• Email rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Check out all the latest scores here • And all the latest – live – league tables are here • Pre order Rob’s book if you so desire 3.06pm “Warning to readers,” says Michael Cosgrove. “Do NOT watch the Swans video. I’ve had that depressing dirge stuck in my head for the last hour. Am now making a noose.” Hang on, that D-word is unfair. You can call it dirge, sure, but no way is it depressing. 3.05pm: WEST BROM 0-1 ASTON VILLA (Meite own goal 4) A farcical own goal gives Villa the lead at the Hawthorns. Stewart Downing crossed from the right of the box and Abdoulaye Meite, in trying to clear, sliced it hopelessly into the far corner. Real slapstick nonsense, the sort that would have Denis Norden chortling like there’s no tomorrow. 2.59pm “Four of the bottom five have very winnable games this weekend,” says S Dickens. “If I were a West Ham fan I’d be thinking that our failure might well be all but confirmed this weekend. Being a Toon fan am thinking picking up Scott Parker, Carlton Cole and Matthew Upson on the cheap.” Why on earth would anyone want to buy Can’t Control? (Also, although those four games are winnable, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if none of them were actually won.) 2.52pm “You said that Wigan v. Everton has the most riding on it,” says Phil Walsh. “That’s obviously true for Wigan fans, but what about us Evertonians? Another season and all that happens by the end of it is Cahill, Arteta, and Jagielka get older while Rodwell and Coleman play well enough to attract the attention of bigger clubs. Everton can now not hope of qualifying for the Champions League. Hell, we can’t even get into the Europa League anymore. At least fans of clubs bad enough to seriously risk being relegated have something to look forward to. The inevitable ‘Survival Saturday/Sunday’ weekend coming up would interest me a lot of a lot more if I was even slightly emotionally invested in it.” Yep. It’s ridiculous really. David Moyes has to work exceptionally well every season merely to maintain a slightly tedious status quo. I have a lot of sympathy for him as he is clearly an outstanding manager. In many ways, Everton are the greatest example of what an indefensible disgrace the Premier League has become. Whatever happens in the football , this is the best thing you’ll see today. If Kojak had been a footballer he’d have been Obdulio Varela, and praise doesn’t come much higher round these parts. 2.46pm “Any idea why Clint Dempsey isn’t available today?” asks Levi Harris. “I seem to have made a fantasy football faux pas.” I think his wish has come true . “Which game to watch?” says Jonny Mac. “I have the choice of three live games, ‘…all in glorious HD’: Wigan v Everton, Sunderland v Fulham and West Brom v Villa. Which should I go for? Quite fancy the Midlands derby but is that the right choice. What to do?” Do you have a Kojak boxset? If so, I’d get that on. (But if you insist on watching some football, I would go for Wigan v Everton. It has the most riding on it.) Wigan v Everton team news Wigan Al Habsi, Boyce, Gary Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Diame, Watson, N’Zogbia, McCarthy, Cleverley, Rodallega. Subs: Kirkland, Gohouri, Di Santo, Moses, Gomez, McArthur, Sammon. Everton Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Osman, Neville, Rodwell, Arteta, Cahill, Anichebe. Subs: Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, Beckford, Gueye, Coleman, Vellios, Duffy. Referee Lee Mason (Lancashire) West Brom v Aston Villa team news West Brom Carson, Jara, Meite, Olsson, Shorey, Vela, Scharner, Mulumbu, Morrison, Cox, Odemwingie. Subs: Myhill, Tchoyi, Pablo, Miller, Hurst, Fortune, Tamas. Aston Villa Friedel, Walker, Collins, Dunne, Luke Young, Ashley Young, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Downing, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: Marshall, Pires, Albrighton, Bradley, Delph, Clark, Cuellar. Referee Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) Sunderland v Fulham team news Sunderland Mignolet; Elmohamady, Turner, Onuoha, Bardsley; Henderson, Cattermole, Colback, Muntari, Malbranque, Sessegnon. Subs: Carson, Mensah, Zenden, Riveros, Ferdinand, Adams, Lynch. Fulham Schwarzer, Salcido, Senderos, Hughes, Baird, Kakuta, Murphy, Sidwell, Davies, Zamora, Gudjohnsen. Subs: Stockdale, Kelly, Johnson, Etuhu, Greening, Dembele, Hoesen. Referee Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) Blackburn v Bolton team news Blackburn Robinson; Salgado, Samba, Phil Jones, Givet, Emerton, Nzonzi, Jermaine Jones, Olsson, Roberts, Benjani. Subs: Bunn, Kalinic, Pedersen, Santa Cruz, Rochina, Hanley, Diouf. Bolton Bogdan, Cahill, Wheater, Knight, Robinson, Moreno, Cohen, Gardner, Taylor, Elmander, Kevin Davies. Subs: Jaaskelainen, Muamba, Petrov, Klasnic, Blake, Alonso, Lee. Referee Mike Dean (Wirral) Blackpool v Stoke team news Blackpool (4-3-3) Gilks; Eardley, Evatt, Baptiste, Crainey; Southern, Adam, Vaughan; Taylor-Fletcher, Campbell, Phillips. Subs: Kingson, Ormerod, Varney, Cathcart, Kornilenko, Puncheon, Reid. Stoke (4-4-2) Begovic; Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson; Pennant, Whitehead, Whelan, Delap; Walters, Jones. Subs: Sorensen, Collins, Pugh, Diao, Carew, Faye, Shotton. Referee Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear) Thanks to Bogota Bandit , of the Red Issue Sanctuary, for pointing out this arfgasmic video. Random football video department This man was in his sixties when he did this. Good cause department My colleague Steph Fincham will be cycling across Sri Lanka next February to raise funds for the Mines Advisory Group. You don’t really need me to tell you how worthy a cause it is, and you can sponsor Steph here if you wish . As today’s theme is failure , there is only one appropriate soundtrack. Preamble Hello. Today’s clockwatch is all about failure, and the attempted avoidance thereof – if, indeed, failure is how relegation should be defined in a competition so inherently unfair that only a chosen few a realistic chance of success. But that’s how the Premier League is these days, and each of today’s five 3pm fixtures involve at least one side who could still go down this season. That, admittedly, is highly unlikely in the case of Sunderland v Fulham and West Brom v Aston Villa. All four sides have reached the magic 40-point mark, and only one side has been relegated since 1998 after reaching that total: West Ham in 2002-03. The other three fixtures, however, are of huge importance. Blackburn, Blackpool and Wigan, the teams who lie 16th, 17th and 18th, have tricky but winnable home games against sides who sit between seventh and 10th and have little to play for except pride, and we all know that’s overrated. We’ll also be keeping an eye of the Football League, particularly Vicarage Road (any excuse to talk about Watford, eh), where QPR’s promotion to the Premier League will be confirmed if they avoid defeat. These are the Premier League fixtures, with predictions on which you are strongly advised not to stake your mortgage, or your last Rolo: Blackburn 1-1 Bolton Blackpool 0-2 Stoke Sunderland 1-1 Fulham West Brom 2-0 Aston Villa Wigan 1-3 Everton And here’s the Premier League table , which will update throughout the afternoon as the goals go in and the speculative shots go for throw-ins. Premier League Rob Smyth guardian.co.uk
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President Barack Obama says oil companies are profiting from rising pump prices and he wants Congress to end $4 billion in annual tax breaks for the oil and gas industry. (April 30)
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Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, says Republicans will not vote to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, now at $14.3 trillion, in the coming weeks unless the measure also includes steps to cut government spending. (April 30)
Continue reading …Wildcat Unions Springing Up In Chinese Factories, Demanding Higher Wages, Humane Conditions and The Right To Organize
April 30, 2011 No CommentSome good news from China as their labor movement continues to grow: We’ll never know the names of all the people who paid with their limbs, their lungs, or their lives for the goodies in my home and yours. Here’s just one: think of him as the Unknown Worker, standing for them all. Liu Pan was a 17-year-old operating a machine that made cards and cardboard that were sold on to big-name Western corporations. When he tried to clear its jammed machinery, he got pulled into it. His sister said: “When we got his body, his whole head was crushed. We couldn’t even see his eyes.” So you might be thinking – was it a cruel joke to bill this as a good news story? Not at all. An epic rebellion has now begun in China against this abuse – and it is beginning to succeed. Across 126,000 Chinese factories, workers have refused to live like this any more. Wildcat unions have sprung up, organised by text message, demanding higher wages, a humane work environment, and the right to organise freely. Millions of young workers across the country are blockading their factories and chanting, “There are no human rights here!” and, “We want freedom!” The suicides were a rebellion of despair; this is a rebellion of hope. Last year, the Chinese dictatorship was so panicked by the widespread uprisings that it prepared an extraordinary step forward. It drafted a new labour law that would allow workers to form and elect their own trade unions. It would plant seeds of democracy across China’s workplaces. Western corporations lobbied very hard against it, saying it would create a “negative investment environment” – by which they mean smaller profits. Western governments obediently backed the corporations and opposed freedom and democracy for Chinese workers. So the law was whittled down and democracy stripped out. It wasn’t enough. This year Chinese workers have risen even harder to demand a fair share of the prosperity they create. Now company after company is making massive concessions: pay rises of over 60 per cent are being conceded. Even more crucially, officials in Guandong province, the manufacturing heartland of the country, have announced that they are seriously considering allowing workers to elect their own representatives to carry out collective bargaining after all. Just like last time, Western corporations and governments are lobbying frantically against this – and to keep the millions of Yan Lis stuck at their assembly lines into the 35th hour. This isn’t a distant struggle: you are at its heart, whether you like it or not. There is an electrical extension cord running from your laptop and mobile and games console to the people like Yan Li and Liu Pan dying to make them. So you have to make a choice. You can passively let the corporations and governments speak for you in trying to beat these people back into semi-servitude – or you can side with the organisations here that support their cry for freedom, like No Sweat, or the TUC’s international wing, by donating to them, or volunteering for their campaigns. Yes, if this struggle succeeds, it will mean that we will have to pay a little more for some products, in exchange for the freedom and the lives of people like Yan Li and Liu Pan. But previous generations have made that choice. After slavery was abolished in 1833, Britain’s GDP fell by 10 percent – but they knew that cheap goods and fat profits made from flogging people until they broke were not worth having. Do we? The U.S. can’t effectively lecture China about human rights while helping corporations suppress workers rights. That won’t stop them from trying, of course. But this really is a welcome development, not only because we’d much rather have affordable consumer choices that don’t involve purchasing items made by exploited, low wage workers, but also because so many of the economic policies in our own country are predicated on the notion that U.S. companies can always get dirt-cheap labor someplace else. Now? Maybe not so much.
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Earlier this week, Donald Trump said during an interview that he avoided being called to serve in the Vietnam War because he “got lucky” and “had a very high draft number.” The Smoking Gun reports, however, that appears not to have been the case. According to the website, Selective Service records tell a different story: By the time his number (356) was drawn during the December 1, 1969 draft lottery, Trump had already received four student deferments and a medical deferment, according to military records on file with the National Archives and Records Administration. An extract of Trump’s Selective Classification record, seen here, was provided in response to a TSG records request. (Click here to view the records obtained by The Smoking Gun.) National Review Online relays what Trump initially told New York-based station WNYW about the matter earlier this week. “I was sitting at college, watching,” he said to the local outlet, “I was going to the Wharton School of Finance. And I was watching as they did the draft numbers and I got a very, very high number and those numbers [they] never got up to.” The Smoking Gun reports, however, that the draft lottery that took place in December of 1969 came eighteen months after Trump graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. National Review Online questioned the claims made by Trump to WNYW on Thursday. Brian Bolduc wrote: But in her biography of Trump, Donald Trump: Master Apprentice, journalist Gwenda Blair attributes the Donald’s escape of the draft to another factor: “Donald’s military career ended with NYMA graduation; despite his athletic prowess, in 1968 he received a medical deferment from the military draft.” Trump has yet to announce whether he plans to run for president in the next election cycle. During a stop in Las Vegas on Thursday night he said he could be expected to make his plans known by June 1. When one woman at the event shouted “run for president,” the billionaire reportedly responded, “I think I am going to make you very happy on that.”
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The first of Lenovo’s CES-announced S Series, the S205, sauntered into the computer manufacturer’s online store this week, albeit lacking the 8GB DDR3 SDRAM option mentioned at its announcement . The base model sells for $499, sporting a 1.60Ghz dual-core AMD Fusion E-350 CPU, an 11.6-inch (1366 x 768 resolution) 16:9 widescreen panel, 3GB of DDR3 SDRAM, ATI Mobility Radeon 6310 graphics, and a 350GB HDD. Two higher cost configurations score an extra gig of RAM, an optional Bluetooth radio, and a 500GB or 750GB HDD. The lesser of the higher end models can be had for a $429 at LogicBuy until Wednesday, if you can live without Bluetooth (which man did for thousands of years, but you know what we mean). [Thanks, Tim!] IdeaPad S205 hits Lenovo webstore, starts at $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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What steps should Oxbridge take to broaden their intake beyond the rich, white and privately educated? David Lammy MP and classics don Mary Beard have a heated exchange Tottenham MP David Lammy used Freedom of Information requests to show that one Oxford college admitted no black students in five years. Cambridge scholar
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Helicopter carrying royal newlyweds leaves Buckingham Palace for an undisclosed destination after black-tie celebration Married life dawned for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and a helicopter carrying the newlyweds left Buckingham Palace for an undisclosed destination. After spending Friday evening celebrating at the palace with close family and friends, William and Kate are expected to travel abroad for their honeymoon in the next two weeks. St James’s Palace said the newlyweds had decided not to depart for their honeymoon immediately and would spend the weekend privately at an undisclosed location in the UK. The prince will return to his job as a search and rescue helicopter pilot next week before the couple finally take their honeymoon. The destination has been shrouded in secrecy – the duke reportedly has not even told his bride where they are going – but speculation is rife over possible choices. The duke, who has taken a fortnight’s leave from his job as an RAF search and rescue pilot, is known to have a deep affection for Africa and would probably be on safe romantic territory if he chose to take his wife to Kenya, where he proposed to her last year. The couple, who have said they want the media to respect their privacy during their honeymoon, were photographed walking to a helipad and stopping to shake hands with members of staff. Friday night’s black-tie celebration, which started with dinner in the palace’s lavish ballroom, ended with dancing into the small hours while Prince Harry gave his best man’s speech. He is reported to have joked about the relative heights of his brother’s new bride and the Duke of Edinburgh, his grandfather, whom she was said to have towered over in three-inch heels. Some of the prominent guests returned to their rooms at the Goring hotel at about 3am as the party at the palace wound down. Prince Harry had announced plans to make an early morning fry-up for anyone with the constitution to stay awake through the night. Normal service was resuming around the UK as royalists and party-lovers nursed hangovers and republicans breathed sighs of relief. A family friend of the Middletons, Tony Ainsworth, said outside the Goring hotel: “It has been an historic occasion. After the concerns of getting to the church on time, it all went smoothly. We had a party at the hotel last night that went on well into the evening, so we’re feeling a little jaded this morning.” He said the bride’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, made an appearance at the hotel party. “I went to bed around 1am but I heard guests stumbling around at 5am, coming back from the palace, which woke me up.” Other tired but happy revellers included the bride’s friends who rushed back to Bucklebury, the Berkshire village where she grew up, to celebrate into the night. John Haley, owner of the Old Boot Inn in nearby Stanford Dingley, was one of several residents from the village to have attended the wedding and afterwards he threw an invitation-only party for 350 guests in his pub, which is thought to be the duchess’s favourite. He and his partner, Pam Brown, got back to Berkshire to find the party well under way with the beer garden and pub filled with local residents. He said it had been a wonderful day. “It was fabulous, it was out of this world. Words can’t describe it.” . Royal wedding Prince William Kate Middleton Monarchy Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scarborough Does Some Damage Control for Pat Toomey Before Senate Has to Vote on Ryan Budget
April 30, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media In the wake of the news that Harry Reid is going to force the Senate Republicans to vote on Paul Ryan’s horrid budget proposal that already passed in the House, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough looked to me like he was giving former Club for Growth President and current Senator from Pennsylvania Pat Toomey a chance to do some early damage control if Reid does force the Senate Republicans to take a vote on Ryan and the House Republican’s budget bill. I hate to break it to Toomey and Scarborough, but all of the talk in the world about how “serious” and “adult” and supposedly necessary Ryan’s budget cuts are, it’s not going to make his draconian proposals go over any better with the voters once they get a look at his plan. And of course Toomey and Scarborough’s ridiculous interview doesn’t get to the substance of what is being cut. Just saying it’s unreasonable that we can’t take spending back to the levels the government had in previous years is completely ridiculous. The devil is in the details with who they’re taking care of and who they’re cutting services to and not just broad, sweeping, meaningless talking points like we saw out of the two of them here. And also par for the course, there was no mention of the Ryan budget cutting taxes for corporations on the backs of the poor, the working class and our seniors. What matters are our priorities and Toomey’s priorities are taking care of his rich campaign donors. We’ll see how well that goes over with voters once Harry Reid forces that vote on the Senate floor. I’m sure Toomey knows full well that he and his fellow Republican Senators might be in for some town hall meetings like we’ve seen their counterparts in the House putting up with if they vote for Ryan’s budget. Here’s more from TPM on that. Reid To Senate Republicans: You Wanna Privatize Medicare? Vote For It! : Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) confirmed on a conference call with reporters Wednesday that he’ll force Senate Republicans to vote on the controversial House GOP budget. “We’re going to have an opportunity in the Senate to vote for the [Paul] Ryan budget,” Reid told reporters, to “see if Republicans in the Senate like the Ryan budget as much as their colleagues [in the House] did.” That budget, which passed in the lower chamber with near-unanimous GOP support, includes a policy agenda that would phase out Medicare, dramatically slash Medicaid, while reducing the tax burden on the wealthiest Americans. It has become the source of significant heartburn for vulnerable House Republicans, who have had to face down angry constituents in their districts during the current two-week recess. Reid’s strategy leaves Senate Republicans two unenviable options: link arms and vote unanimously (or nearly unanimously) for the politically controversial House budget, or take political cover and expose divisions within the party over the direction GOP leaders want to take the country.
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Adapted from “The Book of (Even More) Awesome” by Neil Pasricha by arrangement with G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Amy Einhorn Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright © 2011 by Neil Pasricha. Illustrations by Monsieur Cabinet (www.monsieurcabinet.com). Hi Huffington Post readers, My name is Neil Pasricha and I’m a no-name 31-year-old guy who started a tiny blog called 1000 Awesome Things back in June, 2008 with the goal of writing about one awesome thing every weekday. I did this as my world was falling apart. In addition to all the bad news about melting ice caps, swirling hurricanes, and raging wars, like many of us I also had personal issues. My best friend very sadly took his own life and my marriage crumbled like crackers. We sold our house, I moved to a tiny apartment, and I tried to get things back on track by talking about one simple, universal little joy every single day — like snow days, bakery air, or watching “The Price Is Right” when you’re at home sick. When I started 1000 Awesome Things, I got excited when my mom forwarded it to my dad and the traffic doubled. Then I got excited when friends sent it to friends and strangers started sending me suggestions like stepping on dry crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, finally peeing after holding it forever, and landing on a round number when you’re pumping gas. Over time, the site started attracting millions of visitors, winning awards, and landed a book deal. Last Spring The Book of Awesome came out and stuck on bestseller lists for a year straight. Support from The Huffington Post community helped my blog and book grow and I’m massively flattered, thankful, and appreciative for your amazing support. The Book of (Even More) Awesome comes out today and I wanted to share some excerpts from the book. Hope you enjoy them. Thanks for reading and have a great day, Neil
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