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Every Die Hard Movie, Ranked By Rewatchability Screen Rant The Link LonkThe debut of “Hard Knocks,” HBO’s training camp documentary that will feature the Detroit Lions this year, is just over a month away, and we finally have our first clue as to what will be featured in this year’s series. Obviously, a lot of Hard Knocks’ content will depend on what happens on the practice field when the Lions open up training camp at the end of July, but much of their content happens off the field. HBO has already begun the process of getting that footage.
Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown shared on his Instagram page a short video of what appeared to be Hard Knocks cameras inside a house with Amon-Ra, his two brothers (Equanimeous and Osairus) and his father John Brown.
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Of course, it’s worth noting that just because HBO is filming the St. Browns does not guarantee they’ll make the final cut of the show. There will undoubtedly be a ton of footage left on the cutting room floor over the next couple months.
That being said, the St. Browns are likely going to bring as much entertainment as possible for the TV show. Amon-Ra’s unmatched competitiveness likely expands beyond football, and the story of his father—a former two-time Mr. Universe—is integral to understanding why Amon-Ra is the way he is.
Hard Knocks is set to debut on Tuesday, August 9 at 10 p.m ET on HBO. There will be five hour-long episodes that will air weekly throughout the Lions training camp, concluding with an episode breaking down the team’s final preseason game and roster cuts.
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Paul Taylor, a contributing editor at POLITICO, writes the “Europe At Large” column.
PARIS — France is having to relearn parliamentary democracy, and initial signs indicate that as a nation averse to compromise, it isn’t enjoying the experience.
When President Emmanuel Macron lost his National Assembly majority in legislative elections last month, it cast the Fifth Republic into uncharted territory.
To be sure, since 1986, the country has had three bouts of so-called cohabitation, where a president of one political stripe has had to share power with a government drawn from the opposing camp. Since each of those administrations had a majority, however, they were still able to act with full authority over domestic affairs, while working in consensus with the president on his “reserved domain” of foreign and defense policy.
This time it’s different. Today, no party or alliance has anything close to a majority. And though this doesn’t mean France is ungovernable, it does mean there’s a steep learning curve ahead.
Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance, itself composed of three parties, currently has the largest minority with 250 seats in the 577-member chamber. But it’s still 39 short of the magic number needed to pass laws — and too far adrift to be able to rely on a handful of unaffiliated lawmakers or defectors from other blocs.
The left-wing New Ecological and Social Popular Union is the second-biggest force with 131 deputies, but its components — Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical France Unbowed, the center-left Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the Greens — seem too divided on policy and too keen to assert independence to form a coherent group. By choosing not to stand for parliament again, Mélenchon has reduced his ability to play leader of the opposition.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, with 89 seats, is seeking to project a constructive image, offering to support bills meeting its criteria for the public interest, notably on mitigating the impact of the rapidly rising cost of living. But no one wants to take her outstretched hand, and Macron’s designated prime minister Elisabeth Borne — a former Socialist — would be deeply embarrassed if any of her measures passed thanks only to far-right votes.
Finally, the mainstream conservative Les Républicains, who salvaged 61 seats from their own electoral shipwreck, ought to be Macron’s natural allies on a range of policies. But it is precisely because they are weakened, and fighting for survival as a party, that the Gaullists are unwilling to serve as a life raft for a floundering Macron — at least not yet, and certainly not all of them.
Les Républicains still wields a majority in the Senate, the indirectly elected upper house, which can amend and delay legislation, as well as block presidential attempts to amend the constitution.
None of this means France is in an unbreakable gridlock, however. While the winner-takes-all political culture built into the Fifth Republic constitution — which was made to measure for General Charles de Gaulle — will be hard to shake, all parties have an interest in making this parliament work, and not taking the blame for paralyzing the country.
For six decades, the French parliament was largely an echo chamber for windy rhetoric. The opposition had little to no influence, while government lawmakers were treated as “yes men” — and they were mostly men — ushering draft legislation onto the statute book. Public opposition often had more impact through strikes and street protests than in the assembly.
But things are about to change.
Since Macron has found no volunteers for a formal German-style coalition based on a negotiated policy program, it’s likely that Borne will outline a limited legislative agenda for her reshuffled minority government in a keynote address, without seeking the customary — but not obligatory — vote of confidence, and put forward her first measures. This will give opposition groups scope to propose amendments and negotiate article-by-article on each bill.
It’s a game of chicken, and it won’t be edifying to watch, but it could well work — at least for a while — especially since Borne will start with urgent measures to address the cost-of-living crisis. The left and far right may want to add more generous benefits or cuts in fuel taxes, but the government is likely to prevail since the constitution bars amendments by lawmakers that reduce state resources or increase public spending.
The challenge for the opposition parties will be to show they can make a difference by amending government bills and using their limited opportunities to initiate legislation. Communist leader Fabien Roussel has been the first to seize such a chance by proposing a windfall profits tax on energy companies like Total Énergie to fund a gas subsidy for hard-pressed motorists.
“Instead of asking us whether we’re ready to participate in a (coalition) government, I am asking them: ‘Are you ready to support such a proposed law?’,” Roussel told a radio interviewer. The move appeared to wrong-foot the government since the president has ruled out tax increases.
In this new game, Macron is by no means a lame duck. He may not be allowed to seek a third successive term, but he still has the constitutional power to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections at a moment of his choosing, as well as the right to call a referendum on certain issues.
If he can engineer the circumstances, or if they are thrust upon him — for example by a rejection of the budget — he could appeal to the country to put an end to “extremist” obstruction and give him a working majority.
To avoid such a showdown with an uncertain outcome, however, Les Républicains and perhaps some socialists who don’t share Mélenchon’s anti-capitalist, anti-NATO agenda have an interest in keeping Borne’s government afloat, provided she makes some concessions.
The parliamentary system got a bad name under the Fourth Republic from 1946 to 1958, when unstable revolving-door governments, formed and toppled in backroom deals, struggled to maintain the confidence of a volatile legislature in which the Communists were the largest opposition force, but had to be kept out of power during the Cold War. De Gaulle denounced it as “the regime of the parties,” and he insisted on a vertical system with a powerful presidency and a supine assembly as his condition for returning from the wilderness.
Yet the Fourth Republic was actually a successful polity that presided over postwar reconstruction and rapid growth, enacted key social legislation, began decolonization and initiated civilian and military nuclear programs. It floundered chiefly due to the Algerian war of independence.
Today, Macron has more power than any Fourth Republic president ever had. The return of a greater element of parliamentary government in France should be welcomed — not feared.
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Startups to Face 'Hard Times' After Market's Plunge, Gao Says Bloomberg The Link Lonk
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a natural road circuit, common in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. But the track has a unique fingerprint that creates difficulties and challenges for drivers.
With 13 turns over its 2.258 miles, navigating the course itself is no easy feat, especially when you look at the corners. The race starts with the long, flat 90-degree left at Turn 1, followed quickly by a sequence of two right turns known as the Keyhole. Then the track goes onward into a series of other challenging turns over undulating terrain.
If there’s one driver who has passed the test of Mid-Ohio more than any other, it’s six-time series champion Scott Dixon. He is the winningest driver at the track in INDYCAR SERIES history, with a whopping six victories.
That success has prompted many to call Dixon the king of Mid-Ohio, a rightly deserved title.
And the king could sure use another jewel in his crown this weekend, as he’s in an uncharacteristic drought.
Dixon enters The Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Honda Civic Type R this weekend winless since he captured the first race of a doubleheader on May 1, 2021 – 14 months and 22 starts ago – in his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. It’s the longest dry spell of his legendary career since 2005, when a victory at Watkins Glen ended a 39-start winless streak.
But Dixon is a legend, and he knows every driver faces ups and downs on their journey. So, he knows a peak is bound to come soon.
“I think at some points we’re overtrying, and it’s easy in this scenario where it’s not as relaxed or rolling as smoothly as it could be, that whether it’s me or the team or the adjustments that we make, we just may be going over the top,” Dixon said. “We’ve just got to find our groove.”
Despite these difficulties, Dixon has chosen not to let such droughts hinder him. Instead, just as he anticipates the turns on the Mid-Ohio track, he is relishing the next turning point in his career.
“I was hoping that the Indy 500 was going to be that turn and kick that we needed, but yeah, it’s been an interesting year, lots of ups and downs and some missed opportunities,” Dixon said. “We’ll keep after it.”
Dixon has raced in the INDYCAR SERIES since 2001, when he was 20. Now just three weeks shy of his 42nd birthday, that experience and maturity have helped him understand drastic changes and panic are not the path to success.
“I don’t think you really want to try and change anything,” Dixon said. “There’s no more emphasis. I think you’re giving 100 percent each weekend, no matter what it is and trying to win. If you get a bit of luck, that always helps.”
So, Dixon plans to maintain a positive outlook and continue to perform as best he can each race. No matter the outcome, though, he is not alone.
“We win and lose as a team, and I can tell you that everybody right now is giving 100 percent, and hopefully we can find our stride here shortly,” Dixon said.
The Link LonkAchieving a career-best finish in the World Rally Championship is something to savor. Whether the crew is competing in the top class or on their way up the ladder, it’s always an important moment in their careers.
For Sean Johnston and Alex Kihurani there was celebration last week when they equaled their best finish of 11th overall, but topped it up with second in WRC2 on Safari Rally Kenya – their first ever podium finish.
But that was equally mixed with a sense of relief to have just seen the finish line, as believe us when we tell you they did it the hard way last week.
The Safari was always going to be a big event in Johnston and Kihurani’s WRC2 campaign. Not only was it their nominated ‘overseas’ round, but it was a homecoming for Kihurani who is half-American, half-Kenyan.
It’s also obviously a supreme sporting challenge that Kihurani had predicted “was going to be 30-40% more brutal than in the past”. Little did he know how true his words would prove.
Their problems began on the recce when Johnston began to feel rather sick. That’s never a good situation to be in, but to be feeling awful just ahead of the biggest and toughest WRC event of the season was far from ideal, to say the least.
“From Sunday to Monday I was up all night vomiting and evacuating my bowels as well, it was incredibly uncomfortable,” Johnston told DirtFish.
“So on the Monday, the first day of recce, I had the grand total of three granola bars throughout the whole day, starting in the early afternoon just because I was so nauseous and sick, it was the most uncomfortable recce I think I’ve ever driven in my entire life.
“My stomach never really recovered in terms of feeling good and happy, but I don’t know what it was on Friday evening – I was feeling quite hungry after the day of rallying so I ate a bunch, but then my stomach pain just kept growing and growing and I kept getting more and more nauseous.
“And then there was a music festival going on right across the street from our hotel, and it was so loud I was able to literally feel the music in my skeleton, and I think it was around 3am that they finally toned down the music festival.
“Between the noise and just feeling immense stomach pain and nausea I only got a few hours of sleep that night, I woke up in the morning and tried to vomit but at that point, it was just dry heaving, so not great.
“I came to service and was in tears just from how intense the stomach pain was, but luckily the chief medical officer was great and had one of the doctors on-site give me a shot of Omeprazole directly into my arm about a minute before getting into the rally car. That helped with the nausea but I was still just in crazy pain in the car.
“On Sunday I felt a little bit better, still not good for a normal rally but I felt a million bucks compared to how I felt on Saturday.”
In true Safari spirit, Johnston soldiered on. It was uncomfortable, it was never easy, but he and Kihurani made it to the end of what was a hugely important weekend for Kihurani in particular.
“It meant everything just going over the start ramp, let alone finishing and achieving a podium,” Kihurani told DirtFish.
“That whole start ramp at the Convention Centre in Nairobi is really historic and it’s something that I’ve seen all of my heroes do over the years. I know it’s something my dad always dreamed of doing and it’s something I’ve always dreamed of doing, so just sitting there realizing how many decades have passed and how long that journey has been from before even I was born to get to that point, I think it finally hit me when we were pulling up to the ramp.
“It made me even teary-eyed, and that’s not something that happens so often! It was very, very special just to make that start and be competing”
“I’m going to jump in and say it was one of my favorite moments of our working partnership so far,” said Johnston.
“Sharing that moment going over the ramp and to see Alex clearly so moved and so grateful to be there, it was an absolute honor to bear witness to generations of rally passion coming full circle as we drove up the ramp.
“It was truly something special and it was a gift for me to even just be there and witness that. It was a super beautiful moment.”
Once out on the stages though, the plan was simple: survive.
“On the recce it just seemed so, so rough,” Kihurani explained.
“It’s hard when you’re competing and losing time to believe that attrition will come, but after that recce, we knew others were going to drop out. We just had to try to do our best to avoid as many problems as possible, and not worry about losing some seconds with a compromised setup with maximum ride height and a lot of extra weight in the car for additional tools and spares.
“I think our approach was really sound and I think that was proven during the rally.”
Despite the crew sticking to task and avoiding any trouble, the harsh conditions of the Safari would begin to take their toll – specifically the final stage of Friday: Kedong 2.
Johnston and Kihurani were fastest in WRC2 on the stage but their Citroën C3 Rally2 had ingested some fesh-fesh dust that would have a knock-on effect for the next day.
“The team had to repair and replace so many components at the end of any day of the Safari Rally that they weren’t quite able to get to the bottom of the engine issue at that service, and short 15-minute service the following morning wasn’t enough either,” Kihurani explained.
“The problem was carrying on and because the team wasn’t sure exactly what the problem was, we weren’t sure if we were doing some damage to the car by continuing to run it.”
Eventually, with the car not improving and actually losing brakes plus the driver still feeling sick, a strategic call was made to retire ahead of Saturday’s final stage and incur a 10-minute penalty. The gap behind was sufficient enough to safeguard their second place in class, and retiring would give the Saintéloc team far more time to repair the car.
The president of Kenya handing us our trophies at the end, that was a pretty ridiculous way to come home after being away for over 10 yearsAlex Kihurani
“Once we realized we didn’t actually need to do the last stage in order to keep second position, and we could basically have a new car for Sunday if we retired before the last stage, we wisely agreed to return back to service rather than subject the car and Sean to the second pass of Sleeping Warrior. It was such a great choice because we were able to have a car that we knew could finish on Sunday,” said Kihurani.
“I’m certainly very happy that my first WRC2 podium could come in Kenya,” he added. “It would’ve been nice if we could’ve gotten our first WRC points as well, but it’s the reality of having so many greats wanting to come back and do a rally like this like Sébastien Loeb and Ogier, and I wouldn’t ask for them to stay at home just so I could get a point,” he laughed.
“But the president of Kenya flagging us away at the start and then handing us our trophies at the end, that was a pretty ridiculous way to come home after being away for over 10 years!”
Johnston, naturally, feels similarly accomplished to have made it to the end – and with a podium to boot – given everything he had to deal with.
“I’m certainly proud of having made it to the end of this crazy rally all things considered, and for it to be a podium as well I think Alex and I earned it,” he said.
“I hoped it would have been more of a fight but given everything that we had to deal with, I’m kind of glad that we were able to just survive in our little Rally2 car.
“It was a massive, massive challenge on so many levels this event, and so I feel to be rewarded with a career-best finish is deserved.”
There’s no rest for the wicked though as Johnston and Kihurani will be back at it in just two weeks’ time when they tackle Rally Estonia – the event they have the most experience of in a Rally2 car.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Johnston. “Obviously we had the big crash last year which was a bummer but it’s time for some redemption.”
“It’ll be interesting going switching between events that are polar opposites,” added Kihurani.
“On Safari you have to get your head into a mode to drive slower than you’d ever think imaginable, and in Estonia, you’ve got to go crazy-fast everywhere.
“It’ll be interesting and fun to make that transition and at least we have quite a bit of experience at this event, so it should be nice to go flat out again flying through the air and just trying to maximize the speed and go for it.”
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Beer From Sewage, Hard Seltzer From Hot Dog Water Food Processing The Link Lonk
