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EAST LIBERTY DEVELOPMENT: Vote Wednesday could help clear way for controversial $50 million project in East Liberty – WPXI Pittsburgh

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Vote Wednesday could help clear way for controversial $50 million project in East Liberty

EAST LIBERTY, Pa. - Pittsburgh City Council is preparing to give the final vote needed to push ahead a project to redevelop the site of the former Penn Plaza Apartments in East Liberty.

The $50 million project, which has seen pushback from former residents and city officials, was given the green light in February by the City Planning Commission.

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Residents are worried about the impact the nine-story building for office and retail space would have on congestion, traffic and affordable housing in the area.

Former residents of the Penn Plaza Apartments fear the project is a money grab that will continue to force people out of the area and leave them homeless.

>>RELATED:Protesters want city to reject proposed development plan

City council is set to answer questions about housing concerns Wednesday, when a preliminary vote on the project will take place. A final vote is scheduled for next week.

On Tuesday, city council looked at legislation for a land swap with the city and the developer on part of the project, Channel 11s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.

Here is a look at the Penn Plaza Apartments in 2017 and what the area could potentially look like in the future:

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EAST LIBERTY DEVELOPMENT: Vote Wednesday could help clear way for controversial $50 million project in East Liberty - WPXI Pittsburgh

Take A Look! | Black Bear Spotted Swimming In Liberty Reservoir – CBS Baltimore

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

BALTIMORE (WJZ) Two people fishing in Liberty Reservoir this past weekend got quite the surprise when they spotted a bear swimming in the water.

It was a fishing trip Ben Orlando wont soon forget.

At first I didnt know what it was, he said. It just looked a little odd.

Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a black bear swimming across the Liberty Reservoir.

I wound up getting my camera out and I started to record it, Orlando said. The main thing was, I wanted to see how big it was.

Orlando estimates the bear was upward of 250 lbs.

We spent a lot of time out there, and weve never seen anything like it before, Orlando said.

The video was posted on the Fishing Liberty Reservoir Facebook page where its been shared more than 600 times.

It was just a nice event, it was good that I was able to share it so that other people could see it, Orlando said.

Sgt. Smith, with the Baltimore Environmental Police, says black bears arent common in the area but they do, from time to time, make their way to the reservoir.

Theyre exploring, just widening their area of range, Smith said. Sometimes, it may be a young cub trying to find a proper suitor.

Smith says if you should see a bear, its best to keep your distance.

I thought it was pretty cool, it was nice, Orlando said. Obviously black bears in the area, he wanted nothing to do with us. He just wanted to be on his way.

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Take A Look! | Black Bear Spotted Swimming In Liberty Reservoir - CBS Baltimore

Religious Liberty, Nondiscrimination, and the Left – National Review

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto ORourke takes part in a televised town hall on CNN dedicated to LGBTQ issues in Los Angeles, Calif., October 10, 2019. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Beto ORourkes position on religious liberty isnt uncommon.

During CNNs Equality Town Hall last week, Don Lemon asked ORourke, Do you think religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities should they lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?

ORourke responded, There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone, or any institution, any organization in America that denies the full human rights of every single one of us.

The following day his campaign clarified that ORourke meant no rewards, benefits, or tax breaks should be conferred on institutions that take discriminatory action related to same-sex marriage (as opposed to holding discriminatory beliefs regarding the same).

Much of the ensuing commentary characterized ORourkes position as unrepresentative of the progressive view of the intersection of religious belief and nondiscrimination. But, in fact, ORourkes comments are unremarkable on the Left, which generally elevates nondiscrimination over religious liberty.

The increasing tension between principles of nondiscrimination and religious liberty is a complicated issue. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held an expansive hearing on the matter a few years ago titled, Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties.

The Lefts forthright hostility toward religious freedom was noteworthy. There was little peaceful coexistence and even less of an effort to balance the interests of religious freedom with nondiscrimination. The progressive-dominated commission held that in almost every instance in which the two principles intersect, religious freedom must yield to nondiscrimination.

The Lefts view of religious liberty perhaps was best captured by then- Chairman Martin Castros claim that [t]he phrases religious liberty and religious freedom will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy, or any form of intolerance.

Unfortunately, many on the Left view tolerance only as a one-way street.

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Religious Liberty, Nondiscrimination, and the Left - National Review

‘Citizens for Liberty and Labor’ PAC drops another $40K against Woodward’s campaign – KXLY Spokane

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Former TV news anchor Nadine Woodward is running for mayor ofSpokane. Former TV news anchor Nadine Woodward is running for mayor ofSpokane.

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Citizens for Liberty and Labor Political Action Committee has contributed another $40,000 against the Nadine Woodward campaign.

The PAC is run by Randy Marler, the former president of the Spokane Firefighters Union. The PAC's major contributors are the Spokane Firefighters Union PAC, the Washington Education Association and WA for All PAC.

The money will be used for online advertising, according to a report filed with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.

RELATED: 'Citizens for Liberty and Labor' PAC puts down $131K against Woodward campaign

The money is considered an independent expenditure money that neither Woodward, nor her competitor Ben Stuckart, haveany control over.

Earlier this month, the PAC contributed an initial $131,000 against Woodwards campaign. That money was used to create a television ad that slams Woodward for her relationship with outside developers.

RELATED: Woodward campaign responds to 'Citizens for Liberty and Labor' PAC ad

The ad is a direct response to the Washington Realtor's Association PACs large contribution in favor of Woodward. That PAC has contributed $173,741 in favor of Woodward.

RELATED: Washington Realtor's PAC contributesover $161Kin favor of Woodward campaign

RELATED:Washington Realtor's Association PAC contributes $43,500 in support of Woodward

RELATED:Complaints allege violations in 'Nadine Woodward for Spokane Mayor' ads

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'Citizens for Liberty and Labor' PAC drops another $40K against Woodward's campaign - KXLY Spokane

Kelvin Edwards honored to have his jersey retired at Liberty – Lynchburg News and Advance

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The names kept rolling off Kelvin Edwards tongue in rapid-fire succession.

Fred Banks. Richard Shelton. Mark Mathis. Wayne Haddix. Rennie Jones. Steve Clark.

Each name carried an NFL team with it as Edwards memory flooded back with memories of his former college teammates time at the professional level.

For the 55-year-old Edwards, who also donned NFL jerseys, those teammates on the Liberty football team were equally responsible for the gaudy numbers he put up as a wide receiver and his eventual selection in the fourth round of the 1986 NFL Draft.

Those same teammates are reuniting with Edwards this Saturday for the football programs Homecoming game against Maine. This reunion, however, carries extra significance for Edwards.

He will be the fourth person to have a jersey retired by the football program as his No. 83 will be unveiled in between the first and second quarters of the Flames 6 p.m. matchup with Maine at Williams Stadium.

These guys are going to be there and thats going to be another experience, Edwards said in a recent phone interview. One thing I told them, Look here, I didnt get this jersey retired by myself. You guys helped me to get there. You guys pushed me to be who I am right now. You guys worked me even the days I didnt want to play, practice, you made me practice because your competitiveness in you allowed me to get on that field to compete every day.

The jersey retirement ceremony marks only the fourth jersey retired by the football program.

The No. 71 was retired in 2006 in honor of Jerry Falwell and no player wears that number in any sport at Liberty. Former coach Sam Rutigliano and tight end Eric Green (No. 86) had jerseys retired in their honor in 2008.

Edwards, a native of Atlanta, was named to the Associated Press Little All-America first team in 1985 and selected to play in the Blue-Gray All-Star game that same season.

He graduated from Liberty with 2,546 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns, and was one of seven inducted into the athletic departments inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2009.

The inaugural class included Jerry Falwell, Arthur Williams, Elena (Kisseleva) Bengds, Bob Bonheim, Sid Bream and Karl Hess.

First off, its always an honor to get an award for anything that you do in life that you think that youre really deserving of a lot of time, Edwards said. When I look at the honor, first off, I would like to thank Jerry Falwell Jr., Dr. Falwell, and then Id like to thank the school itself, the faculty and staff, and just the student body.

I know I couldnt do it without the student body, being motivated by them to go out and play in these games that were cold, snow on the field, rain on the field, and it wasnt that many, but the ones that showed up, I want to thank them for being a part of it. To me, that is the greatest honor of them all: to be accepted by your peers, be accepted by the people around you to respect for what youve done and the body of work youve put in.

The gaudy numbers he produced on the gridiron are particularly impressive given the number of future pros on the roster. All six former teammates attending the jersey retirement ceremony played for at least one NFL team. Banks played for three teams over eight seasons and Haddix was voted to the NFL Pro Bowl in 1990 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I think we had an unusual team with a bunch of unusual players that came from different ethnic backgrounds and different places, Edwards said. For us to mend together as one, its probably one of the greatest scenes that probably ever happened. If you really go and dissect our team, just dissect that 82, 83, 84, 85 team, you will see there were more pros on any team that ever been in Liberty history.

Do I think playing and being an All-American and being drafted was a key impact? Yes, it was. I think it was a key design only by God. Only God could do that. Only God could have put that team together like that. So, so many different athletes from different places of the country was able to play together and really talented players.

Practice was like playing in the Big 12 or playing in the SEC or playing in the Big 10 for our skill position, because our skill position, you noticed we had a lot of people drafted from our skill positions. It was always competition going on every day.

Edwards owns a pair of car dealerships in the Dallas, Texas area in the cities of Cedar Hill and Lancaster south of Dallas and has attended several recent Liberty football games.

He made the 90-minute trip to Waco for the 2017 season opener that saw the Flames defeat Baylor 48-45 for the programs first victory over a Power 5 program, and he attended this seasons opener against Syracuse, which marked the first time an ACC team visited Williams Stadium.

The evolution of the program is something he said he never would have envisioned when he was 18 years old and first stepping foot onto Libertys campus.

Right now as an older gentleman, I think this is an amazing scene. Its coming into fruition in my own time, he said. Im able to live through this thing and can see this right here.

Some teammates of mine have passed away, and now Im able to see what Dr. Falwell was visualizing all from the beginning that playing in an 80,000-seat stadium, playing against North Carolina, playing against Syracuse.

This is an awesome moment in time for Liberty University. People need to take advantage of it. We might not win, but were starting to change how people look at us, how people feel about Liberty University.

Damien Sordelett covers Liberty University athletics and local golf for The News & Advance. Reach him at (434) 385-5550.

The rest is here:

Kelvin Edwards honored to have his jersey retired at Liberty - Lynchburg News and Advance

Liberty City and Brownville will not rise | Letters to the Editor – The Miami Times

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

What many residents of the public housing community did not know is that the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (USHUD) is getting out of the business of owning and managing public housing - for good. A fact, that should have been passed onto them by their resident councils. In less than 20 years, threemain public housing communities, which helped to make up the residential population of Model City, have been dismantled. The first of the three is James E. Scott, a.k.a. Scott Projects and the other two projects are the Liberty Square Projects, known as the Pork n Beans, which is in the process of being demolished in Liberty City, and Annie Coleman 14 in Brownsville, which is slated to be next with the Annie Coleman 15 and 16sites likely to follow.

What the resident council of Annie Coleman 14 never knew was just how shrewd and Machiavellian the county could be when dealing with public housing resident councils and its parent body, the Overall Tenant Advisory Council (OTAC). But resident councils before them know all too well.

In the midst of chaos,thereis alsoopportunity,says Sun Tzu in the book, The Art of War.

The county sows confusion among public housing residentsand the councils that are supposed to be representing them.Theone thing that Ive noticed about all of these resident councilsis that theyrarelycomebackto the residents and explain to them what they'venegotiated, nor do theyapologize to the communitywhen they are bamboozledby the county.

The other thing thatappears likelyis that in the midst of all the back and forth,not one of those resident councilshadreached out to HUD and filed a complaint,nordid theycontacttheir U.S.Congressional representativeoreither of their U.S. Senators.But there is one body that all of these resident councilsdidreach out to extensively, a body that they all leaned on heavily, and a body that would ultimately betray and fail them miserably the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners.After countless meetings with Commissioners and two-minute intervals of testimony at County Commission meetings, residents and their councils found themselves frustrated, confused and defeated, time and time again.

And when the smoke clears, community advocates and residents find themselves mercilessly dismembering each others character with shame and finger-pointing for the deeds of a County that misled and dismantled them like a serial killer.

If you think about it, a complaint to a federal body would ultimately have to be lodged against the County, itself the great escape artist and snake charmer of resident councils, everywhere. Because even when dealing with a population peppered with demonstrably lower educational successes, its not as easy as you would think to fool another human being. And, to do it successfully, three times in a row, is a feat that should make ole Jim (Crow) blush.At some point, the barrels of protests, marches and petitions should be aimed squarely at local elected officials who would allow two decades of bait and switch policies to be carried out without limit against the most vulnerable families in the Black community.

What the resident councils have done, consistently, is go along with the program.But when they find outhow they were tricked,theybecome irate about it because now they understand that what they have done(or didnt do) haverepercussionsthat couldmake many of those families homeless. And then theres the right-of-return for the hundreds of families that are being vacated due to an emergency criminal element in the neighborhood. This is the greatest bait and switch of them all. Crime has existed in America from its beginning. It has thrived in Black America not because of public housing or because of the color of our skin, nor is it because of cultural considerations. Crime has thrived in Black America because of its driving forces: illiteracy, poverty and racism. None of which are addressed by HUDs RAD program or the mass-exodus of hundreds of families from the neighborhood.

Activist Leroy Jones recently addressed the Board of County Commissioners with a furious rebuke of the Countys plans for Annie Coleman 14 when he said, Now, what you are going to do since its crime, you are going to give them a section 8 vouchers so that the crime will move to other communities.

Maybe his ties to the mayor and Commission Chairwoman Audrey Edmonson will shift the atmosphere and put a stop to another ill-advised and hastily implemented initiative in the Black community? This mass-exodus also presents the eerie possibility of several school closures in Brownsville due to the low-enrollment adjustments that will occur after all of these public housing families have been scattered. However, with the prospect of charter schools taking over public schools in the Black community, this may be just what the doctor ordered for the master planners. Are you starting to get the picture yet?

The county has allowed public housings community policies to rot with no real enforcement to safeguard the community. As a result, there are families with people on their leases who have gone to jail, yet they remain in public housing. So, instead of following public housing guidelines of HUDs One Strike Policy, which provides for an automatic vacate of that unit for criminal convictions, countless numbers of drug dealers and violent criminals are living throughout public housing communities and wreaking havoc on those sites and neighborhoods. What Miami-Dade County has done is criminal and it is liable to every public housing family because their inaction has helped to contribute to the gang environment in public housing. And this environment has attributed too many of the deaths of the young brothers who we have seen firsthand in public housing across Miami-Dade.

Miami-Dade Public Housing & Community Development now has the audacity to present section 8 vouchers to families to move out of Annie Coleman 14, knowing that some will have a hard time because of their criminal background. All PHCD had to do was vacate the bad apples when they had the chance.

And maybe those who silently cheer the demise of public housing never realized how public housing and their illiterate, unemployed, ex-felon occupants were the real reason that they qualified for that small business grant, or that affordable or workforce subsidized apartment or that, lower-than-average, property tax bill that theyve enjoyed for all of their adult lives? Oh well, its their problem, not yours, right?

For as much as we talk about gentrification and its impacts, we sure are sluggish about the storm thats threatening us right now. I think the next time that a storm heads for a neighboring state or island Ill pay more attention and be better prepared to help in the aftermath. You never know if the storm will turn, suddenly, and wipe outyourneighborhood, instead.

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Liberty City and Brownville will not rise | Letters to the Editor - The Miami Times

Have you ever wanted to fly in a World War II-era B-17 or P-51 Mustang? Heres your chance – Commercial Appeal

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

John Hess, a volunteer pilot with Liberty Foundation, talks about flying the B-17 flying fortress. Maxwell Gersh, Memphis Commercial Appeal

Military history buffs and aviation enthusiasts will have the opportunity to get up close and personal and airborne if they choose with two flying pieces of history this weekend.

The Liberty Foundation brought two operational, World War II-era aircraft, a B-17 bomber and a P-51 Mustang, to Olive Branch. Both will be available for the public to tour on the ground and take flights in Saturday and Sunday at theOlive Branch Airport.

Pilot John Hess said he hoped people would visit the planes to gain a deeper understanding of what World War II veterans endured during their service. He said he hoped the experience would inspire people to listen to and learn from veterans.

Our mission is to honor our veterans and to thank them and to show you what they were doing, he said.

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Of the 16 million Americans who served in some capacity during World War II, only about 558,000 are still alive, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. An estimated 372 World War II veterans die each day.

As those veterans die, many of their stories go with them, and the collective memory of the war fades. Thats where the planes come in, Hess said. They provide younger generations with a way to learn about veterans experiences and can be cathartic conversation starters for veterans.

The view from the nose of a B-17 Flying Fortress on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, at the Olive Branch airport in Miss.(Photo: Max Gersh / The Commercial Appeal)

The Liberty Foundations P-51 Mustang was built in Australia in 1944 and participated in atomic bomb testing conducted by the Australians after World War II.

The B-17 available for tours and flights, named Ye Old Pub, was built in 1944 and was in service at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base during the war but never saw combat. After the war, it was used in Georgia to disperse a chemical concoction meant to kill fire ants before being acquired by the Liberty Foundation.

John Hess (left) and Jim Lawrence fly a B-17 Flying Fortress on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, from the Olive Branch airport in Miss.(Photo: Max Gersh / The Commercial Appeal)

Pilot Jim Lawrence said more than 12,000 B-17s were built and about 5,000 were lost in combat in World War II. Today, there are 11 still flying. A B-17 operated by the Collings Foundation crashed in Connecticut earlier this month, killing seven people.

Hess said The Liberty Foundation had been in communication with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National TransportationSafety Board regarding the crash. He said mechanics with The Liberty Foundation did frequent inspections and maintenance on the planes and if there were any problems, members of the public would not fly.

Both pilots described flying the B-17 as amazing, both because of its history and for its feel when flying, though its definitely not for amateur pilots. All the planes controls are manual a safety feature, so automated systems couldnt fail in combat and Hess likened it to driving an old car without power steering. Lawrence was slightly more descriptive.

Its like a monkey making love to a football to get this thing started, he said.

A B-17 Flying Fortress sits on the tarmac Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, at the Olive Branch airport in Miss.(Photo: Max Gersh / The Commercial Appeal)

All joking aside, Lawrence said he hopes seeing the plane or flying in itwill make people consider the price of freedom.

Those guys had an 80 percentchance of not coming back, he said of B-17 crews. And they still went out there every time.

Corinne Kennedy is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com or on Twitter @CorinneSKennedy.

Where: Olive Branch Airport, 8000 Terminal Drive in Olive Branch

When: Oct. 19 and 20

Cost: $475 per person for a 30-minute B-17 flight; $1,195 or $1,995 for a 10- or 20-minute P-51 flight, respectively. Ground tours are free.

Details: Call678-589-7433 for times and to book a ride

Read or Share this story: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/10/15/wwii-era-plane-flights-liberty-foundation-olive-branch-memphis/3856149002/

Have you ever wanted to fly in a World War II-era B-17 or P-51 Mustang? Heres your chance - Commercial Appeal

Water Main Break On Liberty Ave. In Front Of Wyndham Grand Hotel Floods Road – CBS Pittsburgh

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) Water gushed onto the sidewalk and road due to a water main break on Liberty Avenue Monday afternoon downtown.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

The water main break, which is in front of the Wyndham Grand Hotel, caused significant flooding.

However, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority does not anticipate an interruption of water service for customers in the area.

Crews are on scene tell KDKAs Shelby Cassesse that the water has been shut off.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Crews say the break appears to be an eight-inch PWSA line.

Repairs are expected to take until midnight.

Despite the flooding, traffic is not being impacted at this time. Only the sidewalk is closed off.

Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.

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Water Main Break On Liberty Ave. In Front Of Wyndham Grand Hotel Floods Road - CBS Pittsburgh

No Parking Ordinance Vexes Some Liberty Residents – The Tube City Almanac

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

By Marcy CendroskiThe Tube City AlmanacOctober 16, 2019Posted in: Liberty Borough News

Some Liberty residents are upset over the way the borough has implemented new parking regulations.

In response to concerns from police, firefighters and paramedics that emergency vehicles couldn't get through some streets because of cars parked on both sides, council in August drafted an ordinance that designated many streets as "no parking" zones on one side.

The ordinance was officially adopted at September's council meeting, but many residents complained that the borough had given them insufficient notice about the change.

Borough officials said the ordinance was legally advertised in the Mon Valley Independent newspaper and in notices stapled to street poles.

Residents said few people in Liberty subscribe to the Independent, and that most of them thought the paper notices were advertising garage sales or lost pets.

At the Oct. 9 council meeting, resident Dan McClelland asked why yellow lines were painted on some streets designating no parking zones before council officially adopted a parking ordinance.

Borough Solicitor Matt Racunas said that the state's pending ordinance doctrine covers that action.

McClelland asked if the painting process was complete yet. Council member Chris Ponchak said the borough is still working on the details of parking on some streets.

Residents asked officials to advertise future changes on the Liberty Borough Facebook page. They said it would likely reach more people than a notice in the newspaper.

A suggestion also was made to post such notices on the electronic sign in front of the borough building, or resort to the former stationary sign.

In response to requests, the borough also now makes an allowance for handicapped parking in no-parking areas; but a formal request has to be made to the borough so that a curb can then be painted blue, officials said.

In other business, council authorized payments of$31,000 toward repairs on Glenn Avenue and $41,000 toward sewer repairs on B Street.

Council awarded a contract to trim the trees at the veterans' memorial on Liberty Way to Original Tree Service.

A resident asked about a house on Jeffrey Drive that has been vacant for several years. The house was reportedly sold but borough workers are continuing to cut the grass and trim the shrubs. Racunas said although an offer was made on the house, the closing never took place.

A resident asked about the upcoming municipal election, in which three candidates are running for four open seats. All three won both Democratic and Republican nominations in the primary.

A fourth candidate, Jennifer Riley, also won both Democratic and Republican nominations for the fourth seat, but was forced to withdraw for health reasons. Her health has improved and she is now running as a write-in candidate.

Racunus said any write-in candidates will need to have their election to the fourth seat certified by the county's Elections Division.

Councilman Mike Zrenchak asked borough residents to be mindful about when raking leaves not to block sewer grates in the streets, because that has the potential to cause flooding.

Police Report: Mayor Larry Sikorski presented the police report. For the month, Liberty police answered 15 calls to assist the ambulance, made 20 traffic stops, answered 25 traffic calls, investigated seven criminal complaints, made 12 arrests and served eight warrants. Citations totalling $1,796 were issued.

Sikorski noted that because there is no longer an ambulance base in the borough, police are assisting on EMS calls. He is seeking to reduce the police response time to five or six minutes, he said.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13.

Marcy Cendroski is a Liberty Borough resident.

Originally published October 16, 2019.

In other news:"Boil-Water Advisory L" || "West Newton Church to"

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No Parking Ordinance Vexes Some Liberty Residents - The Tube City Almanac

Review: Liberty: Mother of Exiles pays tribute to the statue – Los Angeles Times

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The fine HBO-produced documentary Liberty: Mother of Exiles serves as a comprehensive primer on all things Statue of Liberty. The film is also a vital reminder of the longtime value and significance of immigration and freedom, for which the iconic statue, which attracts 4 million visitors a year, has been perhaps the ultimate symbol.

Award-winning directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, who have collaborated on a wealth of well-regarded feature and TV docs (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking, Becoming Chaz, to name a few) largely structure their portrait around renowned fashion designer Diane von Furstenbergs efforts to raise money for and oversee the building of a Statue of Liberty museum on New Yorks Liberty Island.

Von Furstenberg, whos been dubbed the statues godmother, helps the filmmakers explore their subject as she observes the museums development, discusses her own immigrant roots as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor (Von Furstenberg came to America from Belgium in 1970), and hops the globe to learn more about the statues creators and history.

Shes an ebullient and committed force (People project their dream on Lady Liberty!) though there is some thematic dissonance as she visits the dusty museum construction site maybe a bit too stylishly dressed and is driven around in a Bentley. On the other hand, its proof positive that, yes, immigrants can and do make it big time in America.

We meet up in Paris with the descendants of academic, author and anti-slavery activist douard de Laboulaye, who, in the 1860s, inspired sculptor Frdric Auguste Bartholdi to build a monument that France could gift the United States to strengthen their relationship. After many incarnations, Bartholdis masterwork became what would eventually be known as the Statue of Liberty (a.k.a. the Mother of Exiles); the film neatly tracks its bumpy creative and financial trajectory.

Von Furstenberg and company take a jaunt to Colmar, France, for a ceremony at the lovely Muse Bartholdi, located in the home where the artist was born. Museum director Isabelle Brutigam proves a warm guide (and she wears a Von Furstenberg-designed wrap dress, so theres that.)

Were also introduced to the ancestors of Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) who designed Lady Libertys complex metal framework. Later, we get a tour inside the statue to witness Eiffels enduring scaffolding work. (Related factoids: The statue is said to be only two pennies thick and was built to move in the wind, which came in handy, as the movie recounts, during 2012s Hurricane Sandy.)

As interesting and informative as this all is (theres also strong supporting archival footage and photos), the film hits a deeper level of engagement when it focuses on the average folks whose lives have intersected with the statue, including locals whove lived and worked on Liberty Island. (Its last remaining residents park superintendent David Luchsinger and his family left after Sandy flooded them out).

Also represented here: recent young immigrants on a class trip to Lady Liberty, the construction guys building the new museum (it opened May 16) plus another who was notably involved in the statues mid-1980s restoration, factory workers in China and Long Island City who churn out Statue of Liberty souvenirs, a Russian graffiti artist whose output often features the statue, and several activists whove used the monument in high-profile ways to protest recently toughened immigration policies.

Their appearances all effectively underscore how, first and foremost, the Statue of Liberty exists for the people. Or at least thats always been the intention.

As for politics, until the films final stretch, Bailey and Barbato dont overly focus on the Trump administration and its harsh stance on dealing with refugees, one that negates the welcoming words of Emma Lazarus legendary, Lady Liberty-inscribed sonnet, The New Colossus.

In addition to shots of said protestors, the filmmakers pointedly include the says-it-all clip of White House senior policy adviser Stephen Millers misleading claim to CNNs Jim Acosta that Lazarus poem was an afterthought to the Statue of Liberty, said as if to somehow undermine the meaning of the monument, Colossus and Americas commitment to immigration. (The facts: Lazarus 1883 poem, which, in part, expressed empathy for eastern European refugees, was written to raise money for the statues pedestal. It was not affixed to Miss Liberty until 1903, 17 years after the statue was unveiled.)

Although it occasionally plays as a Statue of Liberty promotional tool (there are worse things), the film is a timely, engaging and well-assembled look at one of our national treasures and its eternal place as a beacon of light for anyone yearning to breathe free.

'Liberty: Mother of Exiles'

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Playing: Starts Friday, Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills; available Oct. 17 on HBO

What it’s like to grow up next to the Statue of Liberty – New York Post

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Liberty Island home to the Statue of Liberty might not be the first place most parents take their newborn right after being discharged from the hospital. But that was where Hal Clancy spent his first day out in the world, in 1955.

This wasnt a sightseeing journey, however. The infant was meeting his grandparents, who lived in one of the six residences then located on the 14.717-acre island that sits in the middle of New York Harbor.

Hals maternal grandfather, N.H. Foster, was the superintendent in charge of the New York City regions National Parks from the mid-1940s through the mid-60s and was stationed on the island. And Hals father, Captain George Clancy, drove the ferry that took visitors from lower Manhattan to Liberty.

I spent a lot of time there growing up, Hal told The Post. It seemed totally normal and it still does. I feel very at home on Liberty Island.

Hal is featured in Liberty: Mother of Exiles a new documentary, premiering on HBO Thursday about the building, marketing and history of Lady Liberty and the construction of the Statue of Liberty museum that opened in June. The film also profiles folks, such as Hal, with close ties to the statue, including the third-generation gift-shop operator and a man who worked on the reconstruction of the torch in the 1980s.

While directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato originally intended to document the museums birth, they quickly learned there were keepers of the statue.

It became clear very early on that the Statue of Liberty is the peoples statue whether it was people who lived on the island or the people who participated in the renovation of the torch, said Barbato. We discovered the stories of the statue.

And Hal certainly has his fair share of tales. When the tourists left the island at the end of the day, it became his personal playground.

He and his grandfather would climb the stairs inside the statue, with the older man stopping halfway up while Hal ascended to Lady Libertys crown where the two would communicate through the intercom system. He once changed a 1,000-watt light bulb (bigger than a softball, smaller than a basketball, Hal said) in the torch.

At night, hed fall asleep at his grandparents house to the toot toot of tugboats in the harbor.

I have a deep connection to Liberty Island and am very sentimental, Hal said. And the ferryboats are like a second home to me.

In fact, those ferryboats are why he exists.

His mother, Helene Foster, was a student at Columbia University when her father, N.H., first moved the family to Liberty Island. Every morning she would take the ferry to Manhattan island and back home at night. She caught the eye of a boat captain by the name of George Clancy, and they struck up a friendship.

When she had a date, George often found a way to block the suitor from escorting Helene home.

He would [stop the other man at the Manhattan dock and] say, Sorry. Against the rules. Only island residents from this point forward, Hal explained. So he could always be the one to take her home.

It worked. George and Helene wed and took an apartment in the West Village before moving to Bergen County, NJ. Hals babysitters were his grandparents, which meant frequent stays on the island.

It was a long time ago, but these memories vividly stand out. There were other kids who lived on the island as well, he recalled of the children of a handful of Parks Service employees. We would play in the nonpublic portion behind the Statue of Liberty. We would ride our bikes around the island.

When Hal was 10 years old, his grandfather retired and moved with his wife back to Maine, but Hal kept close to his roots by riding the ferry with his father. As a teenager he worked the snack bar on one of the boats, selling sodas and hot dogs.

He took a brief break from maritime life to attend Stevens Institute in Hoboken, NJ, earning an engineering degree before working in construction. But the North Arlington, NJ, resident couldnt resist his familys past.

I always wanted to get my captains license, and decided to go back and do it ... in honor of my father, said Hal.

The same company that had employed his father hired him as their port captain in 1992 making him the third generation working in service to the statue.

Clancy with his mother Helene in 2017.

Tamara Beckwith/NY Post

The key is, I have loads of institutionalized knowledge, and I have a great relationship with the people at the National Parks Service, said Hal.

Hes even the voice of the safety-instruction announcement that plays on all eight ferries in the line of Statue Cruises, the only company licensed to transport visitors to the island.

In the fleet remains Miss Liberty, a boat his father once piloted. Hal himself doesnt pilot the boats on a regular basis anymore, as he is now the director of facilities at Statue Cruises, which transports almost 4.5 million tourists a year to see Lady Liberty.

But no one lives on the island anymore. Residents were evacuated for Hurricane Sandy, which flooded and badly damaged the homes. Those buildings were eventually torn down, making room for the museum. Its immersive theater stands on what was the footprint of Hals grandfathers house.

I have derived some satisfaction looking at the plans for the museum and knowing his house is, in a way, inside it, said Hal, who is single.

N.H. passed in 1983, 15 years after his wife. Hals father, George, died in 1982, and he lost Helene in 2017.

I took her out to visit the Statue of Liberty one last time only a few weeks before her death, Hal recalled. She suffered from severe dementia, yet, as I took her around the side of Liberty Island facing Manhattan in a wheelchair, she spontaneously said she remembered going to school from there. It brought tears to my eyes.

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What it's like to grow up next to the Statue of Liberty - New York Post

In Focus: New Red Door Grill in Liberty allows you to leave troubles at door – KMBC Kansas City

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

In Focus: New Red Door Grill in Liberty allows you to leave troubles at door

Updated: 2:04 PM CDT Oct 15, 2019

A new restaurant has just opened its doors in Liberty, and, as KMBC 9s Martin Augustine found out, its a place where you can leave your troubles at the door and everything is made from scratch.Its the new Red Door Grill, at 9703 N. Ash Ave.The new restaurant is the fourth Red Door Grill location in the metro.

A new restaurant has just opened its doors in Liberty, and, as KMBC 9s Martin Augustine found out, its a place where you can leave your troubles at the door and everything is made from scratch.

Its the new Red Door Grill, at 9703 N. Ash Ave.

The new restaurant is the fourth Red Door Grill location in the metro.

In Focus: New Red Door Grill in Liberty allows you to leave troubles at door - KMBC Kansas City

Readers respond: We need a southern Statue of Liberty – OregonLive.com

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

For more than a century, the Statue of Liberty has greeted approaching immigrants. She held out her beacon of hope to the suffering masses of Europe. She became a symbol of America, representing the best values to which our nation aspires. I believe it is time for a second monument to liberty on our southern border.

Call her, perhaps, Our Lady of Liberty. Endow her with those virtues that define our country at its best: tolerance, generosity, fellowship, freedom. Have her face our great neighbors: Mexico, Central America and South America. Her arms should be open as if to say, Welcome, neighbor, thank you for your visit, share this day with us. She should be strong and mighty and lovely and kind, towering over any desert or wall. Carve her from native rock.

This will, of course, be a national project. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the world to us, and it expressed the view the world had of our potential. This time, we will build a monument of ourselves and express the consensus of our character to the world. Have we lived up to the promise of Libertys beacon? As a nation, we will be called to examine our collective conscience. We will need a national conversation. As designers, artist, and leaders plan the edifice, we will call upon men and women of all walks of life, all races and creeds, to define the message Our Lady is to embody.

Thomas Bremer, Portland

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Readers respond: We need a southern Statue of Liberty - OregonLive.com

ICRC welcomes the UN’s Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty – World – ReliefWeb

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Statement to UN General Assembly Third Committee Informal Dialogue with Mr. Manfred Nowak, Independent Expert leading the UN Study on Children Deprived of Liberty

As delivered by Ms. Agns Coutou, Diplomatic Adviser, ICRC NYC

Thank you.

The ICRC welcomes the UN's Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty as an important initiative that will improve the base of evidence on child detention and enhance child protection.

The Global Study outlines critical recommendations to improve the situation of children detained in places of armed conflict and on national security grounds and reaffirms the urgent need for States to adhere to the applicable international law and standards.

Importantly, the report emphasizes that States should ensure that children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups receive appropriate rehabilitation and reintegration assistance. On that note, children associated with groups designated as terrorists deserve specific attention as they are often at greater risk of facing lower standards of implementation of existing legal protections. The ICRC calls on States not to selectively implement the law for those children.

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ICRC welcomes the UN's Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty - World - ReliefWeb

Madhuri Dixit shares pictures from her vacation in Seychelles with her husband and kids – Times of India

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Bollywood's 'Dhak Dhak girl', Madhuri Dixit has taken some time off from her work to enjoy her vacation with her husband Sriram Nene and her two sons Arin and Rayaan. The actress is currently in Seychelles and has been sharing the pictures from her vacation diaries.Now, she took to her Instagram story to share some pictures of herself pausing to enjoy the small moments in life. In the photos, she can be seen posing with a turtle, the caption of which read, "Meet my new friend!"And in another picture, she was all smiles with her husband with a caption, "Vacation mode activated".Check out the posts here: Meanwhile, on the work front, the actress was last seen in 'Kalank' starring Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha and Kunal Kemmu. Helmed by Abhishek Varman, the period film was backed by Karan Johar.

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Madhuri Dixit shares pictures from her vacation in Seychelles with her husband and kids - Times of India

Four Seasons at the Seychelles: A force of nature – Spear’s WMS

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The islands of the Seychelles deserve all the heavenly clichs, says Arun Kakar, and Four Seasons has used the surroundings skilfully

Spanning an archipelago of 115 islands, the Republic of Seychelles has become associated with hyperbolic phrases such as paradise and heaven on earth. These phrases have become redundant with overuse, but as soon as one arrives on these islands one could be forgiven for venturing into hyperbole when trying to describe them.

Most international flights land on the main island of Mah, in the capital city of Victoria. Our first destination, Desroches, is 35 minutes away by seaplane. Most of its population of 300 are associated with its only resort, run by Four Seasons.

Desroches is one of the most staggering locations I have encountered. It covers a mere 933 acres, with five pristine beaches covering nine miles of coastline. And what beaches they are: safe, clean, and blissfully isolated. With just 71 properties along the coast, the only soul one might come across is a scurrying crab, or even a turtle.

These awe-inspiring intrinsic qualities of the island are understood perfectly by Four Seasons, which has turned the island into an ultimate luxury destination. The villa Im staying in has its own pool, private entrance to the beach and all the etceteras that one can expect. Its exposed wood interiors and rustic luxury sensibilities across the island make it very easy to feel at home here. You navigate Desroches island by bike (although one can opt for a golf buggy), and while exploring a rainforest path you might have to steer around the odd giant tortoise.

The two indoor/outdoor restaurants serve food at a level that baffles when you consider the remoteness and size of the island. The Lighthouse serves Japanese food with all the panache of an upmarket London eatery under the darkened lights of an outdoor seating paddock. The more chilled-out Claudine is a cool, airy beachside eatery with an impressive Mediterranean-inspired menu.

Theres plenty to do, but within minutes of receiving the keys one finds its difficult not to relax and simply let the island take you in its arms. But before long Im jetted back to Mah, where another Four Seasons resort awaits. The resort is tucked away on the south-west of the island, its villas and tree houses dotted along a mountain front overlooking its private beach.

Buggy is the primary mode of travel here, and it is a livelier affair. There are more restaurants, and they are busier but no less excellent, and its hilltop spa and yoga area are among the highlights.

As well as the many international fine dining options, the island is perhaps most famous for Creole cuisine, which blends together French, Spanish, West African, Amerindian, Haitian and German influence. A creamy octopus curry at a local restaurant was a surprising treat.

Its not a surprise that many visitors stay in the Seychelles for months on end. Its a life one could easily become used to.

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Four Seasons at the Seychelles: A force of nature - Spear's WMS

President Faure to visit the United Kingdom and strengthen Russia-Africa relations – Office of the President of the Republic of Seychelles

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

16 October 2019 | Foreign Affairs

The President of the Republic, Mr Danny Faure, will be proceeding on a working visit to the United Kingdom on Thursday 17 October. Following the Nekton Deep Ocean Expedition that took place in Seychelles earlier this year, marking the first time the deep ocean was explored in this region, President Faure has been invited to chair the first preparatory meeting for the first Indian Ocean Oceans Summit. The three-year Nekton survey is contributing to a summit on the state of the Indian Ocean planned for late 2022.

As part of his visit, the President will be presented with the findings of the Nekton expedition at the Royal Geographical Society in London. He has also been invited to deliver a lecture at the prestigious University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, centred on Seychelles leadership in the Blue Economy and ocean governance at one of the leading universities in the world. He will also meet with Rt Hon Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General, at Marlborough House.

Following the United Kingdom, the President will travel to Sochi for the first-ever Russia-Africa Summit. This is the first event of this level in the history of Russian-African relations, with the heads of all states of the African continent invited, as well as leaders of major sub-regional associations and organisations. The President will return to Seychelles on Sunday 27 October 2019, following the summit that will focus on the current state and prospects of Russia's relations with African countries and to the expansion of the political, economic, technical and cultural cooperation.

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President Faure to visit the United Kingdom and strengthen Russia-Africa relations - Office of the President of the Republic of Seychelles

Informing nutrition interventions in Southern Africa – Democratic Republic of the Congo – ReliefWeb

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The State of Nutrition in the SADC Region Malnutrition is one of the most significant challenges of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). According to the 2018 SADC State of Food and Nutrition Security and Vulnerability Report, 20 million children under age five in the region are stunted. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Mozambique and Zambia all have high stunting rates of 40 percent and above. In Madagascar, the national global acute malnutrition rate stands at eight percent. The prevalence of overweight in Botswana, Seychelles and South Africa is 10 percent and higher, indicating an emerging problem in the region.

The Global, Regional and National commitments on nutrition

In April 2016, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 20162025 the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. The Decade aims to catalyze policy commitments that result in measurable action to address all forms of malnutrition.

SADC Member States have also committed to meeting the nutrition targets in the Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030 - in particular, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and SDG 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages).

The SADC Protocol on Health and the SADC Health Policy Framework 2000 commit to improving the nutritional status of the population in the region and addressing the SADCs long-term goals of eliminating poverty.

The SADCs Food and Nutrition Security Strategy (2015 2025) also provides a roadmap for addressing food and nutrition insecurity and poverty especially among the most vulnerable populations.

According to the 2017 Global Nutrition report, for every USD 1 invested in nutrition, there is a USD 16 return. Converting the global, regional and national commitments mentioned above into reductions in malnutrition requires political commitment, better policies, increased investment, evidence-based decision-making and cooperation across sectors from a range of stakeholders

The critical contribution of the RVAA Programme

The RVAA Programme coordinates and supports SADC Members States through National Vulnerability Assessment Committees (NVACs) to undertake annual vulnerability assessments and analysis. Such analysis is a critical input to both emergency response and development programming, and used by both governments and partners.

To gain a deeper understanding of the causes of chronic vulnerability in the region and to inform longer-term programming, the RVAA Programme has integrated nutrition into vulnerability assessments and analysis. NVACs now generate information on nutrition, food consumption, water and sanitation, and child morbidity. The RVAA Programme complements national analysis by facilitating a comparative regional nutrition outlook. A Technical Working (TWG) on Integrating Nutrition, HIV and Gender, established in 2013, provides guidance on the integration of nutrition into vulnerability assessments and analysis. It aims to:

Build the capacities of SADC Member States to generate, analyze and use nutrition information to inform decision-making processes;

Provide a clear understanding of causal factors that are important to monitor and act upon in ensuring food and nutrition security; and

Support the formulation of evidence-based policies and programmes (short, medium and long term) in response to identified gaps.

The TWG group spearheaded the development of SADC Guidance on Integration of Nutrition, HIV, and Gender in Vulnerability Assessments and Analysis for NVACs in 2015. The document provides reviews of approaches, methodologies, and tools for integrating nutrition into the vulnerability assessments and analysis, adaptable to specific country contexts.

The RVAA Programme advocates for the development and implementation of policies and scaling up efforts to address malnutrition in the region.

Examples

In 2018, the Zimbabwe National Nutrition Survey assessed district level nutrition status among children under five years of age.

The Eswatini Vulnerability Assessment Committee has integrated elements of nutrition into their annual rural vulnerability assessment and analysis using variables such as anthropometric measurements.

The Botswana Vulnerability Assessment Committee integrated nutrition indicators into their 2016 Urban Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis (UVAA).

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Informing nutrition interventions in Southern Africa - Democratic Republic of the Congo - ReliefWeb

Night of the Walking Redheads – The New Yorker

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Every so often, word circulates on the Internet, and in the peripheries of the mainstream media, that people with red hair, like polar bears and coral reefs, are not long for this world. The arguments tend to involve pseudosciencespeculation about the effects of increased sunlight over the British Isles in a warming climate, misunderstanding of the nature of recessive genesand can often be traced, like much quackery, to profit motive. An interest in selling ancestry tests, say, or hair dye. Duncan Crary, a red-bearded redhead in Troy, New York, gets particularly energized when discussing an extinction-forecasting study produced more than a decade ago by the Oxford Hair Foundationa group funded by Procter & Gamble. Its a P.R. scam! he says. Crary likes to refer to his fellow-gingers, who represent between one and two per cent of the global population, as a permanent minority.

Shortly before 6 P.M. the other day, Crary surveyed the crowd at a riverside bar in Troy, exposed the whites of his green eyes with mischievous delight, and muttered, The red tide is coming. It was the seventh annual meeting of his club, the League of Extraordinary Red Heads, which convenes in October because of pumpkins and rusty foliage. Among the attendees were an eight-year-old boy sporting a T-shirt that read MC1R, a reference to the gene responsible for his Day-Glo follicles; a mother of three blue-eyed gingersthe rarest combination, she saidwho recalled the efforts of a childhood nemesis to connect the dots of her freckles with permanent marker; and a Conor McGregor look-alike named Jason Eveleth, whom Crary offered as an alternative to the so-called Ed Effect. This was more quackery, attributing a recent uptick in the self-reported sex lives of male redheads to the celebrity of Ed Sheeran. Crary noted that, whereas female redheads have historically been hypersexualized (think Jessica Rabbit), their male counterparts have been stereotyped as dweebs (think AlfredE. Neuman). Ed Sheeran is not a real macho guy, Crary said. Eveleth, on the other hand, has a mobsters nose and twenty-inch biceps. He objected to Crary calling him a bodybuilder, on grounds of political correctness. Im a professional fitness athlete, he said.

The red tide soon numbered two hundred and spilled onto the back deck. Crary climbed a fire escape and called the meeting to order. There are two items on our agenda, he said. And the first one is us. He singled out a local real-estate agent who brandished a fresh tattoo of the clubs logoa Rubiks-like quadrant of red, orange, umber, and whiteon his forearm. The second item was them. Crary mentioned Game of Thrones, and said, Red-headed characters did pretty well, didnt they? to whoops of applause. He proposed a special toast for GeorgeR.R. Martin, the author of the novels on which the series was based and a distinguished whiteheada spiritual cousin. On the count of three, echoing a line from the show, the crowd shouted, Gingers are kissed by fire!

As a troupe of fire dancers prepared to perform, Crary received word that there was a random red on the premisesa potential member who had arrived unwittingly. We get one every year, he said. This one, named Catherine Keighery, was from Ireland, and was visiting friends in Albany. Shed gone hiking that morning in Vermont, and then stopped off in Troy for dinner, on impulse. Some ginger guy with a beard and a dog stopped me and said, Are you going to the Redhead Night? she explained.

Keigherys bangs shone like copper wire. In Ireland, once a year, we have a Kiss a Ginger day, she said. And the wise guys, they kickOh, Im so sorry, they say. I misheard. Because we are a marginalized group, as Im sure you know. She gestured at Anasha Cummings, a hirsute Troy councilman who was elected after distributing his campaign platform printed on the backs of wearable red-beard cutouts. Were you bullied as a child? she asked.

I was homeschooled, he said.

Crary presented Keighery with a League membership card. Theres no dues to pay, because you already paid them growing up, he said.

So true! Keighery said. You know, the gingers are a dying breed. Were getting bred out. Its a fact.

Crary snorted. Thats been debunked! he said. We are not going extinct, girl. I think we predate humans. Neanderthals may have been redheads.

So we dont all have to go ridin a redhead? Keighery asked, sounding disappointed.

Nearby, a dark-haired man bummed a light from a bald man, who nodded in approval. Another leper, he said, referring not to the shared absence of ginger but to the cigarette habit.

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Night of the Walking Redheads - The New Yorker

England must keep their discipline in heat of World Cup knockout stages – The Guardian

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The last time the All Blacks lost a World Cup match was in 2007. It was a match I do not have fond memories of, having played in it, but incredibly valuable lessons were learned considering New Zealands record in the tournament since. Two things stand out when looking at why we lost that match against France. Firstly, we tinkered with our game plan throughout the pool stages and we just didnt quite get it right in the quarter-final. Secondly, we had not been tested at all in the pool stages and we came up against a team on a completely different level to anything we had experienced.

The first point shows the danger of not having clarity but I am not sure the second is relevant at this World Cup. Back then we put 70-odd points on Italy, more than 100 on Portugal, we thrashed Scotland because they were fielding a weakened team and scored another 80 against Romania.

You then get to the quarter-finals and the difference is huge. That is not the case any more. The lesser teams are competitive for long spells and while some scorelines have ended up as blow outs, things have improved so much in terms of athletic ability and physicality all teams hit hard. All teams have strength and conditioning coaches, they have nutritionists and the benefits are being reaped.

Having said that, there is inevitably a different feel when it becomes knockout rugby. Suddenly there is no tomorrow and all the players will all be aware of that. The key, and this is where the coaching staff come in, is to try and keep everything process driven as much as possible. When you start worrying about the outcome, thats when you have a problem. That was the big thing that changed for the All Blacks after 2007.

You have to try and keep the mood and the atmosphere in the camp the same, or as similar as you can, whether it be a pool stage match against Portugal or a quarter-final against France. For New Zealand, it was the development of the players leadership group after 2007 that has been key. How they learned to deal with the pressure and how they kept ice cold blue heads rather than panicked red heads in the crucial situations.

It will be interesting to see how England deal with the transition. I do not believe that the cancelled match against France will be much of a problem. Teams such as New Zealand and England can use that extra time to their benefit. Yes both teams have a couple of players who would have benefited from the extra game time, Mako Vunipola and Brodie Retallick for example, but both sets of players have been afforded a bit of downtime and then they can put in the extra analysis everything will be that little bit more detailed.

Where things could be problematic for England is the lack of experience of knockout international rugby. They did not get out of their pool four years ago which means there are only a few players in the squad with experience of playing a sudden-death World Cup match. Making up for that though, is the fact that the core of this team has huge experience of playing knockout club rugby. You look at the Saracens spine of this team and the amount of European matches they have won Super Rugby does not have that kind of equivalent.

The biggest concern I have over England is their discipline and whether it stands up when the heat is on in the knockout stages. It is the only area where I worry about them and how a game could slip away from them. They play right on the edge, defensively they are right on that line and the one thing you do not want to do in a quarter or a semi-final is give teams easy outs. If England find themselves charging into rucks when there is no genuine chance of winning the ball, or if they find themselves going in at the side, it would not surprise me to see referees clamping down on that sort of thing the deeper we go into the tournament.

With the pool stages now complete we are going to have very experienced assistant referees and that makes a difference very little is going to go unnoticed. If Englands opponents try and get under their skin, how will they react?

Because I fully expect that sort of challenge from Australia on Saturday. At the breakdown Australia will really try and put them under pressure, slow the ball down and try to take the sting out of Englands power game. It will be niggly and how Englands discipline holds up will be fascinating.

To give them their dues, England have been clinical so far. Theyve responded and adapted to what has happened to them. Teams want to lift their performances against England but Eddie Joness players have found a way to get the result they needed. I think they are in a good place. The expectation will come from outside the group but I do expect an awkward, potentially scrappy game against Australia. The breakdown will be a massive contest and that could make it stop-start and help England in terms of their tactical kicking.

Either way, it should be a cracking encounter and it will be proper knockout rugby. These are the matches that everyone has been waiting for and while weve had a wonderful pool stage, bookended by New Zealand and South Africa going at it and then Japans incredible win over Scotland, it is now that the World Cup really starts.

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England must keep their discipline in heat of World Cup knockout stages - The Guardian

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