BALTIMORE -- Tanner Houck is done talking about his vaccination status. After missing the Red Sox’ four-game series in Toronto because he’s unvaccinated against COVID-19, he returned to the team Friday in Baltimore in no mood to to keep talking about the situation.
“I kept up watching the games,” said Houck, who along with Kutter Crawford, spent four days in Fort Myers while on the restricted list. “That’s all I’m really going to say on it, though.”
Houck then repeated a similar answer a handful of times, including when asked if missing games would make him re-consider his stance on vaccination. He has not gone into details publicly about the situation other than to call it a “personal decision.”
Houck’s absence has been a major storyline outside the walls of the Red Sox clubhouse in the last week. With the team floundering to a 1-3 showing in Toronto, it was easy to see how Houck’s presence might have helped. Missing one of the team’s most talented pitchers caused manager Alex Cora to have to re-shuffle some things, taking Garrett Whitlock out of the bullpen to make two starts. But Cora insists the absences of Houck and Crawford have not caused any awkwardness in the clubhouse, where every other active player is vaccinated against COVID-19.
“It’s something that is a non-topic in the clubhouse… Nothing is going to change. Obviously, the topic will come up again whenever we go to up there to Canada,” Cora said. “We’ll see where we’re at and we’ll make adjustments if we have to make adjustments.
Cora said that Houck’s situation was just one factor in Boston’s decision to temporarily shift Whitlock to the rotation to pitch twice on the road trip. Rich Hill was pushed back a day after going on the bereavement list following the passing of his father, Lloyd, which led to more shuffling.
“It wasn’t just about (Houck and Crawford),” Cora said. “There was more stuff that came in the last few days and we had to make adjustments. To put it on somebody that we didn’t win because of this or that, no. We didn’t make plays, we didn’t make pitches and we got beat.”
The vaccination issue will come up again for the Red Sox this season because they will play two more series in Toronto (from June 27-30 and again from Sept. 30-Oct. 2). Unless government rules change, Houck, Crawford and any other unvaccinated players (a list that includes the injured Chris Sale, and, potentially, at least one other player currently on the injured list) will be ineligible to pitch north of the border. That would be particularly costly to the Red Sox if they were to face the Blue Jays in a playoff series.
Cora has repeatedly said that he respects players’ individual decisions on vaccination but the organization has tried, with varying levels of success, to convince all players to get their shots. A handful of players who were unvaccinated at the end of last season got vaccinated during the off-season or spring training, including Xander Bogaerts, Christian Arroyo, Kevin Plawecki and Trevor Story (as a condition of the Red Sox signing him).
“He did a good job. He threw the ball well,” Cora said. “Good stuff, good fastball, good slider. With him, these guys, it doesn’t matter if they start, relieve or whatever. They try to pound the strike zone with great stuff and get outs.”
Houck’s role in the coming days is still uncertain. The Red Sox can keep both him and Whitlock in the bullpen on basically a full-time basis for the next 2+ weeks because they have enough off days (three) and only need a fifth starter on one occasion. But Cora said he plans to see how other starters like Nate Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and Hill are feeling after their outings. As of now, Boston has not announced its rotation plan for its series against the Angels, which begins Tuesday at Fenway Park.
“We’re going to be creative because we’ve got some guys like Garrett, Tanner and Rich who are going to do a lot of things for a pitching staff,” Cora said. “They’re willing to do it.”
The murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis nearly two years ago and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests spurred universities — including the University of Windsor — to introduce anti-Black racism initiatives, many of which are well underway today.
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While support for Black students, new curricula, and the cluster-hiring of Black faculty show “it’s a really exciting time and a time of great promise,” there’s still more work to be done. That’s according to, Annette Henry, an education professor cross-appointed to the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice, who gave a virtual lecture Friday to cap off a distinguished speakers series presented by the University of Windsor’s Office of the Vice President of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
“Institutions of higher education are especially prone to reproducing inequalities,” said Henry, whose scholarship examines race, class, language, gender and culture in teaching and learning. Racism is “deeply entrenched within university culture.”
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For Black faculty in academic institutions, it’s also a “very taxing time,” she said. Black faculty are often charged with sitting on these new anti-Black racism committees and hiring taskforces.
“There’s a kind of a racial taxation, a burden of diversity,” Henry said.
“There are so few of us doing this work, and there is a need in so many arenas.”
In the summer of 2020, the University of Windsor launched its 20-member Anti-Black Racism Task Force as part of a broader initiative to dismantle systemic racism on campus. In the months following, it announced a strategy to recruit 12 Black faculty members by the end of the 2023 hiring cycle, as well as an Anti-Black Racism Initiatives Fund, offering $10,000 grants for research, teaching, learning and curriculum projects, and student leadership opportunities.
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While “we know hiring a cluster of people is not a quick fix” and is “only one gap we can address,” Henry said it’s an important strategy that has “potential to increase the number of Black faculty and diversity the discipline.
“It promises positive effects for the universities involved. These affect what we can teach, who we might attract as faculty, and students’ desires to people who look like them and who validate their backgrounds and their work,” she said.
Henry invited participants to consider “how wonderful” it would be for students to have more curricular options and see themselves represented “and also understand the Black diaspora from their own informed perspectives.” Black graduate students in the faculty of education at the University of British Columbia she’s interviewed for research studies said the curriculum was Eurocentric and did not speak to their experiences.
“Good things are happening and we have to celebrate that,” Henry said.
However, “structural change is needed. Until then, the systemic racism will continue to be manifested in the colonial ways that Black Canadian faculty are disregarded.”
Guardians Of The Galaxy – a surprise favourite (pic: Square Enix)
Readers discuss their favourite games of the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 generation, from Returnal to Resident Evil Village.
The subject for this week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Cubby and since there are so few current gen exclusives included cross-gen titles that are also on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Despite the relative lack of choice, even two years into the new generation, most people were impressed by the overall quality of games, with Elden Ring and Returnal being particularly popular.
Night and day
My game of the current generation is Guardians Of The Galaxy. But why would that be when there are other, more obvious contenders?
I have an Xbox Series S on the TV in the living room, where I do most of my gaming, as well as the old Xbox One upstairs in the bedroom, for when my partner is watching her programs and I can escape and play something.
I started plating Guardians Of The Galaxy on the Xbox Series S and was having a blast, so when my partner wanted to watch Grand Designs it was far too tempting to continue my game on the Xbone. It was then that I noticed in real terms the difference of the current generation. The graphics had gone from a clear image to a blurry one. The sound had changed from flawless to cutting out (was this a bug on the old console?). Playing on the old console just wasn’t the same. I’d done the same thing with Psychonauts 2 and aside from longer loading times there wasn’t much of a difference.
What it showed me was games aren’t going to be cross-gen forever. I’m looking forward to what they may become and how letting go of the previous generation will free them. BritainsHard007
Do remasters count?
I haven’t reached Elden Ring or Lego Star Wars yet but, in my limited experience, my favourite game of the gen (Xbox) is a toss-up between Hitman 3 and the Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
Sure I’ve played Halo Infinite (campaign) but each tedious boss battle sent my interest dwindling to the point where I know I’m near the end but just cannot be bothered dealing with Escharum.
Honourable mention to Star Wars: Squadrons (although I don’t have a clue what I’m doing or where my fighter is pointing!) and Forza Horizon 5 (shiny). FoximusPrime81 (gamertag/NN ID/Twitter)
Award winner
This is an easy one for me – by far my favourite game of this gen has to be Returnal. I thought maybe Elden Ring would take the top spot, but having gone back to Returnal after the update, I’ve fallen in love with it all over again.
Returnal is the complete package for me, a nail-biting rollercoaster ride of a game, with the best shooting ever and an intriguing story to boot. The guns are pheromonal, each one feeling totally different, but very satisfying to use.
It’s also probably the most next gen experience from a game so far. Not for its graphics, but how it ‘feels’; the instant loading, super smooth and tight gameplay, one of the best uses of haptic feedback so far, and the exemplary 3D sound design all combine to make a game that just feels light years ahead of everything else. It really wouldn’t be the same game on PlayStation 4, which I don’t think can be said of many other games released so far.
All in all, it’s not just one of the best games this gen, but one of my favourite games of all time. Can’t wait for whatever Housemarque do next! Mud
Game of the forever
Favourite game of the current generation? Has to be Elden Ring on my PlayStation 5. Not only the best current game but for me quite possibly the best game ever made, and I personally think it’s the best game of the Soulsbourne series of games.
There are so many good things about it: the open world, the horse riding, the secret areas, the combat – the list goes on and on. It’s one of the few games I have ever played where I started a new game straight after finishing it the first time and in total I’ve spent about 150 hours on it so far. Ian Davis
Quality over quantity
Some say there is a dearth of games with the current gen. What’s on offer is excellent though.
Returnal was a great starting game on my PlayStation 5. Enjoyed it so much I decided to invest time in getting platinum. I even managed to kill Phrike on the first encounter.
I loved the roguelike elements but had to cheat in the end, with the cloud save storage, as I felt those drones on the third level so unfair.
Nobody seems to be giving Rainbow Six Extraction any love on these pages. Such a fun cooperative game. Feels like an action take on the missions in XCOM, although it’s nothing like XCOM (would love to see a mix up of Rainbow Six Extraction action and XCOM base strategy). Cooperation is so important in this game, and a good mix of operatives. I have put 210 hours in this game and find it has that just one more go pull to its gameplay. Approaching platinum on this one.
I could go on with Gran Turismo 7 and Crusader Kings. Although the next gen wasn’t a massive leap in graphics, the games seem to play so much better. Reading about 60fps I thought, so what? But the difference in racers and shooters is transformative.
I quit Metro Exodus on PS4 Pro then tried it on a friend’s PlayStation 5 on a non-HDTV and the increase in frame rate made it a joy to play; the ray-tracing was great also. It felt completely overhauled. I have since played it to completion.
There may be a limited library of games out there, but what’s on offer is so good. I couldn’t name just one game. Vaughan (Tiddleydwarf – PSN ID)
Two of the best
My favourite game of the generation so far is a toss-up between It Takes Two and The Forgotten City. I think I had more fun with It Takes Two, which is just an absolute joy to play from start to finish. Which is all the more remarkable given how long the game is (surprisingly long).
But The Forgotten City deserves a shout too, for being perhaps the best written game I’ve ever come across. I was really impressed with how everyone is like a main character, as they all have a place in the world and have relationships with other characters which mean something in the overall narrative. A really impressive game from a storytelling perspective. Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
Now playing: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
A winning generation
Admittedly I’ve not played too many of the current generation of games but taking that into consideration I’ll still say that Resident Evil Village and Returnal are my top plays, and probably Elden Ring eventually.
For Resi Village it was the sheer fun and over the top main antagonists, which are basically pretty much all of them! The obvious ones being the Dimitrescu family with Bela, Daniela, and Cassandra and their matriarchal godly leader the Mother Miranda, along also with Karl Heisenberg’s amusing whit.
All of the above plus the drop dead beautiful gothic and industrial locations and madcap story is what Resident Evil is all about. Returnal is about the absorbing gameplay and a very deep mystery to work out, which succeeds in every way.
One game brings lore and insane gameplay and the other is a super biotechnological gothic masterpiece, with raw gunplay and locations to really get stuck into. Village has such a classic imaginative and beautiful eldritch game world to soak up it hurts my senses!
To me the current generation is a win even if there’s now a longer wait between big games. But hey, that’s where the indie games market will always come in handy. Alucard
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
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“Russian Doll” is another underrated Netflix show that surprisingly got a second season. I decided to give both seasons of “Russian Doll” a try, just so I would know exactly what was happening. Although I still don’t think I quite understand it in the best way possible.
Created by Natasha Lyonne of “Orange Is the New Black,” Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, “Russian Doll” follows the life — or rather the deaths — of Nadia Vulvokov, who faces a “Groundhog Day”-esque dilemma in season one, leading her to fix the mistakes of her life that went down a dark path. In season two however, Vulyokov goes up against time travel to learn more about her family history and how it shaped her.
What I love most about this show is its profound themes and how it presents them in an interestingly surreal way. Season one tackled the feelings of having regrets and reflecting on what kind of person you want to be through its death loops. Season two, on the other hand, uses time travel to tackle the issue of generational trauma and the fear of living in the moment. Mixed with wonderfully supernatural moments and camera work, it only adds to the themes the show feeds to the audience.
The acting is just as stellar as the themes. Natasha Lyonne gives an unforgettable performance as Natasha. Her distinct voice, mannerisms and character set her apart from most generic television characters we see these days and made her surprisingly likable to the audience.
Other shoutouts have to go to Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee and Elizabeth Ashley who each give equally lovable performances in the show. Each actor also does a great job of portraying their emotions throughout the show so the story never gets truly stale, and the character development is subtle but never too slow.
The cinematography and editing were great as well. The camera would follow characters for long periods of time, or split the screen between parallel important moments and it all seemed to have a purpose that added to the story and show as a whole. The soundtrack was killer too, as songs from Pink Floyd, Falco and many others fit perfectly with the visuals and whatever was going on in each scene.
Overall, both seasons of “Russian Doll” deserved to be watched and enjoyed. With uniquely portrayed sci-fi elements giving way to much deeper themes of mental health and healing from trauma, alongside amazing acting and show work, let’s hope Netflix doesn’t continue on its weird streak of canceling really great original shows in the face of its recent subscriber loss.
Liverpool showed patience and poise in breaking down Villarreal to take a giant step towards their third Champions League final in five seasons.
Jurgen Klopp’s men endured a goalless first half against Unai Emery’s well-drilled outfit but a Pervis Estupinan own-goal and a tidy finish from the in-form Sadio Mane secured a 2-0 win early in the second half.
Some familiar faces impressed, while Klopp had the luxury of looking at the bigger picture as the Reds’ bid for a historic quadruple remained on track.
After yet another Anfield victory, we look at some of the standout moments and talking points.
Liverpool's Mane for the big occasion
During Tuesday’s thrilling semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid, Kevin De Bruyne and Karim Benzema turned in the sort of performances that define elite big-game players. Sadio Mane unquestionably deserves to be considered in that company.
The Senegalese forward latched on to a pass from his old ally Mohamed Salah to dispatch a fine second goal for Liverpool. That was Mane’s sixth in his past seven matches - a run that has taken in three goals in two outings against City, and strikes versus Benfica and Manchester United.
Luis Diaz’s livewire presence on the left wing is allowing Mane to excel in a central striking role and bringing his eye for goal to the fore. There are few, if any, more important players to Klopp’s bid for sporting immortality.
7️⃣ games.
6️⃣ goals.
Sadio Mane is a man in đ„ form - netting to become the second #LFC player to reach 2️⃣0️⃣ goals for the season in all competitions! đžđł
Playing behind a side exuding defensive discipline, composure and general tidiness, Geronimo Rulli cut an incongruous figure in the Villarreal goal. If Emery’s no-frills side look like the well-mannered cousins of La Liga counterparts Atletico Madrid in this competition, the goalkeeping department is a point of difference.
Jan Oblak might have dipped a little from his imperious levels this season, but he has generally been immaculate when it comes to the basics of his profession. Rulli is a rogue element by comparison. Unusual decisions to punch and other erratic flourishes were dotted through his first-half work.
Jordan Henderson’s cross taking a decisive deflection off Estupinan didn’t help on Liverpool’s opener, but Rulli’s unconvincing flap felt about right. He then almost misjudged a Virgil van Dijk long-ranger entirely - again failing to encourage the required assurance in those around him.
đŹ For the first time since playing Maccabi Tel Aviv in the #UEL in December 2017, Villarreal have failed to register a single shot on target in a match.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has more strings to his creative bow than most but Liverpool’s attacking right-back was as frustrated as any of his teammates during the first half.
The England international filling an advanced, right-sided central midfield position early in the second period proved crucial to breaking Villarreal down. From here, he dinked a cute pass towards Diaz that almost let the Colombian star in to open the scoring.
Alexander-Arnold being stationed centrally allowed Henderson to stretch the play outside him and put in the cross for Liverpool’s breakthrough goal from the right wing. Another nicely-weighted pass from the 23-year-old then featured in the build-up to Mane’s goal.
A more signature delivery - a delicious, booming, swinging cross - saw fellow full-back Andy Robertson convert from an offside position later on, but it is the variety of Alexander-Arnold's threat that sets him apart right now.
We can scrabble around for half-clues and hints over where the balance of power lies in the battle for the Premier League title and make ourselves look silly. The smart money remains on two formidable teams winning every game they have left to play this season.
8 - Across their three games at Anfield since the start of last week, Liverpool won by an aggregate score of 8-0, made 1,622 more passes than their opponents and had 93 more touches in the opposition box. Superiority. pic.twitter.com/Xntlxo0dIL
However, in terms of their midweek exertions, City’s efforts against Real Madrid were certainly more taxing. Pep Guardiola’s men put in more of a statement display - Liverpool 2-0 Villarreal won’t be featuring in many compilations of best ever Champions League games over the coming years - but Liverpool appeared to be enjoying a public training exercise at times after the interval at Anfield.
Henderson, Mane, Alexander-Arnold and Diaz were all able to be withdrawn to standing ovations. Liverpool’s forthcoming trip to Newcastle United and the following weekend’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur represent potentially their toughest remaining league fixtures. Leaving something in the tank when facing Villarreal could prove crucial.
Bloomington and Normal mayors Mboka Mwilambwe and Chris Koos joined state Sen. Dave Koehler to discuss inclusivity and equality during a town hall forum Tuesday night hosted by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups Prairie Pride Coalition and Equality Illinois.
Koehler, a Democrat from Peoria, is running for re-election in Illinois’s 46th District, which will include much of the Bloomington-Normal area beginning next year. Illinois state Reps. Dan Brady and Keith Sommer, as well state Sens. Jason Barickman and Sally Turner, were invited to the forum but did not attend.
The town hall opened by congratulating the Illinois General Assembly for passing two bills designed to enhance healthcare and quality of life for LGBTQ+ Illinoisans.
The first bill, HB4430, will allow pharmacists to prescribe, dispense and administer HIV prevention drugs without a prescription from a doctor.
According to the CDC, 65% of 2019 HIV diagnoses in the U.S. occurred as a result of male-to-male sexual contact, with Black and Latino people being disproportionately affected by the disease at rates of 42% and 29% of diagnoses respectively. In that same year, 1,252 people in Illinois were diagnosed with HIV.
The second bill, SB3490, will give representation to older LGBTQ+ people in the Illinois Council on Aging in order to “investigate, analyze, and study the health, housing, financial, psychosocial, home-and-community-based services, assisted living, and long-term care needs of LGBTQ older adults and their caregivers.”
A 2016 report by the Williams Institute estimated that there are 2.4 million LGBTQ+ Americans over the age of 50, and that number is expected to double by 2030. The report also found that older LGBTQ+ adults are more likely to be socially isolated and less likely to receive informal care because they are less likely to have children. LGBTQ+ elders are also relatively less financially stable than other Americans due to a lifetime of discrimination from employers, limiting opportunities to build savings.
Both of these bills will become law pending the signature of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Focus on accountability
When the forum opened up to public comment, the hot topic was accountability.
The first commenter suggested legislators give the laws “some teeth” after noting that some public schools are flaunting Illinois’s 2019 Inclusive Curriculum Law that mandates them to teach about contributions to state and U.S. history made by LGBTQ+ people.
“It’s pretty tough. You have to probably go through a court proceeding if you’re going to really force the issue,” Koehler said. “But remember that school board members are elected. I think you need to lobby them just like you’d lobby me or the mayor.”
Both mayors encouraged people to take matters into their own hands and run for school board positions if they were dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
The next commenter, McLean County Board member Beverly Bell, suggested there ought to be some sort of recompense for transgender people who experience mistreatment at the hands of law enforcement and other officials.
“It’s not just the public sector, it’s the private sector as well that you’re talking about,” Koehler said. “I don’t know how you enforce sensitivity, but there has to be better training and better guidelines that are put in place on that.”
“Our (police) department strives very hard to be very professional, but I won’t say we get it 100% right 100% of the time. We don’t,” Koos said. “But it’s important that we know what that issue is so we can address it head on.”
“Stop me in the mall, in the grocery store, and tell me what’s going on, because I’ve had a great, great experience in this community,” Mwilambwe said, “and my goal is to make sure that everybody has the same great experience.”
“Really what we need are watchdogs,” said Dave Bentlin, a Prairie Pride Coalition board member from Bloomington-Normal. “If you see things that are happening, let us know, let Equality Illinois know, so that we can follow up and help you find the answers, help you find accountability for people who are mistreating us in the community.”
Sgt. Kiel Nowers of the Bloomington Police Department’s Community Engagement Unit later stood from his seat in the audience to address the people next to him.
“There is a long history of lack of trust between the police and the LGBT community, and it’s well earned, unfortunately,” Nowers said. “We have a long way to go to earn your trust, but that’s kind of what our job is now.”
Bell dismissed these reassurances, revealing that during her tenure at the Normal Police Department that she suspected that she was banished to working the graveyard shift after she came out of the closet, but she said her attempts to escalate the issue “fell on deaf ears.”
The final commenter, a recent California transplant who identified as transgender, suggested that Bloomington and Normal work on projecting their images as inclusive communities, saying that they worried they might have to go back in the closet because they didn’t know what to expect upon arrival.
Members of each municipality’s human relations boards in the audience said that they had previously tried to push to get on the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Index, but their efforts had been forestalled. Mwilambwe and Koos gestured toward reopening those efforts. Of the nine Illinois cities currently indexed, Chicago ranks the highest at 100 of 100 possible points, while Carbondale ranks the lowest at 49.
“I think there’s a lot of value of going through that process, of going through the Equality Index process and finding out where we stand compared to other communities like Peoria and Springfield and Champaign-Urbana,” said Dave Bentlin. “I think it also pushes people to do better. Nobody wants to get a bad report card, you know? They want to work hard to show that this community can live up to the diversity that it promotes itself as embracing.”
WALLINGFORD — On the current episode of the “Citizen Mike Show,” host Mike Brodinsky and Jim Seichter, chair of the Wallingford Planning and Zoning Commission, review the commission’s decision on data centers.
The pair also explore ideas on affordable housing, multi-family housing, accessory dwelling units and downtown development.
Find “Citizen Mike” on YouTube on the Citizen Mike Wallingford channel or on Mike’s Facebook page. WPAA also broadcasts the show weeknights at 9 p.m. To request an emailed link to new shows, contact Mike Brodinsky at MBrodinskywlfd@aol.com.
The manufacturer of electric vehicles and solar panels, founded in 2003, is valued at more than $1 trillion on the stock market. The company managed to produce nearly a million vehicles in 2021 and expects to turn out 1.5 million in 2022, CEO Elon Musk said during the first quarter earnings call.
These figures make Tesla the world leader in the electric vehicle market. But behind the scenes, a debate has just been revived by Musk. It focuses on the founders behind the success story. On April 14, during a Ted Talk interview, the serial entrepreneur was asked the following question by interviewer Chris Anderson.
"If you could go back in time and change one decision you made along the way...any decision over the last few years, like your decision to invest in Twitter in the first place, anything?"
'Tesla Was a Shell Company'
"The worst business decision I ever made was not starting Tesla with just JB Straubel. By far the worst decision I've ever made is not just starting Tesla with JB. That's number one by far," the billionaire responded, referring to Tesla's longtime chief technology officer, who left the company in 2019.
"There's a lot of confusion," Musk continued. "Tesla was a shell company with no employees, no intellectual property when I invested, but a false narrative has been created by one of the other co-founders, Martin Eberhard. I don't want to get into the nastiness here, but I didn't invest in a company. We created a company. And ultimately, the company was done by JB and me. Unfortunately, there's someone else, another co-founder, who made it his life's mission to make it sound like he created the company, which is false."
As we can see, the question of who founded Tesla is a hot topic that torments Musk. , A few days later the richest man in the world was quick to continue the debate on Twitter, which he has just acquired.
On April 21, a Twitter user posted a message suggesting that Musk did not found Tesla but rather bought it.
"Elon Musk was not the founder of Tesla. He acquired it. Just reminding :)," the user wrote.
Another user then replied. Obviously, the latter is a Musk fan since he came to the tech tycoon's defense by making clear that without Musk, Tesla would have long ago disappeared.
"Semantics. He invested in a glorified kitset car manufacturer with unworkable tech. He fired the founder before the company died," this user said. "Then he changed the business model, raised significant money, forged new technology and created a wholly new industry. That is what founders do."
'Judgement of Solomon'
It was at this point that the mogul himself intervened to stress the argument his fan put forward.
"Not even close to that. It was a shell corp with no employees, no IP, no designs, no prototype, literally nothing but a biz plan to commercialize AC Propulsion’s Tzero car, which was introduced to me by JB Straubel, *not* Eberhard.
Even name “Tesla Motors” was owned by others!"
He continued:
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"If filing a shell corp constitutes “founding a company”, then I’d be the only founder of PayPal, since I filed the original incorporation docs for http://X.com (later renamed PayPal), but that’s not what founding means."
Faced with this heated debate, the billionaire made the point that he put in everything he had for Tesla, unlike his rivals, in particular Eberhard, Tesla's first CEO, who was forced to step down in November 2007.
"I put in all I had, whereas Eberhard, who was worth over $10M at the time, refused to invest a penny to help Tesla," Musk added. "If it was really his baby, he would never have stood by while it starved to death."
Musk accompanied this last message with the painting "Judgement of Solomon" from the French painter Nicolas Poussin. "Judgement of Solomon" illustrates a dramatic story of biblical inspiration, especially from the Old Testament (I Kings 3: 16-28).
Two women seek justice from King Solomon. They each have a child of the same age, but one died by accidental suffocation during his sleep. Each affirms that the living child is hers.
Solomon announced that the child should be cut in two, so that each mother should have half. The real mother, unable to bear her son being killed, immediately offered it to the other woman, to save the child's life, whereas the other agreed to the proposal. The false mother was thus exposed, and Solomon returned the living child to its real mother.
There is no doubt that Musk, who tweeted about "Judgement of Solomon" at almost 5 a.m., believes he is the real father of child Tesla.
Attempts to reach Eberhard were unsuccessful. According to his LinkedIn page, he retired in January from most of his professional activities.
"Enjoying Life," Eberhard wrote as his new "job." "Retired · Full-time."
Previously he'd remained active in the electric battery sector. Eberhard briefly led the development of electric vehicles for Volkswagen (VWAGY) - Get Volkswagen AG Report in the U.S. and was also part of the team behind Atieva, now Lucid Motors (LCID) - Get Lucid Group, Inc. Report, one of Tesla's fiercest rivals.
Litigation
Tesla was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who wanted to prove that people didn’t need to compromise to drive electric -- that electric vehicles could be better, quicker and more fun to drive than gasoline cars, the company said on its website without naming the "engineers."
While no one disputes what Musk did with Tesla, it must be recognized that the original founders of the automotive group are Martin Eberhard and his friend and business partner, Marc Tarpenning.
Legend has it that Eberhard's passion for sports cars led to the birth of Tesla. He is said to have asked AC Propulsion to manufacture a vehicle with lithium-ion cells instead of one with lead-acid batteries. He wanted an electric sports vehicle but there was none. This later led to the Tesla Roadster.
But Eberhard was fired by Tesla in November 2007 and replaced by Musk. When he left, the Model S sedan was in an early stage. The company now has four models -- the Model S sedan, Model 3 sedan, Model X SUV and Model Y SUV.
Eberhard filed a lawsuit against Tesla and Musk in May 2009, challenging the billionaire's right to call himself the founder of Tesla.
A settlement among the parties was reached in September 2009. According to the confidential settlement, Eberhard and Musk said that they co-founded Tesla with three other people -- J.B. Straubel, Marc Tarpenning and Ian Wright. All three have left the company.
I feel instinctively that a good children's book should be two things at once. Take something like Home, by Carson Ellis. On one level this is an imaginative exploration of the various ways that various people might live. People who might find a home in a shoe, say, or perched at the top of a mountain. But a good children's book should be two things at once, and the deeper, most satisfying aspect of Home involves tracking a number of items that pop up across the sweep of the book's individual pages - a tea cup, a flag - and then seeing them arranged in the final home we get to see, which happens to be Carson Ellis' home where she creates her art.
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole is two things in one. And that's hardly surprising, really, as it's the result of one of the most ideal partnerships in all of children's books - words by Mac Barnett, and pictures by Jon Klassen.
Real talk: I would like to be friends with both these people. Barnett is a writer of astonishing range and precision, a playful scamp in one book, while reaching more soulful depths in the next. He's a dandy, but a dandy who can play any tune, match any beat. Klassen, meanwhile - and apologies to Oli Welsh, who made this connection first - is Samuel Beckett. The writer, not the time traveler - but who knows? He's Samuel Beckett with a few more jokes. And much else besides. His watercolours - I think they're watercolours - have a glorious way of bringing out the thickness and density of the paper they're spread across: they capture that feeling when good paper gets damp and takes on a felty quality. Klassen is also very skilled when it comes to capturing starkness and surprise in the faces of his characters. He is the ideal illustrator for stories which involve the blunt limitations of language - the places where it stops short and fails everyone.
Newly revealed text messages between then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and congressional Republicans including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene cast a renewed spotlight Monday on communication between the Trump White House and allies determined to overturn the results of the 2020 election or stoke chaos in its aftermath.
The newly unearthed texts involving dozens of GOP members of Congress prompted calls for a panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol to reconsider issuing subpoenas or other punitive measures against lawmakers who were involved with peddling dubious legal theories that might have contributed to the deadly assault.
But it was unclear whether that would happen. Such a move would mark a change of course for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack by a pro-Trump mob, which until now has opted not to use such tactics against members of Congress.
“I think it will prompt a fresh look by the committee and by the world at what consequences these members should face, and that includes in Congress,” said Norm Eisen, who served as counsel for the House managers in then-President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. “That could include an effort to seek their testimony or have them appear at hearings. It could take the form of filing an ethics complaint and having hearings in that committee. Certainly censure or other forms of congressional discipline are a question. But this is not normal.”
Greene (R-Ga.) texted Meadows on Jan. 17, 2021, that some members of Congress were calling for Trump to impose martial law to remain in power, according to text messages Meadows recently provided to the committee.
News of the text messages, which was reported Monday by CNN, comes days after Greene testified in a separate case that she could not recall whether she had advocated for martial law at the time.
“In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law,” Greene texted Meadows, misspelling the word “martial.” “I don’t know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!”
The Washington Post has confirmed the exchanges involving Greene but has not independently verified other texts reported by CNN. Greene did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new communications, along with testimony included in a 248-page court filing released last week, deepen the public record of the interaction between Republican lawmakers and Trump’s White House as he and his allies pushed to overturn the results of the election.
Trump has repeatedly made false claims that the election was stolen, rhetoric that many Republican allies have echoed.
It’s unlikely that House and Senate Republican lawmakers who were loyal to Trump and his cause will voluntarily appear before the committee, as most GOP members have sought to discredit the committee’s work.
The committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack requested that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) appear before the panel earlier this year, but they have so far refused. Unlike the way it has handled other recalcitrant witnesses, the committee has not taken more aggressive measures against fellow members of Congress who refuse to comply with the requests.
The committee’s reluctance to subpoena GOP lawmakers stems from a variety of issues, including time constraints — a complex and lengthy legal fight could last beyond the November midterm elections — along with fears of retribution in the likely case that Republicans win back the House majority in November.
“We are as a committee discussing a lot of aspects of the investigation,” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace last week, dodging the question of whether she supports subpoenaing members of Congress who have been asked to appear before the committee but have refused to do so. The committee did not comment.
Meadows’s communications with more than 40 current and former Republican members of Congress reflect the extent to which false claims of voter fraud and conspiracy theories permeated the Republican Party in the aftermath of the election. In some instances, Meadows acknowledged receipt of messages voicing support for Trump and thanked the sender, according to CNN.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) was one of the first lawmakers to get in touch with Meadows soon after Election Day with a proposal to reverse Trump’s fortunes. On Nov. 6, 2020, according to CNN, he texted of a plan to “encourage the state legislatures to appoint a look doors in the various states where there’s been shenanigans,” with “look doors” possibly a typo for “electors.”
In another exchange obtained by CNN, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) texted a group thread that included Meadows and other members of Congress on Dec. 21, 2020, about whether to share his “formulation of our January 6 strategies” with the media.
“If you believe discussion is a positive, I suggest message should be: 1. Progress is being made. 2. More are joining our fight. 3. We can’t allow voter fraud & election theft occur if we are going to be a republic. Your choice. Let me know,” Brooks texted.
Biggs, Brooks, Meadows and Perry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On that same day, some members of Congress attended a meeting, according to a court filing released last week, where Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, advocated for preventing a joint session of Congress from convening and confirming Joe Biden’s victory by having Pence unilaterally reject electors from battleground states that voted for Biden.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a top White House aide to Meadows, named Jordan, Perry and Greene as among those members who were closely involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 election early in the process, according to a released excerpt of her testimony.
“Good morning Mark, I’m here in DC. We have to get organized for the 6th,” Greene texted Meadows on Dec. 31, 2020, according to the newly released communications. “I would like to meet with Rudy Giuliani again. We didn’t get to speak with him long. Also anyone who can help. We are getting a lot of members on board. And we need to lay out the best case for each state.”
Text messages between Perry and Meadows, according to the court filing, showed Perry lobbying Meadows to replace Justice Department leadership with Jeffrey Clark, an agency official receptive to Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
“Mark, just checking in as time continues to count down. 11 days to 1/6 and 25 days to inauguration,” Perry texted Meadows on Dec. 26, 2020. “We gotta get going!”
“Mark, you should call Jeff,” Perry texted that same day. “I just got off the phone with him and he explained to me why the principal deputy won’t work especially with the FBI. They will view it as as [sic] not having the authority to enforce what needs to be done.”
“I got it,” Meadows replied. “I think I understand. Let me work on the deputy position.”
When Perry followed up two days later to see if Meadows contacted Clark, Meadows did not appear to respond.
Eisen said the texts speak volumes: “It’s clear that the Mo Brooks and Scott Perrys of the world went far beyond the normal cooperation that one expects between a president and members of his party in Congress and really approaches the verge of serious liability, whether civil or even criminal.”
Hutchinson also told investigators that members of Congress were present during meetings in December 2020 when Trump’s White House counsel expressed the opinion that the plan to have alternate electors meet and cast votes for Trump in states he had lost was not a legally sound one.
Meadows’s communications with Greene on the day of the Capitol attack have also come under scrutiny by the Jan. 6 panel. According to the newly released texts, Greene that day quickly pivoted from urging the White House to call off the rioters to making baseless claims that left-wing extremists were responsible for the violence.
“Mark I was just told there is an active shooter on the first floor of the Capitol Please tell the President to calm people This isn’t the way to solve anything,” Greene reportedly texted Meadows at 2:28 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.
Less than an hour and a half later, at 3:52 p.m., Greene texted Meadows again: “Mark we don’t think these attackers are our people. We think they are Antifa. Dressed like Trump supporters.”
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray testified last March that no evidence had emerged that “anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa” had been involved in the attack on the Capitol.
Matthew Brown contributed to this report.
On April 22, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) testified in a case seeking to disqualify her from running for reelection for her role on Jan. 6. (Video: The Washington Post)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in January 2021 that some members of Congress were calling for Donald Trump to impose martial law to remain president, according to text messages Meadows recently provided to the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
News of the text messages, which was first reported Monday by CNN, comes days after Greene testified in a separate case that she could not recall whether she had advocated for martial law at the time.
According to CNN, Greene raised the topic in a text to Meadows on Jan. 17, 2021, more than a week after the insurrection and days before Joe Biden’s inauguration as president.
“In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law,” Greene texted Meadows, misspelling the word “martial.” “I don’t know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!”
Greene’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
In an earlier text message, Greene also sought help from Meadows as she and other Republican members of Congress prepared to object to the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021. She alluded to having met previously with Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump’s personal attorney at the time.
“Good morning Mark, I’m here in DC. We have to get organized for the 6th,” Greene said in a Dec. 31, 2020, text message, according to CNN. “I would like to meet with Rudy Giuliani again. We didn’t get to speak with him long. Also anyone who can help. We are getting a lot of members on board. And we need to lay out the best case for each state.”
Last week, while testifying about her alleged role in the Jan. 6 attack as part of a case seeking to disqualify her from seeking reelection, Greene said she could not remember whether she urged Trump to impose martial law.
“I don’t recall,” Greene said in response to questioning by an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case.
“So you’re not denying you did it?” Andrew G. Celli Jr. “You just don’t remember?”
“I don’t remember,” Greene replied.
The exchange marked one of dozens of times during Friday’s hearing that Greene said she could not recall her tweets or statements related to the Capitol attack. Greene’s appearance in an Atlanta courtroom was one of the first times a member of Congress has been questioned under oath about the attack.
The case against Greene was brought by Free Speech for People, a campaign-finance reform organization, on behalf of a group of voters from her district. The Free Speech group alleges that Greene, who has become a lightning rod for controversy and has gained a reputation as one of the Republican Party’s most hard-right members, helped facilitate the ransacking of the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of Biden’s win.
Jacqueline Alemany and Matt Brown contributed to this report.
Horizon Forbidden West – would it make a good movie? (pic: Sony)
Following the success of Sonic 2, readers suggest more video games that should be turned into movies, from Metroid to Metal Gear.
The subject for this week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Snake, who asked what new adaptations you hope and expect to see in the future. Do you have any faith they’ll be better than normal for video game movies and do you have a cast or director in mind?
There were plenty of sensible decisions but Horizon Forbidden West was the most common recent title and one that, thanks to Sony, may actually happen.
New Horizons
I’m not a great fan of the video game movie concept but thinking about this question, one series did jump out as one that would actually benefit from the transition, and that’s Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West. As many have pointed out the background lore is really good, but the actual story and characters are boring as hell. A movie, you would hope, could improve on these elements and then something would actually be gained from the adaptation.
Obviously, giant robot dinosaurs are a selling point whatever you do, so it seems to me that Sony could be on to a bit of a winner. So why do I still get the feeling it would miss the point and get it all wrong, like the recent Uncharted movie?
I do believe Sony has already talked about making a Horizon movie, and Uncharted’s success makes it much more likely they’ll go through with it, but please, just recognise what the game does well and what it does badly and match the film accordingly. Trying to recreate the game exactly as it is is pointless – the film has to do something better, or show something new, that the games never did. Bonzo
Original creator
I wish they’d gone through with the Monkey Island movie idea that was floating around in the 90s, starring Alex Winter out of Bill & Ted, but ever since Pirates of the Caribbean that’s been a no-go, since Disney doesn’t want two pirate franchises.
If I can’t have that though then Metal Gear seems the obvious choice, which is probably why there’s been rumours of it being made for decades. Who knows whether it’ll ever happen but haters and fans both have always been aware that the games are half movie anyway so going the whole hog should be a relatively easy transition.
The problem is that making it without Kojima seems like sacrilege, but I don’t see how he becomes involved while there’s still bad blood with Konami. Kirken
Silent movie
I think a Metroid movie could work well. It would have to be a very atmospheric sci-fi/horror, with very scant use of dialogue. Sort of like the final acts of the first couple of Alien movies, although it’d be tough not to come across as derivative of those classics. The Samus actress would need to react non-verbally to a lot of what’s happening, so casting an actress with a very expressive face and eyes is paramount.
I know Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson has been lobbying for the part if a Metroid movie ever appears, but I don’t think she’s right for the movie I envision. They really would need to nail that sense of isolation and hostility that a good Metroid game has. I’m also interested to see how the Bioshock film and The Last Of Us TV show turn out. ANON
Video game inception
I’d love to see a movie version of To The Moon. It seems to be tailor-made for being a movie in fact, with the game itself being mainly a vehicle for a magnificent story, and the more ‘video gamey’ elements, i.e. some annoying tile-flipping puzzles, mostly getting in the way.
The game itself centres on a really cool, but also quite disturbing, idea: a pair of scientists trying to implant a memory into a dying man’s (Johnny) mind so that he can die happy, but needing to know precisely why he wants that memory (Johnny himself isn’t entirely sure) in order for that to be possible. They therefore need to go deeper and deeper into Johnny’s memories of his own past to find this out, finding out more and more about him and his key relationships, and making some dubious ethical choices to achieve their goal along the way.
There’s a lot to be explored there in terms of how perception of memory can affect personality and sense of self, along with the moral dilemmas faced by the scientists, and it’d be great to see this given the big screen treatment. In terms of a director, Christopher Nolan has exceptional form with this kind of thing (Memento/Inception) so he’d be my choice. No strong feelings about a cast, but the music would have to be by Kan Gao, with Everything’s Alright by Laura Shigihara as the centrepiece. The soundtrack in the game is one of my favourites and is key to the experience.
Speaking of Inception, a prequel of that as a game would be incredible: infiltrating people’s subconscious to extract/implant information has huge gameplay potential. Similar to Psychonauts I suppose; Inbox magic, make it so! Julian
Luke Goss writes…
Bro, I’d like to smart video game movie adaptions. Based on the success of Sonic, they should make video game movies that resonate with the audiences with the power of nostalgia. Lots of people who grew up with and love Sonic would take their kids to see the movie. It’s an easy money making movie choice. Ratchet & Clank never had that strong attachment or legacy to be a success bro, but Sonic has that over decades.
Uncharted being a relative success, bro, could be attributed to the casting of Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. Tom Holland moreso being in the very successful recent Spider-Man movie.
I’d like to see video game movie adaptions of Portal, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow Of The Colossus, and Kingdom Hearts.
Portal could make for an interesting mind-bending movie where the story is about the main character having to escape some sort of hell/prison, bro.
I believe Horizon Zero Dawn has huge lore to be a potential big time movie franchise. It can make an interesting world with the robot animals/dinosaurs creating a threat similar to a Jurassic Park movie.
Shadow Of The Colossus would be a vast open world where the hero takes on the giants. It’ll be a hard sell but could make for a triumphant tragic story, bro.
Kingdom Hearts kind of writes itself. I can imagine with the cast of Disney owned character crossovers, this would be a draw like Ready Player One.
Bro, would it be cheating to say Injustice: Gods Among Us could make a good movie?
The trick is to make the first film a bit general/casual to be a success, but then make the sequel have more elements of the video game, which by then people will hopefully be attached to – pleasing both casual and long-term fans.
The one hope to be the greatest is Metal Gear Solid, as that is my favourite franchise ever, bro. Matt Riddle
GC: This is getting very tiring, bro.
Legendary animation
First off, the best video game movie is Ace Attorney, no question. As for the one that would make the best adaptation I honestly think Zelda would be a pretty good choice. Zelda games only have a bare minimum of story, and very little characterisation, so that gives the movie makers plenty of freedom, while the very distinctive style and traditions of the games means there’s lots of details to get right for the fans and ensure it doesn’t feel like a random fantasy adventure.
As with most of these movies I do feel it would work better as a CGI animated film but they never seem to go for that, for some reason. Tomb Raider would certainly have been better that way, I feel. Scones
Uncritical opinion
I have a very rose-tinted glasses view of the 90s Super Mario Bros. with Bob Hoskins and co., and despite it being plain unrepresentative of the actual games I enjoyed. I was still a kid though! Street Fighter I found half good and half bad. I coped with the cheesiness for the main part of it, even though Blanka and M. Bison were my least favourite. Bison was strangely cast and Blanka’s story was just so very cringy and pointless!
Mortal Kombat was a pretty good one and Alone in the Dark was awful. But I found Silent Hill with Sean Bean very enjoyable and all the Resident Evil movies with Milla Jovovich succeeded, in my own eyes, by creating its own narratives and storylines.
I am sure Sonic and Detective Pikachu are fine, and possibly better movie adaptations. I have not seen Uncharted yet and being a fan of the game series I’ll check it out. Hey, I enjoyed all the Tomb Raider movies, from Angelina Jolie to Alicia Vikander, which manages again, in my own eyes, to be what the spirit of Tomb Raider was supposed to be.
I am not too worried about the future of video game adaptations and will watch them if I feel the need to. I am not an overly critical person and will take something for what it is.
The CGI Final Fantasy film that came out I enjoyed and would love to see more of, as the story was as far out as the games were and the characters I could feel for. If game to film adaptions could find that secret formula then the entertainment industry might be on to something. But for now, I’ll remain open minded and judge them according to their merits. Not taking it too seriously is a good way of starting. Alucard
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Snake, who asks what video game movie would you like to see in the future?
Inspired by the success of the second Sonic The Hedgehog movie, what new adaptations do you hope and expect to see in the future? Do you have any faith they’ll be better than normal for video game movies? Why do you think your idea would work and do you have a cast or director in mind?
Do you think Sonic 2 will end up inspiring a new wave of video game movies and how do you think announced, but not yet seen, films like the new Super Mario and Metal Gear will turn out?
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
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