Category Archives: Progress

Species disappearing, ice melting, topsoil vanishing, choking with carbon emissions when our forebears spoke breathlessly about future progress, this wasnt what they had in mind. Photograph: Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Im sitting at the bottom of my garden, reading Paul Kingsnorths astonishing new book, Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist. Its too late, he says. There is no way we can reverse the environmental changes that will lead to our destruction. And the very idea of progress, of continual forward momentum, is precisely the engine of our destruction. I start to daydream. My thinking slips sideways. I start puzzling about the Progressive Alliance. What is a progressive? And how are they related to the progress Kingsnorth believes has been destroying our planet?

The word progressive twists and turns in our political life, constantly shifting its meaning. Tony Blair repurposed the term for those broadly on the left who didnt want to call themselves socialists. Yet David Cameron was also frequently described that way. Now, however, the term progressive means not Tory. The Progressive Alliance urges tactical voting from Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters, to limit the size of Theresa Mays victory. Being progressive is a big party, and almost everyone is welcome. How about Rick Wakeman, Iwonder? After all, he was the poster boy of progressive rock you remember, interminable keyboard solos by men with long hair and silly silver boots. Iknow, Im being slightly facetious. But these days hes a big donor to the Conservatives. Its hard to know who progressives would not invite to their party.

And how come the very idea of progress is intuited as something broadly of the left? A hundred years ago in Italy, the so-called futurists were fascists, appropriating the language of technological progress for the far right. Idealists, workers of thought, unite to show how inspiration and genius walk in step with the progress of the machine, of aircraft, of industry, of trade, of the sciences, of electricity, gushed the futurist founder Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Love of progress isnt just for progressives. Hell, only last week, even Kim Jong-un was lauding his latest missile launch as a great leap forward.

The historian Sidney Pollard described the belief in progress as the assumption that a pattern of change exists in the history of mankind that it consists in irreversible changes in one direction only, and that this direction is towards improvement. These days progressives would write humankind. And yes, thats an improvement. But the idea that history consists of some continual and inevitable elevator towards human betterment is hardly borne out by the environmental catastrophe that our ingenuity and greed are currently visiting upon this planet. Species disappearing, ice melting, topsoil vanishing, choking with carbon emissions when our forebears spoke breathlessly about future progress, this wasnt what they had in mind.

Kingsnorth doesnt romanticise the past. He just points out that seeing the future with rose-tinted spectacles is now more socially acceptable, and therefore more dangerous: The kind of people who are disgusted by an idealized past can often barely contain their enthusiasm for an idealized future.

In economic terms, progress goes by the name of growth. Ever onwards, ever upwards, calls the money-making machine. And we are its servants, poor Homo economicus. Trapped by debt, we are encouraged by our leaders to run ever faster (they call it productivity) to make and buy more useless and invented stuff even if that means us borrowing more to do it. The possibility of one or two Green MPs aside, all of those we will elect to parliament next month will believe economic growth to be an unquestionably good thing. No party will ever form a government on the basis that we will need to learn to live with less. A collapsing planet is a niche interest, an inconvenient externality that will one day be resolved by technological progress that contemporary deus ex machina, good for all occasions.

Ovid had something to say about all this towards the end of the first century BC: Clever human nature, victim of your inventions, disastrously creative. Thats the sort of wisdom you dont need progress to achieve.

Read this article:

The pilgrims of progress who are leading us to self-destruction - The Guardian

Xavier Williams, the No. 27-ranked recruit nationally, is among three ESPN 300 prospects in an Alabama class that's just getting started.

Spring football is over, the offseason is hitting the dog days and media days are still months away. Recruiting, however, goes all year round. Coaches all over the country are on the trail looking for the next crop of talent.

As the spring evaluation period winds down (it ends May 31), let's take a look at where SEC teams stand in recruiting the 2018 class. On Wednesday, we broke down the SEC East classes; today we take a look at the SEC West (note, current ESPN class rankings are here):

ALABAMA

Commitments: Three.

Current class ranking: N/A

Top commits: ATH Xavier Williams, RB Dameon Pierce, DE Jordan Davis.

Breakdown: All three of the Crimson Tide's commits are ESPN 300 prospects: Williams is No. 27 overall, Pierce is 100th and Davis is 125th. Even though it's currently a small group, Nick Saban's track record tells us that it won't be long before the Tide begin piling up more high-level commits and start moving up the rankings.

ARKANSAS

Commitments: Four.

Current class ranking: N/A

Top commits: CB Byron Hanspard, TE Luke Ford, QB Connor Noland.

Breakdown: The Razorbacks are off to a pretty good start with three ESPN 300 prospects (Hanspard, Ford and Noland) in the fold. (Arkansas signed three ESPN 300 players in the entire 2017 cycle.) Two of their four commits (Hanspard and linebacker Bumper Pool) hail from the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas, a favorite recruiting ground for the Razorbacks.

AUBURN

Commitments: Six.

Current class ranking: N/A

Top commits: ATH Joey Gatewood, RB Shaun Shivers, OC Jalil Irvin.

Breakdown: The Tigers are stocking up on offensive prospects so far (five of the six commits come from that side of the football). Gatewood, a quarterback who is No. 24 in the ESPN 300, has been committed since December 2015, and Auburn has hung onto him even with an offensive coordinator change. He and Shivers are the two ESPN 300 prospects in the class.

LSU

Commitments: 16

Current class ranking: 3

Top commits: CB Kelvin Joseph, DE Adam Anderson, OC Cole Smith.

Breakdown: This is already one of the nation's best classes. Ed Orgeron and his staff have been stellar on the trail in his first full cycle as permanent head coach (just one of these commitments came before Orgeron got the gig). Only Miami -- which currently has the No. 1 class -- has more commits (17). The Tigers have nine ESPN 300 prospects and have gone heavy on defense: Only four players are offensive prospects. Nine of them are front-seven players.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Commitments: Nine.

Current class ranking: N/A

Top commits: WR Malik Heath, ATH Marcus Murphy, CB Esaias Furdge.

Breakdown: The Bulldogs have a good-sized class for this point in the cycle and have been focused mostly on in-state talent (eight of the nine commits hail from Mississippi). Heath is the lone ESPN 300 prospect, the No. 151 player overall nationally. The Bulldogs are still looking for a quarterback in the class.

OLE MISS

Commitments: Two.

Current class ranking: N/A

Top commits: OG Blaine Scott, DT Quentin Bivens.

Breakdown: Only Missouri has a smaller class at this point in the process (one commit), after an underwhelming 2017 haul thanks to the cloud hanging over the program (coach Hugh Freeze himself called the class a "penalty"). It's worth wondering if Ole Miss self-imposing sanctions in February is still impacting recruiting. With no top-300 prospects in the fold yet, it'll be interesting to see how things develop in the summer.

TEXAS A&M

Commitments: Seven.

Current class ranking: 18

Top commits: ATH Jordan Moore, OT Colten Blanton, OG Luke Matthews.

Breakdown: Recruiting has never been much of an issue for Kevin Sumlin, and this year is no different. The Aggies are doing well on the trail, with four ESPN 300 prospects in the fold (Moore, Blanton, Matthews and quarterback Cade Fortin from Georgia). The Aggies haven't made quite as much noise as of late (six of the commits came in 2016), but overall, they have a solid group as it stands currently.

Read more from the original source:

Tracking the progress of the SEC West's 2018 recruiting classes - ESPN (blog)

Silly Season is starting to shift into second gear. The general aims have been set, the multi-pronged attack on several positions in need of upgrading, replacing, or adding depth to, has begun.

Undoubtedly the one that will drag on the longest is the center forward situation, where Diego Costas future is far from assured but that may not necessarily play a leading role in Chelsea going after Romelu Lukaku or lvaro Morata. In fact, while the latest Costa rumors are perhaps starting to lean towards him staying, the rumors regarding Lukaku are starting to pick up steam once again.

Heres Gianluca Di Marzio with a rather vague Chelsea making progress assertion, claiming that first contacts have been made and that while no talks between the clubs have taken place, 70m would get the deal done.

Or heres Matt Law with a more assertive angle, claiming that Lukaku and Chelsea both want to get this done quickly, with the Blues willing to pay 90m to move things along swiftly thats about 8-10m more than Di Marzios price. Law also asserts that loan deals going the other way for the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham, Kurt Zouma, Ola Aina, or even Michy Batshuayi could be used to help grease the wheels.

Other sources are urging the driver of this runaway train to apply the brakes a bit. Heres Kristof Terreur, for example, to reinforce the point that no actual negotiations have actually taken actual place yet, actually.

Lukaku is Chelsea's primary target, but too early for 'agreement likely to be reached'. No negotiations btwn clubs. https://t.co/d5bQrvoQpC

That said, Terreur (and Di Marzios David Amoyal) do bring up an interesting point, which plays into the Morata vs. Lukaku / Conte vs. Board narrative. While Conte (still at Juventus) did prefer Morata back in 2014 and presumably today as well, Lukaku was actually his second choice three years ago. All Lukakus done since is score a lot of goals, none of which presumably hurt his standing on the priority list. So even if Conte does not end up with Morata, its not like we will be looking at another Shevchenko situation with Lukaku (fingers crossed).

Continue reading here:

Chelsea 'making progress' on 90m Romelu Lukaku reports - We Ain't Got No History

A weekend of tough negotiations has produced a compromise package of bills that represent a constructive effort to tackle Louisiana's bloated prison population.

We hope that legislators in the House will pass three key measures that almost sailed through the Senate Tuesday, as well as the less controversial parts of the 10- bill package working through the session.

The broad goal is to reduce sentences in line with national norms, or to make parole available to deserving inmates who might be able to return to society as productive citizens instead of charges on the taxpayer.

The means include not only better education and workforce training in state prisons and parish jails, but also making pardon and parole work better. That costs money, and in today's world you must get the cash by reducing inmate populations smartly.

Louisiana is No. 1 in its incarceration rate, by a long shot. We can do better for the taxpayer and for genuinely rehabilitated offenders by following the lead of many Southern states in embracing the proposals of the Justice Reinvestment Task Force. These are tried methods and systems from other states, not fanciful theories.

They deserve legislative support and are starting to get more traction because of the compromise talks.

Still, the public ought to be worried that Louisiana is so late to the party of criminal justice reforms.

Nor is it encouraging that exhaustive compromise negotiations in the Legislature were required. The original bills, blessed by the large majority of members of the bipartisan task force, were ambushed in a late-blooming political offensive by district attorneys and sheriffs, some of whom finance their operations with per-diem allocations for keeping state inmates. That resulted in watered-down versions of proposed changes in parole policies, and also in sentencing reforms. In their original form, these proposals weren't radical measures but were in line with changes made in other conservative states.

The ideal of data-driven policy crashed into Louisiana politics, but the deal brokered by Gov. John Bel Edwards reflects real gains. The three Senate bills by the body's president, John Alario, R-Westwego, and by Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, rewrite sentences for most drug offenses reducing penalties for low-level drug possession and scaling prison terms based on the amount of drugs involved and overhaul the state's numerous theft statutes.

The bills also reduce or eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes and allow judges to sentence a wider range of people to probation instead of prison.

More must be done. For example, at least a one-year delay in implementing more thoughtful sentencing reforms means that there is a lot left to be accomplished by this year's unusual alliance of business leaders, Christian conservatives and liberal groups.

They have to keep at it, just as Edwards has to work administratively with sheriffs and others in the system to make polices into practices in Louisiana's sprawling empire of punishment that has too often not fit the crime.

After weeks of debate over proposed overhauls to Louisiana's criminal justice system aimed a

Go here to see the original:

Our Views: Progress but not victory on prison reform - The Advocate

Forbes

Trading Progress for Equality in the Global Economy Forbes This article was originally published at Stratfor.com. By Mark Fleming-Williams. The nature of global trade is shifting once again. For two decades, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been locked in a stalemate between the wealthy north and the ... and more »

Read more from the original source:

Trading Progress for Equality in the Global Economy - Forbes

Five years of progress reducing the number of Americans without health insurance has come to a halt, according to a government report out Tuesday. More than a factoid, it shows the stakes in the Republican drive to roll back the Affordable Care Act.

The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 28.6 million people were uninsured in 2016, unchanged from 2015. It was the first year since passage of the health care overhaul in 2010 that the number of uninsured did not budge.

The uninsured rate for 2016 was 9 percent, an insignificant difference from 9.1 percent the previous year. When former President Barack Obama signed the ACA in 2010, the uninsured rate had been 16 percent.

Tuesday's report suggests that the ACA was running low on gas in Obama's final year as president. Premiums for private insurance were about to jump, and 19 states continued to refuse the law's Medicaid expansion.

Now, the number of uninsured could start climbing again under policies being considered by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

The politically unpopular GOP bill passed narrowly by the House would limit Medicaid financing and curtail subsidies for many consumers buying their own private policies. Republicans also would repeal the requirement that most Americans carry health insurance or risk fines, a much-disliked nudge to get healthy people covered.

The legislation would lead to an estimated increase of 24 million uninsured people within 10 years, according to congressional analysts. Under "Obamacare," there are 20 million fewer uninsured since 2010.

"It's disappointing that it's stalled out," said health economist Gail Wilensky, a Republican. "The real question is, will we be able to keep the gains that we have made?" Critical of the ACA and co-author of an alternative plan by GOP policy experts, Wilensky nonetheless supports the goal of expanding coverage. She's concerned about the impact of the House bill on Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income and disabled people.

The new numbers come from CDC's National Health Interview Survey, which is considered an authoritative source, and publishes findings earlier than the Census Bureau. Estimates for 2016 were based on data for nearly 97,500 people.

"It looks like we are kind of sticking a landing and holding on to the gains," said Katherine Hempstead, who directs research on health insurance at the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "To increase coverage, you would have to see more states take up the Medicaid expansion, and some reforms to increase take-up in the individual (private) market."

Could the number of uninsured start rising again? Absolutely, say both Wilensky and Hempstead.

"This release is really timely because it just helps everybody focus on what's at stake," said Hempstead.

The report found a significant increase in the percentage of people under age 65 covered last year through government-sponsored insurance markets like HealthCare.gov. About 11.6 million (4.3 percent) had marketplace insurance in the last three months of 2016, compared with 9.1 million (3.4 percent) in the same period the previous year.

States that expanded Medicaid were more effective at reducing the number of uninsured. Of the 16 states with adult uninsured rates significantly lower than the nation as a whole, 15 expanded Medicaid. In that group, only Wisconsin had not extended coverage for low-income people.

Conversely, of the nine states that had significantly higher uninsured rates, only New Mexico expanded Medicaid.

The CDC numbers do not reflect any changes directly attributable to Trump, who took office this year on Jan. 20.

During the campaign and since, the president has made some big promises about health insurance, talking of coverage for everybody and much more affordable premiums and deductibles. But Trump has also embraced a GOP bill that would make more people uninsured, even if it delivers on his campaign pledge to repeal "Obamacare." And he's threatened to stop paying subsidies that reduce out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles for people with modest incomes.

Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated, had promised to increase government assistance for private insurance costs, and also work to convince holdout states to expand their Medicaid programs.

"This is really pre-election activity" reflected in the CDC survey, said Wilensky. "It's news because people need to know we seem to have reached a plateau." What that will look like a year from now is unclear, she added.

See original here:

Progress reducing US uninsured rate comes to a halt - ABC News

Potential Democratic presidential candidates took center stage Tuesday for what might prove to be the kickoff of the 2020 campaign, but the popular characterization of the progressive policy confab as a CPAC for liberals might have missed the mark.

The Center for American Progress 2017 Ideas Conference looked like the kind of muted 2020 cattle call one would expect from a gathering in the ballroom of the Georgetown Four Seasons in Washington. Missing were the raucous crowds that overtake the sprawling gathering at National Harbor for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe glad-handed old friends and supporters in the lobby outside the ballroom before an afternoon speech, but there were noswarms of selfie-seeking young people, always present at CPACs party-like atmosphere.

While there were more polite golf claps than cheers, there was also more attention to policy than sometimes comes from the CPAC stage, even as President Donald Trump, whose previous appearances at CPAC helped launch his candidacy, remained an overarching presence.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for instance, focused her remarks on her ongoing push for paid family leave legislation, challenging Trump to sign on.

Year after year, we are shortchanging our workforce, and we are shortchanging our economy, the New York Democratsaid. It should be a test of whether or not its real paid leave.

But her remarks began with reaction to the reports from Monday about Trump sharing highly classified informationwith Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, in the Oval Office.

Last nights reporting has taken us to a whole new level of abnormal, Gillibrand said.

Freshman Sen. Kamala Harris a rising star within the Democratic Party focused on the scourge of opioid addiction, directing her criticism at the last weeks announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the federal government will resume seeking stiff penalties for relatively minor drug offenses.

Opioids have taken the lives of coal miners struggling with back pain inWest Virginia, and the son of a former Republican congressman in Pennsylvania, and a mom who got addicted to pain killers after a C-section in San Francisco, the former California attorney general said. She also called fordecriminalizing marijuana.

To fight Jeff Sessions and his old-fashioned, discredited, and dangerous approach to drugs, I believe we must embrace what all regions have in common and build coalitions, Harris said. I believe we have opportunities in front of us.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who gave the lunch keynote, focused as expected on government ethics and conflicts of interest with Trump. But aswith many other speakers, the news of the day about the president and the Russians was unavoidable.

Now is the time to remind Trump that our intelligence secrets are not gossip. And that his personal desire to impress his Russian buddies does not outweigh the safety, security, and lives of Americans and our allies, the Massachusetts Democratsaid.

Other lawmakers on stage included House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,and Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Jeff Merkley or Oregon.

The panel discussion most explicitly about Russia featured the tandem of Rep. Adam B. Schiff of California and Sen. Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut.

Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had yet to receive a briefing on what exactly Trump had shared with the Russian officials, but he offered a general response about the threat that could be posed to U.S. security and that of Americas allies by the disclosure.

I cant say if these allegations are accurate, but if they are we immediately have to go into damage mitigation mode, to findout what steps we need to take to minimize any risk to our sources, and if the damage is to our allies, what steps do we need to take to reassure our allies that we treasure the relationship, Schiff said. And then I have to hope that someone will counsel the president about just what it means to protect closely held information.

Schiff was spotted outside the Four Seasons after finishing his conversation with Murphy, speaking on a cell phone, before being approached by acameraman apparently with the celebrity and gossip media outlet TMZ.com.

The Bourne Identity is far and away the best, Schiff replied when asked about his favorite spy movies by the TMZ cameraman as he entered his car.

The House Intelligence panelhad scheduled a meeting later in the daywith CIA DirectorMike Pompeo.

McAuliffe wasnt the only governor to speak at the Center for American Progressevent. Montanas Steve Bullock and North Carolinas Roy Cooper also made the trip. In introducing Bullock, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle highlighted Bullocks 2016 victory in a state carried overwhelmingly by Trump.

Coopertook part in a conversation that focused on his battles with a Republican-led state general assembly, particularly over voter identification laws and restrictions on voter registration.

But the surprise star for the liberal audience, maybe because of the current series of foreign policy and intelligence crises plaguing the Trump administration, was former national security adviser Susan Rice.

If we cannot find our way to put country over party, and democracy over demagoguery, even in the face of such a dangerous external threat, then we might as well hang up our leadership cleats and resign ourselves to becoming a second-rate power, Rice said. That should not be our future. We are so much better than that. At our best, we are still the bright beacon to the world of hope, creativity, justice, and opportunity.

With current national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster offering a rapid-fire defense of Trumps actions at the White House the same day, the contrast was one that CAP organizers were likely happy to welcome.

Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.

Go here to read the rest:

At Center for American Progress, a Tryout for 2020 Ideas - Roll Call

ts one of those good problems to have.

But now its time for Carolinas new defensive coordinator to find solution even if it includes continuing to plan for life without the heart and soul of the defense.

With Thomas Davis getting up there in age and years, we've got to cut down on his reps, Steve Wilks said Monday. So there will be times where Shaq is going to be in, and we're going to try to relieve Thomas to give him some rest.

Davis, who turned 34 in March, has averaged 107.8 tackles and 940.6 snaps in the five seasons since he returned from his third ACL tear. Last year, after recovering from an early-season hamstring injury, he was in for every defensive play over the Panthers final 11 games, finishing with a unit-high 1,009 snaps.

Thompson, meanwhile, saw his snaps increase from 365 as a rookie to 534 in 2016. But thats still not enough for a guy with his kind of potential.

Weve got to create more packages for him, which weve talked about, Wilks said.

Still, even if the Panthers put Kuechly, Davis and Thompson on the field part-time and somewhat increase the latters playing time with different packages, Thompsons path toward full-time snaps is blocked by Davis. And to make it possibly more complicated, Davis may want to keep playing even after his current contract expires at the end of this, his 13th season.

So while its a good problem to have, its something that needs to be handled delicately.

Thomas is a team player, he said, and he understands the long season and the wear and tear on his body over the years. It's just a benefit for him.

More From Mondays Conversation With Wilks

Butlers Back

As they wrap up stage two of offseason workouts, players arent doing much more than conditioning and strength training. But if you could measure each nice thing Wilks said about his guys, his excitement for Butler would probably top the scale.

If you go out there and you watch him right now as a matter of fact I had two clips this morning talking about him in front of the group he is prideful right now. I mean, lights out, Wilks said. Im very impressed with what hes doing.

Cornerback Continuity

Because it began by letting a Pro Bowl player leave, the Panthers cornerback reconstruction dominated much of last summers conversation. But that was nothing new for Wilks, who had to make over his secondary each year since coming to Carolina:

CHARLOTTE Its one of those good problems to have.

In the two seasons since the Panthers used a first-round pick on linebacker Shaq Thompson, hes played less than 50 percent of possible defensive snaps. Thats mostly because Thomas Davis refuses to give into Father Time.

But now its time for Carolinas new defensive coordinator to find a solution even if it includes continuing to plan for life without the heart and soul of the defense.

With Thomas Davis getting up there in age and years, we've got to cut down on his reps, Steve Wilks said Monday. So there will be times where Shaq is going to be in, and we're going to try to relieve Thomas to give him some rest.

Davis, who turned 34 in March, has averaged 107.8 tackles and 940.6 snaps in the five seasons since he returned from his third ACL tear. Last year, after recovering from an early-season hamstring injury, he was in for every defensive play over the Panthers final 11 games, finishing with a unit-high 1,009 snaps.

Thompson, meanwhile, saw his snaps increase from 365 as a rookie to 534 in 2016. But thats still not enough for a guy with his kind of potential.

Weve got to create more packages for him, which weve talked about, Wilks said.

Toward the end of his sophomore season, the Panthers finally began putting more on Thompsons plate, using the 23-year-old hybrid not just in traditional 4-3 sets or as a bigger nickel back, but also as a middle linebacker in place of then sidelined Luke Kuechly.

Still, even if the Panthers put Kuechly, Davis and Thompson on the field part-time and somewhat increase the latters playing time with different packages, Thompsons path toward full-time snaps is blocked by Davis and a defense that more often than not uses just two linebackers. And to make it possibly more complicated, Davis may want to keep playing even after his current contract expires at the end of this, his 13th season.

So while its a good problem to have, its something that needs to be handled delicately.

Thomas is a team player, he said, and he understands the long season and the wear and tear on his body over the years. It's just a benefit for him.

More From Mondays Conversation With Wilks

Butlers Back

Like they did with Thompson, the Panthers kept their strengths strong last spring when they spent their top pick on a position no one wouldve labeled a need. But Vernon Butlers first-year development wasnt just slowed because he was behind defensive tackles Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei.

A high ankle sprain cost Butler five games, and he finished his rookie season with 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 225 snaps only one more than Kyle Love, who was released in final cuts and then re-signed after Butler went down in Week 3.

As they wrap up stage two of offseason workouts, players arent doing much more than conditioning and strength training. But if you could measure each nice thing Wilks said about his guys, his excitement for Butler would probably top the scale.

If you go out there and you watch him right now as a matter of fact I had two clips this morning talking about him in front of the group he is prideful right now. I mean, lights out, Wilks said. Im very impressed with what hes doing.

Cornerback Continuity

Because it began by letting a Pro Bowl player leave, the Panthers cornerback reconstruction dominated much of last summers conversation. But that was nothing new for Wilks, who had to make over his secondary each year since coming to Carolina:

So if James Bradberry and Daryl Worley are on the field for the first defensive play in San Francisco, itll be the first time the same outside corners started back-to-back season openers in Wilks six seasons. And right now, with Bradberry coming off a solid first year and Worley impressing coaches early in his second, that looks like a safe bet.

You can see the development and growth from where they were last year and where they are now, Wilks said. The biggest thing is we always talk about that freshman to sophomore leap, and that's what we're looking for this year in those guys.

Its not that simple, of course. While Wilks believes Bradberry and Worley have the physical tools to keep improving, their biggest challenge in the months ahead is mental.

At times last year, they were a little hesitant. You can watch them on tape they see certain things, but they're not really reacting as fast, Wilks said. I think you're going to see them playing a lot faster because they understand certain things to where now they can process it quicker.

Captain's Chance

To fend off complacency, Wilks wont guarantee starting spots to Bradberry and Worley. Every corner on the roster will get a look on the outside, including the presumed starter in the slot.

That's one of the things I told Captain (Munnerlyn) when we got him: 'Yeah, you're going to be playing nickel, but I want you to compete outside as well, Wilks recalled.

The first couple of days we were out there on the field, he came up to me and said, 'Coach, you weren't telling me a story.' I said, 'No, I'm honest. I want you to compete on the outside.

Last Line of Defense

Because Wilks now has to peel himself away from spending entire practices with the secondary, he needs to trust others back there. Curtis Fuller, Richard Rodgers and Jeff Imamura are listed as the units coaches, but in some respects, safeties Mike Adams and Kurt Coleman could share similar titles.

You have to have an extension of your voice whenever the coaches aren't around, Wilks said, and Mike is bringing that element, along with Kurt.

Coleman, who Wilks confirmed is sliding back over to free safety, went into last season with by far the most experience in the secondary. But now his eight years pale in comparison to Adams 14.

Its fair to wonder, though, about depth behind the two vets.

After cutting ties with Tre Boston two weeks ago, the Panthers backup safeties are Dean Marlowe, Colin Jones, L.J. McCray, Travell Dixon, Dezmen Southward and converted linebacker-turned-converted-back-to-safety Brian Blechen. Of that lists six career starts, they all belong to Jones.

I'm not overly concerned, Wilks said, before singling out McCray, who played 22 games with the 49ers from 2014-15. I was telling coach Rivera - I'm sort of intrigued by him right now, just the way he's moving out there.

There's going to be some competition behind those two guys, but some guys are going to have to step up and be ready to play.

Original post:

Steve Wilks delivers a progress report on his defense - Panthers.com

ROME From the beginning, cleaning up Vatican finances has been a major priority of Pope Francis. That campaigntook a step forward Tuesday with the release of the2016 report from the Financial Information Authority (AIF), in effect the Vaticans financial watchdog unit, suggesting a significant drop in reports of suspicious activity.

However, AIF leadership also acknowledged that to date, there have been no publicly known instances in which someone accused of financial wrongdoing has been prosecuted and punished by the Vaticans legal system.

AIF is an anti-money laundering watchdog unit created under Benedict XVI and strengthened by Francis. Its headed by Swiss lawyer Ren Brlhart, with Italian Tommaso Di Ruzza serving as director.

More than 190 suspicious financial transactions in the Vatican were flagged in 2016, leading to the suspension of four of those transactions totaling over $2 million, and the freezing of one account at the Vatican bank worth another $1.5 million.

The numbers represent a notable decrease from 2015, when there were 540 suspicious transactions, eight suspended, totaling over $10 million, and freezing four accounts in the Vatican bank worth another $8.

According to Brlhart, the AIFs president, this decrease is no surprise, but a logical follow-up to the path we have been taking these years.

Since its inception, Brlhart said, AIF has been steadily trying to set up not only a functional system for the Vaticans finances, but a sustainable one.

Brlharts previous claim to fame was helping to turn around Liechtensteins reputation as a financial pariah as director of its financial intelligence unit from 2004 to 2012.

Brlhart and Di Ruzza spoke with the press on Tuesday to present the fifth annual AIF report. Beyond statistics, the report also indicates an ever-increasing and effective implementation of reporting requirements.

In the reports introduction, Di Ruzza explains the decrease in suspicious activity reports, saying that this stabilization is due to several factors, including more efficient controls implemented in the Institute for the Works of Religion, known in the street as the Vatican Bank.

RELATED: The Vaticans quiet reformer

One of the issues the two officers of AIF were asked about most were the 22 recommendations for possible prosecution made to the Vaticans Office of the Promoter of Justice last year, adding to the 34 made during 2012-2015. These reports include various financial crimes, from tax evasion to misappropriation and corruption.

Up to this point, theres been no announcement of cases brought to justice by the promoter, Gian Piero Milano. Back in February, the Italian layman said two cases had gone to trial for the first time in 2016, but its unknown what these cases involve.

Its a far cry from the notorious Vatileaks 2 trial, when three former members of a Vatican commission and two journalists were accused of revealing confidential information, and it all played outin broad daylight.

I cannot speak for the Promoter of Justice, Brlhart said. However, there have been relevant developments in recent times, without elaborating on what that meant.

Yet the Swiss expert believes that most of the backlog can be explained by the fact that the system theyve established is still new, and that IT resources, qualified people and context are needed to develop the cases flagged by AIF and then forwarded tothe prosecutor.

In addition, Milanos office has to request information to international agencies as part of the process, often slowing things down further.

However, the Vatican is facing a ticking clock. The Council of Europes anti-money laundering unit, known as Moneyval,is due to present an interim report on the Holy See this December, after finding in 2015that there had been no real result in terms of imposing accountability for financial crimes.

Brlhart spoke about Moneyval, saying that body gave a lot of credit to the Holy see for the progress that has been done.

I would call it a very constructive bond, he said.

One of the key issues present in Tuesdays report was the fact that the cooperation between AIF and its international counterparts has grown.

International co-operation is a precondition for countering financial crimes, and the Vatican is fully committed to this front, Brlhart said. In 2016, the AIF has seen a significant increase in bilateral cooperation with the competent authorities of other jurisdictions and will continue to be an active partner in combating illicit financial activities globally.

To this end, during 2016 the Vatican made over 700 requests to foreign authorities, up from the 199 made in 2015. It also received 116, down from 181 from the previous year.

The Vaticans financial sector is unique in the sense that it provides services primarily to support the Holy See and the Church in the world.

By its nature, it has an international projection, including those critical areas and regions sometimes in which the Church, for various reasons, is present with its pastoral and humanitarian activities, Di Ruzza wrote in the report.

While retaining its own uniqueness, it therefore shares the inherent challenges and complexities of the current international scenario, he added.

AIF, created in 2010 by Benedict XVI, is one of the several financial entities in the Vatican. Others include the Secretariat for the Economy and the Council for the Economy, both instituted by Pope Francis.

Go here to see the original:

Vatican's financial watchdog cites progress, but still no prosecutions - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

Tim Tebow signed a lot of autographs May 16 in Lakewood. Follow along as he walks the autograph line at FirstEnergy Park. Steve Feitl

Tim Tebow takes a selfie with John Herrera of New York City at FirstEnergy Park on Tuesday.(Photo: Steve Feitl)

LAKEWOOD - Tim Tebow did his thing one last time at the Jersey Shore on Tuesday, unlikely ever to return to the area, atleast in a baseball uniform.

There's no doubt this guy gets it. He's been an incredible ambassador for the Mets organization, spending time signing autographs, taking selfies and engaging with his teammate and opponents. He's doing it all the right way as he lugs his own gear and takesthe long bus rides with the Single-A Columbia Fireflies, while doing everything he can to make up for lost time against guys who were fresh out of Little League when he was winning the Heisman Trophy.

Some of the numbers surrounding his three-day stay in Lakewood have been impressive, to say the least. Around 23,000 fans fans poured through the FirstEnergy Park turnstiles, driving revenues for the Lakewood BlueClaws and energizing an already solid fan base. He's done it everywhere the Fireflies have traveled this spring.

Had Saturday's game not been rained out, the Lakewood BlueClaws were anticipating a crowd of more than 10,000 fans, which would have made it the second highest attendance total in franchise history, behind the 13,003 that showed up to see a team led by Gavin Floyd and Ryan Howard play the final game of the 2002 season.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

As for some of the other numbers surrounding Tebow's visit, not so much.

APP SPORTS AWARDS:Celebrate the best of the Shore!

Like Tebow's sub-.240 batting average, fivestrikeouts and no hits in the series through his first fourtrips to the plate Tuesday night, hitting into a double-play with bases loaded and no outs in the top of the fourth. In the top of the sixth, he got a run home on a groundout to second that the fielder could not handle. He reached on an error and the Fireflies' second run came home, with Tebow eventually scoring.

In left field, he looks uncomfortable, absent of the sharp baseball instincts players who have been at non-stop for the past decade possess.

And maybe that's about right.

Tebow always has been a conundrum as athlete.

He quarterbacked theDenver Broncos to the postseason, and won a playoff game. Except that he simply couldn't throw the ball well enough and the Broncos turned to Peyton Manning to win a world championship, with Tebow's pro football career eventually flaming out.

Now Tebow is a soon-to-be 30-year-old trying to make it to the big leagues. And given what we've seen so far, it's highly unlikely he'll ever earn his way into a game at Citi Field.

Tim Tebow takes a swing the batting cage before Tuesday's game at First-Energy Park.(Photo: Steve Feitl)

So while it's already something of a circus, with a first-year prospect emerging as the biggest story in minor league baseball, here's to hoping the Mets dont take advantage of the situation.

Sure, you have to push the issue and find out if Tebow is ever going to progress through the farm system. But he deserves better than to be marched through the ranks trying to sell tickets and make up for the failings at the major league level.

The Mets were the ones that decided to take a chance, and the public relations aspect to all of this played a role in it. Tebow has clearly held up his end, assimilating to a lifestyle far removed from the one he had grown accustomed to, while doing everything the organization could have asked of him, and more.

Its hard not to root for him to succeed. It would be an inspiring, uplifting story to see an athlete who fell from favor in one sport return to the highest level in another. It's a Disney move for sure.

But if it doesn't work out, Tebow shouldnt be reduced to some carnival sideshow. Just send him back to the broadcast booth, and thank him for his hard work. Because he's certainly going to thank you for giving him a chance.

Staff Writer Stephen Edelson is an Asbury Park Press columnist: sedelson@gannettnj.com

Tim Tebow took batting practice May 16 in Lakewood.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

See the original post:

Tebow-time a success, but the player is a work in progress - Asbury Park Press