Random Notes from a Crank

 

I saw this image from the Radical Centrist on FB. I thought I'd share. 

If you were to make a Venn diagram of these assertions, that Venn diagram don't hunt. 

I don't understand why Tottenham Hotspur appears not to be showing any interest in the Canadian striker Jonathan David. 

He's a free agent. He's two-footed. He's productive. He's in his mid-20s. And there's no transfer free. I think he's a fabulous player. 

In a recent YouGov daily survey, 50% of people polled said "Yes" to this question:"Would you ever vote for a third party or an independent candidate?" I said Yes to that question. I'd vote for one for sure if the candidate was viable. 

The third question was "Do you think a third major political party is necessary for the United States, or are the Democratic and Republican parties enough?" 55% answered "A third party is necessary in the U.S." Only 20% agreed with "The Democratic and Republican parties are enough to represent Americans." 25% were "Not sure." 

Mother Jones has a solid short article that describes the importance of preserving and probably expanding wetlands: "The Economic Case for Preserving America's Wetlands." 

As the author relates, wetlands work like sponges, so they can prevent the massive flooding events that are only going to be more frequent because of climate change. Unfortunately, under the the administration of President Adolf, I doubt many projects like the one in Raleigh are going to get going.  

A frightening article in that same issue of Mother Jones is one about Clearview AI, a facial-recognition tech company whose founders have ties to right-wing extremists, Holocaust deniers, and Neo-Nazis. 

Check out "The Shocking Far-Right Agenda behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI."

Here are some interesting statistics from the June "Harper's Index":

• Percentage by which tourism to the United States is projected to decrease this year: 9
• Percentage increase this year in seizures of eggs being smuggled into the United States: 48
• Percentage increase last year in the number of U.S. households that owned chickens: 28
• Factor by which the word "notable" appears more frequently in AI-generated sentences than in those written by humans: 13
• By which the word "esteemed" does: 120

I'm surprised the decrease in tourism is only projected to be 9%. I thought it would be in the high teens.

I'll be on the lookout for "notable" and "esteemed." 

Stay Positive: Grading the Tottenham Summer Transfer Window

The transfer window has closed at least for the Premier League. Tottenham had a ton of outgoings and acquired some incoming players, many of whom I'm excited about. 

Outgoings

Although it's still technically a loan to Marseille, Hojbjerg was a solid player for Spurs although he didn't really fit the Ange Ball system. The Danish captain is likely to excel in the French league. 

Emerson Royal going to AC Milian made sense because he's more of traditional right-back. He was a popular guy in the squad, but he's another player who really didn't fit the system. 

Rodon to stay at Leeds United made sense, but I don't think any manager has ever given him a fair shot. Regardless, the fans at Elland Road appreciate him, and I hope Leeds come back up the Premier League next season. 

Spurs paying off Ndombele made a heck of a lot of sense. We moved on from a terrible signing. 

Tanganga going to Millwall will probably work out for him, but I hate seeing an academy player go somewhere else. 

Troy Parrott was sold to AZ for a decent fee and will probably excel in the Dutch league like he did last season. 

Lo Celso finally made it back to Real Betis. I've always liked Gio, and I think he should have played more often last season, especially when Maddison was out. But Lo Celso has his own history of injury problems even though he usually seems to be fit for international duty. 

Bryan Gil going to Girona makes sense. It just seemed like he is not built for English football. 

One of my few criticisms of the gaffer is that Skipp never played in a position that suited him. He's more of a defensive midfielder, but when he played for Ange, Skipp played more an 8 when he's really a 6. I don't get it. 

Manor Solomon is on loan at Leeds and will probably do quite well there. In his first game, he got an assist. With the guys we brought in, he wasn't going to get regular playing time and needed to go somewhere to get back in playing rhythm. 

Why couldn't they find a club for Reguilon? 

Incomings

Bringing back Werner on loan at the club early in the window was a head-scratcher to me. I think he'll do okay for what the manager asks him to do, but my reaction to bring him back was "Meh." They could have done better, but I hope I'm proven wrong. I wanted someone better than okay.

In contrast, acquiring Solanke could prove to be a pivotal signing. I think he's a solid center-forward. 

I love the signings of Bergvall and Gray because they're both young and talented. Bergvall might serve as Maddison's understudy and has looked really good so far. Gray can play a number of positions, but I think he'll eventually settle in as a midfielder. I'm excited about both of these players. 

The South Korean Yang will come in January I believe, and I like him because he's young and versatile, which is a trend among acquisitions under Ange. 

Odobert was a surprise signing, and I think he'll grow into his role as a front-line player either on the left or right wing.

Although he's technically not an incoming, Spence staying helps provide cover at right and left back. And he's English. 

Grade

The transactions of Skipp and Werner puzzle me, and I like the additions of the youngsters Gray, Bergvall, Odobert, and Yang. Solanke was a smart signing. The club also did a strong job of shipping out players who needed to go out a year ago and moving other players to clubs. I grade the Tottenham transfer window a B.