The Underdog

by Will · May 5, 2009

Will

Will writes from Washington, D.C. (well, Arlington, Virginia). You can reach him at willblogcorrespondence at gmail dot com.

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Mike
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May 5, 2009 at 12:57 pm
interesting article, with nice examples. But isn’t Gladwell’s basic point lifted straight from Nietzsche? (David:Goliath :: master morality : slave morality)
Also, youtube embed is brokenReport
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Will
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Ignored
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May 5, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Mike –
Thanks for the heads-up. That’s an interesting point, though I think Gladwell’s larger argument is purely descriptive: underdog tactics are effective but rarely used because they’re so much more difficult to implement.Report
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Mike
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May 5, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Yeah, you’re right… it might not be his overarching argument, but I was struck by the section what ends with “It isn’t surprising that the tournament directors found Eurisko’s strategies beyond the pale. It’s wrong to sink your own ships, they believed. And they were right. But let’s remember who made that rule: Goliath. And let’s remember why Goliath made that rule: when the world has to play on Goliath’s terms, Goliath wins.” I was totally on board with Gladwell until then.Report
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Ten Second News

Boris Johnson set to win a clear majority in U.K. election, exit poll suggests

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Boris Johnson set to win a clear majority in U.K. election, exit poll suggests

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[caption id="attachment_323482" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Photo via Financial Times via Wikimedia Commons[/caption]

From NBC:

LONDON — Boris Johnson looked set Thursday to stay on as prime minister and win a huge majority in the British Parliament, according to an exit poll published as voting closed in what has been called the most important election in a generation.
A Conservative victory would mean that the United Kingdom is all but certain to finally leave the European Union on Jan. 31, more than three and a half years after the Brexit referendum in 2016. A divided and deadlocked Parliament had previously blocked Johnson’s withdrawal deal multiple times, prompting this election.

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Greta Thunberg named Time’s Person of the Year 2019.

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Greta Thunberg named Time’s Person of the Year 2019.

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Time has announced Greta Thunberg as their 2019 Person of the Year.

.@GretaThunberg is TIME's 2019 Person of the Year #TIMEPOY https://t.co/YZ7U6Up76v pic.twitter.com/SWALBfeGl6
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2019

(Featured image is Time Magazines cover announcing Greta Thunberg)

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DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’s Report on 2016 FBI Released

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DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’s Report on 2016 FBI Released

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[caption id="attachment_323385" align="aligncenter" width="748"] IG Michael Horowitz testifies before congress on Clinton email investigation[/caption]

Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s review of the FBI’s handling of its investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016 is out, and folks are pouring over the 476 pages.

Politico:

A much-anticipated review of how the FBI came to investigate the Trump campaign's possible links to Russia has validated the agency’s decision to open its probe.
The report, compiled by the Justice Department’s inspector general, stresses that political bias did not influence the bureau’s actions, as President Donald Trump and his allies have frequently alleged.
But the document is also littered with criticisms of FBI officials and how they vetted some information, such as a dossier of salacious allegations compiled by an ex-British spy.
Key takeaways from the report
The FBI did not use the Steele dossier to open Russia probe
Lynch, Comey sat for IG interviews
No evidence political bias was a factor

The full redacted public report can be read here:

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Day Ending in “Y” Impeachment Update

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Day Ending in “Y” Impeachment Update

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[caption id="attachment_322423" align="aligncenter" width="709"] Creator: Trikosko, Marion S., photographer; Related Name: O'Halloran, Thomas J. , photographer [Public domain][/caption]

You can watch the hearings live here, and discuss/debate with the Ordinary Times Commentareum throughout:

The House Judiciary Committee is hearing presentations from congressional investigators about the impeachment inquiry into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine, as Democrats prepare to draft articles of impeachment.
Monday's hearing includes testimony from Democratic and Republican attorneys from the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. The House Intelligence Committee submitted its report last week on its investigation into Mr. Trump's efforts to get Ukraine to open investigations into the 2016 election and a company linked to the Bidens.
Those events are at the center of the Democratic case against the president, which the attorneys are laying out on Monday. Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed the committee chairs to pursue articles of impeachment, with a vote expected before the Christmas holiday.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said on Sunday that the committee will "presumably" introduce articles of impeachment this week.

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UPS Truck Hijacked. Hijackers Shot, Killed. UPS Truck Driver Shot, Killed. Bystander Shot, Killed. Passive Voice Used.

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UPS Truck Hijacked. Hijackers Shot, Killed. UPS Truck Driver Shot, Killed. Bystander Shot, Killed. Passive Voice Used.

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From CNN:

The UPS hijacking ended in a hail of bullets in rush-hour traffic. Police now face questions about their response

In the end, four people were shot dead at the intersection in Miramar, authorities said, including two robbery suspects, a bystander, and hostage UPS driver Frank Ordonez -- a man who relatives say had been substituting for a colleague who had called out from work that day.
The slain robbers and hijackers were Lamar Alexander, 41, and Ronnie Jerome Hill, 41, both of Miami-Dade County, the FBI said. Authorities haven't released the name of the bystander who was killed.
Numerous questions about the chase and its finale remain, including who shot Ordonez and the bystander.

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