Divisions by zero

OTTAWA - Tesla legitimately claimed thousands of electric vehicle rebates in the final weekend before the department suspended its rebate program in January, Transport Canada said on Friday.

1. Man is born tired and lives to get a rest.

2. Love thy bed as you love thyself.

3. Rest during the day, so you can sleep at night.

4. Do not work – work kills.

5. If you see someone resting, help him out.

6. Work as little as you can, and convey all the work you can to another.

7. In shade is salvation – nobody died from resting.

8. Work earns illness – do not pass away young.

9. If you have an urge to work, sit down, wait and you’ll see it will pass.

10. When you see people eat and drink, approach them. When you see them work, withdraw yourself not to trouble them.

For infants (<1 year old)

Between 2007 to 2022, infants were 1.78 (95% CI, 1.78-1.79) times more likely to die in the US than in the OECD18.

The 2 causes of death with the largest net difference between the US and OECD18 were prematurity (RR, 2.22 [95% CI, 2.20-2.24]) and sudden unexpected infant death (RR, 2.39 [95% CI, 2.35-2.43]).

For kids aged 1 to 19 years old

Between 2007 to 2022, 1- to 19-year olds were 1.80 (95% CI, 1.80-1.80) times more likely to die in the US than in the OECD18.

The 2 causes of death with the largest net difference between the US and OECD18 were firearm-related incidents (RR, 15.34 [95% CI, 14.89-15.80]) and motor vehicle crashes (RR, 2.45 [95% CI, 2.42-2.48]).

Im Zollstreit mit den USA will die EU-Kommission ihre Gegenmaßnahmen nicht wie zunächst geplant am Montag in Kraft setzen, sondern verschiebt sie auf Anfang August. Das kündigte EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen am Sonntag an. Damit will die EU abwarten, ob eine Einigung mit den USA trotz der von US-Präsident Donald Trump am Samstag angedrohten Zollerhöhung auf 30 Prozent für EU-Importe noch möglich ist.

From NYT > Top Stories via this RSS feed

On Saturday, July 12, investigative journalist Anthony Klan reported that Jillian Segal and her husband, Mr John Roth, via a family trust — the Henroth Discretionary Trust — donated $50,000 to the right-wing, racist, anti-First Nations and anti-immigration ‘think tank’ Advance.

Filmregisseur Rudolf van den Berg is op 76-jarige leeftijd overleden. Dat hebben de producenten van de film Spinoza, waar hij momenteel aan werkte, zondag mede namens de familie bekendgemaakt. Hij is zaterdagavond plotseling overleden.

De GGD Haaglanden neemt monsters in speeltuin Opa's Veldje in het Zuid-Hollandse Voorburg nadat er kinderen ziek zijn geworden.

De GGD Haaglanden doet onderzoek in een speeltuin in de Zuid-Hollandse plaats Voorburg, nadat er zeker 23 kinderen van twee basisscholen ziek waren geworden. Er worden monsters genomen in speeltuin Opa's Veldje.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3539755

The Finnish word “sisu” entered the international lexicon as a byword for indomitable willpower. Or, as Jonathan Clements [Clements, author of A Short History of Finland] put it: “That huge Soviet army rolling across the border and the Finns just standing there and saying, ‘NOPE’.” Today, he says, Ukraine is a living example of sisu.

Archived

...

Could Finland’s situation be similar to Australia’s? According to Finnish President Alexander Stubb, it’s so much alike that the two nations’ security interests are joined at the hip.

“I feel that, you know, as far apart as we are, Australia and Finland, pretty much our security is tied hip to hip. Because you deal with similar types of security issues. You know, whether it’s China, for you, Russia for us.” And, for all US allies, it’s Donald Trump.

...

The head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, Professor Rory Medcalf, thinks so: “Finland has proved that small countries can protect themselves in an unforgiving world while remaining true to democratic principles.”

Medcalf has published a paper nominating Finland as Australia’s “North Star” for developing national resilience. Finland is regarded as a role model for much larger European states in standing against Russia. And Stubb has recently developed a reputation as a “Trump whisperer”, one of very few foreign leaders to change the US president’s mind on any topic.

So what is Finland doing about today’s twin pressures from Putin and Trump? Russia, which once annexed Finland and has attacked it several times over seven centuries, is positioning itself to do it again. “I know it sounds strange,” Stubb says in an interview at the president’s lakeside official summer residence, but “we’re quite relaxed at the moment”.

...

Russia is suspected of cutting undersea cables connecting various European nations, including Finland. Helsinki detained one such saboteur ship. China is accused of likewise cutting cables in the Taiwan Strait.

...

Satellite imagery in May revealed new Russian military infrastructure being built along the border with Finland. Hangars for fighter jets, helicopter bases, warehouses for armoured vehicles and troop encampments indicate a long-term build-up is under way.

...

“Our base case is very simple,” Stubb says. “Within the next five to 10 years, two things will hold true with Russia. One is that they will not revert into a peaceful liberal democracy. And second, they will continue a military build-up.” Those assumptions could just as easily be applied to China.

...

Last week, Stubb gave formal notice that Finland was withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention against the use of landmines. On Wednesday, Reuters broke the news that Finland, together with Lithuania, will begin manufacturing landmines next year. And Helsinki is building a 200-kilometre barrier fence along one stretch of its Russian border.

...

He [Stubb] is dismissive of Putin’s war: “Look, this year, he has advanced 0.25 per cent of the Ukrainian land mass at a cost of 167 soldiers dead per kilometre. It’s a pretty damn high price to pay.

“What I would argue is [that it’s] the biggest tactical and strategic mistake in modern history because he set out to pacify Ukraine; it’s going to become a member of the European Union, and eventually NATO.

“He [Putin] set out to dismantle NATO. Well, he just doubled the border with NATO through Russia with Finland. He set out to destroy the transatlantic partnership. Well, together we’re now hiking up our defence expenditure to 5 per cent [of GDP over 10 years],” a commitment agreed to by all NATO members last month.

“He [Puitn] set out to dismantle the EU. Well, I’ve never seen it more united. So Putin failed on all accounts.”

...

A veteran MP from the [Finnish] opposition Social Democratic Party, Johannes Koskinen, says: “We remember the Winter War when we were alone against Stalin’s Soviet Union. That’s why we give so much support to Ukraine.”

...

Finland has joined NATO for its protection, but other European members of the alliance also feel comforted to have Finland, population 5.6 million, as their new ally.

In Denmark, former diplomat Jonas Parello-Plesner observes that “it’s a huge boon that Finland, which never stood down militarily, is on our north and east with a large mobilised army and a huge military reserve”.

Stubb says: “There’s a reason why we have over 60 F-18s. We just bought 64 F-35s. There’s a reason why we have long-range missiles, air, land and sea. And there’s a reason why we have the biggest artillery in Europe, with Poland. And the reason is not Sweden.”

...

He adds that countries with small populations and high salaries cannot compete against countries with big populations on low salaries: “Russia and China have huge armies of over a million. Small countries with standing armies on high salaries don’t have enough forces. That’s why smaller countries should have conscription.”

...

Australia can learn from Finland’s comprehensive security policy, says [Australian National University] ANU’s Medcalf: “Public-private sector co-operation is key.” Indeed, Hakamies of the Confederation of Finnish Industries says the system “is not based on law, it’s based on co-operation – companies talk to each other, they rehearse what they will do in a crisis, they train in all the sectors that are crucial when the borders are closed”.

Interestingly, Australia has committed to a similar concept of “whole of nation” security, involving society and business, as recommended by the Albanese government’s defence strategic review, but that’s where it remains – in the review, on paper only.

...

If the West wants to succeed, it needs to enlist the south bloc, he argues: “Because they’re the ones who decide. So if we take the moral high ground and continue preaching to the global south, we’re going to lose this game to China.”

...

If it should come to a world war, values-based alliances would be central, says Stubb, a lifetime student of international affairs: “There are few countries in the world that are values-based alliances, and I think they come from Europe. They also come from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, United States and Canada. And that’s why, if anything would ever happen, we would certainly rely on an alliance in one form or another with Australia.” And, no doubt, a large measure of sisu.

Gaza rescuers said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point. The latest bloodshed came as Hamas and Israel each accused the other of sabotaging attempts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal at indirect talks in Doha.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38483748

Archived

Can propagandists be held accountable for war crimes? People sometimes point to cases like Nuremberg or Rwanda, where media figures were prosecuted for inciting atrocities. But those are the outliers. Legal accountability for propagandists remains incredibly rare, and proving they intended their words to lead to war crimes is a steep legal climb.

[...]

Almost every Russian war crime in Ukraine that has captured international attention comes with a pre-planned, carefully planted excuse. A lie, seeded days in advance through a wide network of actors, is designed to shift blame onto Ukraine and mislead journalists, politicians and the general public by sowing doubt.

[...]

As soon as an attack happens, they point back to the story they planted, using it as evidence of Ukraine’s involvement. Its purpose? To obstruct accountability. Those doing it? They know an attack is imminent because they’re preparing the justification in advance.

And it’s precisely this foreknowledge and orchestration that could help build a legal case.

[...]

An example of information alibis is:

When Russians want to bomb a place, for example, Kremenchuk Railway Station, . . . they (will say in advance that) Ukraine was going to do it, and then they do it.

[...]

(Information alibi is a strategy that) consists of proactively accusing the other party of actions that will actually be committed by the accusers themselves.

This forces journalists to report Russian lies alongside reality, confusing, deceiving, and seeding doubt within the information space, while disrupting and delaying thorough investigations into the attack.

“This tactic…represents a cynical weaponisation of rhetoric as part of Russia’s broader military strategy,” the report states.

[...]

A Russian March 22 airstrike devastated Ukraine’s Mariupol’s Maternity Hospital No. 3, killing at least three individuals and injuring at least 17 more. Before the attack, Russia’s information alibi had already flooded the information space.

Kremlin officials and pro-Russian media were falsely accusing Ukrainian forces of using their civilians as human shields in Mariupol and of interrupting civilians’ evacuation efforts starting the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion [...]

[...]

I received threats that they would come and find me, that I would be killed, that my child would be cut into pieces. -- Marianna Vyshemirskaya, a pregnant woman injured in an attack, with blood on her face. Her photo provoked international condemnation. The Russian Embassy in the UK and pro-Kremlin media smeared her as an actress staging the scene.

[...]

Russia treats information warfare as a central tool of state power, mobilising a complex network of Kremlin officials, members of the state security services, private entities and individuals unaffiliated with but tangentially connected to the Russian state, among others, to spread disinformation. Understanding the structure and hierarchy of Russian information operations is key to identifying those responsible for disseminating harmful narratives.

[...]

At the top [of Russia's information warfare progamme] are Vladimir Putin and key advisors like Sergey Kiriyenko, Alexey Gromov and Sofia Zakharova—so-called “curators” of the Kremlin’s propaganda machine. Gromov oversees traditional media; Kiriyenko manages digital operations, with his son Vladimir heading VK, Russia’s largest social platform. Zakharova was sanctioned by the US for her role in the Doppelganger disinfo campaign.

[...]

Russia’s information ecosystem includes TV propagandists, media outlets and administrators of pro-war Telegram channels—some state-linked, others semi-independent. Various Russian Telegram channels like WarGonzo, Operation Z, Smotri, Khersonskiy Vestnik, and Kremlevskaya prachka played key roles in disseminating false information about Ukraine. Outlets like Readovka, Pul №3, ANNA-NEWS, and War on Fakes consistently echoed Kremlin messaging with lies and conspiracy theories.

[...]

The Finnish word “sisu” entered the international lexicon as a byword for indomitable willpower. Or, as Jonathan Clements [Clements, author of A Short History of Finland] put it: “That huge Soviet army rolling across the border and the Finns just standing there and saying, ‘NOPE’.” Today, he says, Ukraine is a living example of sisu.

Archived

...

Could Finland’s situation be similar to Australia’s? According to Finnish President Alexander Stubb, it’s so much alike that the two nations’ security interests are joined at the hip.

“I feel that, you know, as far apart as we are, Australia and Finland, pretty much our security is tied hip to hip. Because you deal with similar types of security issues. You know, whether it’s China, for you, Russia for us.” And, for all US allies, it’s Donald Trump.

...

The head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, Professor Rory Medcalf, thinks so: “Finland has proved that small countries can protect themselves in an unforgiving world while remaining true to democratic principles.”

Medcalf has published a paper nominating Finland as Australia’s “North Star” for developing national resilience. Finland is regarded as a role model for much larger European states in standing against Russia. And Stubb has recently developed a reputation as a “Trump whisperer”, one of very few foreign leaders to change the US president’s mind on any topic.

So what is Finland doing about today’s twin pressures from Putin and Trump? Russia, which once annexed Finland and has attacked it several times over seven centuries, is positioning itself to do it again. “I know it sounds strange,” Stubb says in an interview at the president’s lakeside official summer residence, but “we’re quite relaxed at the moment”.

...

Russia is suspected of cutting undersea cables connecting various European nations, including Finland. Helsinki detained one such saboteur ship. China is accused of likewise cutting cables in the Taiwan Strait.

...

Satellite imagery in May revealed new Russian military infrastructure being built along the border with Finland. Hangars for fighter jets, helicopter bases, warehouses for armoured vehicles and troop encampments indicate a long-term build-up is under way.

...

“Our base case is very simple,” Stubb says. “Within the next five to 10 years, two things will hold true with Russia. One is that they will not revert into a peaceful liberal democracy. And second, they will continue a military build-up.” Those assumptions could just as easily be applied to China.

...

Last week, Stubb gave formal notice that Finland was withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention against the use of landmines. On Wednesday, Reuters broke the news that Finland, together with Lithuania, will begin manufacturing landmines next year. And Helsinki is building a 200-kilometre barrier fence along one stretch of its Russian border.

...

He [Stubb] is dismissive of Putin’s war: “Look, this year, he has advanced 0.25 per cent of the Ukrainian land mass at a cost of 167 soldiers dead per kilometre. It’s a pretty damn high price to pay.

“What I would argue is [that it’s] the biggest tactical and strategic mistake in modern history because he set out to pacify Ukraine; it’s going to become a member of the European Union, and eventually NATO.

“He [Putin] set out to dismantle NATO. Well, he just doubled the border with NATO through Russia with Finland. He set out to destroy the transatlantic partnership. Well, together we’re now hiking up our defence expenditure to 5 per cent [of GDP over 10 years],” a commitment agreed to by all NATO members last month.

“He [Puitn] set out to dismantle the EU. Well, I’ve never seen it more united. So Putin failed on all accounts.”

...

A veteran MP from the [Finnish] opposition Social Democratic Party, Johannes Koskinen, says: “We remember the Winter War when we were alone against Stalin’s Soviet Union. That’s why we give so much support to Ukraine.”

...

Finland has joined NATO for its protection, but other European members of the alliance also feel comforted to have Finland, population 5.6 million, as their new ally.

In Denmark, former diplomat Jonas Parello-Plesner observes that “it’s a huge boon that Finland, which never stood down militarily, is on our north and east with a large mobilised army and a huge military reserve”.

Stubb says: “There’s a reason why we have over 60 F-18s. We just bought 64 F-35s. There’s a reason why we have long-range missiles, air, land and sea. And there’s a reason why we have the biggest artillery in Europe, with Poland. And the reason is not Sweden.”

...

He adds that countries with small populations and high salaries cannot compete against countries with big populations on low salaries: “Russia and China have huge armies of over a million. Small countries with standing armies on high salaries don’t have enough forces. That’s why smaller countries should have conscription.”

...

Australia can learn from Finland’s comprehensive security policy, says [Australian National University] ANU’s Medcalf: “Public-private sector co-operation is key.” Indeed, Hakamies of the Confederation of Finnish Industries says the system “is not based on law, it’s based on co-operation – companies talk to each other, they rehearse what they will do in a crisis, they train in all the sectors that are crucial when the borders are closed”.

Interestingly, Australia has committed to a similar concept of “whole of nation” security, involving society and business, as recommended by the Albanese government’s defence strategic review, but that’s where it remains – in the review, on paper only.

...

If the West wants to succeed, it needs to enlist the south bloc, he argues: “Because they’re the ones who decide. So if we take the moral high ground and continue preaching to the global south, we’re going to lose this game to China.”

...

If it should come to a world war, values-based alliances would be central, says Stubb, a lifetime student of international affairs: “There are few countries in the world that are values-based alliances, and I think they come from Europe. They also come from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, United States and Canada. And that’s why, if anything would ever happen, we would certainly rely on an alliance in one form or another with Australia.” And, no doubt, a large measure of sisu.

Photo: Getty Images North America T-Mobile has scrapped its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as it seeks to make two major acquisitions, which require approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In a letter sent to the FCC on Tuesday (July 8), the wireless carrier pledged to discontinue its DEI policies “not just in … Continued

The post T-Mobile Abandons DEI Amid Pressure From Trump Administration appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

#Atlanta #AtlantaDailyWorld #AtlantaNews #theATLBot

#CouchPeloton Approximately 30 km until tonight's #TrollTips deadline @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] , @[email protected] and @[email protected] ⏱

#CouchPeloton

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38483748

Archived

Can propagandists be held accountable for war crimes? People sometimes point to cases like Nuremberg or Rwanda, where media figures were prosecuted for inciting atrocities. But those are the outliers. Legal accountability for propagandists remains incredibly rare, and proving they intended their words to lead to war crimes is a steep legal climb.

[...]

Almost every Russian war crime in Ukraine that has captured international attention comes with a pre-planned, carefully planted excuse. A lie, seeded days in advance through a wide network of actors, is designed to shift blame onto Ukraine and mislead journalists, politicians and the general public by sowing doubt.

[...]

As soon as an attack happens, they point back to the story they planted, using it as evidence of Ukraine’s involvement. Its purpose? To obstruct accountability. Those doing it? They know an attack is imminent because they’re preparing the justification in advance.

And it’s precisely this foreknowledge and orchestration that could help build a legal case.

[...]

An example of information alibis is:

When Russians want to bomb a place, for example, Kremenchuk Railway Station, . . . they (will say in advance that) Ukraine was going to do it, and then they do it.

[...]

(Information alibi is a strategy that) consists of proactively accusing the other party of actions that will actually be committed by the accusers themselves.

This forces journalists to report Russian lies alongside reality, confusing, deceiving, and seeding doubt within the information space, while disrupting and delaying thorough investigations into the attack.

“This tactic…represents a cynical weaponisation of rhetoric as part of Russia’s broader military strategy,” the report states.

[...]

A Russian March 22 airstrike devastated Ukraine’s Mariupol’s Maternity Hospital No. 3, killing at least three individuals and injuring at least 17 more. Before the attack, Russia’s information alibi had already flooded the information space.

Kremlin officials and pro-Russian media were falsely accusing Ukrainian forces of using their civilians as human shields in Mariupol and of interrupting civilians’ evacuation efforts starting the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion [...]

[...]

I received threats that they would come and find me, that I would be killed, that my child would be cut into pieces. -- Marianna Vyshemirskaya, a pregnant woman injured in an attack, with blood on her face. Her photo provoked international condemnation. The Russian Embassy in the UK and pro-Kremlin media smeared her as an actress staging the scene.

[...]

Russia treats information warfare as a central tool of state power, mobilising a complex network of Kremlin officials, members of the state security services, private entities and individuals unaffiliated with but tangentially connected to the Russian state, among others, to spread disinformation. Understanding the structure and hierarchy of Russian information operations is key to identifying those responsible for disseminating harmful narratives.

[...]

At the top [of Russia's information warfare progamme] are Vladimir Putin and key advisors like Sergey Kiriyenko, Alexey Gromov and Sofia Zakharova—so-called “curators” of the Kremlin’s propaganda machine. Gromov oversees traditional media; Kiriyenko manages digital operations, with his son Vladimir heading VK, Russia’s largest social platform. Zakharova was sanctioned by the US for her role in the Doppelganger disinfo campaign.

[...]

Russia’s information ecosystem includes TV propagandists, media outlets and administrators of pro-war Telegram channels—some state-linked, others semi-independent. Various Russian Telegram channels like WarGonzo, Operation Z, Smotri, Khersonskiy Vestnik, and Kremlevskaya prachka played key roles in disseminating false information about Ukraine. Outlets like Readovka, Pul №3, ANNA-NEWS, and War on Fakes consistently echoed Kremlin messaging with lies and conspiracy theories.

[...]

A prominent Georgia Republican was running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 300 investors of at least $140 million, federal officials alleged in a complaint filed Thursday.

The civil lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said First Liberty Building and Loan, controlled by Brant Frost IV, lied to investors about its business of making high-interest loans to companies. Instead, investigators said, it raised more money to repay earlier investors.

Frost is alleged to have taken more than $19 million of investor funds for himself, his family and affiliated companies even as the business was going broke, spending $160,000 on jewelry and $335,000 with a rare coin dealer. Frost is also said to have spent $320,000 to rent a vacation home over multiple years in Kennebunkport, Maine, the town where the family of late president George H. W. Bush famously spent summers.

FBI Director Kash Patel denies rumors of his resignation over frustration with the DOJ’s decision to close the Epstein investigation. The DOJ and FBI concluded there was no incriminating client list, no blackmail evidence, and no basis to reopen the case, despite pressure from MAGA hardliners like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Steve Bannon.

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is reportedly furious over the decision and may resign after a clash with AG Pam Bondi, though DOJ leadership insists there’s full agreement on the memo. Trump, frustrated with Epstein-related questions, dismissed ongoing interest in the case as absurd.

The FBI-DOJ memo confirmed possession of vast evidence, including child abuse material, but no proof of high-profile blackmail schemes. Conspiracy theories persist among MAGA figures despite lack of evidence.

YouGov survey suggests majority support idea of Britain returning to bloc – but not on same terms it once enjoyed

A decade after MPs voted to hold the referendum that led to Britain leaving the European Union, a poll has found majorities in the bloc’s four largest member states would support the UK rejoining – but not on the same terms it had before.

The YouGov survey of six western European countries, including the UK, also confirms that a clear majority of British voters now back the country rejoining the bloc – but only if it can keep the opt-outs it previously enjoyed.

Asked whether Britain should be allowed back in on the same conditions it enjoyed when it left, including not having to adopt the euro currency and remaining outside the Schengen passport-free zone, the numbers changed significantly.

From Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera via this RSS feed

From NYT > Top Stories via this RSS feed

Hello! Transbian here. I'm resurrecting my alt account since this is rather personal.

I'm looking for stories and anecdotes rather than advice, but any engagement is welcome :3

I came out as a trans woman about a year ago. At that time I was married (to a cis woman), with a daughter. Nothing has changed on that front. Initially my wife's position was that she was only interested in men, would understand if I turned out the same, and we'd better wait to see how things developed.

We've been married nearly 15 years, and a lot of that time has been somewhat strained, mostly since I was extremely unhappy with life in general (guess why) and taking it out on everyone around me. So typical marital relations are very much a thing of the past. TBH I didn't really enjoy them that much anyway (again guess why).

Since transitioning I'm basically a different person now. So much calmer and laid back, and getting on much better with the family. But of course there's still some lingering resentment from things I'd said and done in the past. I've done a lot of reflecting on my sexuality, and I'm pretty sure that I'm only into women (if maybe a bit flexible in the bedroom; we'll see). The question is where we go from here. Maybe it turns out my wife is either closeted bi, or will make an exception for me. Or maybe she's still not interested sexually, and we decide to open things up on that front (not sure how I'd feel about that yet). Or maybe we part ways.

The interesting thing is that I managed to get married at all. Looking back, my dating style was... not very cis male, to say the least. So the fact that my wife even considered me as a viable partner was... curious, on reflection. Possibly a good sign. And recently, (thanks, estrogen!) I've caught her staring at my chest a lot.

Of course I talk with her regularly about things. But I'm holding back a bit at the moment both to avoid overwhelming her with yet more transition stuff, and because I'm not entirely sure how I feel either.

So, er, there must be some other people here in a similar position. How did things go for you?