There is racing and then there is Moto GP racing. Moto GP racing is the F1 of motorcycle racing. The bikes are extreme, the drivers are absolutely fearless and phenomenally skilled, and the action and visual presentation of the sport is without equal. It is a sport that is visibly, incredibly dangerous. On the weekend of April 21st – April 23rd, Moto GP visited Austin, Texas’ Circuit of the Americas, the site of the U.S. Grand Prix. Photographer Regis Lefebure was on site to capture the action and graciously agreed to share some of his photos, which are absolutely amazing. One thing for certain about Moto GP: these guys are totally committed, have amazing balance and skill, and push the limits on every lap. If you get a chance to see a Moto GP race, do it. It will change your idea of what is possible on two wheels. All photos are (C) 2017 by Regis Lefebure. We thank him for sharing (you should too!).
The Nightshift: 6 May 2017
Press Clippings:
Good Morning, It’s Saturday, 6 May 2017 and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift: the world’s overnight news feed.
The French Presidential election runoff is this weekend. Macron, a centrist and one of the two candidates involved in the runoff (Le Pen is the other) said that his election headquarters was the victim of a massive hacking attack. Initial suspicion is that the attack came from and was directed by Russia. Anything about that scenario sound familiar to Americans?
The Trump Administration has been celebrating its’ first major legislative victory: the passing through the House of Representatives of a bill designed to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. As Politico has pointed out, now the Republicans have to answer for every problem with health care; in other words, by winning (short term) they could have lost (long term). This weekend, President Trump will take another break by staying at his golf club in New Jersey.
Meanwhile, the Senate committee investigating the alleged Russian hacking of the U.S. Presidential election has told Carter Page, a sometime in/sometime out member of the Trump campaign to willingly turn over documents related to his interactions and activities with Russia or face a subpoena to force the disclosure.
A U.S. Navy Seal was killed in an operation in Somalia, the first American casualty there in over a decade. There is increasing concern in the military about the overuse of “special operations” forces. The constant activity by America’s most elite warriors is stressing the training and resources of these elite fighting units.
China’s newest jetliner, the Comac C919 has taken its’ maiden flight as the Asian country tries to gain a foothold in the international jet market currently dominated by Boeing and Airbus. In other business news, the U.S. economy’s jobless rate fell to 4.4%, the lowest it has been in over a decade.
The 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby is today. The weather is expected to be cold and there is a 40% chance of more rain. Get a pre-race briefing from the NY Times (post time is 6:35PM ET)
Now more than ever, catch up on the news in the rest of the world by reading the front pages of the World’s Greatest newspapers.
Don’t forget that both Politico.com and Bloomberg.com have been added to our go-to news resources.
The International Headlines are all at your fingertips. Have a great week.
The Times (London
Financial Times (UK)
The Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)
The Wall Street Journal (European edition)
Washington Post (Washington, D.C.)
New York Times (New York)
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles)
Daily News Egypt (Cairo)
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
The Moscow Times (Moscow)
Le Figaro (Paris)
Bloomberg.com (New York)
The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem)
The Japanese Times (Tokyo)
Sputnik (Moscow)
The Buenas Aires Herald (Buenas Aires)
The Sidney Morning Herald (Sidney)
Deadline Hollywood (Hollywood)
FiveThirtyEight (New York City)
Politico (Washington, DC)
The Fine Print: The Nightshift is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. This post is number 1095 for this site. Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.
The Nightshift: 5 May 2017
Press Clippings:
Good Morning, It’s Friday, 5 May 2017 and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift: the world’s overnight news feed.
The Trump administration scored its’ first big administrative win when it managed to pass in the House of Representatives a highly revised version of Trumpcare, it’s proposed medical insurance replacement for the ACA (Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare”). This passage in the House does not make the bill law–it has to pass the Senate next. There are a lot of legislative steps left before Trumpcare becomes the law of the land but the controversy around this administrative initiative is already building. Nothing is without drama in Washington these days.
Middle America is suffering from the remnants of a massive storm system that moved through dropping rain, raising rivers to flood levels, and washing out roads. The difficult weather is expected to remain through the weekend–even Churchhill Downs, the home of tomorrow’s classic horse race, The Kentucky Derby, is currently experiencing serious rainfall.
North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of plotting to assassinate its streaky leader, Kim Jung Un. Like previous assertions, there is no evidence of such a plot.
Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari has posted a superb adjusted earnings margin of 29.5 percent; the surge is due primarily to increased demand for Ferrari’s trademark 12 cylinder automobiles, in particular the $2.1 million La Ferrari Aperta. The Aperta is a collector car, sold only to Ferrari’s top clients and is a convertible version of the La Ferrari collector car. Sales of the company’s product base–the 8 cylinder Ferrari models–are down 3%. The company has ambitions to grow annual output from approximately 7,000 units a year to 10,000 units a year.
Puerto Rico has declared bankruptcy. The U.S. Territory is facing $79 billion in debt and $49 billion in pension commitments. That’s a lot of money and Puerto Rico doesn’t have it. There will be very difficult long-term choices ahead for Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Now more than ever, catch up on the news in the rest of the world by reading the front pages of the World’s Greatest newspapers.
Don’t forget that both Politico.com and Bloomberg.com have been added to our go-to news resources.
The International Headlines are all at your fingertips. Have a great week.
The Times (London
Financial Times (UK)
The Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)
The Wall Street Journal (European edition)
Washington Post (Washington, D.C.)
New York Times (New York)
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles)
Daily News Egypt (Cairo)
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
The Moscow Times (Moscow)
Le Figaro (Paris)
Bloomberg.com (New York)
The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem)
The Japanese Times (Tokyo)
Sputnik (Moscow)
The Buenas Aires Herald (Buenas Aires)
The Sidney Morning Herald (Sidney)
Deadline Hollywood (Hollywood)
FiveThirtyEight (New York City)
Politico (Washington, DC)
The Fine Print: Embed courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21st century on file. They remain the internet’s go-to source for photos. This visual has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. The Nightshift is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. This post is number 1094 for this site. Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.
Transitions: Ueli Steck (1976-2017)
Paying Attention:
“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering. All the rest are merely games…” Earnest Hemingway…
There wasn’t a Ueli Stick before he arrived on the international mountaineering scene and there won’t be one now that he is gone. He was unique, a multi-faceted alpinist with a deep reservoir of skill and accomplishments and an ever deeper resolve to train to the max for every thing that he did. It was Steck who became the first “speed climber”, clambering up difficult, treacherous slopes at a pace that left his companions winded and onlookers in awe. Steck had the stamina of a marathoner and the nerves of a bomb defuser. He summited Everest without oxygen and did the North Face of the Eiger (nicknamed the “Wall of Death”) in a little over two hours, less time than it takes to have a really good dinner with friends. His climbing resume was filled with first ascents and speed climbs that made him a legend. His unique combination of skills and accomplishments earned him the nickname “the Swiss Machine”.
Over the last weekend, while training for another adventure, climbing on Nuptse in the Nepalese Himalayas, Steck fell. The fall was 1000 Meters (3000 plus feet) and he did not survive.
World class mountaineering is a pursuit that takes a heavy toll on the world class mountaineers who reach the summit of the sport. Make a mistake in baseball, and it’s an error or a home run. Make a mistake in football and it’s interception or a punt return for a touchdown. Make a mistake in mountaineering and all too often it’s death. It’s a deadly serious sport that requires a level of concentration and training that is just not present consistently in other sports, with consequences for failure or underperformance or error that are literally life or death.
The safety net for mountaineers is provided by a combination of training, technique, and experience. You must be superbly trained and cannot afford any loss of strength, balance, or endurance while working your way up a massive rock face. Technique must be perfect. Imperfect technique leads to falls. And you must have a deep, vast, reservoir of experience to help you through situations that you’ve not precisely encountered before but in which you can see “similarities”. Steck was the textbook example of what it takes in terms of education, training, technique, experience and commitment to be a world class mountaineer. He always felt his life was in the best hands when those hands were his own–which is as it should be if you’re a mountaineer.
For a top mountaineer like Steck, there is always the continuing issue of “what next”. The better a mountaineer becomes, the more mountains he summits, the more impossible the climb, the greater the search for the next goal. The world is small now, and you can book a flight to Nepal in 24 Hours. There are fewer “firsts” to accomplish. Mountains get crowded (Everest is a perfect example) with mountaineers trying to check off another big climb or create new route. The hunt for “what’s next” now pushes mountaineers to create new challenges that push them to–or over–their absolute limits.
One of the very appealing facets of mountaineering and alpinism is the level of intellect the sport attracts. Mountaineers are some of our most intelligent athletes. They think about their sport, about the edges of the sport, about the consequences and risk mitigation. Many of our best alpinists would be equally comfortable running hedge funds–they have a fine and accurate sense of risk and how to manage opportunity or reversals. Steck was such an athlete. He pioneered a new way of mountaineering, using less equipment, going faster, and often doing it solo. He was expert at managing the risks and then, one day, he wasn’t.
Michael Wejchert wrote a compelling, intelligent, piece on Steck’s death for the 1 May 2017 issue of The New York Times. Wejchert’s piece is not just a fitting and appropriate eulogy for Steck, but lays out the philosophy and risks of mountaineering in elegant prose; Wejchart knows what he’s talking about because he is one of them–a mountaineering guide. In his piece, Wejchart shows how the path of accomplishment in mountaineering so often leads to a sudden and brutal end. It’s a very, very good piece of writing and deserves to be read.
To bring a different perspective to the life of Ueli Steck, also included with this post is a short film on Steck, which features not just Steck but a group of his contemporaries who discuss his unique abilities.
When we lose someone like Ueli Steck, we lose a little bit of the possibilities of life, as shown by someone who took it to the edge and, every time but one, came back.
That should make all of us sad, whether we are mountaineers or not.
Woody Allen on Success
“Eighty percent of success is showing up….”
The Nightshift: 3 May 2017
Press Clippings:
Good Morning, It’s Wednesday, 3 May 2017, and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift: the world’s overnight news feed, as we return to a more regular posting schedule.
Russia continues to shadow American politics. President Trump had a phone call with Soviet Premier Vladimir Putin yesterday. They are seeking common ground on how to solve the crisis in Syria. Hillary Clinton, in a public appearance, said that while she certainly “made some mistakes” in her candidacy, she was doomed by Russian meddling/hacking and James Comey’s late cycle email investigation announcement. The investigation into Russian meddling/interference in the last U.S. Presidential continues.
The Republican majority is working to again repeal Obamacare, trying intensely to reverse their earlier failure at repeal. Word is that the revised Trumpcare bill iss not yet configured for general acceptance and passage in Congress. Perhaps it might be more useful to modify the existing Obamacare legislation rather than go through a ground-up rebuild that doesn’t have much support.
France’s runoff election is this coming weekend. It pits a rightist candidate versus a centrist one. The results will have consequences for the European Union. Negotiations over Britain’s exit from the EU–it’s not a simple thing–continue in Brussels. Oil prices are rising and Apple stock has fallen after its latest quarter results failed to meet Wall Street expectations. Apple has more cash than the UK and Canada combined, and someone thinks its’ stock is not a good investment?
Ueli Steck, one of the world’s top mountaineers and a leader in “speed climbing” has died in an accident while training for a climb on Everest.
U.S. auto sales are dropping–not a good sign for the economy. There is talk of summer layoffs at the auto plants. Alitalia, as mentioned here yesterday, has gone into bankruptcy. It may not come out.
Now more than ever, catch up on the news in the rest of the world by reading the front pages of the World’s Greatest newspapers.
Don’t forget that both Politico.com and Bloomberg.com have been added to our go-to news resources.
The International Headlines are all at your fingertips. Have a great week.
The Times (London
Financial Times (UK)
The Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)
The Wall Street Journal (European edition)
Washington Post (Washington, D.C.)
New York Times (New York)
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles)
Daily News Egypt (Cairo)
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
The Moscow Times (Moscow)
Le Figaro (Paris)
Bloomberg.com (New York)
The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem)
The Japanese Times (Tokyo)
Sputnik (Moscow)
The Buenas Aires Herald (Buenas Aires)
The Sidney Morning Herald (Sidney)
Deadline Hollywood (Hollywood)
FiveThirtyEight (New York City)
Politico (Washington, DC)
The Fine Print: Embed courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21st century on file. They remain the internet’s go-to source for photos. This visual has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. The Nightshift is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. This post is number 1090 for this site. Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.
Woody Allen on Confidence
“Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem….”
The Nightshift: 2 May 2017
Press Clippings:
Good Morning, It’s Tuesday, 2 May 2017, and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift: the world’s overnight news feed, as we return to a more regular posting schedule.
Fox News continues to implode. Co-President Bill Shine is out–most likely not because of what he did but what he didn’t do during the wave of sexual harassment lawsuits that severely damaged the reputation of Fox News. Next to leave could be another superstar on-air personality, Sean Hannity. It’s looking increasingly like the band is going to get back together with whispers of a new cable news network making the rounds; the new network would combine the talents of ex-Fox News executives and on-air talent. It would find an instant audience. Fox News is seen as becoming more centric as it continues to reorganize. The new network would presumably continue where the old Fox News network left off, hopefully with a more correct internal culture.
Four students at the University of Texas (Austin) were stabbed and one of those four has died as a result of a series of random stabbings by a fellow student. Kendrix White, a fellow UT student was arrested for the incidents. The University of Texas police captured him within two minutes of a 911 call. White is a black student; the students assaulted were all white. No motive or explanation has been offered for the attack.
Also in Texas, a Dallas paramedic was shot and wounded by a man later found dead in a nearby apartment. The paramedic was on the scene to assist a shooting victim; the paramedic was pulled to safety and taken to the hospital by a Dallas policeman.
In other television news, station owners are either looking to sell out or acquire more stations, as relaxed FCC rules are expected to spur increased consolidation in the industry. Has the television industry benefited from relaxed ownership rules that allow a massive concentration of broadcast properties? Yes. Have the tax payers and population benefit? Not necessarily. It’s quite a long way from the original intent of broadcasting–“to use the public airwaves for the public good”. How’s your market doing?
Angie’s List–the service that lists vetted providers of home repair services–is to be sold for $600M. Apparently being a great handyman has incredible financial rewards. Hollywood studios and the television networks have reached a new agreement with the Writer’s Guild to keep the films and sitcoms coming. Good thing, summer binge time is coming. And, finally, to add to all the other bad news about flying, Alitalia Airlines is headed into bankruptcy again. This will be the second time in a decade that Alitalia has failed. The day of the “national” airline appears to be coming to a close.
The Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs 126-99 in the first game of their NBA playoff series.
Now more than ever, catch up on the news in the rest of the world by reading the front pages of the World’s Greatest newspapers.
Don’t forget that both Politico.com and Bloomberg.com have been added to our go-to news resources.
The International Headlines are all at your fingertips. Have a great week.
The Times (London
Financial Times (UK)
The Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)
The Wall Street Journal (European edition)
Washington Post (Washington, D.C.)
New York Times (New York)
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles)
Daily News Egypt (Cairo)
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
The Moscow Times (Moscow)
Le Figaro (Paris)
Bloomberg.com (New York)
The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem)
The Japanese Times (Tokyo)
Sputnik (Moscow)
The Buenas Aires Herald (Buenas Aires)
The Sidney Morning Herald (Sidney)
Deadline Hollywood (Hollywood)
FiveThirtyEight (New York City)
Politico (Washington, DC)
The Fine Print: Embed courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21st century on file. They remain the internet’s go-to source for photos. This visual has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. The Nightshift is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. This post is number 1088 for this site. Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.
The Nightshift: 1 May 2017
Editor’s Note: The Nightshift will be published in abbreviated form (and late) tonight. Tomorrow..it reverts to long form. Thanks for reading.
Press Clippings:
Good Afternoon, It’s Monday, 1 May 2017, and this is the Evening Edition of The Nightshift: the world’s overnight news feed.
One of the co-presidents of Fox News, Bill Shine, has been dismissed. The purge continues as the network tries to reshape itself. In the meantime, the inevitable is being whispered: a new conservative news network featuring the talents of Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly (among others). It won’t be easy, but it will probably happen.
The U.S. Congress agreed on a spending bill to keep the government in operation until September. The amount of money budgeted is over $1.0 trillion dollars.
President Donald Trump abruptly ended a CBS News interview when asked about his allegations that “Obama wiretapped me”. Still–no facts to support his position (which he has now said is an “opinion”).
Now more than ever, catch up on the news in the rest of the world by reading the front pages of the World’s Greatest newspapers.
Don’t forget that both Politico.com and Bloomberg.com have been added to our go-to news resources.
The International Headlines are all at your fingertips. Have a great week.
The Times (London
Financial Times (UK)
The Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)
The Wall Street Journal (European edition)
Washington Post (Washington, D.C.)
New York Times (New York)
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles)
Daily News Egypt (Cairo)
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
The Moscow Times (Moscow)
Le Figaro (Paris)
Bloomberg.com (New York)
The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem)
The Japanese Times (Tokyo)
Sputnik (Moscow)
The Buenas Aires Herald (Buenas Aires)
The Sidney Morning Herald (Sidney)
Deadline Hollywood (Hollywood)
FiveThirtyEight (New York City)
Politico (Washington, DC)
The Fine Print: The Nightshift is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. This post is number 1087 for this site. Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.
The Nightshift: 30 April 2017
Editor’s Note: The Nightshift will be published in abbreviated form for the next couple of weeks due to outside scheduling commitments.
Press Clippings:
Good Afternoon, It’s Sunday, 30 April 2017, and this is the Afternoon Edition of The Nightshift: the world’s overnight news feed.
The Administration’s Second 100 Days have started. It’ll be interesting to see how the White House prioritizes its agenda going forward.
Famous Houston attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes has died. He was 90 and was one of the most effective trial attorneys in America, most famous for defending Dr. John Hill in the famous “Blood and Money” trial that became the subject of a best selling book.
North Korea is still a hot mess. Some things don’t change. Currently it’s up to China to reel North Korea back in.
A major rain/wind/electrical storm moved across the South and Mid-South this morning. Its created very nasty conditions across a multi-state area. The storm will be arriving on the East Coast overnight.
Now more than ever, catch up on the news in the rest of the world by reading the front pages of the World’s Greatest newspapers.
Don’t forget that both Politico.com and Bloomberg.com have been added to our go-to news resources.
The International Headlines are all at your fingertips. Have a great week.
The Times (London
Financial Times (UK)
The Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)
The Wall Street Journal (European edition)
Washington Post (Washington, D.C.)
New York Times (New York)
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles)
Daily News Egypt (Cairo)
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
The Moscow Times (Moscow)
Le Figaro (Paris)
Bloomberg.com (New York)
The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem)
The Japanese Times (Tokyo)
Sputnik (Moscow)
The Buenas Aires Herald (Buenas Aires)
The Sidney Morning Herald (Sidney)
Deadline Hollywood (Hollywood)
FiveThirtyEight (New York City)
Politico (Washington, DC)
The Fine Print: The Nightshift is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. This post is number 1086 for this site. Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world. p