Answer: Perhaps one of most amazing community arts projects in the history of the Peoples Republic of Cork, a load of murals thrown up in the streets of Roy Keane land, many many things learned, much friendships forged, many memories created to last till the end of days...

All Different, All Equal

4 and a bit years ago at the Dún Laoighre Festival of World Cultures something magical seemed to be in the making. A group of young, hyper, happy, colorful, smiling rebels were busy painting a mural on panels in the peoples park, they were joined by a small group of people from Estelí in Nicaragua, FUNARTE, and the collective project they were working on was called Muralismo. We did a radio interview with them, their theme was "All different, All equal" 

Art Encounter 2004

Mayfield Community Arts Centre were the super active group behind this project, with a little help from Trócaire. The following year, when Cork was the European city of Culture, the Mayfield crew took a giant step and organised the Art Encounter. This was an excellent encuentro for the month of July between 36 young artists from Mayfield, from Medellin in Colombia and from the Nicaraguan FUNARTE group, for whom it was a huge change from their normal life with all its critical needs,

Project summary:

•  The young people worked together using a variety of media from photography to video projections to sculptures, to explore the dreams of young people all over the world and especially in relation to the Millennium Development Goals and the issue of equality. 

Project aims:

•  To encourage young people to take imitative and action in communicating their opinions and promoting equality

•  To encourage expression of sense of solidarity within Europe and the wider world as well as supporting the fight against racism and xenophobia and helping to eliminate all forms of discrimination and promote equality

Process and dreams... the creative process From dreams to reality

During these sunny days of beautiful creativity in Cork, ideas of alternative and participative media and the art of communication actions were discussed, this was documented on IMC-IE  as the days went by. Various Audio interviews and recordings were made too. A nice connection that overcame the language barriers that were present happened when the bi lingual film "i" or  "Eye of the storm" was screened. The film focuses on the rise of Indymedia and how participative media grew during the crisis in Argentina, As John Jordan put it: "i" is stunning, it manages to show the magic of a global network in ways that no other film hasdone before, and it does so with delicacy, elegance and a vibrancy that is irresistable. 

The very health thing about the way FUNARTE and the Mayfield crew went about their work was that they placed a huge amount of energy and time into the process of creation, out of which came the beautiful output of the 20 metre long mural. The got the young artists to talk with each other and to explore each others realities in quite a deep way, from this a dialogue began which was steered by the GOALS. out of this, through an inclussive consensus process, the ideas formed as to what they wanted to paint on the walls which would be a full expression of the discussions they had and the views they wanted to communicate to the wider world. When all were agreed, then came the highly enjoyable act of applying the color to the wall. The older lads from FUNARTE were well used to this bit by they expertly shared their skills and, well, you can see the results for yourself.

From the arts centre to the walls of Mayfield

between 10 and 20 painted murals now exist on different walls throughout the Mayfield community, from the local library to the gable ends of peoples houses. Similar methods of using the mural as a tool to explore issues of identity and expression were employed with a high degree of success. This was the first time seeing Murals of this degree without the ultra high politicization as found in post-War Derry and Belfast. A related sister project in Mayfield, the Mandala Gardens, also needs mentioning, as many a time there was much collaboration.

Murals, Media and Revolution

So whats the big deal with a few young people from central America painting murals on walls in Cork?

Nicaragua is a small country in central America and I think it is or recently was the second poorest country in the continent of America.

Like many places around the world Nicaragua experienced great political, social and cultural change over the last few decades and a revolution sparked in 1979 which led to the Sandinistas overthrowing the old regime through organisation, education and war.

Due to its strong left wing marxist leanings the US under the leadership of Ronnie Reagan came in and supported, with huge financial spending, the army opposing the Sandinistas; the Contras. Eventually after years of war the Sandinistas lost the elections and lost much power in the country in 1990.

When the revolution began painting murals was one of the main cultural events that would happen, murals were a means of communicating political messages, organising communities in group actions, exploring ideas, developing skills.

Many artists came from around the world to help paint murals for the revolution. When the Sandinistas lost power one of the first things the new governement did was to whitewash over the old murals of the revolution, along with changing the history books and education sylabus so that there was not much talk about the countries recent history or talk of a better and fairer society for all. The town of Estelli is still under Sandinista control and because of this the community there have continued and developed their tradition of mural painting, it has now developed from purely political themes to universal themes of equality, education, justice, respect for environment, love of nature........the group responsible for this is FUNARTE and they formed back in 1988.

A few years back Irish Aid work NGO group Trocaire got involved with FUNARTE and set up a link with them and along with other groups provided much needed funding. FUNARTE works with young people being educated in the basics of mural painting and then going out into the very poor barrios, neighbourhoods, outside the city and starting projects with the kids there, everyone is invovled, all ideas and dreams are taken onboard, group decision making is normaly done horizontally and by consensus. As far as I can tell so far.

A few years back Trocaire set up a link with the community arts centre here in Mayfield, a community on the northern outskirts of Cork City and 2 years ago the first group of Nicaraguans came to Cork for an exchange program which led to the first of many murals to be painted on the walls of Mayfield. From that this art network has grown and this year it sees a group from Colombia involved.

Revolución sandinista: La ofensiva Final (First of 12 parts, in Spanish)

Revolución Sandinista Julio de 1979 (in Spanish)

Ponting said overnight, "That's fairly insulting. In the first innings [at the SCG] I didn't claim a catch because I wasn't 100% sure. It's amazing how they've picked out a lot of negatives from that game and don't seem to be speaking about the Perth Test [the third match of that series, which Australia lost], where we probably had the same things happen to us. Not one member of the Australian team has spoken about it. We go about our cricket in different ways."

A few things to seek clarifications on: Firstly, the issue I always have with Australian cricket is about how they play when the chips are down and they have their backs to the wall. So, Ponting's 1st innings call-back in Sydney just doesn't rate, in my view. Secondly, what happened at the Perth Test where Ponting had the "same things happen to" Australia? Is he dreaming up stuff? Or was there a Test match in Perth that I missed? And thirdly, what is it about Australian cricket that gets Ponting to say "We go about our cricket in different ways." Is he referring to that piece of paper called the spirit of cricket (or some such nonsense) that Australian cricketers signed up and seem to tear up the moment they cross the white line?

The last time Australia toured India, the series started with a loud shout for LBW. There was little doubt in the minds of the TV commentators at that time that Justin Langer was out LBW off Irfan Pathan's first ball of the series. Who knows what would have happened to the series had that decision gone India's way!

Pre-Lunch Session:

So, there was drama on the field in the very first over and then again in the 9th over. Off the very 3rd ball of the innings, Matthew Hayden jabbed at a ball from Zaheer Khan that moved away a fraction. As he jabbed at the ball, his bat clipped his pad. The ball slipped past very close to bat and umpire Asad Rauf gave him out. Snickometer suggested that if we had had a referral system in play for this Test match, Hayden would have been given not out.

Ishant Sharma continued his duel with Ricky Ponting. He bowled splendidly really. Off the 1st ball of the 9th over, Ricky Ponting did not offer a stroke to a beauty that came in sharply from outside off stump. It looked very very close and indeed, Hawk Eye showed that umpire Rudi Koertzen would have been over-ruled if we had had a referral system in place. So make the Bad Decision Score (BDS) 1-1 in the bad decision stakes!

Harbhajan Singh was introduced in the 13th over, just before the drinks break. After spearing in his first ball at 96.3kmph, he bowled a beauty to Simon Katich that was almost a bat-pad catch at forward short leg! At the drinks break, Katich and Ponting had pulled Australia to 34-1 off 13 overs.

But there weren't really any gremlins in the pitch. It seemed to me to be a flat track. So as long as the Australians settled down into a nice rhythm, one could see several of them make big scores here. The best bet for Australia would be to make a huge 1st innings total.

Off the second ball of the 21st over, Simon Katich came charging down the wicket and padded up to a faster one from Kumble. Now, I am not sure why Rudi Koertzen is reluctant to give padded-up deliveries out. Although Katich was well advanced down the pitch, that ball was going to be intercepted by the middle stump and nothing else! The BDS reads 2-1 in favour of Australia.

Despite losing that early wicket, Australia played with intent and desperation to finish strongly. At lunch, Australia were 75-1 off 27 overs with Ponting on 41 and Katich on 28. Ponting was playing really well and was looking set for a big score here. I'd give the Session-by-Session Score (SBS Score) to Australia. With Cameron White batting at #8 and with the pitch being a flat and stone cold wicket, I'd put Australia in the drivers' seat!

Which brings me to an important question: Given that many Indian curators are easily able to produce a flat, dead wicket, do we need a Kiwi in Bangalore to do the same? What's the point? Will someone tell me please? We have seen many pitches like this in India in the past. Why get a Kiwi in as curator to produce exactly that kind of pitch again?

There were some ominous signs. The last time Australia played in India in 2004, the tour commenced at Bangalore. Australia was 70-1 off 26 overs at lunch on day-1 with Hayden out and with Langer 27* and Katich 9*! The parallels here are eerily similar!

Post-Lunch Session:

Ponting and Katich commenced from where they left off and batted confidently. Ponting got his half century -- a carefully and very well compiled 50 it was too.

At 94-1, Katich survived a huge LBW shout off Anil Kumble. Umpire Asad Rauf gave him not out and under a referral system, he would have had to walk. This then makes the BDS score 3-1 in Australia's favour! Clearly a referral system would change the dynamic of any match and I can't wait for it to be introduced in all Test matches.

Australia, meanwhile moved on steadily to 99-1. There was nothing flashy about the Australian approach. The usual flamboyance was eschewed and, in its place, was a staid and solid approach on a flat and mostly dead pitch. It didn't help that both Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were bowling a bit flat. They were both firing and spearing it in.

A sign of Ricky Ponting's growing assurance and confidence was a hoik over cow-corner for a huge six that he played against Harbhajan Singh, the moment Singh came around the wicket to bowl to him. This six helped take Australia to a score of 104-1 and also took Ponting to a score of 60, equalling his best ever effort in India -- made in 1998 in Kolkata.

Australia kept going from strength to strength and moved to 166-1. Katich was playing some glorious off drives and Ponting was looking quite assured in his batting. Suddenly Ishant Sharma bowled a beauty to get Katich caught behind. The ball moved just slightly off the pitch and Katich played an aggressive off-drive to be caught behind quite well. Australia was 166-2 with Ponting on a superbly compiled 94. This bought Michael Hussey to the crease.

What was surprising to me was the under-utilisation of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in the bowling. At Tea, all the bowling (57 overs) had been shared by Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. It seemed to me that Kumble should have used at least Sehwag. His variety of off-spin may have found some spin on this somewhat dead track.

At tea, Australia was 166-2. I give this session to Australia too, thereby making the SBS Score 2-0 in Australia's favour with Ricky Ponting leading the way.

Ponting was playing really brilliantly. He batted with soft-hands, few loose shots and waited for the ball, rather than lunge for it as he has in the past. As he said before the tour, India was one place where his CV had a rather desolate look to it. This innings was an attempt to redress that imbalance. He was taking this game slowly away from India and had Simon Katich for company.

Post-Tea Session:

The final session went the same way as Session-2. Anil Kumble did not pose any threats. Australia marched steadily and slowly. There were no heroics and no fears either. The run-rate hovered around the 3rpo mark which wasn't great. The Australians continually rotated the strike and didn't allow the Indian bowlers to get on top. About an hour into the final session, there still was no sign of Sehwag or Tendulkar. This first day pitch wasn't doing anything at all for the regular bowlers and it may just have been a good idea to break up the monotony. Zaheer Khan and Kumble bowled the occasional good ball but there were no gremlins at all. Ponting had moved sedately to 110 off 214 balls and Hussey had, without any dramas, moved to 18 off 43 balls.

Suddenly, at 201-2, Anil Kumble shouted for a huge caught-and-bowled off Ricky Ponting. Amazingly, Rudi Koertzen said not out! To the naked eye, watching it on TV, one could not understand why Rudi Koertzen, who was having quite a nightmare day thus far, did not 'go upstairs'! That was out and Boycott's dead great grand mother would have called it from her grave! The commentary team indicated that Koertzen did not give him out because Kumble was the only one that appealed! Surely, that can't be right! If that is the case, we may as well have people jump up and down like school kids all the time!

The BDS now read 4-1 in Australia's favour! Once again, I ask why the ICC did not have a referral system in place for this series?

At drinks, Australia was 211-2 off 71 overs!

Kumble was having a particularly unlucky day. Apart from the bizarre caught-and-bowled decision that was not given, earlier in the post-tea session, Dhoni had dropped a tough catch off a faint edge. The bowler to suffer there was Kumble. Just after the drinks break, an outside edge off the bat of Hussey went screaming past a diving forward short leg. Things were just not happening for the Indians and a few heads were starting to droop.

At the other end, Harbhajan Singh was continuing to have an ordinary day at the office. He continued to toil manfully though. It was a tough pitch to bowl on and the Australians were playing with tight defence.

At 215-2 Kumble was to suffer again at the hands of his nemesis, Rudi Koertzen. A huge shout for LBW was once again turned down! Hawk Eye showed that the ball was hit in line and that it would have hit off stump. A frustrated Kumble appealed for what appeared for a second longer to which Umpire Koertzen pursed his lips and shook his head sternly like a firm school master! Well, this umpires' nightmare day at the office was continuing. Of extreme worry for the Indians was that the Bad Decision Score (BDS) had mounted to 5-1 in Australia's favour.

Ironically, it was a really doubtful decision that got Ricky Ponting out! It all started with Virender Sehwag coming into the bowling attack. This change was long overdue. Suddenly, Sehwag was finding more grip and purchase from the track. He put a seed of doubt in the mind of the batsmen. Hussey wasn't playing particularly confidently.

At the other end, Harbhajan Singh pushed a fuller ball into Ponting, who tried to sweep it. Hawk Eye suggested that it may have hit Ricky Ponting slightly outside the line of the off stump! Moreover, the ball turned so much that it may have missed leg stump! Umpire Asad Rauf gave Ponting out when he should have been ruled in! The men in white continued their horror run and the BDS read 5-2 in Australia's favour. Another marquee series was being ruined by officiating incompetence. Australia, wh weren't really scoring with freedom and abandon was 226-3 off 79 overs. A team that regularly travels at 4 runs per over (or more) was suddenly travelling at about 2.85rpo. This was a gritty, stoic and very un-Australian like performance. Ricky Ponting had departed for a really well made 123 off 243 balls before getting out to Harbhajan Singh for the 9th time in Test matches!

Anil Kumble came on for just one over -- in which he conceded 13 runs, the most expensive over of the innings -- before continuing with Sehwag.

This was turning out to be a strange session. Australia hadn't really pulled away with any authority. But for that one bad over from Kumble, they hadn't really tried to dominate or dictate terms. So, in some sense, due to the slow, low score, Australia left India hovering in the game. One or two quick wickets would set the cat amongst the pigeons. So this was a somewhat strangely careful game that Australia was playing.

Suddenly, Harbhajan Singh was bowling better. He had slowed his delivery pace and was also tossing the occasional ball up in the air. He was prepared to come around the wickets to the left-handed Hussey, who had quietly moved to 40 runs off 107.

India took the new ball with three overs left in the days' play. A few quick runs resulted and Australia moved to 254-3 off 89 overs.

Off the penultimate over, Michael Clarke took a quick single off the last ball of the over. Off the very second ball of the last over, Clarke was out LBW to a low shooter off Zaheer Khan. Clarke was out LBW for 11.

I was tempted to give that last session to Australia. However, because the Aussies did not press on and move on, and because of the last ball wicket of Michael Clarke, I call this an India session. The SBS score reads 2-1 in Australia's favour.

It was a dull but eventful days' cricket: Eventful because of the men-in-white. Dull, because of Australia's over-cautious approach; dull because of the nonsense of a pitch that the Kiwi curator had prepared for the Bangalore public. If I were KSCA, the state association that owns the Bangalore ground, I'd be looking at the Kiwi curators' employment contract!

-- Mohan

Pickups:

3 - boxes of 2008 Leaf Certified Materials

1 - pack of 2008 Bowman Sterling football

2 - packs of 2008 Razor Cut Signature Edition

Jim Langer 1973 Topps RC

Jim Thorpe 2005 Playoff Absolute Jersey #'ed/250

Doak Walker / Walter Payton 2007 LCM Fabric of the Game Dual Jersey #'ed/100

I arrived at the Greater Reading Expo Center at exactly 9:00 a.m.  The big news that all the dealers were talking about was that the show was sold to Hunt Auctions.  Many of the dealers I talked to were not happy at all.  Not only are the dealers angry because they are moving the show to a new location, but they also hear rumors that it will cost them $500.00 per table to setup and they will no longer be able to reserve their usual spot on the show floor.  Now its going to be on a first come first serve basis.  A lot of the dealers I talked to said they may not even setup at the next show in March.  

Other than the fact many dealers were bummed about the new show's owner, I thought it was a great day.  When I first got there I headed over the the supply table because I needed top loaders and penny sleeves really bad.  About five minutes later I visited one of my local card shop owners and picked up a 2007 Leaf Certified Materials Fabric of the Game Dual Jersey of Walter Payton and Doak Walker #'ed/100.  I eventually traveled over to a dealer from New York and picked up a Jim Thorpe 2005 Playoff Absolute BASEBALL jersey #'ed/250.  Around lunch time while eating one of Reading's finest cheeseburgers I ripped open a box of 2008 Leaf Certified Materials which contained a bunch of inserts and memorabilia cards such as a Matt Ryan Fabric of the Game jersey, Fred Biletnikoff jersey and a Jeremy Shockey Mirror Emerald insert #'ed 5/5.  Throughout the day I opened a few more boxes of 2008 LCM and pulled a bunch of nice looking cards.  I knew it was going to be a good day when the first card I pulled was Brett Favre wearing a Jets shirt.

If there is one player that I hope does well this year in the NFL it would be Matt Forte.  I pulled three really nice cards of him: (1) 2008 LCM Jumbo jersey #'ed/599, (1) 2008 LCM Fabric of the Game 2 color patch #'ed/25, and (1) 2008 Bowman Sterling RC Auto #'ed/1050.  I purchased most of my boxes from the dealer near the back from Tennessee.  I got some really good deals from him.  It was his stand where I purchased two packs of 2008 Razor Cut Signature Edition.  That was the first time I saw any of these cards in person.  In the first pack I received a Yogi Berra Cut Signature numbered to 10 or less made and in the second pack I received a Faith Hill Cut Signature numbered to 10 or less made.  I really like these Razor Cut Signature cards.  Most of them are numbered to 10 or less which I think it pretty cool.  

Strolling past a small dealer I found a bunch of vintage cards in which I picked up a Jim Langer 1973 Topps RC for my Dolphins collection.  All day I was looking for an affordable 1886-87 Old Judge card.  I have been wanting to pick one up for awhile because they are some of the first mass produced baseball cards.  I came across one dealer that had a bunch of vintage cards that included some Old Judge.  I saw one for $110.00 and the dealer said he would sell it to me for $90.00.  It was in an SGC Authentic holder and I was about to buy it when he told me that it could possibly be trimmed.  As soon as I heard that, I knew I wasn't going to purchase it.  So, the search continues for an Old Judge card for my collection.  

I got Tom Herr to sign my bat around 1:00 p.m. and after about another hour of browsing I decided I was finished for the day.  These shows really remind you of what the hobby is all about.  People swapping stories, showing off their collections, and being able to find cards for your personal collection.  Attending a show like this really takes you into the "belly of the beast" and can help you understand whats going on in the hobby.  I thought it was a great show, and I hope to see most of the dealers at the next show in March.

P.S.

I did see Chris Harris from Stale Gum, but he was walking up the steps to go in as I was leaving the parking lot :-)

Zu Beginn breitete man Straches Erkrankung im Wahlkampf aus - über Gebühr, und ins Groteske abgleitend. Als Auftakt eine gute Idee, hätte man sie nach den ersten Sätzen als erschöpft abgehakt.

Der Versuch Straches Eignung als (theoretischen) Bundeskanzler anzuzweifeln, u.a. unter Bemühung seiner Che-Guevara Spielereien (Langer: "[...] eine Figur auf dessen Konto auch Tote gehen [...]"), führt dem Zuseher das erste Mal vor Augen, dass man sich nicht allzu sehr um umfangreiche Information bemüht hat - für den FPÖ Chef ist es ein Leichtes zu kontern (mit den Worten "ich bin die Antipode zu Che Guevara" - verweist er auf seinen geschmacklosen Liedtext; seltsamerweise wird dieser von den Journalisten nicht weiter aufgegriffen). Und man denkt sich: Zum Glück gibt es Medien wie die Zeit**, in denen man Interessantes zum österreichischen Wahlkampf erfährt (angeblich ist das blaue Armband, das Strache auf seinen Plakaten trägt, ein serbisch-orthodoxes Gebetsarmband; man versucht offensichtlich zu erklären wer sich angesprochen fühlen soll).
Dann plänkelt man herum: Sind Revolutionäre geeignete Politiker? Im Zuge dessen spricht der FPÖ Chef kurz seine Bemühungen an, eine geeignete Sprache zu finden um Jungwähler (16-19 Jahre) stärker für Politik zu interessieren; hier hätte man nachsetzten müssen, stattdessen schwenkt man zu den Themen des Wahlkampfs.

Man diskutiert Maßnahmen gegen die Teuerung (Mehrwertssteuersenkung), spricht nur sehr allgemein, und unter Nennung weniger Zahlen, die Finanzierung an. Länger diskutiert man die soziale Treffsicherheit der Maßnahme. (Interessant, dass nie in Frage gestellt wird, ob man die Teuerung überhaupt bekämpfen muss.)

Langer bringt später die Frauenpolitik der FPÖ mit der Zahl der Frauen in Spitzenpositionen innerhalb der Partei in Zusammenhang und Fleischhacker liefert kurz darauf dem FPÖ Chef eine, vielleicht sogar erhoffte, Gelegenheit: Im Zuge von Familien- und Frauenförderung meint Fleischhacker im Rekurs auf Straches Ideen "[...] man müsste mehr Geld investieren, sozusagen in die Produktion von Kindern [...]" (Langer dazu "[...] eine ganz neutrale Frage [...]"). Strache versucht umgehend Fleischhackers Parteinahme aufzuzeigen, und damit - unausgesprochen - die Benachteiligung der FPÖ in dem Medien. Hat man das nötig? Natürlich ist die Bemerkung im Grunde "harmlos", aber durchaus ein Schritt in Richtung Stichelei und Untergriffigkeit, und damit weg von Kritik und Argument. Langer tat zuvor ähnliches (s.o), sie bemüht logische Unstimmigkeiten und hält der FPÖ ein veraltetes Frauenbild vor, was aber kaum begründet wird. Soll das seriöser Journalismus sein?

Dann folgen noch die Themen Einwanderung und EU. Fleischhacker: "[...] sie sind auch dafür, dass man Asylwerber abschieben kann, bevor sie rechtskräftig verurteilt sind. [...]". Strache bestreitet das, und - das Verwundertsein ist mittlerweile Routine - Fleischhacker kann seine Behauptung nicht durch ein Zitat belegen.

Strache ist kein Mann, der auf Zwischentöne achtet, und eine feine Klinge führt - er soll hier nicht verteidigt werden. Aber das entbindet Journalisten nicht von Stil und sauberer Recherche. Warum gibt man sich mit offensichtlichen Unzulänglichkeiten zufrieden (Langer hat es anscheinend auch nicht für wert befunden sich genauer mit den Ideen der FPÖ zur Abschaffung der Studiengebühren auseinanderzusetzen)? Mehr Sorgfalt und weniger Schlampereien sind nicht nur erwünscht, sondern gefordert. Dass es auch anders geht, zeigte die Pressestunde mit dem Spitzenkandidaten der Grünen, Alexander van der Bellen. Hier wurden z.B. in der Diskussion um Maßnahmen gegen die Teuerung, konkrete Zahle auf den Tisch gelegt und diskutiert; dass ein Vertreter einer sogenannten Qualitätszeitung bzw. seine Kollegin vom ORF (immerhin studierte sie Volkswirtschaft) - im Gegensatz zu ihrem Konkurrenten von der Krone (bzw. Profil) - das offenbar kaum nötig hat, befremdet doch ein wenig.

Aber vielleicht sollte man sich zurücklehnen, und wie einer meiner Freunde lakonisch konstatieren: Was erwartest du? Österreichischer Journalismus.

*Die Diskussion ist online verfügbar (direkter Link).

**Artikel von Dardis McNamee, Nr. 38, 11.09.2008; online leider nicht verfügbar.

Besonders Empfehlenswert ist die schnelle Ein-und Auszahlung.Ausserdem gibt es unschlagbare Aktionen, die das Poker zu einem riesen Spass werden lassen. Das ganze wird mit einer großen Community gespielt, selbstverständlich auch kostenlos.

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Also nicht länger warten und einfach schnell kostenlos und unverbindlich anmelden unter

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oder direkt hier downloaden .

En este sentido es que las marcas luchan por ganar un espacio en cada momento. Algunas optan por aparecer en televisión porque eso es lo que más hace determinado tipo de público, otros por aparecer en revistas de negocios mediante artículos que entreguen más detalles acerca de su oferta o con argumentos que la validen, y otros por simplemente poner la marca en su envoltorio.

En este contexto, los artículos publicitarios se establecen como un medio efectivo para alcanzar determinados segmentos de una manera discreta y personalizada, favoreciendo la repetición de compra, reconocimiento y la retención del nombre y/o mensaje del anunciante.

De la misma forma, pero en distinto contexto, es que un artículo publicitario puede aportar con creces a la promoción de una marca. Basta con asistir a una feria y fijarse en los asistentes para ver cuál es el stand más visitado. Gorros, lápices o bolsas (gratis!) resultan un excelente gancho para llamar la atención de determinado segmento.

Actualmente existen miles de artículos entre los que se debe elegir el adecuado para cada segmento objetivo. Por ejemplo, si se es parte de una empresa de servicios financieros que busca aumentar la lealtad de sus clientes, una buena opción podría ser una calculadora solar de bolsillo; tal como si se es dueño de un garage se puede regalar un medidor para la presión de los neumáticos que lleve impreso el logo y número de teléfono. Una opción popular (y repetida) para las empresas de tecnología es el mouse pad con logotipo y URL.

Se cual sea el artículo, la idea es que su ventaja radique en la mayor exposición que tendrá frente a cualquier otro tipo de promoción. El valor a pagar dependerá de la calidad y cantidad del producto elegido (y la audiencia).

Después de todo, ya sea un gorro o un destapador, el producto promocional representará un símbolo tangible del mensaje de la empresa y debería ser algo que valga la pena conservar.

_____________
Por Stefan Langer, Gerente General de UShop

I have a set of blogs I read each day of the week, seven little folders each containing that day's ration of reading. If I didn't keep them in a little daily folder I'd wander all through my list of favorite blogs and would probably miss something really meaningful, or I'd go through the first six in the list day after day.

In my Sunday folder is Real Live Preacher. Pastor and author Gordon Atkinson has been writing essays since 2002. Now an established author, he is a frequent contributor to The Christian Century, The High Calling, and, Wittenberg Door (DISCLAIMER-the Wittenburg site is not for everybody.)

What I like about Atkinson, and others like him, is that he's an unassuming man of God. He seems to wear his faith like a set of favorite, well-fitting clothes. It suits him (no pun intended); it belongs; it's a real, authentic part of him.

I admire authenticity.

His writing style is often frank, always playful, and seems to come from someone who's living mindfully, as author Ellen J. Langer puts it.

In a piece written for Christian Century (01-15-2008), Atkinson shares a delightful episode from his own childhood. He revisits a pair of night-time mysteries which later granted him a wondrous understanding of the harmonious mysteries of Faith, and Brother Scientist.

Listen Deeply. Be at Peace. Grow.

Il TAR del Veneto ha emesso un'ordinanza che blocca l'ampliamento della base americana Dal Molin a Vicenza per diverse irregolarita', fra cui il mancato rispetto delle norme italiane e UE relative ai bandi di gara, rischi per l'impatto ambientale, irregolarita' delle prescritte autorizzazioni governative e mancata consultazione delle popolazioni interessate.

Esaminando il ricorso proposto dal Codacons e dall'Ecoistituto del Veneto “Alex Langer” contro il Comune e la Provincia di Vicenza, la Regione Veneto, il ministero della Difesa, il Consiglio dei Ministri, il Commissario straordinario e gli Stati Uniti, nota che rispetto all'autorizzazione dell’insediamento nell’aeroporto Dal Molin, delle “strutture dell’Esercito americano” e all’avvio del bando di gara per l’affidamento della progettazione dei lavori di realizzazione delle opere "pur in pendenza dell’approvazione del progetto base", si menziona un atto di consenso prestato dal Governo Italiano a quello degli Stati Uniti d’America… "'espresso verbalmente nelle forme e sedi istituzionali', del che non è dato riscontrare alcuna traccia documentale di supporto".

Il Tribunale amministrativo nota che "tale atto di consenso, che pertanto risulta espresso soltanto oralmente, appare estraneo ad ogni regola inerente alla attività amministrativa e assolutamente extra ordinem, tale da non essere assolutamente compatibile con l’importanza della materia trattata e con i principi tradizionali del diritto amministrativo e delle norme sul procedimento, in base ai quali ogni determinazione deve essere emanata con atto formale e comunque per iscritto" e che "l’assenso del Governo italiano risulta essere stato formulato, del tutto impropriamente, da un dirigente del Ministero della Difesa, al di fuori di qualsiasi possibile imputazione di competenze e di responsabilità ad esso ascrivibili in relazione all’altissimo rilievo della materia". Si tratta per la Corte di un primo profilo di illegittimita'.

Ma, nota il TAR, "sussistono numerosi altri profili di illegittimità del procedimento svolto, alla luce della normativa nazionale ed altresì europea, profili, questi, emersi dalla documentazione acquisita, sia nelle precedenti fasi di giudizio sia a seguito di ordinanze di rilascio di documenti nell’esercizio di diritto di accesso e che hanno evidenziato come l’autorizzazione sia stata rilasciata non solo per quanto riguarda l’insediamento delle nuove strutture della base militare, ma anche per la realizzazione delle relative opere , senza procedere alla verifica ex ante, del rispetto delle condizioni esplicitamente apposte".

Ne', relativamente al bando di gara, "peraltro attualmente già esperito, (per quanto riferito dalle parti)" non si riscontra "il rispetto delle normative europee ed italiane in materia di procedure ad evidenza pubblica per la assegnazione di commesse pubbliche e comunque senza alcuna giustificazione circa la praticabilità di legittime deroghe in ricorrenza dei necessari presupposti".

Il TAR inoltre riscontra pregiudizio fondato relativamente "all’impatto del consistente insediamento (e della connessa antropizzazione) sulla situazione ambientale, del traffico, dell’incremento dell’inquinamento e in ordine al rischio di danneggiamento ed alterazione delle falde acquifere" e sottolinea infine "che manca ogni riscontro di avvenuta consultazione della popolazione interessata".

NB: I CONTENUTI DEL SITO POSSONO ESSERE PRELEVATI CITANDO L'AUTORE E LINKANDO
www.osservatoriosullalegalita.org

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Laboratório de Robert Langer AQUI

Reportagem sobre o prémio AQUI

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Pela primeira vez uma inovação tecnológica ligada à medicina vence o prémio Millennium da tecnologia (Millennium Technology Prize). Robert Langer, o coordenador de um dos laboratórios de biomateriais do MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) venceu a edição de 2008 do “Nobel finlandês”.

Robert Langer, que já este mês foi um dos galardoados com o prémio Príncipe das Asturias, de Espanha, vence agora o maior prémio dedicado em exclusivo a inovações tecnológicas.

De acordo com a Academia Finlandesa da Tecnologia Robert Langer, um engenheiro químico que se dedicou a resolver problemas da medicina, merece este prémio porque o «seu trabalho tem um grande impacto na luta contra o cancro, doenças cardíacas e muitas outras doenças». Um trabalho cientifico que se dedica à engenharia dos tecidos, incluindo a substituição sintética de tecidos biológicos.

Langer em Portugal

Robert Langer, é um investigador norte-americano com ligações aos investigadores portugueses por via da parceria MIT-Portugal.

O investigador agora premiado em Helsínquia tem dois projectos com laboratórios portugueses e em entrevista à TSF elogia esta cooperação, ele diz que “o programa de cooperação tem corrido bem, tem havido troca de pessoas, neste programa substancial”, sublinha.

É com uma expressão de prazer no trabalho que está a produzir que Robert Langer fala dos portugueses e das experiências que estão a desenvolver em conjunto, uma dessas inovações tem a ver bioengenharia em células estaminais.

«Podemos nós criar novo sistemas vasculares? este é um dos trabalho que o Lino fez. Podemos converter a células estaminais em células vasculares? Essa é umas das grandes áreas de trabalho com Portugal», refere Robert Langer.

O Lino de que fala Langer é o investigador da BIOCANT e do Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Lino Ferreira.

De acordo com Robert Langer, também na área da investigação em células estaminais é importante trabalhar em nanotecnologias «para saber como é que estruturas tão pequenas afectam o comportamento, diferenciação e crescimento da células estaminais».

Em entrevista à TSF, Robert Langer revelou acreditar na investigação em células estaminais «porque é uma forma de poder prolongar a vidas daqueles que sofrem».

Por outro lado, Langer não vê problemas éticos na utilização de células estaminais na medida em que os cientistas trabalham com bancos de embriões que de qualquer modo iriam ser destruídos, concluiu o cientista.

fonte: TSF

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25095043/
http://www.millenniumprize.fi/news/89/66/d,news/
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/langer-millennium-0611.html

For more than thirty years Prof. Langer has pushed the boundaries of biomaterials research; his work on controlled drug release has benefited millions of people worldwide, but his more recent work on areas as diverse as  tissue engineering and ultrasound drug delivery (think Dr. McCoy in Star Trek) is also acknowledged to be world-leading.  His research group at MIT includes over 100 scientists, making it the largest biomaterials laboratory in the world.

http://web.mit.edu/langerlab/

Obviously such research draws on a huge range of scientific disciplines, but in a review published a few years ago (1) Prof. Langer makes clear the important role played by animal experiments in the development and evaluation of  technologies such as polymer microspheres used to deliver drugs to treat prostate cancer and polymer scaffolds used to engineer tissues such as cartilage.  Animals are not only vital to the research process, but can also inspire new developments.  In a recent publication by Prof. Langer and a team lead by his colleague Dr. Jeff Karp describes a  waterproof adhesive bandage inspired by the sticky feet of the gecko lizard (2) and discusses the tests in rats that evaluated the adhesive properties and safety of different tissue adhesive designs. The bandage can hold together tissues but dissolves over time after the wound heals, which should make it ideal for the treatment of internal injuries and a safer alternative to stitches that are usually used today.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23189028/

Yesterday's award is further evidence of the enormous contribution made by animal experiments to exciting and innovative medical research. We congratulate Professor Langer and his colleagues on winning this award, and wish them well in their ongoing research.

* There are other awards that compete for this title, notably the Charles Stark Draper Prize awarded every year by the National Academy of Engineering which Prof. Langer won in 2002. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Stark_Draper_Prize

Cheers

Paul Browne

1) Langer R. "Biomaterials in drug delivery and tissue engineering: one laboratory's experience." Acc Chem Res.  Volume 33(2), pages 94-101 (2000) PubMed:10673317.

2) Mahdavi A. et al. "A biodegradable and biocompatible gecko-inspired tissue adhesive." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Volume 105(7), pages 2307-2312 (2008). PubMed: 18287082.

I am hammering my way through this fascinating psychological treatment on mindful creativity. Just the premise of living mindfully is tremendously powerful. The book?, On Becoming an Artist by Ellen J. Langer.

The most concise way I can describe mindful creativity will make the most sense to actors. When I'm on-stage in a scene I must listen. I must pay intimate attention to what is being said, to what's going on, to where we've been and where we're going with the work. To act mindfully is to be "in the moment", to sell out and become completely engaged in the work. Mindful creativity is engaged creativity, a listening if you will to the work; think the opposite of robot, or automaton, or even auto-pilot.

When we live mindlessly, we're disengaged and running from one meaningless event to another on auto-pilot. We're not thinking, we're just doing. We're bored and shut down. When we live mindfully, we're interested, we're engaged, we're afraid and taking healthy risks, we're growing.

I'm excited about this book, although the less creative, more psychological approach the author takes is a little bit left-brain for my ears. This isn't Julia Cameron's incredible The Artist's Way where we're encouraged and nourishing our attitude toward our art. No, Langer is a psychologist and deals with this subject from more of a behavioral paradigm. That's what makes the book a little more difficult for me. There's still a great deal of insight and wisdom here well worth mining out.

I'll post more on this book as I move through it.

Here's to living mind-fully!

Justin Langer's latest column on the beeb is an interesting one. He is full of respect for Flintoff who bowled a terrific spell against him and Trescothick. The Lancastrian is 'back' apparently, runs or no runs and if he really is fit then both him and Hoggard should be reunited for the first Test. Anyhow, here's what JL had to say:

"For about an hour I could have been in the boxing ring with Joe Calzaghe and by the end of it I had literally copped a hammering.  My ribs, elbow and chest were so bruised I could have been confused for Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas! Both Marcus and I agreed his spell was one of the great ones either of us had ever faced and while it was ugly - and at times intimidating - it is what we miss about playing international cricket on its toughest days."

Meanwhile, Dimitri Mascarenhas has jetted off to pick up his Indian pay cheque and....been left out. There are only 4 overseas players in each side so he misses out.

One of Taunton's least favourite commentators, Jonathan Agnew, has come riding to the resuce of the counties by dismissing the idea of city-based cricket franchises in England, proposed to mirror the Indian model. I can't agree enough.

If anyone remembers, it was done in rugby union (and might still be) but this time in addition to club rugby, there were county rugby sides. With a Somerset county rugby side playing against Cornwall in a county championship. It didn't work or create great support because fans had already deep-rooted support for their clubs.

Likewise with cricket, a Bristol city side won't work because fans of Gloucestershire and Somerset won't want to merge, not should they. There are hundreds of years of history and tradition in each county and there's no way this should be swept aside because of a concept currently flourishing in India. As Agnew mentions, this mania for Twenty20 needs embracing and incorporating around Test cricket:

For green grass and clean rivers, children with bright eyes and good color, and people safe from being pushed around—for a few things like these, I find I am pretty ready to think away most other political, economic, and technological advantages. (Paul Goodman da Notes of a Neolithic Conservative)

Ma io faccio politica per una concezione idiota che ho di me stesso come uomo di lettere: sono quel tipo di scrittore che deve aver prima fatto il suo dovere di cittadino, di padre e via dicendo…” . (Paul Goodman da New Reformation)

la premessa. Le prove elettorali sono passate. La batosta è stata forte, ma tutto sommato non l’ho presa malissimo. Un po’ per l’idea che si parte quasi da zero e poi perché ho sempre creduto che la politica gioca un ruolo irrinunciabile nella società, in quello che facciamo, nelle relazioni che mettiamo in campo; si gioca con la nostra testimonianza e il nostro fare oltrechè delle idee, delle letture e dei maestri che mano a mano ci siamo scelti.

In questo senso Eva Kant e io abbiamo iniziato un cammino per certi versi nuovo, ma anche solito. Nuovo perché si veste di nuovi amici e si sostanzia in molti gesti e stili personali, solito perché torniamo alle origini del nostro modo di essere. Che poi è quello che ci ha fatto conoscere e piacere. E che ci ha portato in tutti questi anni lungo tante esperienze.

una di quelle storie. Quando ci frequentavamo ero solito riempire la riccetta appena conosciuta di fotocopie, libri e letture. Ovviamente erano mirate. Non per fare colpo, ma semplicemente ero ansioso di far sapere chi ero, cosa pensavo, come vivevo. Dopo tutti questi anni ci capita di ridere come matti nel ripensare quelle buste piene di articoli fotocopiati dalle mie riviste preferite. Come non mi è mai venuto in mente che avrei potuto rischiare un gentile “prego, si accomodi”.

Di tutto quel materiale un libro e un breve testo ci hanno appassionato e unito: “elogio della mitezza” di Norberto Bobbio e il “caro San Cristoforo” di A. Langer.

In quel periodo andava più o meno così: al mattino mi alzavo molto presto perché all’epoca penzolavo tra Civitavecchia e Roma, durante la giornata me ne stavo rintanato a S. Pietro in Vincoli: lezioni e il pomeriggio nella fantastica biblioteca Boaga fino a quando chiudeva, mensa in via Paolina (CL, ma con gusto) e la sera appunto c’era sempre un concerto, un filmetto d’Essai, una passeggiata, sennò era Capodarco dove facevo il volontario ed Eva K. il tirocinio.

Quindi una di queste volte ci trovammo a piazza S. Maria in Trastevere, forse ognuno era tornato dalle rispettive vacanze, non ricordo bene, fatto sta che Eva K. mi restituì il breve e bellissimo testo di Bobbio insieme ad un quaderno incartato con i pensieri che l’avevano colpita.

Il libro era bello veramente e arrivava nel momento giusto: qui vi raccontavo delle scoperte, degli orizzonti più ampi che mi era dato scoprire e attraversare proprio in quel periodo. E come ogni passaggio o scoperta si dubita delle cose fatte in precedenza o nei propri credo. Non sfuggivo a questa regola.

Un pomeriggio invece seduti in un piccolo parco vicino Capodarco rileggemmo emozionati la lettera di A. Langer che indirizza a S. Cristoforo e forse in quel momento abbiamo capito che solo con l’altro potevamo sintonizzarci sull motto “piu' lento, piu' profondo, piu' dolce”.

sit-in a passeggio. Negli anni precedenti senza sosta avevo attraversato e animato nella città dove abitavo gruppi e iniziative: avevamo messo in piedi il gruppo di Amnesty con tutto il lavoro di cineforum e dibattiti, riunioni e banchetti; fondato e aperto un Centro Studi (si chiamava “la Quercia” visto che era il PDS a sostenerci) poi venne la Guerra del Golfo e fu un girare tra conferenze, sit-in sotto il Parlamento con un’ospitale e più giovane Chiara Ingrao. Certi convegni alla saletta del parlamento organizzati da Mattioli e Scalìa, dove io e un carissimo amico ridevamo come pazzi immaginando scene surreali.

Quindi le Perugia – Assisi, le contro-celebrazioni del Cinquecentenario, l’estate mi facevo i campi di lavoro, intrecciavo relazioni (mica solo impegnate). Divoravo pessimi giornali come Avvenimenti (dio come era brutto quel giornale. Fracassi, mio dio!!!), Cuore che amavo e odiavo, Mosaico di Pace e Azione Nonviolenta completavano insieme a il manifesto, il parco-letture di quel tempo. Insomma tanta foga, poche e asciutte concessioni.

All’epoca ero –come dire- un pochino rigido? Ma sì, rigido: forse manicheo. Quasi una “bestia”. Insomma ero un po’ orso. Comunque giravo con sandali (calzini compresi), barba da frate marxista, calzoni di tela e una polo (Eva K. ancora ride) che doveva essere verde, ma mi sa che a furia di metterla era diventata blu. Zaino atto per la sopravvivenza da pendolare e urbana;

la posta in gioco. Nel frattempo scoppiò la guerra in ex-Jugoslavia e con alcuni vecchi e nuovi amici organizzammo un gruppetto informale che in un ex asilo raccoglieva vestiti e medicinali: mi ricordo che era tantissima roba e che andava consegnata a Spalato. Da qui, non soddisfatti cercammo di attrezzarci e iniziammo a fare incontri tra di noi nelle domeniche d’inverno: confinati in sale parrocchiali trascurate dove arrivava un tizio da non so dove a farci fare certi esercizi che stimolavano fiducia e abbandono: apertura verso l’altro. Almeno il senso era questo. Ma alla fine prevaleva l’imbarazzo di pratiche calate a freddo e dall’alto che –non volevamo ammetterlo, pena il fallimento della nostra ragione di fare gruppo- ci lasciava perplessi e ogni tanto ci scherzavamo su.

La guerra nell’ex-jugoslavia mi coinvolse e mi avvicinò con più consapevolezza al pacifismo e alla nonoviolenza, anche se avvisaglie c’erano state durante il servizio militare: lessi durante quegli anni le “lettere dal carcere” di Gramsci e “teoria e pratica della nonviolenza” di Gandhi. Per dire. comunque questa storia del pacifismo e della nonviolenza forse arriva prima e forse per via di una possenza fisica che non esiste. (da piccolo il ‘ras’ del quartiere mi fermava intimandomi: “che voi menà?” e io che lucidamente conoscevo la posta in gioco rispondevo molto creativamente: “a sai la matematica?”. Tradotto significava: tu sai menà e io so la matematica, tu mi lasci perdere e lo stesso faccio io. Fa ridere, ma funzionava).

Le conferenze, gli incontri, ma anche le letture e le cronache mi coinvolgevano e la raccolta di vestiti e medicinali non mi bastava più, quindi contattato un gruppo vicentino tramite Cuore partii con loro (addestramento compreso) per partecipare a Mir Sada (di cui oggi nutro un dissenso severo, datomi dalla lettura de “La guerra in Casa” di Luca Rastello: da rileggere almeno il capitolo 14 dedicato alla follia dei “Beati Costruttori di Pace” di don Albino Bizzotto). L’idea di attraversare le strade di Sarajevo per testimoniare la possibilità di una interposizione nonviolenta era folle perché fu strumentalizzata dai serbi e nessuno lo capì. I vicentini che poi diventarono amici erano molto più saggi e concreti e durante il viaggio decisero di fermarsi in un campo profughi in Croazia (che all’epoca era ancora in guerra). Feci quindi una delle esperienze più belle e drammatiche della mia vita con i bambini e le loro famiglie fuggite dalla guerra. Dopo fu tutto più normale: l’interesse per la politica e il sociale, molte letture, molti buoni amici, la ‘militanza’ che via via scolora.

miti(ci) incontri. Poi arriva il guizzo, tramite il consiglio di uno dei miei amici e maestri (e che oggi lo considero il responsabile casuale del mio incontro con woostock), di andarmene a fare volontariato a Capodarco e qui conosco la riccetta nostra. E mi reputo molto fortunato. Anche perché con Eva Kant è stata possibile affrontare radicali scelte come quella fatta dopo esserci sposati: raggiungere (certi) amici in Toscana per organizzare una casa famiglia e un centro d’accoglienza. Il che è riuscito solo in minima parte per molti motivi (non ultimo una certa scorrettezza degli –ex-amici). Certo che non mi pento della scelta e le difficoltà successive: trovarci casa e lavoro in una città nuova senza conoscere nessuno è stata una bella prova. Brillantemente superata.

Detto questo arrivo al punto del post.

un dubbio onesto. Tra luglio e settembre del 2001 va in crisi la mia idea di nonviolenza. Fino ad allora per essere precisi ho alternato il pacifismo alla nonviolenza a seconda delle “foghe” del momento. Ma entrambi si rompono dopo il G8 di Genova e dopo, ovviamente l’11 settembre del 2001.

Insomma quella idea e la pratica ho cercato di viverla molto concretamente e vista l’ottima scuola siloniana mi sono salvato da certe rigidità ideologiche, quindi aperto al dubibo e al confronto. E anche abbastanza laico e razionale da verificare quando le cose non funzionano.

E infatti dopo i fatti di Genova mi sono sempre chiesto come poteva un movimento che si proponeva, tra le tante cose, di fermare la guerra non riuscisse a isolare e neutralizzare i violenti. Ogni volta che mi sono trovato a discutere con alcune persone ho finito sempre per litigarci e quindi mi converrà premettere –per chiarrezza- che OVVIAMENTE condanno senza se e senza ma il comportamento della polizia. Però non posso fare a meno di chiedermi cosa c’è di pacifico e nonviolento chi giorni prima si organizza per mettere in scena la recita di una battaglia: caschi e passamontagna, gomitiere e ginocchiere. La nonviolenza sfida e sfila con le mani nude. Quindi l’impotenza e il non saper fare niente con la minoranza violenta mi persuadevano che non erano credibili nel voler fermare la guerra e la violenza.

Poi arriva l’11 settembre e la portata è di ben altra misura. Allora mi torna in mente una bella intervista che lessi su Una Città (una città n. 151), qualche tempo fa, di un artista di Sarajevo: Andrej Djerkovic; che la mette giù dura accusando certo pacifismo “che non vede che chi è aggredito deve potersi difendere”.

quando c'è qualcosa. D’altra parte mi sento di essere “un amico della nonviolenza” e non di essere un nonviolento. Capitini si definiva un persuaso dalla nonviolenza. Uno sforzo teso a ridurre l’aggressività disarmando. E preferisco pensare alle categorie utilizzate da Bobbio per elogiare la mitezza come pratica politica, nient'affatto rinunciataria o inaffidabile e debole.

Lo sperimento nel quotidiano: quando opponi la gentilezza, un sorriso, distacco pacato in situazioni accese di collera e rabbia ottieni molto di più perché l’altro non sa più cosa fare. Delle volte rido quando vedo lo stupore nel cedere con tanta cerimonia un posto rivendicato e ringhiato. Quello vorrebbe aggiungere e avere il gusto di urlarti perché deve passarti o dirti e tu lo previeni zittendolo. E ancora di più con veri e solidi gesti di vita tesi a migliorare noi e i vicini: spazi di semplicità e rigore; fiducia e lealtà; apertura e curiosità. Dei cuorcontenti coraggiosi. Comunque il discorso sarebbe più complicato e s’allungherebbe oltre misura il post.

La nonviolenza significa molto per me oggi. Ma non ha più senso quella organizzata e patetica degli happening e delle tecniche; dei gruppetti che gareggiano tra loro per chi è più puro e coerente; degli stages e delle performance che ancora animano tanti gruppi senza portarli a niente di concreto (tranne piccole, importanti e necessarie minoranze). Totalmente inaffidabile e priva di senso l'adesione di Rifognazione agli ideali di nonviolenza: una pratica che non prevede la distruzione dell'avversario (o la sua demonizzazione) bensì la persuasione. Così come non ha senso il pacifismo a senso unico: pieno di reticenze e omissioni (a proposito dell'art. 11, ma perchè si legge sempre e solo la prima parte che recita: "L'Italia ripudia la guerra come strumento di offesa alla libertà degli altri popoli e come mezzo di risoluzione delle controversie internazionali" e si tralascia invece la seconda parte?: "consente, in condizioni di parità con gli altri Stati, alle limitazioni di sovranità necessarie ad un ordinamento che assicuri la pace e la giustizia fra le Nazioni; promuove e favorisce le organizzazioni internazionali rivolte a tale scopo" che poi è il senso delle missioni come il Libano e forse l'Afghanistan).

Quello in cui credo oggi e per cui mi impegno come posso è ben rappresentato da una foto a cui sono molto legato e che ho messo in cima al post: fare tutto il possibile da pompieri per spegnere un incendio; adoperarsi per risolvere una situazione; per ridurre una violenza. Anche con mezzi di fortuna e nelle condizioni più scomode e terribili. Una foto, come la mitezza e il San Cristoforo che mi porto nel cuore.

Qui potete leggere la bella lettera di Langer.

]]> http://nezhmet.wordpress.com/?p=776 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:57:01 +0000 nezhmet http://nezhmet.it.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-fabulous-00s-some-chess-theory-from-the-tulsa-us-championship-qualifier/ The March 2008 Tulsa, Oklahoma US Championship Qualifier had some interesting games from the perspective of chess theory. Let's see some of these perpetual time pressure games (G/90 + 30 sec increment). Endings suffered, and opening familiarity rose to the foreground. See this background post for some Tulsa "glamor shots."

GM Alex Yermolinksy - NM Movses Movsisyan, Round 2. Gruenfeld Defense.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be3 cxd4 Here, 8...Qa5 and 8...O-O are the most popular. Strangely, black plays a burst of natural but rare moves and emerges with a good game!

9.cxd4 Bg4 9...Qa5+ 10. Qd2 Qxd2+ was a quick draw in Groszpeter-Farago, Bibinje 2006, but white has a small edge after 11. Kxd2 Nc6 12. Rb1 (12. Rc1 was played).

10.Be2 Nc6 11.d5 (What else?) 11...Ne5 12.Nxe5 Bxe2 13.Qxe2 Bxe5

Position after 13...Bxe5.

14.Rd1?! Previously, the lame 14. Qb5+? Qd7 led nowhere in Gorshkov-Zilberstein, Sverdlovsk 1979, and drawn in 30 moves. However, 14. Rc1! looks more useful than the artificial text move. After all, 14. Rc1! Qa5+ 15. Qd2 Qxd2+ 16. Kxd2 with f2-f4 coming is a solid ending edge for white.

14...Qa5+ 15.Bd2 Qa4! With simple moves, black has achieved a good game against the experienced grandmaster. Note that Yermo provided several good wins of his vs. the Gruenfeld in his book "The Road to Chess Improvement." This indicates that black's particular Gruenfeld choice in this game warrants further study. Well, maybe not, since white did have the stronger 14. Rc1! in the game.

16.Bh6 Qb4+ After 16...Rc8 17. O-O Rc2, black has full equality. For example, 18. Qd3 Rxa2 19. Rc1 Ra3 20. Qe2 Ra2 21. Qf3 Ra3 is a perpetual attack on the queen and draw.

17.Kf1 Rc8 18.g3 Rc4 19.Re1 Bc3 19...Qa4! eyeing c2 is strong. Then, 20. Kg2 f6 makes an escape hatch for black's king and once again he is happy.

20.Rc1 Rxe4?? Black ruins everything with a dreadful tactical oversight. 20...b5 was fine. For example, 21. f3 Be5 22. Kf2 Kd7! with equality.

21.Qc2 Rc4 22.Bg7! Oops. Undoubtedly overlooked by black. The rest of the game is technique.

22...Bxg7 23.Qxc4 Qxc4 24.Rxc4 Kd7 25.f4 b5 26.Rc6 Rb8 27.Ke2 b4 28.Ra6 Rb7 29.Rb1 Bc3 30.Kd3 Rc7 31.Rc1 Rc5 32.Rxa7+ Kd6 33.Ke2 33. a3 is a simple win. 33...Rxd5+ 34. Kc4! Rd4+ 35. Kb3 Rd3 36. axb4! Bd4+ 37. Kc4! does the trick. The text is fine too. White will win this.

33...Rxd5 34.Rd1 Rxd1 35.Kxd1 Bd4 36.Rb7 Bc5 37.Ke2 Kc6 38.Rb8 Kd5 39.Kd3 e5 40.fxe5 Kxe5 41.Rb7 Ke6 42.g4 Bd6 43.h3 h6 44.Ke4 f5+ 45.gxf5 gxf5+ 46.Kf3 Be7 47.Rb8 Kf6 48.Rg8 Bd6 49.h4! Iron-clad. 49...Kf7 50.Rg2 Be7 51.h5 Bg5 52.Rc2 Ke6 53.Rc6 Kd5 54.Rb6 Kc5 55.Rg6 Bd2 56.Ke2 Bc1 57.Rf6 Kb5 58.Rxf5 Ka4 59.Kd3 Bb2 60.Kc4 Bc3 61.Rd5 Ka3 62.Rd6 Kxa2 63.Rxh6 Bd2 64.Rd6 Bc3 65.h6 Kb2 66.h7 Kc2 67.Rh6 Bh8 68.Kxb4 Kd3 69.Re6 1-0

IM Blas Lugo - GM Jesse Kraai Round 4, French Exchange

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4!? 5.Nxe4 Be7 A favorite treatment of GM Evgeny Bareev. This is not as quiet as it appears since the kings wind up on opposite sides often. It has the advantage of avoiding many long mainline theory variations.

6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7

Position after 7....Nd7. Decision Time.

8.Qd2 Maybe it's just me, but I think a planned Bishop placement on d3 warrants a queen on e2 more than a queen on d2. For example, 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Qe2 c5!? 10. O-O-O cxd4 11. h4!? with ultra sharp play (eventually drawn) in Sutovsky-Ivanchuk, Moscow 2002. Both this plan and the text have been seen in dozens of games, of course.

8...O-O 9.O-O-O Be7 10.Bd3 b6 11.Kb1 The primitive 11. h4 turned out to be too slow in Suetin-Bareev, Hastings 1991, and black won after 11...Bb7 12 Kb1 Nf6. To give a counter-example, White won after 11. h4 Bb7 12. c3!? Nf6 13. Neg5 Bxf3 14. gxf3, but this position is equal after 14...Qd5. Black played 14...Kh8?! and lost in Topalov-Dreev, Linares 1995. The text move, on the other hand, also doesn't promise much - only 3 draws in Chessbase's BigBase. A more dangerous try is 11. Neg5!? which hopes for 11...h6? -- after 11. Neg5 h6?, white scored +4 =0 -0 in ChessBase!

Position after 11. Neg5!? (Analysis). Black has to be careful.

But there's a curiosity here: in Volokitin-P.H. Nielsen, Germany 2004, the game went 11. Neg5 h6 12. Bh7+ Kh8 13. Be4 which at first glance looks good for white. However, upon reflection doesn't it look like black missed 13...hxg5 14. Bxa8 g4! and the threat of Be7-g5 wins material? We will come back to this. In the game, black played 13...Bxg5 14. Nxg5 Rb8 and lost. However, he was doing OK after 15. Nf3 Nf6 16. Bc6 Qd6 17. Ne5 Ng4! 18. Nxg4 Qc6 - he only lost due to later middlegame miscues. The truth about 13...hxg5? is revealed in another example, J. Polgar - F. Berkes, Budapest 2003, white introduced an incredible gambit: 12. Bh7+ Kh8 13. Be4 hxg5? 14. g4!! (not the greedy 14. Bxa8?) and now black faces complex problems. White stops black from playing g5-g4 and prepares to open the h-file. In the game, black lost after 14...Rb8 15. h4 g6 16. hxg5+ Kg7 17. Qf4 and white crashed through. The question is, can black live after 14. g4? Let's take a look. First of all, 14....Ba6 15. h4! gxh4 16. g5! is crushing. For example, 16...Kg8 17. Rxh4 f5 (What else?) 18. Bc6 Rc8 19. Rdh1 Kf7 20. d5! and wins. Let's go back to Berkes's choice, 14...Rb8. 15. h4 and first we see that 15...gxh4? is bad: 16. g5 g6 17. Rxh4+ Kg7 18. Rdh1 Rg8 19. Rh7+ Kf8 20. Qf4! and wins.

So we go to Berkes choice, 15...g6 16. hxg5+ Kg7 17. Qf4. This is critical. We first notice that 17...Ba6 is crushed by a typical Judit Polgar brute-force tactic 18. Rh7+!! Kxh7 19. Qh2+ Kg8 20. Rh1 Bxg5+ 21. Nxg5 Qxg5+ 22. f4! and wins. We also notice that Berkes's choice, 17...Bb7?, was crushed by the same tactic.

what about 17...Rh8!? - trying to defend on the h-file. There follows 18. Rxh8 Qxh8 (forced) 19. Ne5! and now black cannot take: 19...Nxe5? 20. Qxe5+ Kg8 21. Qxc7 Bxg5+ 22. Kb1 and the rook on b8 is trapped; white wins. And after 19...Qe8 20. Rh1! the lethal threat of 21. Nxf7! is introduced. Black still cannot take on e5 and hence is lost.

Going back to the beginning, 11. Neg5!? is best met by 11...Bxg5! and now 12. Qxg5 Qxg5+ 13. Nxg5 Nf6 is dead equal. Or, 12. Nxg5 Nf6 and black is OK and even won in B. Lopez-Kraai, San Diego 2004. That game continued 13. Qf4 Bb7 14. Rhe1 Qd6!? and here white disdained an equal ending after 15. Qxd6, opting for 15. Qh4 h6 16. Nf3 (16. Ne4! equal) Bxf3 17. gxf3 Nd5 18. Re4, eventually getting into trouble with the weak d4 pawn. White tried 13. h4!? in Sax-Dizdar, Celje 2003, and black reacted suspiciously with 13...c5?! 14. dxc5 Qd5 15. Kb1? Qxc5 equal. But white missed 15. Qf4!! Qxa2 16. Nxh7! Nxh7 17. Qe4 Nf6 18. Qxa8 Qa1+ 19. Kd2 Qxb2 20. Qxa7 and white keeps a small plus. Stronger is 13. h4 Bb7! and black is fine.

11...Bb7 12.Qf4 c5 In Sindik-Dizdar, Pula 1993, black introduced an idea similar to the game a little earlier: 12...Qb8!? 13. Qg3 c5! with good play. White can improve with 13. Ne5! c5 14. Bb5! Nf6 with sharp play after 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Rhe1 and now the Korchnoi pawn grab 16...Bxg2!?

13.dxc5 Qb8! Gambits in opposite-castled king positions are effective even in the ending! This is particularly true in the "perpetual time pressure" time control of G/90+30 sec. This motif, although it has been seen before, is ingenious and disconcerting for white. There is no more attack and white has to switch gears (notoriously difficult) to a defensive up-a-pawn but under pressure mode.

Position after 13....Qb8! - A gambit to reach an ending!

14.Qxb8 Raxb8 15.cxb6 Nxb6 16.b3? Correct is the solid but not particularly easy to find 16. Ned2! and then a defensive hunkering down. This would not create the glaring c3 weakness in the game. White would then have enough counter-chances.

16...Na4! Very unpleasant to meet in this time control. White probably overlooked this. The c3 square is now home for black's knight.

17.Rde1 Bxe4 18.Bxe4 Nc3+ 19.Kb2 Bf6 This position is terrible for white.

20.Bd3 Ne4 21.Kb1 Nxf2 22.Rhf1 Nxd3 23.cxd3 Rfd8 24.Re3 a5 25.Ne5 Rd5? Correct is 25...Bxe5 26. Rxe5 a4! and black is on top. For example, 27. Kc2 axb3+ 28. axb3 Ra8 29. Kc3 Ra2 with a huge initiative.

26.Nc6 Rb7 27.Rg3 Kf8 28.Rf4! White is doing the right things now to get back in the game.

28...Be5 29.Nxe5 Rxe5 30.Rc4 f5 31.Rf3? 31. Kc1!

31...Ke7 31...Re2! is strong. 32.Rf2 Rd7 33.Kc2 Red5 34.Rf3 Kf6 35.Kc3 g5 36.d4? 36. h4! to reduce the number of pawns.

36...f4 37.a3 Kf5 Now black is gaining control again with his monstrously active king.

38.Rc5? White had to wait with 38. Rf2. The pseudo-active text is crushed.

38...g4 39.Rf1 e5! White probably underestimated this.

40.Rxd5 Rxd5 41.dxe5 Rxe5 42.Kd2 h5 43.b4 axb4 44.axb4 h4 45.Rb1 f3 46.gxf3 gxf3 47.b5 Kg4! The key move. White is lost.

48.b6 f2 49.b7 Re8 50.Rb4+ Kh3 51.Rb3 Kg2 52.b8Q Rxb8 53.Rxb8 f1Q 54.Re8 0-1

In more Round 4 action:

GM John Fedorowicz - FM Michael Langer Modern Benoni

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Nd2 Nbd7 8.e4 Bg7 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O Re8 11.a4 Ne5 12.Qc2 g5 13.Ra3 Fischer defeated the lame 13. Nf3?! Nxf3+ 14. Bxf3 h6 in Gligoric-Fischer, Palma de Mallorca 1970 Interzonal. White has equality here but Gligoric soon made a fatal tactical miscue. The text move is an idea of Petrosian's; but will it "work" along the 3rd rank or get stuck?

Position after 13. Ra3. How useful will this rook be?

13...g4 14.Nd1 Ng6!? The very interesting 14...Nh5!? was seen in Antunac-Y. Gruenfeld, New York 1981, and black managed to win eventually. The game proceeded 15. Ne3 Nf4 16. Bd1 and black was very active. If 15. Re1 Nf4 16. Bf1 Neg6 and black is also OK and drew in 23 moves, Karolyi-Poloch, Leipzip 1984. The most active move, 15. f4!?, might be good for white but prior games misplayed both sides: 15...gxf3 16. Nxf3 Ng6?! 17. Ng5? (17. Bg5! with edge) and drawn eventually, Koualty-Renet Marseille 1988. Or 16...Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 (17. Raxf3 is a white edge) 17...Be5?? 18. g3?? and white even lost in 40 moves, Nowak-Pokojowczyk Zielona Gora 1982. Black's 17th move was complete bluff and white could win with the very nice 18. Bxh5 Qh4 19. Rg3+! (Ouch!) 19...Bxg3 20. Bxf7+ Kg7 21. hxg3 Qxe4 22. Bh6+!! Kxh6 23. Qc1+! Kg7 24. Qg5+ and now black must lose his queen with the sad 24...Qg6 - so it's resignable.

Tentative Conclusion: 15. f4! is the best move after 14...Nh5!?

The natural move 14...Bd7!? is also very interesting. White gets in trouble after the lemon 15. Bb5? Bxb5 16. axb5 Qb6!. No edge for white is to be seen in this position. After the text move, black has enough counter-chances as well.

15.Ne3

Position after 15. Ne3.

15...Qe7?! 15...Nf4! is a good choice. Witness the nifty defusing tactic: 16. Bb5 Bd7! 17. Bxd7 (apparently gaining the monster square f5 for the knight) 17...Ne2+!! 18. Kh1 Qxd7 19. Nf5 Nd4! with equality. A very nice defensive motif. There is also 16. Bc4 and here is a crazy repetition draw line: 16. Bc4 Bd7 17. f3!? gxf3 18. Rxf3 Bh6 19. Kh1 Bg5 20. Rg3 N6h5 21. Rf3 Nf6 22. Rg3. Unforced, but you get the idea. Putting the queen opposite the white rook (soon to arrive on e1) will have nasty consequences in the game.

16.Bb5 Rd8 17.a5 Not much is accomplished by 17. f4 gxf3 18. Rxf3 a6 19. Bd3 Ne5 with equality.

17...Nf4 17...a6 is possible. If 18. Ba4 Nf4 19. Re1 with a small white edge.

18.Re1 h5 19.Qd1 h4? Again, the careful 19....a6 is good to include. For example, 20. Bf1 Re8 and all is well. More dangerous is 20. Ba4! Rb8 21. Bc2! with a latent attack in the works. The impulsive text is an example of going overboard in a Modern Benoni. Just because the opening is an active choice does not mean every single move has to be maximally active even at the cost of weakening.

20.Nf5! The punishment. Black's king is too weak now.

20...Bxf5 21.exf5 Qf8 22.Ne4 N4xd5 23.Bg5 Note that 23. a6! is crushing.

23...Nxe4 24.Rxe4 Nf6 25.Bxf6 25. Re1 with the idea of Bxh4 would win easily also.

25...Bxf6 26.Rxg4+ Kh7 27.Qd5 Black is paralyzed.

27...Qe7 28.Re3 Qc7 29.Rxh4+ 29. Qe4 with the idea of 30. Rxh4+ was total butchery. The text also wins quickly.

29...Bxh4 30.f6 Kg6 31.Re7? 31. Bd3+ is a fast forced mate. 31...Kxf6 32. Qf5+ Kg7 33. Qh7+ Kf6 34. Qh6 mate. Accuracy is often a victim at this crazy time control (or maybe white was playing on black's clock). Of course, the text wins easily as well.

31...Qxe7 32.fxe7 Bxe7 33.Bc4 Rf8 34.Qe4 Kf6 35.Qh4 Ke5 36.Qxe7 Kd4 37.Bf1 1-0

Let's move on to a real barn burner between two strong Grandmasters.

Round 5. GM Goldin - GM Yermolinsky Slav Defense

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qc7

Position after 8...Qc7. To 9. g4 or not to 9. g4.

9.Bd2 GM Vadim Milov, a connoisseur of opening theory, played 9. g4!? here and won after 9...Be7 10. g5!? Nfd7 (10...dxc4!) 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. f4 f6? (12...dxc4!) 13. Bd2 with a big edge; Milov-Rogozenko, Istanbul 2000. If black had played the correct dxc4! on either move 10 or move 12, he would have had equal chances. Goldin's natural move has also been seen.

9...Be7 10.Nxg6 Karpov got nowhere with 10. g3 Bh5! and drawn in 31 moves, Karpov-Bacrot Cannes 2000. 10. cxd5!? looks stronger. After 10...cxd5 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. O-O-O, black missed the mirror move 13...O-O-O! and lapsed with 13...a6, going on to lose in Malakhov-Volkov, Sochi 2004.

10...hxg6

Position after 10...hxg6. A very critical moment. To cackle or not to cackle?

11.Rc1 This is an important moment. Van Wely was successful twice (vs. Volkov and Sokolov) with 11. O-O-O! here. For example, 11. O-O-O Nbd7 12. cxd5! Nxd5 13. Kb1 Nxc3+ 14. Bxc3 and white is clearly better (Van Wely-Sokolov, Amsterdam 2002, and 1-0, 55 moves. Or, 11. O-O-O a6 12. Kb1 dxc4 13. Bxc4 b5 14. Bd3 Rxh2 and here, 15. Ne4! is strong with white advantage (15. g4?! was played, but white won a long game anyway, Van Wely-Volkov, Panormo 2002, 1-0, 79). After 11. O-O-O, 11...dxc4!? looks critical. 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Be2!? a6 14. Kb1?! was Tregubov-Bareev, and black won a tough struggle, 0-1 40 moves, Venacu 2006. It's easy to find improvements for white. First of all, in the game, 14. e4! is strong (14...Rxh2? 15. e5! with a big edge). Secondly, the more active 13. Bd3!? (with Nc3-e4 ideas) is a tricky try one move earlier. Black's position is very dangerous after 13...Rxh2 14. Qc2!. Conclusion: 11. O-O-O! is strong!

11...Nbd7 12.cxd5 exd5 12...Nxd5! is fine for black. For example, 13. e4 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bh4+! (the point!) and black is happy.

13.e4 13. g3 Bd6 got white nowhere in Chiburdanidze-Zhukova, Istanbul 2000, and drawn in 16 moves.

13...dxe4 14.fxe4 Rxh2 14....Rd8! is perfectly good for black. The text is OK too but chances are still balanced. We are now out of book and it's .... about even.

15.Rxh2 Qxh2 16.Qxb7 The computer move 16. e5 is playable. One humorous line is 16...Nxe5!? 17. dxe5 Qxe5+ 18. Kd1 Rd8 19. Qxb7?? Qf4! and wins.

16...Rb8 17.Qxc6 Rxb2 18.Nb5 Qh4+ 19.Kd1 Qf2

Position after 19...Qf2. White falls on his own Claymore.

20.Qa8+?? A horrific blunder that loses on the spot. 20. Qc8+! is drawn. For example, 20...Bd8 21. Be2 Qg1+ 22. Be1 Qe3 (or 22...Nxe4 23. Nc7+ Ke7 24. Nd5+ with a perpetual check) 23. Rc2! (guarded by the queen!) Rb1+ 24. Rc1 Rb2 25. Rc2 with a repetition. White must have missed something very simple.

20...Bd8 21.Be2 Qg1 22.Be1 Qxg2 Oops. There is no 23. Rc2 defense because the white queen is on a8, not c8. So white could already resign.

23.Bd2 Qg1 24.Be1 Qe3 25.Rc8 25. Nc7+ Ke7 is just a spite check.

25...Qxe2+ 26.Kc1 White has seen enough and resigns before black can play 26...Rxb5. An unusual collapse on Goldin's part.

0-1

Here's an important last round game - the winner qualified for the US Championship (to be held also in Tulsa). Once again the Gruenfeld triumphed.

IM Salvijus Bercys - GM John Fedorowicz Round 7, Gruenfeld Defense

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 For 8...cxd4, see Yermolinsky-Movsisyan discussed above.

9.Qd2 O-O 10.Rc1 The most popular, but 10. Rb1 is a major alternative. Statistically, 10. Rb1 scores a little better.

10...Rd8 11.d5 e6 12.c4 Qxd2 13.Nxd2 b6 14.Be2 Na6 15.O-O GM Khenkin is a proponent of the weird 15. Nb1!?. After 15. Nb1 f5 16. f3 fxe4 17. fxe4 Bb2 18. Rd1 exd5 19. cxd5 Re8 the chances were balanced and the game was drawn in 24 moves, Khenkin-Gutman Bad Wiessee 2002.

15...Nb4 Still the mainline, we are following 18 games in ChessBase. Nevertheless, the position appears to promise zero for white so it's a mystery why it has occurred so often.

16.a3 Na2 Black's knight wanderings are actually very logical. White has proven nothing in practice starting from this point.

Position after 16...Na2. White has nothing.

17.Rc2 Nc3 18.Bd3 White plays a slightly less common move now. The most common move is the awkward looking 18. Bf3. However, black won after 18. Bf3 exd5 19. cxd5?? (19. exd5! Bf5 20. Rcc1 equal) 19...Ba6 20. Rfc1 Ne2+ 21. Bxe2 Bxe2 22. f3 Bd3 with an obvious advantage, R. Stone - Ilya Gurevich, Chicago 1992.

18...Ba6 19.Bg5 Some white players have preferred 19. Nb1? here, but it's just a blunder after 19...exd5 20. Nxc3 d4 with a big black edge after 21. Nd5 dxe3 22. fxe3 Be5.

Position after 19. Bg5. Time for a surprise!

19...exd5!? TN I have not been able to locate this move, hence I am labeling it a Theoretical Novelty (TN). Previously seen was 19...Rd7!? and black has quite a good game. For example, 19...Rd7 20. Rfc1 h6 21. Bf4 exd5 22. Rxc3 Bxc3 23. Rxc3 g5 24. Bg3 dxc4 25. Nxc4 Rd4 26. Bf1 Rad8 27. f4?? Rxe4 and black went on to win, Tunik - Timofeev, St. Petersburg 2002. 27. f3! of course was correct with an equal game. The conclusion is that the entire line is harmless. White has to seek improvements earlier.

At this point, according to Monroi, black had spent 1 minute and 30 seconds executing all these moves! The sacrifice is made even more attractive by the fact black is not risking anything. His position is very solid after white grabs the exchange with the bishop pair and an extra pawn.

20.Bxd8 White, surprised, took 8 minutes on this and now had 1:02 remaining.

20...Rxd8 21.exd5 Nxd5 22.Re1 Nf4 23.Bf1? Passive. White only spent one minute on this clunker. 23. Be4! is clearly stronger. White is in no danger after 23...Ne6 24. Nf3 Bf6 25. g3. Or, 23...Nd3? 24. Bxd3 Rxd3 25. Re8+ and white is too active.

23...Ne6 24.Nb3 Weird. 24. Nf3 is more natural.

24...Bb7 25.a4?! White's moves are all connected to a poor plan of queenside action. He could have still bailed out with 25. Rd2 and a likely draw.

25...a5 26.Ra2 Bc3 27.Rc1 Bb4 28.f3?! 28. Be2, guarding d1 and contemplating Rd1, looks better.

28...Bc6 29.Kf2 Kg7 30.Be2 Nd4 31.Nxd4 cxd4 32.Bd3 Re8 33.Be4? This move, losing a key pawn, is too cavalier and should just lose. Most players would just wait. However, black reacts inaccurately to give white one more chance on move 40.

33...Bxe4 34.fxe4 Rxe4 35.Rd1 Bc5 36.Rd3 f5 37.Re2 Kf6?! The clever 37....g5! is stronger here to rule out the white possibility mentioned in the note to white's 40th move.

38.h3 h5?! And here, black had 38...Rf4+ and a later ...g5, or 38...g5 right away. The idea is to take away h3-h4 for white.

39.Kf3 Ke5

Position after 39...Ke5. Last Chance.

40.Rd1? The last chance to resist was 40. h4! to hold black up on the kingside. White might even be able to hold the position with careful play; it's up to black to demonstrate progress.

40...g5! Now it's really all over. The rest is torture.

41.Rd3 Bb4 42.Rd1 Bc5 43.Rd3 g4+ 44.Kf2 h4 45.Kf1 Bb4 46.Rd1 Rxe2?! The simplest is 46... gxh3 47. gxh3 f4 with total domination.

47.Kxe2 Ke4 48.Rf1? Very bad. White has to try to hold the 3rd rank with 48. Rd3 and make black demonstrate a plan.

48...d3+ 49.Kd1 gxh3 50.gxh3 f4 51.Rg1 f3 52.Rg6 f2 53.Rf6 Bc5 White is paralyzed and gives up.

0-1

A closer look reveals that Cambridge UCCE are in fact batting, not Somerset. We can trust the Beeb to stuff up so perhaps not such an odd start after all? But then there's the bowling....I'm sure Mr Langer has a masterplan but opening with Phillips and Munday when Caddick and Willoughby are in your side must rank as one of the stranger ones from Justin 'the Declarer.'

Stranger still was that Munday lasted two balls. An injury? The frustration of watching over the web are the gaps in between the stats. So...the bowling figures...

Phillips 0-62 off 15 overs
Munday 0-9 off 2 balls
Durston 1-24 off 4.4 overs
Willoughby 0-30 off 9 overs

Come on Somerset, unleash the Caddyshack upon the plucky students....

With “La Nelly”, his most popular character, he has driven more than one politician mad. But Langer's provocations do not end at the airport. He has also collaborated with other media worldwide, like Los Jueves (Spain), The Angels Times and Caglecartoons (both from USA), Diario El Comercio (Peru) and Courrier International (France), among others. His drawings, he explains, are impregnated with the smell of Buenos Aires, which carries both beauty and misery. Between the local laugh and the universal joke, Langer prescribes a dose of humor to conspire against fear.

Publicado en the Nose, para el número de lanzamiento (*)

Is there something particular about Buenos Aires that you express in your drawings?
The city's dialogue has much to do with it, the daily topic listened to in the street. That is in the drawings, which are very local, and no-one from abroad would understand them – apart from those who spend some time in Argentina, and who have the intention of knowing it. The drawings belong to Buenos Aires, and refer to common phrases that are even beyond the understanding of a guy who lives in another province. Paradoxically, these local drawings awake foreign curiosity – representatives of the Wall Street Journal spotted some economically themed drawings that I had done, and later used them as a validation to describe Argentina's political sentiment, as a country. They began to understand elements of Buenos Aires through the drawings. For example, the fight between La Nelly and Klauss, who is a foreign bondholder of the Argentinean debt.
How was that?
Some people told me that during negotiations of the foreign debt, commentary arose about my drawings. It was the rarest thing, because I worked with the irony of this situation, was very much criticizing them. Nevertheless, the Klauss character seemed fun to them. But, Klauss is a real person, who even later, wanted to meet me.
Would you like to do a more universal humor?
The drawings come out the way they are now. Besides, they are part of a unique space in Clarin, as they get inside the political topic with a certain irony.
Is there any topic that doesn't make you laugh?
There is no particular topic. It depends on my state of mind. But, the humor was already born out of a tragic thing, where laughter takes you away from pain. Sometimes the distress, the death, affects you badly, and it is generally the humor that fixes you, that saves you. I don´t pass the day laughing at everything, but humor is included in everything, in so many absurd situations.
Some people feel offended by your drawings, don´t they?
I create something, and others may bother themselves without asking for my permission. Some time ago, a curious situation occurred. In the drawings, I included a Bolivian character. She is a thinker, and a liberal character. The character was constructed that way on purpose, to destroy the stereotype of the submissive Bolivian. She is a quiet character - but she thinks - and usually undresses herself as a method of protest. The character offended some people. There was a letter written from the Bolivian embassy, describing their sense of being discriminated against. They can feel that way, but it seemed to me more a lack of perception, of sensibility, regarding what the drawings were really saying.
Is there a search to shatter stereotypes?
I do it all the time. We laugh at everything, at us. It is necessary to have the intelligence to do that. There are prominent public figures, civil servants, who have zero aptitude to laugh at themselves. Maradona is a God, but you can´t make a joke out of him. During the Menem government, there was a climate of merriment and laughing that was propriated by Menem himself. Nowadays, the Kirchner’s do not encourage it: they have a more closed structure. Whenever we include some joke about them in the newspaper, they do not like it much. However, I don't keep looking to see if the politicians like my drawings or not. I´m not here to change reality, but to make fun of it.
And which are the most interesting targets to make fun of?
The prominent figures of feminism, those from the political scene, the middle class and its negative values. La Nelly personifies all of those. People end up liking her, because they recognise the negative parts of individualism, egoism, and the common places they occur in.
Do you draw ugly people because you see them like that?
There are nice people too, and I am a bit nicer now. I have an antenna which locates the ugliness, but I´m not going to deny that there are pretty people also. The things that bother me the most is the consensus, the injustice, and the politically correct thing. And if you were only to publish beauty, it would be very boring.
Do you have any favourite places in Buenos Aires?
I stay in my studio a lot, but I like to go out and have lunch in Sarkis (an Arabian restaurant in Palermo - Jufre and Thames streets). I also like Alimentos Salgado (Julian Alvarez and Araoz streets). It’s a wonderful place, and Sebastián attends to me there, cooking amazing pastas. It was an old pasta factory, now recycled, and it has a very nice atmosphere. Any bar is good, and pizza places are the best.
If you could add a smell to your drawings, which would it be?
It would be a smell you would find in Buenos Aires, which has both horrible and nice smells. The city has the Riachuelo's smell, of rottenness and pollution, but also has smells of jasmine, pizza and neighborhoods.

Hey-ho, let's go! It's off and strolling with stage three of the summer 2006 Grantham Canal walk! After last week's brush with inclement weather there were no such problems this time on a fine and sunny day of around 24C. Starting earlier by necessity on this occasion, we left a car at Harby and duly backtracked cross country via Colston Basset to the pretty village of Kinoulton, scene of the conclusion of last week's walk.

The first notable thing we talked of was how this plan, using linear routes week by week and beginning at last week's end point, really gave a feel of continuity and of a true long distance walk. Stepping back off the lane and onto the canal at Kinoulton Bridge, it felt good to be back on the towpath that we have faithfully followed over the past three weeks.

Retreading footsteps. The beginning of this week's walk at Kinoulton Bridge

But a short sunny stroll of a mile or so later, we strode off the canal for a little look around the diminutive and attractive village of Hickling. The village boasted few buildings and a rather lovely atmosphere by its broad stretch of water, Hickling Basin facing the ancient Plough Inn, sadly shut tight at our time of passing. A little local information told us that the basin once had a legend staunchly upheld by the local children that a whale lived in there, it being the only area where the creature could possibly have the space to turn around!

There were tales also of local skaters, men, women and children on the sharpened blades, or perhaps that should be sharpened bones, who in more frigid times would take to the ice of the canal for lantern-lit skating sessions. Even on a hot summer's day it was not difficult to imagine such a lovely and magical scene, one that was more typical of the eastern fens of England many years ago. I personally adore this now almost lost image to this country, having participated in outdoor skating sessions on the lakes of Canada and its frozen winter conditions.

Also overlooking Hickling Basin is a small warehouse which though not particularly notable to the eye, was tellingly built in 1793, the first year of the construction of the canal. The fairly petite industrial building now has a preserved order status, clearly illustrated by its pristine and serviceable state.

It was somewhat difficult making the move on from the lovely basin bathed in sunshine but rewarding all the same as the Grantham Canal manifested some of its wider stretches along its length, regularly canopied by elegant and whispery weeping willows and lined by stately upright reeds.

Today was largely a swan day. There were literally dozens of them brooding over their signets along the waterway. It has been a feature of my summer walking the canal, watching the young signets growing and maturing. From the diminutive bundles of grey fluff in early June, the young ones appear now almost full size. A great benefit of being able to be outdoors and observe so much of nature at work this summer. What's more - they actually seem to have accepted our presence and are happy to share the canal towpath too!

Of course the winding water that has become our placid and tranquil friend over the past few weeks still has its dangers! Witness the sheer abject terror etched upon my walking partner on this occasion by her bovine foe! There was some questioning of whether the cows could transport themselves to the 'wrong' side of the canal, i.e. the one we were walking on, but happily for Barbara this was never more than a fanciful flight of fear.

More fear and loathing on the 'Grantham'. Is there no beginning to this woman's courage?

Soon appearing on the pleasant vista came Clarke's Bridge with an original hand painted name plaque underneath its arches. The plaque was visually undistinguished, the most notable thing being that it was originally painted in 1793 at the beginning of the Grantham Canal story. We were fortunate to eye swans with their signets here, swimming in single file and framed by the bridge's coping stones, offering a unique photographic opportunity

After a pair of interesting and durable looking swing bridges offering access to farmer's fields, we approached the little gem of Hose Bridge adjacent to the village of the same name. A most appealing spot for picnics was available here by way of some welcoming looking wooden seating. Unfortunately as time did not allow today we were unable to stay awhile or indeed take the short half-mile walk into Hose for an investigation. Maybe next time.

Over to our right the original Langar airbase could be viewed across the fields. Nowadays the former bomber base is used by a parachute school but once there was much more serious business to attend. In 1940, 207 Squadron featuring many Canadian airmen was housed here when the base was built. After closure six years later, the base was re-opened in 1951 by The Royal Canadian Air Force until it closed once more in 1963. The brave Canadian flyers were well thought of and received in the area. As an aside, it is probably due to the presence of the 'Canucks' that the city of Nottingham came to be such a bastion of the game of ice hockey which even exists until present day. During the bleak years of World War II, the Canadians would often strap on the skates to entertain local crowds in vivid displays of the game on ice in the recently built Nottingham Ice Stadium (1939).

The area of Radcliffe-on-Trent where my walking partner, Barbara resides is indeed named 'The Canadian Estate' after the settlement of Canadians in the area years ago. Many names familiar to those of us with a connection, love or admiration of the land of the Maple Leaf are evident there in its roadside displays of Vancouver, Granville, and St. Lawrence et al.
A feature of the walk today had been the purpose built buildings stood sentry by the canal in order to serve its industrial past. This was never better illustrated than when approaching Harby Mill Bridge. The Harby Tower Mill and attendant granary built in 1836 stand in full view from the waterside, complemented by several other warehouses dating back to the 1790s'.

Raising ourselves from the canal for the day we tracked back to our car left nearby and looked forward to a drink and a rest after our third stage of the walk was completed. Harby has two pubs which face each other from opposite sides of the street. The White Hart, a long, white stuccoed building was left untroubled on this occasion as we plumped for The Nags Head to our left. Almost completely deserted but in pleasant contrast to the promising looking yet ultimately disappointing Nevile Arms of seven days ago, it offered flagstone floors and a few original looking features. A drink in the bar would have been exceedingly pleasant but an enclosed garden held even more appeal in the still bright and warm early afternoon sun. The Nags Head apparently has some origins dating back to the 1400s'. An original use was for accommodation for monks in the area whilst their cattle resided downstairs - byre style. If the Grantham Canal ever resumes more regular use by boaters and other leisure pursuers, this pub will prove to be a great asset to the ancient waterway.

At the end of a sometimes tempestuous walk which took us past the beautiful clearing of Hickling, a historic bastion of the dominion of Canada and the significant half-way point, we planned our next gentle assault on The Grantham Canal in the garden of the Nags Head. Next week we would hug the towpath from Harby to the much sought after and well-known village of Redmile. Along the way the hamlet of Plungar and the satisfyingly named Barkestone-le-Vale would be available to open our eyes to more of The Vale of Belvoir and its beautiful view. Join us