#41: Le"Veon Bell (RB, Steelers) | Top 100 NFL Players of 2016
Bells teammate, Antonio Brown, just scored the top spot on our list of the NFLs top outside receivers, so the Steelers 12 punch at the skill positions should be envied by the league. The 48th overall pick in 2013, Bell left college as a bruising workhorse back with questions about his pass-catching prowess and has since become as potent a three-down back as there has been in recent memory. He caught 83 passes during the 2014 season (one more than Rob Gronkowski), en route to 2,200 total yards from scrimmage. He was on an 1,800-plus-yard pace again last season before a knee injury ended his year in Week 8. Bell claims his legs are even stronger now after rehab, but if he even can get back to his 14 form, he should again be as productive as they come.
The Kabali review we don"t want you to see | Superstar Rajinikanth | Fully Filmy
Exclusive Kabali Review out. The first review of Superstar much-anticipated film has been given by Umair Sandhu of UK Censor board member.
Superstar Rajinikanth much anticipated movie Kabali is all set to release on this weekend i.e. on July 22nd worldwide. The word Kabali is trending now not only in India but also across the globe. Rajinikanth fans are hanging on Kabali mania and all are eagerly waiting to see the film on the first day. Already advance bookings and online tickets were sold out in Overseas and in India also. Now exclusive Kabali Review was out a few hours back.
The censor board member and popular film critic Umair Sandhu has given the first review of Kabali movie just a few hours back. He posted the review on his official twitter and Facebook page for viewers. Here is the information about that just have a look on it.
The official teaser and songs have been created records and now Superstar is coming up with a full-length commercial film after two disasters. Expectations reached sky high and there is a lot of expectation on the film. The pre-release business of the movie has touched 200 crore mark.
He posted that Kabali is simply mind blowing and one man show of Superstar Rajinikanth. He delivered an outstanding performance in the film. Leading lady Radhika Apte also delivered a superb performance along with Rajini. A very good performance has given by all supporting actors. The cinematography, songs, editing and screenplay is excellent. Directed by Pa. Ranjith, Santosh Narayan has composed catchy tunes. He gave Kabali Review and Rating 4/5.
Clinton and Trump, up on the high wire, Once side's ice and one is fire, Putting on a show for you and me.
by Gaius Publius
I'm preparing for a month-long haitus (vacation, finally), and while I'll be reading the news I won't be commenting on it. Ahead of that, I'd like to offer these thoughts.
1. Our "Look Ahead" series will continue as the fall campaign kicks off. The outcome of the election, though, is very hard to predict. Each campaign seems determined to drive its own car into the ditch. Last car with wheels on the road will win this one. Plus there's those ever-present black swans, like this one.
As to what happens after the election, it gets more predictable. Whoever ultimately wins, we'll know enough in the fall to know nearly every player's fate for the next few years — Trump, Clinton, the progressive-hating Democratic leadership, the Koch-bossed Republican Party, Sanders-supporting progressives themselves; all of their Tarot cards will be laid out for reading, up to the moment when the climate throws its own card into the mix. We just have to be willing to look at what those cards say.
If you're interested, the parts so far of the Look Ahead series are these:
2. Clinton is looking more and more vulnerable, according to the latest Economist / YouGov poll (pdf). Whatever you think of the outcome of the Trump-Clinton contest, so far no one has a real lead, and both are playing high-risk game of highwire, a tightrope act without a net.
Surprising Poll Results
The following look at some of the poll results comes from poster Vraye_Foi at the Reddit site r/Kossacks_for_Sanders. The poll itself is long and worth a further look, if you're so inclined. My thanks for this summary of just a a few of its findings (my emphasis except where noted):
Pages 12 and 13 of the report [the "enthusiasm" pages] are full of interesting data, some of which I'll highlight -
25% of Democrats are either Dissatisfied or Upset [Clinton] is the Democrat candidate for President
62% of Independents are either Dissatisfied or Upset that she is the Democrat candidate for President
43% of those polled across the board (includes all demographics and party affiliations) are "Upset" that she is the Democrat candidate for President
When it comes to Independents' view of Donald Trump, only 44% are Dissatisfied or Upset that he is the Republican nominee.
Enthusiastic Support for Trump within his party is at 51%. Hillary's Enthusiastic support within her party: 34%.
The choices for this question are: Enthusiastic, Satisfied, Dissatisfied, Upset, Not Sure. The wording of the most extreme categories is Enthusiastic and Upset. So Trump starts the pre-convention head-to-head campaigning with more enthusiasm within his party and also with independents than Clinton does, by a lot if the poll is right.
When looking at support among women:
And continuing on the theme of "Enthusiastic Support", how about this surprise:
18% of female respondents are Enthusiastic for Trump
19% of female respondents are Enthusiastic for Clinton
So just an aside and speaking as a woman here, can the HRC campaign cut the shit bout how it's sexist if you don't support or vote for Hillary? Please? Because this poll shows that women are about as enthusiastic and thrilled about Hillary as they are about Trump. ...
On the negative side, when it comes to Hillary being the Democrats' candidate, 12% of the women polled feel "Dissatisfied but not Upset" and 42% are UPSET.
It must be troubling news for the HRC campaign to see Enthusiastic/Satisfied combined numbers (45%) linger behind the Dissatisfied/Upset numbers (54%). A lot of women are not happy that Clinton is the nominee.
We're not saying that situation is right or wrong, just that it is. Now about enthusiasm by age (emphasis in original):
The other shocker is that 49% of respondents age 45 - 64 are "Upset" she is the Dem's candidate. But wait - it gets even more shocking: 53% of respondents over the age of 65 responded "Upset" as well.
Hasn't the narrative been that HRC has solid support from the over 45s and women? This poll raises some questions about that. Just as with the women respondents, the 45 and older crowd's negative sentiments towards HRC's candidacy are HIGHER than the positive ones.
That "over 65" polling number is across all genders and party identifications, but so is the general election.
Gary Johnson and Jill Stein
There's Johnson and Stein polling in the report as well. The reddit poster quoted above notes this (regarding data on pages 21 and 23):
General Election | Johnson Preference
Would you say you are mostly voting FOR Gary Johnson, AGAINST Hillary Clinton or AGAINST Donald Trump? Asked of those who would vote for Gary Johnson
I’m mostly voting FOR Gary Johnson 38%
I’m mostly voting AGAINST Hillary Clinton 37%
I’m mostly voting AGAINST Donald Trump 23%
Not sure 2%
General Election | Stein Preference
Would you say you are mostly voting FOR Jill Stein, AGAINST Hillary Clinton or AGAINST Donald Trump? Asked of those who would vote for Jill Stein
I’m mostly voting FOR Jill Stein 36%
I’m mostly voting AGAINST Hillary Clinton 42%
I’m mostly voting AGAINST Donald Trump 8%
Not sure 13%
Page 25 of the poll gives data in general on whether people are voting For a given candidate or Against a given candidate. Those general results are mainly a wash. The split in voting for vs. against Clinton is 28%–23%. The same split for Trump is 23%–20%, with 2% each saying they're voting FOR Johnson or Stein.
But it's the Against Clinton number in the Johnson and Stein polling that should cause worry in the Democratic camp. The Johnson+Stein combined Against Clinton total, as shown above, is 79%. The Johnson+Stein combined Against Trump total is just 31%. In other words, prospective Libertarian+Green voters, as a group, are much more strongly against Clinton than against Donald Trump, at least prior to the start of the fall campaign.
Pages 27–30 are also interesting. The question is, "Would you consider voting for [Clinton/Trump/Johnson/Stein]?" Possible responses are Might, Would Never, Not Sure, with overall totals and cross-tabulated breakdowns by gender, age, and so on. The Might vs. Would Never breakdown for Clinton among Democratic primary voters who prefer Sanders is 59%–38%. The same breakdown for this group (Democratic primary voters who prefer Sanders) for Johnson is 45%–28%, and for Stein is 44%–20%.
To put that more simply, 38% of Sanders supporters would never vote for Clinton. Where would they go? An even split — 45% would vote for Johnson and 44% would vote for Stein.
Independents Still Control this Election
It looks like it's still true, that this year's "radical independents," people who were attracted to Trump and/or Sanders as a way to raise a "pronounced middle finger" to the powers that be (Norman Solomon's phrase in a slightly different context), are likely to decide this election. They may not know who they're for, but they're pretty sure who, or what, they're against. For far too many voters, there is no good outcome.
"Le Pendu," the one left hanging, suspended in time and awaiting the outcome (source).
Enjoy the rest of the summer. I'll be back with more in a month.
Football Pioneers - Dennis Green http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Dennis-Green-one-of-the-winningest-NFL-coaches-8403250.php
Published 9:51am, Friday, July 22, 2016
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Dennis Green, one of the winningest NFL coaches in the 1990s before a failed run with the Arizona Cardinals, has died at age of 67.
Wonkish and only interesting if you are aware of the proposals and controversy. But if you are, it's a must-read. Sumner and Woolsey are economists and don’t have a good trip on finance and how it works, as Mike Sankowski has pointed out previously. Brian follows up on the latest proposal.
RNC Day 4: Donald and Ivanka Trump, Peter Thiel & More
Ivanka Trump became her father Donald Trumps ambassador to women Thursday night when she sought to introduce a Republican presidential nominee who prioritizes equal pay and affordable child care.
Speaking ahead of the billionaire businessman, the younger Trump described her father as a color-blind and gender-neutral man who hires the best person for the job, period. Ivanka Trump, who has worked alongside Donald Trump for more than a decade, said the candidate hires people from all walks of life.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
While the elder Trump has been the subject of criticism for his comments about women, his daughter assured listeners in Cleveland at the Quicken Loans Arena that Donald Trumps construction sites are true meritocracies.
In a speech that outlined many priorities often highlighted by Democrats, Ivanka Trump also indicated the GOP nominee would make affordable childcare a key issue in his potential presidency. She suggested motherhood created pay inequities and said her father would fight to change that.
Donald Trump will focus on making affordable childcare affordable and accessible for all, Ivanka Trump told the excited crowd. It is important to note, though, that the candidate himself has not yet addressed issues of pay inequality or childcare costs on the campaign trail.
In Ivanka Trumps view, Donald Trump has the kindness and compassion that will enable him to be the leader that this country needs.
I am here to tell you that this is the moment, and Donald Trump is the person, to make America great again, Ivanka Trump said, borrowing her fathers famous slogan. If its possible to be famous, and simultaneously not well-known, that describes the father who raised me.
I have seen him fight for his family, she continued, I have seen him fight for his employees, I have seen him fight for his company, and now, I am seeing him fight for our country.
Closing her remarks, before Donald Trump took the stage to deliver his much-anticipated nomination acceptance speech, she shared of her fathers optimism and love for the United States. She said the New York real estate developer will bring fresh perspective and brave new solutions to the White House, if he succeeds in November.
Hes the single-most qualified person to serve as chief executive of an $18 trillion economy, she asserted.
Revealing speech from (former?) libertarian Thiel last night at the RNC.
"When I was a kid, the great debate was about how to defeat the Soviet Union, and we won," Thiel said.
"Now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom. This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares?"
Thiel said his support for Trump was based on the belief that the candidate could address the country's economic decline. He cited the space program and other government technology achievements as examples of what has been lost.
Thiel drew parallels between himself and Trump each as a "builder."
If you want to understand Thiel and Trump you should focus on each of them self-describing as "builders". They (think they) can achieve socio-economic justice thru competent implementation/operation of material economic systems.
While we indeed need competent material systems people in positions of rule in order to receive robust levels of provision for ourselves, this alone won't achieve what I believe they think it can in the non-material areas of socio-economic justice.
In that video, Ms. Zeigler is Sias doppelgnger. With bare feet, thrashing legs and a wild-child innocence Sia described it as a person on the verge of a nervous breakdown she seems primal, even awkward, but in no way erotic.
Sia - Chandelier (Official Video) Video by SiaVEVO
It was very important to me that she not be sexualized in any way on my watch, Sia said. The first time I came to see what Ryan had choreographed, I remember asking for a few curvy hip movements to be changed to gorilla dancing and belly patting. I remember saying flexed foot over pointed foot, and lets make it weirder and throwing some ideas around about facial pulling and eating some pretend ramen.
That back and forth, she said, was how she and Mr. Heffington discovered their language. I couldnt think of anything Id want less than just another video for little girls and boys to watch that tells them: Look pretty! Be sexy! I want my work to say: Get weird! Express yourself freely!
Photo Maddie Ziegler, one of Sias dancers, and the choreographer Ryan Heffington. Credit Mathieu Plainfoss
Mr. Heffington doesnt believe that dance is underused in pop music more that it is abused much of the time by adhering to an easy formula. We established the artist and backup dancers, I believe, in the early 80s, he said. There has to be evolution, and there is. Were doing it.
He added: Im impressed when I go and see Beyonc in concert Im absolutely floored by the spectacle. Im not emotionally charged or engaged at all.
Mr. Heffington calls his approach to choreography human based. When you do gestures, everyone knows what that feels like, he said. It doesnt become a superhuman exercise onstage, but rather a story that we all know. Even if you havent been through it, you understand the emotion.
Sia discovered Mr. Heffington when she attended a performance of his 2013 production of KTCHN, a dance installation inspired by the works of the visual artist Nolan Hendrickson, in Los Angeles. At that point, Sia said, she logged him in my mental Rolodex for future collaboration. She added: I was so so inspired by that show. I felt a connection to his work that I rarely, if ever, feel watching other dance.
Mr. Heffington, 43, began his dance training at the age of 8 in Yuba City, Calif.; after moving to Los Angeles in 1991, he found the commercial dance world lacking and began to choreograph on his own, creating pieces for clubs and showcases. In the 90s, along with Bubba Carr, he created Psycho Dance Sho, an adventurous cabaret act that touched on violence and comedy while experimenting with gender-bending. As he put it, there were no rules.
His aesthetic, which wouldnt feel out of place in the downtown New York dance scene, is a poetic mix of Yvonne Rainer, the postmodern dance legend who embraced pedestrian movement, and Darcel or Darcel Leonard Wynne the glamorous Solid Gold dancer. (She is one of his favorites.)
Mr. Heffington, who has choreographed for many artists, including Arcade Fire (We Exist) and Florence and the Machine (The Odyssey), is increasingly in demand. Recently, he worked on Kenzos new perfume campaign, which includes a film directed by Spike Jonze. On Saturday, July 30, he is to unveil a dance at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles for its Summer Happenings series.
As for Sia, Mr. Heffington said he grasped her music visually. Its really easy for me to translate, he said. Its almost always instant. I trust; I feel something. Of course, there is a lot of direction from Sia. Its not a long, painstaking rehearsal process. It comes and, sure, I fine-tune, but I dont work on something and go, Oh my G*d its not working. Its like an inner voice. I cant nitpick, and I cant deconstruct. It kills it for me.
So far, Sia has left the dancing in her videos to others. I love to dance, she said. I have always been the first on the dance floor, but Im not teachable. I couldnt learn five, six, seven, eight if my life depended on it. Ryan keeps trying to convince me to do a video myself, and I find that so flattering, but Im too afraid or lazy. (Please give it a whirl.)
But Mr. Heffington is interested in more than technique: Its not about the extreme conditioning that we sometimes think makes the best dancer, he said. Its more about accessing the human story through dance.
And when he listens to Sias voice, he said, its as if the lyrics are stripped away. G*d knows I dont even know the Chandelier lyrics of course, we didnt do a literal interpretation, so I didnt really have to listen to them, but its not where I draw my inspiration from when Im hearing the music, he said. Its emotional, expressive how the voice snakes up and pulls back.
A new book edited by Michael Jacobs and Mariana Mazzucato and featuring contributions from Joseph Stiglitz, L. Randall Wray, Stephanie Kelton, and others will be released tomorrow:
Pearl Jam/Soundgarden/Temple of the Dog drummer Matt Cameron discussed Temple of the Dog in a new Radio interview.
Its the 25th anniversary [of Temple of the Dog], but we had to go through this contentious court battle to get these idiots to give us our master tapes back. And thats when Chris posted that [to Facebook]. But yeah, were figuring that stuff out now, as far as the re-release goes.
He later said, I do not enjoy the current philosophy, where its sort of expected that you release all of your outtakes and rehearsals and demos, I really dont like that aspect of it at all. But the fans really like it, so Im always talked into having those things in our Soundgarden re-releases. Were trying to get Badmotorfinger off right now, were trying to figure out what to put on that, and there were a lot really cool outtakes and things like that. I personally, as a songwriter and as a performer, dont really want people to hear that [laughs]. But I guess as a fan, its cool to hear the inner workings of how a record gets made.
What extras might make it onto the Temple of the Dog reissue?
I think theres probably alternate takes, and I think Chris made demos. But his demos are pretty freaking cool. Some of his demos are amazing. I think that would be OK. But I guess it depends on the quality. But as a musician, I like people to hear the finished product. Its not a deal breaker for me, its more of a philosophical difference I guess. The process of creating music is fantastic, as an artist, but theres got to be some privacy there.
Miranda Kerr and Evan Spiegel"s Best Couple Moments | E! News caption Supermodel Miranda Kerr is engaged to the founder of Snapchat.
Supermodel Miranda Kerr and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel are engaged - and the soon-to-be-newlyweds announced the big news with (what else?) a custom Snapchat filter.
The couple have been dating for one year, though they were friends before their relationship began, US Weekly reports. Kerr posted the news today on her Instagram and in a Snapchat story.
"They are extremely happy," a rep for Spiegel told the Daily Mail.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Southwest Airlines canceled 220 more flights Thursday morning, a day after the airline canceled up to 700 flights because of a computer system outage.
[MORE: Track flights at OIA| Southwest scheduling ]
The Orlando International Airport reported 11 inbound flights and nine outbound flights being canceled as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, adding that more cancellationsmay occur throughout the day. Travelers should check with Southwest Airlines for schedule changes and updates, airport officials said.
The "intermittent performance issues" with multiple technology systems prompted all check-ins, baggage and ticketing to be done manually at OIA Wednesday, along with causing temporary ground stops for flights that hadn"t left the gate yet.
"Flight delays across our network have resulted in 600-700 canceled and delayed flights," Southwest Airlines said in a statement Wednesday night. "Systems are gradually coming back online and we continue to move toward a normal operation."
The airline said in a statement on Thursday that employees, "worked around issues with primary systems and utilized back-up procedures to get as many customers and checked luggage to their intended destinations as we worked to fix the system."
"We sincerely apologize to our customers whose travel plans have been impacted," the airline said in a statement.
Pictures posted to social media Wednesday afternoon showed long lines wrapping in front of the Southwest kiosks at OIA, with people sitting down.
Dozens of fliers took to Twitter to complain about the delays. Some said they were aboard flights held on the runway.
"I love @SouthwestAir but I don"t love wasting my PTO on the Tarmac," one user wrote.
Another traveler tweeted at Southwest Airlines, "hundreds of children who just visited the happiest place in world are very unhappy ..."
Southwest"s website was also down, turning up what the airline is calling a "waiting room" page where visitors weren"t able to book flights.
"There were planes stuck behind me out in the tarmac and those people had it miserable," one traveler said.
Many tried to stay positive as Southwest Airlines" computer system crashed nationwide, leaving thousands of passengers stuck at the gate sitting on planes, some for nearly two hours.
"Everybody in Chicago for Southwest was down for a while," passenger Brent Hortze said. "Stretch our legs, our butts were hurting from sitting so long."
Ticket counters at OIA were backed up, some saying they had to wait 45 minutes just to get through the lines because the automated check-in and baggage systems were down.
"They were starting to print them and that went down, and then they were writing them by hand," traveler Kathleen Sprole said.
Heidi McMahon said she was dropping off her 9-year old grandson to fly alone, but they told her no Southwest planes were taking off.
"They told us to come back in 20 minutes and they would try to get him booked on another flight. The whole thing is down. They can"t even get him rebooked," McMahon said.
Downdetector counted more than 3,000 social media posts complaining about the issues beginning around 2:30 p.m. ET.
"We expect to continue our move toward a normal operation but believe it will take time," Southwest officials said Wednesday afternoon.
Officials at OIA are urging travelers to arrive early for their flights.
"Flexible rebooking accommodation will be available to customers once our systems are fully functional," the airline said. "Customers who are booked to travel tomorrow, Thursday, July 21, should check flight status information on Southwest.com and plan to arrive to the airport early, as longer than typical lines are likely."
Copyright 2016 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.
TEMPLE OF THE DOG the Seattle supergroup featuring SOUNDGARDEN"s Chris Cornell, PEARL JAM"s Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, and drummer Matt Cameron (who plays drums with both SOUNDGARDEN and PEARL JAM) has reunited and will tour for the first time ever since forming in 1990. The band will play five cities, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, in November.
A special ticket pre-sale for fans signed up to the Ten Club, SOUNDGARDEN and Chris Cornell email lists begins immediately and runs through July 27. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, July 29t at 12:00 p.m. local time. $1.50 from each ticket sold will benefit the Chris And Vicky Cornell Foundation and an additional $1.50 will benefit PEARL JAM"s Vitalogy Foundation.The tour marks the 25th anniversary of the release of TEMPLE OF THE DOG"s first and only album, a self-titled set that was released by A&M Records on April 16, 1991. "We wanted to do the one thing we never got to do play shows and see what it feels like to be the band that we walked away from 25 years ago," Cornell says of the 2016 tour.On September 30, UMe will release a special TEMPLE OF THE DOG 25th anniversary reissue collection of their landmark album, newly mixed by Brendan O"Brien. The collection will be available in four configurations, including a four disc Super Deluxe, a double LP, a two CD Deluxe, and a single CD. Physical pre-orders are available today along with a detailed list of the contents of each configuration here.TEMPLE OF THE DOG came together from the ashes of MOTHER LOVE BONE following the death from a drug overdose of its frontman Andrew Wood, Cornell"s close friend and roommate. Cornell wrote future TEMPLE OF THE DOG songs "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Reach Down" to help process his grief, "but the songs didn"t have any destination," he says. "I was compelled to write them and there they were written in a vacuum as a tribute to Andy. My thought was that maybe I could record these songs with the remaining members of MOTHER LOVE BONE and that maybe we could release them as a tribute."MOTHER LOVE BONE"s Gossard and Ament began playing with McCready, and they brought in SOUNDGARDEN"s Cameron to drum on demos. Because this was a collaboration, and a tribute, there was no commercial expectation for the TEMPLE OF THE DOG album. It would be, Gossard would later observe, "the easiest and most beautiful record that we"ve ever been involved with." Adds Cornell: "TEMPLE was about making an album simply for the joy of doing it. We weren"t concerned what anyone outside of our group of friends would think of it. It was the first and maybe only stress-free album that we all made."Gossard, Ament and McCready were also simultaneously forming a new band, which more than six months later would be known as PEARL JAM. A singer from San Diego named Eddie Vedder, who was vying to lead the project, came into the studio to sing background vocals on three of the TEMPLE songs. When Cornell thought another song, "Hunger Strike", needed a duet, Vedder was enlisted. "Hunger Strike" became a hit single, peaking at No. 4 on Billboard"s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. TEMPLE OF THE DOG performed live only a handful of times, most notably in Seattle, in November and December of 1990. Those shows have become some of the most legendary Seattle concerts of all-time. Their 2016 shows mark the first time the band has ever toured. (Cornell joined PEARL JAM in 2014 at the Bridge School show and for two nights at PJ20 in Alpine Valley, WI, and the TEMPLE lineup played "Reach Down" and "Call Me A Dog" at Seattle"s Benaroya Hall in January 2015.)"This is something no one has ever seen," Cornell says of the official reunion. "We wanted to stop and recognize that we did this and pay homage."TEMPLE OF THE DOG"s upcoming tour dates are as follows:Nov. 04 - Philadelphia, PA - Tower TheaterNov. 07 - New York, NY - Madison Square GardenNov. 11 - San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic CenterNov. 14 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum Nov. 20 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater
Naked power grab by — the US, conducted under the appearance of a judicial proceeding. China is calling BS and is ready to fight over it on the principle that if lines are not drawn, the US will just seize everything it possibly can under some pretext, through internal subversion or at the point of a gun. China is having none of it.
Engdahl explains the details that the news media are not reporting.
This exchange between a German journalist and a flamboyant Russian politician [Vladimir Zhirinovsky] who is often compared with Donald Trump, happened more than a month ago on Russia’s popular Channel 1.
Manchester United have thrashed out a huge financial package with Paul Pogba as his record-breaking move from Juventus inches closer.
Sportsmail understands the central midfielder has agreed terms on a prospective five-year contract worth 220,000 a week.
Juventus rejected an improved offer of 92million from United, and the Italian club are demanding that any deal leaves them with a clear 100m after United pay Pogbas agent Mino Raiola his agreed 20 per cent bonus.
It is understood Manchester United have agreed personal terms to re-sign Paul Pogba with his agent
The Juventus midfielder is currently on holiday in Miami and has been pictured playing basketball
Pogba, wearing the shirt of Golden State Warriors starStephen Curry, took a tumble during the game
The France international was all smiles as he was helped to his feet ahead of his expected move to United
PAUL POGBA 2015-16 STATS
CLUB
Games: 49
Goals: 10
Assists: 12
Honours: Serie A, Coppa Italia
INTERNATIONAL
Games: 11
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
In an effort to make him stay, however, Juventus are believed to be ready to offer Pogba a substantial increase on hiscurrent 72,000 a week. But their resolve to hold on to the star is to be severely tested as United step up their efforts to sign him.
Pogba deliberated long and hard over his future during the European Championship but has since made up his mind to leave Turin and rejoin the club he left acrimoniously in 2012.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has convinced the 23-year-old and his agent, Mino Raiola, that joining the excitement surrounding Jose Mourinhos new dawn at Old Trafford is worth sacrificing a season of Champions League football for.
It is understood that Pogba has agreed terms with United on a five-year deal worth 220,000 a week
Pogba played for Manchester United as a youngster but left to join Juventus on a free transfer in 2012
The 23-year-old, who represented France at this summer"s Euro 2016, is set to return to Old Trafford
Woodward was not on Tuesday afternoons flight to China for this summers pre-season tour, with his priority firmly on negotiating the most high-profile transfer in the clubs history.
Pogbas heart was initially set on leaving for Real Madrid but Florentino Perez president at the Bernabeu held reservations about the scale of transfer fee and wages required to land him.
That gave United a clear run and Sportsmail has been told Pogba is now on the hunt for a property in Prestbury, an exclusive Cheshire village.
Juventus are desperate not to lose their talisman, although they have made a number of prominent signings this summer to cushion any potential blow. Pogba (right) is on holiday in Miami alongside another of Raiolas clients, Romelu Lukaku.
Pogba scored 10 goals and provided 12 assists as Juventus romped to league and cup glory last season
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is also thought to have secured himself a mansion in Prestbury.
Woodward recognises the commercial value Pogba would bring to United. Last month SportsPro magazine ranked him as the second most marketable sportsman in the world, behind NBA superstar Stephen Curry and ahead of third-placed India batsman Virat Kohli.
He also endorses adidas, whose 10-year sponsorship deal with United worth 750m began at the start of last season.
Mourinho has been confident of landing Pogba all summer and United have already spent more than 50m recruiting central defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal and Dortmunds Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Both flew out to Asia with the squad ahead of Fridays first tour match in Shanghai.
Manchester United"s players and Jose Mourinho pose for a picture ahead of their flight to China on Tuesday
Jose Mourinho is putting his stamp on United"s squad after taking over the reins at Old Trafford this summer
FULL SPEECH: CHARMING! Mike Pence - Paul Ryan intro - Republican National Convention
In reading into the record the names of candidates to be placed into nomination, the committee entered only Donald Trump. Then they let the vote proceed. But from the very first state, it was clear that there was more towhat Ryan had said.
The chair on stage read out Alaskas vote as 28 votes, with 11 delegates bound.
The state chair, after giving the usual go-our-state rah-rah speech, read off the vote totals: 12 votes for Ted Cruz, 11 for Trump, 5 for Marco Rubio.
The secretary then read back the results: 28 votes for Donald Trump.
It happened again in D.C., where Trump received no delegates in the election, and was awarded 19 when totals were reada result that onlyrubbedsalt in the wound generated by aparty platform which also includes language not justdenying statehood for the capitall,but stripping away what little sovereignty its now allowed.
The altered votes also hammered two other states, both of which harbored known Never Trump members. In every case, the states found that no matter how smallor nonexistentTrumps delegate count may have been when announced from the floor, it was different on stage. He got everything.
At the end of the evening, Alaska protested the change in their announced vote totals, and the carefully-protected schedule took a small hit anyway as state and RNC officialshuddled. The secret, which fell to Reince Priebus to reveal, was that Ryan had decided to use old, never-before-deployed rules in which, if only a single candidate is entered into nomination, any unbound delegate is automatically counted as going to that single candidate. Then the RNC went through all the state rules, looking for states where delegates were considered unbound after a candidate suspected his campaign.
The RNC ignored Alaskas protest that they had suspended the rule about considering candidates unbound at their state convention. The count on the stage stood: Trump 28, Alaska Voters: 0.
The odd combination, in which some states were recorded as-read and others had their votes distorted out of recognition, came across as arbitrary and vindictive. Because it was. Ryan might have chosen to go with the bluntbut straightforward rule that only Trump votes would be counted. He might have accepted the votes from all states as-read. But by implementing arcane rules that affected only a handful of states, he generated the impression that the RNC was both violating the rights of states and padding Trumps lead.
Which was true.
Its likely that Ryan chose to impose the odd combination of never-used rules expressly to cut off any effort of delegates to vote their conscience. Any delegate voting against their primary resultsmight have been unboundand automatically tallied for Trump, no matter what name they declared. And in any case, yanking the votes from a few states helped pad out Trumps lead, making his win appear more decisive and better able to withstand any last-minute rebellion.
But what it all made clear was that Ryan was willing to say anything, do anything, and twist any rule not to generate real party unity, but to create the semblance of unity, as well as toinform the delegates that they dont count. That only the RNC counts.
Wednesday during The Alan Colmes Shows third day of broadcasts from the Republican National Convention, Alan spoke with former talk show host Montel Williams, who had taken part in the Americans United Funds event to raise awareness for LBGT rights earlier in the day.
Williams told Alan that he still has concerns about voting for Donald Trump, but he still has enough issues with Hillary Clinton to not support for her either, and might even resort to writing in a candidate. Williams also told Alan why he doesnt miss hosting a daily talk show, especially with audiences appetites increasing for trash, and explained why he says hes moved on to more fulfilling work.
