Daily Archives: November 29, 2020

When Gabriel Garca Mrquez, in the presence of Fidel Castro, asked Graham Greene if it was true that hed played Russian roulette with a loaded revolver, Greene assured him he had, several times. Castro, one of several world leaders with whom Greene had audiences over the years (Gorbachev, Ho Chi Minh and Pope Paul VI were others), calculated the odds and said he shouldnt be alive. Greene thought the same. Hed expected to die young (Id rather die of a bullet in the head than a cancer of the prostate) but survived to the age of 86.

The Russian roulette story has been disputed; Greene may have played it with blanks or empty chambers. But Richard Greene (no relation) takes it as the central premise of his biography: the novelist as risk-taker and adventurer, with a history of self-harm and an addiction to danger. An early trip to Liberia, to investigate modern slavery, set the tone. Greene knew there were risks being shot at by soldiers, bitten by snakes or infected by lassa or yellow fever but they only spurred him on. He was accompanied by his cousin Dorothy, who found him frightening: If you are in a sticky place he will be so interested in noting your reactions that he will probably forget to rescue you.

Many journeys followed: to Mexico, Cuba, Malaya, Vietnam, Chile, China, Haiti, Belize, Nicaragua, the Congo and so on. He went to write articles, deliver messages, make diplomatic representations and gather material for books, sometimes all at the same time. His focus was invariably on Catholic priests under conditions of oppression, or on English characters in a setting which is not protective of them. He was suspected of spying: rightly so, if only as a novelist. During the war he had worked for MI6, with Kim Philby. Though only briefly a member of the Communist party, he understood its appeal and defended Philbys betrayal of his country: He was serving a cause and not himself. For Greene, Catholicism served the same purpose faith in an ideal. He characterised himself as a Catholic agnostic, but one with sufficient doubt in my disbelief to think a life after death more likely than not.

His theologising and preoccupation with sainthood now look as old-fashioned as his fondness for brothels. He had many failings, not least as a parent one who found the company of small children purgatorial and had little contact with his son and daughter until they grew up. But he was generous with money: friends, relations and ex-lovers were treated to cars, houses, pensions and other extravagant gifts. And, though indifferent to UK party politics, he was a passionate campaigner against global injustice. Whether it was urging authoritarian regimes to release imprisoned dissidents or attacking the US for its military interventions, he enjoyed making a nuisance of himself.

Richard Greene gently disparages his subjects previous biographers, Norman Sherry and Michael Sheldon: reviewers found their approach prurient and trivial, he says, and much new material has since come to light. In place of a life boiled down to sex, books and depression, he offers a life of travel, literary activity of all kinds (plays and screenplay, as well as fiction, editing, publishing and journalism) and a bipolar disorder. He traces Greenes traumas back to his school days, when he was bullied, victimised and put on suicide watch. And he sees bipolarity as the source of Greenes restlessness his need for constant stimulation, whether in a new country or with a new woman. Only with his last partner, Yvonne Cloetta, in tax exile in Antibes, did he achieve something like stability. Till then, despite fame and success, he comes across as largely unhappy dependent on booze and Benzedrine, guilty about his failed marriage to Vivien, fearful that he was washed up as a writer, disappointed not to win the Nobel.

For all his claims to be drawing on new material, Richard Greene cant help but go over old ground, from the Shirley Temple libel case to the tiff with Anthony Burgess. It was an immensely busy life and the telling of it here, in 78 short chapters and 500 brisk pages, feels rushed. The emphasis on Greene as foreign correspondent and emissary is certainly fresh. But the cost is an excess of information on the internal politics of the countries he visited, not always pertinent to the fiction. To spend more time on the history of Panama in the 1970s, for example, than on the Greenes long and complicated affair with Catherine Walston may be a corrective to earlier biographies. But it does little to explain the man and throws more attention on a lesser nonfiction book (Getting to Know the General) than The End of the Affair, his masterpiece.

Russian Roulette: The Life and Times of Graham Greene by Richard Greene is published by Little, Brown (RRP 25). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p over 15.

Visit link:

Russian Roulette: The Life and Times of Graham Greene review addicted to danger - The Guardian

The guidelines will be effective from December 15, and apply to advertisements that are legally permitted.

Come December 15, it will no longer be an easy task for real money online game platforms to woo the Indian consumer. So far some of the platforms have been able to draw eyeballs through ads full of promises of winning a jackpot. The online Rummy Federation (TORF) welcomes this initiative and sees this as a great move which will ensure that legitimate operators like our members who are certified can be clearly distinguished from fly by night operators who will now be forced to operate responsibly, Sameer Barde, CEO, TORF told BrandWagon Online. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Tuesday introduced a set of guidelines for advertisements of online real-money gaming platforms. The guidelines have been developed to ensure that the advertisements make users aware about financial and other risks that are associated with playing online games with real money winnings. The guidelines will be effective from December 15, and apply to advertisements that are legally permitted.

According to the guidelines, no gaming advertisement may depict any person under the age of 18 years, or who appears to be under the age of 18, engaged in playing a game of online gaming for real money winnings, or suggest that such persons can play these games. Meanwhile, every gaming advertisement must carry a standard disclaimer stating, This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk. This is expected to be followed for all ads published across mediums including print, television and digital. Further, these ads should not present online gaming for real money winnings as an income opportunity or an alternative employment option. The ad should also, in no way, suggest that a person engaged in gaming activity is in any way more successful as compared to others.

For Manisha Kapoor, secretary general, ASCI, the advertisements are in violation of ASCI code since the ads do not reveal the possibility of losing money and mislead individuals into believing that the platforms provide a source of extra income. We have observed gaming advertisements target youth and families by suggesting that these can become sources of income and livelihood for them. The key fact that is completely suppressed in most of these advertisements is the real possibility of losing money. The frequent use of celebrities in many of these advertisements make them more attractive to consumers. Combined with the fact that these games are highly addictive, these advertisements end up being not just misleading, but also harmful to individuals and society, she elaborated.

The Potential Impact of the Guidelines

As per Pranav Bagai, CEO and co-founder, Poker Sports League (PSL), while guidelines were long due and are essential, responsible gaming is imperative for long term growth and these guidelines can have adverse impact on sustainability of the industry, The guidelines may affect our sponsorship revenue since most of our potential sponsors for PSL are real money gaming platforms, he added.

Similarly, Barde believes that there will be a short-term impact but eventually it will help the industry move in the right direction, This impact will be harder on businesses with weaker brand equity as the obvious call-outs of cash are done away with. In the mid-long run, we believe that it will lead to an improvement in the quality of users acquired as what will appeal to the user is the brand and the value proposition of a skill game and pure entertainment without the call-out of monies to be won, he elaborated.

However, industry analysts believe that there will be no impact on the business on the back of these guidelines. The guidelines may have no significant impact on acquisition of users. Most online gaming already use well known celebrities and users are hooked to their games. These new ASCI guidelines in a sense will have as much of an impact as the Mutual Fund ad disclaimer, Lloyd Mathias, business strategist, stated.

Read Also: ITC ramps up digital presence for its chocolate brand; focuses on expanding reach

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn,Facebook

Get live Stock Prices from BSE, NSE, US Market and latest NAV, portfolio of Mutual Funds, calculate your tax by Income Tax Calculator, know markets Top Gainers, Top Losers & Best Equity Funds. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

BrandWagon is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest brand news and updates.

Read the rest here:

ASCI rolls the advertising code ball on the roulette wheel; will it win the game - The Financial Express

TO DESCRIBE this biography of Graham Greene by Richard Greene (no relative) as straightforward may indicate a certain dullness, given what is known of its subjects extraordinary life. Far from it. The life itself ensures the contrary, which makes this work compulsive reading.

Given Greenes many liaisons, what the author avoids is letting the reader become a voyeur. Instead, he recounts Greenes tortured relationships with a succession of women, often overlapping, with sensitivity and understanding, enabling one to continue to respect him.

Nor is the author concerned with literary criticism. The gestation of the novels, plays, films, and articles is described, as well as the identification of those who might serve as models for characters in the works. But it is not the biographers task to assess their merit: rather, it is to bring to life the identity of their author, complex in so many different ways.

That Greene lived to 86 is itself a triumph. Traumatised at school, diagnosed as manic depressive, constantly searching for excitement in dangerous parts of the world, promiscuous, hard-drinking, experimenting with drugs, he also had continually to resist the nagging option of suicide. It was as an undergraduate that he had first played Russian roulette with his brothers pistol, and survived: It was like a young mans first successful experience of sex.

One of the strengths of this biography is the authors ability to sum up succinctly the political situation in the hotspots that Greene sought out, excitement and risk being central to his life. It can be assumed that throughout he kept in contact with MI6, with whom he had worked in the war under Kim Philby whom, to the bafflement of some, he would never condemn: Who among us has not betrayed something or someone more important than his country?

AlamyGraham Greene (second from left) with his daughter Lucy (left) meet the film producer David Lewis and the star Deborah Kerr on the set of the 1955 film of Greenes novel The End of the Affair. Kerr played a married woman who gives up her lover because of a promise to God, who, she believes, answered her prayer when she pleaded for her lovers life to be spared in an air raid. She makes regular visits to an atheist polemicist in an effort to be argued out of her growing faith

Nowhere was Greene more influential in his active commitment to social democracy than in Central America. He was neither nave nor uncritical, recognising that, sometimes, one had to opt for the lesser of two evils.

It will, though, be Greenes Catholicism that will most interest readers of the Church Times. Rejecting the idea that he was an apologist, Greene described himself as not a Catholic writer but a writer who happens to be a Catholic. But his faith inevitably shaped his novels, particularly on the theme of the mercy of God.

While, in his biographers words, Greene felt that unbelief requires a certainty that cannot be justified, he none the less struggled with doubt for the whole of his life. Yet, wherever he was in the world, he sought out priests, and welcomed the sacraments.

Throughout his life, he distinguished between belief and faith, and, in a 1940 article in the Saturday Review of Literature, he admitted that only faith kept him from committing suicide. Edith Sitwell, who thought that he would have made a splendid priest, said that he understood sin and redemption in a way that the clergy did not.

Greenes Catholicism also enabled him to see an authentic religious consciousness in the spiritual practices of the indigenous people of Mexico, the oaths and rituals of the Mau Mau in Kenya, and the voodoo ceremonies in Haiti. Not surprisingly, he trusted mystics more than theologians; for they were on the side of faith, while theologians stood for belief.

Summing up his own position, Greene wrote: I would call myself at worst a Catholic agnostic. Not a bad position in which to find oneself, and one in which, through his writings, he has challenged generations of his readers.

Canon Anthony Phillips is a former headmaster of The Kings School, Canterbury.

Russian Roulette: The life and times of Graham GreeneRichard GreeneLittle, Brown 25(978-1-4087-0397-7)Church Times Bookshop 22.50

Read the original:

Russian Roulette: The life and times of Graham Greene, by Richard Greene - Church Times

The Eagles are set to field their tenth offensive line combination in eleven games in a season that has been absolutely disastrous on all fronts. Injuries have ravaged the offensive line for what feels like the millionth year in a row, and with Lane Johnson now out for the season, were set to see another attempt at putting the bandaid over a huge leak.

The Eagles have given up more sacks than any other team in the NFL (40) and are averaging 4 allowed per game. Carson Wentz, as bad as hes been, has hardly had a fortress to throw behind this season and it shows. But if theres ever a silver lining to take, its the development of depth players.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai was once a pivotal piece of the Eagles offensive front. The TCU product played in 476 snaps last year, grading out at 72.8 per PFF (25th out of 87 tackles). After playing in 1,681 snaps since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 Draft (playing in at least 31% of snaps in each season) and never growing into a full-time starter, Vaitai earned himself a tasty $50M contract in Detroit. Its one hes ultimately struggled to live up to, but the point stands.

With Vaitai gone, Dillard injured, Peters being Peters, and injuries across the board, the speed on the conveyor belt has picked up considerably.

Former TCU teammate of Vaitai, Matt Pryor, will start at right tackle this weekend in place of the injured Lane Johnson. Pryor has seen playing time at both guard and tackle already this year and has started the last 3 games. Hes allowed 2 sacks and given up 3 penalties on 479 snaps.

Pryor may not be perfect, but this is invaluable in terms of both experience and securing a long-term home on a team that invests heavily in offensive line starters, leaving a very clear ceiling for depth players.

On Saturday, Doug Pederson spoke about Pryor and the other young guys all benefitting from the exposure to regular season snaps.

He is playing right tackle. Again, I think guys like him, guys like Mailata, I think of [G] Nate Herbig, I think of the guys weve had to move in and out of different positions, theyve handled it well.

Its hard to take a guy thats playing, say, guard all week, then on Friday, Saturday or even game day you got to go, You got to go play tackle. He did it in the game last week. He went from guard to tackle. Now hes gotten all the tackle reps this week. Hes settled in. Hes comfortable there.

I dont foresee any real issues, mentally or physically, from him. Hes had a good week.

Jordan Mailata may be the best example of all. The former Rugby star who was drafted in the seventh-round three years ago had a torrid start to the Summer. He ended up being one of the teams most pleasant surprises, not only filling in for an injured Jason Peters admirably but playing extremely well all things considered. The Aussie held his own against top pass-rushing talent in losses to Batimore and Pittsburgh and had a great game against San Francisco. Hell get another shot to show his potential this weekend as the starting LT against Seattle.

Nate Herbig could easily be mentioned in that same conversation. He played in every single snap during the opening half of the season, giving up only two sacks when splitting reps between each guard spot. Seeing him benched for Opeta (who today landed on IR) didnt make any sense whatsoever, but the good news is that Herbig should be back in action.

Rookie tackle Jack Driscoll has also been exposed to significant action. In 11 games so far and without any preseason experience to his name, the Auburn product has allowed two sacks and three pressures in 404 snaps.

The Eagles might be battered and bruised on the offensive front, but this season has turned into an expanded preseason for young players, who get valuable opportunities to go up against proven NFL talents and hone their craft. Its the way of the world and would eb the same for any team, but for a franchise that puts so much stock in the development of its offensive line, knowing that some of the youngest, rawest prospects can at least keep their head above water and are getting better as time goes on, has to be seen as a silver lining.

Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire

Liam is a 24-year old sports journalist from the UK and founder of the Philly Sports Network. In just five years he turned a hobby into one of the fastest-growing Philadelphia sports sites in the world, amassing 7,000,000 views and writing over 3,000 articles. Drawing attention from the likes of CSN, NJ.Com and Bleacher Report in the process, Liam is set on changing the way Philadelphia sports teams are reported on forever.

You can contact him here: Phillysportsnetwork@gmail.com

Go here to see the original:

The silver lining in the Eagles never ending game of offensive line roulette - Philly Sports Network

Welcome to VR Roulette! This is our LIVE weekly game show on YouTube thats streamed (usually) on Wednesdays. We select a list of weird, quirky, and/or bizarre VR games and take turns spinning the wheel to see what weve all got to play next. Tune in with us live on YouTube at 10am PT today! Read our announcement article for more details.

We know, we know, its been a minute since we last did an episode. But! Were back! Can you ever forgive us?

Well, were mostly back anyways. No David, but Jamie and Zeena here to fend off the worst of what SteamVR has to throw at them yet again. This week were taking duck hunt to a whole new level in Duckpocalypse and, uh, cutting in line in Line Simulator. We personally cant think of anything more exciting, but then again were not very exciting people.

Catch up on our previous VR Roulette episodes:

Episode 6: Halloween Special In DreamsEpisode 5 Punching Pigs, Quidditch & DoritosEpisode 4 Ratbois & RoastingEpisode 3 MARSHMALLOW MURDEREpisode 2 Ski Doom, Cute Idols & Quest 2 Q&AEpisode 1 MOMO, Sharks of Mars, And More!

Let us know below what you think of VR Roulette! You can also join ourDiscordand send suggestions into our VR Roulette chat so Jamie, David & Zeena know what you want to see.

Are you a developer wanting to get your game on the show?Email us!

Want more? Make sure tosubscribe to our Youtube channelfor plenty of coverage on all things VR!

More:

VR Roulette Episode 7: Obliterating Ducks And Saving The World! - UploadVR

Leonard Bagley says waking from a coma to learn his wife had died was like someone taking his heart and breaking it.

It was incredibly painful to not say goodbye, he said.

Leonard, wife Emma and their two children were in the family car on a suburban Invercargill street when they were t-boned by a car travelling at 121kmh on December 7, 2018.

Taine Reupena Tata Bryn Edwards, 22, who was a passenger in the car that hit the Bagleys vehicle, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for being a party to manslaughter and concurrent 18-month sentences for each of three party to reckless driving charges when he appeared before Justice Cameron Mander in the High Court at Invercargill on Wednesday.

READ MORE:* Invercargill passenger guilty of party to manslaughter in fatal crash* Crown prosecutor says pair were 'driving dangerously for a rush'* Police officer heard car 'rocket past' his house before fatal crash in Invercargill

The Crown prosecutor read Leonard Bagleys victim impact statement, as he stood next to her.

I have lost the love of my life, and my children their mother, due to the selfish actions of someone else.

He felt it was a blatant disregard for human life, one he could not forgive.

His own injuries from the crash were extensive and included a fractured and dislocated spine and shoulders, a fractured pelvis and tailbone, ruptured diaphragm, collapsed lung and a large bleed into his chest cavity.

Dejay Rawiri Kane, 21, who was the driver of the vehicle, admitted to manslaughter and four charges of reckless driving and was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail in 2019.

Robyn Edie/Stuff

The intersection at Newcastle and Clifton streets, Invercargill, where the serious crash happened in 2018.

Edwards was found guilty at trial in September this year.

During Edwards trial and Kanes sentencing, the courts heard both men were intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Justice Mander said Edwards as the passenger and Kane, as the driver, played chicken or Russian roulette as the car sped through give way signs before the crash.

Vehicular manslaughter involving alcohol, speed and dangerous driving was an all-too-common offence, Justice Mander said.

It was often young men who did not appear to appreciate the grave risk of mixing alcohol and motor vehicles, the judge said.

Robyn Edie/Stuff

Taine Reupena Tata Bryn Edwards at his sentencing in the High Court at Invercargill on Wednesday.

Edwards presence in the car was a persistent encouragement for Kane to drive the way he did, Justice Mander said.

The car went through a series of give way signs before it hit the Bagleys at the intersection of Clifton and Newcastle streets in Windsor, Invercargill.

The Russian roulette ended, almost inevitably, with the death of an innocent person travelling with the right of way down a connecting street, Justice Mander said.

Edwards lawyer, Fiona Guy Kidd, said not a day went by when he did not think about the Bagleys.

Edwards had offered to withdraw all the $12,000 in his KiwiSaver account as a reparation payment.

He had done a driving programme which exposed repeat drink, dangerous and disqualified drivers to confronting material, Guy Kidd said.

Stuff

The scene of a crash in Windsor, Invercargill, that claimed nurse Emma Bagleys life in December 2018.

Wednesday was the second time in two years that Emmas father, Bruce Duncan, stood in court and read a victim impact statement on behalf of his family.

His daughter and her husband made law-abiding decisions that night; Kane and Edwards did not, Duncan said.

Emma and Leonard were sober, licensed and doing the speed limit.

Some individuals continue to make very poor, dangerous choices, with scant regard for the consequences as a result, Duncan said.

Emma died in the critical care unit at Southland Hospital the day after the crash.

Duncan held his daughters hands, surrounded by Emmas colleagues.

To think, this could all have been so different. If only you had made a more responsible and law-abiding decision on the seventh of December 2018.

Justice Mander also disqualified Edwards from driving for three years and ordered a $12,000 emotional harm payment.

View original post here:

Invercargill husband heartbroken to not say goodbye to wife after crash - Stuff.co.nz