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Rochester Hills, Michigan
2012.07.19 08:15 Rochester Hills, Michigan
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2011.08.04 04:00 slowpoketail Oakland University
A discussion board for all things Oakland University! Please read the 4 simple rules before posting.
2022.02.17 19:50 RozellaTriggs Michigan News
Michigan News for Michiganders. Articles provided by Mlive.com, freep.com, detroitnews.com and many other news agencies. Journalistic excellence keeping you informed about your Michigan community. Subscribe and enjoy!
2023.06.08 01:01 AutoModerator [Monthly Post] WELCOME TO SABAH! Questions about Sabah / Places to visit in Sabah / Being a tourist in Sabah
Welcome to
Sabah! We hope you will enjoy your star here :)
Are you a tourist thinking about visiting Sabah, Malaysia?
These are some interesting places in Sabah you probably want to visit while you're here:
- Mount Kinabalu
- Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
- Mabul Island
- Danum Valley Conservation Area
- Kinabalu Park
- Metaking Island
- Poring Hot Spring
- Tabin Wildlife Resort, Lahad Datu
- Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu
- Mari Mari Cultural Village
- Tanjung Aru Beach
- Pulau Pom Pom
- Pulau Tiga
- Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre
- Maliau Basin Conservation Area
- Boheydulang Island
- Ladang Tenusu Desa Cattle
- Gomantong Caves
- Sabah State Museum
- Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Santuary
- Lok Kawi Wildlife Park
- Tun Sakaran Marine Park, Semporna
- Atkinson Clock Tower
- Kundasang War Memorial
- Tawau Hills Park
- Ranforest Discovery Centre
- Polumpung Melangkap View Camp Site
- Mount Trusmadi
- Sosodikon Hill Kundasang
- Pulau Sapi
- Sandakan Memorial Park
- Kelambu Beach
- Agnes Keith House, historic house museum, Sandakan
- Kota Kinabalu Wetland Ramsar Site
- Dalit Bay Golf & Country Club
- Mengalum Island
- Timpohon Gate, Kundasang
- Deramakot Forest Reserve
- Kiulu White Water Rafting Centre
- Teck Guan Cocoa Museum
- Meragang Hill
- Mahua Waterfalls
- Dinawan Island
- Tanjung Aru Perdana Park
- PuuJih Syh Temple
- Sepanggar Island
- Coral Flyer Zipline
- Hounon Ridge Farmstay & Camping
- Bukit Tengkorak Archaelogical Heritage Site
- Sabah Art Gallery
- Bukit Bongol
- Crocker Range National Park
- Sabah Agriculture Park
- Ranau Rabbit Village
- Aquarium & Marine Museum, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
- Klias River Cruise
- Mesilau
- Bodgaya Island
- Kokol Hill Elf
- Pulau Mantanai Besar
- Langanan Waterfall
- Mount Tambuyukon
- Balung River Eco Resort
- Tuaran Crocodile Farm
- Sg. Moroli Fish Spa
- Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley Conservation Area
- Madai Caves
- Murug-Turug Eco Tourism (MTET)
- Gombizau Honey Bee Farm
- Tamparuli Suspension Bridge
- Usukan Cove
- Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve
- Orang Utan Sanctuary, Sepilok
- Sandakan Rainforest Park
- Imbak Canyon Conservation Area
- Sandakan Heritage Trail
- Monsopiad Heritage Village
- Bombon Kg. Marakau (Fish Spa)
- Mandalipau White Water View & Fish Pond
- Tadzmahal Travel & Tours Jetty
- Upside Down House Sabah
- Sinurambi Tambunan (Tambunan Viewing Point)
- Gemok Hill Forest Reserve
- Tanjung Parapat
- Kokob Rafflesia Conservation Garden
- Mesilou Highland Strawberry Farm
- Chantek Borneo, specialist in Sabah's ethnic textile design
- Peak of Hope, Tuaran
- Ulu Kionsom Waterfall
- Pitas Bay View
- Tegudon Tourism Village
- St Michael's Catholic Church, Penampang (100+ yrs old historic Church)
- Borneo Ant House, Tuaran
- Tanjung Lipat Beach, Likas
- Handicraft Market, Kota Kinabalu (Pasar Filipina)
- Alpaca Club, Ranau
- Gaya Street Sunday Market (Morning), Kota Kinabalu
- Kadazandusun Culcural Association (KDCA), Penampang (May - Harvest Festival)
- The North Borneo Railway train ride (functional wood-burner train)
- Luxury yacht of Puteri Sutera sunset cruise, Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu
- World Highest Via Ferrata Mount Kinabalu
Do you have some questions about Sabah?
Post your questions in the comment section or make a standalone post in the main page!
submitted by
AutoModerator to
Sabah [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 01:00 Mariners_bot Post Game Chat 6/7 Mariners @ Padres
Please use this thread to discuss anything related to today's game. You may post anything as long as it falls within stated posting guidelines. You may also post gifs and memes, as long as it is related to the game. Please keep the discussion civil.
Discord:
Seattle Sports Line Score - Game Over
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
SEA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
SD | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | 10 | 17 | 0 | 9 |
Box Score
SD | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | P-S | ERA |
Wacha | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 82-54 | 3.18 |
Hill, T | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10-8 | 3.46 |
Carlton | 1.0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 26-12 | 4.26 |
Hader | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19-12 | 1.54 |
SEA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | P-S | ERA |
Kirby | 3.2 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 86-63 | 3.50 |
Brash | 0.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 19-10 | 4.88 |
Saucedo | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15-8 | 3.77 |
Festa | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16-11 | 5.40 |
Flexen | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 32-21 | 7.23 |
Scoring Plays
Highlights
Description | Length | Video |
Bullpen availability for San Diego, June 7 vs Mariners | 0:07 | Video |
Bullpen availability for Seattle, June 7 vs Padres | 0:07 | Video |
Fielding alignment for Seattle, June 7 vs Padres | 0:11 | Video |
Fielding alignment for San Diego, June 7 vs Mariners | 0:11 | Video |
Starting lineups for Mariners at Padres - June 7, 2023 | 0:09 | Video |
The distance behind Gary Sánchez's home run | 0:15 | Video |
Gary Sánchez's home run through bat tracking data | 0:09 | Video |
Breaking down George Kirby's pitches | 0:08 | Video |
Breaking down Michael Wacha's pitches | 0:08 | Video |
Michael Wacha's outing against the Mariners | 0:25 | Video |
Matt Carpenter smacks an RBI single to right field | 0:26 | Video |
Sánchez crushes a three-run home run to left field | 0:26 | Video |
Juan Soto hits an RBI single to left field | 0:13 | Video |
George Kirby strikes out three batters | 0:32 | Video |
Alfonso Rivas knocks an RBI single to left field | 0:14 | Video |
Juan Soto lines a two-run single to right field | 0:24 | Video |
Fernando Tatis Jr. hits a groundout to drive in a run | 0:15 | Video |
Juan Soto slices an RBI double for his fifth hit | 0:28 | Video |
Julio Rodriguez grounds a RBI single to second base | 0:17 | Video |
Kolten Wong scores a run on a double play | 0:18 | Video |
José Caballero drives in a run with a hit by pitch | 0:14 | Video |
Soto secures the first five-hit game of his career | 1:57 | Video |
Kolten Wong grounds out, first baseman Alfonso Rivas to pitcher Josh Hader. | 0:11 | Video |
Decisions
Winning Pitcher | Losing Pitcher | Save |
Wacha (6-2, 3.18 ERA) | Kirby (5-5, 3.50 ERA) | |
Attendance | Weather | Wind |
| 66°F, Partly Cloudy | 9 mph, L To R |
HP | 1B | 2B | 3B |
Tony Randazzo | Jeremy Riggs | Brian Knight | Alex Tosi |
Game ended at 4:00 PM. submitted by
Mariners_bot to
Mariners [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 00:54 atoth28 After $100k, I can’t even download my diploma for free…
2023.06.08 00:47 Slick_Kenn Supported Evidence for the Location of “The Simpsons” Springfield State
| In season 9 episode 7 of The Simpsons Hank Hill cameos in the stands and states “we drove 2,000 miles for this?” One quick google map later and we have ourselves some more supporting evidence for the Simpsons living in Oregon. submitted by Slick_Kenn to FilmTheorists [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 00:35 Megalicious_ From the FB group. I mean it’s possible… but how does this anonymous person know
2023.06.08 00:35 AlexTMichas Four Vans
| Four Vans Introduction I’ve had four vans in my life. A green 1978 bus, a white 1968 bus, a blue 1990 Vanagon, and a white 1990 Vanagon, which I drive today. Despite modern van options, my connection to VW buses and van continues to last. Now in my 40s, and with each year passing, my relationship with vans is an evolution filled with memories all of which are inspired by outdoor adventure and the curve of a road less traveled. As I begin this series of posts regarding my relationship to vans, I wanted to start with an overview of these four vans. Van #1. Europe When I was just about four years old, my parents decided to move to Europe with us three kids, and a teenage babysitter, who ended up more like a fourth child than the intended caregiver they had planned for. We spent two years there, much of the time in a van, (technically consider a “bus”) traveling across land, visiting relatives along the way. https://preview.redd.it/5gmjy7wg9o4b1.jpg?width=2845&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e93a73de5a87b5bdf800b0ec7e5af47692b7c80 The bus was shipped back from German to the United States where after a few years my dad sold it to a good friend in Sacramento.l, CA. Nearly 30 years later that same friend called me to ask if I wanted the bus - it was in perfect shape, having been stored in a garage for all those years. I had to decline… I just didn’t have the space and ability to keep it. Here’s my dad in the late 70’s - I suspect this photo was taken near Lake Tahoe. https://preview.redd.it/n4jfmjbl9o4b1.jpg?width=3221&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fcb4c0971ec78217583487132b590652374b3fca https://preview.redd.it/dqmf7nrn9o4b1.jpg?width=3222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5076536925ab72fdb2951bcc3c3c8e9ec997bb21 Van #2. High school In high school, I purchased this 1968 air cooled bus… I think I purchased it for about $1500, and drove it about for a few years - no doubt playing Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin and Cat Stevens on a crappy aftermarket stereo. When I tired my hand at rewiring some electrical which led to a catastrophic electrical problem, or seeing one of my wheels roll past me at a neighborhood stop sign shortly after I changed a flat tired, I realized my time as mechanic was short lived. https://preview.redd.it/wtskyqop9o4b1.png?width=1564&format=png&auto=webp&s=cbf7c68da24de113bb9645e458c51cd6c33b3e5b Van #3. Blueberry Living in south Berkeley, CA in 2005, I was walking past the Berkeley Bowl, a popular grocery store when I saw a blue Vanagon. Without much thought, my soon-to-be-wife and I purchased what we later named Blueberry, a 1990 Multivan - the roomy van version that sleeps four, seats 7 with belts, but without a kitchen. On a trip with my dog Cleo, here’s Blueberry, near Mono Lake and the hills along Highway 395. https://preview.redd.it/86a6z3ms9o4b1.jpg?width=4752&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7dc34f3e531235fe134bc7ffa48b26f8ee3da362 https://preview.redd.it/voj3e89t9o4b1.jpg?width=4752&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f89fbf96bf6ffbc82174bdcc85fb3b626fce8f08 In La Paz, Mexico, we settled up next to this dilapidated palapa (a traditional Mexican shelter roofed with palm leaves) for several nights, eating fresh fish and snorkeling. You can see our kitchen at the back of the van, and shower bag draped above. https://preview.redd.it/1m3cn3nw9o4b1.jpg?width=2592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=476c9aa18da59fc66f6c5f772601719920a9beae A cold night in Yosemite with good friend. The following morning we fished in the lake just beyond. https://preview.redd.it/3m3pe0ly9o4b1.jpg?width=4752&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0cef680bb776219a2526840919dddced67b37a5 Trip to Idaho with our pup Cleo. One of our longer trips for friend’s wedding in Sun Valley. https://preview.redd.it/osdfitj1ao4b1.jpg?width=2592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5be2c8491081350de40926483d397789733c04de Kiddos in the loft pop top https://preview.redd.it/0jalg224ao4b1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=474d2fa3db05206d58a607d4ec221c665e71f0ba https://preview.redd.it/bua61qg3ao4b1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4876c72e696eb0b5e843595d04e50da9250961af Russian Gulch State Park outside Mendocino https://preview.redd.it/wlgcuma6ao4b1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6511aac936272e16cfe6762a1d09373c2387a502 Van #4: Luna When I realized I no longer wanted to go longer distances and Blueberry due to lack of air conditioning and limited power in the hills, I started looking for a van replacement. So at the end of 2021, we purchased another 1990 Multivan in white named Luna. Swapping some of the good stuff from Blueberry, Luna can do everything. It has a rebuilt turbo engine - nearly doubling the power, a propane heater for cold nights, a rebuilt manual transmission, and so many other upgrades - it was just easier to purchase the van I wanted rather than spend the money, hassle, and time upgrading Blueberry. In Tilden Park https://preview.redd.it/ubfugi38ao4b1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0af8d014ba7f2154e8d5c8527b8ffabe55fdf61 https://preview.redd.it/2i3e4zxaao4b1.jpg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d90997a3eb7c032e5ae8b46e490808e95fd99091 A visit to the light house on Point Reyes in Marin https://preview.redd.it/dtgo3nvbao4b1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3e6a680dec550fd7775d5849cb4ce6b02bdafaa https://preview.redd.it/vt4j0b8dao4b1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b369acff8177aba364104b4f52716edc3281a231 Muir Beach and a stop at the Pelican Inn in Marin https://preview.redd.it/5ntso42gao4b1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef9a334ff2285d7e7df22d5bcdc765cdbb3faaa0 North of Santa Cruz in Pescadero for a hot chocolate break https://preview.redd.it/gz90tuziao4b1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24edf4cd7c98efa5d827abbc69711ebe35fc4009 I could have spent more on a bigger, more modern van, but I decided to stick with what I know. Simply…. there is nothing like driving a Vanagon. submitted by AlexTMichas to Westfalia [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 00:26 eternalrefuge86 I’m from out of state. I’ll be visiting my grandma in Michigan Tomorrow. She had two dispos in town. Skymint and Michiganja. What are the best products from each? What should I avoid? I’m mostly interested in concentrates.
submitted by eternalrefuge86 to Michigents [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 00:24 Ok_Wishbone_1953 Tried to confront dad with messages he sent me while he was in the hospital—he asked the nurse to call security to have me removed.
I’ve been NC over 6 months after he flat out denied my childhood SA ever happened, and said some other absolutely wild crap (the SA not at his hand, but that’s besides the point). Rather than address the invalidation, he continues to send text messages, text my partner blaming “women and their estrogen”, acknowledging he knows I’m “irritated about his messages” but take no accountability. He throws constant pity parties for his own sickness and tries to manipulate me into making up with him and my mother, who as he says, “gave me my very life.”
He’s in a very poor state of health right now and will probably die soon so I made a last ditch effort to get through to him. I was hoping he wouldn’t bring it up, or that maybe he would hear me out. He asked for a hug when I arrived. The nurse was changing his IV. I said “not now, Dad.” I said very little.
I told him I’m not here because of his messages (he basically gave me an ultimatum that if I wanted to see him before he died, it needed to be now. I had already come into town, alone, and told no one). He denied the manipulation, the gaslighting and invalidation etc. and just lied to my face.
I asked him if he really didn’t understand why I haven’t spoke to him in so long. He flipped it onto me, of course. He said if I really felt he was being manipulative, I should leave. Then I pulled up my cell phone and showed him, reading aloud, what he said. So he said he would call security to have me removed. He called his nurse back in, who could see through the BS. I wasn’t yelling, cursing, threatening him, or causing a scene. Sp the nurse told him, that isn’t necessary. As I saw myself out, he continued to rage at me about how “holding grudges will hurt me in the long run”
Some people in my family think I should mediate with him, and my toxic mother, because they’re the only parents I have. But they’re so cruel and so unwilling to take any semblance of accountability. They continue to treat me like crap at any opportunity, and when I stop responding, the rage comes out. I guess I just wanted to vent, because I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such audacious behavior. On his death bed, he chose to die on this hill.
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Ok_Wishbone_1953 to
raisedbynarcissists [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 00:23 timeye13 My letter to Ezra and team (April 13th, 2023)
Hey everyone. I'm new to the community, but am an avid listener of Ezra's podcast. The reason I am posting this is because of recent developments in the topic of UAP (formerly known as UFO's). Please reference this article from The Debrief for more context. I hope the Ezra or the show runners see this and dig in. Thanks!
https://thedebrief.org/intelligence-officials-say-u-s-has-retrieved-non-human-craft/ Hello Ezra and team,
Timeye13 here, reaching out from a very windy Golden Gate Heights in San Francisco CA. First, I want to acknowledge you and your staff for the excellent work relating to the ongoing development and wide proliferation of consumer facing LLM (and other) AI's. Your segments have spearheaded a conversation that is timely and necessary to understanding the broader implications of these tools and how uncertain the future truly is at this moment. I hope you continue the work as the subject continues to develop. I also enjoyed listening to your talks with Dan Savage and Rick Ruben. If Rick did an audio book reading of "Goodnight Moon" I'd likely listen to it nightly. The primary reason for this message is to draw your collective attention to recent developments that, in my opinion, merit much more exploration and reporting: the reality, ubiquity and acknowledgement of encounters with UAP or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (historically labeled as UFO's). Since 2017, when Leslie Kean, Ralph Blumenthal, and Helena Cooper at the NYT's published an article about the DoD's AATIP program along with the 3 gun camera videos from Navy fighter pilots (Gimbal, Tic Tac, and Go-Fast: provided by Christopher Mellon) the public has become aware of government interest in this phenomenon. Primarily, how it relates to security concerns and threat scenarios within the IC and DoD. I won't rehash this story further, as there was a wide array of coverage pertaining to these events, specifically through the lens of military, defense and national security. There were some notable follow up pieces on the topic from
Gideon Lewis-Krauss of The New Yorker, and
60 Minutes in the spring of 2021, as well as the
first congressional hearing on UAP in 50 years in the Spring of 2022 (which can safely be categorized as political theater). Don't get me wrong, these were all important efforts, and groundbreaking when you consider the historical and ongoing stigma of this subject going back 75+ years. But there have been many remarkable developments since then...such as:
- Top tier academics have come out and stated they are creating viable, peer reviewed methodology for studying this phenomenon. Most notably, Avi Loeb from Harvard (Galileo Project), and Garry Nolan from Stanford (Analysis on recovered "Meta Materials") have made some amazing and outright fantastical claims around what this could represent.
- Last year, The Congress and the Biden admin passed a piece of legislation buried in the FY23 NDAA outlining the direction and processes to pursue the topic: a fully funded office via the DIA (AARO the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) to further assess the reality and implications of UAP. This legislation, sponsored by both republicans and democrats, is quite astonishing to say the least. A few stipulations- 1. It calls for all gov documents on the UFO/UAP topic to be up cycled to this office dating back to 1945 (there's a thread to pull, what happened in 1945? hint- Jaques Vallee knows). 2. It provides sweeping whistleblower protections for current or former government or contractor personnel who have information relating to government sponsored UAP initiatives or UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs. Please see Christopher Mellon's blog post for more details on the contents of this unprecedented UAP legislation package.
- Scientific groups such as UAPx and the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies have both thrown their hats in the ring and are developing best practices for the study of this phenomenon, with some amazing results thus far. Many of the data points suggest our model of physics remains incomplete or misunderstood (that's quite the sentence, I know).
- Entrepreneurship and private enterprise is also playing a key role in the initial study and analysis of anomalous happenings. There is a focus on multiple domains, including: near earth orbit/space, all levels of our atmosphere, and within our oceans. One example, Enigma Labs, is spinning up a data repository for sightings and experiences that will eventually be equipped with modern AI and machine learning tools to separate signals from noise, look for patterns, and exploit capabilities for commercial use. According to many other business and tech leaders here in Silicon Valley, the appetite for making strategic investments into studying and exploiting this phenomenon is robust.
(There is a lot to unpack in this subject. This is basic surface level information) "What's the point of it all, Tim?" you might ask: well...if there is
substantial interest from the US government (including Congress and the Executive branch), current and former US DoD and IC representatives, leading minds in academia from premier universities, multidisciplinary scientific bodies and think tanks, and private enterprise, WHERE IS THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA?! There is there there. Why aren't there journalists here here? Where are the leaders in journalism who took a journalistic oath to pull the threads that need to be pulled, follow the facts where they lead, and shine light into the darkness on the public's behalf? (That was only slightly preachy, right?) My point is, outside of a handful of reporters who do short segments on this topic, there isn't a single American investigative journalist with the bonafides of a Murray MAder, or Bob Woodward, or Carl Bernstein, or Ida Tarbell, etc etc, who have had the courage to follow the mountain of leads relating to this subject. Ross Coulthart in Australia is the only notable reporter who is actively pursuing this story. Surely, this has the implications to be the biggest story of all time, right? So where are the reporters? Where are you and your colleagues? Conspiracy theories aside (of which there are many), the heaps of anecdotal evidence is there. The physical evidence is lacking, which is a total understatement. The actions of the aforementioned groups should be evidence enough to motivate some big names in journalism to do their job. It takes courage to wade through decades of stigma and ridicule. I'd like to see more risks in this direction, and I think your team is well equipped to handle it. This might sound sensational, because it is in fact, very sensational. In my opinion, the only way to reveal whether that sensation is merited or not is to disinfect it with sunlight. What could be more interesting than to discover that the world we inhabit is a much much bigger place than we once thought, and that maybe non-human intelligence is not only something we're close to creating, but the universe has already iterated, and shipped it. Thank you for reading, whoever you are. I love the show and will continue listening. In keeping with show tradition I'll sign off by leaving you with my 3 book recommendations on the topic:
- American Cosmic: UFO's, Religion, and Technology- By Diana Walsh-Pasulka
- UFO's: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials go on the Record- By Leslie Kean
- In Plain Sight: An Investigation into UFO's and Impossible Science- Ross Coulthart
Maybe consider having a conversation with Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, former AWSAP director Dr Colm Kelleher, former UAP Task Force Director Jay Stratton, Sen Kirsten Gillabrand, Sen Marco Rubio, Rep Matt Gallagher, former Deputy Secretary for Defense and Intelligence Christopher Mellon, former AATIP Director Luis Elizondo, Leslie Kean, Dr Garry Nolan, Jaques Vallee, Avi Loeb, Dr Eric Davis, Diana Walsh-Puslka, Ross Coulthart, etc. Good places to start.
Best,
Timeye13
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2023.06.08 00:23 sonofabutch Smoked out tonight, so let's remember a forgotten Yankee: Tom "Smoke" Sturdivant
The 1950s Yankee dynasty had some great hitters -- Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Moose Skowron, Hank Bauer, Gil McDougald, just to name a few -- but the key to going to eight World Series between 1950 and 1959 (and winning six of them) was a pitching staff that led the league in ERA in five of those 10 seasons -- and in the top three in all 10!
Whitey Ford was the ace of the staff, going an unbelievable 121-50 (.708 W%) with a 2.66 ERA (140 ERA+) between 1950 and 1959. And that was with Casey Stengel often skipping Ford against weaker teams to save him for tougher match-ups, meaning that most of those wins came against top competition. In 1956, for example, the Chairman of the Board had 10 starts against teams with losing records, and 20 starts against teams with records of .500 or better. He went 7-1 with a 2.27 ERA against the losers, and 12-5 with a 2.59 ERA against the winners!
But behind Ford were some pretty good if less famous pitchers, including Allie Reynolds, Eddie Lopat, Tommy Byrne, and Bob Grim. And another, even lesser known hurler won two rings as a key member of the Yankee rotation:
Tom Sturdivant.
A hard enough thrower in his youth that he got the nickname "Smoke," by the time Sturdivant reached the Yankees he was called "Snake" because of the way his pitches moved. He threw a curve that broke away from right-handed batters, a screwball that broke away from lefties, a sinking fastball, and a looping change-up. All were good pitches, but none of them was great. Ted Williams was asked how Sturdivant was so successful without overpowering stuff, and he replied:
"Maybe he hasn’t got a thing. But I notice one thing. He keeps winning."
Eventually he did find a thing, though. Particularly later in his career, Sturdivant became known for his knuckleball. He would call it his "money pitch." He also complained about the pitch like an unruly pet, saying "it just won't act right 'til late in the season."
Born in Gordon, Kansas, on April 28, 1930,
Thomas Virgil Sturdivant grew up in Oklahoma City and attended Capitol Hill High School. Sturdivant was signed by Yankee scout Tom Greenwade, who also signed another kid from Oklahoma, Mickey Mantle. Like Mantle, Sturdivant was signed as an infielder. But Sturdivant also was a pretty good pitcher as a teenager, as Greenwade told a reporter:
"Used to be a high-school pitcher in Oklahoma City, you know. And one of the greatest. He set some kind of record. More than 100 innings without being scored on."
Sturdivant struggled to hit his first few seasons as an infielder in the minors, hitting .246 in 281 at-bats in 1950. He then spent all of 1951 and much of 1952 in the U.S. Army, and -- as happened to most major leaguers drafted into the service -- spent most of his time playing baseball for a base team. (As Whitey Ford once said: "Army life was rough. Would you believe it, they actually wanted me to pitch three times a week!") Sturdivant's success pitching in the Army, as well as a leg injury that cost him some of his running speed, convinced him he should ask the Yankees to try him at pitching.
"I knew I wasn't getting anywhere, batting .246 in Class B, so I decided I'd better try something else if I wanted to stay in baseball, which I did, badly."
He returned from the Army in time to pitch 86 innings with the Yankees' Double-A affiliate, the Beaumont Roughnecks, and went 3-3 with a 3.56 ERA. His days as an infielder were over.
Sturdivant went 10-7 with a 2.98 ERA in Double-A the following season, and 8-9 with a 3.57 ERA in Triple-A the year after that. Yankee pitcher Allie Reynolds, a fellow graduate of Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City who had gone 20-8 for the Yankees in 1952, had retired after the 1954 season. That winter, he worked with Sturdivant and told him he might make the Yankees in spring. Sturdivant's hard work that off-season impressed manager Casey Stengel. "We learned that he can be a fighter, and that's what we want with this club," he said.
He made the team out of spring training and made his major league debut on April 14 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park -- Boston's home opener. Bob Grim started the game and was bombed for five runs on seven hits through six innings. Sturdivant entered the game in the 7th, with the score 5-2, and gave up another run. The Yankees battled back in the bottom of the 8th, scoring two runs on back-to-back singles from Elston Howard and Jerry Coleman to make it a two-run game, but Sturdivant gave up a two-run single in the 8th to pitcher Ellis Kinder to put the game out of reach again, and the Yankees lost, 8-4.
In 33 games that year, Sturdivant posted a 3.16 ERA and a 1.302 WHIP, not bad for a rookie. He didn't give up a lot of hits, but he did walk 41 men in 68.1 innings. Stengel didn't mind that, though. In a 2020 article,
"Big Walkers", Bill James wrote about how Stengel employed a strategy of "pitching around" power hitters. When a slugger was at the plate, pitchers were coached to work the edges of the plate, not giving him anything good to hit. He might chase pitches and strike out... he might hit something off the end of the bat... or he might walk. Any of the three, in Stengel's opinion, was a better outcome than throwing a pitch down the middle to a guy who could hit it 450 feet.
As a result, the Yankees often were near the top in walks allowed -- but also in fewest home runs allowed. And also in double plays. And also, not coincidentally, in earned run average.
In his five seasons with the Yankees, Sturdivant walked 221 batters in 524.1 innings (3.8 BB/9), but only gave up 45 home runs (0.8 H9). He also induced 44 double plays. James, in looking at what made the Yankees successful in the 1950s, discovered that they had a huge differential in HR-GIDP. In 1955, Sturdivant's first year in the league, the Yankees hit 175 home runs, and grounded into 101 double plays (+74). Yankee opponents had 108 home runs, and grounded in 145 double plays (-37). In 1956, the Yankes were +86, their opponents -53.
James wrote:
This is not a typical championship team pattern. In many areas, the 1950s Yankees were just an ordinary team. They really had only one outstanding starting pitcher, while Cleveland usually had three or four. But the Yankees huge advantages in Home Runs vs. Double Plays enabled them to win almost every year.
Sturdivant rode this strategy to back-to-back 16-win seasons, going 16-8 with a 3.30 ERA (118 ERA+) in 1956, and 16-6 with a 2.54 ERA (142 ERA+) in 1957.
After those two great seasons, though, Sturdivant's career went up in... well... smoke.
In Spring Training 1958, he held out for a raise, eventually signing for $18,000, a $4,000 raise from what he'd made the year before. He gave up 10 runs in his first two starts of the year, and then missed a month with a sore arm. When he came back, he was hit hard in his next three starts, and was banished to the bullpen. After a pretty good month (8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K), he was put back into the rotation, and went 3-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 32.2 innings, but his arm still wasn't quite right, and he missed some time in August due to a heel injury. He was on the World Series roster in 1958, but didn't pitch.
All off season there were rumors that Sturdivant was on the trading block, and after another slow start -- 0-2 with a 4.97 ERA, and still bothered by his sore arm -- he was dealt to the Yankees' favorite trading partner in the late 1950s, the Kansas City Athletics. "Snake", along with Jerry Lumpe and Johnny Kucks, was dealt for Ralph Terry and previously forgotten Yankee
Hector Lopez -- a pretty good deal for the Yankees, as Terry and Lopez helped the Yankees to five straight pennants and two championships between 1960 and 1964. Lumpe, a little used utility player with the Yankees, proved to be a solid regular for the Athletics and then an All-Star with the Tigers in 1964. But Kucks, an All-Star with the Yankees in 1956, was done, going 12-21 with a 4.78 ERA (84 ERA+) in two seasons with the Athletics, and was out of baseball after the 1960 season.
Sturdivant would hang around another five seasons, and pitch for six different teams! He went from the Athletics to the Senators -- not the original Senators, who were now the Twins, but the expansion team founded in 1961 that would become the Rangers in 1972 -- then the Pirates, the Tigers, back to the Athletics, and then rejoined Casey Stengel on the Mets in 1964. Over that stretch he went 21-20 with a 4.16 ERA and 1.301 WHIP as a swingman.
The 34-year-old Sturdivant announced prior to the 1964 season he was running for the Oklahoma State Senate and that he'd quit baseball if elected in November. The Mets beat him to it, though, releasing him in May after he posted a 5.97 ERA in 28.2 innings. Maybe more as a campaign ploy, in July Sturdivant signed with the Oklahoma City 89ers. He went 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA and 1.365 WHIP in 74.0 innings. He lost the election, and retired from baseball.
After that, Sturdivant owned a trucking company and tried to drum up support for the Hall of Fame case for his old mentor Allie Reynolds.
In 2000, the 69-year-old Sturdivant was in a serious car accident. Someone -- he never learned who -- found him on the roadside, thrown from his truck after it had rolled five times. When the ambulance arrived, they thought he was dead. They strapped his body to a stretcher and loaded him into an ambulance.
Sturdivant told sportswriter Brian Jensen:
"When we were driving to the hospital, I was in the back and they had me strapped down and I guess when I came to, I raised my head and I said, 'hey could y'all call my wife for me,' and the driver almost jumped out of the van. It just wasn't time for me to go."
He had broken his back, both hips, his pelvic bone, his tailbone, multiple ribs, and had a punctured lung. He never recovered.
"I don't have a life," Sturdivant said. "You know, I have a hard time remembering a lot of stuff and I'm kind of slow. I kind of have little spells where I pass out and have a hard time walking straight."
Sturdivant died on February 28, 2009.
Smoke Show:
- According to a 2010 article in Sports Illustrated, Mickey Mantle hurt himself while playing golf with Sturdivant in 1957. Sturdivant must have been having a better game than Mantle was, because at some point the Mick threw his putter in frustration. The putter hit a tree and knocked off a large branch, and then either the putter or the branch landed on Mantle's leg, giving him a nasty cut. Mantle missed five games due to what the Yankees told reporters at the time was "shin splits."
- Another key starting pitcher for the Yankees in the early 1950s: Forgotten Yankee Vic Raschi, "The Springfield Rifle." Raschi had one of the all-time great lines about pitching: "My best pitch is anything the batter grounds, lines, or pops in the direction of Rizzuto."
- Sturdivant wore #47 all five years he was with the Yankees. He was, according to baseball-reference.com, the first Yankee to wear the number. The number is currently assigned to Frankie Montas; prior to that, it was worn by Jordan Montgomery. Other #47's include Ivan Nova, Shane Spencer, Dave Silvestri, and Roy Fontenot. Luis Arroyo, the Yankee closer from 1960 to 1963, wore #47.
- In addition to Tom Sturdivant and Allie Reynolds, the other graduates of Capitol Hill High School to play in the majors were 1960s outfielder Don Demeter, 1950s infielder Jerry Snyder, and 1980s outfielder George Wright, though none played for the Yankees. The Yankees signed another pitcher out of Capitol Hill High School, a righty named Bob Shipman, but he never made the majors despite going 32-14 between 1953 and 1955 in the Yankee system.
- Demeter later became a pastor in Oklahoma City, and Sturdivant was a member of his church!
- The Yankees almost released Sturdivant early in the 1956 season. Hoping to sneak him back down to the minors, the Yankees put him on waivers, but Detroit manager Bucky Harris put in a claim for him. Harris had been the Yankee manager prior to Casey Stengel, and after leaving the Yankees went to the Senators, where he had picked up a number of former Yankee pitchers -- Bob Porterfield, Fred Sanford, Tom Ferrick, and Spec Shea. (They also acquired previously forgotten Yankee Jackie Jensen.) For whatever reason, ex-Yankee pitchers on the Senators seemed to dramatically improve. Now Harris was on the Tigers, and wanted Sturdivant. Thinking Harris must know something, the Yankees pulled him back. Apparently Harris did know something, as Sturdivant went 32-14 with a 2.88 ERA over the next two seasons!
- In the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Sturdivant started Game 4, and did what he usually did: He gave up six walks, but no home runs, and got a double play. He went the distance and the Yankees won the game, 6-2, to even the World Series at two games each. After the game, the Associated Press called it "the best pitching job in the series." Sturdivant's glory was short-lived, however: the next day, Don Larsen threw a perfect game.
- The infielder turned pitcher because he couldn't hit was a pretty good hitter for a pitcher in 1956, when he hit .313 with a double and a triple in 64 at-bats. Overall, though, he hit just .183/.208/.195 in 364 career plate appearances. Moving to the mound was a good decision!
- No relation, and spelled differently anyway: Tyler Sturdevant, who pitched in the minors for the Indians from 2009 to 2015. He finally made his debut with the Rays in 2016, at age 30, with a not-bad 3.93 ERA and 1.309 WHIP in 18.1 innings. The following year he was in the A's system, but he never got another trip of the Show.
Sturdivant remained a Yankee for life. After his playing days were over and he was living in Oklahoma, he was an early adopter of a subscription service that allowed him to watch Yankee games!
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2023.06.08 00:20 VeraKatzHologram Feds Investigating Former Oregon Secretary Of State And Owners Of Marijuana Company
2023.06.08 00:18 goerila Contender for worst map of Minnesota
2023.06.08 00:13 Elocutus55 Need the Herd Mind for options…
I am 67 years old and am at odds with my current ride, my ‘03 BMW R1150R. It’s fabulous, but I’m having a real problem dealing with the weight. This is bike #34 for me, and it’s not the heaviest I’ve ever ridden. I usages to have a ‘14 Honda Gold Wing F6B (bagger) I rode for 2 years until…cancer. I was diagnosed in summer of 2016, had surgery and 6 months of chemo. During the chemo days I flopped the F6B over at a stop light because of general weakness and some atrophy that was sneaking up on me. I wanted to cry…that bike was my best bike ever, and I just let it flop over. Two really nice men behind me in a ratty pickup truck jumped out and picked it up for me and helped calm me down. I rode the rest of the way home (South Florida) being careful to time all the lights to get home. That was the last ride on it for a long time. Eventually I had to do something. The chemo was long over, and I felt bad about it sitting outside in the heat even though I had the specific high end cover on it. After one of those nuisance hurricanes blew the cover into a neighbor’s yard, and feeling ongoing weakness in my legs, I became afraid to ride it. A dealer 30 miles away came and picked it up to service it and check for damage. This was fine, but when I went to fetch the bike, with my new Ranger Lariat and a U-haul, the dealer wouldn’t even show me my bike. This mega powersport dealer wanted my 5 year old F6B, and wouldn’t even roll it out for me to see. After some serious grumbling from me (I had patronized them many times before), I asked them to help me get it in the U-Haul. They balked and started to try to sell me a new bike. I still hadn’t laid eyes on my bike, and I had been there that day for nearly two hours. Because I knew my legs weren’t much improved, even after weeks of physical therapy, I suddenly decided that I might be willing to deal for something else, nice, flashy, and lighter. Two hours later I owned a 2017 Triumph Street Twin. That went into the trailer, and I never saw my F6B again. I wanted to cry again. I started on Hondas back in ‘71, had all those intervening bikes, and bought the Triumph without ever riding it. It went home in my trailer that was then loaded with all my goods so that I could move to the fantastic Pacific Northwest! It was 2019. Then came COVID. I was there to complete my emigration to Canada (new wife). But, many problems arose and the bike was parked in a storage unit, then a house I had to rent b/c I couldn’t bring all my stuff into Canada b/c my immigration process bogged down, and COVID came to kick everybody’s ass. After putting three hundred miles or so, the Triumph sat in a garage up a badly graveled road, so my fear of falling off of the bike was amplified even more. There it sat from September of 2019 until I finally got to enter Canada in May of 2020. But not the bike. More paperwork, and grief. The bike sat in Northern WA state for another year until I sold it thinking my riding days were up, and that I needed counseling or something about my trepidation on falling over again. TL:DR, right? However, I CANNOT NOT HAVE A MOTORCYCLE IN MY LIFE. So, having lost so much money on the F6B and the Triumph, I had to start saving all over again. That’s when I found the BMW for a great price. I got it, rode it home about thirty miles (US speedometer), pulled into the 30 degree slope up to get to our underground parking garage driveway that requires a 90 degree left turn to immediately drop down to the garage gate. Did you guess? I didn’t hit the driveway exactly, was nervous, and we went down right there, scraping the …. out of my left knee. Again, two house painters saw it and came to help me up. I wanted to cry. Got the bike down into the subterranean garage, and it sat while COVID was raging in Canada like everywhere else. I went down to the garage to clean it, pamper it, charging it up and running it. Then, as I was trying to get used to being married again, and some real anxiety, the BMW sat for a while until we were forced to move because of the rental crisis screwing us out of a place to live. June, 2022, we moved and I successfully rode the bike to our new location, on a hill, again. It has been down there ever since. It’s beautiful, old school cool, bright red and breaking my heart. So, here’s the real question: I need to sell it on and get something 100 pounds lighter. Because I’m really a Honda guy at heart, I’ve been looking for a used Hornet 600 or CB500F. I would rather have a four than a twin, though, and need something turnkey reliable, but not boring. I’ve lost 70 pounds, walk 7-8 miles every day, but my legs can stride but not push up or squat. The cancer and atrophy have left me needing to downsize my bike. In southern BC, I need to find my forever bike. #35 will probably be the last one, and my budget is shriveled to around $8,000 CAD. I’ve been trolling Kijiji, looking for a nice Honda, a Kawasaki W650, or whatever I can fit. I’m 6’4” so cruisers are out and too heavy. Sporty bike, less than 425 pounds, and one I can be happy with. Should have never let the Triumph go. I could ride it easily without any fear.
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2023.06.08 00:13 LauCoh 41F [Chat] Never have any luck with anyone reading the full post. Maybe it’ll change today.
Hi. I’m feeling really old at 41! But I had recently did a photoshoot earlier this week for the New York Hampton cover edition and it made me feel young! Must be the glam and the different outfits I had to be in. It was a fun experience and made me reflect how far I came (because it was for work). I’m typically not a fashion person, more so a T-shirt and jeans type of person. Rarely apply makeup unless I have to for work. A tomboyish style for a tomboyish person that I am!
I’m from Cherry Hill, NJ. I moved to the UK when I was around 13 years old and stayed until I finished University in my early 20s. I went to study theatre and performing arts. Missed the pastry in the UK, cannot get that fresh oven quality here in the states. The tea as well. I was involved in a car accident a decade ago and ever since I’ve had back issues. Really hard for me to sometimes bend, walk, and have mobility in my lower back. That’s a lot of why I feel old and maybe has to do with my tomboyish style.
Hopefully there’s people that read this, wouldn’t want to write this for no reason! I would like to get the same effort back if we converse. Trying to establish a discussion with substance so try to write back to every point that I made.
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2023.06.08 00:10 ThrowRA_0417 How do I (26F) know it’s time to break up with my (33M) boyfriend?
Context: I’m looking for objective opinions/validation for my thoughts on breaking up. My (26F) boyfriend (33M) and I have been together for about 4.5 years. We have lived together for the last 2 years (first in an apartment, and just recently moved into a house in May 2023). The house belongs to my family, and while we have renovated and pay rent, we don’t own the house together. Lately I’ve been feeling like we are not compatible long term. We have had what I would consider a ‘normal’ heterosexual relationship. We’ve had a handful of minor fights over the years, but neither of us have ever discussed a breakup. We have talked about marriage, and he says he’s on the same page as me (we both want to get married, and we both are open but not set on having kids). I feel like this is a bare minimum relationship- my partner is not very emotionally available, he does not complement me much (unless I ask a probing question like “Do I look pretty?”) he states he has no timeline for marriage, and our sex life has dramatically diminished to almost nothing. I’m talking once every 1-2 months, and in the beginning of our relationship it was multiple times a week. He is not ambitious in his personal/career life, and I am very ambitious and continue to strive for better opportunities. I know relationships are a 2-way street, but I can’t help but feel like I am undervalued in this relationship. Plain and simple, I have communicated my needs a few times already, and they are not being met. This relationship has started to feel like we’re simply roommates, and not in a committed romantic relationship. He is a good person, he has supported me through some family personal matters, and he moved from about an hour away from his friends and family to live together with me, in my hometown where my family and friends all are. I have talked to some friends and they think it’s definitely time to break up. I’ve talked to my mom, and she thinks I might be romanticizing my future too much, and that I have a nice guy and I should reevaluate my expectations. I have always been on the receiving end of a breakup, and I worry about feeling guilty for my decision to break up. Additionally, since it’s my family’s house, I would be keeping the house obviously and he would likely move rather quickly, which makes me feel bad given we have been doing all of these updates and sharing the financial responsibility. I’m not a scumbag, so if we were to break up, I would pay him for all of the renovations he’s paid for. Please give me advice on what I should do. Am I overreacting and being selfish, or should I run for the hills?
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2023.06.08 00:10 rspring28 East MI newbie — need advice on suburbs to live in?
Hi everyone, I need advice and input about good areas to live that:
- Aren't crazy expensive (1450/month is doable for me)
- Have a decent amount of things to do
- Are safe (if I need to go to the store at night I'll be fine kind of safe)
- Aren't a terrible commute to the Troy area (obviously not including Troy)
I've looked at RochesteRochester Hills but the average age there seems quite... high. Like old folks' communities around every corner.
I've looked in Royal Oak but the prices of apartments are a little crazy.
What are your experiences? Thanks in advance!
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2023.06.08 00:06 Whosyahudi Worth more than face value?
2023.06.07 23:45 EfficientChoice4415 My 1862 civil war bulletin from estate sale
2023.06.07 23:34 Icy_Appointment8852 [Diplomacy] June 67, Taught them respect. Now Jerusalem is ours.
"Those in the international community that refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel." -
Benjamin Netanyahu [Private] The Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen, is to travel to Europe, with the first meetings in the French Republic for meetings with their French counterpart. France and Israel have long been close partners and allies, with the joint purpose of safety, stability and security in the Near Middle East. France has gone as far as acknowledging Israel's right to exist
recently when others have undermined it time and time again.
Therefore we speak as friends, and as cultural siblings. Over the past number of years, the situation in the Middle East has rapidly shifted, and the biggest threat to the region, Iran, has become ever more aggressive towards peaceful nations like Israel. While other Arabs have begun to turn away from anti-Semitic remarks, the Iranians have clamped down on it.
We are particularly concerned about the potential naval threat from the Iranians on the Red Sea. We believe that Israel need to protect itself by having the ability to deploy our present fleet of F-35s further afield, and a light aircraft carrier (helicopter carrieVTOL carrier) has been proven to be a cost-effective solution for countries like France and Algeria.
Therefore we propose a joint project between France, Israel and Poland. France will provide the naval expertise. Israel will provide the technical equipment and armaments. Poland will lead the construction in order to reduce labour cost.
Additionally, we wish to ask France to push for an EU implementation of an Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) on Israeli fossil fuel products, as an ACAA doesn't currently exist for this particular industry.
Minister Cohen shall then travel to the United Kingdom for meetings with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Israeli-British friendship has been a strong component of our relationship since independence. From the Suez Crisis to the present day, our two nations have come to rely on each other for security in the region.
As a result, as the UK might be aware, the security situation is rapidly deteriorating and Israel will need to take all measures possible to secure our position in the region. Therefore we would like to put in an order for two Dreadnought-class Ballistic missile submarines.
As well as that, Israel would like to move forward and negotiate a free trade deal with the UK, similar to the one we currently have with the EU and expand upon our continuity agreement that was signed post-Brexit.
The Minister shall then travel to Poland to meet with the Prime Minister of Poland
Friends. Romans. Countrymen.
The relationship between Israel and Poland is like any other. We've had our ups, and our downs. But common threats to both country's easts may lead to a common need for cooperation.
It is quite clear that both Moscow and Tehran have grown quite close in recent years. In order to achieve any sort of Polish-Israeli cooperation to tackle the Moscow-Tehran Axis of Evil, the Israeli Government firstly requests that the Polish Government withdraws the property restitution law which prevents victims of the Holocaust from claiming back their property as this poses a roadblock to better relations.
Secondly, the Israeli Government is willing to offer Poland discounts on certain defensive equipment if Poland is willing to join a joint Franco-Israeli-Polish project to build a light aircraft carrier to accommodate the F-35, or a possible variant thereof. Poland shall assist with reducing labour costs in the construction phase.
Lastly, we require Poland to lobby on Israel's behalf to the US and the EU. We require more and more nations to withdraw support of Palestine and move their embassies to Jerusalem, (including Poland) in order to tackle growing Iranian influence, and we believe Poland is instrumental in this.
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2023.06.07 23:30 Cyril178 Hike 6-7 days in Colorado, without a car
Dear Hikers,
I am coming from Switzerland to Denver in mid June and while I am there, I would like to hike for 6-7 days in this beautiful region. I have started looking at trails and there is so many of it. I would like to do it in the hill/moutain area of colorado (not the desert)
First of all, like stated in the title I won't have a car. I really don't mind hitch hiking (is it a thing here?) or taking the train.
I was wondering if any of you have recommendation, I'm looking for an area that is not crowded, I don't need amazing scenery but mostly a nice wilderness area that have a hiking trail. And like I said I will need somewhere accessible without my own car, so I can imagine a trails that end nearby a road to hitch hike? I can be very patient. Ideally an area where I won't need a permit to camp overnight, and there will be water that I can purify on the road.
Many thanks in advance,
Cyril
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2023.06.07 23:28 RobotTomPeterson OLCC: Feds requested records related to Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, La Mota
2023.06.07 23:18 Dismal-Jellyfish Commissioner Hester M. Peirce: "Although I agree with the objectives of these rules—namely, to reduce the incidence of misconduct in the security-based swap markets—these final rules leave unaddressed concerns I had at the proposing stage about their breadth, and I accordingly cannot support them."
| Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/peirce-statement-security-based-swaps-060723 Thank you, Mr. Chair. As we have just heard, today the Commission will vote on finalizing Rule 9j-1, which would prohibit fraud and manipulation involving purchases and sales of security-based swaps, and Rule 15fh-4(c), which would prohibit coercion, manipulation, or deception of a security-based swap entity’s chief compliance officer. Although I agree with the objectives of these rules—namely, to reduce the incidence of misconduct in the security-based swap markets—these final rules leave unaddressed concerns I had at the proposing stage about their breadth, and I accordingly cannot support them. The version of Rule 9j-1 before us today is better than the proposed version. The final rule would adopt a considerably narrower definitions of purchase and sale than the expansive proposed definitions that would have covered the performance of obligations arising out of a security-based swap for the life of the transaction. The definitions in the final rule instead generally tracks the Dodd-Frank definitions of these terms. This change should reduce the likelihood that every action taken by a counterparty to a security-based swap during the life of the transaction, including actions required under the swap’s terms, will expose it to liability. In another positive change, the release also makes clear that attempted violations of the rule require scienter. Finally, the affirmative defenses should mitigate—even if they do not eliminate—the risk that the rule might make it impossible for a lender, which will often possess material non-public information on its borrowers, to use credit default swaps to hedge the risks of those loans. Notwithstanding these improvements, the final rule is still overly broad. The affirmative defenses may not provide market participants with sufficient clarity to allow them, for example, to feel confident somebody on a firm’s trading desk can hedge a loan using security-based swaps when the firm has obtained material non-public information in connection with the loan. As another example, the negligence standard applicable to paragraphs (a)(3) and (a)(4) of the rule may facilitate second-guessing in enforcement actions. Most concerning, however, is an overbroad anti-manipulation provision directed at manufactured credit events and other types of opportunistic trading strategies. This provision, too, has been narrowed since the proposal; the provision no longer contains the “directly or indirectly” language, and the release makes clear that violation of this provision requires scienter. But the release describes the scope of the provision in the same broad and ambiguous terms to which I objected when the rule was proposed.[1] Indeed, in words nearly identical to those in the proposal, the release explains that this provision would apply to “an action taken for the purposes of avoiding or causing, or increasing or decreasing, a payment under a security-based swap in a manner that would not have occurred but for such actions.”[2] As did the proposing release, the adopting release does attempt to provide assurance to market participants that the Commission will use this provision to pursue only “actions taken outside the ordinary course of a typical lender-borrower relationship.”[3] Yet, as one commenter noted, market participants must look to the text of the rule, [4] which makes no reference to (and offers no safe harbor for) actions taken in the ordinary course. Moreover, the Commission repeatedly notes in this discussion that whether an action is taken in the ordinary course is a “facts and circumstances” inquiry under which the Commission will review “all relevant facts.”[5] Although this approach does ensure maximum flexibility for the Commission to pursue misconduct that is hard to describe ex ante, it does so at the expense of clarity for firms that will have to guess at what facts the Commission may, in hindsight, determine to be relevant. The Commission feels compelled to preserve maximum flexibility for itself because it is trying to prohibit harmful but exceedingly difficult-to-define behavior that has occasionally appeared in the credit default swap markets. This behavior includes manufactured credit events and other opportunistic trading strategies that can cause the market to question whether these instruments will serve the purposes for which they were designed. Drawing in advance a line that cleanly distinguishes between manipulative conduct and actions taken in the normal course of business, even if they are unseemly and potentially unfair, is difficult. That the opportunistic trading strategies the rule targets have occurred relatively infrequently, and that each generally has presented distinct facts, makes the rule-writing task more difficult. Preserving discretion for the Commission could chill, unnecessarily, perfectly legitimate trading strategies or exercises of a counterparty’s rights under a security-based swap.[6] Moreover, as one commenter noted, security-based swaps are often used to hedge complex financing arrangements that involve heavily negotiated terms providing the lenders with a range of options to protect themselves from the borrower’s default.[7] Lenders worried that they may not be able to exercise such rights without affecting the value of the security-based swap in a way that the Commission later might view as manipulative may be less willing to provide financing in the first place.[8] Moreover, because the release suggests that action—such as rescuing a failing firm—will be subject to greater scrutiny than inaction—such as letting a failing firm collapse—the rule risks spurring inaction and thus reducing market efficiency.[9] Some circumstances might warrant a rule with these chilling effects, but no such circumstances are present here. The targeted misconduct has occurred only relatively infrequently in this market. Our anti-fraud rules likely already prohibit some of that conduct.[10] And, in a demonstration of the power of private ordering, market participants themselves have addressed some of the offending conduct. Sophisticated repeat players are well-placed to police one another for undesirable conduct, even if it is not illegal. In 2018, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association publicly acknowledged that these manufactured credit event strategies could affect negatively the security-based swap market and in 2019 made its Narrowly Tailored Credit Event Protocol available for adherence by counterparties.[11] This Protocol appears to have eliminated much of the destructive behavior simply by introducing greater uncertainty that these strategies could succeed. As the release notes, this Protocol does not address every possible such strategy, but, the release also does not challenge one commenter’s assertion that these strategies have become “extremely infrequent.”[12] In short, the Commission’s desire to maximize its own flexibility in this anti-manipulation provision does not seem to further any regulatory objective. To the contrary, this rule likely will deter far more entirely legitimate activity than it will prevent truly manipulative activity. The Commission instead should delay taking any action here and wait to see whether the problem of opportunistic trading strategies is significant enough to warrant a solution as blunt as the one before us today. We can all agree with the sentiment of Rule 15fh-4(c): coercing, manipulating, or deceiving a CCO is bad behavior. But regulation—even regulation that prohibits bad things—always involves trade-offs. Will subjecting every interaction between employees and a CCO to potential legal liability empower the CCO to do her job or simply make employees less likely to approach the CCO to seek her input on compliance-related issues? I do have a few questions: If a bank provides a loan to a customer and, in the process of negotiating the terms of that loan comes into possession of material non-public information, would the affirmative defenses permit the bank to hedge that loan exposure through a credit default swap? If so, under what conditions? LSTA noted in its March 2022 letter that the broad language of the anti-manipulation provision coupled with the use of a facts and circumstances test to determine whether a transaction was in the ordinary course would likely chill perfectly legitimate exercises of a lender’s rights expressly provided for in heavily negotiated financing arrangements.[13] Can you provide me any comfort that these fears are groundless? The economic analysis suggests that Rule 9j-1 will benefit the market by reducing fraud and manipulation, including opportunistic trading strategies, and thereby increase confidence in the security-based swap market. In July 2022, the Managed Funds Association submitted a comment letter presenting data that it claimed suggested that there was no evidence of any lack of confidence among market participants.[14] The economic analysis seems to wave this evidence away as not persuasive, but does not provide any countervailing evidence that the market is laboring under a significant risk of fraud or manipulation. Is there any such evidence? What evidence, if any, do we have that manufactured credit events or other opportunistic trading strategies continue to present a risk to the market? One law firm submitted a comment letter identifying different types of market activity it described as “legitimate” that “would be threatened by” Rule 9j-1.[15] I’d like to understand better how the staff would view these examples from that letter: “An investor who holds CDS (either long or short) participating in an ad hoc restructuring group.” “An investor who holds bonds and has bought CDS refusing to consent to a restructuring, choosing to rely on CDS protection.” “An investor who owns bonds and has sold CDS selling bonds back to the Reference Entity.” “An investor who has sold CDS providing rescue financing to distressed issuers.” The release states that “misconduct that affects the payments and deliveries under one security-based swap could be prohibited by final Rule 9j-1 if that misconduct occurs in connection with effecting or attempting to effect transactions or purchasing or selling or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any security-based swap, and not just the security-based swap that was the subject of the misconduct.”[16] Could you provide an example of what type of misconduct this might encompass? The final rule prohibits manipulation of the price or valuation of a security-based swap. The release states that “the pricing and valuation of security-based swaps are intrinsically connected.”[17] If this is the case, why is it necessary to prohibit manipulation of valuation, given that manipulation of valuation would also almost certainly result in manipulation of price? Although I cannot support today’s adoption of these rules, I do appreciate the effort that the staff put into reviewing the comments and taking to heart those comments in an effort to make the rule more workable. I especially appreciate the time that Carol McGee spent with me to answer my questions about the rule and Pam Carmody’s work on drafting it. I also want to acknowledge the contributions of the Office of the General Counsel. What Hester is against: https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2023/34-97656.pdf Overview of Security-Based Swaps Security-Based Swaps Generally: - Although the definition of security-based swap is detailed and comprehensive, at its most basic level, a security-based swap is an agreement, contract, or transaction in which two parties agree to the exchange of payments or cash flows based upon the value of other assets or upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of some event, including, for example, a change in a stock price or the occurrence of some type of credit event.
- The exchange of these payments or deliveries, including purchases or sales upon certain events, is a fundamental aspect or feature of a security-based swap.
- Moreover, this feature of security-based swaps is in contrast to secondary market transactions involving equity or debt securities where the completion of a purchase or sale transaction terminates the mutual obligations of the parties.
- Security-based swap counterparties, who are considered the issuers of the security-based swaps, continue to have obligations to one another throughout the life of the instrument, which can extend for years if not decades.
- Parties may enter into a security-based swap for a multitude of reasons, but often, the parties to the contract seek to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or to manage or transfer risks in their asset and liability portfolios (e.g., credit or equity risks).
- Typical participants in the security-based swap market include, among others, lenders transferring credit risk, insurance companies managing asset and liability risk specific to the insurance industry, activists or hedge funds obtaining exposure to the price movement and dividend payments of a stock without the costs and burdens of stock ownership, and financial institutions that engage in market-making and dealing in security-based swaps.
- The terms of the contract between the counterparties determine the specific rights and obligations of the parties throughout the life of the security-based swap, including, for example, the amount and timing of periodic payments due under the instrument, the maturity of the instrument, and terms of settlement.
- Unlike other types of securities where settlement occurs when the buyer receives the security purchased and the seller receives cash equaling the value of the security sold, for security-based swaps, a final net payment is paid by one party to the other at a future point in time to which the parties have contractually agreed.
Two common examples of security-based swaps – credit default swaps (“CDS”) and total return swaps (“TRS”) - Generally, a CDS is a contract in which a party (the “protection buyer”), such as a lender, agrees to make periodic payments (the “premium”) over an agreed upon time period to another party (the “protection seller”) in exchange for a payment from the protection seller in the event of default by an issuer (or group of issuers) of securities (the “reference entity”).
- The CDS contract states whether the CDS is settled physically or in cash in the event of default by the reference entity. Generally, the protection buyer is using the CDS to manage risk and the protection seller is using the CDS to take on risk in return for a premium. A cash-settled CDS contract relying on ISDA documentation is subject to determinations by a committee with respect to whether a defined default event (a “credit event”) has occurred and, if so, to hold an auction to determine the settlement price of the CDS.
- The auction process includes the determination and publication of a list of deliverable obligations that a CDS protection buyer can deliver to the CDS protection seller after the auction settlement.
- A CDS protection buyer can deliver any of the obligations on the list, with delivery of the cheapest deliverable obligation maximizing recovery.
- This feature of CDS contracts is an aspect of some of the manufactured or opportunistic strategies discussed in section I.B.2.
- A TRS may obligate one of the parties (i.e., the total return payer) to transfer the total economic performance (e.g., income from interest and fees, gains or losses from market movements, and credit losses) of a reference asset (e.g., a debt or equity security) (the “reference underlying”), in exchange for a specified or fixed or floating cash flow (including payments for any principal losses on the reference asset) from the other party (i.e., the total return receiver).
- If the TRS is negotiated over-the-counter, the terms of the TRS can be individually negotiated and could include one payment at the expiration of the TRS or might include a series of payments on periodic interim settlement dates over the tenor of the TRS.
- For TRS with periodic interim settlement dates counterparties could agree to reset the price of the reference underlying on the periodic interim settlement date based on current market prices of the reference underlying (“reference price”).
- Accordingly, throughout the life of a TRS, depending on the terms of the TRS, the reference price that determines that payment on periodic interim settlement dates might be reset based on current market prices of the reference underlying
Security-Based Swap Market Developments - In 2010, following the 2008 financial crisis, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Act “to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system.”
- Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act addressed significant issues and risks in the swap and security-based swap markets, which had experienced dramatic growth leading up to the 2008 financial crisis and were shown to be capable of affecting significant sectors of the U.S. economy.
- In testimony before Congress introducing the first draft of the Dodd-Frank Act, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner highlighted the risks posed by an unregulated OTC derivatives market, which had been operating without the “basic protections and oversight” existing in the rest of the financial systems, including a “limited ability to police fraud and manipulation.”
- In his written testimony, Secretary Geithner listed four broad objectives of the proposed reforms which were eventually enacted as Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act:
- Preventing activities in the OTC derivatives markets from posing risk to the stability of the financial system;
- Promoting efficiency and transparency of the OTC derivatives markets;
- Preventing market manipulation, fraud, and other abuses; and
- Protecting consumers and investors by ensuring that OTC derivatives are not marketed inappropriately to unsophisticated parties.
- The security-based swap market remains large. Based on information reported pursuant to 17 CFR 242.900 to 242.909 (“Regulation SBSR”), as of November 25, 2022, the gross notional amount outstanding in the security-based swap market is approximately $8.5 trillion across the credit, equity, and interest rate asset classes.
- The credit security-based swap asset class is large, with a gross notional amount of approximately $4.7 trillion, of which single-name CDS (including corporate and sovereign) account for the largest category at $4.3 trillion.
- Additionally, as indicated by data submitted pursuant to Regulation SBSR, the size of the equity security-based swap market is also significant – with approximately $3.6 trillion of equity security-based swaps outstanding as of November 25, 2022.
'The trouble' - In general, the ongoing payments of a security-based swap depend, in part, on its gross notional amount outstanding.
- The particular aspects and characteristics of security-based swaps (described above in section I.B.1) provide opportunities and incentives for misconduct.
- In general, parties to a security-based swap may engage in misconduct in connection with the security-based swap (including in the reference underlying of such security-based swap) to trigger, avoid, or affect the value of ongoing payments or deliveries.
- For instance, a party faced with significant risk exposure may engage or attempt to engage in manipulative or deceptive conduct that increases or decreases the value of payments or cash flow under a security-based swap relative to the value of the reference underlying, including the price or value of a deliverable obligation under a security-based swap.
- Moreover, fraud and manipulation in connection with a security-based swap can affect not just a direct counterparty, but also counterparties to that counterparty.
- For example, if fraud or manipulation leads to a large change in variation margin, the defrauded counterparty could default on its obligations to its other counterparties. In addition, other counterparties to the same security-based swaps could be affected by fraud or manipulation that affects the reference underlying assets, as could investors in those underlying assets.
- Given the global and interconnected nature of the security-based swap markets, it is critical that the Commission has appropriate tools to fight fraud and manipulation in these markets.
- Recent developments in the security-based swap market highlight these concerns.
- For example, in the 2021 Proposing Release, the Commission discussed certain manufactured or other opportunistic CDS strategies that had been reported by academics and the press:
- A CDS buyer working with a reference entity to create an artificial, technical, or temporary failure-to-pay credit event in order to trigger a payment on a CDS to the buyer (and to the detriment of the CDS seller).
- Alone or in combination with the above or other strategies, causing the reference entity to issue a below-market debt instrument in order to artificially increase the auction settlement price for the CDS (i.e., by creating a new “cheapest to deliver” deliverable obligation).
- CDS buyers endeavoring to influence the timing of a credit event in order to ensure a payment (upon the triggering of the CDS) before expiration of a CDS, or a CDS seller taking similar actions to avoid the obligation to pay by ensuring a credit event occurs after the expiration of the CDS, or taking actions to limit or expand the number and/or kind of deliverable obligations in order to impact the recovery rate.
- CDS sellers offering financing to restructure a reference entity in such a way that “orphans” the CDS – eliminating or reducing the likelihood of a credit event by moving the debts off the balance sheets of the reference entity and onto the balance sheets of a subsidiary or an affiliate that is not referenced by the CDS.
- Taking actions, including as part of a larger restructuring, to increase (or decrease) the supply of deliverable obligations by, for example, adding (or removing) a co-borrower to existing debt of a reference entity, thereby increasing (or decreasing) the likelihood of a credit event and the cost of CDS.
- Taking into consideration all of the above, Rule 9j-1 will be an important additional tool to augment the Commission’s oversight of the security-based swap markets including, but not limited to, the markets for CDS and TRS.
Overview of the Final Rules: Rule 9j-1 - Final Rule 9j-1 includes prohibitions on categories of misconduct prohibited by section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and section 17(a) of the Securities Act, when effecting any transaction in, or attempting to effect any transaction in, any security-based swap, or when purchasing or selling, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of, any security-based swap (including but not limited to, in whole or in part, the execution, termination (prior to its scheduled maturity date), assignment, exchange, or similar transfer or conveyance of, or extinguishing of any rights or obligations under, any security based-swap).
- The final rule also includes a provision prohibiting the manipulation or attempted manipulation of the price or valuation of any security-based swap, including any payment or delivery related thereto.
- This provision has been moved to paragraph (a)(6) of Rule 9j-1 (from paragraph (b) as proposed) to clarify that these provisions apply to conduct that is undertaken in connection with directly or indirectly effecting, or attempting to effect, any transaction in any security-based swap, or purchasing or selling, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of, any security-based swap.
- Final Rule 9j-1 provides that:
- A person with material nonpublic information about a security cannot avoid liability under the securities laws by communicating about or making purchases or sales in the security-based swap (as opposed to communicating about or purchasing or selling the underlying security)
- A person cannot avoid liability under section 9(j) or Rule 9j-1 in connection with a fraudulent scheme involving a security-based swap by instead making purchases or sales in the underlying security (as opposed to purchases or sales in the security-based swap).
https://preview.redd.it/guzs4cyuwn4b1.png?width=826&format=png&auto=webp&s=d55104e51db1f955fb3520cb652663faa1f8e898 Rule 15fh-4(c) The Commission also is adopting a rule aimed at protecting the independence and objectivity of an SBS Entity’s CCO by preventing the personnel of an SBS Entity from taking actions to coerce, mislead, or otherwise interfere with the CCO. The Commission recognizes that SBS Entities dominate the security-based swap market and also recognizes the important role that CCOs of SBS Entities play in ensuring compliance by SBS Entities and their personnel with the Federal securities laws. As a result, the Commission is adopting Rule 15fh-4(c), which makes it unlawful for any officer, director, supervised person, or employee of an SBS Entity, or any person acting under such person’s direction, to directly or indirectly take any action to coerce, manipulate, mislead, or fraudulently influence the SBS Entity’s CCO in the performance of their duties under the Federal securities laws or the rules and regulations thereunder. https://preview.redd.it/dkubyk9ywn4b1.png?width=966&format=png&auto=webp&s=634948d848a6277ed7247d7803a5a63d2b866972 https://preview.redd.it/5r40tixywn4b1.png?width=943&format=png&auto=webp&s=1757b80d2890e4460c1e4adfe1d3e5f25c4599d6 The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules to prevent fraud, manipulation, and deception in connection with security-based swap transactions and to prevent undue influence over the chief compliance officer (CCO) of security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants (SBS Entities). “Any misconduct in the security-based swaps market not only harms direct counterparties but also can affect reference entities and investors in those reference entities,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Given these markets’ size, scale, and importance, it is critical that the Commission protect investors and market integrity through helping prevent fraud, manipulation, and deception relating to security-based swaps. Today’s set of rules will do just that.”The antifraud and anti-manipulation rule adopted today is designed to prevent misconduct in connection with effecting any transaction in, or attempting to effect any transaction in, or purchasing or selling, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of, any security-based swap. The rule takes into account the features fundamental to a security-based swap and will aid the Commission in its pursuit of actions that directly target misconduct that reaches security-based swaps.The Commission also adopted a rule to protect the independence and objectivity of the CCO of a security-based swap dealer or major security-based swap participant.The adopting release will be published in the Federal Register. The final rules will become effective 60 days after the date of publication of the adopting release in the Federal Register. TLDRS: - Hester cannot support.
- A security-based swap is an agreement where two parties exchange payments or cash flows based on the value of assets or events, continuing to have obligations to each other for the life of the contract.
- Typical participants include lenders, insurance companies, hedge funds, and financial institutions.
- The specifics of the swap, such as periodic payments and settlement terms, are determined by the contract between the counterparties.
- The two common examples of security-based swaps are Credit Default Swaps (CDS) and Total Return Swaps (TRS).
- A CDS involves a protection buyer making periodic payments to a protection seller in exchange for a payment in case of default by the reference entity.
- A TRS transfers the total economic performance of a reference asset in exchange for a cash flow.
- As of November 2022, the gross notional amount outstanding in the security-based swap market was approximately $8.5 trillion.
- The credit security-based swap asset class accounted for $4.7 trillion, while equity security-based swaps accounted for around $3.6 trillion.
- Misconduct may occur in security-based swaps to trigger, avoid, or affect the value of ongoing payments.
- This includes manipulative or deceptive conduct that alters the value of payments under a security-based swap relative to the value of the reference underlying swap.
- Rule 9j-1 is introduced as an additional tool for overseeing the security-based swap markets, including the markets for CDS and TRS.
- This rule includes prohibitions on misconduct and manipulation in connection with security-based swaps.
- In addition, Rule 15fh-4(c) is adopted to protect the independence and objectivity of a Swap Brokerage Security Entity's Chief Compliance Officer.
https://preview.redd.it/mikc5pyiwn4b1.png?width=610&format=png&auto=webp&s=d7e9f1ec5e1bb791f93a46207a911ae6c30a3e68 submitted by Dismal-Jellyfish to Superstonk [link] [comments] |