.
The honey-glazed doughscuit is a combination of "doughnut," "biscuit" and "life-changing."
I first met the doughscuit at last weekend's Donut Fest in Chicago, where 15 doughnut-makers get together to try to kill you, for charity. They serve 1/4 portions of doughnuts, but still, after a few tables you feel yourself slowing down and thinking there's no way you'll make it through.
Everything starts to taste the same. Your mustache, if you have a mustache, is glazed. You look around at the thousands of doughnuts and wonder if you totaled up the calories in this room, how many delicious pounds it would be.
I was able to get this bird's-eye view of Donut Fest when my soul briefly left my body after doughnut No. 9.
I was 10 doughnuts in when I came to Endgrain Restaurant's table, and I was in no condition to want or enjoy anything.
But their doughscuit — half doughnut, half biscuit — was transcendent, an impossible mix of doughnut-fried sweetness and crumbly biscuitness. Every last nook of free space in my body was full, and I bought extras. I ate one at home later. The next morning I had more. I'm not entirely sure I'm going to finish writing this sentence without going out to get another.
The doughscuit won the critic's choice award at Donut Fest.
The doughscuit came about last fall, when the Cronut hype was still in full swing. If you're not familiar, the Cronut is the hourslong-line inspiring croissant-doughnut hybrid from the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City.
"People kept telling us we should make a Cronut," says Enoch Simpson, who is chef and owner of Endgrain with his brother Caleb. "When Caleb told me about his idea [for the Doughscuit], I actually giggled. I was like, 'What, dude?' "
It took some experimentation, but eventually Caleb figured it out. Enoch took a bite.
"Whoa," he said to his brother. "What the hell did you just do?"
Doughscuits divided into 1/4 "you're in denial about how much you're eventually going to eat" portions.
Look, nothing against the Cronut. The free market proved it was a good idea when scalpers started selling them at a 600 percent markup.
But the Cronut has an FAQ page. The Cronut has a little "R" in a circle next to its name. The Cronut is the kind of pastry that corrects you that, no, that's not champagne — only sparking wine from the region called Champagne can truly be called champagne.
Look for us nationwide as well, but please be wary that if you don't see the Dominique Ansel Bakery affiliation, it is not a Cronut®.
The doughscuit is more humble. It's got a hardworking biscuit for a dad, not a fancy croissant. It doesn't have the little ® next to its name. All it should have next to its name, forever, is an exclamation point.


While the Buffalo Sabres continue to nurse their defensive corps in advance of Thursday's season opener, a promising addition joined the team on the ice for practice on Tuesday.
Jake McCabe, out since Sept. 23 with an upper-body injury, was a full participant at practice. He said afterward that he felt 100 percent, and Sabres coach Phil Housley was optimistic when asked about McCabe's status for Thursday.
"Today's practice was a good measure," Housley said. "There was a lot of battling and he looked great out there."
The Sabres are still without Zach Bogosian, who remains day-to-day after leaving Buffalo's game against New York last Friday with a lower-body injury. Justin Falk is also day-to-day after missing practice on Tuesday. Housley said he does not expect Falk to practice Wednesday.
With Bogosian and Falk absent, the Sabres practiced with seven defensemen: McCabe, Nathan Beaulieu, Rasmus Ristolainen, Victor Antipin, Marco Scandella, Josh Gorges and Matt Tennyson.
Scandella is returning from offseason hip surgery, and while he has practiced regularly, he did not play in the preseason. He has not been confirmed to play Thursday, but Housley offered a promising update following practice.
"Marco's been doing great," Housley said. "We said it was going to be a process with him and his progress is going in a great direction. These last two practices were pretty intense, there was a lot of battle but he looked great out there so that's promising."
McCabe skated on a pair with Antipin, marking the first time they've worked as a defensive unit in camp. While Antipin is still growing accustomed to North America and the English language in general, McCabe said there were no hiccups through one day on the ice.
"We actually talked a ton out there," McCabe said. "We communicated well. I thought our switches in our D-zone went well. I think it's really come along for him, and I think you can see it throughout camp, how his confidence is rising."
McCabe averaged a career-high 20:42 last season and scored three goals and 17 assists for 20 points. His shorthanded goal against Carolina in Buffalo's preseason opener on Sept. 18, when he joined the rush and scored from the left faceoff circle, showed room for offensive growth in Housley's system.
While the Sabres may have to wait a bit longer before their defense returns to full strength, McCabe's return is a step in the right direction.
"Today was a good day," he said. "Coach Housley is the one in charge of the lineup, but it was nice to get back out with the boys."
It will be a new experience for Beaulieu on Thursday night, facing his former team in the Montreal Canadiens. Beaulieu was drafted by Montreal in 2011 and spent parts of five professional seasons with the Canadiens prior to being acquired by the Sabres in June.
Beaulieu said at the time of the trade that he knew his time in Montreal had come to an end, and he admitted to having a chip on his shoulder on Tuesday.
"I definitely have a chip on my shoulder," he said. "I was in Montreal for quite some time and developed a good relationship with a lot of people there … Obviously there's some emotions involved. The biggest thing is just for me to go out there and play my game. There's no friends over there now."
While their top unit remained the same, Phil Housley tweaked his second power-play unit for practice on Tuesday. Seth Griffith joined Jason Pominville and Evander Kane down low, while Antipin joined Beaulieu at the point.
Housley said Antipin's puck-moving abilities and offensive instincts make him a good fit on the man advantage.
"He knows when to jump in the holes, he's pretty smart that way," Housley said. "When he scored his goal he jumped up the ice and found a little pocket there, and he's a tremendous passer. He's just got to try to use his fundamentally good skills in that respect and get shots to the net."


Sunday, Sept. 11, 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
El Pomar Gallery, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St.
Free with gallery admission (adults $10); for more, visit csfineartscenter.org.
New York playwright Leslie Bramm remembers looking at the World Trade Center from just hundreds of yards away on 9/11 and seeing objects falling from windows.
"The guy standing next to me asked why they were throwing furniture out the windows, and I told him, 'It's not furniture, it's people.'"
That was one image that stuck with him. Another was a photograph from that day, proof of what Bramm for a while believed was only an urban legend: a couple holding hands as they jumped.
So when off-off-Broadway theater group The Present Company asked Bramm to write a response piece to the tragedy, he created Lovers Leapt. His director in New York City was Scott RC Levy.
Now performing arts director at the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company, Levy was walking through the FAC museum when Bramm's play suddenly popped into his head. A glance at Joellyn Duesberry's World Trade Center paintings brought Bramm's "short jewel of a piece" to mind, and the idea of performing the play in front of the artwork was born.
"The play is a perfect companion piece to the art," Levy says. "And it's a wonderful way to connect the theater and the gallery."
Duesberry has an intimate connection with the tragedy. The Denver artist received a grant in the '90s to study and paint cityscapes in New York City. Provided a studio on the 91st floor of the North Tower, she painted scenes of the city from her window for five months.
The artist who replaced Duesberry in the program was killed in the attacks.
Three of Duesberry's paintings will serve as a backdrop for Lovers Leapt, along with a scene she painted of Ground Zero years later. The actors in the short two-character play will represent both victims of the tragedy and, standing on two blocks, the towers themselves. Levy hopes that viewers will connect to the event in a different way by seeing what the experience may have been like inside the building.
"It's what's going on inside their heads," says Steve Emily, who plays one of the lovers. "Lots of 'what-ifs.'"
"These two people had wanted to connect," says Bramm, describing the plot of the play. "But for reasons of their own, they never did. It's about not putting off love; don't wait for tomorrow."
Although the subject matter is naturally sad, both actors say there is also humor and lightness. "For me, the takeaway is hope," says Kara Whitney, who plays the second ill-fated lover. "It's about saying you love the people you love, and not taking anything for granted."
In an ambitious performance, visiting expert Tina Packer explores Shakespeare's take on women.


Is fearfulness finally giving way to greed?
Following Warren Buffett’s stock-market investing formula of being fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful sounds easy enough. The problem, however, is that it can be hard to discern whether investors are greedy or fearful or somewhere in between.
Past surveys have indicated that investors often say they are fearful but still act as though they are very optimistic.
The current bull market, which entered its ninth year in March, has arguably been one of the most hated, and that longstanding skepticism has been credited as a force behind its longevity. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.10% climbed even as investors remained skeptical about the economy, earnings and, more recently, lofty valuations. The index was in record territory Monday, up 0.3%, and has rallied 13% since the end of 2016.
But as the main indexes continue to hit records, investor optimism has started to rise as well. So is some fearfulness justified?
Analysts at Bank of America Merril Lynch, in a recent note, said that sell-side optimism levels—a contrarian indicator—remained at six-year highs by the end of September.
The Merrill research team’s model looks at the consensus of sell-side optimism and pessimism levels in relation to the 15-year rolling average to see the change in trend. A reading above the red line is a “sell” signal and a reading below the green line is a “buy” signal. According to this model, the sentiment, while improved, remains below the “danger zone,” and therefore implies positive returns in the near future.
On the other hand, another model that instead uses a four-year rolling average, instead of 15, is flashing a clear sell signal, they said.
“Typically, when four-year rolling sentiment reaches highs, the average 12-month forward return is very weak—less than 1%, and there is a 49% chance that it will be negative,” said Dan Suzuki, equity and quant strategist at Bank of America Merill Lynch.
“In isolation, this particular indicator does not have much weight, after all, statistically it’s a coin flip that it would be negative. But taken together with all the surveys showing improving optimism, it suggests that we should be cautious,” Suzuki said.
Such view is in line with Bank of America’s macro analysts, who last week said that the reason to be bearish on U.S. stock is that there is no reason to be bearish.
“From the economic environment point of view, we’ve had a prolonged time that was ideal for stocks: interest rates were low, volatility was low and we saw improving earnings growth. But all of that is changing now. Interest rates are rising and earnings peaked in the first quarter,” said Suzuki.
“From the sentiment point of view, investors moved out of skepticism and are solidly in optimism territory, which historically has been less bullish for stocks,” Suzuki said.


The group [Vets for Freedom] expects to spend close to $10 million on a four month advertising and grassroots drive to make the case that the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq and Afghanistan are making significant progress, says its chairman, Pete Hegseth. Vets for Freedom boasts some 25,000 members. The first part of the campaign is a two-week, $1.5 million ad buy this month in five battleground states. According to a GOP consultant familiar with the group, it received a “significant” donation from Freedom’s Watch, which is largely funded by Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Freedom’s Watch has also helped the veterans group find large donors to bankroll its operations, according to the consultant.
Several members of the Vets for Freedom advisory board, among them ret. US Army Lt. Col. John Nagl and the Brookings Institution’s Michael O’Hanlon, recently departed the group’s advisory board, because of its partisan activities.


The cast of Girlfriends Getaway, from left, Terri J Vaughn, Essence Atkins, Malinda Williams and Garcelle Beauvais.
In one of the early scenes in the new American comedy Girlfriends’ Getaway, four 40-something girlfriends vacationing in Trinidad arrive at their luxurious villa and one of them—Sophie, played by Terri J Vaughn—begins spraying disinfectant and wiping down furniture.
“The islands carry lots of germs our bodies are not immune to,” she tells her companions.
With her strong presence and deftly subtle comedic performance—she never once cracks a smile—the veteran T&T actress seems to be schooling her American counterparts in other ways as well.
Her appearance was greeted by cheers from the audience at the MovieTowne Port-of-Spain premiere of the film. Roger Bobb, assistant director on most of Tyler Perry’s box-office-topping films and director/executive producer of Girlfriends’ Getaway, had nothing but praise for the film production and acting talent he found here.
The majority of the cast and crew of Girlfriends’ Getaway were from T&T, unusual for an American movie shot in the Caribbean.
In front of the camera, notable T&T performers include Spencer, Brett Bengochea as a smooth lawyer trying to court one of the women, and Renaldo Frederick as a dopey, weed-dealing henchman—one of the comedic highlights.
Behind the camera, Sheldon Felix was director of photography, giving the movie a bright and colourful cast that was helped by the beauty of the locations, which included Maracas Beach, an upscale home in Bayshore, and various parts of Chaguaramas.
American screenwriter Cas Sigers-Beedles told reporters the movie “feels very Trinidadian,” and she’s right. The American producers, as others have in the past, could have shot the film to make the island come across generic or, worse yet, like Jamaica.
But there are very distinct T&T markers in the film: undiluted accents; David Rudder’s Trini 2 De Bone playing as the main characters exit the airport, a T&T flag behind them; soca artist Olatunji Yearwood performing at a fete; Daren Ganga playing cricket; and wining, mas-design and doubles-eating competitions.
Trinidadian Lisa Wickham, one of the producers on Girlfriends’ Getaway who was also supervising producer for the Canadian/T&T 2012 hybrid Home Again, talks about the potential for developing the local filmmaking industry through what she calls “blended projects” or collaborations with other countries—and she may be on to something.
Foreign film producers give local talent access to a larger audience. Local crew members and actors get the chance to learn from more experienced foreign talent. And the foreigners save money by using local staff and settings.
Girlfriends’ Getaway was shot entirely in Trinidad, even a few early scenes that ostensibly took place in Atlanta. Other than the four main characters, the Americans in these scenes were played by Trinidadians, including Kearn Samuel as a dastardly boyfriend and Cecilia Salazar as a yoga instructor.
Girlfriends’ Getaway is a low-budget TV movie, but a film doesn’t have to be big budget or in award contention to be good for local talent.
Another thing: A couple of local filmmakers told me that including white main characters would make a film more likely to have success abroad. Besides being stunningly cynical and self-hating, this view ignores the potential of niche audiences, including the sizable black audience in the US, Canada and other parts of the world.
Girlfriends’ Getaway premiered over the weekend on TV One, a US television network catering to a black audience, to record ratings, according to director Roger Bobb.
The success of Nollywood and Tyler Perry movies attests to the power of this audience. T&T films can also tap a Caribbean diaspora audience and, of course, an audience within the region.
Looking at Girlfriends’ Getaway critically, there’s much to nitpick. Many aspects of the script break the bonds of credulity and it uses a lot clichéd themes and emotional devices.
But I don’t think anyone expects intellectual rigour from a film like Girlfriends’ Getaway, which was quickly shot in June and seems fashioned in the Tyler Perry mould.
It’s technically well-made and good for a few laughs.
It’s meant to be a fun, light way for family or friends to pass 80 minutes or so together—and it is.


The Secret Service is pushing back against assertions its agents are "incompetent to carry out forensic examinations on digital media," The Hill reports.
Secret Service agent Samuel Ivanovich, who arrested Yujing Zhang, testified Monday when an agency analyst inserted the USB into his computer, it immediately started installing malware. The analyst, he said, "had to immediately stop the analysis and shut off" the computer to stop the corruption.
A Secret Service spokesperson said in a released statement the agency's Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program (ECSAP) "is internationally recognized" and there are special agents who "receive extensive training in computer forensics and undergo a rigorous certification process."
"Forensic examinations conducted by these personnel are done in accordance with U.S. Secret Service standard operating policies and procedures," the spokesperson added. "Secret Service forensic examinations are conducted on standalone computers, equipped with specialized forensic software, which are not connected to Secret Service networks."
Computer security professionals criticized Ivanovich for the move.
Zhang's defense attorney Tuesday presented evidence Zhang thought she was attending a United Nations Chinese American Association event and she paid a man just over $20,000 to appear.
Assertions Secret Service agents are "incompetent to carry out forensic examinations on digital media" were rejected by the agency Tuesday, according to The Hill.


NFL Quick Shots: Why do teams abandon the run on third down?
My favorite NFL play as a kid was a third-down draw play to Walter Payton, Earl Campbell or O.J. Simpson. Now, even the best running backs seldom run on third down. Heck, only three of Adrian Peterson’s 197 carries for Minnesota have been on distances between third-and-3 and third-and-7. Why?
The Bears tried to pass on their first 17 third downs Sunday. It worked well, especially the two third-and-1 passes. But what’s the point of running 38 times if the defense knows you pass on every third down? Matt Forte is no Walter Payton or Adrian Peterson, but he’s more adept at busting the occasional long run than he is running between the tackles. Chicago needs to give Forte a chance to break that long run with two or three run calls on third-and-medium. That should also open up more passing lanes for Jay Cutler.
Or they could ask WWBCD (What Would Brad Childress Do) and keep throwing every time on third-and-3.
I say giving $78 million to McNabb is worth firing a GM for. Maybe they can hire Brad Childress to coach.
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King writes the Vikings can’t bench Favre until they “are mathematically out of it.” Benching Favre isn’t giving up. He was incredible last year, but he’s now the NFL’s No. 31-rated passer and he’s only going to get older and more injured. Tarvaris Jackson led the Vikings to six wins in a row three years ago, had a 95.4 passer rating two years ago and runs very well. Jackson could be worse than Favre. He could also be better. At 3-6, Minnesota needs to change something.
The Panthers are upset that Tampa Bay players dove into the pile head first on a fourth-down sneak, leaving Carolina’s Jimmy Clausen with a concussion. The Panthers should be more upset that Carolina, with Matt Moore injured, is being quarterbacked by three rookies: Clausen, Tony Pike and Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State, who was supposed to be a receiver.
Jaguars safety Sean Considine forced a fumble two plays before Jacksonville’s winning Hail Mary pass. If the former Byron star hadn’t stripped the ball loose, Houston would have been in range for a game-winning 51-yard field goal.
“Sean did a great job tackling and creating the turnover. ... It was a huge play,” cornerback Derek Cox told the Florida Times-Union.
If you give Jay Cutler time, he’ll make big plays. But even with time, he still makes the occasional reckless throw, as he did with a red-zone interception against the Vikings. “I’ve got to be more aware down there and just take the field goal,” Cutler said.


Brexit is a search for enemies — something that Carl Schmitt understood only too well.
On 29 July 2018, the anniversary of Benito Mussolini’s birth, Italy’s far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini posted on Twitter “tanti nemici, tanto onore” (“So many enemies, so much honour”)—a variation on the fascist dictator’s notorious motto. Salvini was reproached by the press and rival politicians, and many took it as a worrying sign of fascism’s creeping return to Italian politics. But the same sentiment—an exaltation of enemies, whether liberals, immigrants or “cultural Marxists”—can be seen across the world, as domestic politics becomes increasingly polarised.
In this febrile atmosphere, it’s no surprise the ideas of German legal theorist Carl Schmitt are, in the words of the Financial Times, “back in vogue.” A celebrated scholar, an avowed and unrepentant Nazi supporter and a Mussolini sympathiser, Schmitt saw politics as a constant combat between warring factions. Enemies—real enemies, the ones who’d be happy to see you dead—are essential to political identities, Schmitt thought. If they did not exist, they would need to be invented. “Tell me who your enemy is, and I will tell you who you are,” he said. Without enemies, he thought, we are nothing.
For decades after the Second World War, Schmitt’s anti-Semitism put him beyond the pale of serious scholarship, and he was never allowed to teach at German universities again. But since his death in 1985, age 97, Schmitt’s stature has grown. According to Jan-Werner Muller, professor of politics at Princeton University, he is “the [twentieth] century’s most brilliant enemy of liberalism.” The real worry today is not his rehabilitation—but his relevance.
Arguably Schmitt’s most influential work was The Concept of the Political, a short essay with a lasting legacy, recognised as one of the most important tracts of modern political thought. Published in 1932, a year before he joined the Nazi Party, Schmitt’s essay starts from a simple premise: If the defining distinction in morality is between good and evil, in aesthetics between beauty and ugliness, and in economics between profitable and unprofitable, what then is the defining distinction in politics?
As the rhetoric of war suffuses Britain today, it’s often diagnosed as a symptom of Brexiteers’ hankering nostalgia for Britain’s past. But Schmitt’s work shows that war serves another purpose in the political imagination: it binds people together, and brings with it a sense of purpose and belonging. War creates a cohesive identity; as the enemy comes clearly into view, so do we.
This rallying fantasy is innate to nationalist movements. Immigration is relayed in the language of “invasion.” Internal opponents are attacked on the grounds of “treason.” Other enemies, including leftists and minorities, are construed as wanting to wreck the nation. In Hungary, the name of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party Fidesz evokes the Latin fides; fidelity, or loyalty. At Jair Bolsonaro’s inauguration, the former military captain held up a Brazilian flag and declared that it would “never be red, unless our blood is needed to keep it yellow and green.” It’s not only Brexiteers who have war in their dreaming.
In a world where strong social bonds and feelings of belonging are elusive, the psychological certainties of war offer perverse relief. Schmitt saw a similar alienation plaguing his own era. His belief that liberalism was to blame has always resonated with left-wing thinkers, from Walter Benjamin to Slavoj Zizek. He praised Marx for his “mighty friend-enemy grouping” between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. But his focus on foreign threats has ensured that Schmitt’s natural heirs are almost all on the right.
With prescient words, Schmitt attacked liberalism’s “onslaught against the political.” The doe-eyed denial of the friend-enemy distinction—which sought to replace conflict with economic competition and “perpetual discussion”—ended not in utopia, Schmitt argued, but in the dispiriting diktat that “there must no longer be political problems, only organizational-technical and economic-sociological ones.” This foreshadowed, some fifty years early, Fukuyama’s “End of History” thesis, but without any of the end of century optimism. Schmitt believed that in a world where enemies were prohibited, wars would be far worse.
Schmitt's own Nazi Party disproved the theory that wars would be worse when nations had no enemies, although the liberal-led nuclear age has threatened to affirm his idea. Yet Schmitt’s critique of liberalism’s duplicity remains eerily prescient. He laid out the “manifest fraud” of those who declare the inhumanity of war while waging it. “The worst confusion arises,” Schmitt warned, “when concepts such as justice and freedom are used to legitimise one’s own political ambitions and to disqualify or demoralize the enemy.” Politics was no place for experts.
What Schmitt saw—and what, in his anti-Semitism, he succumbed to—is the attraction of enmity. With little else to latch on to, in either economic or social spheres, adversity injects real meaning into life. For Schmitt, “the entire life of a human being is a struggle and every human being symbolically is a combatant”. The lure of this idea can be seen everywhere today, from the popularity of Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan, pseudo-intellectuals who see the same fraught world in which man (and it is almost always men) must fight for himself, to, more playfully, social media boasts of being blocked, and the current trend of “Nemesis Twitter,” where users vaunt unnamed foes, affirming a strong identity by extension.
Brexit is many things, but it is partly a search for enemies. There’s a sense in which British society had become sterile and enfeebled. Brexit was a chance to restore its power. The EU was a perfect foil for this sentiment; framed in the right way, it represented three enemies in one: old continental rivals, namely Germany and France; immigrants with malign intentions; and an elite bureaucracy, untethered to any nation.
During the referendum, all of these “enemies”— enticingly wrapped up within a single institution — were said to embody wild, existential threats. The EU was compared to Hitler 2.0, eastern Europeans and refugees became potential ISIS terrorists, and even the most treasured of national traditions were at risk of annihilation by Brussels. “THE EUROPEAN UNION WANTS TO KILL OUR CUPPA,” one Leave campaign Facebook ad shrieked.
Brexit is often cast as a peculiarly British affliction—a post-imperial melancholy, a world war nostalgia, a delusion of grandeur—even as right-wing populism sweeps the world. But Brexit is actually more Schmittish than British. It stems from an obsession with sovereignty, an aggressive affirmation of identity and a wannabe-war with existential enemies.
This politics plagues every nation, and is why Brexit—despite its solipsistic patriotism—finds such support abroad, whether in Salvini, Trump or the Alternative fur Deutschland. Really, nationalism knows no borders, and all nationalists speak the same language. Schmitt may as well have written their script.


Imagine feasting on grilled fish, caught that morning, on a terrace lit by flaming torches beside a secret bay, with a bottle of fine wine perched on the pristine white tablecloth.
Now imagine eating the same succulent fish out of a takeaway box, with your toes in the soft sand, a chilled bottle of beer resting on the wobbly picnic table before you.
Why, you may ask, am I using food to introduce you to the Caribbean gem of Barbados?
Two reasons. First, 2018 has been designated Barbados’s Year of Culinary Experiences. Second, the cuisine is a perfect illustration of the amazing diversity you’ll find on this little tropical island.
You can tick all the boxes when it comes to dreamy beaches, swaying coconut palms, idyllic hotels and a sea painted every colour of blue.
Yet Barbados has so much more depth than just being a premium fly-and-flop destination. You could spend a whole week investigating the intriguing historical monuments, grand plantation houses and exquisite botanical gardens. Or another week combining forays into the rainforest with a clutch of water sports. And yet another week shopping for crafts, playing golf and indulging in spa treatments.
What’s more, you can time your visit to coincide with one of the numerous festivals, from jazz to sailing, gospel to rum, reggae to horse racing. Most of them are infused by the Bajans’ fervent desire to party.
With the island being just 21 miles long, it’s easy to dip in and out of all the attractions as the mood takes you for a holiday that can be as enriching, exhilarating or relaxing as you like.
Barbados is so exotic yet also so familiar in many respects. Its enterprising people have nurtured a country in which Caribbean traditions are melded with the highest standards of comfort and cuisine afforded to visitors, though the leisurely rhythm of life remains a fine antidote to the frenetic lives many of us lead.
The familiarity comes through a strong British influence. Wander through the Unesco-listed old part of the vibrant capital, Bridgetown, and you’ll notice a statue of Lord Nelson that pre-dates the one in London’s Trafalgar Square. Some of the old churches are straight out of a rural UK parish. Over on the wild east coast, a rock bears a plaque informing passers-by that the road here was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966. That’s the year Barbados became independent, though Her Majesty remains the country’s head of state.
The island was first settled by the British in 1627 and remained a colony until 1966. This legacy is evident in the many historic buildings, especially St Ann’s Fort, built in 1705 and used by the British Armed Forces until 1905.
Today, the African roots of the majority of the population are cherished and celebrated, although the systems of government and education remain firmly based on the British model (and let’s not forget the islanders’ passion for cricket). English is the official language, though you’ll hear the locals effortlessly switch between this and their own impenetrable dialect.
There’s another significant connection to our homeland – British Airways has been flying to Barbados since the 1950s and now operates up to 12 flights each week from London Gatwick.
So let’s take a closer look inside the box of treats that Barbados offers. The weather can more or less be taken for granted. It’s wonderful all year. When it does rain – and all that lush foliage needs regular watering – it’s usually in short, refreshing doses.
The west coast is the Caribbean at its most sublime. Powder-sand beaches kissed by transparent turquoise waters are discreetly lined with first-class hotels, their gardens perfumed by stunning blooms. Quaint shops huddle in picturesque villages and superb golf courses are barely more than a tee-shot away.
Down south, lively St Lawrence Gap is the epicentre of the island’s entertainment. The dazzling beaches continue, this time washed by waves that are favoured by novice surfers and stand-up paddleboarders. A mix of luxurious all-inclusive hotels and good-value apartments create a welcoming community.
Between these two shores lies Bridgetown, the sweep of Carlisle Bay and a charming waterfront where you can board a catamaran for a day cruise, join a diving adventure or even take a ride in a submarine.
On the east coast and up in the north, it’s a completely different picture, almost as if you had stepped on to another island. Breakers sweep the untouched beaches, some adorned by giant coral rocks. Little bays and lagoons are hidden escapes for locals and in-the-know visitors.
Inland, deep gullies choked with rainforest flora are the habitat for the “other” locals – cheeky green monkeys, iridescent hummingbirds and bright-hued butterflies.
Among the foliage are some of Barbados’s greatest treasures. Harrison’s Cave, accessed by a cute road train, is an otherworldly and quite unexpected experience. Several beautiful gardens showcase incredible displays of plants, flowers and often quirky statuary. Farley Hill National Park invites a picnic beneath the mahogany trees next to the haunting ruins of an old mansion. At the handsome, Jacobean St Nicholas Abbey, you can witness how rum is once again being made from the estate’s sugar cane.
Going back to where we started, with the island’s cuisine, the choices are equally copious. There are super-chic restaurants in wonderful beachside locations where the memory of your meal will remain long after its zingy flavours. Many other eateries serve up plates of sizzling fish or chicken in a homely atmosphere with favourite accompaniments such as rice ’n’ peas, plantain and okra.
Then there are the rustic rum shops – the equivalent of the local pub – where typical West Indian fare makes a tasty, cheap lunch. These are great places to mingle with the Bajan people, which brings me to a less tangible yet powerfully evident quality that makes Barbados so special. Everywhere you go, be it on the beach, at the market or on the dance floor, you’ll notice wide smiles and an eagerness to banter. The locals love their island, and there’s little they like more than you loving it too.