A photo illustration of Grant Cardone (Getty, Google Maps, United States District Court for the Central District of California)

Grant Cardone has said, Most opportunities are disguised as problems. If thats true, he has had his share of opportunities in 2022.

In May, unknown robbers allegedly stole his expensive designer watch in a VIP area at Hardrock Stadium during the Miami Grand Prix.

A recent Palm Beach Post investigation uncovered Cardone Capital has overcharged tenants living in an apartment complex with workforce housing owned by the Aventura-based firm.

And last week, a federal appeals judge reversed last years dismissal of a Los Angeles class action lawsuit against Cardone and his company alleging he misled investors on social media about potential profits they could make from his multifamily deals. Cardone Capital owns about $5 billion in apartment rental complexes in South Florida and across the country

U.S. Appeals Judge Barbara Lynns decision means plaintiff Luis Pinos complaint can move forward, and other investors can join the lawsuit or file their own claims against Cardone and Cardone Capital. In siding with Pino, Lynn determined that Cardones social media posts promoting his crowd-funded investments are subject to federal securities regulations that guard against misstatements and omissions.

Cardone did not respond to a request for comment.

To his millions of followers, Cardone flaunts his personal wealth while doling out advice on how they too can become rich by putting their savings, 401K earnings and other investments in apartment buildings and communities, particularly the properties he owns and the ones he is looking to purchase. Cardone also promotes his real estate deals at conferences and forums he hosts around the country.

Investors place their money into real estate funds overseen by Cardone and his firm, which generate fees from the acquisition, management and disposition of the real estate assets.

In 2020, Pino sued Cardone and Cardone Capital, alleging he violated securities laws based on alleged misleading statements about his real estate funds on social media. A year earlier, Pino, who resides in Inglewood, California, invested $10,000 in two Cardone Capital real estate funds after attending a Cardone summit in Anaheim, the complaint states.

In May of last year, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ruled in Cardones favor. Walter concluded that Pino failed to adequately allege that Cardone made material misstatements and omissions. Lynn, the appeals judge, disagreed. She determined that Cardones Instagram posts and YouTube videos are the types of potentially injurious solicitations that are intended to command attention and persuade potential investors.

Pino fairly alleges that the nature of social media presents dangers that investors will be persuaded to purchase securities without full and fair information, Lynn wrote.

Contact Francisco Alvarado

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Grant Cardone is back on the hook in a class action suit - The Real Deal

Bah gawd, that's AMC's music.

It felt a lot like AMC was getting on the straight and narrow (as I mentioned in yesterday's newsletter).

The Water Coolest- Mouth breathers with "MOASS" tattoos who consider Adam Aron a father figure aren't going to like AMC's latest move.

The movie theater chain made a wait for it sound business decision. You might recall AMC made headlines for some recent head scratchers, like buying a huge stake in a literal gold mining company, and effectively splitting its stock via the issuance of preferred shares called APEs.

But this time around it wasn't something it did. It's what it didn't do. The theater chain decided against buying up some theaters owned by Cineworld. Cineworld recently filed for bankruptcy.

Pumping the brakes would have made sense considering shares had fallen below where they were trading when meme stonk mania kicked off in Janaury 2021

The Water Coolest- AMC shares closed at $4.89 on Monday. That's below where the stonk was trading in January 2021, meaning the cinema chain has lost all of its meme stonk mania gainz pours out $17 ICEE in a commemorative Avatar cup

Andddd it took less than 24-hours for head crayon eater, AMC CEO Adam Aron to prove me wrong.

"But just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"

Today AMC did what it does best: act like an absolute wildcard. Which, to be fair, has worked out ok so far.

Bloomberg- AMC Entertainment Inc. sank after proposing to convert preferred equity units into common shares along with a 10-to-1 reverse stock split.

The changes would stop investors from pushing AMC toward penny stock territory, Adam Aron, chief executive officer of the worlds largest movie theater chain, said Thursday. The preferred equity units debuted in August and were quickly caught up in volatility linked to retail trading of so-called meme stocks.

AMC also said Thursday that it raised $110 million through the sale of preferred equity units to debt holder Antara Capital LP at a weighted average price of 66 cents each, below market value.

There are really three things happening here.

1) AMC is proposing that it converts its "APE" preferred shares to AMC stock. A little history lesson: back in August AMC offered up a "special dividend" to shareholders. For each AMC stock you held, you got an APE preferred share (spoiler: they can be converted back to AMC shares). This effectively acted like a stock split. But it was viewed as shady as fuck by Wall Street. AMC shareholders wouldn't vote to allow the chain to create more AMC stock out of thin air to sell and raise more money (because it would dilute the outstanding shares). So the big brains over in AMC's creative accounting department dreamt up the APE shares, which didn't require a shareholder vote to sell. And sell they did. We learned this week that the company printed $162 million in straight cash homie via its (totally legal) scheme.

2) The company is proposing a 10-to-1 reverse stock split on its AMC shares. For every 10 shares you own, you get 1 shiny new stonk that goes all Grant Cardone (read: worth 10x the original price). The individual share price goes up while the total number of outstanding shares drops. The value of the company remains the same. This will help avoid penny stock territory and could attract some institutional investors I guess. So, essentially polishing a fucking turd.

3) AMC also sold a boat load ($110 million worth) of APEs to Antara Capital. Remember, this is EXACTLY why AMC created these preferred shares. The 9-figure pay day will help pay down debt and probably finance some other batshit ideas Adam Aron has up his sleeve. One issue, if you're a shareholder, is that the APEs were sold to Antara at a 3% discount. Investors like this sorta thing as much as they like calling their mom's new husband "dad."

All of this had an impact on AMC and APE prices, obviously. And people had questions understandably so.

At the time of the writing AMC shares were down 12% and APE shares were up 77%. Keep in mind that in theory these shares should be trading roughly around the same level since the "dividend" was a stock split of sorts. But yesterday APE closed below a dollar, and AMC finished above $4. The market sees an opportunity currently since APE shares are likely to be converted to AMC shares and trading a thing that costs $1 for something that's $4 is never not a good deal. Because math.

The other plans AMC has muddy the waters a bit. Selling the APE shares at a discount is a red flag for investors. And looking to avoid penny stock territory by completing a 10-for-1 reverse split doesn't exactly scream blue-chip investment.

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Dave Has Questions about WTF is Going on With AMC Stock... I ... - Barstool Sports

The chronicle of human events often seems to be an unrelenting tale of woe, emphasizing the presence of sin in our world. But God can bring good out of seemingly irremediable circumstances. Furthermore, he often uses pairs of people and their choices to teach us lessons about good and evil, or the right and wrong paths. That divine catechesis begins with Abel and Cain, and continues with Jacob and Esau, Moses and Pharaoh, David and Saul, and Peter and Judas.

We can also find historical examples closer to our era. The 1917 Russian Revolution was unmistakably a curse; paradoxically it was also a blessing. For the Russians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians, and others who eventually comprised the populace of the Soviet Union, the revolution meant oppression, deportation, collectivization, and a host of other evils. Externally, the world received Russian-Soviet refugees bearing the ills of occultism, atheism, non-Bolshevik Communism, and schism. But the Bolsheviks also forced out thinkers, writers, and religious people who enriched the West. The Russian-Soviet loss was the worlds gain. The bulk of the Russian-Soviet thinkinggood or badthat flowed into the diaspora can be distilled down to spiritual anthropology, or how we understand the human being. Is he the highest form of animal, able to be analyzed by his component parts, instincts, and physical needs? Does she have a soul? How and why do they interact? Russian-Soviet refugees provided multiple irreconcilable answers.

According to the esoteric thinkers George Gurdjieff (1877-1949) and his disciple P.D. Ouspensky (1878-1947), humans are beings mostly unaware of the ways of higher consciousness and ignorant of large troves of hidden knowledge. The duo attempted, like their counterparts in Theosophy and Anthroposophy, to guide people into those purported higher levels of consciousness. Their school of thought is not compatible with a classical Christian understanding of humans, creatures of body and soul living under the burden of original sin.

Much closer to the traditional view were the works of writer Yevgeny Zamyatin and philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev. Zamyatin (1884-1937) is best known for his novel We, which centers on a nameless character in a future collectivist dystopia. The novel presents a technocratic world with a rigidly rational form of collective life in which food, clothing, sex, work, and time are all tightly regulated. This society exists in a sterile city protected by an encircling wall from nature and the remaining (primitive) humans. The protagonist, D-503, is a gifted engineer and lead builder of a space ship that will allow this society to spread its truths to other planets. D-503 appears to be a scrupulously logical and mathematical type; however, he also has a poetic and sensuous side. His world is upset when he meets a bold, mysterious woman, I-330. His deepening involvement with her takes him farther and farther from the truths he thinks he knows, even outside the wall and amongst the primitive people. By saying yes to her, he becomes more fully alive, even to the extent of betraying societys values and breaking its laws. A doctor he sees gives him a startling diagnosis: Apparently, you have developed a soul (89). In the meantime he has also said yes to O-90, his state-sanctioned sex partner and the maternal counterpart to I-330. His yes to her results in the conception of their child, even though that act is punishable by her death. In the end he helps O-90 escape outside the wall carrying their unborn child. D-503 cannot live with the chaos of freedom resulting from his yes and submits to a lobotomy-like operation. As the novel ends, he is a more pliant member of society, but we are left with an ambiguous conclusion as the forces of nature and the primitive people seem to be toppling the city society. The key fact revealed is that a person is one who says yes to anotherlove overcomes ego.

Like Zamyatin, Berdyaev (1874-1948) thought much about the relationship between individuals and society. He critiqued what he called the bourgeois spirit, whether capitalist or Marxist, by which he meant that which focuses on the material and rejects the spiritual. Freedom is a difficult thing, Berdyaev writes in Slavery and Freedom. It is easier to remain in slavery (247). According to Berdyaev: The real we, that is, the community of people, communion in freedom, in love and mercy, has never been able to enslave man, on the contrary it is the realization of the fullness of the life of personality, its transcension [sic] towards another (104).

That understanding of human relationship brings us to two Russian women, both migrs to North America, who proposed divergent approaches to life: Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum (better known as Ayn Rand, 1905-1982) and Catherine de Heuck Doherty (1896-1985). Rand was a major libertarian thinker, novelist, and founder of the philosophy of Objectivism. Doherty was a Catholic activist and mystic who eventually settled in Canada and began the Madonna House apostolate. Rand grew up with religion (Judaism in her case) but became an ardent atheist, while Doherty was raised in a Russian Orthodox family. Influenced by Zamyatins We, Rand thought about the person and society under totalitarianism, but came to different conclusions in her early novel Anthem. The world of Anthem is if anything more collectivist and totalitarian than We, but also much more primitive and quasi-religious. Rands protagonist is named Equality 7-2521. Despite his intellectual promise he has been designated as a street sweeper, in part because of his rebellious nature. While performing his duties he discovers technology from a previous age. His experiments lead him to re-discover electrical light and thus a new Prometheus. He also spots and meets an attractive female, Liberty 5-3000. Accused of being an evildoer, Equality flees into the forest. Eventually Liberty joins him and they begin a new life with new names. Liberty is not his equalshe is drawn to him by his demigod characteristics. Equality says no to society and yes only to himself. And here, over the portals of my fort, I shall cut in the stone the word which is to be my beacon and my banner. The word which will not die, should we all perish in battle. The word which can never die on this earth, for it is the heart of it and meaning and the glory. The sacred word: EGO (122-123).

Rand developed her thinking on ego into Objectivism, elaborated in a number of non-fiction books but also in the well-known novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rands Equality 7-2521 hopes to build and indeed becomes a builder solely through the force of his own will. Her protagonist is also persecuted by the ruling authorities: reviled (79-80), threatened with burning at the stake (80), and anathematized (82). What is not done collectively cannot be good, said [one of the ruling Council members] International 1-5537 (81). Rands views have remained influential, especially in North America, especially because of her defiance of all external authority.

Her counterpart Doherty is not as well-known to the public at large, but her books are influential nonetheless. Her best known work is Poustinia, an overarching look at Eastern Christian beliefs and practices for a Western audience. Doherty, unlike Rand, emphasized obedience to constituted authority. According to the author notes for her book Molchanie: At the beginning of her new life in the West, Catherine accepted the teachings of the Catholic Church, without rejecting the spiritual wealth of her Orthodox heritage (87). In the same book Doherty supplies the antidote to the alienation inherent in Rands ego-driven philosophy: [T]here is only one way to bring people to God, and that is to love each individual personally. It is to love one totally, completely, utterly.Yes, love must be communicated person to person, otherwise it will not be effective (77). In her book on pilgrimage, Strannik, Doherty insists that a prerequisite for pilgrimage is sobornost, which is reminiscent of solidarity in Western Catholic teaching. Sobornost reunites you to God and man and it is a unity that must not be broken (47). This unity also requires kenosis or self-emptying, a scriptural concept much-appreciated by Russian theologians.

The whole of Dohertys thought and mission is found in The Little Mandate, which reads in part: Arise go! Sell all you possess. Give it directly, personally to the poor. Take up My cross (their cross) and follow Me [Christ], going to the poor, being poor, being one withthem, one withMe. This is sobornost manifested and incarnate, the antithesis of Rands praise of ego.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979), writing during the Cold War, discerned the societal and spiritual consequences of rising individualism in our culture: As persons surrender a sense of responsibility to God, to the state, to family and to their vocation in life, they dissolve into atoms; atoms exist only for themselves. To say we live in the atomic age may be a more unfortunate characterization than we know; for if we are nothing but atomic individuals, then we are ready either to be split or fissioned mentally, or else collectivized into a socialistic dictatorship. The latter is nothing but the forcible organization of the chaos created by a conflict of individual egotism (213-214). Sheen correctly interpreted the signs of the times, foreseeing that a godless society reliant on science for guidance would be a society adrift, prone to either individualism or collectivismboth paths to a soul-crushing and dehumanizing existence.

Image by AwesProduction on Shutterstock

References:

Berdyaev, Nikolai. Slavery and Freedom. Trans. R.M. French. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1944.

Doherty, Catherine. Molchanie: Experiencing the Silence of God. (Combermere, ON: Madonna House, 2009).

Doherty, Catherine. Poustinia: Christian Spirituality of the East for Western Man. (South Bend, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1981).

Doherty, Catherine. Strannik: The Call to the Pilgrimage of the Heart. (Combermere, ON: Madonna House, 1991).

Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Signet, 1946.

Sheen, Fulton J. Guide to Contentment. Canfield, OH: Alba House, 1996.

Zamyatin, Yevgeny. We. Trans. Mirra Ginsburg. New York: Harper Voyager, 2012.

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Sobornost? Or Ego? Two Women and Two Paths - Catholic Exchange

Three GMs, four IMs and one FM have made ahat-trick start of 3/3. They are - GM Sethuraman S P (PSPB), GM Abhijeet Gupta (PSPB), GM Iniyan P (TN), IM Aronyak Ghosh (RSPB), IM Koustav Chatterjee (WB), IM Harshavardhan G B (TN), IM Nitin S (RSPB) and FM Vedant Panesar (MAH). Who will be among the leadersafter the fourth round?

IM Nitin S scored a fantastic victory against GM Leon Luke Mendonca | Photo:Aditya Sur Roy

IM Nitin S (2372) traded the queenson the eleventh move in the Caro-Kann against GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2566). The former started fragmenting Black's pawn structure and kept on it.

Position after 27.e5!

Black has six pawns, four pawn islands, two isolated and two isolated doubled pawns - that is the like the pawn structure one should not have. White found the perfect 27.e5! even though 27.Rxf4 was alright too having the idea of e5 in the next move.What followed next is the attraction of the black king towards White's own side. 27...fxe5 28.Nxe5+ Ke6 29.Nxc6Rc8 30.Re1+ Kf6 31.Rxf4+ Kg5 32.Rf2 Kg4 33.Ne5+ Kg3 34.Rf3+ Kg2 35.Re2+ Kg1 36.Rd3 and Black resigned as Rd1# isunstoppable.

Final position after 36.Rd3

Position after 36...Rh8

White's king is much safer than Black's. Keeping that in mind, find out how White could have finished things off here. The position certainly screams like something's gotta give.

Position after 48...Qh6

Sometimes itbecomes difficult for a player to accept a draw even in drawn position because he has already conceded a draw against anotherrelatively lower rated player. The reason behind it is quite simple, the current Elo rating system does not favor adults. Thus, the desperation to score a win increases, resulting in human errors.48...Qh6 was uncalled for. Black has zero breakthroughs, his pieces act like a furniture, much like White's dark square bishop. Just keeping the black queen in the back rank is enough to draw the game. 48...Qh6 invited trouble. White did not notice it at first 49.Bf1 and then Kc8madeit that much obvious. Find out whyBlack's last two move were erroneous.

IM Nitin S (RSPB) - GM Leon Luke Mendonca (Goa): 1-0

IM Vardaan Nagpal(HAR) - GM Karthik Venkataraman (AP): 0.5-0.5

Subhayan Kundu (WB) - GM Mitrabha Guha (WB): 0.5-0.5

GM Deep Sengupta (PSPB) - Utkal Ranjan Sahoo (ODI): 0.5-0.5

IM Mehar Chinna Reddy C H (RSPB) - GM Karthikeyan P (RSPB): 0.5-0.5

GMNeelotpal Das (RSPB) - FM Ritvik Krishnan (MAH): 0.5-0.5

IM Avinash Ramesh (TN) - GM Shyam Sundar M (TN): 0.5-0.5

FMM Anees M (TN) - IM Vignesh N R (RSPB): 0.5-0.5

GM Venkatesh M R (PSPB) -CM AadityaDhingra (HAR): 0.5-0.5

Shreyansh Daklia (CHT) - IM Neelash Saha (WB): 1-0

IM Srihari L R (TN) - Kartavya Anadkat (GUJ): 0.5-0.5

CM Gaurang Bagwe (MAH) - IM Ameya Audi (Goa): 0.5-0.5

Kishan Gangolli (KAR) - GM Laxman R R (RSPB): 0.5-0.5

GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (RSPB) - Laishram Imocha (PSPB): 0-1

S Badrinath (PUD) - IM Arghyadip Das (RSPB): 0.5-0.5

Rupam Mukherjee (WB) - IM D K Sharma (LIC): 0.5-0.5

A total of 196 players including 18 GMs and27 IMs are taking part in this tournament organized by Delhi Chess Association. The event is taking place in New Delhi from 22nd December 2022 to 3rd January 20233. The 13-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes with an increment of 30 seconds from move no.1

Details

Details

Delhi Chess Association

Tournament Regulations

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MPL 59th National Senior R3: The Systematic Pawn Structure ... - ChessBase India

Relatively modest leads for the Coalition among Queenslanders, Christians and those 65-and-over, with Labor dominant everywhere else.

As it usually does on Boxing Day, The Australian has published quarterly aggregates of Newspoll with state and demographic breakdowns, on this occasion casting an unusually wide net from its polling all the way back to July to early this month, reflecting the relative infrequency of its results over this time. The result is a combined survey of 5771 respondents that finds Labor leading 55-45 in New South Wales (a swing of about 3.5% to Labor compared with the election), 57-43 in Victoria (about 2%), 55-45 in Western Australia (no change) and 57-43 in South Australia (a 4.0% swing), while trailing 51-49 in Queensland a 3% swing).

Gender breakdowns show only a slight gap, with Labor leading 54-46 among men and 56-44 among women, with the Greens as usual stronger among women among men. Age cohort results trend from 65-35 to Labor for 18-to-34 to 54-46 to the Coalition among 65-plus, with the Greens respectively on 24% and 3%. Little variation is recorded according to education or income, but Labor are strongest among part-time workers and weakest among the retired, stronger among non-English speakers but well ahead either way, and 62-38 ahead among those identifying as of no religion but 53-47 behind among Christians. You can find all the relevant data, at least for voting intention, in the poll data feature on BludgerTrack.

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.View all posts by William Bowe

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Newspoll quarterly aggregates: July to December (open thread ... - The Poll Bludger

At the end of October, Seven Days published the extraordinary obituary of Florence Miles, a Huntington dairy farmer who spent most of her 100 years toiling on the side of a hill across from Camel's Hump. Informed and intimate, the tribute chronicled the long, colorful life of a woman who labored like a workhorse, married a soldier right before he shipped off to World War II and "literally cheated death more than once." Florence saw plenty of suffering. For example: As a young girl, she helped her mother give birth to a younger sibling, and neither mom nor baby survived.

The writing style poetic, old-fashioned, rooted in nature perfectly matched the subject and a way of life, both awful and awesome, that is vanishing in Vermont.

"Whoa! Who wrote this amazing obit, I wonder?" one of our staffers emailed me soon after it appeared.

Others noticed, too. Hal Rosner of Philadelphia emailed to say reading our obituaries had become "a new spiritual practice" for him. "Some of them have read like a short story. But I can never find a byline. The example would be Florence Miles. Who wrote it? It was wonderful, and I shared with some very literary friends."

Unlike our semi-regular "Life Stories" series, in which Seven Days writers report on noteworthy Vermonters who have died, the paid obituaries in our weekly Life Lines section are submitted by funeral homes or family and friends of the deceased. A little digging uncovered the author of Florence's remarkable story.

Rosner's literary friends might be surprised to know he never finished college. But Dhyan Nirmegh, born Raymond Leggett, studied the Miles family for decades. He was 13 when his parents bought land adjacent to theirs, in 1965, on Huntington's Shaker Mountain Road. Although the Leggetts' primary residence was in South Burlington Ray's dad worked at the University of Vermont Ray quickly befriended John Miles, the son of Florence and her husband, Frank.

The boys were inseparable, according to Nirmegh, who discovered he loved farm life and the outdoors even when it required getting up long before dawn to milk cows or collect sap. He spent every weekend and summers with the Miles family, working alongside them in the dairy barn, forest and fields. It was certainly a very different education from the one he was getting at South Burlington High School.

Florence called Nirmegh her "second son," and she was a powerful mentor to him. Even as an adolescent, "I listened to her. I took notes. I wrote about her," Nirmegh explained in an email that reads not unlike the unorthodox obituary he wrote for Florence. "There were times when she cried reaching to be understood."

Seeking to better understand him, I visited Nirmegh, now 70, on his family's land in Huntington. He was tending a fire outside a barn that serves as his rustic crash pad. There are nicer homes on the 130 acres, but he's given those to his two adult children. A very short walk brought us to the property line he shares with the Miles family. John lives across the road. The two old friends still cross paths in the woods hunting and cutting timber. I later got a look at a video of Nirmegh splitting 16-inch pine logs easily cleaving one after the other with no more than two ax blows each.

It's a little hard to believe that this wiry lumberjack once followed the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh to Oregon and India hence the name change and ran a meditation center for two years in Maui. But Nirmegh, whose name means "cloudless sky" in Sanskrit, exudes a rare peacefulness and appreciation for life. We went inside the warm barn to chat. Under mounted deer heads and a Stihl baseball cap, his piercing blue eyes twinkled.

John and his sister asked Nirmegh to write their mom's obituary when she died, three weeks after her 100th birthday party; he did the same for their father, Frank, in 2010. He writes and rewrites longhand. With the help of his kids and a transcription app on one of their computers, he dictated and digitized Florence's story. His daughter made the final edits.

The only thing more painful than the death of a loved one is the realization that you didn't observe them well enough or ask enough questions to honestly commit their life story to words. Florence Miles, and Seven Days readers, were lucky in that regard, thanks to the curiosity and expert storytelling of an enlightened outdoorsman.

As Nirmegh wrote of Florence: "She never bragged and never talked about herself unless asked. What she accomplished was without fanfare. She has disappeared like the morning mist hovering over the river."

For our final issue of 2022, we sought out Vermonters lost this year who merited additional memorializing. Find those reported tributes in our year-end "Life Stories" package.

On a cheerier note: Don't miss our annual "Backstories" feature, in which our writers reveal what they went through to report the news.

It's an honor. Happy New Year.

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From the Publisher: A Life Well Observed - Seven Days

Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) are both combat sports that use striking and grappling techniques to subdue a rival. The two sports were first introduced in the 1920s and 1930s, and they continue to thrive today. These fighting techniques can be broken down into different categories, including boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Ground-and-pound. The sport has exploded in popularity in the past few years, with the introduction of mixed martial arts tournaments and television shows. If you are looking for some great sportsbetkings boxing tips click on the link.

Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki fought at the Nippon Budokan Arena in Tokyo, Japan in 1976. Their bout marked the beginning of mixed martial arts, and their fight is considered a turning point in both their careers.

The first round of the match went about as expected. Inoki landed a number of kicks, including a jab. But there were no other noteworthy events in this round.

After the first round, Inoki switched to a flurry of kicks to the legs, including a jump side kick and a roundhouse kick. Throughout the remainder of the round, he continued to employ his ground kicking techniques.

During the second round, Ali made some progress. He was able to land two punches and avoid Inokis kicking game.

Bruce Lee and Wong Shun Leung have made a huge impact on the world of martial arts. They had a hand in creating the Wing Chun style and teaching it to countless other famous fighters.

While Lee was in school, he studied a variety of martial arts, including tai chi and kung fu. He even participated in a few fights. But it was his films that changed the face of martial arts in the US and around the world.

In the 1970s, Lees movies changed the way American audiences viewed Asians. His film, Enter the Dragon, grossed over $200 million in the US.

During his lifetime, Lee was a philosopher, actor, filmmaker, boxer, and a martial artist. He died in Hong Kong on July 20, 1973. He is regarded as one of the greatest martial artists of all time.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the martial art of grappling. It is considered one of the most effective methods of self-defense. It has been a very popular martial art in recent years and is largely associated with the Gracie family.

It was developed by Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese judo expert who emigrated to Brazil in 1914. Maeda taught a group of Brazilians, including Carlos Gracie, and his youngest son, Helio.

Although most fans of BJJ associate it with submissions from the back, the technique has a broader definition. Its main goal is to control an opponent without striking. It also protects against arm strikes and is largely centered on ground fighting.

Although a few myths have surfaced about the origin of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the truth is that its origins are not completely known. It may have evolved from jujutsu or ancient Greece.

Muay Thai is a fighting style that originated in Thailand. The name Muay Thai is a combination of the wordsmuay (meaning fight) and thai (meaning Thai). The sport is considered a national sport in Thailand.

The sport of Muay Thai is a striking-based martial art that combines the use of shins, elbows, knees, and feet. The fighting techniques are based on the principles of conditioning and strength building.

The fights are scored on a round basis. A fighter who wins the round is awarded 10 points. The loser is given 9, 8 or 7 points.

The Muay Thai fights take place in a ring between 6.1 meters x 6.1 meters and 7.3 meters x 7.3 meters. The winner is the one who is more powerful when they strike.

Ground-and-pound boxing was introduced to MMA by Mark Coleman, and it became a very important element of the sport. Many UFC fighters have excelled at this style, and it is now a staple of MMA.

There are a number of techniques used in this style. Some are more practical than others. For example, you can use a double leg takedown to gain an advantage over an opponent. Other ground and pound techniques include a sweep, which is when you wrap your opponents legs around your waist and swing them forward. You can also attempt a triangle-armbar submission.

The MMA rules allow for submissions and striking. The winner is usually awarded the decision by the judges. However, there are minor restrictions on the rules. For instance, a groin attack, head butting, and gouging are prohibited.

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After hosting and judging two seasons of Drag Race Thailand, Pangina Heals reached new heights in her career by appearing as a competitor on RuPauls Drag Race: UK vs the World. Since then, even fans who had never seen Heals in the Thailand series became familiar with her fabulous drag and charismatic personality.

As of 2022, Heals is now conquering Hollywood with a brand-new digital series from WOW Presents Plus, Tongue Thaid With Pangina Heals. Tthe show will feature guests such as Jujubee (Drag Race season two), Jimbo (Canadas Drag Race), Kim Chi (Drag Race season eight), Cheryl Hole (Drag Race UK), Ongina (Drag Race season one), Honey Davenport (Drag Race season 11), Maxi Shield (Drag Race Down Under), and Mark Kanemura (a dancer who has been featured on Drag Race).

During an interview with PRIDE, Heals spilled the tea about Tongue Thaid, discussed her friendships with other Asian queens from the Drag Race franchise, and even revealed whats the current status of Drag Race Thailand season three.

Scroll through to read the PRIDE interview with Pangina Heals and make sure to watch Tongue Thaid on WOW Presents Plus.

PRIDE: How would you describe Tongue Thaid to new viewers who might be interested in watching it?

Pangina Heals: Its basically a show where drag queens eat spicy-ass Thai food. You get culture, you get a lot of charisma, and you get a little bit of diarrhea.

And it seems like the episodes get spicier and spicier not only with the food that youre eating, but also with the questions that youre asking. Is that accurate?

It is very true. I feel like [the episode with] Jujubee She has a stable relationship, so shes quite vanilla, but I love her. But I think when the episodes with Honey Davenport or Kim Chi come, it just gets a lot spicier because we ask about the craziest things theyve ever done, and basically we talk about things that you dont usually talk about when youre having food. So theres a lot of things that you get to find out about each of the entertainers that come on.

The grand prize for Drag Race UK is getting a show on WOW Presents Plus. You didnt win UK vs the World, but youre now getting your own show on the streaming service anyway. Are you low-key feeling like a winner right now?

I definitely do! And going into UK vs the World, Ive always felt like until then, there was no other Thai girl, so I was literally the only Thai RuGirl, and I felt so lucky. I already feel like a winner. Im traveling the world doing tours everywhere, meeting people who feel inspired from what I do, people who feel represented by me, and I feel like I get to connect with people. Im just so thankful, and f*ck yeah, I feel like a winner.

Drag Race Thailand came out all the way back in 2018. So, to see this resurgence in your career in 2022, its really exciting for us who are fans of the Thailand franchise. How has this second wind of fans and mainstream audiences been for you?

Its been overwhelming, honestly, and its taught me so many life lessons. Ive never thought that my following would increase by that much. I expected it to be by a certain amount, but it just surpassed everything Ive ever thought it would be. Literally, my Instagram went up 300,000. I was just in awe. I would wake up one day and it just jumped up like 20k, and I was like, The f*ck... And I literally thought that people were going to receive me okay. But somehow going on the show, I just wanted to be myself because I had the conversation with myself, was going in, I was like, Should I be that funny queen? Should I be that fashion queen? And then I was like, You know what? Youre enough. You can be you without letting anyone put you in a box. And I felt that a lot of the fans resonated with that.

This is an interview show, but you also want to expose audiences to Thai food. What are some of your all-time favorite dishes?

My all-time favorite dishes in Thailand are spicy My favorite one translates to bitter snail curry. Oh, its so good. It fills your soul up. And I just had it just now, actually. But Thai food is all about the seafood sauce. We know that if the seafood sauce is green, its not as good as the red one.

Tongue Thaid is featuring queens like Jujubee, Kim Chi, and Ongina. How fun was it to get together with other Asian queens from the Drag Race universe?

Its great because all of us have our own cultures that are related to food. Like, Kim Chi is a foodie. Ongina said she is OK with spice, and then I really just had her coughing up a lot of the things. And Juju was fun too because its the first time that people get to see us converse in our native tongues. So its like having lunch with my sisters, but were tucked.

A lot of fans gave you a hard time for eliminating Jimbo on UK vs the World, whos also appearing as a guest on the show. What do you wish fans knew about your relationship with Jimbo outside of the competitive environment of Drag Race?

We definitely talk. Ill always be like, Hey, I miss you. How are you doing? One lesson that I took from this experience that I feel like [is relevant] if girls go onto the show is that there is reality and then there is a reality that people create around you. And what is important is your own reality and your own truth. Because people can sit there all day and say that Pangina needs to admit that she eliminated Jimbo because she was a threat or she hates Canada or whatever. I dont. But no matter what I say, they already created a narrative and I dont fulfill the narrative. So I dont give a f*ck. For me, the lesson that I want to perpetuate to anyone is to live your life, live your truth, and those who are around you that just lift you up, keep them close.

Youre probably tired of getting this question, but as a big fan of Drag Race Thailand, I have to ask if you have any updates at all on season three.

Yeah, its out tomorrow. [Laughs]

Fabulous! So is the Meet The Queens dropping today!?

Honestly, I believe that great things always happen, and manifestation is really real. And so Ive been praying to a lot of deities here in Thailand and I know its going to happen. Its just a matter of when. I will let you bitch-slap me if it doesnt happen, how about that?

See original here:

Pangina Heals Spills The Tea About Her Brand-New Show Tongue ... - Pride.com

Along with the thousands of Fijians who exercised their democratic right to vote on Wednesday were excited first-time voters.

The Fiji Times caught up with two in Sigatoka in Nadroga during the 2022 General Election. Salote Cagivou travelled all the way from Savusavu in Vanua Levu to vote at the Sigatoka Methodist School.

She said she did not update her information with the Fijian Elections Office but made a point to travel to Sigatoka so she could excercise her right to vote.

I used to work around here when I registered to vote, then I moved to Savusavu, the 22-year-old said.

I couldnt change my polling station nor apply for postal voting so I made sure to come here and vote.

Ms Cagivou said the voting process was smooth and relatively easy. Vutaele Videi, a first time voter from Malevu Village, Sigatoka, described her first time voting as exciting and efficient.

She was one of the 250 voters registered at the Malevu Community hall.

I am very happy I voted today (Wednesday), Ive been looking forward to this day for a long time, the 19-year-old said. Ms Videi said all the confusion she had before coming to vote was cleared by the helpful polling officials.

Continued here:

2022 General Election: Journey across the sea to vote - The Fiji Times - Fiji Times

The Chronicle

Zimbabwe is likely to experience heavy rains starting this Saturday until Monday due to a cloud band which is drifting eastwards from Botswana.

In a joint statement with the Department of Civil Protection (DCP), the Meteorological Services department (MSD) said the cloud band was moving slowly into the country from Botswana through Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces.

A cloud band is drifting into the country from Botswana through Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces from Saturday 17 December 2022 and should slowly move eastward across much of the country, it said.

This is coupled with additional moisture from the south-east coast of Southern Africa on Sunday 18 December.

The MSD said the heavy rains were normal for this time of the year, especially in a season which was expected to have normal to above normal rains.

It said the heavy rains were expected to affect areas along the main watershed as well as the Eastern highlands.

Localised heavy rains (in excess of 50mm) and hail storms should be expected in some places, roof tops might be blown off while loose debris and fallen trees due to strong winds might also be encountered.

Meanwhile, the DCP urged the public to plan with the weather in mind as the rains might affect outdoor activities.

It also urged the public to look out for open drains and potholes that may be covered in water while motorists should excercise caution on the roads as visibilty might be reduced.

People should stay indoors during the thunderstorms unless in cases of emergency, the DCP said.

If travel is necessary, please take caution on the road as visibility may be reduced and there maybe hidden flood dangers. Do not attempt to cross flooded rivers on foot or in vehicles.

Zimbabwe loses many lives during the rainy season from drowning, flooding, lightning as well as accidents due to slippery roads and poor visibility. New Ziana.

More here:

Heavy rains expected this weekend - Chronicle