Five Stats: Perfect Starts and Rudolph’s Lack of Fourth Quarters
Another week, another dominant performance by Oklahoma State. Last week’s was the most impressive so far, with a 59-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers inside Ben Roethlisberger’s house.After allowing time to really digest the game, there were five stats and numbers that really stood out to me.7 of 7Oklahoma State’s offense could not be stopped on Saturday, scoring touchdowns on their first seven possessions. OSU hasn’t had that kind of offensive start against a Power-5 opponent since 2011 against Kansas. In that one OSU scored on eight straight possessions in the first half.While that team may have scored more, this year’s win was more impressive. On the road, against a team that would beat Kansas by three touchdowns and that gave another top-10 team (Penn State) a decent game last week.And OSU made it look easy. If they can continue to score like this, few teams will be able to keep pace with them.7-of-13Speaking of perfect starts…For the seventh time of Mike Gundy’s career as head coach, Oklahoma State starts the season 3-0. You could argue it’s actually 8-of-13 if you still believe OSU *beat* Central Michigan last year.That’s impressive, and includes wins over Pitt, Mississippi State, Arizona, and Washington State (twice). It’s hard to start 3-0 in non-conference. Things can happen (ie: last year). That Gundy has done it so often also helps to explain why he’s been so successful.62.8%It’s impressive enough that Mason Rudolph has played 0:00 minutes of a fourth-quarter so far this season. What’s really mind blowing, is through 180 minutes of game-time, Rudolph has been in the game for only 113:02 of it.That means Rudolph has been out of the game for 37.2% More than a third of OSU’s game-time. He’s almost sat a full game. That hasn’t stopped him from throwing for 1,135 yards and 11 touchdowns.This is the kind of thing Oregon used to do under Chip Kelley. Run scores up so high so quickly, fans started getting bored in the second half. (Not that I didn’t enjoy trouncing Pitt). I can’t imagine there are many, if any, other quarterbacks this year who have done as much as Rudolph in as little of time. CATCH THE FEVER pic.twitter.com/8jUrA4XpO5— Barstool Pitt (@StoolPitt) September 16, 201712.6This might end up being Oklahoma State’s best defense. Through three games, they’re giving up an average of 12.6 points per game (I took out the two special team snafu TDs). Want to make that even more impressive? Just look at the first halfs of each game where the first-team defense has given up 24 total point. And that includes a field goal Tulsa got after Rudolph’s fumble.Don’t discount the level of competition. Excluding the OSU game, Tulsa is averaging 58.5 points per game, USA is averaging 36, and Pitt is averaging 21. Reminder: Pitt also played Penn State.5-15After a disappointing week 1, OSU’s third-down defense again put on a solid performance, holding Pittsburgh to 5-15.Fans (myself included) were concerned after TU successfully converted 61.5 percent of their third-down attempts. Last week against South Alabama, OSU held USA to 10 percent. This week, Pitt was only able to convert on 33 percent of their third-down attempts.Not to nitpick, however two of those converted third downs were for touchdowns, and two were long; a 3rd-and-10, and a 3rd-and-13.Fixing OSU’s third-down defensive woes has been a priority for Gundy and DC Glenn Spencer. So far, it looks like what they’re doing is working. If this trend can continue, my belief that this could be Mike Gundy’s best defense will hold true.If you’re looking for the comments section, it has moved to our forum, The Chamber. You can go there to comment and holler about these articles, specifically in these threads. You can register for a free account right here and will need one to comment.If you’re wondering why we decided to do this, we wrote about that here. Thank you and cheers!
QSST are the champions of the Boy’s 18’s division at X-Blades National Youth Championships held in Coffs Harbour. They defeated NSWCHS in a close match, winning 7-6.Coming into the match QSST were seeded second at the tournament, and NSWCHS fourth.QSST won every game in the pool stages, including clocking up an 18-1 victory against the ACT. In the finals, they beat SQBD Sharks 5-2, and in the semi’s won in a drop-off, beating North Queensland 8-7. NSWCHS also won all their pool matches, including a 15-2 win over Northern Territory. They did have one close result, however, with a hard-fought 8-7 win over semi-finalists North Queensland. QSST had the first touchdown of the match, with Jayden Taylor scoring in the first minute. QSST had very quick attack, going the length of the field in just one set. Their pace rattled NSWCHS’s defence, and QSST could gain momentum quickly. NSWCHS, however, came up with their first touchdown five minutes later, with a cutout ball from Josh Gillard finding Todd Ryan.QSST scored their second touchdown through Man of the Series Dylan Taikato in the seventh minute. Man of the match Peter Norman scored next for the Queenslanders, taking a great ball above his head to score in the 9th minute.Both teams left many chances begging, after getting into the ingoal yet failing to score.NSWCHS scored next, with Josh Gillard receiving a great pass from captain Nathan Wong to get the touchdown.QSST scored the next touchdown, with fleet-footed Kristian Congoo slipping under NSWCHS’s defence to score.Both teams held strong on their tryline and neither team would score again in the half.In the second half, it only took two minutes for the first touchdown, through Taikato. He scored his second touchdown from a Daniel O’Brien pass. Five minutes later it was NSWHS’s Gillard again, this time catching a pass from above his head to get closer to QSST. NSWCHS had chances in front of the tryline, but couldn’t get through.QSST’s Peter Norman could, though, and he ducked through the defence to score the next touchdown 15 minutes into the second half.Two minutes later Sam Clune scored for NSWCHS.Seconds later, Ben Glachan scored a touchdown for NSWCHS after a pass from David McGrady.Glen Walker scored a late touchdown for QSST, while a second touchdown to Todd Ryan from a Gillard pass made the final score a close result.For more information, please visit:www.nationalyouthchamps.com
Shweta Ganjoo New DelhiMay 15, 2019UPDATED: May 17, 2019 08:48 IST Image Courtesy: Twitter/PhoneDesignerHIGHLIGHTSGoogle will launch Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 smartphones later this year.Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are likely to sport Qualcomm Snapdragon 855.Google Pixel 4 would be the first smartphone to get next generation Google Assistant.Google launched the Google Pixel 3a and the Google Pixel 3a XL smartphones on the sidelines of its annual developers’ conference – Google I/O 2019 — in Mountain View, California last week. But if you think that the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL are the last of Pixel devices from Google that we will see this year then you are wrong as the tech giant is yet to unveil the successor to its last year’s Google Pixel 3 smartphones.While it has barely been five months that Google unveiled the Google Pixel 3 and the Google Pixel 3 XL smartphones, details about its next generation premium flagship smartphones – the Google Pixel 4 and the Google 4 XL – have already started pouring in. And the new reports suggest that the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL smartphones would come with a punch-hole camera design – that is similar to the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus that was launched earlier this year.According to an image leaked on Slash Leaks, the Google Pixel 4 XL would come with a punch-hole camera with a dual camera setup in the front. This means that unlike previous generation Pixel smartphones, the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL would fall short of a notch in front and it would have an edge-to-edge full screen display.In addition to this, the report by the blog suggests that the upcoming Pixel smartphones would come with dual front firing speakers.A separate report by 91 Mobiles indicates that the overall design of the Pixel 4 smartphones would be similar to that of the Pixel 3 smartphones. This means that the power button, the volume control buttons and the SIM tray would be located at their usual spots. Additionally, the fingerprint sensor would be placed in the centre of the back diagonally below the camera. What’s interesting about this report is the presence of non-existent bezels – something that the image leak by Slash Leaks too has indicated.advertisementReports in the past have also indicated that the Pixel 4 smartphones would be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset and run on Android Q (no surprise there!). In addition to this, The Pixel 4 smartphones are likely to sport bigger 6GB RAM this year unlike the 4GB RAM in the Pixel 3 smartphones. However, a detail that we do know for certain is that the Pixel 4 smartphones would be the first Android devices to get the next generation Google Assistant that would be able to respond to your queries even when you are offline.It’s worth noting that most of these details fall under the category of rumours and hence should be taken with a pinch of salt. And we will know more about the two premium devices when Google unveils the smartphones later this year.ALSO READ: | Google Pixel 4 will be the first phone to get next generation Google AssistantALSO READ: | Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL quick review: Best of Pixel at relatively affordable pricesALSO READ: | Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL go on sale in India: Should you buy itGet real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from Post your comment Do You Like This Story? Awesome! Now share the story Too bad. Tell us what you didn’t like in the comments Posted byShweta Ganjoo Tags :Follow GoogleFollow Google Pixel 4 Google Pixel 4 image leak suggests a punch hole camera in frontNew reports indicate that the Google Pixel 4 would come with a punch-hole camera design – that is similar to the Samsung Galaxy S10 that was launched earlier this year.advertisement
zoom The disruption to cargo services made by South Korea-based Hanjin Shipping has pushed up spot freight rates temporarily creating better conditions for other container shipping companies which stepped in to plug the gap, according to Moody’s rating agency.“Hanjin’s woes are occurring at a time traditionally considered the busiest time of the year for the industry. Among those who stand to benefit from higher rates in the short term are Maersk Line, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM,” Maria Maslovsky, a VP-Senior Analyst at Moody’s, said.Hanjin filed for court receivership on August 31, which resulted in parts of its fleet having effectively been stranded at sea as some ports refused to unload the cargo out of concern that they will not be paid for their services. The length of the disruption is uncertain although slow progress is being made, Moody’s added.The carrier’s parent company, the Hanjin Group, and its chairman, have announced plans to provide financing to the troubled firm to help fund the unloading of its cargo ships.“Still, given the dire straits in which container shipping industry finds itself in the current environment, a temporary removal of Hanjin’s ships from operation will provide a much-needed boost to cash flows,” Moody’s said, adding that even a few weeks of operations at improved freight rates during liners’ busiest quarter will be a plus for the third quarter results of container liners.Rates increased by 42% per forty-foot equivalent unit (FFE) on the Shanghai-Los Angeles route, 19% on the Shanghai-New York route and by 39% on the Shanghai-Rotterdam route following the Hanjin’s receivership filing, according to Drewry. The increases follow consistent declines in freight rates in 2016.Moody’s notes that the uncertainty surrounding Hanjin is likely to be credit negative for vessel owners that charter out their ships to the company at least in the short term.
TIFF package tickets have been on sale since June, but individual tickets are now available for the general public. (RICHARD LAUTENS / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO) The Toronto International Film Festival may be just around the corner, but it’s not too late to catch a flick; individual tickets are now on sale to the general public. Here’s how to get them.Ticket packages have been on sale since June 20, and individual tickets have been available for Patrons Circle Members since Aug. 23, but now the average movie goer can get in to see a movie of their choice. Tickets can be purchased online or in person, and prices vary whether you’re in a venue with assigned seating or not.If you’re in assigned seating — at venues such as Roy Thomson Hall, the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales, Elgin and Winter Garden theatres — then prices will range from $18-42 for regular tickets, and $25-82 for premium tickets. Login/Register With: LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment If you’re not in assigned seating — for venues like Ryerson, Scotiabank, Jackman Hall and TIFF Bell Lightbox — then you can buy regular tickets for $28-$35. Weekday tickets are definitely cheaper — adults pay $18-25 and people under 25 pay $10.If tickets are sold out, don’t fret! Rush tickets will also be sold for $20 (regular) and $40 (premium) approximately 10 minutes before the start of a film, when available.On tiff.net, click the “Manage & Buy Tickets” button at the top right corner to be directed to where you can buy individual tickets.TIFF screenings start on Thursday, so make sure to snag those tickets quick if you are hoping to attend. The official schedule is available online here.By ALEXANDRA JONES and ILYA BANARES Toronto Star Staff ReportersAlexandra Jones is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @AlexandraMaeJIlya Bañares is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @ilyaoverseas Facebook
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OTTAWA – Canada needs to stand its ground in its ongoing tariff fight with the United States, witnesses from steel companies, manufacturers and the steelworkers union warned MPs Tuesday as President Donald Trump continued to hint there could be more hurt to come.A parade of expert witnesses at a special meeting of the House of Commons committee on international trade expressed solidarity with Canada’s array of retaliatory tariffs, slated to take effect Sunday, as they urged Ottawa to take steps to protect and support affected companies and workers.“We support the countermeasures announced by the federal government and believe that they must be comprehensive and immediate,” said Ken Neumann, the United Steelworkers union’s Canadian director.And he waved off the notion that Canada should avoid provoking Trump.“If you don’t poke the bear, he’s going to eat your lunch,” Neumann said.Joseph Galimberti of the Canadian Steel Producers Association agreed, calling Canada’s planned retaliation justified and appropriate.“Our member companies strongly support the government of Canada’s announced intention to impose tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum and other products.”The real trouble lies down the road, they warned.The prospect of an all-out trade war is no longer an abstract notion — it’s a full-blown reality, said Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, the country’s largest private-sector union.“U.S. trade attacks on Canada are a clear and present threat to our national economy, period,” he said.And then there’s Trump’s ongoing threat to slap a 25 per cent levy on Canadian-made automobiles — a measure he brought up again Monday during a campaign-style speech before supporters in North Carolina, where he again slammed Canada’s supply management system for dairy products.“If you want to do that,” he said, “we’re going to put a little tariff on your cars.”The impact of steel and aluminum tariffs would pale in comparison to that one, experts warned Tuesday.“A 25 per cent tariff on cars and parts would cause what we like to call ‘Carmageddon,’” said Flavio Volpe of the Auto Parts Manufacturer’s Association.“The industry operates on single-digit margins and it would grind to an immediate halt with a 25 per cent increase in price. A $32,000 car — that’s an average price here — would immediately be unsalable at $40,000.”Americans would be hurt, too, he added.“The economic stability of Ontario is at risk, but equally in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Alabama, New York — that action by itself would send those regions into recession immediately.”John White of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association urged Canadian negotiators and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to get back to the NAFTA table and make a concerted effort to avoid such an outcome.“We need to press to get back to the bargaining table and secure a NAFTA agreement and avoid, at almost any cost, a trade war on automotive with the U.S. to save both sides of the border from a destructive path.”Labour leaders who testified Tuesday urged Ottawa to take steps to cushion the impact of the tariffs, including a task force to come up with a jobs strategy, including extended EI benefits and job-sharing programs. Others called for federal loans and loan guarantees for small and medium-sized businesses, .“We can actually backstop these new investments with revenues generated through the proposed counter-tariffs,” Unifor’s Dias said.
Did that recent report about malicious advertisements being served up on porn sites scare you away from your favorite lewd hangout? Fear not, says Big Porn, there’s no risk you’ll catch an infection from a little sweaty digital interaction.Researcher Conrad Longmore kicked off the kerfuffle last week when he released a report based on data gleaned from Google’s Safe Browsing system. Popular go-to porn sites like xHamster and Pornhub were found to have an alarmingly high hit rate of malware.The problem reportedly stemmed from a few less-than-scrupulous adult advertising networks. Ads pushed from their servers aren’t always put under the microscope — or even glanced at sideways — and that can give malware purveyors the green light to slip in a few toxic banners.Slap a saucy lass under some tempting text, and you’ve got an ad that would have Admiral Akbar shouting “It’s a trap!!” According to Longmore’s calculations, a whopping 42% of xHamster viewers were at risk of seeing a malicious ad. Pornhub managed to break the 50% barrier.But wait just a minute, say spokespeople from both sites. The flow of infectious advertising has already been blocked, like so much unwanted chatter from a submissive.xHamster says it’s now virtually impossible to sneak malware onto the site thanks to rigorous new checks that have been put in place. Pornhub, too, says it takes this kind of thing seriously. Out of the 15.5 billion ad impressions served up every month, only a minute fraction have ever been linked to malware. Those, the site owners say, are ferreted out immediately.It’s easy to make statements like those, of course. And when you’re serving up 15.5 billion ads a month it’s got to be incredibly tricky to stay ahead of the crafty deviants who are pushing malware. The risk will always be there, because the criminals pulling the strings figure there’s a payoff.But hey, even if you do pick something up, at least it’ll be the kind of infection you can clean up with a quick run of Malwarebytes.[Image credit: Defekto on Flickr]
Feel like broadening your knowledge about the classic world? Ancient Greek classes for adults will be held at the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne commencing on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 July. Two times a week for 8 weeks, the course will run for two hours from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, with a 15 minute break in between. All lessons will be in English and will cost $80 per term. For further information or to request an enrolment formplease email education@greekcommunity.com.au. Located at the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, 168 Lonsdale Street Melbourne. Please note that due to the redevelopment of the Community Centre towards the end of Term 1 classes will be moved to another CBD location to be announced at a later date. Facebook Twitter: @NeosKosmos Instagram
Putin, Poroshenko shake on ceasefire38 viewsPutin, Poroshenko shake on ceasefire38 views00:00 / 00:00- 00:00:0000:00Putin, Poroshenko shake on ceasefire38 viewsBusinessCould this be the handshake that clinches peace in eastern Ukraine? Hopes are certainly higher after a marathon night of talks between President Petro Poroshenko – and Vladimir Putin. SOUNDBITE (Ventuno Web Player 4.50Could this be the handshake that clinches peace in eastern Ukraine? Hopes are certainly higher after a marathon night of talks between President Petro Poroshenko – and Vladimir Putin. SOUNDBITE (
#Budget2015 Very bad for Entertainment Industry due to Service Tax being increased to 14% so all film gonna be EXPENSIVE #servicetax— SHAWN ARRANHA (@shawnarranha) February 28, 2015Nothing for the film industry as usual #Budget2015— Suparn Verma (@Suparn) February 28, 2015Hai na. Service tax from 12 to 14% RT @Suparn Nothing for the film industry as usual #Budget2015— CilemaSnob is now (@NotSoSnob) February 28, 2015Service tax rise. 🙂 RT @soulucky: anything for Entertainment industry or Multiplexes? #Budget2015— dunkdaft ™ (@dunkdaft) February 28, 2015 Members of the film industry were hoping that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would include entertainment industry in the Union Budget 2015, but the budget failed to please them.Bollywood, which is the world’s largest film industry, expected the Narendra Modi government to reform the entertainment tax this year. Several filmmakers and exhibitors said that Jaitley should propose incentives to build new theaters and screens in India.In his speech, Jaitley said that Centre of film production, animation and gaming will come up in Arunachal Pradesh. But there was no mention of tax reform or new incentives in his budget speech.Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, a member of Censor Board, said that entertainment industry plays an important role in the nation’s economy, but still it was neglected by the Modi’s government.Check out what other stars, filmmakers and exhibitors and distributors have said about the Union Budget 2015: As expected no mention of the #Entertainmentindustry in the present budget is sad.#Budget2015.— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) February 28, 2015Govt. uses stars to promote their states & their events but doesn’t even consider it to be worth a mention in the #Budget2015.— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) February 28, 2015Entertainment industry, besides entertaining plays an imp. role in the nation’s economy & govt. considers it to be non-existent. #Budget2015— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) February 28, 2015Did I miss out anything on Entertainment industry or is there nothing there at all ? #Budget2015— sanjay suri (@sanjaysuri) February 28, 2015anything for Entertainment industry or Multiplexes? #Budget2015— Prashant Solanki (@soulucky) February 28, 2015
Game of Thrones season 8 episode 2 reviewGame of Thrones (@gameofthrones/Instagram)Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 is going to air on Sunday, May 12, on HBO at 9 pm. The next episode of Game of Thrones is going to feature the most awaited battle between Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen with Cersei Lannister and Euron Greyjoy’s army. Most importantly, in the upcoming episode, we may see Bran Stark finally warging into Rhaegal — Daenerys Targaryen’s dead dragon.Major spoilers for previous Game of Thrones episode:Back in Game of Thrones season 4, Bran Stark and his brother Rickon Stark were marching with Hodor, Meera, and Jojen towards the giant weirwood tree on the hill where the previous Three-Eyed-Raven lived. When Bran asked the Raven if he can fix his legs, the crow says that this is beyond his powers. The heartbroken kid then gets teary eyes but the crow responds “You will never walk again, Bran… but you will fly.”This prophecy made by the previous Three-Eyed-Raven has made many to speculate that Bran Stark will warg into one of Daenerys’ dragons in the final battle. We first speculated that Bran will warg into a dragon during the fight against Night King but as well all witnessed in Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3 “The Long Night,” he chose to stay at one place and used himself as a bait to finish Night King. Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark (L) and Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven (R)Game of Thrones/FacebookNow that Night King is dead, Bran Stark has his mind shifted towards the King’s Landing where Cersei Lannister is waiting to kill the last living dragon of Daenerys Targaryen. However, in the recently released Game of Thrones episode 5 promo, we saw that something was coming from that sky that made Euron Greyjoy left in shock. It could be Daenerys’ surprise attack at his fleet or it could be the dead Rhaegal flying towards the King’s Landing as Bran has finally warged himself into the biggest flying animal he could find in Westeros.This is indeed a far-fetched theory but it would really be interesting to see if Bran will be able to resurrect the dead Rhaegal from the bottom of the sea just like Night King did in season 7. At the same time, when two dragons will breathe fire at Red Keep, then Cersei Lannister will have no other option than to surrender.
Chattogram physician Mostafa Morshed Akash (L) and his wife Tanjila Haq Chowdhury Mitu. Photo: CollectedPolice on Thursday night arrested the wife of physician Akash, who allegedly committed suicide, from Nandankanon area in Chattogram city, reports UNB.The arrested is Tanjila Haq Chowdhury Mitu.A team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) arrested Mitu around 11:30 pm, said CMP commissioner Mahabubur Rahman.On Thursday, Mostafa Morshed Akash, 33, a physician and son of a certain Abdus Sabur of Bangla Bazar area of Chandanish upazila allegedly killed himself over family feud in Chandgaon residential area in the city.Akash recently had an altercation with his wife suspecting her alleged illicit affair.”We have learned that he took an insulin overdose,” said Chittagong Medical College and Hospital police outpost assistant sub-inspector Alauddin.Family members said before his apparent suicide, Akash had shared photos of his wife on his Facebook profile and wrote about her alleged extramarital affair before announcing his decision to commit suicide.According to his final Facebook status, the couple tied the knot in 2016.He accused his wife of having an affair with another man before and after their marriage which caused a rift in their conjugal life.
Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, was an extraordinary personality. For all his faults he was one of the main guiding lights of the early American republic and perhaps its most influential thinker. It is important to recognize that the man known for being the primary author of the Declaration of Independence was also an architect, scientist, philosopher, writer, and so much more.Thomas JeffersonWhat frequently gets lost in history’s musings about him is the fact that Jefferson was a brilliant politician – though a bit eccentric and slovenly in his personal affairs, which sometimes bled over into his public affairs, as in the time when he greeted a British diplomat at the White House in less than formal dress – but more of that in a moment…Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.There were many things that Jefferson felt strongly about, as anyone who debated him could tell you. But two stood out above the rest: Alexander Hamilton, and the British. Jefferson was fond of neither.Hamilton, the brilliant but eccentric former aide to Washington who became the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, one of the authors of the immensely influential “Federalist Papers”, and a believer in a strong, centralized government.Jefferson, by contrast, was wary of centralized power and through the years of first Washington’s presidency (when he served as the first Secretary of State) then John Adams (as Vice-President), he debated Hamilton endlessly on the nature of government.Alexander Hamilton by William J. Weaver.It was the factions of Jefferson and Hamilton that formed into the first American political parties, and if you think politics today is negative, read about the insults and machinations that took place between Jefferson and Hamilton and those that supported them!Then, of course, there was the British. Understandably, Jefferson, a marked man during the American Revolution, was not fond of England or its form of government. Everything that Jefferson became known for during the Revolution and afterward was in opposition to what the British ruling classes stood for – a king, an inherited and titled aristocracy, and the rule of the minority rich over the majority poor.American RevolutionAt the beginning of the French Revolution which saw the people of France overthrow their king and nobility, Jefferson was the American minister to that country. He was looked up to as an Enlightenment philosopher, and a revolutionary leader.The times even saw Jefferson in agreement with some of the harsher measures taken during the French Revolution and supported the occasional spilling of noble blood as a way to ensure the rule of the people. Of course, this did not make him greater friends with England.As was mentioned, friends took note of Jefferson’s fastidiousness in dress and manner – though sometimes it took him a while to get going in the morning. In at least one notable case, however, Jefferson lingered in the White House in his pajamas into the workday. Though he sometimes could get so involved in a project that everything else took a back seat, he rarely forgot to “dress”.The White House in Washington, D.C.In 1803, Britain sent Andrew Merry, a rich wine merchant and diplomat, to be its representative in Washington. Likely to show Merry, and therefore England, exactly how he felt about him/them, Jefferson wandered in late to his scheduled meeting with the ambassador from the world’s richest nation.Not only was Jefferson late to the meeting, but he was also dressed in his pajamas, robe and slippers. Seeing Merry’s displeasure at his appearance, Jefferson proceeded to show his own displeasure – the meeting was a session of barely contained personal and international hostility.Of course, this was not helped by Merry’s attitude – most of the people who encountered him during his three-year tenure in America considered him snobby, stiff, pompous, and some other adjectives that are best left out of print.Statue of Thomas Jefferson inside memorial in Washington, D.C.Jefferson and many others (with the singular exception of his Vice-President Aaron Burr) also disliked Merry’s wife, Elizabeth, who, like her husband, made it clear she thought America to be an uncultured backwater. Jefferson called her a “virago”, a bad-tempered and domineering woman.As if the pajamas were not enough, Jefferson later invited the Merry’s to the White House for a formal dinner – ostensibly in their honor. Almost immediately, Ambassador Merry realized “honor” was the last thing this dinner was about – at least in his mind, for the French ambassador was also invited…France and Great Britain were at war.When the dinner began, Mrs. Merry waited for the President to escort her to her chair, as protocol dictated. Instead, he took the arm of Dolly Madison, who served as informal hostess for the bachelor Jefferson, and escorted her around the room.Read another story from us: The Dark Side of Mark TwainWhen it came time to be seated, Mrs. Merry was finally not ignored, and took her place, but her husband was openly ignored, and was forced to take the only empty chair – far from the head of the table where he “should” have been. Thus Jefferson’s amiable loathing manifested itself to the country he once was a subject of.
Related posts:Tourism entrepreneurs urge President Solís to block retroactive sales tax Another decree angers Costa Rica’s tourism sector Tourism chamber leaders vow to escalate fight against added sales tax Solís administration proposes bill to cancel tax debts for some tourism businesses Concerns by the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) became a reality on Friday as the Tax Administration issued an order to businesses to begin charging sales tax on all tourism activities.The Tax Administration – part of the Finance Ministry – on July 30 issued a statement with a new interpretation of recreational centers as described in the Sales Tax Law, along with the order that “this tax should be applied on tourism activities including ziplining, hiking trails, bird watching, bungee jumping, spas and zoo visits.”CANATUR President Pablo Abarca reacted by saying the Tax Administration is legislating outside of their legal authority, and the order, therefore, is illegal.“Lawmakers are the only ones with the power to make changes through interpretations of a law,” Abarca said on Monday.The Tax Administration said all recreational areas must pay the sales tax. According to the administration’s interpretation, “a recreational facility is a clearly defined physical area for the management and implementation of fun, recreation, leisure and entertainment activities.”An Environment Ministry decree that took effect on April 30 ordered the implementation of this interpretation of the law and ordered all conservation areas and national parks to start taxing entrance fees.However, President Luis Guillermo Solís earlier this month signed an amendment to the decree excluding the application of the tax on entry fees to avoid harming the tourism sector.Tourism chamber leaders at the time opposed the decree, saying it would damage the country’s competitiveness as a tourist destination. They also stated that it could set a legal precedent for the Tax Administration to begin taxing tourism activities, as occurred last Friday.The new directive came the same week that businesses launched a promotional tourism campaign consisting of media ads and special rates to increase visits to tourist destinations during the green season (May-November).CANATUR currently is analyzing the legality of the move and planning a strategy to oppose the new interpretation of the law, “which is an attack on the country’s laws and a violation of the legal clarity for the entire tourism sector,” Abarca said.Read the Finance Ministry statement here (Spanish only). Facebook Comments
October 31, 2012HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The Arcosanti Halloween party took place on Saturday, October 27. 2012.[photos by Sue Kirsch]