I'm one who favours defending square and with coordination being more important than quickness. This ensures integrity of the line, without anyone rushing ahead of another or having to rely too heavily on a team mate. Staying square means you can defend off either shoulder and make easy adjustments as attacking players do.
Most, if not all, of the attack solutions found in the Drift and Blitz defence posts can be used against flat, man-on-man defences. In some of the video examples, you can see how teams started square, but then had to resort to a drift, otherwise turned their bodies to chase an attacker, or one player shot up ahead of his / lagged behind team mates. With coordination and trust being vital to effective defence, attackers should consider ways to break this and find opportunities for themselves or their support runners. This doesn't require fancy, multi-faceted moves with decoy runners. It can be done with a simple dummy pass and/or sudden change of direction. I don't know if there's a 'non-negotiable' rule for any of these, but players should be trying these things out in training in natural 4v4 games in realistic conditions so they can work out what works for them. Some key reminders should be to keep the ball in two hands to always remain a threat, to keep changes of direction sudden and sharp, to aim for shoulders to draw attention.
I figure if one of the greatest fly halves of all time can say that, then certainly decision makers at every level should be demanding more from their support. The decision-maker's arguably more different task given that he won't have a Will Greenwood outside him/her is to know what angles, dummy passes, decoy runners, etc. do to defences, quickly consider the advice, and pick the best option for what he/she sees in front. It's another reason I think we need to play more realistic games at training, because this is rugby. Training against passive defenders – or no defenders at all! – will not allow players to develop these skills. And I challenge all my players, from props to full backs, to be able to step into that position and make a good decision based on what they see and hear.
The first is an example of a classic Unders Line, where it's important that the ball carrier stays straight, to fix the defender, and that the supporting runner's directional change is sudden and sharp. If the defender covering the ball carrier is properly fixed, the strike runner can aim for the space behind his shoulder, ensuring that he gets away from the man covering him. The Overs Line is pretty much the opposite, with the strike runner flaring outward instead of inward, aiming for the space behind the third defender or off the shoulder of his if he's turned inward. Of course, the pass is different for each – soft and flat for an Unders, and hard and wide (maybe slightly deep, but definitely in front of the runner's hands).
The second example is often called a Y-Line these days, with the ball carrier making the sudden move. He aims for the space behind the defender beside the defender covering him. This sudden and sharp angle either allows him to slip behind that defender or draw his attention. It should be a win-win scenario if done properly. If the defender stays on his man, he can exploit the space and get behind the defence. If the defender bites, he can pass to a supporting runner who picks a tight line behind the back of the turned defender. This is usually seen going out, but can also be done on the inside if there's enough width.
The third features a classic loop. Some people think the receiver should pop back to the passer on the inside – before she goes around – while others have the receiver pop when she's gone around and is straightening up into the gap. I don't mind either way, but think that each depends on how soon the receiver got the ball, how much space is in front, and what the passer intends to do when she gets the ball back. Some teams use the looping player as a decoy / distributor to pull even more defenders out of line. Other scenarios would have the looping player strike into an open gap between the second and third defenders. Ideally, the looping player would keep both options open!
I might go into them in greater detail later, but you can combine both Unders and Overs lines together in what are called Blocker and Slider moves to really open well-disciplined defences, but I think at amateur levels, the above are usually quite effective. That said, the essential element of a complicated move is usually just one move – in a Slider, for example, the second attacker suddenly flares outward toward the third defender. If teams are truly 'playing rugby', they'll assess what that does and simply pick the best way to attack the way the defence reacted to that move.
In this second post focusing on simple ways to beat typical defensive styles, I'll focus on the blitz defence. It's also referred to as a 'rush' or an 'umbrella' but for the sake of simplicity I'm going to stick with 'blitz'. This tactic is more recent in rugby's history, and I'm led to believe it comes from rugby league. London Wasps used to be renowned for it when league legend Shaun Edwards was coach there. In this link from BT Sport's Rugby Tonight, you can hear Edwards talk about it: [click here]. It does have quite a few limitations and it's often referred to as a high-risk/high-reward tactic because it can stop teams deep behind the gain line or give them a huge opportunity to break out if not done properly.
If outer defenders run too far forward, they give a great exit opportunity for the ball carrier. In the diagram, the passer dummies a pass hoping the outside defender sprints up to put a big hit on the receiver, but then slips behind with a sharp angle and a burst of speed. It's key that the ball carrier run away from his/her defender and and behind the inside shoulder of the next defender. In some cases, that defender recognises this and is able to adjust. This defender is now out of the play allowing the player he was covering to sprint forward and go looking for an offload from the ball carrier.
If the pass is made early and a defender "shoots up" ahead of the rest, there's an opportunity to send someone else from either side in behind. In this situation, the support runner has to run a sharp line aiming for the space behind the defender and make a timely call for a sympathetic short pass.
Similarly, when one "shooter" comes forward to cut off a pass or in an overzealous attempt to intercept, a patient passer can hold and pass behind the shooter to a strike runner coming up flat.
As a blitz defence usually only involves a small section of defenders coming forward, there is an opportunity to go around the closing 'gate'. The team using this option requires patience, quality execution and belief that they can play from deep (a tackle here can mean a costly turnover!). They have to hold their depth and make early and accurate passes with little forward running so they have time to get to the outside. It can be a less-risky option to take, however, if the players leading the blitz aren't the most agile and if support is present to run into the holes created.
If the defending line is up fast and tight, there is still an option to pass (remember: the aim of a blitz is to contain the ball on the inside and contest from a powerful, go-forward position of strength behind the gain line). In many blitz defences, the wing holds back to cover a kick. If the passer has a good long pass, he/she can try lobbing a quick one to the winger coming up flat over-top the blitzing group. For reference, Quade Cooper often does this, but he has also thrown intercepts or set up the receiver for a big hit when the pass was floated too high, allowing time for a defender to get under.
The group rushing forward often leaves a big gap between them and the full back, inviting a short kick behind for someone to re-gather. Although a lot of people hesitate to kick as one can be giving possession away, this tactic used more than once early in the game can also cause a blitzing team to ease off, not wanting to give away too much space behind. This is one of the reasons that teams use blitzes more as an occasional / situational tactic rather than a continuous style of defence.
Another big part of developing analytical and clever decision makers is to put them in typical game-like scenarios and have them assess the visual cues that often appear. This means doing more than 2v1s because, while it's essentially what breaking down defences comes to, there are so many variables in a line of defenders, that players have to consider a fuller range of options and possibilities.
We always try and attack the 'easy opportunity' – things like mismatches in size, speed, or ability, poor alignment, obvious gaps, etc. Again, for teens this is often simple enough, because in our league there are always 'exploitable opportunities' like this. The men, however, are generally more organised, especially as defence is such a major (and easy) focus these days. So our scenarios therefore have focused on defensive styles and how to beat them based on the inherent limitations or opportunities in their structure (see below). In order to speed up the process of picking the right tool for the task at hand, we brainstormed ideas on how to beat each style and focused on just a few that fell within the team's knowledge and abilities and which matched our preferred style of play.
Below, and in subsequent posts, I'll outline some of the 'tools' we use for different styles of defence, starting with the classic drift defence.
As defenders push out, it's difficult to adjust to someone changing directions against the flow of the push. This is a classic 'attacking the branches of the tree, rather than the trunk' moment. A tight line on the inside shoulder might just catch an arm. Too close to the inside defender, and the ball carrier might be caught. If the inside defender is a bit lazy, then there's a huge opportunity.
The trick here is that there has to be a reasonable gap between defenders. Again, aided by a lazy inside defender, but not impossible if the timing of the support run and pass is good. The support runner might also expose a different gap than noted below if the inside defender pushes too early onto the receiver, leaving an even bigger gap. If the defenders are disciplined, though, it's really the space behind the ball carrier's defender that needs to be attacked.
As noted, drift defences tend to hang back on the outside hoping to force the attacking team toward or even into touch, often accommodating for a lack of numbers out wide. So a simple solution is to get the ball there as quickly as possible. The key element is to get the ball there quickly and relatively flat. If the pass is loopy and deep, the drift pushes out and comes up. Where it's quick hands or a long and flat miss pass, the flatness of the strike runner will expose the space before the defenders have time to cover it. Drift defences are trying to buy time, so take it away. On the flip side, if the pass is a early, the attackers can preserve width the defenders are trying to close down by straightening up.
The looping run can be effective if the player looping around is actually quick and if the passer picks a line that effectively blocks the drifting defender. Timing is key here, as if the passer pops to the looping player too soon, s/he'll likely get tackled from the side by the drifting defender. That said, if the passer recognises this happening, the passer can dummy, hold and go using the looper as a decoy. This situation is made easier for the looping runner if the third attacker moves wide, drawing the third defender. This would present one of those either/or situations that should be win-win … third defender stays on third attacker, and looper has a gap; third defender steps in on looper and s/he passes to the third attacker who should have a massive gap.
Here's a game I created that's become popular with all three teams I've coached since I came up with it last year. Rapid Fire Touch is 4-handed – i.e. two different people to stop a ball carrier, after the first two-handed, the ball carrier can still run but can't score.
When scored upon, the defending team leaves the field of play immediately and the attacking team can attack the opposite goal line. All players from that team must cross the goal line before joining their team mates.
When touched by two different players, the team in possession leaves the field of play immediately and the defending team all must cross the nearest goal line before attacking in the opposite direction.
In both cases, the new team enters the field of play at midfield immediately, matching up and communicating their responsibilities.
This game can be played with 3, 4, or 5 (find this to be the maximum to ensure everyone's involved) per team. Four-handed touch encourages ball carriers to attack space and create full line-break or half-break scenarios. It's main focus is evasive footwork, ball movement and support lines, not to mention communication in both attack and defence. The width of the playing area can vary. Wide encourages support lines and communication as ball carriers are more likely to make breaks or pull defenders well out of position (remembering that two defenders are needed to stop one from scoring). Narrower might be better for advanced players to work on timing of the pass and run and more challenging creation of space / opportunities. This works really well in a gym for winter training.
Encourage to communicate early, pass to space, take on defenders with evasive footwork and supporting runners to be loud and pick clever pursuit lines. Faster the better as taking away space gives the opposition less time to adjust! Great for developing a fast, open style of play training communication, seeing and taking space, support and fitness as well.
As a visual learner, I've always been interested in watching sport and trying new things (as a player) and adding to my knowledge (as a coach) from what I saw on the telly in addition to enjoying the spectacle. The wonders of the Inter Web have allowed me to expand upon this as I can watch way more sport than I can with even the best cable packages. Video clips on YouTube are an important learning tool for me as rugby's a sport that does continue to evolve, both in the way athletes play the game and how coaches direct it. There isn't a lot of great coaching material that gets published – compared to my first sports, American football and basketball anyway – and even tv analysis leaves me scratching my head at times as presenters can be full of hot air. So analysing video myself, looking at cause and effect over and over via the slide bar and watch again button, allow me to pick apart the action myself.
There are plenty of great accounts on YouTube – with legal uploads too! – that you can observe and analyse to develop your knowledge of the game and to give you an idea of what to work on at practice. Kids love this stuff as well, and especially for those of us in countries where televised rugby is hard to watch, sending them here is not only a way of getting them more excited about the game, but also to learn what Clive Woodward called the 'critical non-essentials' of the game that are hard to train for – like quick lineouts, dummy passes, quick tap penalties, etc.
Let's look at the Aviva Premiership's Try of the Week for round one of the new season.
The try scored by Christian Wade is so much more than just his amazing step and speed.
LESSON 1 – Attacking with purpose: As the announcer says, Quins were probing in attack but Wasps' aggressive defence stopped them. Fly half Nick Evans runs sideways allowing centre Eliot Daly to take him down quickly in the tackle. Running sideways isn't a complete sin in my book, but you'd better have an exit strategy because tackling someone from the side is much easier than from the front, and Daly dominates the tackle. One of the Quins backs needed to call for the ball, either wide, or on a switch to straighten up their attack.
LESSON 3- Quick ball: It could have ended with a ruck and the scrum half moving to play the ball or a forward to pick and drive around the fringe of that ruck – as I see most teams do. The next key element before we see Wade's brilliant feet in action is the lock not opting for the selfish / unthoughtful pick and drive, but the quickest of passes out to the players who had both space and a numbers advantage. At 0:08, we see #5 Marco Wentzel play the ball in a diving pass to what ends up being four backs against one.
LESSON 4 – Defensive recognition and communication: Not only was winger George Lowe caught outnumbered, you can see that at 0:07 and 0:08 he's not even taking notice that there are that many players outside him. Same goes for scrum half Danny Care, who should know better as an England player, that the tackle was lost and he should be directing traffic to shore up their defence. Lowe, as the last man in defence on the wing should have let that ruck go and positioned himself to not just cover Wade, but also call for help on the blind side. Instead he runs in, then has to run back out to cover Wade. Wentzel's quick thinking pass sets the Wasps backs off, but better defence might have prevented them from such an easy run.
LESSON 6 – Timing: The initial receiver is Wasps inside centre Andrea Masi. First off, he does a great job to get back on side into a position of depth that gives him space to not only run when he gets the ball but also time to think about what his options are. It's not clear as to whether Wade calls for the pass or Masi sets him up, but either way the timing of it all was excellent. Masi takes it forward in two hands, which is key because it means Lowe can't be sure as to whether he'll crash it up – as inside centres are oft to do – or pass. If Masi had tucked it away, it'd have been easier for Lowe to commit to him as the pass wouldn't be as likely. His forward run also serves to commit Lowe to a certain degree. If he'd passed immediately, Lowe could have slid off and immediately picked up Wade.
LESSON 7 – Easy space: I tell me players to seek out 'easy space' as much as possible – clear room into which they can run. Space between defenders is obvious 'easy space'. But important 'easy space' – especially when facing well organised defenders who aren't allowing attackers to get into gaps – is also in between ball carrier and defender, i.e. the space in front. This importantly gives the ball carrier time to create or preserve space for someone else. And this is what Masi does so well. Masi, now without the 'easy space' in front, having drawn Lowe somewhat, gives a well placed pass to Wade and puts him into 'easy space' out wide. If Masi had selfishly cut into the 'easy space' out wide, Lowe would have drifted with him … possibly allowing Wade a switch back, but which would also make it easier for cross cover to take him out. Instead, he fixes Lowe in his channel, preserves the width for Wade and gives him the opportunity to use it with a well timed pass.
LESSON 8 – Footwork: Christian Wade is fast, easily one of the fastest in the Premier League. But it's not his straight line speed that gets him the try. George Lowe is also fast and Wade isn't the largest or most powerful of players so a well timed pursuit might stop him. Wade brilliantly makes a subtle change of direction to run at Lowe, and then quickly swerves away and beats him to the outside. Lowe's reaction shows fear that Wade will beat him on his inside – though I'd say his positioning to stop that was pretty good – and as such he hesitates and nearly stands up. Wade effectively 'freezes' or 'fixes' him in place and makes his real move. If Lowe had backed himself, and committed to the pursuit and tackle, I think he might have at least got a hand to him. Instead, by being hesitant and falling for the feint side step, he lost his momentum and his ability to close down the space and make a tackle on Wade.
There is is. A one minute clip that can be broken down into many teachable elements. Watching game tape can be tedious and boring for the players, esp. at school level where most are out for fun. The aforementioned high school team interestingly enough all chose to talk about tries that matched how they liked to play on the field. We never watched our own games, but I'd look for trends in the few that were filmed and by consulting my own notes and we'd work on those elements at practice – both ones that needed reinforcement and those that needed correction. We did analyse our own game tape when I coached at a university, but there we only addressed major trends. So I'd pick out two or three things we did well and two or three major things that needed work and we'd break those down as above as a highlight / reminder and make those elements the focus for training the following week. I think involving the players in the discussion by asking questions rather than giving answers, making the whole process a constructive rather than instructive one, is most important. The university women demonstrated this in their desire to discuss those few clips and act upon the lessons, commenting that they felt these sessions much more productive than the ones their friends on the football team had to endure where they'd watch the entire game and break down every little element – if they managed to stay awake!
I may have made reference before to a high school girls' team I once coached to a city championship title. I'm indebted to them not just for memorable season, but also for having the will to try some unorthodox strategies I had that I was sure would work for novice players. I'll talk more about our attack strategy soon as I finalise a clear way of describing and visualising it. It all came about when someone asked what plays I wanted them to run. As someone quickly suggested what they'd run last year I interrupted her because one of the first was the classic fly half / centre switch. I was maybe a bit blunt in saying so, but on the spot I declared that we wouldn't have any "plays" this year. Needless to say, the girls were speechless. I am thankful, though, that there weren't immediate protests and not even sideways glances (that I noticed, anyway) to suggest 'this guy is crazy'. I quickly explained myself, though, saying that we can waste a lot of training time working on set moves that we might use once, maybe two or three times a game … or over use them to the point that teams have us figured out. I also stressed that the rigid "plays" teams run – especially at such a novice level – often cause players to miss the obvious opportunities given to them by defenders who aren't absolutely perfect at defending in line and with quality.
But let's turn to the suggestion that prompted my almost-brusque outburst. The word 'switch' made me cringe as I disagree with the way it is used in seemingly nine times out of ten. With that team, I talked about the simple two or three-player moves that should not be called as "plays" but should happen on the fly to create space. A switch is one of those. To be used not as a set play, but as a move to be used on the fly to create space or expose poor defenders.
The point of the switch should be to draw the defender marking the ball carrier with a sharp outward cut, allowing a strike runner to a cut back into the space created. Where space isn't that obvious, players should look to expose what some coaches (citation pending when I remember where I read /heard that phrase!) refer to as the 'soft shoulder'. The player switching back shouldn't be running straight into a drifting defender, but off that player's inside shoulder. With their hips turned in pursuit of the ball carrier who initiated the switch, it's very hard, if not impossible for that player to make a tackle on his or her inside, or soft shoulder.
Nine times out of ten, however, I see the switch being used on first phase, close to the mass of defenders around the ruck where it's nearly impossible for the ball carrier to avoid running into someone. Some coaches would probably argue that their purpose is to set up a ruck and draw defenders inward for the next phase. I think this is negative rugby, contrary to the principles of going forward and maintaining continuity. I'd also counter argue by asking, first, did you not have the ability to attack with more ambition on the first phase? Lastly, I'd point out that regardless of the ability of your players, there are more clever ways of actually making and breaking the gain line than by running back into the mass of defenders.
Some also use the dummy switch, whereby the ball carrier holds and goes himself or passes to a player outside, hoping to draw defenders in on the decoy runner. This was quite effective for great ball carriers like Stephen Larkham and Matt Giteau when they played for the Brumbies and Wallabies. The difference between the way they executed it and how most others use the dummy switch is simply down to the angle. Most dummy switches I see have the ball carrier running nearly sideways across the field in order to 'sell' the dummy by pretending to do the motion of the pass. First off, the angle all but eliminates the ball carrier as a true attacking threat as they're not really going forward looking for space – most dummy switches are seemingly meant to fake inside and pass outside to, say, the outside centre or full back. Most teams choose one of the best attacking players as their fly half, so why take him/her out of the equation by making them run across the field? Secondly, the act of faking the pass – pulling the ball to the other side of the body and twisting the shoulders around – not only wastes time, in my opinion, but makes it hard to make a proper pass outward if that's the intent of the move.
A player cutting on a good 45 degree angle to his right will have his hands positioned to make a left handed pass. The act of faking the switch pass brings the ball to his right side. In order to allow the body to provide power and accuracy, the left handed pass is still the ideal, so the ball has to be brought all the way back to the left side and then passed. This wastes precious time. Very often, I see players – who are now under a lot of pressure – using the hand of the side to which the dummy was made (the right hand in our example). Even if that happens to be the player's strongest hand, it's an odd angle to make a pass and sometimes has the tendency to drift forward. At the very least, it again means that the ball carrier is no longer a threat as he's nearly turned his back to the defence. If a dummy switch is going to be executed well, the ball carrier must take a sharp angle, aiming for the inside shoulder of the next defender outside him (generally speaking). It's up to the decoy runner, therefore, to be loud and look as though he's actually getting a pass. I feel there's no need for the fake pass if the decoy is the one doing the 'selling'.
When a ball carrier, with a team mate outside her, has tried to make an outside break and is getting close to the touchline. The player outside her switches back in to keep the ball in-field, looking to get on the inside of a defender who's pushing across too hard. This is highly likely if the ball has moved wide quickly as defenders tend to over-pursue those attacks by running sideways across the field. The receiving player might now find herself in daylight. Defenders will still be pushing across, however, and so I'd like to see support players get on either side of her as options for another pass.
In broken play, after: 1. Several phases, 2. With quickly recycled ball, and 3. Away from the last tackle contest and the mass of defenders. Not much different than the scenario above, but where that can happen when the ball is moved wide quickly from a scrum or lineout, this one doesn't necessarily need as much room to work. The three conditions provide the attacking team with that ideal opportunity when the defenders are jumbled (esp. when slower forwards get mixed in with backs), when they are disorganised, and where there is space to attack. Space can often be limited, so the focus isn't so much about beating the soft shoulder as it is catching a defender off-guard who's either pushed across too hard or who hasn't pushed across enough.


text:
Not to be mistaken for Andrzej Kijowski, his father.
Andrzej Tadeusz Kijowski (born 15 July 1954, Kraków) is a Polish aesthetician, theatre critic, literary critic, poet and publicist.
Son of the writer Andrzej Kijowski. From 1976 to 1989 participated in the democratic opposition. Cooperated with KOR (Workers' Defence Committee) and NOWa (Independent Printing House). From 1990 to 1994 helped to create the new self-government.

He worked at Nowa Telewizja and TV Polonia 1 in Warsaw from 1992 to 1995, where he made over 250 television programmes. Author of the Garden Theatre Competition and the Frascati Gardens arts festival.

Member of the Polish Writers' Association, the Polish Journalists' Association, and the Freedom of Word Association.

From 2017 Spokesman on Freedom of the Speech in the Polish "National Broadcasting Council".

Literary Work
Chwyt Teatralny (Theatrical trick); (Wydawnictwo Literackie 1982, )
Teoria Teatru (The Theory of Theatre); (Ossolineum 1985, )
Separacja.SMS-y poetyckie (Separation, SMS poetics); (published by author 2005, )
Opis obyczajów w 15-leciu międzysojuszniczym 1989–2004 (Description of the mores between the two alliances 1989–2004) (AnTraKt Publisher) 2010, vol. I-IV.
Odsłanianie Dramatu (Revealing the drama) (vol. I)
A Teraz Konkretnie (And now, more precisely) (vol. II)
Teatr to miejsce spotkania (The theater is a meeting place) vol. III-IV.
Paradoks o Ogródkach (Garden's Paradox) (vol. III)
Thea to znaczy widzenie (Thea that is to say the View) (vol. IV)
 Organizacja kultury w społeczeństwie obywatelskim na tle gospodarki rynkowej. Czasy kultury 1789–1989 (Organization of culture in civil society in the context of the market economy. Age of culture 1789–1989)., Warszawa 2015, ).Title subsidized by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

See also
 List of aestheticians
 List of Polish language poets

References

Sources

 Who is Who w Polsce (6 edition: ) ;Verlag für Personenenzyklopädien AG) – Hübners Who is Who
 Paradoks o ogródkach (Garden's Paradox) – by ROMAN PAWŁOWSKI – Gazeta Wyborcza 27–08.2001
 Polish bibliography 1988 – 2001

1954 births
Living people
Writers from Warsaw
Polish essayists
Male essayists
Polish poets
Polish journalists
Polish television journalists
Polish television personalities
University of Warsaw alumni
Polish democracy activists
Members of the Workers' Defence Committee
Polish male poets
Recipients of decoration of Honor for activist of anti-communist opposition or repressed person for political reasons

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: How to fill in multiple boolean criteria in Pandas I found an alternate answer here link
My dataframe currently looks like this
          date  new_cases   new_deaths  new_tests   year    month   day weekday
0   2019-12-31  0.0                 0.0       NaN   2019    12      31   1
1   2020-01-01  0.0                 0.0       NaN   2020    1        1   2
2   2020-01-02  0.0                 0.0       NaN   2020    1        2   3

I want to pass an code which will average out the 'new_cases' for weekday and weekend
my code currently look like this but I can only pass 1 condition which is ' == 6 '. I want to pass multiple criteria, for example, == (4,5,6)
covid_df[covid_df.weekday == 6].new_cases.mean()

Any clue?

A: I think you're looking for isin:
# you can use `loc` to access `new_cases` also
days = [4, 5, 6]
df.loc[df.weekday.isin(days), "new_cases"].mean()

which selects the rows whose weekday is in the days list; and then selects new_cases column.

A: You can groupby() date being a weekday or weekend.  Following code sources and demonstrates this.
import requests
import io
import pandas as pd

dfall = pd.read_csv(io.StringIO(requests.get(
    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/owid/covid-19-data/master/public/data/owid-covid-data.csv").text))
dfall["date"] = pd.to_datetime(dfall["date"])

dtlcols = ["date", "iso_code", "location", "continent"]
cols = ["new_cases", "new_deaths", "new_tests"]
dfall.loc[dfall["iso_code"].eq("GBR"), dtlcols + cols].groupby(
    dfall["date"].dt.dayofweek.isin([5, 6]), as_index=False
).agg({**{c: "last" for c in dtlcols}, **{c: "mean" for c in cols}})

date
iso_code
location
continent
new_cases
new_deaths
new_tests

0
2021-07-02 00:00:00
GBR
United Kingdom
Europe
9536.18
288.555
456697

1
2021-07-04 00:00:00
GBR
United Kingdom
Europe
9214.97
204.614
393841

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Once you have crossed the door, you will discover a typical mountain setting and a jovial atmosphere with large tables in a crowded and cosmopolitan atmosphere.
A team in place, with Franck conducting for more than 20 years, attentive, is listening to the most demanding customers.
The cuisine is generous, tasty and varied.
In addition to the traditional Savoyard dishes, the menu offers excellent dishes that the team in the kitchen will be happy to mitonner !
Plan a strong appetite and time, we do not come to Clarines to swallow a dish "on the go".
A famous brand on the station for 20 years.
As the faithful say, to try it is to adopt it!


Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey has welcomed the news that the new maximum £2 stake on fixed-odds betting terminals has come into force, and congratulated the Rutherglen Reformer for our coverage of local problems associated with the machines.
From April 1st, the maximum punters can bet on the machines has been slashed from £100 to £2. Before the changes, the machines, often dubbed the crack cocaine of gambling, allowed players to stake up to £500 per minute on computer versions of games including poker, roulette, and blackjack.
A study undertaken by the British Amusement Catering Trade Association, found fixed-odds betting terminals were costing South Lanarkshire £10.1 million a year in lost money, health expenses, and job problems associated with addiction to the terminals.
As we reported in September 2017, people across South Lanarkshire spent £13 million on the machines in the 2015/16 financial year alone.
The UK Government has introduced the changes – after massive pressure from the public and politicians – through their Finance Bill 2018 which came into force on April 1st.
"I am delighted that the UK Government has finally brought forward a £2 cap on fixed-odds betting terminals. Undoubtedly, this is a move which will save lives.
The local MSP also paid tribute to the work of the Rutherglen Reformer as we have been covering the harm caused locally by fixed-odds betting terminals over the last three years.
"I congratulate all campaigners and politicians who forced this change, including the work of the Rutherglen Reformer who have repeatedly highlighted local problems caused by the machines.
Below is a photograph of Clare Haughey MSP supporting the maximum £2 stake – taken March 2018.


Senator Burton introduced SB 2069 on January 8, 2019. One version or another of this bill has been introduced in the Senate every year since January 19, 2015. In 2015, it was introduced by Senator Doty (SB 2757). In 2016, by Senator Tindell (SB 2574). In 2017, by Sen. Tindell (SB 2321). In 2018, by Senator Burton (SB 2287). However, in each every year before, this bill has always died in committee.


Temporary events and roadshows such as these often rely on environmentally damaging items such as single-use plastics, and with the recent push to eliminate this type of product from common use in the UK, it's now more of a consideration than ever to plan a wedding fair that's as eco-friendly and environmentally conscious as possible – especially if you're selling green products themselves.
This quick guide will run through some of the things you'll need to think about in order to make your eco-friendly wedding fair something special, providing the inspiration for a slew of unforgettable ceremonies.
Creating a welcoming, magical space for soon-to-be newlyweds to get inspiration for their big day is priority number one. A natural, garden party aesthetic could work well here – think bunting, plants and fairy lights to brighten up a dour convention centre. While having a strong aesthetic is a priority, making sure it's eco-friendly should follow right behind. Consider investing in fabric bunting instead of plastic, and using LED lighting and real plants instead of energy-sapping bulbs or faux alternatives.
Chances are, you'll want wedding caterers to sample their wares at your fair, which means a lot of disposable food packaging being distributed across the event – and this could be an environmental oversight if handled incorrectly. Think about following in the footsteps of large music festivals such as Glastonbury and ban all single-use plastic, to ensure that the waste generated by food-curious couples is going to biodegrade in the proper way.
Making sure the food itself is sourced responsibly and offers plenty of vegetarian and vegan options is another thing worth considering, as meat-free foods typically have less of an environmental impact, and locally sourcing your produce can further improve your catering in this way.
If your wedding fair is to pride itself on an eco-friendly ethos, promoting it with reams of paper flyers and leaflets that are hard to dispose of isn't the way forward. Being conscientious of the resources you use while promoting your event is a simple step that can help the environment in a big way. Using online marketing techniques to promote your wedding fair is a carbon-neutral alternative, and if you'd like more traditional paper invites, then make sure they're printed on recycled paper – or go one better and print them on planet-friendly rice paper.
Be careful not to overstate your green credentials either, as this could be seen as 'greenwashing', something that has afflicted corporations and events alike over the past few decades. Simply put: don't talk the talk unless you can walk the walk, as the negative PR that stems from spurious claims of eco-friendliness is absolutely not worth it and can be damaging for your brand.
Every facet of a bride and groom's special day has an eco-friendly alternative, as couples are increasingly opting for a green wedding that doesn't harm the planet. Even royal wedding florist Shane Connolly agrees that eco-conscious flower displays are the way forward, so making sure there are vendors ranging from green florists to sellers of natural skin care products present at your event will help to ensure it's a satisfying experience for all your attendees.
Conversely, making sure that your vendors don't offer services or products that are bad for the environment, such as plastic-based glitter and confetti, is a further consideration that will make your fair a success. Attendees will turn up expecting a fair that offers a green alternative to every possible aspect of a wedding, so paying attention to detail is essential.
We hope you've learned a lot from this quick guide – and are inspired to add your own creative spin on an eco-friendly wedding fair. With a little imaginative thinking, you can ensure your next event is an eco-friendly success.


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AllPoliticsSocial AffairsForeign AffairsDefenseNorth KoreaHwang on ChinaScienceDiplomatic CircuitEducationK-Wellness
Government plans to install electromagnetic wave detectors near THAAD base next year
South Korea's defense ministry has selected a successful bidder in its project to acquire and install electromagnetic wave detectors around the THAAD missile defense base in a southeastern county, officials said Sunday. The ministry is to receive the delivery of eight electromagnetic wave detectors by April 28, 2023, under a promise made to residents in Seongju, 217 kilometers southeast of Seoul, home to an adva...
By Yonhap
Construction equipment is delivered to a THAAD base in Seongju, 220 kilometers south of Seoul, in this photo taken on Sept, 4, 2022, and provided by a civic group opposing the installation of the US anti-missile defense system. (Yonhap)
South Korea's defense ministry has selected a successful bidder in its project to acquire and install electromagnetic wave detectors around the THAAD missile defense base in a southeastern county, officials said Sunday.
The ministry is to receive the delivery of eight electromagnetic wave detectors by April 28, 2023, under a promise made to residents in Seongju, 217 kilometers southeast of Seoul, home to an advanced US missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.
Five of those will be installed near the base to monitor the potentially hazardous electromagnetic waves of THAAD's X-band radar around the clock, with the remainder to be set aside as spares.
The equipment is expected to be installed in the second quarter of next year, according to an official, who added that the ministry is in talks with local organizations on the exact locations.
The THAAD system was installed there in 2017 to help cope with North Korea's evolving missile threats. Local residents and some activists have fiercely protested the allies' move, raising concerns about risks to human health and the environment.
The planned installation of the monitoring devices comes on the heels of an environmental impact assessment on the THAAD base. (Yonhap)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Earlier we shared info from the Gamescom press event that Peggle 2 will be exclusively released on the Xbox One console. Now we have some beautiful screens to share with you. Popcap games does amazing creative work, their quirky feel and poppy graphics definitely immerse you into their world. We also included the trailer below if you missed it.


We encourage campers to take responsibility for their belongings. As part of the daily camp routine, we display Lost & Found items.
Any items left at camp after the session are kept at the Minneapolis Camp Center in Loretto, based at Camp Ihduhapi. Claimed items will be held for two weeks and must be retrieved from camp. Anything not retrieved within two weeks will be donated to a local charity. For sanitary reasons, we do not keep undergarments, socks or swimwear.
To claim lost items, please call us at 763-479-1146. Have a description of the item(s), including your camper's full name, phone number and camp session dates.
To assist us with Lost & Found, please label everything with your camper's full name—including luggage, backpacks, sleeping bags, pillows, clothing, etc. Valuables and meaningful items should be kept home. YMCA Camp Ihduhapi is not responsible for any lost, stolen or damaged items.


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How can you be a democrat?
Thread starter Rostam The Grey
Democratically
\"Just a few more days\" ~ Since Dec. 2006
Non-creation is by far the best form of anti-piracy | If you\'re doing it \"for the lulz\" then you\'re doing it for dutch penis | Nyoro~n <:3c
Grimfang
I think it would be kinda cool too have Obama for pres.
.. although, probably just cus I'm imagining Sameul L Jackson in office...
"I AM TIRED OF THESE MOTHERF***IN REPUBLICANS IN THIS MOTHERF***IN OVAL OFFICE!"
FA Art Gallery
Sylvine
Hmh. I'm aware that all this is only tangent to me, as America is a long way away from where I live ( and yet, so remarkably close... hm. Worth a thought or two. ), but there's a thing that bugs me here - the comment about Obama.
We~ell... he sounds okay. Sure. But with the progressing tendency in politics to "just win the elections, and we'll see about everything else later", I find it hard to put faith in any of the politicians here in my country - so I'd apply that to american politics too, if not even more so. With that in mind, we really can't tell whether a politician will do a good job or not a priori. And since along with that public-relations-trend, the trend to mix up politics amongst the parties is on the rise as well ( After all, those elections have to be won! We have to put some compromise in our programs, otherwise people won't vote for us because they don't like what we want to do! [/irony] ), I sometimes think it makes little to no difference where we place our votes. I'm probably wrong about that, it's just... sometimes, I just feel that way about all this. At least here in Germany, it's a case of "Whatever", since the parties will form coallitions, anyway, so whomever You vote for, YOu almost certainly get a Party You don't agree with in the end as well; the way I see it, it's similar in America - the republicans tend to be a bit on the extreme side, whereas the democrats seem to lack backbone to actually do anything...
Okay, I notice I'm getting rather pessimistic here. Maybe I should get into politics and try doing a better job instead of complaining =)
~Sylv
Religion is about things You can not see with Your eyes - You believe them.
Politics is the other way around: You can see, but You can not believe Your eyes.
History is kind of a mix of both. You believe in things other people supposedly had seen.
Arshes Nei
Masticates in Public
I may have views that align myself with conservatives/libertarian/republican, however, I don't really consider myself a Party Line girl. Reason being, is that once you do, you fall in the pitfalls of guilt by association.
So for example... saying I'm a Republican, then it's like playing school sports where everyone talks a bunch of dirty shit about the other team to see who is winning >.<;;;; "Oh yeah your player did this!" To be honest there quite a few f'ups on both parties.
I believe in less laws except where needed like new technology causing infringements on people's rights. ex - people posting upskirt shots through camera phones etc. I also believe in fiscal responsibility and accountability. Neither party seem to adhere to at the moment.
Most of the laws passed are starting to conflict with old laws, and they really do need to do a cleanup sometimes.
Right now we elect the same officials over and over for their experience, yet it's their experience that also brings corruption, that doesn't mean there aren't some good guys out there, but come on now, Bush Clinton, Bush...and now we might elect another Clinton. NEW BLOOD PLEASE. No More Bush, no more Kennedy, no more Clinton.
I always love how Pro Choice/Life seems to be the major factor to decide what party to be in. What the hell people, there is a reason for the Supreme court decision. Vote for a party or person that respects your tax dollars. Not one or two issues that are more likely to be decided by our judicial system ;;;
Get-Dancing said:
2. Other animals kill each other. That dosn't justificate you doing it.
RE: If you could beat the crap out of any person alive or dead who'd it be?
Rogue2 said:
People who thinks Video Games cause violence.
rowanwand
Grimfang said:
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha*gigglesnort*hahahahahahahahahahaha.
Best post I've read in ages. Thank you.
skunktoy
I have to be Democrat, we only have a 2 party system and I don't like the republicans.
Besides the Democrats have the best joke.
"I belong to no organized politcal party, I'm a Democrat!" W.R.
Don\'t blame me, I stole this .sig file from someone else.
Mega Wolf
I'm a moderate, some what of an independent but I see the good points in both parties and get annoyed by the bad. I just tend to find myself agreeing with republicans more often though there are a lot of things that they stand for that I don't. I DO support the idea of cloning, I DO support the idea of stem cell research, I DO support pro-choice, and I agree on a few other things.
However, there are many things that the democrats do and continue to do that I utterly cannot stand. For one the democrats continue to launch attacks on, what is a sacred cow for me, Video games. They can all go to hell and burn for constantly trying to ban video games or censor them into next year and then some. And then there is the fact that while everyone considers democrats liberal they will fight for their right to remove yours. You can say whatever you want so long as it does not offend anyone, anywhere, at any time; otherwise they will keep you from saying it. Of course lets not forget gun control and further attempts to prevent people from having a 2nd admendment. And then there is the fact that I have a natural tendency not to like charismatic individuals, and many of the head members of the Democratic Party are just that. I consider Obama, Kennedy, and Clinton to fall into this category, they seem to be so 'pretty' that no matter what they do no one takes it seriously, so we tend to ignore it... except with the case of Clinton who messed up so badly that he cannot sweep it under the couch... but then again for some reason that seems to make him more popular then he was before. Their leaders, like Clinton, are just the kind that could kick you in the teeth, screw your wife, and shoot your dog, and the only thing you could think to say would be 'Wow, they should change the constitution to allow him to run for a 3rd term.'
Also unless you are listening to talk radio constantly or watch only Fox news, you will notice that the democrats are the 'can do no wrong' party while the republicans are always shown as the 'For their interests only' party, which is why we always see them as 'we support the rich and love war' party when everyone seems to forget they are the 'less big government, less taxes, more spending' party. Of course, everything is subject to change and that may change in the next few years as it is.
When cities burn and armies turn and flee in disarray, cowards cry \"\'tis best to fly, and fight anouther day.\" But heros know in their marrow as they die and fall, its better to have fought and lost then to have never fought at all...
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kefka989/
Don't forget how Democrats, at least in our state are trying to bring in what I call "nanny" taxes. Taxes on your lifestyle because it's not the way to live.
One good one is the Soda tax, sure someone thinks "soda is bad and we shouldn't be drinking it!" but that's reading those bills on their face. What they don't tell you is that they mean juice drinks too. If a product didn't contain a certain amount of juice, or had a certain additive in it, TAX.
I'm sorry to say but my eating habits, and daily habits getting taxed weighs much heavier on who is going to stay in their offices than pro choice/pro life because it's not a decision that affects me on a daily basis.
Pro choice/life doesn't really affect me at all, but you're right. It's sad how this becomes the hinge of many elections.
I wish we had a system where the people could vote on issues and such, instead of voting on the candidate that most well represents your views. And I guess we do have that power... but democracy isn't working as beautifully as it is made out to be.
Arshes Nei said:
It's all well and good to try and lower taxes but don't forget that taxes help to support the country. I for one have no problem letting the Dems raise taxes if it means better school systems, a country headed out of debt, a better place to live, etc.
Taxing sodas and juice drinks is a good way to raise taxes without a majority of people realizing that it's happening. If you went and tried to raise income taxes, sure, lots of people would complain. But these so-called "nanny taxes" are a good way of raising some extra money that the government would not otherwise be able to raise.
I also say we raise taxes on cigarettes and legalize/regulate the use of marijuana, and of course put taxes on that as well. Like it or not, money makes the world go round, and the government can always use some more money.
Wolf-Bone
What the hell?! So Democrats over all don't want to mess with a woman's right to have an abortion, but they want to discourage people from drinking anything but Ital beverages?
Skift said:
Life is wonderful. I'm fucking exhausted. There's rum. I'm a fucking cardinal. why can't i hold all these limes
BITCHES DON'T KNOW 'BOUT ALL SKIFT'S LIMES
Oh yeh, they are bringing them in in bunches down here. They are calling them 'Luxury' Taxes. But they are taxing snack foods, soft drinks, and video games (VIDEO GAMES!!!).
I don't think it's necessarily a discouragement to drink soda. Otherwise, the taxing would be poinltess when everyone decides they shouldn't buy soda. Rather, it's a way to grab a little loose change from people.
And poor smokers... taxes are always being raised on tobacco. And everyone thinks it's fine like "Ya, go tax those bastards!" but dammit! I'm a person too! xP
I say raise taxes on the rich if anything. It balances out, and then we don't have a serfdom driving the nation's economy. I mean, most of what I say is total nonsense, but it sounds good to me.
I smoke. I don't mind that it's expensive because I'm not a chain smoker. (Gah, unlike most of my friends who can't go ten minutes without a cigarette...I limit myself to maybe one a week at most...but that's just me.)
And yes, taxes on the rich would be the way to go. But if I remember correctly, some of Bush's stances on taxes let the rich off a little easy...am I remembering that correctly?
Problem is, if You raise taxes on the rich, they move their companies to a country which doesn't. Which is kinda conter-productive, then.
Taxes are a thing people have to mature for. Then again, they are also a thing that shouldn't be abused so that the people don't get the impression of being milked or controlled. We get those "nanny taxes" in Germany, too. They also try to ban violent video games. And as much as it isn't really an issue to fight it - I mean, okay, I can live without carmageddons and postals ( even if it's laughable that they don't try to ban horror movies, splatter films, thrillers in film and book form, etc etc.), and I can personally stop drinking cola, no problem - , it's the premise, the notion per se that is highly questionable. I mean, what's next? Taxes for staying home? Not doing enough sports? Being overweight? ( You'll laugh, but some people in germany plan on doing the latter ) Taking a dump outside of the regular, perscribed hours?
rowanwand said:
No, actually spending wisely helps our government. 90% of these taxes get funneled to a program that it was never intended for. That's exactly what happened with the taxes on cigarettes. Many of these nanny taxes are done by states and governments who are not fiscally responsible.
We have a lot of money in our educational system, but our students still do poorly because it is not being spent properly. We have unions that lock down any kind of change to make it competitive. Now why make it competitive? If you know that there is more incentive for having kids educated properly instead of sitting on your fat ass as you get tenure I think the educational system will do well.
Taxes help bureaucracy - we get more people who are in position who do nothing.
Why do we punish a few people for their lifestyles to get a money grab. Budget properly.
imnohbody
Sylvine said:
See the luxury yacht tax from the 1980s as Exhibit A. Yachts had taxes added onto already not-insignificant luxury taxes (which was supposed to only harm the "feeeelthy rich who stole their way to the top"... but that's another rant entirely), so what did rich people wanting to buy yachts do? They took their money to offshore boatmakers, not only depriving the government of the taxes it wants, but putting domestic boat makers out of business or forcing them to majorly reduce their employee rolls, sending many regular J. Random Bluecollarworkers whose skillsets were somewhat limited outside of yacht making to the unemployment line.
But, hey, only rich people were affected, right?
(The tax was quietly repealed later that decade, IIRC.)
The internet: Where men are men, women are men, children are the FBI, everyone's an e-lawyer, and the reproductive plumbing you're born with is no bar to having an e-peen.
nobuyuki
Dirt on republicans? You got it. The following stuff rubs me just as bad as (possible moreso than) your dirt on various democrats. While I agree that some of those criticisms noted are disappointing, some downright annoying -- some of the criticisms seem pretty silly if you're actually using it to say "how can you be a democrat". -As-if- someone's drawl was ever a serious criteria for me to decide whether they should get my vote or not. lol
Lying about the WMD's and the true intentions on going to war with Iraq is just the latest one, and I believe the american public did pin that on this (Republican) administration. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_document_leak_18_September_2004 is one of the more memorable incidents in my recent memory, but it wasn't "huge" news by the time it got to the US cause everyone already "knew" or believed it for a while anyway. Bush is doing a shitty job, and according to Gallup polls this opinion is held by over 60% of americans (if you've ever seen another poll that contradicts this, it was probably a straw poll)
Duke Cunningham -- corruption out the wazoo, and there's a bunch of ones like this, but it's not like there weren't any corrupt democrats either (see dan rostenkowski for example)
Let's not forget good old Ronnie and the Iran Contra affair. How the heck did he manage to slip out of that one?
Watergate. 'Nuff said.
Jack Abramoff should ring a bell in your recent memory. Dirty lobbyists with all the power, I need to find more left-wing parallels to the severe amount of astroturfing and shitty fake think tanks that exist in right wing politics. Big businesses have all this power and operate in a highly ethically-questionable manner. I suppose the closest analogue to it from the left are the crooked unions. From the wikipedia page:
Abramoff was a top lobbyist for the Preston Gates & Ellis and Greenberg Traurig firms and a director of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, and Toward Tradition, a religious right organization, during his criminal enterprise. He was College Republican National Committee National Chairman from 1981 to 1985. He was a founding member of the International Freedom Foundation, an "anti-communist think tank" which operated from 1986 to 1993.
You don't have to be a democrat to be corrupt. Stay independant, if not free of party ties at least free of closed-minded ideology. Vote for who you think is the better candidate, or in a worst case scenario where you don't know your candidates, I suppose vote for the platform you think is going to screw you less. Tons of people do it, and I'd say that it's better than throwing your vote away and giving it to someone else who might have a less noble agenda than your own.
I'll have more to talk about later, after I read this thread or something.
To be fair, the Death Star was going to be a big boon to the economy. Shops, restaurants, barbers. Pretty much a gigantic mall/military base. And it was creating a ton of jobs for unskilled labor. Sure, it was bankrupting Mom and Pop space stations, but that's galactization. Plus, the small ones were trying to screw you before. Then, some whacked out hippies go and blow up the best thing coming to an empty chunk of space.
SFox
I honestly don't know how anyone could say, with a straight face, that Bush is doing a great job.
/me points to Nobu's post as the perfect example of her earlier statement of the "your guy my guy" team stuff :roll:
hey, he just asked for some counter-dirt, now that it's out there I don't really need to play mudslinger anymore. Though, I suppose I could have just as easily given an answer to "how can you be a democrat" stating that there's a whole lot of different types of democrats out there, so a lot to choose from that isn't mutually exlusive, etc. Lotta other people already did a great job talking those points up, and I'm glad to hear it, too.
Thanks for the thoughtful responses, everybody. They do help when it comes to formulating a political opinion, or to validate your existing ones by comparing your priorities in politics with everyone else's.
Rostam The Grey
Thanks nobuyuki, I was wondering if anyone would come up with real people and examples. I don't know who Duke Cunningham is. Abramoff rings a bell. And of course Reagan, but I was looking for more recent stuff and figures higher up the chain. Seems like all the Democratic candidates are horrible.
Seems like most voted Democrats simply because they have those one or two issues that are really important to them that the Dems party line agrees with. But I can't vote for someone simply because one or two things. And I definately can't vote for someone who says one thing and does another.
The WMD thing appears to me to be just as much a fault for the Dems as the Reps. I wonder how much Bush actually knew.
I'm asked how can I believe Bush is doing a good job. I have to say the same reasons from the first post. He does what he says he'll do. He admits it when he makes a mistake. The economy is doing really great. But most importantly, he does what he says he's going to do. I can't see having someone representing me who is going to lie to my face. Every one makes mistakes but at least I know what mistake he's going to make... On top of all this, think of what he had to deal with as soon as he came into office (i.e. 9/11). Like I said, I have all this information that is bad about Dems, but nothing about Reps. So what do you think the person with 1/2 a brain should choose? Someone who lies to their face, or someone who screws up but you know exactly what they are going to do. If it were up to me, we'd do away with politicians completely and vote on everything. Theirs too much crap like 'pork' out there. I think they should be forced to keep things to single concepts to prevent this. Then we wouldn't need line item vetos.
PS: I'm still not entirely convinced the War is a mistake. I truthfully can't decide. I think this is a question more for the soldiers who are on the front line. They are the ones making the sacrifice, and also the ones seeing first hand whether or not a difference is being made.
Sulacoyote said:
This thread is a spectacular ride on the retard bus
Irreverent said:
A "true" democracy is mob-rule. American democracy is more like "Two wolves and one well-armed sheep discussing what's for dinner."
On the economy thing, it's doing well, however two things.
Someone please remind me the term for this but basically there is a percentage splitup (GP funding?)
The majority about I think in the 60's in percentage range went to the employees
Another percentage to the employer and company.
What happened now is while more money is coming in, less of it and the percentage went down for the employee, it went more for the employer.
The other problem is, while the economy "is doing great" inflation is also not being factored. Employees wages are not increasing to keep in line with inflation while inflation has risen dramatically. In some cases Employee wages have decreased.
Having said that, Bush really has nothing much to do with the economy. I said the same for Clinton too, the DotComs were helpful in a quick inflation but its crash has also affected the economy.
I do find it humorous though, when Gas prices go up, Bush's approval rating goes down, and the reverse happens too. XD Gas costs he has the least control over, but he can put into action a plan for weaning our dependency on foreign oil.
Moon-Baby
Transitional Lifeform
I registered Republican so I could Vote in a primary to vote against somebody I really didn't like.
So I'm technically not Democrat.
In my opinion, both parties can bite me. They spend so much time fighting each other that they don't actually get anything worthwhile done.
And rofl @ the potleaf canadian flag. I've been trying to make one of those for myself for forever.
Oh, man, I am so sick of all the partisan wedge-driving that's going on these days. Seriously, it makes me want to vomit. "Republicans are all stooopid!" "No, Democrats are!" "No, Republicans are times infinity!" "Well, Democrats are stupid times infinity plus one!" And on and on and on.
Here's the deal, and it's really, really, reeeeeeally simple: both parties are corrupt. Both parties lie. Both parties stomp on civil liberties, small businesses, minorities, majorities, human dignity and the law in general whenever it suits their interests. Both parties are full of hypocritical, crass, cynical opportunists who toss blame around like napalm while simultaneously absolving themselves of the very same wrongdoing they're gleefully accusing others of doing. Both parties are beholden to money and power, and both parties would gladly rake you over flaming hot coals if it meant they'd save so much as a nickel for their re-election campaign funds.
This is not big news to anybody who's been paying attention for the last hundred years. This is, in every sense of the term, a no-brainer. The big question that ought to be asked is not "Why are Republicans so bad," or "Why are Democrats so bad," but rather "How did our political system devolve into the rancorous, corrupt sludge it is today?"
Answer: because you, the American people, have let it. Every single time you vote on a party line without thinking about the issues at hand, every time you toss rabid accusations at the 'other side' while turning a blind eye to the shortcomings of 'your side', every time you make excuses for your preferred candidates while they screw over the values you hold dear, every time you let some windbag political 'commentator' on tv tell you how you ought to think, every time you say something like "I can't even understand how you can support YOUR party, because everybody knows they're stupid and wrong about everything, whereas MY party is righteous and saintly and perfect," the politicians give themselves a pat on the back and a little piece of America dies.
It's your fault, people. You've traded objectivity and rationality for a big old pair of horse blinders. You've given a free pass to a mass body of corrupt officials who are entirely dependent on your willingness to look the other way when they do something wrong (and then blame someone else for it). They're counting on your faithful, unquestioning obedience, and they know they'll get it because they've figured out how to tell you what you want to hear. The very concept of 'Republican' versus 'Democrat' is a giant smokescreen, fueled by wedge issues and mindless party-line accusations, that serves only to keep you, the American people, riled up and unthinking when it comes time to vote the jerks back in for another term.
You don't listen. You don't think. You don't even pretend to be objective. You choose only to see what you want to see, and to hell with anything that doesn't fit into your preconceived notions. You dismiss those you don't agree with as fools and traitors while canonizing those on 'your side' as saints. Ultimately it isn't the politicians who are the problem - it's you.


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Tag Archives: Holly Webb
Farewell to Winter with Some Snowy and Icy Reads
By Rebecca Foster on March 13, 2020 | 12 Comments
Although we got plenty of cold, damp weather and gray skies, it feels like we were cheated out of winter in my part of England this year. We had just one snow flurry on the 27th of February; that will have to suffice as my only taste of proper winter for the year. Not to worry, though: I've been getting my fix of snow and ice through my reading, starting with two animal tales and moving on to a few travel and adventure books.
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico (1941)
Philip Rhayader is a lonely bird artist on the Essex marshes by an abandoned lighthouse. "His body was warped, but his heart was filled with love for wild and hunted things. He was ugly to look upon, but he created great beauty." One day a little girl, Fritha, brings him an injured snow goose and he puts a splint on its wing. The recovered bird becomes a friend to them both, coming back each year to spend time at Philip's makeshift bird sanctuary. As Fritha grows into a young woman, she and Philip fall in love (slightly creepy), only for him to leave to help with the evacuation of Dunkirk. This is a melancholy and in some ways predictable little story. It was originally published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1940 and became a book the following year. I read a lovely version illustrated by Angela Barrett. It's the second of Gallico's animal fables I've read; I slightly preferred The Small Miracle.
The Snow Cat by Holly Webb (2016)
Most twee cover ever?
My second from Holly Webb, and while I enjoyed it a lot, if not quite as much as Frost, I probably don't need to read any more by her now because these two were so similar as to reveal a clear formula: a young girl of about nine years old who plays alone (because she's an only child or left out of her siblings' games) goes for an outdoor adventure and meets a cute animal who leads her back into the past. For a time it's unclear whether she's dreaming or really experiencing the history, but at the end there's some physical token that proves she has been time travelling.
In this case, Bel goes to play in the snowy garden of her grandmother's retirement complex and meets a white cat named Snow who belongs to Charlotte, the daughter of the family who owned this manor house 150 years ago. Bel has to protect Snow from a threatening dog so the cat can be brought in to visit Charlotte's sister Lucy, who lies ill with influenza. For me the Victorian setting wasn't quite as authentic or interesting as the seventeenth-century frost fair was in Frost, but I can see how it's a good way of introducing kids to what was different in the past: everything from clothing and speech to the severity of illness.
The Snow Tourist by Charlie English (2008)
"A Search for the World's Purest, Deepest Snowfall" reads the subtitle on the cover. English set out from his home in London for two years of off-and-on travel in snowy places, everywhere from Greenland to Washington State. In Jericho, Vermont, he learns about Wilson Bentley, an amateur scientist who was the first to document snowflake shapes through microscope photographs. In upstate New York, he's nearly stranded during the Blizzard of 2006. He goes skiing in France and learns about the deadliest avalanches – Britain's worst was in Lewes in 1836. In Scotland's Cairngorms, he learns how those who work in the ski industry are preparing for the 60–80% reduction of snow predicted for this century. An appendix dubbed "A Snow Handbook" gives some technical information on how snow forms, what the different crystal shapes are called, and how to build an igloo, along with whimsical lists of 10 snow stories (I've read six), 10 snowy films, etc.
I found all of the science and history interesting, but especially liked a chapter on depictions of snow in art, such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Hunters in the Snow. The author also subtly threads in his own story, noting that this quest probably began with the 1960s photograph of himself on skis at a snowy Austrian resort that his father gave him a few weeks before he committed suicide. Twelve years later, it feels like this book doesn't go far enough in cautioning about all that will be lost with climate change. I was left with the sense that nature is majestic and unpredictable, and we pay the price for not respecting it.
Hunters in the Snow. Pieter Bruegel the Elder / Public domain.
[Breaking from alphabetical order to include this one as a footnote to the previous book.]
The Library of Ice by Nancy Campbell (2018)
This has a very similar format and scope to The Snow Tourist, with Campbell ranging from Greenland and continental Europe to the USA in her search for the science and stories of ice. For English's chapter on skiing, substitute a section on ice skating. I only skimmed this one because – in what I'm going to put down to a case of reader–writer mismatch – I started it three times between November 2018 and now and could never get further than page 60. See these reviews from Laura and Liz for more enthusiasm.
My thanks to Scribner UK for the free copy for review.
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen (1994)
Paulsen's name was familiar to me from his children's books – a tomboy, I spent my childhood fascinated by Native American culture, survival skills and animals, and Hatchet was one of my favorite novels. I had no idea he had written books for adults, including this travelogue of competing in the Iditarod sled dog race across the frozen Alaska wilderness. Nearly half the book is devoted to his preparations, before he ever gets to Alaska. He lived in Minnesota and took time assembling what he thought of as a perfect team of dogs, from reliable Cookie, his lead dog, to Devil, whose name says it all. He even starts sleeping in the kennel with the dogs to be fully in tune with them.
The travails of his long trial runs with the dogs – the sled flipping over, having to walk miles after losing control of the dogs, being sprayed in the face by multiple skunks – sound bad enough, but once the Iditarod begins the misery ramps up. The course is nearly 1200 miles, over 17 days. It's impossible to stay warm or get enough food, and a lack of sleep leads to hallucinations. At one point he nearly goes through thin ice. At another he's run down by a moose. He also watches in horror as a fellow contestant kicks a dog to death.
Paulsen concludes that you would have to be insane to run the Iditarod, and there's an appropriately feverish intensity running through the book. The way he describes the bleak beauty of the landscape, you can see how attractive and forbidding it was all at the same time. This is just the kind of adventurous armchair traveling I love (see also This Cold Heaven) – someone else did this, so now I don't have to!
(Note: The author completed two races and was training for his third when a diagnosis of coronary heart disease ended his Iditarod career in his mid-forties. More than the obsession, more than the competition, he knows that he'll miss the constant company of dogs. In fact, his last line is "How can it be to live without the dogs?")
See also these recent releases:
Snow, Dog, Foot by Claudio Morandini, an avalanche novel set in the Italian Alps
Two nonfiction books entitled Wintering: Katherine May's is about depression and Stephen Rutt's is about geese
And a snowy passage from Winter Journal by Paul Auster:
Snow, so much snow these past days and weeks that fifty-six inches have fallen on New York in less than a month. Eight storms, nine storms, you have lost track by now, and all through January the song heard most often in Brooklyn has been the street music made by shovels scraping against sidewalks and thick patches of ice. Intemperate cold (three degrees one morning), drizzles and mizzles, mist and slush, ever-aggressive winds, but most of all the snow, which will not melt, and as one storm falls on top of another, the bushes and trees in your back garden are all wearing ever-longer and heavier beards of snow. Yes, it seems to have turned into one of those winters, but in spite of the cold and discomfort and your useless longing for spring, you can't help admiring the vigor of these meteorological dramas, and you continue to look at the falling snow with the same awe you felt when you were a boy.
Did you read any particularly wintry books this season?
Posted in: Fiction Reviews, Nonfiction Reviews	| Tagged: adventure travel, Alaska, Angela Barrett, Austria, avalanches, birds, Cairngorms, Charlie English, children's books, Claudio Morandini, depression, dogs, fable, France, Gary Paulsen, geese, Greenland, Gretel Ehrlich, Holly Webb, ice, ice skating, Iditarod, Italian Alps, Katherine May, Lewes, Minnesota, moose, Nancy Campbell, New York, Paul Auster, Paul Gallico, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Saturday Evening Post, Scotland, seasons, skiing, sled dogs, snow, snow goose, snowflakes, Stephen Rutt, travel books, Vermont, winter
11 Days, 11 Books: 2020's Reads, from Best to Worst
By Rebecca Foster on January 11, 2020 | 27 Comments
I happen to have finished 11 books so far this year – though a number of them were started in 2019 (one as far back as September) and several of them are novelty books and/or of novella length. Just for kicks, I've arranged them from best to worst. Here's how my reading year has started off…
Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale – Nonlinear chapters give snapshots of the life of bipolar Cornwall artist Rachel Kelly and her interactions with her husband and four children, all of whom are desperate to earn her love. Quakerism, with its emphasis on silence and the inner light in everyone, sets up a calm and compassionate atmosphere, but also allows for family secrets to proliferate. There are two cameo appearances by an intimidating Dame Barbara Hepworth, and three wonderfully horrible scenes in which Rachel gives a child a birthday outing. The novel questions patterns of inheritance (e.g. of talent and mental illness) and whether happiness is possible in such a mixed-up family. (Our joint highest book club rating ever, with Red Dust Road. We all said we'd read more by Gale.)
Be My Guest: Reflections on Food, Community and the Meaning of Generosity by Priya Basil – An extended essay whose overarching theme of hospitality stretches into many different topics. Part of an Indian family that has lived in Kenya and England, Basil is used to a culture of culinary abundance. Greed, especially for food, feels like her natural state, she acknowledges. However, living in Berlin has given her a greater awareness of the suffering of the Other – hundreds of thousands of refugees have entered the EU, often to be met with hostility. Yet the Sikhism she grew up in teaches unconditional kindness to strangers. She asks herself, and readers, how to cultivate the spirit of generosity. Clearly written and thought-provoking. (And typeset in Mrs Eaves, one of my favorite fonts.) See also Susan's review, which convinced me to order a copy with my Christmas bookstore voucher.
Frost by Holly Webb – Part of a winter animals series by a prolific children's author, this combines historical fiction and fantasy in an utterly charming way. Cassie is a middle child who always feels left out of her big brother's games, but befriending a fox cub who lives on scrubby ground near her London flat gives her a chance for adventures of her own. One winter night, Frost the fox leads Cassie down the road – and back in time to the Frost Fair of 1683 on the frozen Thames. I rarely read middle-grade fiction, but this was worth making an exception for. It's probably intended for ages eight to 12, yet I enjoyed it at 36. My library copy smelled like strawberry lip gloss, which was somehow just right.
The Envoy from Mirror City by Janet Frame – This is the last and least enjoyable volume of Frame's autobiography, but as a whole the trilogy is an impressive achievement. Never dwelling on unnecessary details, she conveys the essence of what it is to be (Book 1) a child, (2) a 'mad' person, and (3) a writer. After years in mental hospitals for presumed schizophrenia, Frame was awarded a travel fellowship to London and Ibiza. Her seven years away from New Zealand were a prolific period as, with the exception of breaks to go to films and galleries, and one obsessive relationship that nearly led to pregnancy out of wedlock, she did little else besides write. The title is her term for the imagination, which leads us to see Plato's ideals of what might be.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins – Collins won the first novel category of the Costa Awards for this story of a black maid on trial in 1826 London for the murder of her employers, the Benhams. Margaret Atwood hit the nail on the head in a tweet describing the book as "Wide Sargasso Sea meets Beloved meets Alias Grace" (she's such a legend she can get away with being self-referential). Back in Jamaica, Frances was a house slave and learned to read and write. This enabled her to assist Langton in recording his observations of Negro anatomy. Amateur medical experimentation and opium addiction were subplots that captivated me more than Frannie's affair with Marguerite Benham and even the question of her guilt. However, time and place are conveyed convincingly, and the voice is strong.
(The next one is a book my husband received for Christmas, as are the Heritage and Pyle, further down, which were from me. Yes, I read them as well. What of it?)
Lost in Translation by Charlie Croker – This has had us in tears of laughter. It lists examples of English being misused abroad, e.g. on signs, instructions and product marketing. China and Japan are the worst repeat offenders, but there are hilarious examples from around the world. Croker has divided the book into thematic chapters, so the weird translated phrases and downright gobbledygook are grouped around topics like food, hotels and medical advice. A lot of times you can see why mistakes came about, through the choice of almost-but-not-quite-right synonyms or literal interpretation of a saying, but sometimes the mind boggles. Two favorites: (in an Austrian hotel) "Not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension" and (on a menu in Macao) "Utmost of chicken fried in bother."
All the Water in the World by Karen Raney – Like The Fault in Our Stars (though not YA), this is about a teen with cancer. Sixteen-year-old Maddy is eager for everything life has to offer, so we see her having her first relationship – with Jack, her co-conspirator on an animation project to be used in an environmental protest – and contacting Antonio, the father she never met. Sections alternate narration between her and her mother, Eve. I loved the suburban D.C. setting and the e-mails between Maddy and Antonio. Maddy's voice is sweet yet sharp, and, given that the main story is set in 2011, the environmentalism theme seems to anticipate last year's flowering of youth participation. However, about halfway through there's a 'big reveal' that fell flat for me because I'd guessed it from the beginning.
This was published on the 9th. My thanks to Two Roads for the proof copy for review.
Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle – I love these simple cartoons about aliens and the sense they manage to make of Earth and its rituals. The humor mostly rests in their clinical synonyms for everyday objects and activities (parenting, exercise, emotions, birthdays, office life, etc.). Pyle definitely had fun with a thesaurus while putting these together. It's also about gentle mockery of the things we think of as normal: consider them from one remove, and they can be awfully strange. My favorites are still about the cat. You can also see his work on Instagram.
Bedtime Stories for Worried Liberals by Stuart Heritage – I bought this for my husband purely for the title, which couldn't be more apt for him. The stories, a mix of adapted fairy tales and new setups, are mostly up-to-the-minute takes on US and UK politics, along with some digs at contemporary hipster culture and social media obsession. Heritage quite cleverly imitates the manner of speaking of both Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. By its nature, though, the book will only work for those who know the context (so I can't see it succeeding outside the UK) and will have a short shelf life as the situations it mocks will eventually fade into collective memory. So, amusing but not built to last. I particularly liked "The Night Before Brexmas" and its all-too-recognizable picture of intergenerational strife.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite – The Booker Prize longlist and the Women's Prize shortlist? You must be kidding me! The plot is enjoyable enough: a Nigerian nurse named Korede finds herself complicit in covering up her gorgeous little sister Ayoola's crimes – her boyfriends just seem to end up dead somehow; what a shame! – but things get complicated when Ayoola starts dating the doctor Korede has a crush on and the comatose patient to whom Korede had been pouring out her troubles wakes up. My issue was mostly with the jejune writing, which falls somewhere between high school literary magazine and television soap (e.g. "My hands are cold, so I rub them on my jeans" & "I have found that the best way to take your mind off something is to binge-watch TV shows").
On Love and Barley – Haiku of Basho [trans. from the Japanese by Lucien Stryk] – These hardly work in translation. Almost every poem requires a contextual note on Japan's geography, flora and fauna, or traditions; as these were collected at the end but there were no footnote symbols, I didn't know to look for them, so by the time I read them it was too late. However, here are two that resonated, with messages about Zen Buddhism and depression, respectively: "Skylark on moor – / sweet song / of non-attachment." (#83) and "Muddy sake, black rice – sick of the cherry / sick of the world." (#221; reminds me of Samuel Johnson's "tired of London, tired of life" maxim). My favorite, for personal relevance, was "Now cat's done / mewing, bedroom's / touched by moonlight." (#24)
Any of these you have read or would read?
Onwards with the 2020 reading!
Posted in: Fiction Reviews, Nonfiction Reviews, Poetry Reviews	| Tagged: addiction, aliens, artists, autobiographies, Barbara Hepworth, Bashō, book clubs, Booker Prize, cancer, cats, Charlie Croker, children's books, comics, Cornwall, Costa Awards, environmentalism, fairy tales, fantasy, fonts, food, foxes, generosity, haiku, historical fiction, Holly Webb, hospitality, Ibiza, Jackie Kay, Jamaica, Janet Frame, Jean Rhys, Karen Raney, literature in translation, London, Margaret Atwood, medical experimentation, mental hospital, mental illness, Nathan W. Pyle, New Zealand, Nigeria, opium, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Patrick Gale, poetry, politics, Priya Basil, Quakerism, refugees, Sara Collins, satire, Strange Planet, Stuart Heritage, Toni Morrison, Two Roads, Women's Prize