text:
In a new investigative report, The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims has alleged that the downing of the aircraft was a deliberate act by Iran.
New investigation implicates top Iranian officials in the Flight PS752 downing
Clement Charpentreau
Image : Amirabbas Ghasemi
The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims released its investigative report into the crash of Flight PS752 on November 24, 2021. The report accuses senior Iranian officials of attempting to cover up their responsibility in the downing of the aircraft.
On January 8, 2020, Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran International Airport, Iran, killing 176 people and one unborn child. An operator of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), stationed in Bid Kaneh, was found to have fired two missiles from a Tor-M1 surface-to-air system, which brought down the aircraft.
In its final report, the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran said that a mistake was made while setting up the radar of the missile system after a relocation. As a result, Flight PS752's path was shown as heading straight for Tehran, rather than away from the city, at a time when the country's air defense was on high alert.
But the new report refutes claims from the Iranian government that the incident was due to a "human error" made while setting up a radar of the air defense system of Tehran. "The alleged 105-degree calibration error in finding true north orientation of the Tor-M1 missile system is highly unlikely and appears to be fabricated," the report states.
A piece of evidence submitted, based on the Tor-M1 technical specifications, states that the system is "designed to eliminate the need for manual calibration in war situations," and thus would have found the right orientation automatically after being relocated. Additionally, an improper alignment of the radar would have likely resulted in the system missing its target.
The report also points at several electronic devices that belonged to passengers and showed signs of being deliberately destroyed. "One likely explanation is that these electronics may have been bulldozed over in an attempt to destroy any potential evidence that victims recorded in the last minutes of their lives," the investigation claims. Two days after the crash, pictures showed that the crash site had been cleared using a bulldozer.
The association claims that civilian flight operations were deliberately left undisturbed to deter an attack from the United States military. Hours before the crash, the Iranian military had launched over 12 missiles on U.S. bases in Iraq, in reprisal of the death of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian special services, in a drone strike. "At the highest levels of military alertness, the government of Iran used passenger flights as human shield against possible American attacks, by deliberately not closing the airspace to civilian flights," it says.
Instead of an unfortunate incident, the association alleges that the downing was a deliberate act. "The intentional act of keeping Iranian airspace open, the technical capabilities of the Tor-M1 system and Iran's integrated defence network in detecting hostile targets, the positioning of the Tor-M1 system near Tehran's international airport, the systematic concealment of the root cause of the crash, the destruction of existing evidence, and Iran's misleading reports, all indicate that the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 was deliberate."
In May 2021, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the missiles that shot down the Ukraine International Flight PS752 in Iran were fired intentionally in an act of terrorism.
Canadian court rules Flight PS752 shootdown as "act of terrorism"
The Ontario Superior Court ruled that the missiles that shot down a commercial flight in Iran were fired intentionally as an act of terrorism.
Following the publication of the new investigative report, the International Coordination Group for Victims of Flight PS752 issued a joint statement:
"We, the ministers representing Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, are deeply disappointed that the Islamic Republic of Iran has not accepted our numerous offers to meet on [November 22, 2021] to negotiate reparations for the downing of PS752.
[...] If Iran continues to avoid negotiations with the group, the Coordination Group will have no choice but to seriously consider other actions and measures to address this issue under international law. "
Iran PS752 Ukraine International Airlines


Savannah Rose Design – oooh the feather rings!
Turquoise is rapidly becoming my favourite colour….yes taking over from pink! I am currently trying to locate my ring sizing thingie so that I can order one of these beautiful turquoise thumb rings from Savannah Rose Design.
The pieces you will find within this gorgeous Etsy shop are a little rustic, a little bit vintage and a whole lot of bohemian…..
Lauralee has a real eye for design and the pieces are unique and really very pretty….
Below are some pictures of my favourites…..if you want to have a closer look just click on the photo and you will find yourself in an Aladdins cave of goodies…..
Now to try and make those links work so that you can visit the Savannah Rose Design shop and treat yourself to something pretty…..you know you deserve it!


text:
Is scrapping housing benefit for under-25s a good idea?
The prime minister David Cameron says the policy would save £2bn a year, and send out a clear message on welfare. But who would it affect - and what would the impact be?
Patrick Butler
Mon 25 Jun 2012 13.45 EDT First published on Mon 25 Jun 2012 13.45 EDT
Proposed welfare changes would see an estimated 380,000 under 25's lose housing benefit Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
1.15pm: The prime minister David Cameron has set out plans to scrap housing benefit for 380,000 young people under 25, saving up to £1.8bn a year on the welfare bill.
In a speech today he said working age welfare should principally be for people with no other means of support who have "fallen on hard times" - and that doesn't neccesarily include under-25s being subsidised to live independently when they could move back into the family home.
The proposal to take away housing benefit for young people was part of a bigger conversation about welfare, he said:
The time has come to go back to first principles; to have a real national debate and ask some fundamental, searching questions about working-age welfare…
…what it is actually for…
…who should receive it…
…what the limits of state provision should be…
…and what kind of contribution we should expect from those receiving benefits.
He added that the state spends almost £2bn a year on housing benefit for under-25s, and there are currently 210,000 people aged 16-24 who are social housing tenants.
Some of these young people will genuinely have nowhere else to live – but many will.
And this is happening when there is a growing phenomenon of young people living with their parents into their 30s because they can't afford their own place…
…almost 3 million between the ages of 20 and 34.
So for literally millions, the passage to independence is several years living in their childhood bedroom as they save up to move out…
…while for many others, it's a trip to the council where they can get housing benefit at 18 or 19 – even if they're not actively seeking work.
Cameron said he wanted more family responsibility for welfare, such as is the case in the Netherlands where:
the welfare system doesn't provide for under-21s as a default – and where it does, it expects their family to contribute if they can.
He concluded that there was a moral underpinning to his approach to welfare reform - it wasn't about "getting the books in order":
Raising big questions on welfare, as I have today – it might not win the government support.
Frankly a lot of it might rub people up the wrong way.
But as I've argued, the reform of welfare isn't some technocratic issue.
It's not about high-level accounting to get the books in order.
It's about the kind of country we want to be – who we back, who we reward, what we expect of people, the kind of signals we send to the next generation.
Cameron outlined his thinking on this in the Mail on Sunday yesterday:
'A couple will say, "We are engaged, we are both living with our parents, we are trying to save before we get married and have children and be good parents. But how does it make us feel, Mr Cameron, when we see someone who goes ahead, has the child, gets the council home, gets the help that isn't available to us?"'
'One is trapped in a welfare system that discourages them from working, the other is doing the right thing and getting no help.'
We'll be asking: how would it work and who, exactly, would it affect? What would be the consequences for young people and their families? Why are young people being targeted? And will it save money or, as the PM hopes, change people's behaviours?
Please get in touch with questions, answers, links and observations: patrick.butler@theguardian.com or via Twitter @patrickjbutler
1.41pm: Here's some initial reaction to the PM's housing benefit proposals.
Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said the government should focus on sorting out its existing reforms, which he said were "either failing or mired in chaos".
"Welfare spending is going up under this government because too many people are out of work, but at the last budget the chancellor's priority was not help to get people into work but a tax cut for millionaires."
The homelessness charity Crisis has called the proposals "counter-productive, ill-considered and irresponsible".
Leslie Morphy, the Crisis CEO said:
Everyday at Crisis we help vulnerable young people who have become homeless to get back on their feet and rebuild their lives by supporting them to move into accommodation.
They will typically have escaped from violent or difficult homes – the Prime Minister's suggestion today that they be forced to return to stay with their families is just not an option.
At a time when youth homelessness is already on the rise it would be deeply irresponsible and would cost the taxpayer more in the long-term.
But it is not just the very vulnerable who will lose out. Housing Benefit is rightly claimed by people who are in work but whose pay is too low and local rents are too high – taking housing benefit from them will cause them to have to uproot and most likely lose their job and not be able to find another.
And the proposal does not even make sense – single people under 35 are already only entitled to a much lower rate of housing benefit and the Government's previous changes to housing benefit will force families in social housing to downsize so they have no spare rooms and penalise those with adult children living at home, encouraging them to leave.
Instead of floating such irresponsible ideas the Government should be focusing its energies on helping young people back to work, ensuring there is a strong safety net to prevent, reduce and resolve homelessness for all and building many more genuinely affordable homes.
In this piece for Comment is Free, Ed Howker argues that the proposal is of a piece with the government's wider contempt for young people and will put more pressure on disadvantaged youngsters and their families:
It is a cut that will fall on the young even if they work, that will further slow their journey to adulthood and heap yet more pressure on to the shoulders of their older relatives who are too poor to subsidise their children's life beyond the family home.
Here's George Eaton on the New Statesman blog:
It is meaningless of Cameron to claim that the housing benefit budget is "too large" without considering why. The inflated budget, which will reach £23.2bn this year, is the result of a conscious choice by successive governments to subsidise private landlords rather than invest in affordable social housing. Yet rather than addressing the problem of stagnant wages and excessive rents, Cameron, in a bid to appease his querulous party, has chosen to squeeze the already squeezed.
There's more discussion and commentary of the proposals in today's Society daily blog.
1.55pm: So, under Cameron's housing benefit proposals what would happen to young people under 25 if their housing benefit was withdrawn?
And - given that the PM says their immediate family should give more support - what obligations does that place on those families?
Tim Leunig, chief economist at the Liberal Democrat Centre Forum thinktank, poses five questions for Cameron:
• Does this mean all parents have a legal obligation to house their children until they are 25? What sanctions will be placed on parents who refuse to do this?
• If there is no such obligation, where are low income and unemployed under-25s supposed to live? Will the state provide "young adult homes" akin to children's homes for people whose parents refuse? What about those who have no parents? How much will this cost taxpayers?
• Will parents of people aged under 25 be able to claim housing benefit on a bedroom for their under-25, even if the under-25 has moved out, in case they need to move back? How much will this cost taxpayers? Or will there be a legal obligation on social and private renters to move to a different sized house every time their adult children need to move in, or choose to move out?
• Which parents have a legal obligation to house a married couple aged under 25 in low-income work? Do the young couple have to split up and live with their own parents? Can they choose? Do they have to alternate?
• Who has a legal obligation to house a couple under 25 with children?
Leunig gives the proposals short shrift, saying:
The Prime Minister seems determined to retoxify the Tory party with his unworkable scheme.
2.01pm: Reader Charlie Dorr has emailed to point out that Cameron's proposals would be impractical for many young people who have moved far from the family home to find work.
How does the government's plans fit in with their belief (articulated not long ago by Iain Duncan Smith) that people should move around to look for jobs?
When I was 23 (about 5 years ago) I moved out of my parents to take up a job in another part of the country because there wasn't much work where I lived.
Now according to Cameron if I had lost my job (which wouldn't have been impossible as there were redundancies where I worked only 12 months after I joined), I would have to have packed my bags (probably taken a hit on any rent owed) and moved all the way back to a town where I knew there would be no work - and try it all over again.
Incidentally I would have been one of the lucky ones, because I did have parents who could take me in, which other under-25s don't.
3.38pm: Who will be affected by the housing benefit proposals? Shelter, the housing charity, has prepared the following data on under-25s in receipt of housing benefit, based on DWP sources:
All under 25 on HB 385,010
Under 25 with children 204,450
Under 25, single, childless on H 165,990
Under 25, couple, childless on HB 14,570
Under 25, single childless and on LHA only 53,140
The PM's pre-speech briefings said 380,000 people would be affected - suggesting that all those under 25 would be covered - over 200,000 of whom have children.
The PM hinted there may be some exceptions - pre-briefings suggested victims of domestic violence for example. He said the system should not penalise those young people "who genuinely have nowhere else to live".
Again, I want to stress that a lot of these young people will genuinely need a roof over their head. Like those leaving foster care, or those with a terrible, destructive home life and we must always be there for them.
3.51pm: Joe Halewood, a housing consultant, argues below the line that the majority of the HB spend goes to landlords in the more expensive private sector.
PM speech: "There are currently 210,000 people aged 16-24 who are social housing tenants."
The total under-25 statistics according to official DWP figures released last week are 385,010. So 175,010 under-25s are in higher cost private housing then.
Let's crunch some numbers shall we?
The average HB paid in social housing is £77.20 according to the official DWP figures. Yet that covers 1 bed up to 4 bed + accommodation. But let's be really conservative (no pun intended) and say it's £70pw.
This gives a social housing weekly cost of £70 x 210,000 or £14.7m and a yearly one of £767m.
Yet the total HB spend on under-25s is £1.85bn per year. The official figures show (table 9a) 385,010 under-25s in receipt of HB and at an average of £92.05 (table 9b). Do the maths and this is £35.44m per week or £1.851bn per year.
This means £1.084 bn of HB spend on the under-25s is in the PRIVATE SECTOR.
3.59pm: How practical would the policy be for young people who live away from home and need temporary support to get a job?
The PM suggested that the housing benefit bill was being driven up by young people who really didn't need to move out:
There are many who will have a parental home and somewhere to stay – they just want more independence.
But as reader Calisto writes, below the line:
When I finished my MA it took me a few months to find a job in-line with what I'd spent years training for. Whilst I was looking for a 'proper' job I was house-sharing and undertook casual and temping work. This work wasn't always reliable, and I needed to plug the gaps in the wages with a bit of job seekers and housing benefit.
I was still earning where I could, and paying my taxes on what I earned; I just needed a few weeks of support in order to secure that job (incidentally, I felt embarrassed about claiming, and my family had to push me to complete the forms). The alternative, would have been to move back to my parents, back to where there are virtually no professional jobs in my area, and away from where I had been trying to establish myself after spending 4 years studying.
This isn't just about those parts of the country where there may be a self-perpetuating workless culture, the hundreds of thousands of young people graduating from university often take a few gos to find the work they're looking for and boomerang-ing back home yet again is counterproductive.
4.04pm: Shelter argues that the group most affected by the government's proposals would be young adults who do not have a family home to move back to.
• Care leavers
• Orphans
They also include young people who have:
• Abusive parents/step parents/partners – this will be those with convictions and those without convictions but where violence still exists
• Severely overcrowded parental homes – likely to be exacerbated by under-occupation housing benefit cut
• Parents who have downsized
• Parents who have moved abroad
• Parents who have divorced – children reaching maturity is the 'peak' point for divorcing parents
• Parents in prison
• Family breakdown – parents who refuse to accommodate children
• Parents on low incomes who will be hit by non-dependant deduction should their child move back home when universal credit comes in.
It's not clear how many of the 380,000 young people in receipt of housing benefit would come into these categories, and if they do whether they would be automatically exempt.
4.51pm: The housing association Family Mosaic (FM) has been in touch to comment on PM's proposals. Based in London and the south east, FM runs around 23,000 homes for social rent, serving around 45,000 people.
Its chief executive Brendan Sarsfield says:
If housing benefit is stopped what will happen to those under 25? The assumption is that they can all live with their families. The truth is that the young people we traditionally house do not have that option. They have either come from a care or foster home, or have a mental health issue and/or have been kicked out of the family home. Where do these people go? Not housing these people will end up costing the state more.
He adds:
Government policy needs to built on an evidence base and common sense, not myths that pre-date the Victorian workhouse.
5.14pm: My colleague on the politics live blog Andy Sparrow sums up the Cameron welfare speech, and some of the political response to it - here
Andy writes:
Cameron floated 17 specific ideas, but none of them represent goverment policy and he admitted that many of them are really at best submissions for the 2015 Conservative manifesto
5.45pm: Campaigners argue that there is no evidence that young people move out of the family home because they can claim housing benefit, or that this benefit helps support a "lifestyle choice".
Some 56% of all under-25s live at home, says Shelter, using data compiled by the Family Resources Survey; a further 19% are in shared student accommodation; 10% live independently and 8% live in flat shares.
The charity Shelter notes that restrictions on housing benefit for young people have already been imposed through the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR)
The January 2012 extension of the SAR to all people under the age of 35 was expected to result in an average £41 a week reduction in the amount of housing benefit paid to young people living alone in one bedroom flats in the private rented sector (according to the government's own estimates)
Shelter notes that 35% of under 25s on SAR, 14% are in work. Around 55% are on income-based job seeker's allowance but 58% of youngers are on SAR for less than six months.
This suggests, according to Shelter's figures, that relatively few under 25s claim housing benefit, that housing benefit is already tightly restricted, and of those that do claim it, the majority use it as a short-term safety net.
5.54pm: Homeless Link, which represents homeless charities, tweets me to point out that of young people who seek help because they are homelessness, over 50% cite as the main cause:
Relationship breakdown with family or friends
In other words, returning to the family home is not an easy or obvious solution.
Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Housing director of policy and practice, Gavin Smart, points out that most housing benefit claimants are in work:
We should not assume that most housing benefit claimants are long-term unemployed. The most recent figures show that the fastest-growing part of the housing benefit caseload is from tenants in work - this has grown by 95% in the last three years - more than twice the rate of increase due to unemployment.
The best route to cutting the housing benefit bill would be to build more affordable homes, he says:
Affordable homes have lower rents and so put less pressure on the housing benefit bill. Not only will this help solve our housing crisis, but it would also provide a welcome boost to the economy.
6.02pm: Campaigners also point out that the proposed policy of removing housing benefit for all under 25s, and expecting claimants to return to the family home, would clash with at least three existing welfare and housing policies:
• Non-dependant deductions have increased steeply, encouraging family break-up
• The under-occupancy cut (also known as the "bedroom tax") will encourage parents to downsize, losing spare rooms
• Non-dependant deductions under Universal Credit will penalise young unemployed people living at home.
6.45pm: To sum up: the prime minister David Cameron proposed in a speech today that housing benefit should be withdrawn from all people aged under 25 (other than those who "genuinely have nowhere else to go").
This would cut the welfare bill (by £2bn a year), he argued. But it would also send out some clear signals: that work pays, that welfare benefits are not an entitlement, and that the family should play more of a role in welfare.
We found that if, as Cameron said, the proposal would affect 380,000 people, this would include over 200,000 people with children. The PM said that some would be exempt, such as youngsters leaving care, and those escaping domestic violence or abuse.
The PM suggested many youngsters do not really need to to live independently. He pointed out that 210,000 under 25's were living in social housing - suggesting they did not need to be taking up a scarce resource.
But social landlords told us that tenants under the age of 25 tend have genuine social needs, such as homelessness or health issues. In many areas social housing is not an option - meaning that people had to find accomodation in the more expensive private rented sector.
Readers pointed out that housing benefit had been an essential temporary safety net to enable them to find work in place far from their family home, especially if the home was in an area where there were few jobs, or where they would be unable to pursue their chosen career.
Campaigners point out that around a sixth of under 25s on housing benefit are working, which reflects low wages and high rents. The Green party has pointed out that young people working full time on the mimimum wage won't earn enough to pay for an affordable room in the average shared flat in any borough of London.
Cameron's proposals to make the family play a larger role in welfare also appear to conflict with at least two existing policies which penalise tenants for keeping their older offspring at home.
Ulitmately, though, we perhaps should see the speech less as a serious policy statement than as a friendly wag flaved at his own supporters. After the speech, number 10 was quick to position the speech as something to consider for the next Tory manifesto rather than as something that was on the coalition's immediate policy agenda.
David Cameron attacks 'culture of welfare entitlement' – video
Speaking in Kent, David Cameron says many taxpayers resent funding a system they get nothing back from
Doubts grow over David Cameron's welfare blitz
Prime minister announces 17 proposals but questions raised over cost of reforms
David Cameron unveils sweeping welfare reforms
Housing benefit ban for under 25s and welfare linked to wages among plans as PM signals new focus beyond Tory-Lib Dem coalition
Economic gap between young and old significantly worse since 2008 – study
Findings will fuel row over David Cameron's promise to shield pensioners while targeting welfare cuts on the young
Read the datablog here
Cameron announces Tory plan to slash benefits
Rowan Williams pours scorn on David Cameron's 'big society'
Cameron's big cut 'idea' will only backfire on the Tories
Polly Toynbee

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We will schedule your first visit, except for an emergency, by appointment. Since your understanding is vital to the success of your treatment, we will reserve an hour of our periodontist's time for your first visit. Your questions and participation in this appointment are most welcome.
We will review your past and present medical conditions, previous dental treatment, reasons for seeking care and your desired results. Periodontal diagnosis requires a detailed study of your periodontal problem. One of our periodontists will complete a thorough clinical exam, review your x-rays and any other necessary diagnostic information. A treatment plan will be discussed with you to restore your oral health.
Please bring a list of your current medications, including prescription and over the counter medication. A set of current x-ray films is necessary. If none are available from your general dentist or you do not presently have a general dentist, we will take them for you at our office.
No periodontal treatment will be completed on the first visit. This appointment is your opportunity to find out about the disease process, treatment options available to you and the risks of seeking no treatment for this disease. You can then make informed decisions regarding your health.


At centers of excellence, surgeons have mastered thoracoscopic lobectomy for early stage patients and seen benefits, often from reductions in complications. Once minimally invasive surgery becomes the preferred daily routine, surgeons naturally tend to expand video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) indications to include patients with more advanced stages in order to standardize work flows and possibly improve outcomes. While managing lymphatic metastases can be challenging particularly when they invade pulmonary vessels, dealing with advanced T-stage can be the biggest obstacle to obtaining high rates of thoracoscopic reliability. In this article, we review the outcomes of surgeons who have attempted to address patients with advanced (select T3 and T4 tumors). Some T3 categories, like chest wall invasion, are covered by other articles in this issue. In addition to outcomes, we describe the fundamentals of dissection and exposure that we feel are very useful in taking on such cases as well as the tools that we find are particularly useful. It seems likely that there will be ongoing interest in this area requiring additional innovation and research support to maximize thoracoscopic indications while maintaining safety and oncologic validity.


Having taken the head-start of selecting a skill that I'd already been working on (the Git DVCS), I have one skill learnt.
Musically, the flute's been out a lot. I still need to work on my tone; and have difficulty playing while listening to a metronome.
Yoga, pilates or the exercise form of tai chi. I did a little of the latter back at uni, would be good to do it again. Another habit to get back in to.
Still two more to add.


text:
package org.oliot.epcis_client;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;

import org.bson.BsonDocument;

public class MasterData {

	private VocabularyType type;
	private String id;
	private Map<String, String> attributes;
	private List<String> children;

	public MasterData(VocabularyType type, String id) {
		this.type = type;
		this.id = id;
		attributes = new HashMap<String, String>();
		children = new ArrayList<String>();
	}

	public VocabularyType getType() {
		return type;
	}

	public void setType(VocabularyType type) {
		this.type = type;
	}

	public String getId() {
		return id;
	}

	public void setId(String id) {
		this.id = id;
	}

	public Map<String, String> getAttributes() {
		return attributes;
	}

	public void setAttributes(Map<String, String> attributes) {
		this.attributes = attributes;
	}

	public List<String> getChildren() {
		return children;
	}

	public void setChildren(List<String> children) {
		this.children = children;
	}

	public BsonDocument asBsonDocument() {
		CaptureUtil util = new CaptureUtil();

		BsonDocument masterData = new BsonDocument();
		masterData = util.putType(masterData, type);
		masterData = util.putID(masterData, id);

		if (this.attributes != null && this.attributes.isEmpty() == false) {
			masterData = util.putAttributes(masterData, attributes);
		}
		if (this.children != null && this.children.isEmpty() == false) {
			masterData = util.putChildren(masterData, children);
		}
		return masterData;
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I went to go see the Ao Haru Ride ("Aoha Ride" in Japanese) movie last week. It's the story of a girl named Futaba and the boy she begins to fall in love with in middle school, Kou. One day, Kou suddenly disappears from school without a word, with no one knowing how to contact him. Three years later, he shows up again at Futaba's high school with a different name and seemingly changed personality. Futaba's feelings for Kou haven't changed, but have his feelings for her?
After watching those 1 min and 40 seconds, you've basically just seen the whole movie. I have a lot to say about it. I'll try not to be too harsh ;) I think most of what I mention can be illustrated with the trailers above.
Ao Haru Ride isn't exactly a new movie anymore, as it came out on Dec. 13, but I needed a movie to see and explain to my teacher for my Japanese lesson, and this was the only movie out that I felt like seeing. I wasn't going to see it at all, because the trailer didn't match my mental images of the manga, but I had a friend try to convince me it was good who said it was a 6/10 (is that convincing? haha).
It's based on a girls' manga of the same name, of which there are 12 volumes so far. (I just read that it's set to end soon, which I think is good, because then the story won't drag out like Kimi ni Todoke feels like it is right now.) I have all 12 volumes of the book, so I'll be checking some of the scenes against what I saw in the movie today. Since I read them in Japanese, there are probably things I missed or didn't get completely, but I get worked up during the good parts and bored during the lame parts, so I think I can be a good judge of whether the movie was any good compared to the manga or not.
Kou: Higashide Masahiro did not match my impression of Kou from the manga when I first saw the trailer, but actually, I felt like he wasn't bad at the part. I found myself sympathizing with him. He also reminds me a little of Matsumoto Jun. Am I crazy?) He was also reeeally tall next to Kominato-kun (his best friend in the books and movie). I found their info here: Kou is 176 cm (5'9), and Kominato is 178cm (5'10"). So, Kominato is supposed to be an inch taller than Kou, right? Google says Kou's actor is 189 cm (6'2), and Kominato's is 170 cm (5'7, same as me!). That was a pretty big difference. He seemed taller than a lot of the students at the high school, too. It was kind of funny watching Kominato give Kou a serious lecture from so far below Kou's line of vision.
Narumi: Narumi's hair is long in the movie and short in the manga, but I guess that doesn't matter too much. She doesn't look anything like in the manga, though.
Murao: I pictured Murao as looking older and seeming less friendly, but she wasn't too bad at her role.
Kominato Aya: Kominato was loud and annoying compared to the book; I'm not sure he came across as quite that ridiculous in the books.
Yuri: Yuri was a little awkward, but not too bad. She has the same hair as the book, but she seems older than the Yuri of the book. Actually, looking at the trailer now, it feels like Yuri should look younger and Murao should look older.
Kikuchi-kun (Futaba's temporary boyfriend): I thought he looked and acted just like in the book, although he could have looked a little older. And, just like in the book, I thought I liked him at the beginning, and slowly got more annoyed with him as the movie went on. The benefit of this being a movie was that their doomed relationship was shorter and so the viewers have less to suffer (haha).
All: I know they had a lot of ground to cover in the movie, but I wished they'd explored the group's growing together a little more–during the "leadership training conference" part, I thought it might not make sense why they weren't getting along without reading the manga. Also, the friendship that came together between the main characters felt a little forced–they all just "came together" during a scene at the beginning and that's it, best friends.
For all the characters–the group-hug scenes were reeeeally corny. There have got to be better ways to express oneness and friendship besides corny hugging scenes. There were a few people who came into the theater about halfway through the movie and were snickering in the back row. It's better for other movie goers if you don't do that, but I had to agree with them.
I felt like the movie was well-filmed; I liked the colors they chose, and the way the scenes were filmed, especially at the beginning (I had some hope that I'd like the movie more at the beginning…) There were parts where the music would stop and it would be silent when a character said something, and I felt like that suited the movie well.
When you watch a movie based on a book or comic, you're always looking for those things that remind you of the original work. You make allowances when it deviates from the book, because it seems to match the characterization in the book, or goes well with the theme of the book. When I was watching this movie, I recognized certain scenes, but they kept deviating from the book and it bothered me. There's a part where Futaba calls out to Kou that, in the books, takes place when he's walked outside, but takes place on the staircase in the movie. Or Kou covering Futaba's head and then running away in the movie, where in the book they have a cute little exchange, and he stands there next to her, even though he's obviously a little shy. And having Futaba trip and fall when they were playing that game outdoors in middle school, when in the manga she just got caught trying to get him "out of jail" and they had time to sit together. Or Futaba suddenly having three mean friends instead of two like in the book. Why did they have to change those things in the movie? It seemed unnecessary to me.
Finally, the scene where she pushes him and they both fall down–in the manga, they actually fell down the side of a small hill, so it makes sense that they ended up so close to each other, but in the movie, they're both walking on a totally flat surface, she runs toward him, she pushes them, and they both fall down. …What?
The movie for "Strobe Edge," a different movie also based on a manga (which I haven't read yet) by the same author, is coming out in March. The trailer (here) integrates with scenes from the manga to show you which parts replicate the manga and how close the characters look. I'm really hoping it will do a good job replicating the manga and do a bit better job than this movie did.
There were too many differences between the manga and the movie. The music and filming were well done, but the acting could've been more convincing. I want to like the manga more after seeing the live action. 6/10.
Posted on February 13, 2015 February 13, 2015 by The Flying StarfishPosted in TV, Movies & AnimeTagged Ao Haru Ride, Aoha Ride, movie review.
Nice review. Not having read the manga, I wonder what I'd have thought (I'm a sucker for awkward middle schoolers). Thanks for telling about the church scene. You knew I'd wonder!


Fantasy Football Podcast for January 4th, 2018. The Fantasy Footballers are back again with one of the most important episodes of the year! It's the 2017 Footie Awards! Our version, the #FootClan's version, of fantasy football awards. Not only this, but we'll reveal our NFL Playoffs + Super Bowl picks and invite you to join our NFL Playoff Challenge group. Manage your redraft, keeper, and dynasty fantasy football teams with insights you can only get on the #1 fantasy football podcast.
39:20- 2017 Footie Award Nominations!


Do you have an interest in crime novels? Good news for you then, because the Mystery Writers Breakfast is back! Join this fun-loving group for a chance to meet current and aspiring crime fiction authors.
Join us for a tour of the Skeletons Museum of Osteology followed by drinks and appetizers at Uncle Julio's Mexican Restaurant.
Tickets are limited and will not be for sale on-site.
Show off your conference spirit in style with one of these custom-designed shirts! Quantities will be limited on-site, so buy one now for only $15.


Free slots and games are really popular nowadays. That is why the RTG company, which specializes in producing quality software, presents more and more new slot machines on different themes. Before starting to play, you should know that the main characters of the Hairway to Heaven slot are the princess, who is sitting in her castle tower, and the prince, who repeatedly tries to get to the girl using her golden hair. This slot is similar to Goldbeard.
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Feel the Whole Excitement of Gambling!
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Home » Nutrition » Black water's health claims are murky
Black water's health claims are murky
Black water gets its color from fulvic acid.
Proponents say the water detoxifies and promotes nutrient absorption but there are no scientific reviews to back up those claims.
Plain water is always a great choice.
Black water may sound completely unappealing to drink, but believe it or not, it is being touted as one of the latest health fads. If you're not thrilled by the prospect of consuming something that looks like sludge, you'll be relieved to know that the health claims don't hold water.
"People are just making money on all this stuff; it's just somebody selling something," cautions Terese Scollard, RDN, regional clinical nutrition manager and a registered dietitian nutritionist with Providence Health & Services in Portland, Oregon.
Black water gets its color from fulvic acid. This compound is produced when plant matter decomposes and is found in dirt, coal, streams and other natural sources. Purportedly, fulvic acid supplies black water with antioxidants, electrolytes and minerals, allowing the body to allegedly detoxify itself and maximize nutrient absorption. However, there are no peer-reviewed scientific studies to back up these claims. Scollard advises that you should look for the research behind any diet-related fad.
"Be skeptical," she says. "Many things jump from a small scientific review without the proper research. For many things, if they worked as directly as they claimed, they would already be in the mainstream."
Black water is the latest in a line of waters that come with different buzzwords and health claims. However, water is already a pretty perfect beverage as is, Scollard says. "Everybody puts something in water to try and sell it," she says. "Plain water is just fine, and it's pretty cheap, too."
Looking for a trusted provider to partner with in achieving a healthier lifestyle? Find a Providence provider near you in our online directory.
Providence Health Assurance
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Update 10/15/15: These conditions have not yet been approved by the state health department — we have edited the article and apologize for the confusion/misunderstanding.
Illinois' medical cannabis program is heating up! The Medical Cannabis Advisory Board recommended eight new qualifying conditions for its medical marijuana program, a relief for possible medical patients after 11 suggested qualifying conditions were rejected by Governor Bruce Rauner last month. The new conditions are currently awaiting review by the state health department.
The Illinois Department of Public Health also announced that they have approved 3,100 new patients to be a part of the state's burgeoning medical marijuana program. The recently approved patients also included 16 children. In order for children to qualify for the program, they must have written certification from two doctors, while adults only need one.
Illinois dispensaries have been growing like mad, with four companies already licensed. The next step in the process will be dispensaries sending their product in for testing, and pending approval, they'll make their way onto shelves and ready for patients.
Cannabis Farms Brought Prosperity to Pueblo. Will Voters Kill the Boom?


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Nate Diaz's Hilarious Response When Asked If He'd Fight His Brother Nick In The UFC
Nasir Jabbar in UFC
Last updated 4:20 PM, Monday September 14 2020 GMT+1
Nate Diaz hilariously dismissed the idea of fighting his older brother Nick when the MMA star was asked if he'd face him in the UFC.
Diaz joined 'UFC Tonight' to answer some fan questions following his thrilling submission victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in March 2016.
The Stockton slugger, alongside Kenny Florian, Michael Bisping and host Karyn Bryant, fielded a host of questions sent in by fans.
And one person decided to ask Nate about taking on his brother Nick inside the Octagon.
UFC fan Luke asked: "Would you ever consider fighting your brother inside the Octagon?"
Ex-UFC champion Bisping chimed in eagerly, saying: "Loyalty is most important" while former UFC title challenger Florian said: "C'mon, man!"
Nate then answered, brilliantly saying: "I wanna fight Luke."
Nate refusing to fight Nick shouldn't come as a surprise as they share a special bond.
He spoke emotionally about his brother in 2016: "All the positives that I do, he's my brother and my training partner and shit but he's the guy. He's my guy!
"I'm Cesar Gracie's Jiu-Jitsu and Richard Perez's boxing but, as a martial artist, I'm a product of Nick Diaz.
Dana White Gives Update On Nate Diaz's Return To The Octagon
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Conor McGregor Reveals Fight Plans Post-UFC 257 As He Calls Out Nate Diaz For Trilogy Fight
Nate Diaz Sneaking Up On Conor McGregor Fans Talking Sh*t About Him Is Absolutely Hilarious
Dana White's Response When Asked If Nate Diaz Will Return To The UFC
Nate Diaz's Emotions Immediately Change After Conor McGregor Hits Him With A Huge Left Hand
"I give all the positives that I do and all the outcome that comes from it, I credit him and am happy that he put me on this journey."
The 35-year-old added: "And any negatives that come out of anything that happens with me, I feel bad that I let him down in any way... when I say stupid shit on here or whatever. More than everything in my mind it's like 'f**k, I hope I didn't p**s Nick off on this one.'
"I don't feel like that with anybody but that's my bro and I think he's the best fighter in the world."
Comeback Season :two::zero::nine:
(:camera: @ScottHirano) pic.twitter.com/VITjqpYD0k
- ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 13, 2020
Nick, meanwhile, is set to return to action next year after completing a 14-week diet and training regimen.
The 37-year-old is targetting a big welterweight fight in early 2021 as his manager Kevin Mubenga says he's "100%" planning on competing again.
He hasn't fought since his no-contest against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in January 2015.
Image: PA
Nate, on the other hand, hasn't fought since his defeat to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 last November.
But he's set to rematch Masvidal in January 2021 with the UFC interested in running it back.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Instagram
Topics: Nate Diaz, UFC News, Nick Diaz, Fight News, UFC, MMA
Nasir Jabbar
Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.
Follow @https://twitter.com/NasJabbar


Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice Cutting File is super cute and perfect for your Halloween projects!!
Ellie and Mac Cutting files inlclude svg, eps, pdf, dxf, jpg, png, .studio3 - digital cut files for Cricut and Silhouette machines.
With your purchase you will receive one zip file that contains the file formats. You will need to extract the .zip file to your computer from your downloads folder to see all of the files that are contained within. Locate the .zip file, right click and select extract (extract all) and your files will be extracted to the location you choose. I prefer my downloads folder.
For Cricut Design Space, you will use the .svg. For the Silhouette Studio, you will use the .studio3 or dxf files. For the designer edition of Silhouette Studio, you can also open the .svg. Please check your machine/software to be sure the file type you need is included in the list mentioned above.


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Max Benwell
Journalist Max Benwell found himself caught up in a catfisher's games, but in an entirely unexpected way. Join us as he tells his story - how he tracked down and confronted the catfisher and what long-term impact it's had on his own relationship with tech.
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The Power of One Review
Although I use the English name of the movie and its characters to make the review more accessible to English-speaking fans, I was actually watching a fansub of the Japanese version of the movie. As 4Kids significantly rewrote the movie for its English-language release, there will be some differences if you have only seen the dub.
Thoughts and Synopsis
The second Pokémon movie is the first of what I like to call the Legendaries Randomly Fighting™ movies. Because legendaries fighting each other makes for cool visual spectacle and high wow factor, one of the most common plot setups for the Pokémon movies is to find an excuse for some legendaries to fight, and then some way or another having Ash get them to stop fighting. (I'm not counting the first movie as a Legendaries Randomly Fighting™ movie per se because Mew and Mewtwo fighting is a small part of it rather than the main plot and actually pretty well justified within the story, but it's definitely a precursor to the concept, especially as it played out in the international marketing of the movie, where posters prominently subtitled it "Mewtwo vs. Mew".) Unfortunately, these plots tend to be rather flimsy, and this movie is no exception.
The plot is set in motion by a Pokémon collector, Lawrence III, who wants to capture Lugia. An ancient prophecy foretells that when the balance between Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres is upset, Lugia will come out to stop their fight alongside a great trainer; thus, he plans to deliberately upset the balance in the hope that this will lure Lugia out of hiding. At the beginning of the film, he captures Moltres on its native Fire Island in the Orange Islands, using bombs and traps fired from his flying palace.
When Zapdos realizes Moltres is gone, it sees it as an opportunity to expand its territory, causing a great thunderstorm in the general area. As the balance of nature is upset, Pokémon around the world begin to sense that something is wrong and head as far as they can towards the Orange Islands, as if to prevent the oncoming disaster. Professor Oak will explain later in the movie that Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres maintain a very sensitive harmony that drives a crucial ocean current around the islands: Articuno's ice and Moltres's fire create water, and organic chemicals are synthesized when Zapdos's electricity powers chemical reactions. The disruption of that harmony upsets that important ocean current and may have devastating effects upon the global ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Ash and company have just arrived at a nearby island called Shamouti Island after a storm throws their boat off course, and by an amazing coincidence, there is an annual festival going on right now that revolves around the aforementioned prophecy. Part of the traditional celebrations includes a "festival maiden" picking a ceremonial Chosen One to represent the great trainer spoken of in the prophecy; the Chosen One will then be taken by boat to the legendary birds' islands, pick up a large jewel (a "treasure") from each of them, and gather them together on a special altar where the festival maiden will play a traditional song on a flute. (Technically the Japanese version does not use the term "Chosen One" - it only ever talks about "the great trainer" - but it gets awkward to say that a lot and I don't think there's a meaningful difference.)
As it happens, the festival maiden this year is a girl named Melody, who takes a liking to Ash the moment he arrives, and during the festivities she picks him as the Chosen One. It's supposed to be an easy ceremonial role, so he goes out on the boat alone with just the captain who brought them there to steer it, but as the Zapdos-induced storm intensifies, Melody soon regrets sending him out there and goes after him on a second boat with Misty and Tracey. The storm quickly becomes too violent to handle, but conveniently it ends up stranding all of them on Fire Island, where they reunite and Ash picks up the first treasure.
Just then, Zapdos arrives on the island to claim it as its own. Pikachu communicates with it through electric currents, learning of the territorial dispute, before Lawrence III attacks again. As he captures Zapdos, our heroes and Melody's boat are caught in a second trap as well and brought into his palace where Zapdos and Moltres are being kept. Lawrence III comes in to see them; when Misty asks why he doesn't use Pokéballs like a normal person, he says he is not a trainer but a collector, and there's no point in a collection if no one can see it. Then he releases them from their cage and tells them not to touch anything before he leaves to capture Articuno.
Naturally, Ash and company disregard his order and attempt to free Moltres. Tracey works out that Pikachu's Thunderbolt will split the water in Squirtle's Water Gun into hydrogen and oxygen before Charizard's Flamethrower makes the combination explode, and this successfully breaks Moltres's cage. It proceeds to Flamethrower Zapdos's cage, breaking it as well, and the two birds immediately blow a hole in the wall and begin to destroy the flying fortress in revenge. It crashes on Thunder Island, and Ash and company run out to escape. Just then, part of the ship crashes into the stone altar with the second "treasure", causing it to conveniently roll right in front of Ash, who grabs it. Two down, one to go.
As the birds start fighting with each other, Ash and company get back on the boat, which miraculously survived the fall down from the flying palace just fine and landed in a convenient body of water. They're about to plummet down a waterfall into the ocean, thanks to the birds' destructive attacks, when they're saved by a strange vortex of water extending from the ocean's surface, which carries them back to Shamouti Island and throws them off right next to the altar where all the treasures were to be placed. Ash puts the two he has already obtained there, but the random talking Slowking at the temple tells him he still has to get the final one, from Ice Island.
The vortex of water returns and reveals the supposed main Pokémon of the movie, Lugia, here to save the day... or maybe not. The legendary birds all frantically attack him for some reason, and he dodges and defends himself for a while, but eventually the birds manage to hit, and Lugia falls limply into the water, having accomplished exactly nothing.
Our heroes watch in horror, and Slowking tells them that only the Chosen One - the great trainer from the prophecy - can save the world now. Ash's friends quickly conclude that since Ash is the one who got the first two treasures, he must be the Chosen One.
Ash is skeptical, but the others insist that it has to mean him. When he asks what they should do, Melody remembers the myths and plays the flute, and as she does so, Lugia is magically revived as he is sinking into the ocean. He rises from the water again, thanks our heroes telepathically and tells them that playing the flute once all three treasures are on the altar will make Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres stop fighting, reiterating that only the Chosen One can do it.
Ash accepts his role with his Pokémon's support and heads to Ice Island. He starts off on foot, but soon thinks of using the wreck of the boat as a sled pulled by Charizard, Squirtle and Bulbasaur (how can Squirtle and Bulbasaur's tiny legs keep up with Charizard's flight?). Strangely, it doesn't occur to him to just fly on Charizard. Lugia keeps the birds off his back for a while, but his makeshift sled eventually capsizes, and he stands there looking hopeless until Team Rocket suddenly arrive on a lifeboat with a propeller attached to it to help (they've been following the gang for most of the movie, and they don't want the world to end any more than the protagonists). They successfully get Ash to the Ice Island temple, where he picks up the final treasure.
The birds arrive to attack them just as they're about to leave; they manage to escape while the birds conveniently shift their attention to each other, and this time Lugia tells Ash to just get on his back so they can run for it. Team Rocket also cling on at first, but then let go in a heroic sacrifice because they're weighing Lugia down (they shout "You're the main character!" as they fall, in one of my favorite moments of this movie).
Suddenly, as Lugia and Ash are approaching the temple, huge metal triangles shoot towards them! It's another one of Lawrence III's traps, and if you'd forgotten Lawrence III existed at this point, I don't blame you. It turns out his traps and the trap firing mechanism survived the crash of his airship, and he's been lying in wait ever since. Lugia manages to resist for long enough to shoot a Hyper Beam at the wreck for good measure, but is then dragged underwater, his flight restrained by the trap. Ash floats off Lugia's back, and the triangles simply break on their own, thus bringing Lawrence III's involvement in the plot of this movie to an end.
Ash and Pikachu surface near the island while Lugia sinks and mutters dramatically, "It's over." Apparently he has forgotten about the flute melody that magically revived him ten minutes ago. Misty goes down to rescue the unconscious Ash and wakes him up, and although he's a bit wobbly after all this, he walks up to the altar and places the last treasure where it belongs.
With all three treasures reunited, the altar starts to glow bright green and then oozes similarly green liquid into water canals cut into the floor, which turns the stone pillars around it into blue crystal. This is Melody's cue to go up to the altar and play her flute, and we see the legendary birds, who have already collapsed in exhaustion, look up as they hear the tune. The weather also starts to return to normal, which is quite odd considering the birds are not yet back on their designated islands; apparently the flute melody itself can fix the weather, regardless of what the birds are doing. The green glow envelops the entire ocean, and finally Lugia rises back out of the water in his signature vortex before the green disappears.
Lugia proceeds to offer Ash another ride on his back, just for the hell of it, while the ocean current somehow flows in a conspicuous CG arch in the sky above the islands (I don't think that's how ocean currents work). The legendary birds return to their respective islands, their previous differences forgotten. Lugia returns Ash to the temple and dives back into the ocean. Ash's mom and Professor Oak, who have been flying a helicopter to find Ash and company throughout the movie, finally find him and his mom makes a little speech about how she doesn't want him saving the world because it's dangerous and she doesn't want to lose him, but he tells her he really wants to be a Pokémon master and she accepts that.
Lawrence III, who has been watching the whole thing, stands in the wreck of his flying palace, silently picks up the Ancient Mew card that started his collection and looks dramatically towards the sky.
We are also reassured that Team Rocket are okay, as if they wouldn't be.
This is a very pretty movie; in particular, the fights between the birds and Lugia all look gorgeous, and the music is nice as well (like in the first movie, though, it's all replaced in the dub). It keeps up the pace pretty well, too; there's action going on throughout and a lot of it is pretty spectacular. All in all, it's decidedly not boring.
I also enjoyed the two little bits of fantasy science - Oak's explanation of how the three birds create life and Tracey's explanation of how water + fire + electricity = explosion. The birds' significance to the ecosystem in general was a fun, interesting touch that added to the stakes of the movie.
Finally, I appreciated that even though the movie set up a light pseudo-love triangle between Ash, Melody and Misty (I didn't go into this in the synopsis because it's irrelevant to the plot and Ash is completely oblivious to it throughout, but it's there), Melody and Misty aren't pitted against each other, but rather spend the movie growing to understand and respect each other. It's easy to make decent characters insufferable by reducing them to endless petty, mean-spirited squabbling about love interests, and I was very glad this movie avoided that in its brief treatment of romance.
The plot of this movie is unusually shaky, even for a Legendaries Randomly Fighting™ movie. To start with, it hinges on a huge, contrived coincidence: that Lawrence III just happened to decide to try to capture Lugia on the exact day that Shamouti Island is having an annual festival about the prophecy he's trying to fulfill. The prophecy doesn't reference any particular day, so there is no rational reason for the two to coincide. If he were shown to have just decided it'd be neat to do it on the day of the festival, I'd accept it just fine - he clearly does have a flair for the dramatic - but instead it's not addressed in any way; in fact, there's no indication he even knows there's a festival, and at the beginning it sounds like he just heads out to capture the birds the moment he's found out that the prophecy is referring to them. And nobody comments on the fact he's doing this on the one day they're having the festival at any point, either. It feels like we're simply supposed to take it as natural and given that of course the prophecy gets fulfilled on the day the annual festival is happening, when really it is nothing of the sort.
Moreover, the whole Chosen One deal in this movie is treated pretty strangely. Ash's friends and Lugia conclude he must be the Chosen One because he's the one who collected the first two treasures, and therefore the world depends on him to go fetch the last one. But Ash didn't collect the first two treasures because he had some sort of mystical super-treasure-collecting ability bestowed upon him by destiny; he collected the first two treasures because Melody asked him to as part of his ceremonial role in the festival, and he did so with great difficulty and a lot of help. If he is the Chosen One, then clearly all the prophecy means here is "somebody is going to collect all the treasures" - it doesn't say that person is some very special super-person who can do it all by themselves, and if it did, that would kind of automatically disqualify Ash. So why on earth do his friends just decide that since they figure he's the Chosen One, they can sit idly by while he risks his life trying to get to Ice Island? Not only might Ash need their help to do this - he does need help, and he has to get it from Team friggin' Rocket because all his friends insisted he had to go off on his own! They're not only bizarrely willing to have blind faith in a vague prophecy; they're also simply being terrible friends.
The dub makes the prophecy suggest slightly more explicitly that Ash is special by including a reference to his name, but even then, the callousness of staying behind instead of helping just because a prophecy vaguely indicates he can do it is pretty hard to swallow.
Then, the resolution of the plot is really arbitrary. Presumably the green glow that happens when you have the three treasures together and play the song somehow calms the birds' aggression (the eighth movie will later have a similar green glow serve a similar purpose in its backstory)... but why? What properly are these treasures, and where did they come from? What is their connection to the birds exactly? How and why are they activated by that melody? There is no sense of a proper mechanism behind any of this, not even a magical one; it just is, because the plot says so. The birds are fighting, and somehow Ash must stop them fighting because he's the main character, so there has to be some arbitrary thing he can do that arbitrarily makes them stop. It would be easy to dress this sort of thing up with worldbuilding and history that makes it feel natural and logical that of course all he needs to do is collect the treasures, but this movie doesn't really bother with that part, instead just lazily asking us to take its word for it. Worse, this means the actual territorial dispute between the birds is completely sidestepped - there's absolutely no addressing of the root cause.
In general, a lot of little contrivances in the service of the plot happen in this movie - just look at how often in this review I felt the need to call things "convenient". Things tend to just happen, not in order to make things more interesting or as a consequence of the situation or what the characters do, but simply because they need to happen to move the story along. This is not a great way to build a story; even aside from the repeated convenient happenings being unbelievable, it makes the film into more of an artificial, constructed series of events than a real plot.
In particular, the birds always seem to just attack whatever the plot wants them to attack. We're told they're fighting over territory, so it makes sense they're fighting each other, and destroying Lawrence III's fortress after he captured them makes sense - of course they're mad at him. But what on earth do they have against Lugia that makes them all immediately join together to attack him instead the moment he appears? Why are they all so bent on stopping Ash from getting to Ice Island, up until the point where suddenly they don't care anymore? This only makes sense if you regard the birds as flat antagonists who oppose the protagonists blindly until the plot needs them to stop doing so. Well, that or the birds know there's a prophecy that says Lugia and a great trainer will stop their fight, and their number one priority is to make sure that prophecy doesn't get fulfilled because they just really want to keep fighting forever, which not only makes little sense but requires a whole lot more self-awareness than they seem to possess.
Lawrence III has potential to be interesting, but unfortunately, his role is very clumsily handled. His purpose is first to set the plot in motion by capturing Moltres and Zapdos and then to provide a very brief, meaningless delay in its resolution near the end when he tries to capture Lugia again; in between and afterwards, he just sort of vanishes into a convenient plot hole. Why didn't he try to capture Lugia at any earlier point than there at the end, if his traps were still working? Earlier, why did he leave Ash and company alone, unrestrained and unmonitored with his priceless "collection", after all he'd done to obtain it? (Note that he specifically releases them from the cage they were caught in before leaving them there; it'd have been easier not to do so.)
Ultimately, he is simply more of a plot device than a character, which is a crying shame, because focusing on and developing him more as a character is perhaps the most obvious way to improve this movie. What if we got to really see the obsession that must drive him? Characters with a pathological fixation on a goal can be some of the most fascinating characters in fiction, and there are tons of ways that Lawrence III could have been the most compelling part of this movie, if only we'd gotten to see more of him. But instead, all we got was a guy with an airship who riles up the birds and is then unceremoniously shoved aside so that we can watch the legendaries fight.
Even Lugia, the supposed main Pokémon of the movie, ultimately doesn't get to do much here. When he first appears he is quickly defeated by the birds and has to be revived by the flute; then he keeps the birds away while Ash gets the last treasure and carries him back, which is respectable but not exactly awe-inspiring; then he gets caught in a trap and has to be revived by the flute again; and then he flies around with Ash for a bit after everything is over. All in all Lugia seems almost extraneous, which is no way to treat your star legendary.
Finally, the whole thing is just rather bland and clichéd, even if it were better executed. There's an ancient prophecy, the main character is the Chosen One spoken of in the prophecy, he must save the world by collecting the three objects of power and bringing them together - plots don't get a lot more standard than this, and there's not much of a twist on it here.
Unfortunately, I think this is pretty poor as the Pokémon movies go. The story and characters are both decidedly lackluster, with most of the movie's potential squandered in order to show more legendaries randomly fighting. It's very pretty to watch and definitely action-packed, but for me that just doesn't make up for it.
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Page last modified November 25 2017 at 03:10 UTC
Featured Section Rant: English Names
"OMG LUCARIO SUX! I WILL ALWAYS CALL IT RUKARIO!!!1"


Team Androni's experienced elite riders and younger riders have collaborated with Teosport over many years. They help us to develop and test our products. Their input was crucial when developing the TM Armadillo pad. Team Androni's athletes also provide great feedback on gloves and accessories, helping us to improve them, so we deliver even better products we know will meet riders' needs. We are always working with team riders on our cycling pads.
Team Androni is a UCI Professional Continental cycling team and takes part in UCI Continental races and is selected as a wildcard for UCI ProTour events and the Giro d'Italia.
Tesport began collaborating with Team Unieuro in 2017. These young riders have been vital in developing future products thanks to their enthusiastic, honest feedback.
Team Unieuro is a UCI Professional Continental cycling team that takes part in UCI Continental races and nurtures young, talented riders to help them become professional athletes.
Flanders Youth Cycling Academy's young riders test Teosport's products in extremely challenging conditions – training and racing – in the heart of Northern European cycling; in Belgium, Holland, France, and in international races. Incorporating their feedback into our product development creates Teosport products are suitable for even the harshest riding conditions.
FYCA is a large amateur team of younger riders based in Belgium.
Norway National Cycling Team riders provide Teosport with valuable feedback about our products. Thanks to their combined experience of a very wide range of team wear their feedback is invaluable for Teosport.
Norway National Cycling Team is made up of professional athletes – men and women – who ride for a range of Continental and ProTour teams, when they are not representing Norway.
Estonia National Cycling Team is another important collaboration for Teosport. With their combined experience of a wide range of team wear, rider feedback is valuable for Teosport.
Estonia National Cycling Team comprises professional athletes – men and women – who ride for a range of Continental and ProTour teams, when they are not representing Estonia.
ASD Piva Teosport is our local amateur team. Collaborating with these talented amateurs allows Teosport to gain valuable insights from a wide variety of athletes. This enables Teosport to create and develop products that meet the needs of a very wide range of cyclists.


Back in March I spoke at Todd Herman's 90 Day Year Live event in La Jolla, CA on Breaking the 4 Bottlenecks That'll Keep You From Scaling Your Business. This blog series is drawn from that talk.
Business owners usually call me pretty much when they reach a crunch point in their scaling. That's the niche I serve. They've figured out the really hard stuff (well, from my viewpoint it's the hard stuff!) like creating a product that people love and getting it to market, and getting rave reviews. To put in 90 Day Year-speak, their Marketing & Sales pillars are firing on all cylinders — and it's actually that success that is creating breakpoints in other parts of their businesses, typically over the Operations pillar.
Are you facing a similar problem-set? If your small business has successful products, you've cracked your market, and things are selling — you'll need to take a good hard look at your team, and your tech and your operations. This series will help you identify the bottlenecks in your business – and help you square things away so you have a solid foundation on which to scale your business.
The 2nd bottleneck I want to talk about is a team member bottleneck. Many of us are all too familiar with this one.
What does a team-member bottleneck look like in your business?
1. You have a team member who is just not reliable. They blow-due-dates with enough regularity that you can't count on anything being done on schedule. Sometimes the slip is only a little bit (with an accompanying "close enough, eh?" shrug) but that complacency also leads to some spectacularly blown dates, usually when you can least afford them.
Blown due-dates creates shorter windows for the rest of the people who need to touch the work after them — and an inability to manage the project effectively. Ok (if annoying) for a smaller business with less going on. But this is a practice that will absolutely hinder you from scaling.
3. It's just easier to work around them. How many of you have have worked with people where you thought "I could give this to them, but it's just easier to work around them or do it myself." I call this phenomenon "having to pre-chew" everything. Sorry, that's a gross metaphor, but I use it all the time and I just can't stop doing it. It's like when the mother bird has to go FIND the food, CHEW the food, PRE-DIGEST the food and THEN she can give it to her chicks for them to eat. All the burden is on you to figure out what their work is.
This isn't necessarily someone who is trying to dodge responsibility – it's the lack of expertise or judgement to be able to take a medium sized outcome-goal and understand what they need to do to make that come about.
Ok, so what do you do if you have a team member bottleneck?
1. Stop ignoring it and stop working around it. I can tell you, the rest of your team knows it and resents it, whatever brave face they're putting on. Sure maybe dealing with "people problems" are not your forte, but your business cannot scale with this unresolved. And as you delay, you're increasing the burden on the other team members to compensate for this. That is not a recipe for success.
2. First, assume it's a process problem and tighten up your documentation. Sanity-check your processes, document them, and make sure people are trained. This includes how to communicate with the Project Manager and each other, and how to handle and communicate problems and road blocks.
Then hold them accountable for the getting the assigned work done by the assigned date. You've either solved the problem — or you've made it obvious it's a performance issue. You have to solve these process problems anyway prior to scaling, so you're already ahead of the game.
3. Address the performance issue by having a frank discussion and a written performance plan. Give them specific metrics to hit and spell out the consequences. Be crystal clear on your expectations. As it plays out, be prepared to follow-through on the consequences. You (and your team) will breathe a sigh of relief when you do.


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Tracking the Trucks: 2010 O'Reilly 200 at Bristol
October 26, 2022 August 19, 2010 Beth Lunkenheimer
Frontstretch's Truck Series content is presented by American Trucks
In a Nutshell: Kyle Busch won the O'Reilly 200 – his third consecutive Truck win at Bristol – when he took the checkered flag under caution ahead of Aric Almirola. Busch pitted once around lap 30 and had just enough fuel to hold onto the lead through a green-white-checkered finish and celebrate with a burnout. Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner and Justin Lofton rounded out the top five.
Who Should Have Won: Busch. The record books officially show Busch starting on the pole, but the driver of his self-owned No. 18 Toyota had to drop to the rear of the field following an unapproved adjustment after qualifying. Busch made quick work of the field and took the lead when Skinner pitted for fuel under the eighth caution. He went on to lead the final 116 laps on the way to his 19th career Truck Series win.
Questions You Should Be Asking After the Race
1. Does Kyle Busch have any patience in him?
Following unapproved adjustments to his No. 18 NASCAR.com RaceView Toyota, polesitter Busch was forced to drop to the rear of the field before the field took the green flag Wednesday night (Aug. 18). In typical "Rowdy" fashion, Busch made quick work of much of the field before getting caught up behind Jennifer Jo Cobb with Todd Bodine alongside him on lap 36.
Instead of showing patience for a few laps for the traffic to get out of the way of a clearly faster truck, Busch chose to shove Cobb's No. 10 self-owned Ford out of his way. She ended up spinning to bring out the fourth caution, but kept her truck from sustaining damage on the inside wall while Busch drove off with the position.
Clearly Busch had a strong truck and everyone knows the lower speeds Cobb has been running all season in a truck funded almost entirely out of her own pocket. Just 36 laps into a 200-lap race is hardly a time to start shoving other drivers out of the way. And it's even worse when the driver putting the spin on someone else isn't even racing full time in the series.
Regardless of who you're racing with, a little respect on the track goes a long way. And Busch would be wise to remember that in the future.
2. Should Austin Dillon have been upset with Matt Crafton?
Following a brief red-flag stop to clean up the aftermath of the David Starr/Ken Schrader wreck that brought out a record-tying 12th caution, the typical chaos of a green-white-checkered finish ensued. As the field came to the white flag, Matt Crafton bumped Austin Dillon, who was two laps down to the field, multiple times before Dillon was finally forced up the track into Max Papis and Dennis Setzer, bringing out the 13th and final caution along with the white flag.
Dialing It In: Richard Childress Right Where He Left Off
Once the checkered flag flew, Dillon made his irritation with Crafton quite clear as he ran into the No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Chevrolet more than once. When asked about the incident after the race, Crafton was apologetic as he explained his intentions as the field approached the white flag.
"I understand they'd be upset. That's the last thing we wanted to do, to wreck him," Crafton said. "That was not intended. I tried to get him up off the bottom and was not intending to wreck him. I just got into him a little harder than I meant to."
But does Dillon really have a reason to be upset with Crafton?
Absolutely not! Dillon was running two laps down and had little chance to improve his position in the final laps, but Crafton was still running on the lead lap. The driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet tried to justify his irritation with Crafton, but his argument just doesn't hold water.
"We didn't have anything for anybody at the end, but Crafton wasn't racing for position either," Dillon said after the race. "I know he was on the lead lap, but the lead-lap trucks were plenty far ahead of him."
Um, sorry Austin, but that doesn't make any sense. Both trucks Dillon hit – Setzer and Papis – were on the lead lap and racing Crafton for position. But despite that, whether the rest of the lead lap trucks are just two feet or 200 feet away, a driver not on the lead lap – especially coming to the white flag – should do everything in his power to stay out of the way of those on the lead lap.
And if Dillon doesn't learn that lesson pretty quickly, he'll have a pretty tough end to his rookie season and an even tougher sophomore season in the Truck Series, because these drivers don't forget.
Truck Series Rookie Report
2010 Rookie of the Year Candidates
Brett Butler (No. 47)
Jennifer Jo Cobb (No. 10)
Austin Dillon (No. 3)
Justin Lofton (No. 7)
Dillon Oliver (No. 01)
No. of Rookies in the Race: 8 (add debuting drivers Miguel Paludo, Jake Crum and John King, as well as Jerick Johnson and Clay Greenfield)
No. of Rookies to Finish in the Top 10: 1; Lofton, finished fifth
Rookie of the Race: Lofton
Lofton scored his third top-10 finish in the last four races on Wednesday night. The driver of the No. 7 visitPIT.com Toyota managed to avoid major damage all night despite being around multiple wrecks as they happened. The closest was when Cobb spun and rolled down the track, as Lofton barely squeezed through.
After being involved in three separate incidents on the track during the race, Dillon's streak of consecutive top-10 finishes ended at eight, tying the record for a rookie set by Ricky Hendrick.
Paludo, King and Crum each made their Truck Series debuts Wednesday night. Paludo, who has run six K&N East Series races this season (best finish ninth at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut) was by far the most successful of the three, finishing ninth after surviving contact late in the running. The next best finish saw Kingsport, Tenn. native King score a 15th as the first truck one lap down. Crum, who has just two starts in the K&N East Series (best finish 13th), wasn't as fortunate as the other two debuting drivers; he was forced to retire after just 90 laps due to a fuel pump issue.
At least one rookie has finished in the top 10 in 12 out of 16 races this season? The O'Reilly 200 also marked the ninth consecutive race in which a rookie finished seventh or better.
Worth Noting/Points Shuffle
Almirola's runner-up finish allowed him to gain 15 points on leader Bodine, who now holds a 211-point lead. Timothy Peters remains in third, with Johnny Sauter trailing him by 38 points in fourth. Defending champion Hornaday Jr. managed to recover from a lap 52 spin to finish third and moved up one spot to round out the top five, more than 350 points behind Bodine.
Matt Crafton's 11th top-10 finish this season moved him up one spot to sixth – he trails Hornaday Jr. by just 32 points. The biggest loser in the top 10 this week was Dillon, who was involved in three different incidents in the race alone following a wreck in practice. He dropped two spots to seventh, 361 points out of first. Skinner and David Starr remain in eight and ninth respectively, and Ricky Carmichael moved up one spot to round out the top 10.
Jason White suffered his third consecutive engine failure, this time after just 28 laps, and was credited with a 36th-place finish. As a result, he dropped outside the top 10 and now trails leader Bodine by nearly 700 points.
The O'Reilly 200 was record-breaking in multiple ways. The race was slowed by 13 cautions, barely knocking off the previous record of 12 as the 13th and final caution flew right after the white flag did. Also, Busch became the first driver to start outside the top 12 to win in 13 Truck Series races at Bristol.
Brad Keselowski got sideways while battling inside Hornaday Jr. just eight laps into the race and went two laps down while getting four tires and fuel as the caution flew on lap 12. He managed to take advantage of the lucky dog award twice and recovered for a respectable seventh-place finish.
2011 Schedule Released
This week, NASCAR announced the 2011 schedules for all three of their top series. The season will begin with a tripleheader at Daytona on Feb. 18 and end with the same at Homestead-Miami exactly nine months later on Nov. 18. Again the Truck Series schedule will feature 25 races with a few changes. The second race of the season will be hosted by Phoenix International Raceway, and the Darlington date moves to March. October will feature two standalone races – Kentucky and Las Vegas.
"It worried me a little bit just having to start back there and try to come through traffic really unsure. We were passing guys one at a time, just kind of biding our time getting our way up there. It was a bummer deal that we didn't get to start from the pole and kind of lead the laps and play our strategy out a little bit, but it was still cool coming from the back I guess. I wish there was an award for it or maybe a bonus for sitting on the pole, then starting in the back and coming up through there and winning. That's just me." – Kyle Busch
"We had a good truck tonight. I was down in the dumps all day because we didn't have any speed. It just ran the same speed no matter what we changed – it never went faster, it never went slower. It did the same thing tonight when we took off for the race. We started 19th and we ran the same speed. Everybody seemed to fall back and come back to us. The race was just so much dictated by what line you restarted tonight." – Aric Almirola, finished second
"We didn't make any adjustments all night. We pitted so early that we didn't run enough green to make a good decision on what to do so we left it alone. We were a little free all night, but Kyle [Busch] did a great job. The guys did a good job and he saved gas. That was the biggest key." – winning crew chief Eric Phillips
"It was awesome. I appreciate all the work and all the support of Germain and Toyota. The team put the truck in one week together so I'm really proud of all the guys. I'm happy, I'm really happy. We had a tight truck, a loose truck, a lot of different trucks in the race, but you can't imagine how happy I am. Every person I talked with said, 'Why Bristol? It's tough.' It's perfect. I'm real happy and it's a team effort. Germain Racing did a great job and I'm real happy." – Miguel Paludo, finished ninth, on his Truck Series debut
"Pretty much nowhere to go. She (Jennifer Jo Cobb) got spun by somebody, but if she would've locked the brakes and stopped the truck, maybe it would have kept her from taking us out." – James Buescher after a lap 85 wreck caused terminal damage to his No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet, finished 33rd
Up Next: The Camping World Truck Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway for the Chicagoland 225. Last season, Busch took Billy Ballew Motorsports to victory lane after pit strategy and a couple late-race cautions played into his favor. Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET; the race can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate.
Beth Lunkenheimer
Content Director Beth heads up management of our 30-person staff, acting as Tom's main assistant with technology and personnel while working as Frontstretch's Truck Series expert. The author of Truckin' Thursdays and the coordinator of the site's pre and post-race coverage, she also runs a periodic charity column that spotlights when NASCAR gives back. A childhood transplant to Texas, Beth is a 15-year writing veteran who has contributed content to BRANDT and Athlon Sports, among other outlets.
https://frontstretch.com/author/bethl/
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Categories Beth Lunkenheimer, Tracking The Trucks Race Report, Truck Series Tags Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, James Buescher, Kyle Busch, Matt Crafton, Miguel Paludo
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Driven to the Past: Meeting Some Famous People…