Topics

151

General Discussion / America The Great Satan....starving poor countries

« on: March 01, 2008, 10:43:42 AM »

Soaring Food Prices Putting U.S. Emergency Aid in Peril
Supplies and Recipients Likely to Be Reduced

By Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 1, 2008; A01

The U.S. government's humanitarian relief agency will significantly scale back emergency food aid to some of the world's poorest countries this year because of soaring global food prices, and the U.S. Agency for International Development is drafting plans to reduce the number of recipient nations, the amount of food provided to them, or both, officials at the agency said.

USAID officials said that a 41 percent surge in prices for wheat, corn, rice and other cereals over the past six months has generated a $120 million budget shortfall that will force the agency to reduce emergency operations. That deficit is projected to rise to $200 million by year's end. Prices have skyrocketed as more grains go to biofuel production or are consumed by such fast-emerging markets as China and India.

Officials said they were reviewing all of the agency's emergency programs -- which target almost 40 countries and zones including Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, Honduras and Sudan's Darfur region -- to decide how and where the cuts will be made.

"We're in the process now of going country by country and analyzing the commodity price increase on each country," said Jeff Borns, director of USAID's Food for Peace, the organization's food aid arm. "Then we're going to have to prioritize."

The reductions, international relief agencies say, will seriously complicate already strained efforts to combat global hunger, particularly in Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. Poor countries in those regions are struggling to cope with record food price surges, which have made it difficult for aid groups to sustain their operations in some countries.

The cuts will likely have a direct impact on major USAID partners, including aid groups and the United Nations World Food Program, the largest international provider, which counts on U.S food aid for 40 percent of its distribution.

The U.N. program is confronting similar price pressures. It announced this month that it was facing a $505 million shortfall due to soaring food and fuel costs, and would cut distribution if it did not receive new funds. Meanwhile, need is increasing. Afghanistan, for instance, recently put in an emergency request for $77 million to cope with skyrocketing prices that have put key staples out of reach for more and more Afghans.

"Look at what's happened to wheat prices alone -- they shot up 25 percent in one day last week," said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Program. "This is really the first emergency we've faced without a drought, war, natural disaster. We will have to cut the amount of people being served or the amount of food being served if we do not get more funds."

Groups that work with USAID, several of which have been informed of the shortfall over the past two weeks, are alarmed. Emergency aid is earmarked only for countries in desperate need as a result of natural disasters, civil strife or other humanitarian crises. Although the United States has proportionally provided less of the world's food aid in recent years, it still provides about half the global total in efforts to relieve hunger among more than 800 million people. In 2007, USAID gave about 2.5 million tons of food, accounting for more than 50 percent of the emergency aid in a number of nations, including Ethiopia.

USAID officials would not speculate on which countries might be picked for cuts, though aid workers said it was unlikely that those with the greatest need -- such as Sudan -- would be hit hard. Most at risk appeared to be long-term emergency programs in such countries as Nepal, where unrest has quieted, as well as a number of African countries, such as Tanzania, that had relatively good harvests last year.

The Bush administration's 2008 USAID budget request calls for $1.2 billion in food aid with a supplemental $350 million to cover assistance in Darfur and critical situations in southern Africa, Kenya and other hot spots.

USAID officials said the administration, facing a tight budget year, was not planning to request funds to cover the projected $200 million shortfall from the price increases. USAID purchases grains in the same domestic commodities market as the U.S. companies that serve up Wonder bread or Big Macs, meaning they pay the same high market rates. As a result, officials said, the program cuts are necessary. "At this point, this is the administration's request," Borns said yesterday.

Aid groups said they would press USAID and the Bush administration to pursue more funds from Congress to cover the shortfall. Several are concerned that the cuts come at a time when the Senate is considering a farm bill that would make it much harder for USAID to tap into non-emergency food in the event of a catastrophic event such as the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Frank Orzechowski, an adviser for Catholic Relief Services, said his organization has calculated that U.S. food aid would drop from 2.6 million tons last year to about 2.2 million this year. "That is going to be a pretty big hit for the people who can afford it the least," he said.

"The biggest concern is that there are going to be more people being pushed into food insecurity in poor countries because they don't have the purchasing power to cover higher costs, and we will be less rather than more prepared to cope with that. Higher commodity prices is not a situation that the U.S. is to blame for, but we are going to need to see it step up now and decide to make a greater contribution anyway."

Although it may take several months before the cuts are felt, higher food prices already have begun to erode the non-emergency aid and development programs sponsored by USAID in partnership with CARE, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision and others. In the case of one Asian nation, CARE said USAID had provided 10 percent less non-emergency food aid than expected, citing higher prices.

In Liberia, Catholic Relief Services funds its developmental programs -- including health worker training and technical assistance to farmers -- by selling wheat or rice provided by USAID at market prices. But, Catholic Relief was unable to find buyers for those grains in January because market prices have jumped so high that local buyers have switched to cheaper foods. The aid group is scrambling to find alternate sources before its funding runs out in April.


You would think the selfish American devils would just suck it up and pay the extra $200 million dollars, but nah they rather starve poor people around de world.

152

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Foreign Movies Discussion

« on: February 15, 2008, 11:17:04 PM »

Picking up where we left off in Dutty's Apocalypto thread, I'll list some of my favorites to get the ball rolling, then we could dive into the discussion of the more interesting ones.

Farewell My Concubine

The Emperor and the Assassin

Raise the Red Lantern

House of Flying Daggers

... or anything either starring Li Gong (Miami Vice, Memoirs of a Geisha) or directed by Zhang Yimou.  House of Flying Daggers is the only kick up in the list, so doh go renting these expecting tuh see Silver Fox and Jackie Chan on allyuh screen, lol

Taboo - deals with homosexuality among samurais (disturbing, yet very visceral, very cerebral film...great budo exhibitions as well)

Rashomon- (12 Angry Men)
Yojimbo- (For a Fistful of Dollars)
Shichinin no Samurai- (The Magnificent Seven)

These three preceding films are in black and white, and are considered the crowning achievements of the late great Japanese master, Akiro Kurosawa.  The English titles in parens aren't quite the same movies, but rather American movies that were made based on the storylines in the Japanese originals.  While the remakes are exquisite in their own right, the originals are beyond compare, if for no other reason than they star the greatest Japanese actor to have graced the screen, Toshiro Mifune...with whom Kurosawa enjoyed a tempestuous yet fruitful working relationship.

Staying in Asia but switching scenery a bit...

Kama Sutra
Salaam Bombay
The Namesake
Monsoon Wedding
...and for good measure, Missippi Masala, which is actually and English language film...all by Mira Nair

Then there's...

Il Postino (The Postman...translation)
El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone)

...the latter two being works of mexican director Guillermo Del Toro, and set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.  Excellent period pieces.


Throw in de odd Third World Cop, Dancehall Queen of Jamaica and Harder They Come...forrin by yanqui standards, but we know dem is we ting.

Ah short on de African titles..and beyond Run Lola Run, short on Western European title too so allyuh fill mih een nah 

153

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / President Bush tries his hand at the Tenor Pan

« on: February 15, 2008, 01:12:19 PM »

St. Veronicas Youth Steel Orchestra performs at the White House

Steelpan Music Comes to Capitol Hill
President Bush tries his hand at the Tenor Pan
 

St. Veronicas Youth Steel Orchestra perform in the Gold Room at the White House


St. Veronicas Youth Steel Orchestra performed at the White House on February 7, 2008. The group was invited to be the entertainment for the Helping America’s Youth Program celebration. Helping America’s Youth Program was initiated three years ago by the President and was chaired by the First Lady, Laura Bush. On this day the President signed an Executive Order establishing the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs thus ensuring that the program will continue by the new incoming administration.

click for full story

154

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Panorama Finals- Listen Live!

« on: February 02, 2008, 07:09:49 PM »

http://www.power102fm.com/services/


Scroll down to the bottom, towards the right and click on the "Listen Now" icon (green musical note)

155

General Discussion / What was your first car?

« on: January 10, 2008, 10:55:09 AM »

Year (if applicable), make and model?

156

General Discussion / U.S. Supreme Court debates death penalty in child rape cases

« on: January 05, 2008, 02:14:23 AM »

Justices to Decide if Rape of a Child Merits Death[/size]

By LINDA GREENHOUSE
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether the Constitution allows the death penalty for the rape of a child.

The justices acted only three days before a scheduled argument in another important death penalty case, on the standard for judging whether chemicals used to administer lethal injections make that method of execution unconstitutionally cruel.

The new case, from Louisiana, is likely to be argued in April, meaning that during the course of its current term, the Supreme Court will be examining both the most common method of execution and a categorical question about which crimes are appropriate for the death penalty.

No one has been executed in the United States for a crime other than murder since 1964. Of some 3,300 inmates of death row today, only two are facing execution for an offense that did not involve a killing. Both are on Louisiana’s death row. The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from one of them, Patrick Kennedy, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2004 for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

In 1977, as part of its wide-ranging re-examination of capital punishment, the Supreme Court prohibited the death penalty for rape. While that ruling, Coker v. Georgia, did not specifically discuss the rape of a child — the victim, although only 16, was a married woman who was raped at knifepoint — the decision has been widely understood as limiting the death penalty to the crime of murder.

In the principal opinion in the Coker case, Justice Byron R. White wrote that “we have the abiding conviction that the death penalty, which is unique in its severity and irrevocability, is an excessive penalty for the rapist who, as such, does not take human life.”

But in recent years, a handful of states, responding to public outcries about sex crimes against children, have amended their death penalty statutes to make the rape of a child a capital offense. Louisiana was the first to do so, amending its death-penalty law in 1995 to apply to the rape of a child under the age of 12. The other states with similar provisions are Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Unlike Louisiana, most limit the death penalty to defendants who were previously convicted of sexual assault against a child.

The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected Mr. Kennedy’s appeal last year in a 64-page opinion that concluded that “rape of a child under the age of 12 years of age is like no other crime” and that death was not a disproportionate punishment. Taking note of the recent state laws, the court said there was “compelling” evidence of a national trend toward treating the crime as distinct from others.

The United States Supreme Court’s recent death penalty jurisprudence has paid close attention to evidence of whether contemporary society has reached a consensus on particular applications of capital punishment. The court relied on such an analysis to rule out the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants in 2002 and for juvenile killers in 2005. Louisiana is now invoking the same approach to argue that an application of the death penalty once widely deemed unconstitutional has become permissible.

Mr. Kennedy’s lawyers are arguing that any such “trend” is illusory. “By any objective measure,” their brief says, Mr. Kennedy’s sentence “is not only cruel and unusual; it is cruel and unique.”

The other inmate is Richard Davis, who was sentenced to death on Dec. 12 for sexually molesting a 5-year-old girl.

The appeal, Kennedy v. Louisiana, No. 07-343, was filed by lawyers from the Capital Appeals Project, in New Orleans; the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic; and a New Orleans law firm, Adams and Reese.

Among other briefs filed at the court on Mr. Kennedy’s behalf was one from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, arguing that the Louisiana law presents “an intolerably high risk” that innocent defendants will be put to death. The reason, the group asserts, is that testimony by children, who are usually the principal witnesses in child rape cases, is often unreliable.

Another brief, from social workers and organizations working with sexual assault victims, describes the Louisiana law, with its broad definition of rape and its drastic penalty, as counterproductive and likely to lead to under reporting of offenses, especially within families.


Source

157

General Discussion / Stock Market Game

« on: January 04, 2008, 05:22:15 PM »

Okay...the new game is set up...http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/StartViewGame.aspx?id=Soca_Warriors_10K

Game ID: Soca_Warriors_10K
Game Password: Germany 06

Game starts tomorrow and runs thru March 15.  The spending limit is $10K per the request of a couple people interested in working with smaller sums.  Individuals have the option of making their portfolio private as before...I'm letting it be known now so that there's no more allegations of shadiness or whatever.

158

General Discussion / Meanwhile...Kenya begins a slow descent into chaos

« on: December 31, 2007, 06:27:59 AM »

Tribal Rivalry Boils Over After Kenyan Election

December 31, 2007

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
NAIROBI, Kenya — It took all of about 15 minutes on Sunday, after Kenya’s president was declared the winner of a deeply controversial election, for the country to explode.

Thousands of young men burst out of Kibera, a shantytown of one million people, waving sticks, smashing shacks, burning tires and hurling stones. Soldiers poured into the streets to fight them. In several cities across Kenya, witnesses said, gangs went house to house, dragging out people of certain tribes and clubbing them to death.

“It’s war,” said Hudson Chate, a mechanic here. “Tribal war.”

The dubious conclusion of the most fiercely fought election in Kenya’s history has pitched the country toward chaos. The opposition rejected the results and vowed to inaugurate its leader, Raila Odinga, as “the people’s president,” which the government warned would be tantamount to a coup. As the riots spread, the government took the first steps toward martial law on Sunday night and banned all live media broadcasts.

Western observers said Kenya’s election commission ignored undeniable evidence of vote rigging to keep the government in power. Now, one of the most developed, stable nations in Africa, which has a powerhouse economy and a billion-dollar-a-year tourism industry, has plunged into intense uncertainty, losing its sheen as an exemplary democracy and quickly descending into tribal bloodletting.

With the president, Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu and Mr. Odinga a Luo, the election seems to have tapped into an atavistic vein of tribal tension that always lay beneath the surface in Kenya but until now had not provoked widespread mayhem.

The news media blackout made it difficult to assess the level of popular outrage. But it was clear Sunday night that the violence was spreading.

In Mathare, a slum in Nairobi, Luo gangs burned more than 100 Kikuyu homes. In Kibera, Kikuyu families loaded their belongings in cars and fled. Almost all the businesses in the country are shut. The only figures in downtown Nairobi, the capital, which is usually choked with traffic, are helmeted soldiers hunched behind plastic shields. Oily black clouds of smoke rose from the slums, smudging out the sun. At least 15 people have been killed.

“It’s a sad day for Kenya,” said Michael E. Ranneberger, the American ambassador to Kenya. “My biggest worry now is violence, which, let’s be honest, will be along tribal lines.”

Mr. Odinga’s supporters are unleashing their frustrations about the election, which was held on Thursday and initially praised as fair, against people they suspect supported the president, namely Kikuyus. The Odinga camp urged election officials to recount the votes after exposing serious discrepancies between the results announced on the night of the election versus the numbers that were later entered into a national total.

It had been predicted that the vote would be close, and the final results had Mr. Kibaki winning by a sliver, 46 percent to 44 percent. But that gap may have included thousands of invalid ballots. The European Union said its observers witnessed election officials in one constituency announce on election night that President Kibaki had won 50,145 votes. On Sunday, the election commission increased those same results to 75,261 votes.

“The presidential elections were flawed,” said Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, the chief European observer.

Koki Muli, co-chairwoman of the Kenya Election Domestic Observation Forum, said she was in the room on Sunday when the election commission was presented with dozens of suspicious tally sheets — some missing signatures, others missing stamps — and most of them were from the president’s stronghold of central Kenya. In some areas, more people voted for the president than there were registered voters. “I saw this with my own eyes,” she said.

Ms. Muli said that 75 of the 210 constituencies — meaning more than one-third of the vote — had serious question marks and that the election chairman initially agreed to investigate. But later on Sunday he changed his mind.

Kenya is a close American ally, and a team of Western diplomats, including the American ambassador, tried for hours to persuade election officials to recount the votes. One Western ambassador said they knew that if the dubious results were certified and the president declared the winner based on them, Kenya would plunge into crisis. But the commission would not budge.

“The government was determined to hold onto power,” said the ambassador, who did not want to be identified because he said he feared reprisals from the Kenyan government.

About 4 p.m., the election commission announced at its temporary headquarters in a downtown conference center that it was ready to declare a winner. The Western ambassadors filed in, looking worn out. Dozens of soldiers lined the walls, some armed with assault rifles and tear gas. Opposition leaders began shouting. The soldiers pounced and the room erupted into chaos, with men in suits fleeing, chairs getting knocked over and the election chairman making a hurried exit, with a crowd chasing him, yelling: “We want justice! Kenya has spoken!”

The commission then reconvened — in front of reporters chosen by government officials — and declared Mr. Kibaki the winner, with 4,584,721 votes compared with 4,352,993 for Mr. Odinga — a spread of about 2 percent.

There were indeed irregularities, the commissioners said, but it was not their job to deal with them. “The judicial system provides peaceable avenues to address these complaints,” said the chairman, Samuel Kivuitu.

The opposition has not indicated if it will contest the results in Kenya’s courts, which are notoriously slow and corrupt. But it announced a swearing-in ceremony for Mr. Odinga on Monday and declare him the “people’s president.”

Officials with Mr. Kibaki’s party warned that such a move could bring consequences. “If Raila does this, he will be attempting a coup and he will get what he deserves,” said Ngari Gituku, a spokesman for the Party of National Unity, Mr. Kibaki’s party.

Mr. Odinga was jailed in the 1980s for several years for plotting a coup in Kenya and was beaten and tortured.

As for the restrictions on the news media, which many journalists said were a severe setback to what had been considered one of the freest presses in the world, Mr. Gituku said: “The only thing the president wants to do is to heal this nation, and the media is not part of that process. The media has been propagating hate.”

Mr. Kibaki was sworn in almost immediately after the results were announced. In a surreal scene, as gunfire rattled in the slums, Mr. Kibaki stood serenely with a Bible in his hand. It was as if he were talking about another election.

“We have demonstrated to the world we are politically mature,” he said. He called the vote “honest, orderly and credible.”

The election did not start out ominously. Kenyans streamed to the polls in record numbers on Thursday. Some waited for hours in lines that were miles long.

The contest was seen as a test of Kenya’s young multiparty democracy, with Mr. Kibaki, 76, representing the establishment and Mr. Odinga, 62, a new brand of politics. Mr. Kibaki has been in government since independence in 1963 and was seen by many Kenyans as continuing an unfair political system that has favored the Kikuyu at the expense of Kenya’s 30-plus other ethnic groups. Mr. Odinga, a rich businessman who campaigned as a champion of the poor, added to his popularity by tapping into those frustrations and building a coalition of many tribes.

The first batch of results showed a sweeping victory for the opposition, with Mr. Odinga ahead by one million votes on Friday. But that lead evaporated overnight, and by Saturday the race was essentially a tie.

But the sudden reversal ignited suspicions, especially after many members of Parliament close to the president were voted out of office in a wave of seeming dissatisfaction with the government.

Ms. Muli, the Kenyan election observer, said it was clear the government had rigged the election. “This country has come a long way,” she said. “And now we have been set back many miles.”

Slide Show

159

Quizz Time & Facts / Legend of Bagger Vance

« on: December 26, 2007, 04:46:13 AM »

Golf movie starring Will Smith that I refuse to watch.  It does however, hava a fairly prominent connection to Trinidad (that could easily be determined from a Google search)...anybody know what it is?

160

General Discussion / Trin-ebonics...ah question

« on: December 12, 2007, 12:12:52 AM »

An notice some fellas on here have ah rather strange way of using the verb 'is'.  For instance, when I was coming up and yuh wanted to say "I think they play a real attractive brand of ball"...we would say something to the effect of "I find dem does play some real nice ball"

Now I notice man saying "I find dem is play some real nice ball".

Now on another board years ago there was this one Bahamian dude who used to 'talk' like that, and I always found it weird, but was like...arrite, dai'z how dem duz talk.

Seeing this now i wondering if there's been some kinda linguistic change afoot in Trinidad...ah know dem yute and dem swear dey is yardies but dis one have mih puzzled man.


Any thoughts?

161

Football / Interesting Article on the growth and future of MLS

« on: November 21, 2007, 01:43:34 AM »

Hoping (Dreaming?) of Soccer as National Pastime



By JACK BELL

November 17, 2007


DON Garber became the commissioner of Major League Soccer in August 1999, after the league lost $250 million over its first five seasons and shrank by two teams to 10. At the time, it appeared to be the latest failure of a soccer league in North America.

Instead, Mr. Garber, a native of Queens and a former executive with NFL International, has helped to transform the soccer landscape with a growth plan that has included public-private partnerships; the construction of seven soccer stadiums (with several more being built); diversification of ownership; expansion (14 teams for 2008, 16 for 2009 and 18 for 2010); the creation of a powerful marketing company, Soccer United Marketing; and a modest infusion of international star players.

With the addition of players like David Beckham in Los Angeles, Cuauhtémoc Blanco in Chicago and Juan Pablo Ángel in New York, M.L.S. teams had an average attendance of 16,770 in 2007, up from an average of 15,509 in 2006.

The league is also completing its first season of long-term agreements with ABC/ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel and Univision that for the first time bring the M.L.S. significant rights fees.

Adidas is paying the league $150 million over 10 years to outfit all its teams, and companies like Pepsi, Panasonic and JPMorgan Chase have become sponsors, attracted by the league’s fans, many of them Hispanic and young.

The league’s 12th championship game, the M.L.S. Cup, will be played tomorrow in Washington.

Following are excerpts from an interview with Mr. Garber:

Q. The obvious first question is about the impact, on and off the field, of David Beckham?

A. Without doubt, M.L.S. has more global awareness than at any other time in our history and has more legitimacy in the United States because of David. Every measure of our business has grown because of him.

But the real value we’ve yet to realize is the impact David will have on the field. He’s been injured, but we look forward to him having another first year in M.L.S. in 2008.

We have sold more than 300,000 Beckham Los Angeles Galaxy jerseys, which was 700 times the number of Galaxy jerseys sold in 2006. Merchandise sales over all have gone up two or three times. International TV sales have gone up from next to nothing to distribution in 100 countries, with live games in Asia and Mexico.

But please don’t forget that we signed 25 players from Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. They are all young, crafty, stylish, and that has allowed us to connect with a community of 40 million Hispanics in the United States.

The Mexican player Cuauhtémoc Blanco is to 40 million Hispanics what Beckham is to the rest of the world.

Q. A few years ago, the league had 10 teams and 3 owners. There are now 14 teams, with more on the way, and multiple owners. What has changed?

A. A big part of it is the seven stadiums built for soccer. And where once we had an ownership group that started with Phil Anschutz, Lamar Hunt and Robert Kraft, we now have a 32-year-old guy, Andrew Hauptman, part of the Bronfman family, buying Chicago for $35 million.

A new ownership group in Kansas City; the Gap family and Lew Wolff in San Jose.

Over all, this sport has a real foundation that allows us to have a league that David Beckham wants to play in. And that’s only the beginning.

With TV rights fees, new investors and stadiums, we have a credible sports league. Not the N.F.L., not the N.B.A., but in 12 years we’re further along than those leagues in the early stages of their development. And we have our growth in front of us.

A few years ago Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake paid $10 million to enter the league. Last year, Toronto paid $30 million. Chicago was just sold for $35 million. Houston will soon have a new owner.

The asset continues to grow in value, which speaks to the investor community that believes soccer has a long-term value as a sports investment.

Q. You were the driving force behind the founding of Soccer United Marketing in 2002 because no broadcaster had bought the English-language rights to the World Cup that year. Recently, SUM engineered TV rights deals with ABC/ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel, Univision and HDNet that brings the league $30 million a year in rights fees. Did SUM save the league?

A. SUM has allowed us to execute a strategy to be a one-stop shop for soccer in this country. It has raised the overall commercial value of our sport, and our teams have benefited as the investors in SUM. Yes, it is a profitable company that owns most, if not all, of the dominant soccer content in the country.

Q. A number of Americans — Malcolm Glazer, Tom Hicks, Randy Lerner — have invested in teams in England. Why don’t they buy into M.L.S. instead?

A. There is no shortage of wealthy people who have an interest in M.L.S. My only concern would be if we had a shortage of investors.

The best thing that could ever happen for soccer in this country is to have people invest in soccer, whether in the United States, England or Spain. But one would argue there’s less stability and logic to the English football system than all would hope.

Source

162

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Bake and Shark once more puts Trinidad on the map...

« on: October 27, 2007, 05:39:53 PM »

Allyuh come and hail up yuh boy nah...we doing things.

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/travel/20071028_TRINIDAD_FEATURE/index.html

Related article...

...okay, so is not really about me

163

Football / Henry Crosses Over

« on: October 16, 2007, 11:08:25 PM »

At Times, a Star Enjoys Blending In



New York Times
October 17, 2007
Soccer Notebook

By JACK BELL

Few soccer players in the world have elicited such rapt devotion as the lissome French striker Thierry Henry. In the United States, however, Henry is merely another guy in short pants on the field and another guy in designer clothes off it.

“I think everybody knows I love America,” Henry said late last week in a telephone interview from Clairefontaine, France, where he was training with the national team for qualifying matches for the 2008 European Championship. The French earned a 6-0 victory over the Faroe Islands on Saturday, when Henry tied Michel Platini’s record with his 41st goal for France. They play today against Lithuania.

“I always say that one day I can play over there,” Henry said. “I would love to. But it’s still early. Don’t get me wrong, I just love the U.S. I don’t know why. I love the way you live. I love American sports. For me, it’s a dream to go to training and then see a game of football, basketball, whatever game. For me, New York is the best city in the world.”

Henry is far from anonymous in the United States. He was surrounded by fans last season at Madison Square Garden when he attended a game between the Knicks and San Antonio, and watched his friend Tony Parker of the Spurs. (He was the best man at Parker’s wedding to the actress Eva Longoria in July.) Now a couple of companies are seeking to exploit Henry’s smart and balanced personality and introduce him to a wider American audience.

Henry is now appearing with Roger Federer and Tiger Woods in advertisements for Gillette. Henry was unveiled Oct. 3 as a global ambassador for the Tommy Hilfiger Group. What is different, however, is that the proceeds from sales of a limited-edition apparel collection will be donated to Henry’s One 4 All Foundation. Henry also started the Stand Up Speak Up campaign to fight racism in soccer.

“It is important to me,” he said of the One 4 All Foundation. “I grew up in a bad neighborhood, there wasn’t the best school, but I was happy. But I do think that kids need to be in an environment where they can hope; they need to dream. What I’m trying to do through the foundation is to improve facilities and to encourage their education.”

Henry grew up in Les Ulis, a southwestern suburb of Paris. His father is from Guadeloupe and his mother from Martinique, and Henry is no stranger to racism, on and off the field.

“We still have the same problem everywhere — Spain, Italy, other countries,” Henry said.

Henry has a new address this season. He traded North London for the northeast of Spain, shifting from Arsenal to Barcelona. He was part of the neo-French invasion of England in which Arsenal, under Coach Arsène Wenger, won the English Premier League and Football Association Cup titles in 2001-2. He is Arsenal’s career leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. In the 2003-4 season, Henry and Arsenal raced undefeated through the Premier League season to another title with 26 wins and 12 ties.

Henry moved to Barcelona in June, in a $32 million transfer deal, and signed a four-year contract that will pay more than $9 million a year.

In Barcelona, Henry said he had found a new, energizing environment among the club’s galaxy of stars, which includes Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Lilian Thuram and Deco. After a slow start because of stubborn groin injury, Henry has settled into the starting 11.

Henry noted, “Arsenal and Barcelona have the same approach to the game.”

During the Spanish league’s winter break, Henry said he planned to travel to Los Angeles to catch the Spurs play the Clippers and to watch some Lakers games.

“When I go to see a game, it is never boring,” he said. “As a young person, I grew up with Michael Jordan ... . I love the speed, everything, especially more now that I have friends in the N.B.A.”

Was he surprised that he was recognized at the Garden last year?

“I would love to say yeah, yeah, yeah, I was recognized, it is great,” he said. “But what really surprised me was when I saw Spike Lee wearing my Arsenal jersey. It blew me away, to be honest. I didn’t know he was into soccer, but I knew he was a Knicks fan.

“Yes, I do get recognized when I’m in the States sometimes, but it’s not like in Europe. In New York and in America, I can be myself, I have no eyes on me. It’s O.K. if I want to buy a slice of pizza, pay the man and sit on a bench. I can go to the cinema and watch a movie, and nobody knows who I am. You don’t know how great that it is.”

Source

164

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Actress fired for using the N-word on camera

« on: October 10, 2007, 02:05:32 PM »

Warning...NOT SAFE FOR WORK

Actress in the middle of disgraceful racist charge

Again be warned, not for the faint of heart.

165

Football / UEFA Champions League Football- Liverpool v. Olympique Marseille

« on: October 03, 2007, 01:34:54 PM »

Marseille giving Liverpool fits...especially their midfielder #6, Ziani.  Liverpool lucky to still be even 0-0 at the half...Marseille score on a rebound off a left-to-right cross but pardna who take the initial shot was fractionally offsides and the put back didn't count.

Good match...despite being the road team and the underdog Marseille taking it to them...4-0 on the offsides calls so far, testament to how aggressive they're playing.

166

Football / Eddie Pope to retire

« on: October 02, 2007, 11:25:15 PM »

Pope, Stellar on and Off Field, Will Retire
 
By JACK BELL
Published: October 3, 2007[/size]

It is accurate to use the adjective majestic to describe Eddie Pope as a man and as a professional soccer player.

But after a 12-year career, all of it spent playing in the central defense for three teams in Major League Soccer, Pope will hang up his cleats in three weeks, when the regular season ends.

“I’m comfortable retiring, I know it’s time,” Pope, 33, said Saturday night after Real Salt Lake, his current club, played a 2-2 draw against the Red Bulls at Giants Stadium. “I’m used to the pain in my knees, but now the key is that I cannot be 100 percent for every game. When I get out of bed every morning, it reminds me that I’m not 20 any more.”

At 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds, Pope has prowled the back line in M.L.S. and for the United States national team with an impressive, calculated and quiet consistency. He was drafted No. 2 over all in 1996 out of the University of North Carolina by a man who had seen him the previous four years in the Atlantic Coast Conference — Virginia Coach Bruce Arena.

Arena moved to the professional ranks with D.C. United at the dawn of M.L.S. Pope played seven seasons with D.C. United and two with the MetroStars. He is in his third season with Real Salt Lake.

“He’s had a great career and has been a classy guy on and off the field,” Arena said Saturday night. “I know he doesn’t want to play one more game, but he walks away with his head held high. He’s had a fantastic career.”

D.C. and Pope won three of the first four league championships (Arena left the club after the 1998 season to become the coach of the national team). Pope said that scoring the decisive goal in M.L.S. Cup ’96 — capping a three-goal rally to beat Los Angeles — was one of the highlights of his career.

He also played in three World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006) for the United States. Pope has had several opportunities to play in Europe: Borussia Dortmund of Germany came calling in 1998, and Southampton of England early in 2003, he said.

“I don’t feel I missed anything by not going to Europe,” he said. “Sitting on the bench over there was not for me. Here, I had a good contract, so no problem.

“Internationally, ’02 was unbelievable, especially beating Mexico. It’s always satisfying beating Mexico. For me, it’s only a matter of time before we become a huge powerhouse, but we need to start stealing athletes from other sports. You know, some of those defensive backs with 4.1 speed. But it’s also important that as the sport spreads, especially culturally, we need to tap the resources of the entire country, not just middle-class kids from the suburbs. Still, we’ve come a long way.”

Source

cue the long talk...Kicker whey yuh? Lol..

167

Football / Does Dwight Yorke belong in the Hall of Fame

« on: September 04, 2007, 01:17:21 PM »

No question there should be a FIFA-sanctioned International Football Hall of Fame, and many a debate would rage on questioning the selection and make up of it's members.  Starting in our own backyard (and please, leave bling patriotism and sentimentality aside), does Yorke belong among the greatest footballers ever?

Make yuh case...

168

Football / Superliga Final- LA Galaxy v. Pachuca

« on: August 29, 2007, 11:05:55 PM »

Wheeeeyyyy sah....man juss score one sweet 'Goal of the Year' candidate of ah bicycle (Chris Klein) to equalise for LA three minutes into stoppage time.  Man shitting on how bad de Galaxy is but whole game, if not fuh badluck dem man eh have no luck.  Late second half Donovan pound ah header at goal only to have de goalie dive and fingertip it around de post fuh ah corner. 

5 mins later same thing, bouncing ball off ah cross... power header with only keeper to beat.  Keeper hand fly up in reflex reaction...ball pass clean thru both arms (dey come up too late) and hit off de keeper head.  Imagine dat...keeper unintentionally save de goal wid he head.  Scramble in de box now in de closing minutes...Buddle eader hit de cross bar, come back out...keeper out ah place, ball headed up twice by de defense, more scramble...bam bicycle in de back ah de net.

Good game...headed to extra time now 1-1.

Beckham started but had to leave mid-first half after spraining his right knee on a hardluck play.  Both him and the Mexican defender kicked at the ball at the same time but he hit it more with the inside of his instep and look like the defender hit it with the top of his...and Beckham's kicking knee buckled a bit from the impact to the ball.

169

Football / Serie A

« on: August 25, 2007, 12:36:37 PM »

Looking at the Juve V. Livorno match just underway.

Quiet as is kept...they back and look stacked to the max.  What a bomb squad.

Kudos to the players who remained loyal to the club and fought their way back to the Italian top tier.



...de ref and dem outfit in some bright neon green kits, from head to toe...looking like some mobile highlighters, lol

170

General Discussion / Trinidadian Woman Missing in South Florida

« on: August 16, 2007, 02:38:52 AM »

Not sure if this has been mentioned here or not, didn't see a thread on it, but Stepha Henry is a young black woman from NYC of Trini parentage who went missing in Fort Lauderdale in May


 Jun 23, 2007 12:09 am US/Eastern

Mom Walks The Streets, Searching For Stepha
 
Natalia Zea
Reporting

(CBS4) FT. LAUDERDALE The streets hold no answers for Sylvia Henry, but she walks them anyway, hoping for a clue into the disappearance of her daughter Stepha. She hands out flyers to anyone who will take them, hoping someone knows why her daughter disappeared during Hip-Hop weekend.

"I'm hoping to reach out to the community this way so that everybody will tell somebody else and the word will spread faster," Henry told CBS4's Natalia Zea. "Instead of staying home in the house and hoping somebody will call to say they saw her."

Henry has vowed to stay in South Florida, handing out flyers, until her daughter returns home, is found, or police know what happened to her.

Henry believes someone out there knows, and she just needs to connect with that person.

"People are looking at the picture, some say I think I saw her yesterday and some say oh what a pretty girl. People are just trying to help," Henry said.

Henry was visiting South Florida with a friend, spending time with relatives and taking advantage of the activities surrounding Hip-Hop weekend. She and an acquaintance visited Peppers club in Ft. Lauderdale, and while she was seen inside the club, she dropped out of sight afterward.

The grad student hasn't contacted her family, and police don't know where she is. Her story has been featured on the news a number of times, and Friday, her family increased a reward by $5 thousand, but police admit tips have been sparse.

"Obviously this girl couldn't have just vanished into thin air," said Miami-Dade police detective Roy Rutland. "We continue to follow all the leads as we have, unfortunately we have not received as many tips as we'd like, so we hope the increase in the reward will help."

Sylvia refuses to give up hope. She believes someone will help.

"Anyone there who has a daughter or a sister think of all the emotional stress and the sadness I'm going through, and all the grief my family and I are going through right now," she said. "Please try to help us by calling."

Anyone with information on Stepha Henry can contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS


dg

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)




Here's a link to an MSN feature describing the discrepancy in reporting of missing people, whites vs. blacks, and women vs. men.  Stepha Henry's case is spotlighted.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/specialguides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5289082&GT1=10323


Here's another link to her story as featured on America's Most Wanted


Please be vigilant in case there's anything that you see/can do.

171

Football / FC Dallas GK Ray Burse

« on: August 05, 2007, 11:44:18 AM »

Made his debut against the Colorado Rapids with a 1-0 shut out win.  He's in an excellent position to learn from one of the recent Goalkeeping greats in Shaka, and comes from an interesting pedigree:

Attended and played at St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kent. where he was an NSCAA High School and a McDonald's All-American as a forward…Was a starting goalkeeper in HS in 1999 before moving and excelling at forward in 2000-2001…Played for the nationally-renowned Javanon Soccer Club from 1994-2003 and was Kentucky state champions from 1998-2003…was a member of the Kentucky ODP State Team since 1997…Made the ODP regional team in 1998 and '99, and was a national pool player in 1998…Played for the PDL franchise Columbus Stars (2004) and the Chicago Fire Premier 2005)…trained with full U.S. Men's National Team before World Cup qualifier against Grenada 2004 which was played in Columbus.
Listens to rap, R&B, and anti-war music of the 1960's like "Prodigal Son"…his current favorite artist is rap-group "the Diplomat's" and his favorite TV show's are "Entourage" and "The Wire"…His grandfather Emmit Hatch was in the U.S. Air Force and served as a Tuskegee Airman Instructor, the first African-American to hold that role…In combat, Mr. Hatch was the right hand-man of famed pilot Chuck Yeager…Ray's father, Raymond, became the first African-American to garner "Blues" at Oxford University, an award given to those that compete against rival Cambridge in four sports - rugby, basketball, crew, and XXX…prior to attending Oxford, Raymond was a Rhodes Scholar at Center College…his mother Kim is a Harvard Law School grad who is currently the CFO of Goodwill Industries in Kentucky……Has two brothers, Justin (freshman at Fordham) and Eric…Ray is expected to graduate from Ohio State in the summer of 2007 with a degree in American History.

Mom's a Harvard Law grad...dad an Oxford grad and Rhodes Scholar...grand-father a Tuskeegee Airman.  Pretty interesting that a li'l black fella from Kentucky would get into soccer...and as a GK at that 

172

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Supahead- Book excerpts

« on: August 01, 2007, 01:47:55 PM »

August 01, 2007. MediaTakeOut.com got its hands on what we're told is an excerpt from
Karrine "Superhead" Steffans' new book The Vixen Diaries. According to our source, this is
from the chapter where Karrine rates men in the hip hop industry. Ladies and gentleman, this
right here is off the chains...
JUELZ SANTANA:
How was it?
It was good. He’s really wild in bed, and don’t let the ‘No homo’ stuff fool you,
because he is definitely not a homo in bed. His d*ck is like a baseball bat, but it’s
thick too like a overgrown German sausage. He likes to pull hair a lot, and he
actually likes it better when a girl rides.
50 CENT:
What’s your story?
50 cent and I have had our share of sexual encounters. We kick it every time he
comes to L.A.. His d*ck is not as big as I assumed it would be. It was probably
about 7 1/2 inches. But it's not a big disappointment because he can eat pus*y like
no other.
How did you meet?
I know a few studio owners, so when he was out here recording with Game, I went
in to meet them. It jumped off from there.
Does he have a fetish?
Yes, 50 loves ti**ies and a*s. I happen to have them both so I guess that's why he
immediately came on to me.
He came on to you?
Actually he did, I wanted him either way, so if I had to come on to him, or he did, I
was still going to get him.
YOUNG BUCK:
Was Young Buck good in bed?
He was the best I ever had. His d*ck was like the Energizer Bunny. It kept going
and going. The sex lasted for hours at a time. It was the best I ever had and it got
better each time.
Was this a ongoing relationship?
It wasn’t a relationship really, it was more of a sex thing. It lasted about 5 months.
When did you meet Young Buck?
I met him through one of my friends. She was dating one of his cousins or someone
related to him. She introduced me at a party and he took me back to his hotel after
that.
Was he famous when you met him?
Not really, he was known through G-Unit but this was before his CD came out.
Any other celebrities you would give a try?
Yeah. There’s a few, but I doubt any of them would be better.
USHER:
Were you in a relationship with Usher, or was it just for the sex?
I wouldn't dream of being in a relationship with him. YUCK. It was just for sex,
but the sex was NOT all that good either. I kinda felt sorryfor him. So I fu**ed
him.
Were you disappointed?
Um yeah. Because it was after a concert when we “fu**ed” and it was smelling like straight up FISH up in backstage in his dressing room. It was NOT me either.
So I'm like babes? What's that smell. He tried to make it seem like it already
smelled like that when they got to the arena. I'm like whatever, can we get this over
with.
How was the sex?
It was fu**ing horrible and on top of that it was smelling back there. This man is
not packing, his d*ck is way small and he was having a hard time trying to find my
hole. Then ol’ boy did something out of this world, he yelled out something
Haitian. I was sick to my stomach. I got dressed and ran out of there.
Are there any celebs you’d want to sleep with?
Yes! Just not Usher. I’d fu** Lil Jon before I have sex with Usher again. I really
would want to have sex with that guy Tyson Beckford, now he is packing, I seen
some movies.

List of Rappers
Mystikal - long
Trick Daddy - long and full of energy
Twista - medium
Will Smith - long
Xzibit - long but comes to quick
Kool G Rap - Long but cant f**k
Talib Kweli - medium
Redman - hung like a banana
Black Thought - medium
Russel Simmons - small
Khujo from Goodie Mob - very long
Ja Rule - Long and full of energy
Jay-Z - Real thick and juicy but you cant stand looking at him when he’s on top
OutKast - Both big but Big Boi is bigger and fatter Dre’s is long and slim
Pete Rock - big
Puff Daddy - medium
Rakim - Long
Mobb Deep - havoc is big but Prodigy is small
M.O.P. - Long pipes but Danze has a smelly body odor
Nas - small
Nelly - medium
Scarface - medium
Snoop Dogg - too long
Ol’ Dirty Bastard - may his big d**k rest in peace
Clipse - They’re both long but they cant f**k and Pusha T’s breath stinks
Common - Long but too skinny
Da Brat - can eat a p**sy.
Mos Def - long but his breath stinks
Timbaland - long and fat but can't f**k and comes to quick
Too $hort - long and thick but talks to much s*it in bed
Q Tip - long but skinny. He has an a**hole personality
Mase - Long but he has an a**hole personality too
Master P - nice and long and can f**k
Method Man - Long but comes to quick
Missy Elliott - pu**y has a bad odor
50 Cent - medium/long
Big Punisher - The same size of a can of air freshener
Busta Rhymes - Big and long bit cant f**k. Just because you are left sore he
thinks he did something.
Canibus - real long
Noreaga - Long but he cant f**k
Lil Wayne - nice and long
Kanye West - Big but he cant f**k
KRS-One - small
LL Cool J - Nice and fat
The LOX - All of them are big except for styles. styles is very tiny. And J Hood is
abnormaly fat
Ludacris - Just perfect. Long and fat
DMX - Long and can ################ forever
Fabolous - big d**k but comes to fast
Fat Joe - small at first but when erect he’s impressive.
Wyclef - Long but his breath stinks
Ghostface Killah - Long but he comes to quick

173

Football / RSL v. Boca Juniors

« on: July 25, 2007, 08:02:59 PM »

Freddy Adu giving them men fits...dribbled around three defenders, tried to split the last two and they sandwiched him in the box, setting up a PK which he took himself.


1-0 RSL at half-time.


earlier he put ah move on ah man that clean had him eating grass.

174

Football / Canada v. Congo (U-20)

« on: July 09, 2007, 06:55:48 PM »

Two absolute shit squads.  I ent see the two goals Congo scored (they leading 2-0 in the 87th), but they playing nuff shit.  Men wild, wild and indisciplined...shooting from all over the place, and very rarely on goal.  On defense men rushing in with all kinda wild tackles...it's actually embarrassing to watch, because you want the world to respect the African game, but it's not going to happen with men playing high-class #2 like that. The keeper is an absolute mess. Anything near his goal and he rushing off he line like ah bad dog.  With any kind of offensive composure this game would be 5-2 Canada.

Speaking of Canada...I move that they never again hold the Youth World Cup in Canada...if it means this shit squad gets a free pass to the tournament.  One man (Lombardo) get ah sweet cross to head the ball into an open net (God alone knows what the Congolese keeper was doing) from approximately 5-10 feet.  Man head de ball not only wide, but high as  well...woulda swear he was playing defense.  I think even me and my two-inch vertical woulda manage to finagle that ball in de net somehow.  Not ah good two minutes later...keeper rush out again and ketch wind, ball land at the Canadian captain (Edwards?) foot...*boom*  he sky it into de stands from about 10 feet away.

Pity FIFA cyah juss eliminate both them squads and call that george.

175

Football / CONCACAF- I have seen the future...and it is very scary.

« on: July 06, 2007, 09:07:06 PM »

Giovanni Dos Santos....Mexican striker of Brazilian heritage (son of Zizinho). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJEQREsBcJ0

...and here ah creating this thread taling about him and he just score against Portugal in de U-20.  Plays for Barcelona's youth team.


I think the rest ah we in real trouble once this kid gets promoted.

176

Football / Great Vid- NFL's Reggie Bush meets w/Becks

« on: June 27, 2007, 06:55:55 AM »

http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=48C8C89D-4042-489D-94C7-CD41C99C0947&t=m27&f=06/64&p=hotvideo_fox_editors_picks&fg&gt1=10056


...after an intro commercial.


Looks like an Adidas spot...cool to see Bush trying to play GK...and Becks juggling an American football.

177

Football / Shaun Fuentes

« on: June 21, 2007, 12:36:22 PM »

As much as it irritates me to see him 'defend' the position of the TTFF...I've reconsidered my stance and will effect ah moratorium on any more verbal blows fuh now.  I understand he probably caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place...and being literally the Devil's advocate in this regard is a thankless job which I don't envy him.  So fuh now I'll just read everything attributed to him as words he just parroting fuh we, and not expressions of his actual thoughts.

Fair warning though that the cussings may re-commence at any future point...












...there Jesus, yuh happy? 

178

Football / Re: The French influence in T&T

« on: December 22, 2006, 09:49:20 AM »

Cool. Thanks, guys. I wasn't aware that there are people from Haiti and Martinique in TnT.

Here are some of the names that caught my attention:
Clement, Rougier (U. Petrotrin); Jerome, Charles (S.S. Strikes); St Louis, Pierre (D. Force); Prosper, Alexis, Peltier, Baptist, Primus, Pierre (Jabloteh).

Also your last coach name is St Clair, a very popular last name in the French-speaking caribbean.

Toussaint...it's a shame that these fellas ain't give yuh a more sound explanation behind the Gallic phenomenon you've noticed.  I'll try and keep it brief, but basically Columbus landed in Trinidad in 1498 and the country remained officially Spanish until the island was ceded to England in 1797.  In that 300-year period Spain had a hard time attracting settlers to this remote outpost, especially when the spanish colonists found easier going in Venezuela 8 miles, and a continent removed to the west.

For the colony of Trinidad to flourish, it not only needed people to populate and develop the land (clearing forest, building roads and infrastructure etc.) out of sheer necessity, but these settlers would also provide a much needed tax base. So in 1783 the King of Spain published a cédula de población, inviting any catholic subject of a monarch friendly to the Spanish crown to come and settle in Trinidad. Many colonists from the other Francophone caribbean islands came pouring in.  Hence the French influence begat places like Morne Diablo, Lavantille, Bagatelle, Morvant, San Souci, Mt. D'Or, Champs Fleurs, Point-a-Pierre, Carenage etc.,and names such as those you mentioned.

The French also brought their masquerade tradition which eventually merged with African influences to evolve into today's Carnival.  Gladly they left their snail and frog eating ways in Dominica 


Hope that helps.

179

Football / Former Chicago Fire and NY/NJ MetroStars coach Bob Bradley name US Soccer Coach

« on: December 08, 2006, 03:57:59 PM »

Bradley faces uphill battle with U.S. job


Jamie Trecker / Fox Soccer Channel
Posted: 2 hours ago
 
 
 
[COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]There was a day when Bob Bradley would have been welcomed with open arms as the new American coach.

Perhaps in 2002, if Bruce Arena had decided to pass the reins over to his one-time assistant after a successful World Cup; or perhaps in the summer of 2006 immediately after Arena's team flopped in Germany and the United States needed someone to bridge the gap between then and the future.

Today is not one of those days.

Bradley, who was introduced as the interim coach of the U.S. men's national team in a hastily-arranged teleconference call, must feel like the bridesmaid instead of a man at the pinnacle of his career. Friday, the man on too many soccer fans' minds was the coach who wasn't there.

Jürgen Klinsmann, the German World Cup winner, shocked American soccer fans Thursday night by withdrawing from the job by letter. U.S. Soccer and its new president, Sunil Gulati, denied that any contract was signed between the two parties.

The withdrawal looks like a setback for the American sport and its federation. Gulati had spent almost six months wooing Klinsmann, making no secret of his affection for the German forward who as a coach had taken a moribund host team to a third-place finish in 2006.

To his credit, Gulati was blunt today, admitting that Klinsmann was the number one candidate. "At some time in this process, we focused virtually all of our energy on Jürgen Klinsmann. He was our first choice. We spent a lot time of time talking and we, and he, indicated a lot of interest in each other. I don't want to shy away from that." "Some of my colleagues feel that we may have made too much effort [with Klinsmann] but I wanted to go forward and make that effort … There were times when I felt it was going to happen."

Gulati also dangled a thread: "Klinsmann and I had a terrific conversation yesterday about the future. There's a lot of respect in how this went. There's an open door about working together."

Friday, the questions fans were asking were simple, and sometimes harsh: What is wrong with U.S. Soccer? Why isn't there a line of foreign coaches anxious to work in a country in which winners are well-rewarded? And if U.S. Soccer was going to hire one of Arena's assistants, why not just retain Arena and play out the fall international dates while charting the next course?

One of the true gentlemen of the sport, Bradley was credited with doing some of the hard, behind the scenes work that helped make the team a success during the 2002 World Cup cycle. With the Fire, he was a champion; at Chivas USA, in one season he took the team from nowhere into the playoffs. There's no question about Bradley's work ethic, his ability or his drive; he is also the winningest coach in MLS.

Yet Bradley has a big black mark on his resume: the ill-fated New York MetroStars.

Bradley was the eighth man (if you count Fernando Clavijo's interim stint) in a row to wither under the bright lights of Giants Stadium. Now, hardier fellows — Carlos Queiroz, Carlos Alberto Parreira, and even ex-USA coach Bora Milutinovic — all failed as well. That doesn't change the fact that he too failed to reverse that team's slide.

The problem is not what Bradley is; it's what he is not. He is not a beloved World Cup winner with international cachet. He is not a star with the clout to get his face on the front of Sports Illustrated or to sell the American team overseas merely by dint of his presence. He will be unable, as Klinsmann would have, to demand — and get — the attention that U.S. Soccer desperately craves for a team still reeling from that widely panned performance at the 2006 World Cup.

What Bradley has for him is a small track record of nurturing young American talent. His Fire squads became the backbone of two World Cup teams, and ended up stocking leagues overseas: DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra, Josh Wolff , Zach Thornton and Chris Armas all played parts for the USA; all but Armas went overseas. He also arguably helped train the next generation of MLS coaches; Peter Nowak was a star on the Fire and today heads up D.C. United.

Will that be enough for American soccer fans, who are savvy enough to demand the best? No one can say for sure on that account. But one thing is certain: Bradley has a long road ahead of him. It may not be fair, but he is now the man who faces a rebuilding job and, most likely, unrealistic expectations.

The dreaded "interim" tag hangs about Bradley's neck Friday night. It must chafe. He's not a "real" national team coach, just a placeholder.

Ever the good soldier, Bradley said all the right things; in a prepared statement, Bradley was quoted as saying: "I am very proud to have a chance to lead the U.S. National Team, and I am also proud to be following Bruce Arena in this role after the success he was able to achieve. I feel quite strongly about the quality of our program, and I am confident that we will we put a team on the field that will get the job done."

But he has to know he's number two.

Fortunately, Bradley never approaches anything with that mindset. He well could be the best thing the American national team has going for it as a Gold Cup and Copa America loom in the waters of 2007.[/COLOR]

The saga continues...

180

Football / Sick Juggling skills....Kuwaiti teen

« on: May 11, 2006, 12:03:01 PM »

You'll have to cut and paste the link into your browser...

mms://wm9.btrichmedia.com/sp_conference/standard/Sportal/FootballSkills_Kuwait.wmv


Pretty neat tricks...enjoy