David Moyes is fond of saying that Sir Alex Ferguson, far from being an unwanted distraction, has been a helpful source of advice during his first season as Manchester United manager.
Talking about a man who gave Moyes the job and still sits on the board, he couldn't really say anything else. Ferguson is both his boss and, apparently, the head of human resources.
It would be dangerous for Moyes to pick Ferguson's brain too often. Moyes is in charge, and not just a messenger for the former manager.
But if he is going to pick up the phone, this summer would be the ideal time to do it.
Moyes took on a huge challenge when he accepted the United job last summer. But given what has happened this season, you can argue he faces an even bigger task this summer.
He will be charged with rebuilding a squad that has been a long way off the pace this season and fielding a title-challenging team come August.
Ferguson didn't end up here very often.
Over time, he became a master at tweaking his squad year after year to avoid having to make wholesale changes. After all, history suggests signing too many players in one go can have a negative impact rather than a positive one. Just look at Tottenham.
But in the summer of 1995—after United had narrowly missed out on the title and lost in the FA Cup final—Ferguson saw three key players leave.
Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis and Paul Ince all departed. Ferguson's solution was to promote from within. Namely, the Youth Cup winners of 1992. And no one, especially Alan Hansen, needs reminding how that turned out.
That's not to suggest the answer to Moyes' problems is simply to throw a bunch of youngsters in at the deep end. The issues with his squad run deeper than those of Ferguson's 19 years ago. Moyes will spend. He has to.
But there is still a lesson there.
United have another group of Youth Cup winners waiting for their chance. The two stars of the team that lifted the trophy in 2011, Ravel Morrison and Paul Pogba, have left. But there are others.
If Rio Ferdinand follows Nemanja Vidic out of the door this summer, Moyes will be left with just Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling at centre-half.
But waiting in the wings are Michael Keane and Tom Thorpe. Both currently getting experience in the championship. Both England Under-21 internationals.
Midfielder Jesse Lingard is another member of the 2011 Youth Cup winners who is yet to get his big chance. He impressed on the pre-season tour last summer and has spent time at Birmingham and Brighton this season.
They are, of course, not ready to play in the Premier League every week. Probably not even every other week. Maybe just now and again.
But there should be places for them in the first-team squad. If not, then they have every right to ask why not.
All three are 21 years old. And, if Moyes doesn't see a future for them at Old Trafford, they should be allowed to leave.
They might make not make the grade. Not everyone does.
Few remember that John O'Kane and Simon Davies were on the bench at Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995/96 season. They just remember Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes.
But at least they got a chance.
The Class of 1992 flourished because they were given a chance. A chance that presented itself when senior players moved on.
That is set to happen again this summer. And there should be opportunities for youth team products to be included in Moyes' rebuild.
All he can do is give them a chance. And hope, just like Ferguson, his faith is repaid.


ISLAMABAD: Musa Al-Tamari, branded as Jordanian Messi, is here to make his presence felt during the World Cup 2026 qualifying round match against Pakistan today (Thursday).
Musa Al-Tamari, a household name in Jordan, is already on the radar of leading European Clubs, watching each match progress before hiring him.“Yes Musa is here and will be seen playing against Pakistan on Thursday. He is the most popular name in our country and I am hopeful he would live up to expectations,” Al Hussain Al Musa, the Jordan coach when questioned, said.
He added that there are some others in the Jordanian team who would be seen making an impact in the match.
“We have got a star-studded outfit and that they proved during their recent performance in the Asia Cup where our outfit defeated the best teams like Japan and Korea on their way to the final. We are here to make an impact,” he added.
Al Hussain Al Musa said that the expectations of Jordanian people are sky high now.“Since we toppled the best teams of Asia on our way to make it to the Asia Cup final, the interest of the game and fan following has gone high. Now every Jordanian expects us to beat the best teams. We are capable of doing that, upsetting the best and making it to the World Cup finals.”
On football’s future in his country, the Jordanian coach said that every possible step has been taken to raise one after another tier of squads.“We have all kinds of domestic football including leagues and are in the process of investing heavily in soccer. In a few years you would see good players coming up in numbers to make a claim for the national side.”
He called on Pakistan football to generate activities at all levels and introduce leagues to raise their football standard.“Football at this point of time is not the most favourite Pakistan sport which I think is cricket. I would suggest activities at all levels to improve football standard and to generate interest among youth in the game which would help the country have a better future.”


The future of mass transit in Indianapolis hangs in the balance after the House Committee on Roads and Transportation held a hearing on Senate Bill 141 on March 24.
Authored by Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, the bill would require Indiana public transportation entities — namely IndyGo’s planned expansion of the Blue and Purple Lines — to raise a certain level of revenue before receiving local income tax revenue for projects. Currently, state law requires counties to raise 10% of annual operating expenses for projects and 25% of the project funding must come from fares and charges. These funds, Freeman said during debate, haven’t been met by IndyGo.
IndyGo CEO Inez Evans, however, said the company has raised the necessary funds and Freeman and co-authors of the bill are ignoring information from the Legislative Services Agency (LSA).
“The original contention from the author of the bill contended that IndyGo needed to be held accountable to taxpayers to raise 10% of the funding,” Evans told the Recorder. “They went to the LSA to do a financial assessment, and they came back and put a footnote in their review and said IndyGo was in compliance with the statute … but they don’t agree now with the LSA interpretation.”
Freeman said that’s not the case.
“In regards to the change in the fiscal note, as a state senator, I have no involvement in that process,” Freeman said in a statement. “The evaluation of the fiscal impact is done by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency. As I understand it, there was a misinterpretation of the law provided by a non-lawyer, and it has since been rectified, resulting in the revised fiscal note.”
According to the fiscal note on the bill, IndyGo in 2019 was required to raise 25% of Red Line operating expenses from fares. However, the fare revenue is not specific to Red Line riders, meaning any fare revenue IndyGo receives was counted toward the 25% requirement, and financial analyst Bill Brumbach concluded fare revenue from IndyGo satisfied that requirement.
During the House committee hearing, Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, raised concerns that the Blue Line, which would cut through the west side of the city, would impact traffic flow due to designated lanes for buses. He introduced an amendment that would prohibit IndyGo from creating designated lanes, which would reduce the number of lanes available to drivers on both Washington Street and 10th Street.
During testimony Evans said the need for designated lanes is twofold.
First, the federal grants received for the Blue Line were designated for a fixed guideway project, which has five components necessary, including designated lanes. If the bill passes with the amendment prohibiting designated lanes, IndyGo communications director Lesley Gordon said the company would lose the money it’s already spent on the project. If the company decided to go forward with the project without designated lanes, IndyGo would have to apply for grants for corridor projects, which do not require designated lanes and are more competitive. Further, Evans said fixed guideway projects have long-term benefits for the whole community, not just IndyGo riders.
One of those benefits is revamped and safer streets.
As part of the Blue and Purple lines, the former expected to cost $200 million and the latter $168 million, Indianapolis streets would be repaved, sidewalks reconstructed and the septic systems updated.
Karlee Macer, former Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, testified against the bill, describing the planned projects as being about more than mass transit.
“Everything is still the same in the community,” Macer said regarding her childhood in Indianapolis. “Same well water, same septic system, some people even use oil to heat their homes 15 minutes from here. This is more than mass transit to our community. This is a generational lifeline.”
Evans views this bill not just as an attack on IndyGo, but as an attack on Indianapolis’ poor and minority communities.
“Of the population IndyGo serves, 70% are persons of color,” Evans said. “When you look at the Purple Line alone, 61% of the population it serves is a minority population, and 30% are low income. The money that’s on the table from the Federal Transit Administration will significantly help bring our infrastructure to a higher standard.”
Freeman said during testimony Marion County can’t afford these expansions, and argued the focus should be on improving roads, not mass transit. However, Evans said the money that’s already been spent on the expansion projects can’t be reimbursed.
“The entire project for the Purple Line is about $168 million with 50% coming from the federal government,” Evans said. “IndyGo has already spent $37 million on the Purple Line in anticipation of getting 50% back. If the bill passes, we don’t get anything. Citizens have paid $37 million and don’t have anything to show for it but 15 buses.”
The bill, which passed in the Senate 32 to 17 on Feb. 23, was held by committee chair Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, after debate went over the allotted time. Pressel now gets to decide if the bill will get another hearing. If a vote isn’t held by April 8, the bill will die. At this point, Pressel said he hasn’t decided if there will be a second hearing.
Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.


Fly-in fly-out employee charged with rape of lady at outback mining camp owned by one of many world’s greatest corporations
- Fly-in fly-out employee at one among WA’s greatest mines allegedly raped lady onsite
- The 35-year-old man accused of following lady in her 20s again to room
- The incident occurred at BHP’s Pilbara mine connected to $4.64billion challenge
A fly-in fly-out employee at one among Western Australia’s largest mines is dealing with rape fees after he allegedly adopted her from the village’s pub again to her lodging.
The 35-year-old from Vasse within the state’s south-west allegedly sexually assaulted the lady in her 20s on the Pilbara BHP mine in November, 2020.
The $4.64billion South Flank mine, which incorporates the Mulla Mulla village the lady was allegedly raped, is the mining big’s most numerous manufacturing with girls making up 40 per cent of the workforce.
The 35-year-old from Vasse within the state’s south-west allegedly sexually assaulted the lady in her 20s on the Pilbara BHP mine in November, 2020
BHP in a press release stated they had been serving to with investigations and that ‘sexual assault or harassment is unacceptable at BHP, full cease’.
‘We’re completely clear on this, and all workers, contractors and those who come to our websites are made conscious of their obligation to help a protected and respectful office.’
The mining big has not too long ago launched a ‘stroll to room service’ scheme the place girls uncomfortable strolling dwelling alone might be escorted both from the location, eating halls or pub.
The $150million Mulla Mulla village the place the rape allegedly occurred is essentially the most luxurious BHP has offered for its websites – together with a three-storey cafe, cross-fit fitness center, 2,500 rooms, a swimming pool, sports activities fields, digital golf course and a 3,000 e-book library.
BHP in a press release they had been serving to investigations and that ‘Sexual assault or harassment is unacceptable at BHP, full cease’
Building, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Power Union state secretary Mick Buchan stated the alleged incident was ‘unacceptable’ and slammed the thought of needing an escort to get girls dwelling safely.
‘You shouldn’t should depend on a chaperone once you’re dwelling away from dwelling.’
‘As soon as upon a time once you arrived on a mine web site for a brand new building job, you got a donga, a room, and that room remained your room till you left that challenge… for as much as 24 months, even longer,’ he instructed The West.
‘You developed the group inside that block that you simply lived in, and everybody sorted one another.
‘9 instances out of 10, it is a completely different room in a special space. It type of takes that group really feel away from the camp web site.’
The person has been charged with two counts of sexual penetration with out consent and can face Perth Justice of the Peace’s Courtroom tomorrow.
BHP say they will not touch upon ‘particular incidents’ however try to introduce ‘stricter controls on alcohol consumption’.


1 - Only revenge Tre'Davious White wants is on the scoreboard
Just over two weeks ago, Bills rookie Tre'Davious White was placed in the concussion protocol after an unnecessary hit from the Patriots Rob Gronkowski. The two teams are set to revisit each other this Sunday in New England.
"I just want to go into Gillette Stadium] and win. That’d be the biggest revenge of it all,” White said on [the John Murphy Show. "For us to go in there in a tough environment and win would be a big deal." !(https://goo.gl/qiMD1M)
Gronkowski served a one-game suspension in Week 14. He returned to the field in Week 15 against the Steelers. The tight end had his typical performance, tallying nine receptions for 168 yards. White discussed covering the 6-6, 265-pound TE.
"It's a tough task. He's a wide body, strong guy," White said. "Earlier, a couple of drives before that (Gronkowski's hit), I had an interception in my hands that he took from me. That just shows the strength and the athleticism that he has. He's probably the best tight end in the game right now."
Unfortunately, since Gronkowski's hit on White, the NFL's seen more plays resulting in suspension. The most recent case came this Sunday. Panthers linebacker, Thomas Davis, dealt a helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers wide receiver Davante Adams. The shot resulted in a two-game suspension for Davis, opposed to the one-game suspension on Gronkowski.
"I didn't see the Thomas Davis hit, but I've been getting a lot of tweets about it. How he got two games and Gronk got one," said White. "It doesn't come down to what I think or anybody else thinks. The league has a strict policy on how they handle things like that and they felt one was more severe than the other."
NFL VP of football operations, Jon Runyan, put out a statement explaining how Davis being a repeat offender resulted in the increased penalty.
When Gronkowski struck White, he was lying out of bounds and the play was over. Bills players didn't retaliate too much, and for some reason received criticism for remaining disciplined. White was encouraged with his teammates response.
"Yes, I feel like one player is not more important than the team," he said. "If we were to start a brawl, who knows how that thing may go. We might've lost Preston [Brown], [Lafayette] Pitts, Jordan [Poyer], and Micah [Hyde]. Those are three key guys that we need, so if we started a brawl and get suspended for a couple of games it wouldn't be worth it. The poise that we had just shows the character that we have."
The chatter surrounding Gronkowski and White will be inevitable come Sunday. For the Bills rookie, improving to 9-6 would be the biggest revenge.
"Nothing dirty. I've never been a guy who tries to get it after the whistle," said White. "We're going to try to get it on the scoreboard. That would be the greatest thing."
2 - Playoff race bringing publicity to Buffalo
Two games remain in the regular season, and the Bills are close to breaking their 17-season playoff drought. The national media is buzzing around Buffalo's postseason chances.
Baltimore, Buffalo, and Tennessee are all 8-6 and fighting for the final two Wild Card spots. Sporting News discussed the Bills current seeding and the road ahead.
The Bills currently are the sixth seed in the AFC, but it won't be an easy spot to hold with road games against the Patriots and Dolphins remaining.
The Bills first-of-two road games to finish the season are against the Patriots. Per usual, it will be no easy task taming Tom Brady. USA Today shared a satisfying stat before Sunday's game.
They need a pass defense that's given up a league-low 11 TD passes to show up in a big way Sunday at Foxborough in order to maintain a playoff dream.
Yahoo Sports honed in on the hectic playoff race. They noted that a loss this Sunday wouldn't end Buffalo's playoff hopes.
*The Bills are very much alive in the playoff race thanks to the Titans' collapse. There's still the issue of having one of their two remaining games at New England, but a loss to the Patriots doesn't ruin their chances. There are roughly a billion scenarios in play. *
The Titans have suffered back-to-back losses to the Cardinals and 49ers. That's benefitted the Bills greatly. Though Buffalo fans are cheering for certain teams to lose, you want to end the season at 10-6. That would almost guarantee a playoff berth for the Bills.
3 - Power Rankings round-up heading into Week 16
After Sunday's win over the Dolphins, the Bills remain in the middle of the pack in this week's Power Rankings. Buffalo's now 8-6 and face top-ranked New England (11-3) this Sunday.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports has the Bills ranked at 14th heading into Week 16. He was encouraged by their recent performance and that resulted in a three-spot boost from last week (17th).
They dominated the Dolphins and kept their playoff hopes alive. Can they beat New England this week in Foxboro?
Chris Simms of Bleacher Report ranked Buffalo at 17th this week. He gave his insight on the Bills formula for their winning ways.
*The Bills ran the ball well, Tyrod Taylor made some good throws, the offense protected the ball, and the defense didn't allow many big plays. This is the formula that has allowed Buffalo to win this year, and it's the one that got the Bills out to such a strong start to the season. *
It's never going to be pretty with the Bills, but that's not the kind of game they want to be in. Buffalo wants to be the more efficient and disciplined team in an ugly, physical contest.
A Bills win over the Patriots this Sunday would surely boost their ranking next week. But more importantly, it would be a step in the right direction for making the playoffs.
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE DAY


Apr 19, 2019
Hireology, the leading recruitment CRM for multi-location, decentralized enterprises, today announced it has closed $27 million in Series D financing led by Blue Cloud Ventures, with full participation from current investors Bain Capital Ventures and Baird Venture Partners, as well as Silicon Valley Bank.
This latest round of investment brings its total capital raised to $60.5 million and underscores Hireology’s momentum and position of strength in the market. Funds will be used to accelerate the company’s growth in new market verticals and to create features that further differentiate its product offering.
“Hireology’s world class product and razor sharp focus on its customers’ success in attracting, recruiting and onboarding talent has positioned the company as the go-to recruitment management platform for the automotive and healthcare sectors,” said Mir Arif, Managing Partner of Blue Cloud Ventures. “We are excited to partner with Adam and the Hireology team on the next phase of their growth.”
Hireology has experienced sustained, rapid growth, recently surpassing 6,500 customers and 200 employees. New recruitment marketing and candidate CRM solutions have transformed how customers attract, hire and integrate talent in today’s competitive hiring market.
This spring further saw the release of new functionality including enhanced SEO capabilities, text-to-recruit options and passive sourcing solutions.
Spur, a new and innovative employment platform that redefines the relationship between hourly workers and employers who depend on them, announced today that it raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by Third Prime with participation from Mark Bezos and John Griffin, founder of Blue Ridge Capital.
Spur also appointed Bezos to its Board of Directors. This investment marks one of the largest venture rounds ever raised by an Alabama-based company.
Spur is addressing a significant market opportunity in the hourly worker economy, which is comprised of approximately 78 million workers or nearly 60 percent of all American jobs. Spur’s platform offers workplaces such as hotels, restaurants, and other businesses with hourly workforces a managed solution for all their employment needs that saves them time and money, while also improving the benefits and services available to the workforce.
“We started Spur with a mission to provide workers greater access to opportunity and ultimately improve their quality of life. We’re doing that by partnering with businesses and other organizations to take on all the responsibilities associated with managing HR and payroll for their hourly workforces and then ensuring those workers are well taken care of over the course of their employment,” said Glenn Clayton, founder and chief executive officer, Spur. “We believe most businesses want to treat their workers well – we’re just making it easier and more cost effective than ever before to deliver on that goal.”
Spur’s platform combines innovative employment technology with a focus on managing hourly workforces. Spur becomes the official employer of record of a business’s hourly workforce thereby helping them reduce costs and save time by eliminating all HR and payroll functions. Businesses using the platform simply schedule their employees and approve their time through Spur’s app, and then Spur’s platform takes care of everything else.
San Francisco startup TripleByte which uses coding quizzes and machine learning to match would-be employees with open jobs has raised $35 million in a Series B financing round led by YC Continuity, Y Combinator’s investment fund.
After a year in which revenue grew three times (over $1 million monthly) and headcount doubled from 20 to 40, it’s attracted funding from a raft of investors including Y Combinator.
Harj Taggar, CEO and cofounder said that the fresh funds will enable Triplebyte to expand beyond silicon valley into Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Boston later in the year.
Uncubed, a leading online talent acquisition and recruitment marketing platform, has announced the acquisition of New York-based Mediabistro, the premier careers site for the media sector and other digital professionals.
Following the acquisition, Uncubed will provide new services and an expanded offering to the Mediabistro customer base, including employer branding video services, customized recruiting services, candidate experience technology, and events. Mediabistro members and jobseekers will get access to additional content and job opportunities.
“Mediabistro has been the dominant careers site in the media sector for years,” said Chris Johnson, CEO of Uncubed. “We’re excited to bring our offering, technology, and events to Mediabistro customers – and to help them attract candidates with other skillsets. Similarly, we can now deliver a lot more value to Uncubed customers through the Mediabistro platform.”
Mediabistro will bring complementary jobseeker talent to the Uncubed network, which has traditionally been weighted towards software developers, data scientists, product managers, and others. With the Mediabistro community comprised largely of content creators, designers, and marketers, Uncubed will be able to provide a complete array of skillsets to customers.
Uncubed intends to operate the Mediabistro site independently, yet members of both communities will benefit from increased access to editorial and skill-building content, a wider set of job opportunities, and the candidate matching technology that Uncubed continues to develop.
London based Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG), a provider of integrated talent management and learning technologies software and services, has announced the acquisition of Breezy HR in Jacksonville, Florida.
Breezy HR provides small to medium businesses (SMBs) with feature-rich, intuitive and user-friendly recruitment software in order to optimize their processes and maximize productivity. The acquisition brings a range of benefits to LTG and Breezy HR itself.
The addition of Breezy HR to LTG’s best-of-breed talent and learning businesses is expected to further consolidate the Group’s position in the talent acquisition marketplace, extending its existing enterprise client base to include a new small to medium businesses audience. This move builds on LTG’s acquisition of PeopleFluent in 2018, which introduced transformational talent management capability into the Group.
Integration activity is expected to leverage components of Breezy HR’s software to support swifter and richer feature releases to PeopleFluent’s enterprise product customers.
LTG Chief Executive, Jonathan Satchell, commented, “I am delighted to welcome our colleagues from Breezy HR into the Group. We are incredibly excited by Breezy HR’s exceptional talent acquisition software. Breezy HR has enjoyed strong organic growth and has excellent future potential, which we feel can be enhanced with support from LTG as part of our suite of integrated talent solutions.


The girls basketball team has seen a lot of success thus far in their 2018-19 season. However, winning their games this year has done more than adding another point to their own record.
With her win against Smithson Valley last week, head coach Triva Corrales recently received the 300th win of her coaching career.
Before coming to Judson High School, Corrales had already been a head coach at Burbank in SAISD.
“I’ve been really blessed [with] where I’ve been [able] to be, to have great athletes cross my path, good people, great kids, and they’re the ones that put in the blood, sweat, and tears. You know, always just the beneficiary of it,” Corrales said.
She not only coaches but is also adamant about upholding the appropriate ethics of the team and making athletes better people. With the effort she has put into that, Corrales has gained a reputation for being the savior for many basketball programs.
“Honestly, everywhere I’ve been, I’ve been brought in because the program needed to be rebuilt. So pretty much the struggle was laying the foundation, not just basketball-wise, but also fixing the culture,” Corrales said. “The culture was bad where there was a lack of discipline or a lack of commitment to what they were doing. [I try] to mold them into not just good basketball players, but good students and good people.”
When Corrales is doing her job, she focuses and works on the present. She chooses not to think about what the future may have in store for her, even though she has proven to be successful in the programs she has been a part of.
“I live in the moment. I worry about the process of getting to the top, not actually being at the top,” Corrales said. “I’m just not one of those people who I look ahead and I wonder what life holds. [I focus on] what my job is today, I indulge in that, and I do my best on that day.”
Throughout her time as a head coach, Corrales has gone above and beyond to break boundaries and create well-working teams, giving her a great name for herself and the team. A total of 300 wins is a lot, but in terms of Coach Corrales, it is no less than what she deserves.
Knowing Coach, it is just another number, as she works on the present to better the future of not only her own life but all athletes she has the pleasure of coaching.


OSBORNE, Kan. (KSNW) — A man was killed in a house fire Monday in Osborne.
According to the Osborne Police Department (OPD), they received a call just after 5 a.m. for the report of a fire in the 300 block of S. 3rd St.
Upon arrival, fire crews found a home fully engulfed in flames and took immediate action to put the fire out.
The OPD says an investigation revealed that 32-year-old David Dean, who lived there, did not make it out alive. He was found in the northeast corner of the home.
An investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office is ongoing.


If you’re wondering if the Highland Park Giants are hungry, just ask senior Eli Secher and his family.
Secher has hosted the team’s linemen — offensive and defensive — for barbecues and the proof is on the plates.
“We go through a lot of food,” said Secher, who added the gatherings build more than just body mass. They serve as team-building moments for a senior-heavy group that won’t be satisfied with anything less than a playoff berth.
The Giants recorded their fourth straight 4-5 season in 2022 (not counting the shortened 2021-’22 spring campaign), each year finishing a game short of playoff qualification. Secher and company have bonded over the heartbreak for two of those seasons.
With three-year varsity starters all over the field, Secher said they are coming in ready.
“I’m excited — real excited,” he said. “All the guys in our class who have two years of varsity experience, we are ready for our final year.”
Last season, Highland Park began the season 2-0 and advanced to 4-3. It could not secure a win in either of its final two games (Vernon Hills, Maine West) and finished on the outside of the IHSA postseason.
Second-year head coach Anthony Kopp hopes with multiple years of varsity play under their belts, his leaders will be ready for the spotlight.
“You certainly can hope and expect that the experience they’ve had, their experience playing varsity ball steps up,” he said. “And just confidence. They worked very hard in the weight room in the offseason. They look bigger, they feel a little confidence because of that. I’m looking for that to come through.”
Senior David Finfer enters third year under center for the Giants.
Secher mans a senior offensive line that includes fellow All-Conference standout Alex Knight. They will block for three-year varsity returners David Finfer (quarterback) and Nikko Rosenbloom (running back).
Finfer was also all-league after throwing for nearly 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns, while rushing for 180 yards and 4 more TDs. Rosenbloom gained 530 total yards with 5 touchdowns. Star receiver Nick Blumer (46 catches, 653 yards, 6 TDs) leads an experienced group that includes senior Johnny Walker and sophomore Lucas Gordon, who saw varsity time as a freshman.
Kopp said the returners will enable a balanced offensive attack.
“Offensively, we can throw with David Finfer and we have some skill players around him,” Kopp said. “And we have a senior line. We feel good about running behind them, too. A lot of seniors. There will be times where there are 11 seniors are out there on the field.”
Many Highland Park standouts play both sides of the football. Blumer will return as a starting defensive back, where he intercepted four passes and recovered two fumbles in 2022.
Walker and Rosenbloom will also man the defensive backfield, along with senior Asher Stern.
Middle linebacker Tyler Gleyzer is the anchor of the defensive unit. He racked up 32 tackles (8 for loss) in an injury-shortened junior season (6 games). Sebastian Vrybal, also the team’s placekicker, will play outside linebacker for the Giants.
Seniors Knight and Josh Pasternak return to the defensive line.
“Defensively we have some playmakers behind that can go up and get balls. We have some ‘backers and D-linemen who are tough and gonna stop runs,” Kopp said.
The Giants open the 2023 campaign with a road tilt against Leyden, a team they beat with a comeback effort to open the ’22 season
Then, it’s rivalry week, as Highland Park welcomes Deerfield to Wolters Field on Friday, Sept. 1. The Warriors and Giants are no longer in the same conference — Deerfield crossed over to the Central Suburban South — but the competition will continue.
As a league tradeoff, the Giants will host former CSL South team Niles West in Week 7, Oct. 6.
Rolling Meadows and Conant round out Highland Park’s nonconference schedule, while CSL North foes Maine West (Sept. 22), Niles North (Sept. 29), Maine East (Oct. 13) and Vernon Hills (Oct. 20) complete the 2023 slate for the Giants.
Highland Park wants its shot at the CSL North crown and in doing so, Kopp said, “everything will take care of itself including making the playoffs.”
HIGHLAND PARK 2023 SCHEDULE (2022: 4-5)
|Opponent (2022 record)||Day, Date||Home/Away||Last year’s result|
|Leyden (2-7)||Friday, Aug. 23||Away||Win: 28-25|
|Deerfield (6-3)*||Friday, Sept. 1||Home||Loss: 20-0|
|Rolling Meadows (4-5)||Friday, Sept. 8||Home||N/A|
|Conant (5-4)*||Thursday, Sept. 14||Away||N/A|
|Maine West (5-4)*^||Friday, Sept. 22||Home||Loss: 34-6|
|Niles North (2-7)^||Friday, Sept. 29||Home||Win: 29-6|
|Niles West (3-6)^||Friday, Oct. 6||Home||N/A|
|Maine East (1-8)^||Friday, Oct. 13||Away||Win: 46-7|
|Vernon Hills (5-4)*^||Friday, Oct. 20||Away||Loss: 50-34|
* Playoff team. ^ Conference opponent
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An Israeli court refused on Sunday to prohibit a planned demonstration that night outside the wedding hall where a mixed Muslim-Jewish couple is celebrating their recent marriage, but ordered protesters to remain at least 200 meters from the venue.
- The Jewish Ban on Intermarriage Has Become a Curse
- Group Plans to Wreck Mixed Marriage
- Where Is Bibi’s 'Mazel Tov'?
- Protesters Face Off Outside Wedding
- Flames of Hatred at Mixed Wedding
- Worrying Opposition to Mixed Marriage in Israel
- The Kids Are Alright. Confused, but Alright
The Rishon Letzion Magistrate’s Court issued the ruling after the couple, Morel Malka and Mahmoud Mansour, applied for an injunction to stop a planned demonstration organized by Lehava (a Hebrew acronym for “preventing assimilation in the Holy Land”). Mansour is a Muslim Arab, while Malka is an Israeli Jew who converted to Islam.
In court on Sunday, the representative of the police proposed holding the demonstration in a parking lot about 200 meters from the hall. Judge Iriya Mordechai ruled that the protesters must remain at least 200 meters from the building, even if they refuse the parking-lot space offered to them. She stressed that her ruling is aimed at presenting friction between the demonstrators and the guests at the event, which will be held under heavy police guard.
“Regrettably, the respondents’ actions to prevent the wedding, which have been carried out at a sensitive time for Jewish-Arab relations in any case, have borne rotten fruit and have stirred up a turbid wave of hatred and violence that will peak at a moment that is known and predictable, like its results,” wrote attorney Yaniv Segev on Mansour’s behalf in his request for the injunction. “It is almost certain that the planned demonstration on the day of his wedding will spill over into violent lines.”
President Reuven Rivlin addressed the wedding in a post on his Facebook page. “There is a red line between freedom of speech and protest on the one hand and incitement on the other,” he wrote. “Mahmoud and Morel from Jaffa have decided to marry and to exercise their freedom in a democratic country. The manifestations of incitement against them are infuriating and distressing, whatever my opinion or anyone else’s might be regarding the issue itself. Not everyone has to share in the happiness of Mahmoud and Morel — but everyone has to respect them. Among us and within our midst there are harsh and sharp disagreements but incitement, violence and racism have no place in Israeli society. These manifestations are undermining the foundations of our shared life here in the Jewish and democratic, democratic and Jewish State of Israel.” Rivlin concluded the post with a quotation from the early Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky: “In the beginning God created the individual,” and added: “We are a free people in our country, in opinion and action, and I wish the young couple health, satisfaction and happiness.”
Over the past few days Lehava has been disseminating the invitation to the wedding, calling upon its supporters to show up at the venue and encouraging them to contact the couple and urge them to cancel the wedding. The two met five years ago and Morel has converted to Islam. Mahmoud relates that up until the past few days they had not experienced such blatant manifestations of racism.
“We’ve been together for five years, but we’ve never encountered such racism. I always knew there were racists, but as long as you’re not affected by it, until you feel it in your own body, you don’t know what it is,” Mahmoud told Haaretz.
“If it were someone from her family, I would understand, but these people aren’t related. Why do they care? Why are they getting involved? If they think they’ll get us to give up on each other, it won’t happen.” He added that many people have phoned them to express support.
However, following the post on Facebook the couple received death threats over the phone, as have members of their families. Both Mahmoud and Morel have since changed their phone numbers. Nevertheless, they have decided to hold the wedding as planned. Due to the threats, the police have required the couple to hire 33 security guards at a cost of about 15,000 shekels ($4,330). The owners of the hall have agreed to pay half the cost of the security.
Mansour objects to having to pay for the security and directed his complaints at the police: “Why are they forcing me to spend out of my own pocket?” Mahmoud said. “If something happens, they’re supposed to take care of it, not me.
“We feel great,” he added, “and that really gives us strength. They think they’ll break us, but we can’t be broken. The opposite is true – we’re getting stronger. The wedding will go on as planned – it will be great. I’m not worried, but it’s troubling that on this day, which everyone waits for their whole life, the happiest day of their life, I have to go to court in the morning.”
On Saturday night Morel was in the midst of the final preparations for the wedding. Her mother, her sisters and other relatives are slated to attend. Her father, however, is opposed to her marriage to a Muslim and has declared that he will not attend.
“Please God, a lot of people will come,” said the groom. “There may be some people who are afraid to attend and we haven’t managed to convince her father but it will be a beautiful event.”


By Onikepo Braithwaite
The election season is upon us. And, in Nigeria, this season is synonymous with election petitions.
The stage is already being set, with various pre-election issues. To be clear, these present controversies do not qualify to constitute election petitions, as election petitions arise only after an election has been conducted; but, the confusion emanating from the various pre-election imbroglios, is a prelude to what may arise from the off-season Gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun State which will hold on June 18 and July 16, 2022 respectively, and the general elections in 2023.
From the unending debates on the passing or non-passing of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill (EAMB); to which geographical area the two main political parties, APC and PDP are zoning the Presidency to, and why it should be or not be so; to the constitutionality or otherwise of zoning; to the debate about whether it is hypocritical to conveniently remember that zoning is unconstitutional now that it is the turn of the Southern zones to take the Presidency, according to the gentleman’s agreement that has been followed over the years versus the argument that where was the same gentleman’s agreement when President Jonathan from the South South zone ran for election in 2011 after completing late President Yar’Adua’s term, when it was still the turn of the North to produce a candidate to complete its quota; to disputes about who the authentic party flag bearers are for different elective positions, as we have already seen from the Anambra primaries that were conducted by the different political parties, and the Anambra State Gubernatorial election, which held towards the end of 2021; and the APC primaries that held recently in Ekiti State. These days, it is impossible to switch on the television or read any newspaper, without these issues being the topic of discussion. Meanwhile, the insecurity that has pervaded the country, and most other pressing matters, seem to have paled into insignificance, because of the coming of the 2023 general elections.
In Ojukwu v Obasanjo 2004 12 N.W.L.R. Part 886 Page 169 at 227 per Edozie JSC, the Supreme Court defined ‘election’ as “….the process of choosing by popular votes, a candidate for political office in a democratic system of government”. Elections in Nigeria are governed principally by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), and INEC Guidelines. Sadly, since our return to democracy in 1999, how many times have Nigerians had the opportunity to truly ‘choose by popular vote’ their candidates for political offices, with all the election manipulation, rigging and malpractice that occur? Out of six elections so far, Nigeria can possibly only boast of two credible Presidential elections, 1999 and 2015 – two of out six – 33.3%. This is not a good score or report.
Definition of Election Petition
An election petition is the only means provided by Section 133(1) of the EA, by which an election can be questioned or challenged at a Tribunal or Court of Law. In A.N.P.P. v INEC 2004 7 N.W.L.R. Part 871 Page 16 at 55-57, the Court of Appeal held inter alia that: “What constitutes an election petition therefore, is a complaint by the Petitioner against an undue election or return of a successful candidate at the election….it is only an election or return of a candidate that can be questioned by an election petition, in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party” – per Mohammed JCA.
Causes of Increase in Election Petitions
Instead of the electoral process to have improved with each successive election, it worsened; and this is partly responsible for the phenomenal increase in election petitions. Of course, rigging, vote buying, greed and corruption are all contributing factors responsible for untrustworthy, questionable elections, and consequently, this unwelcome increase in election petitions. Nigerian politicians being bad losers is another cause, their desperation to win at all costs, even if it is to raise frivolous petitions, yet another. After the 2019 elections, the then President of the Court of Appeal, stated that there were about 805 election petitions in total!
Elements of Election Petition
Election petitions are described as being ‘Sui Generis’, a latin phrase which means “of its own kind”. While some say they are neither ordinary civil or criminal proceedings, it has been decided in a plethora of cases, that election petitions are a different specie of civil proceedings. The online Law Dictionary defines the term ‘ Sui Generis’ as “of its own kind or class; that is, the only one of its own kind; peculiar”. In Orubu v NEC 1988 5 N.W.L.R. Part 94 Page 323, Uwais JSC (as he then was) observed that “an election petition is not the same as ordinary civil proceedings, it is a special proceedings, because of the peculiar nature of elections…”. In Buhari v Yusuf 2003 14 N.W.L.R. Part 841 Page 446 at 536 per Tobi JSC, the Supreme Court stated that, election petitions have no affinity with any action known to common law.
Technicalities v Substantive Justice in Deciding Election Petitions
The Supreme Court, in Jim Nwobodo v Onoh 1984 1 S.C.N.L.R. 1 Page 195 per Uwais JSC (as he then was) said about election petitions: “It is the duty of the courts to hear them without allowing technicalities to unduly fetter their jurisdiction”. The issue of shying away from technicalities in the hearing of election petitions was succinctly stated in Ikpeazu v Otti 2015 18 N.W.L.R. Part 1490 Page 47 at 71-72 per Oseji JCA (as he then was), that: “In all election matters, the use of technicalities merely helps to shut issues in controversy. Once it is agreed that election petitions are in a class of their own, the handling of the matter too must take a form devoid of legal technicalities, that tend to leave the litigants more confused”.
For instance, in the Adeleke v Oyetola Osun State Gubernatorial election case, the decision of the Tribunal giving Adeleke victory, was overturned by the Court of Appeal, and that of the Court of Appeal, upheld by the Supreme Court. In that case, the Supreme Court gave victory to Oyetola not on the merits of the case, but on a technicality – that Peter Obiora, one of the members of the Tribunal who delivered the lead judgement in the matter, did not sign the attendance sheet of the Tribunal proceedings on a specific day, meaning that he was absent from the proceedings on that particular day; on a day which it is said that, important evidence about the rerun election was heard.
Many, including my humble self, still hold the firm belief that since election petitions have their own characteristics, such technicalities should not be used to perpetrate injustice. As much as possible, the will of the people and the evidence before the tribunal/court (merits of the case) should take precedence over technicalities. See the case of Ajadi v Ajibola 2004 16 N.W.L.R. Part 898 Page 91 at 168. A crucial question which should have been interrogated in deciding the Adeleke case, was whether the effect of Obiora’s absence/non-compliance, was substantial or occasioned any miscarriage of justice vis-à-vis the Tribunal’s decision. Based on the weight of the evidence, was the Tribunal’s decision per incuriam? Would the decision have been different, if Peter Obiora had been present that day? If the answer to these questions were negative, then the judgement of the Tribunal should have been upheld. It seems that in the Adeleke case, technical justice was taken over substantive justice.
Technicalities must however, be distinguished from cases in which, the shortcomings are of a serious nature, for instance, where constitutional provisions have clearly not been met. For example, the ANDP Bayelsa Gubernatorial election case. The issue of not meeting the constitutional threshold of 35 years is not a technicality or irregularity that could be corrected. It was the root of the case. Not meeting the age requirement, vitiated their candidature. We, as Lawyers, also have our part to play as officers in the temple of justice, by advising our clients not to waste the time of the tribunals/courts with frivolous, unmeritorious election petitions, for instance, like this ANDP case.
Optimistically, this will not be the fate of upcoming elections, as a combination of innovations and technology being introduced by INEC this time around, and the passing of the EAMB into law with the electronic collation and transmission of results etc, should make our elections more credible and seamless; and hopefully, reduce the number of election petitions in the future. This time around, the Professor Yakubu-led INEC means business in their resolve to deliver stellar elections; so, who knows? The 2023 elections may end up being Nigeria’s best election, since the inception of the Fourth Republic.
For one, the phasing out of the Card Reader and the manual Incidence Forms which were used upon the failure of the card reader, in favour of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is a step in the right direction, as the old Incidence Form system was one of the most famous parts of the electoral process used to rig elections. The new Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) will prevent people from doing multiple registrations, or using other people’s voter’s cards to vote. In the past, politicians would buy voter’s cards en masse, and have their people use them to vote for their preferred candidates.
As we go into the season of election petitions, aside from our hope that the improvement in the Electoral process will reduce the number of election petitions, it is imperative that the Election Petition Tribunals/Courts do justice to election petitions by deciding them on their merits, rather than on technical justice or other reasons.
Be that as it may, the truth of the matter is, it is unlikely that there will be any significant improvement in the lives of Nigerians, since to the best of our knowledge, our country’s system is still the same. How can you do things more or less the same way, and expect a different result? Millions of Nigerians who could not wait to see the back of the Jonathan administration (PDP), imagining that a new dawn of ‘Utopia’ would be ushered in by the Buhari administration (APC), were disappointed.
I hate to be the bearer of unwelcome news, but, come 2023, be it APC, PDP or XYZ, I don’t see too much of a silver lining behind the cloud for Nigerians. The entry point into elective positions remains extremely low (education up to secondary level), especially for this nuclear age that we are in, so much so that many of the decision/policy makers are ill-equipped for the tasks they have taken on. The other negative elements are still very much in existence – insecurity, Boko Haram, an inequitable system where for example, these same inadequately educated politicians (not all of them are poorly educated though) earn better salaries than well educated, overworked professionals like medical doctors and judicial officers; tribalism, shaky economy, corruption, pervasive poverty, unemployment, to mention but a few. However, nothing will make me happier, than for my conclusion to be proven wrong.


On his way to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club for a ten day vacation, Trump answered questions from the press and made a few comments on several pressing topics, including gun legislation, tariff wars, and Joe Biden.
Many questions and comments focused primarily on gun legislation. Trump claimed he has the support for background checks from both Republicans and Democrats and that he has a great relationship with the NRA. “They’re beautiful people.” He also claimed the NRA will eventually come around and support background checks because they support Trump.
Trump: I think a lot of really meaningful things on background checks will take place — including red flags, including a lot of other very, very important items. And the Republicans are looking at it very seriously https://t.co/aIBVcqAtrN pic.twitter.com/vOPMNl4tcZ— POLITICO (@politico) August 9, 2019
TRUMP on gun control: "The gun doesn't pull the trigger. A mind — a sick mind pulls the trigger." pic.twitter.com/hD44M6dbUl— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 9, 2019
Trump offered a message to kids returning to school from summer vacation:
Reporter: What's your message to children who are nervous about going back to school after recent mass shootings?— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 9, 2019
President Trump: "Go and really study hard, and some day you'll grow up and maybe be president of the US … They have nothing to worry about." pic.twitter.com/sS57dIDdBU
The president also said he has a greater influence over both the Senate and the House and recently had a “great talk” with “Chuck and Nancy.”
“I think with a lot of success that we have, I think I have a greater influence now over the Senate and over the House. I think we can get something really good done. I think we can have some meaningful background checks.”
He added that there was no need to bring the Senate back from recess since he believes a great package will materialize before Congress returns.
President Trump says there's no need to bring the Senate back into session for gun control measures: "I think we'll have a very good package by the time they come back" pic.twitter.com/ZsXN9MK8su— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 9, 2019
Trump also teased the press about receiving another “beautiful letter” from Kim Jung Un and alluded to meeting with the dictator in the near future.
NEW: Pres. Trump says he got a "very beautiful letter" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un yesterday, adding that he believes they will have another meeting: "Maybe I'll release the results of the letter, but it was very positive." https://t.co/Z0kLq3TFN0 pic.twitter.com/OSZev1wohE— ABC News (@ABC) August 9, 2019
He also commented on Joe Biden’s latest gaffe claiming “poor kids” are “just as talented as white kids.” Biden corrected himself immediately and said, “wealthy kids.”
Biden in Iowa: “Poor kids are just as smart as white kids.”— Tania Singh (@TwinklingTania) August 9, 2019
Trump picked up on the gaffe and went on to label Joe Biden a racist. He also accused Biden of “not playing with a full deck.” Trump’s re-election campaign is now using this snip to score political points but they’re not playing the speech in its entirety or full context.
When asked if he was a White Supremacist or White Nationalist, Trump replied that he doesn’t like when it happens because he’s “not any of those things.” He then went on to label Hollywood as the real racists.
"I’m not any of those things," President Trump says when asked about being called a white supremacist and white nationalist by some Democrats. "I think it’s a disgrace" pic.twitter.com/mMzqIy5p5n— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 9, 2019
Trump, sweating profusely, says "Hollywood is racist … what they're doing with the kind of movies they're putting out — it's actually very dangerous for our country." pic.twitter.com/ALXznOJ1iv— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 9, 2019
And to prove he’s not a racist, Trump said he would “love” to see Colin Kaepernick play in the NFL again, “if he’s good enough.”
While speaking to reporters this morning, @realDonaldTrump was asked if @Kaepernick7 should get another opportunity to play in the NFL.— Mike Brest (@MikeBrestDC) August 9, 2019
He said, "I would love to see [Colin] Kaepernick" return to the league "if he's good enough." pic.twitter.com/YssGstX5iK
Upon hearing those remarks, Wall Street reacted:
Trump also defended the ICE raids that happened in Mississippi yesterday that ripped even more families apart:
Trump defends deportation raids at Mississippi food processing plants that left children abandoned because it's "a very good deterrent," again floats idea of using white supremacist mass shooting & need for stronger background checks as leverage for hardline immigration reform pic.twitter.com/VshDSE8WEG— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 9, 2019
Trump will now spend the next ten days at his Bedminster golf club.


Brexit, Trump and other recent populist movements have highlighted a major intellectual battle taking place in the Western world in recent years—namely, the clash between nationalism and globalism.
Nationalism emphasises the sovereignty of the nation-state—the right of a group of people who are united by their shared history, language or religion to govern themselves as a free nation among other free nations.
Nationalism is not a disregard for other nations; rather, it assumes that each nation is responsible for its own destiny. This may, of course, include rich partnerships with other nations for commerce, travel and more—but this will always be an agreement reached by both parties based on their respective national interests.
Globalism, by contrast, sees all people first as “world citizens”, and it downplays the sovereignty of individual nations. Shrugging off shared traditions as the basis for political stability, globalism assumes that values like individual freedom and human reason are equally embraced by all people in all places at all times—and that these values are therefore a better foundation for the world’s political order. The European Union and the United Nations are of course the two most prominent experiments to this end.
While globalism is viewed as forward-looking and is embraced by academic, media, business and political elites, nationalism is increasingly dismissed by these same elites as irrelevant—and even morally suspect. Indeed, there is a widespread mood today that nationalism equals racism—so that, for instance, any American who supports Donald Trump and his “America First” agenda is by definition a xenophobe or a white supremacist.
This is plainly not true. For the vast majority of nationalists throughout the Western world—including in America—nationalism is unrelated to ethnicity. As Yoram Hazony points out, this traces all the way back to the Old Testament Scriptures, which profoundly shaped the West’s concept of nationhood.
In the Old Testament, we see Egyptians joining Hebrew slaves in fleeing Egypt, and outsiders like Jethro and Rahab being incorporated into the Jewish community. We see the same with Ruth the Moabite, who famously left her people and vowed to her Jewish mother-in-law, “Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” (Ruth 1:16).
In the words of Historian Victor Davis Hanson, “the logic of Western civilization was never predicated on blood-and-soil chauvinism”. Rather, in the Western tradition, nationalism is about shared national values that anyone can embrace when they adopt a new nation as their own.
But consider that globalists benefit when nationalism and patriotism are portrayed as racist: love of nation is best set aside if the nations of the world are going to surrender their sovereignty to a global order.
What many are yet to notice about the globalist doctrine is that it is by nature imperialistic. Just like the pre-modern expansionist empires of Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, so globalists today imagine a future in which nation-states are subsumed under a more expansive political architecture.
Just like the imperialist empires of old, globalists today can only see the benefits of this—whether fewer wars, increased trade and productivity, or greater geopolitical stability and peace. And perhaps they are right.
But like the nations overrun by those imperialist powers, everyday people rightly fear the creep of globalism. Peace and prosperity were indeed enjoyed by those conquering empires—but it came at the cost of submission, expropriation of property, national shame, and even slavery for the nations they conquered. As Hazony explains:
Liberals do not seem to understand that the advancing liberal construction is a form of imperialism. But to anyone not already immersed in the new order, the resemblance is obvious.
Much like the Pharaohs and the Babylonian kings, the Roman emperors and the Roman Catholic Church until well into the modern period, as well as the Marxists of the last century, liberals, too, have their grand theory about how they are going to bring peace and economic prosperity to the world by pulling down all the borders and uniting mankind under their own universal rule.
This is not to say that the barbarity of the ancient world should be pinned on the globalist agenda today. But at the very least, proponents of globalism should be honest to themselves and to everyone else about their bent for imperialism.
One of the challenges for us in Australia is that both of our major parties are committed to the ideals of the liberalism born of the Enlightenment—the very wellspring of the globalist doctrine.
More than ever before, we need to rediscover ourselves as a nation. This begins with understanding the much stronger conservative traditions upon which Australia was founded. Only then can we stand fast in the face of an imperial globalist agenda.


If President Donald J. Trump surrenders to authorities on Tuesday, he may undergo a DNA collection process more befitting a murder suspect than a person falsely accused of paying hush money to a washed-up adult actress, a source in General Eric M. Smith’s office told Real Raw News.
According to him, the general’s office, via U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER,) has obtained an email sent from Lisa DelPizzo, chief of the Manhattan D.A.’s trial division, to Alvin Bragg, in which she asks whether the office will collect a buccal swab, blood, and “at least 100 hair samples” from President Trump Tuesday afternoon. She also asked for Bragg’s thoughts on whether the Secret Service would try to block DNA collection.
ARCYBER, our source said, did not intercept a reply but forwarded DelPizzo’s email to Gen. Smith since it seemed like a portent that Bragg might entrap Trump with additional, albeit fictitious, charges.
In homicide and sexual assault cases, law enforcement routinely mouth-swabs suspects and collects hair follicles. In most cases, a suspect (or even a witness) is asked to surrender his DNA voluntarily; but refusal inevitably results in police hostility and a warrant compelling cooperation by force, if necessary. In specific DUI investigations, cops can get a warrant for a blood draw to check for intoxicants.
However, there is no case law mandating the collection of DNA evidence from a person charged with financial crimes, attorney Bill Cullen of the Constitutional Law Foundation told Real Raw News.
“Not only is there no precedent for indicting a president, but there’s also none that I’m aware of for swabbing or taking hair roots from anyone suspected of financial misdemeanors, and if indeed they intend to do that, no honest judge would sign a warrant—there’s no probable cause. The police can ask, of course, but no one should voluntarily talk to or help them. Alvin Bragg’s indictment is still sealed, which I find suspicious, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the charges against Trump are spurious,” Mr. Cullen said.
Our source in Gen. Smith’s office speculated as to why Bragg wants Trump’s DNA.
“It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Bragg, who is Deep State, wants to make sure the Trump he has in custody is the Real Donald Trump and not a clone, doppelganger, or body double. I don’t see how DNA could exclude a clone, but it could detect a double,” he said. “Or, of course, they might just try to frame him for something else once he gets in there.”
We asked our source to comment on theories that the real President Trump is stashed away at NORAD or AREA 51, while a doppelganger lives at Mar-a-Lago and makes public appearances at rallies.
“If that were true, it would be outside the ambit of what I can say,” he said.
Regardless, he said Gen. Smith forwarded DelPizzo’s email to President Trump and his legal team.
As reported yesterday, Gen. Smith implored Trump to hold fast at Mar-a-Lago and avoid traveling to New York, but Trump wouldn’t heed the advice. They plan to speak again Sunday, our source said.


Health Sciences Department in collaboration with the Undergraduate Research Committee launched a new initiative known as the Journal Club Series in Fall 2022. The Journal Club seeks to engage with a wide range of students including non-science majors as well as those having science backgrounds.
Who will benefit and what are the actions to be taken in advance of the Journal Club session? Undergraduate students from all majors are welcome to attend. The students will need to read the selected article in advance of the Journal Club session. A link will be provided to access the article. The students will also need to complete the registration in Zoom in advance of our session. A link to register will be provided for each session.


WASHINGTON - In a nondescript conference room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, First Lieutenant Elizabeth Whiteside listened last week as an Army prosecutor outlined the criminal case against her. The charges: attempting suicide and endangering the life of another soldier while serving in Iraq.
Her hands trembled as Major Stefan Wolfe, the prosecutor, asserted that Whiteside, now a psychiatric outpatient at Walter Reed, should be court-martialed. After seven years of exemplary service, the 25-year-old Army reservist faces the possibility of life in prison if she is tried and convicted.
Military psychiatrists at Walter Reed who examined Whiteside after she recovered from her self-inflicted gunshot wound diagnosed her with a severe mental disorder, possibly triggered by the stresses of a war zone. But Whiteside's superiors considered her mental illness an excuse for criminal conduct, according to documents obtained by The
At the hearing, Wolfe, who had already warned Whiteside's lawyer of the risk of using a "psychobabble" defense, pressed a senior psychiatrist at Walter Reed to justify his diagnosis.
"I'm not here to play legal games," Colonel George Brandt responded angrily, according to a recording of the hearing. "I am here out of the genuine concern for a human being that's breaking and that is broken. She has a severe and significant illness. Let's treat her as a human being."
In recent months, prodded by outrage over poor conditions at Walter Reed, the Army has made a highly publicized effort to improve treatment of Iraq veterans and change a culture that stigmatizes mental illness.
The Pentagon has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to new research and to care for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, and on Friday announced that it had opened a new center for psychological health in Arlington, Va.
But outside the Pentagon, the military still largely deals with mental health issues in an ad hoc way, often relying on the judgment of combat-hardened commanders whose understanding of mental illness is vague or misinformed. The stigma around psychological wounds can still be seen in the smallest of Army policies.
While family members of soldiers recovering at Walter Reed from physical injuries are provided free lodging and a per diem to care for their loved ones, families of psychiatric outpatients usually have to pay their own way.
"It's a disgrace," said Tom Whiteside, a former Marine and retired federal law enforcement officer who lost his free housing after his daughter's physical wounds had healed enough that she could be moved to the psychiatric ward. A charity organization, the Yellow Ribbon Fund, provides him with an apartment near Walter Reed so he can be near his daughter.
Under military law, soldiers who attempt suicide can be prosecuted under the theory that it affects the order and discipline of a unit and brings discredit to the armed forces. In reality, criminal charges are extremely rare unless there is evidence that the attempt was an effort to avoid service or endangered others.
At one point, Whiteside almost accepted the Army's offer to resign in lieu of court-martial. But it meant she would have to explain for the rest of her life why she was not given an honorable discharge. Her lawyer also believed that she would have been left without the medical care and benefits she needed.
No decision has yet been made on whether Whiteside's case will proceed to court-martial. The commander of the US Army Military District of Washington, Major General Richard Rowe Jr., who has jurisdiction over the case, "must determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support the charges against Lieutenant Whiteside and recommend how to dispose of the charges," said his spokesman.
Whiteside became executive officer of an Army support unit in 2005. She was eventually assigned as a platoon leader in the 329th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance) at the Camp Cropper detainee prison near Baghdad International Airport.
Whiteside, given the radio handle "Trauma Mama," supervised nine medics who worked the night shift at the prison.
The hours were brutal. Whiteside ate one meal a day, slept in two four-hour shifts and worked seven days a week. Her superiors credited her for her unit's success.
But the dynamics outside her unit were rockier. From the beginning, Whiteside and some of her female soldiers had conflicts with one of the company's male officers. They believed he hindered female promotions and undercut Whiteside's authority with her soldiers, according to Army investigative documents.
As the tensions with the officer increased, Whiteside said, she began suffering panic attacks. She stopped sleeping, she said, and started self-medicating with NyQuil and Benadryl.
Investigators said Whiteside was later found with blood on her neck and hands. When armed soldiers approached her, she discharged her weapon into her stomach.
At Walter Reed, Whiteside was diagnosed with a severe major depressive disorder and a personality disorder.
Tom Whiteside said the criminal charges threatened to unglue his daughter's already tenuous grip on recovery. "If they are doing this to her, what are they doing to those young PFCs without parents by their side?" he asked.


Twenty-five percent of 800 tested sunscreens are effective at protecting your skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients, according to the 2012 Sunscreen Guide released Wednesday by the Environmental Working Group.
You've been told a trillion times not to buy produce out of season. But that doesn't mean you have to skip the fruits you love this time of year. It's just a matter of knowing which version is the healthiest and tastiest.
They say that wild salmon is best, but what if you can't always get wild salmon? Is it safe to eat farm-raised or do you just not eat it ? I see farm-raised from Canada and always think maybe that's better, but is it?
Mothers sit propped against pillows and gym mats at the "Real Birth" baby clinic in New York City. It's a sea of unwashed hair, women of various ages and professions, complicit smiles and apologies for not looking more put together. The diverse women share a common drive: the desire to breast-feed their babies. They believe it's the best nutrition, but they have difficulty, for reasons ranging from low milk production to adopted babies to problems with some babies latching on.
There are few sure ways to avoid ingesting perchlorate, the chemical used in rocket fuel that researchers have detected in breast milk at levels five to eight times higher than those considered safe, experts say.


Last edited 11:58 a.m., July 8, 2021
A six-story office complex is in the works in south Springfield.
BiBi Investments and Development LLC is slated to develop a 41,000-square-foot building at 4103 S. National Ave., located at the southwest corner of James River Freeway and National Avenue, said Brent Stevens, principal with project architect H Design Group LLC.
"The building is being set up as shell office space for future tenants," he said via email of the project called BiBi Office Complex.
Base Construction & Management LLC is serving as general contractor for the project, Stevens said. With views of Medical Mile, the building is designed with natural daylighting and a patterned brick facade.
Construction is slated to wrap by early 2023, and the project cost is undisclosed, Stevens said. The building would sit on the north side of the Los Cabos Mexican Grill and Cantina parking lot, he said, noting minor demolition would be conducted to make way for the project.
The developer, who does not wish to be identified, is in talks with multiple potential tenants including corporations, a bank, equity firms, and medical and law firms, Stevens added. Thessing Commercial Realty is serving as the listing agent.
The city of Springfield has released a draft of its comprehensive plan for the next 20 years.


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Central Hardin High School students Kaity Pashetto and Jakob Burnham were guests at the Elizabethtown Rotary Club meeting Sept. 6. Pictured from the left are Jakob Burnham, Central Hardin High School counselor Kim Kardin and Kaity Pashetto.
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Bresha Meadows takes plea deal, expected release in 2018
The court proceedings that spurred the #FreeBresha movement have come to a close. Bresha Meadows‘s supporters, including her family and attorneys, attested that she shot her abusive father in an act of self-defense. To reunite with her family, she’s made a deal that could see her return home much sooner.
Meadows, 15, has accepted a plea of “true” to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of her father. She was sentenced to one year and a day in the custody of the Department of Youth Services, including time already served, and six months at a mental health facility, according to WFMJ.
“Today is a good day,” Bresha said while hugging her family after the hearing.
To date, the teenager has been in custody for 10 months. Given her time in custody so far, NBC reports that she’s set to be transferred to the Bellfaire JCB residential treatment center on July 29th for mental health treatment.
Despite multiple claims of abuse from her mother, Bresha was initially facing charges of aggravated murder and was at risk of being charged as an adult.
“In the 17 years of our marriage, he has cut me, broke my ribs, fingers, the blood vessels in my hand, my mouth, blackened my eyes. I believe my nose was broken,” Brandi Meadows wrote. “If he finds us, I am 100 percent sure he will kill me and the children…My life is like living in a box he created for me, and if I stepped out of that box, he’s there to put me back in that box.”
Anti-domestic violence activists argued that Meadows shouldn’t have remained in custody even this long. They felt that her story reflected a narrative where survivors of domestic violence, including young ones, are punished for defending themselves and protecting their lives. Regardless, Meadows’ family view the plea deal as a reason to celebrate.
“She smiled today, and for the first time you really felt that smile was genuine. She started to talk about her future for the first time,” said defense attorney Ian Friedman. “And she’s pleased to know that her case may help other kids in her same situation.”


In 2020, the European Commission began a review of the EU’s rules on blood, tissues and cells (BTC) used for medical treatments and therapies. Now the Commission has published a draft legislative proposal to amend the rules.
The proposal does not recommend a complete overhaul: the EU will not change its definitions of blood, tissue and cell products. Yet it does promise a significant update to the two Directives published in the early 2000s that continue to govern the use of BTC components in the EU. Most importantly, the proposed legislation would be packaged as a Regulation rather than a Directive, meaning it would have a direct effect in the Member States.
The legislation sets out quality and safety requirements for all activities from donation to human application (unless the donations are used to manufacture medicinal products or medical devices, in which case the legislation only applies to donation, collection and testing).
In its press release, the European Commission states that every year, EU patients are treated with 25 million blood transfusions (during surgery, emergency, cancer or other care), a million cycles of medically assisted reproduction, over 35,000 transplants of stem cells (mainly for blood cancers) and hundred thousands of replacement tissues (e.g., for orthopedic, skin, cardiac or eye problems). These therapies are only available thanks to the willingness of fellow citizens to make altruistic donations.
In the EU, the collection, processing and supply of each individual unit is typically organized on a local small-scale by public services, (academic) hospitals and non-profit actors.
After almost 20 years in place, the legislation no longer addresses the scientific and technical state of the art and needs to be updated to take into account developments that have taken place in the sector.
How is the Commission planning to change BTC legislation in the EU? Here are three key takeaways from the draft proposal.
The tissue and cell directive currently in force explicitly permits the Member States to compensate donors of tissue and cell products for their trouble. The corresponding blood Directive, however, contains no such provision: in its absence, different countries have developed their own guidelines on blood donor compensation.
That disparity is addressed in the draft Regulation, which would allow the Member States to reimburse donors of all human-derived products ‘for losses related to their participation in a donation through fixed-rate allowances.’ Improving access to plasma donation, advocates of compensation schemes hope, could help the EU to bolster its patchy stockpiles of the essential fluid.
The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the fragility of healthcare networks that rely heavily on external sources for their products. Supply chain disruptions are a particular threat to the availability of plasma-derived medicines in the bloc since much of the EU’s plasma is imported from the USA.
With this in mind, the Commission wants the Member States to develop emergency plans to cope with supply shocks. Countries would be required to maintain lines of communication that could be used in emergencies, establish authorities responsible for distribution in critical situations, and detect risks to their continued access to substances of human origin.
As might be expected, the draft Regulation introduces measures to protect the health and privacy of donors and donees. Screening is mandated to prevent patients from receiving diseased blood or cancerous cells. Technical systems should be in place to preserve the anonymity of all parties to a BTC transfer.
The burden of safeguarding is particularly heavy where assisted reproduction is concerned. It would be up to the Member States, under the draft legislation, to detect and mitigate genetic risks posed by donated reproductive cells.
If approved, it is thought that the revisions will be endorsed by 2023, with implementation beginning in 2024.
For further information, please contact Julia Gillert of our London office.


…Says Decision aims at checking impunity, disaffection amongst members
By BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO, LOKOJA
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Kogi West Senatorial District has said no aspirant would be granted automatic ticket for any elective position in the 2019 general election.
The party also said it will not sponsor any candidate that emerge for the elections, said any aspirant who energed as candidate should be ready to finance their election.
The party decisions were taken at the residence of General David Jemibewon, (a member of the board of Trustee of the party) at Aiyetoro Gbedde at a meeting of major stakeholders and Party Executives of the party of the district.
The stakeholders meeting in a communiqué after the meeting resolved that a level playing field would however be created for all aspirants to slug it out for the party’s ticket in a free and fair primaries.
The communiqué read apart, “The decision is taken in the best interest of the party towards ensuring that it discourages impunity and any action that may likely create disaffection amongst it members.
“We however urged newly joined members of the party to be ready to slug it out in a free and fair contest with the older members of the party; a level playing field would be created for the primaries.
“We advised all aspirants to be ready to fund their election, no aspirant should expect manner from heaven, aspirants should therefore strive for effective funding of their elections, and appealed to all aspirants to be of good conduct, work and abide by the party’s rules and regulations.”
The PDP also condemned the conduct of INEC at the just concluded Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency election, described the election as a sham for falling below minimum standard, “We expressed worries at the level of violence during the election, fingered the state government for using political thugs, and security agencies to affect the integrity of the bye election.
“We called on the federal government to put in place machinery that would forestall future occurrence, if such measures are not put in place, people would have no choice but to take laws into their hands.”
Some of the major stakeholders at the meeting include: Gen. David Jemibewon, BoT Member of the party, Chief Sam Akande, former deputy governor, Sen. Tunde Ogbeha, Hon. Musa Ahmadu, Shola Akanmode, Chief Abiodun Ojo, Shola Ojo, Alh Hassan Salahu, Sam Abenemi, PDP Deputy Chairman. Mrs Margret Orebiyi, Bar. Kola Ojo, All Kogi West Zonal Executives, and all the seven Local government areas party chairmen in the district amongst others.


Darryl Boyce says he's proof that the war on drugs can only be won one life at a time.
A one-time middle-school dope dealer and gang-banger, today Boyce is a 28-year-old community organizer for an anti-drug organization. Boyce wrote this poem to his father, a former crack dealer now serving time in a New York state prison.
Boyce was on track to end up like his father — until he met a woman at his school one day who worked for a group called San Antonio Fighting Back.
He describes that meeting:
"She came to me. She said, 'I know who you are and I know what you're doing. I want you to come volunteer for my program.' And I was like, 'Lady, get out of my face. Please, I'm out here making $2,000 a day basically selling drugs, so why would I go anywhere and volunteer for free?' Well, Linda came to me and she said, 'You can do better for yourself.'"
That was Linda Tippins, who is still with San Antonio Fighting Back; she's now the group's executive vice president. She believes there is potential in every child to be the kind of leader Darryl Boyce has become.
"When Darryl found out that he could be a leader, when Darryl found out there was something positive other than what he was doing, Darryl [said], 'I want to be on the other side; I don't want to be on this side, where I eventually may go to jail,'" says Tippins.
A Holistic Approach
Now 17 years old, San Antonio Fighting Back is one of the best-known of some 700 community anti-drug coalitions around the nation. Located in a working-class section of East San Antonio lined with clapboard houses and mom and pop stores, the group works at the grassroots level to reduce demand for illegal drugs.
The coalition has helped reduce drug-related crime and alcohol-related fatal crashes, and increase the number of residents seeking substance-abuse treatment. The improvements are not particularly dramatic — few are in drug-prevention programs — but they're tangible.
Chairman Willie Mitchell explains, "I see that people are starting to take over their neighborhoods, they're starting to come to neighborhood association meetings. They're starting to report drug use in their neighborhood. That's what I see, where they wouldn't do it before."
A construction company owner and former professional football player, Mitchell is now sought out by other cities as an expert in building community anti-drug programs.
"The only thing I've learned that works is that it has to be a holistic approach," he says. "You have no one program that's going to do it. It takes a multitude of programs. And you have to get grassroots people involved in making change."
The approach which the group has learned works includes a little bit of everything: parent anti-drug education, peer-to-peer counseling, drug courts, a halfway house.
Boyce's activities include a recent presentation on methamphetamine to a gathering of clergy who were interested in warning their congregations. His group also produces public service announcements and works in local schools, giving presentations to children as early as kindergarten.
For San Antonio and other communities, treatment is another critical component of reducing demand. It also brings down the social costs of drug addiction, such as crime and hospitalization.
Peter Reuter, a longtime drug policy researcher at the University of Maryland, says studies show that treatment — even "not very good" treatment — is cost effective.
"Just getting people to cut down from using heroin three times a day to just twice a week, which is what you get while people are in treatment, will cut down on their criminality a lot," he says. "That reduction in crime has huge value, and the cost of providing treatment — particularly not very good treatment — isn't very high. Locking people up is very expensive."
Prevention or Law Enforcement?
For years, Latin Americans have been asking the United States to fight drug abuse at home as aggressively as it fights smuggling abroad.
After Mexican President Felipe Calderon brought the issue up again last month, President Bush agreed it is important. "The United States has a responsibility in the fight against drugs," Mr. Bush said, "and one major responsibility is to encourage people to use less drugs. When there's demand there is supply."
Yet for most of the 38-year war on drugs, the United States has put more federal resources into foreign operations and law enforcement than into demand reduction at home. According to experts, only a combination of strategies will work.
Community anti-drug activists know they can't do it alone. The threat of a jail cell is often necessary to get an addict into treatment. And neighborhoods can't turn around without police targeting crack houses, open-air drug markets and violent dealers.
Willie Mitchell is passionate on this question.
"If you don't have the demand, the supply is no good," he says, adding, "If the demand is going to be there, the drug is still going to get here, because there's money generated. That's the whole key."
'It's the American Consumer Fueling the Situation'
Mitchell has never met Jim Shedd. They've both fought the drug war in their own way, thousands of miles apart. And they've both reached the same conclusion. Shedd served as a Drug Enforcement Administration supervisory special agent in the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia, in the late 1990s.
"I went there thinking it's us versus them. They're the bad guys. They're the ones who are polluting our country," Shedd says. "And I came back with, I think, a more realistic understanding. I came back with the view that it's the American consumer that's fueling the situation. If people don't like Cadillacs, then General Motors wouldn't put it out there."
The White House Office on National Drug Control Policy asserts that it attempts to strike a balance between controlling the supply of dangerous drugs, and reducing demand. A spokesman points out that their current proposed budget includes large requests for coalitions like San Antonio Fighting Back, and for a national anti-drug media campaign — as well as money to fight the opium trade in Afghanistan, and for more federal agents along the U.S.-Mexico border.
David Murray, a top policy adviser, insists this administration aggressively supports prevention efforts.
"The U.S. makes an unfortunate contribution to the world of drug use," Murray says. "We are the largest consumer. Demand reduction in the U.S. is a primary vehicle for cutting off the value, the profits and proceeds, the violence, the damage that drugs do."
Case for Prevention Harder to Make
The numbers tell a different story. Even as the overall commitment to the drug war has shrunk (because of the demands of the war on terrorism), the Bush administration continues a decades-old trend that favors supply control.
Over the past six years, total federal resources dedicated to prevention and treatment have shrunk from 45 percent to 36 percent, while interdiction and foreign operations have grown correspondingly. That's according to an analysis published by John Carnevale, a former drug-budget official who served under three presidents and four drug czars.
"Under this drug czar, demand reduction has been deemphasized heavily," Carnevale says, "and I think that's done great harm to our ability to respond to drug problems."
Cops can go before a congressional appropriations subcommittee and brag about tons of cocaine seized and traffickers convicted. Prevention has a harder time making its case.
It's difficult even for a success story like San Antonio Fighting Back to prove its accomplishments. And the program has a unique set of circumstances — such as strong leadership and 17 years of experience — that might not make it replicable elsewhere.
A Message of Life and Death
University of Michigan scientist Lloyd Johnston directs the ongoing Monitoring the Future survey. For three decades, the study has tried to understand youth values and behavior -– and how to keep kids off drugs.
You can't accomplish much with supply reduction," Johnson says, adding, "I don't think it's easy to reduce demand, either — so it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of creativity. But at least I think there's the potential there."
Johnston says the most potent anti-drug message, sadly, is life and death. In 1986, top NBA draft pick Len Bias fatally overdosed on cocaine. Johnston says he watched in astonishment as cocaine use among youth dropped off 75 percent over the next several years.
"That's the trick," he says. "Can you get that information convincingly to young people — without their having to have their own epidemic and find out the hard way?"
Climbing Out of Addiction
Jeffrey Pergament was 15 when he began a drug habit that continued every day for 34 years.
"I never wanted to sleep," he says. "I loved life. I just wanted to be up all the time. Let me live a Hugh Heffner/Salvador Dali/hedonistic, self-indulgent lifestyle until the bills were due — and then I'd disappear. And that's how I lived."
These days, Pergament is an arts educator in Philadelphia and a recovering cocaine addict. Now 56, with gray, hippie-length hair and a subversive twinkle in his eyes, he says he's been drug-free for more than six years.
After going to jail for a hot-check charge in 2000, Pergament attended his first Cocaine Anonymous 12-step meeting. Today, he sponsors other recovering addicts.
"I make them put a note on the bathroom mirror," he says. "And the note says, 'You're looking at the problem.' When they call me up and complain about something, I say, 'Well, did you look at that note? If not, go back and read that note, and then call me back.'"
Pergament has given much thought to the war on drugs — from spraying coca in Colombia to arresting addicts in Philly.
"To ultimately win the war," he says, "we must deal with recovery and spiritual growth and development, and hold people accountable for their actions — and stop incarcerating people and making them more professional at being unlawful."
The United States will soon surpass a mile marker in the war on drugs—nearly a half-million drug prisoners are now locked up in local, state and federal jails, according to Peter Reuter. That's 10 times as many as in 1980 — and more people than Western Europe locks up for all criminal offenses combined.


UK Government Guarantees Ineos Grangemouth Bonds
The Government has given a £230 million loan guarantee to secure the future of Grangemouth in a move that is being seen as highly political, as well as economic, just two months before the Scottish independence referendum.
The Treasury announced that Ineos, the Swiss owners of the Falkirk-based petrochemicals plant, had won one of the few loans under the UK Guarantee Scheme, designed by the Coalition to back its plans to unleash £375 billion of infrastructure projects.
The deal, which will secure thousands of Scottish jobs, will allow Ineos to raise Government-backed debt financing that will be used to fund the construction of the biggest ethane tank in Europe.
Jim Ratcliffe, the chairman of Ineos who threatened to close the plant last year amid an industrial dispute, said the tank was vital to allow the company to import cheap American shale gas which will make the plant economically viable.
"Our ability to import shale gas underpins the future of manufacturing at Grangemouth and across many businesses in Scotland," he said. "It is a vital step towards preserving the long term future of the Grangemouth site and those businesses that depend upon its continued presence in Scotland."
George Osborne said the guarantee was part of the Government's plan to "equip the whole country with the infrastructure it needs to compete." In a more obvious attack on the SNP, he added that the deal was "only possible because of the credibility of the UK Government's balance sheet." He said the loan would allow Grangemouth to "provide essential raw materials to industries across the UK" and would "secure thousands of skilled, well-paid, long-term jobs for the future."
Ineos has already launched a £300 million investment program designed to keep Grangemouth open beyond 2017 after winning a bitter industrial dispute last October which nearly closed the plant.
The plan to return the loss-making site to profit relies on the shipment and storage of ethane from America, which is 75% cheaper because of the shale gas revolution. Ineos has agreed a long-term to run its KG chemical cracker at full capacity of 700,000 t/y - twice the rate currently possible due to the decline in gas feedstocks coming out of the North Sea.
Grangemouth was one of more than 40 projects to have already gained "prequalified" status, or eligibility for the UK Guarantee scheme. However, although many have spent two years on the waiting list, so far Drax Power Station and the Mersey Gateway Bridge have been among the very few projects to be actually processed.


Yakima democrats prepare for Saturday's caucus
YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. -- Yakima County democrats hope Bernie Sanders' visit will encourage more people to caucus on Saturday.
The caucuses will help determine which presidential candidate will be the democratic nominee.
People will meet at 18 caucus locations across the county Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
Participants will break up into groups at their precinct and cast tallies. The tallies will determine how to allot delegates to each candidate.
"We tend to forget, as voters, about the initial vote, about the initial step. Everybody's going to be concentrated on the general election, but this process will determine whether we see Bernie Sanders on the ticket or whether we see Hillary Clinton on the ticket," Yakima County Democratic Central Committee Chair Susan Palmer said.
Anyone who considers themselves to be a democrat can attend the caucuses. But only registered voters or people who turn 18 before the November election can cast tallies during the caucus.
Precinct locations will have voter registration forms on site so you can register and participate on Saturday.
Caucuses could take a couple of hours depending on how many people show up.
To see a list of precinct locations, click here.
To find out which precinct you live in and pre-register, click here.