The Case of the "Clippers" and Manchester City

There is so much fog surrounding the English Premier League's case against City that one would think we were still in the Court of Chancery days. Only the broadest generalities can be sketched. But there are internal emails and documents common to both cases, and a failure to cooperate with the investigation in both cases, which convince me, a City fan of over twenty years that my beloved City are guilty of substantial, deliberate circumvention of Financial Fair Play, the near equivalent of the NBA's salary cap conventions. There are significant, specific differences, for example the offset rules in the EPL for community investment, the allegedly inflated endorsement agreement with Etihad Airways which has stood the test of time. However, I see, albeit with my 20/400 vision through the London fog, guilt by City, specifically on failure to cooperate, a serious offense on both sides of the Atlantic and across the two different sports. And I see the credibility of the EPL at stake even more so than the NBA's credibility was at stake in the Kawhi Leonard fraud. 

I believe, I hope, and I expect in the name of "fair play" and the integrity of the Premier League, even though potentially devastating to my beloved City, that the rules are enforced equitably on this richest of league owners and the team which I love so dearly, and that the punishment fits the crime(s), plural. I expect the punishment to be severe and historic, as was the NBA's of the Los Angeles "Clippers". The harm to my City may likely, and perhaps deservedly, be apocalyptic, a severe deduction of points amounting to relegation, vacating of titles won, perhaps expulsion form the Premier League and the Football Association. 

Manchester City is forever for me and wherever they end up I will never give up my loyalty to them. Sheikh Mansour is the greatest owner of any club in any sport in sports history. But I am pretty well convinced that our trophy cabinet constitutes in some significant measure ill-gotten gains.

The NBA has set down a marker for the EPL. I want justice done. I want City to remain an EPL power and for the EPL to remain a credible, respected fixture on the short-pants worldscape. Those may be incommensurate desiderata. Very well. I accept whatever outcome.

City Forever!

This was NATIONAL news yesterday (I missed it until today)

 

NBA suspends Clippers owner Ballmer, fines team $30M, Kawhi Leonard $700K in cap circumvention case

That's from NPR. It's a fucking big deal. The Association has never punished a franchise like this before. And they did it to Steve Fucking Ballmer. Adam Silver's first major decision was to ban former "Clippers" owner Donald Sterling ne Tokowitz, for LIFE. Adam's term as commish still has three or four years to go, but the decision yesterday is an appropriate bookend to the latter part of his tenure.

 

The Storm Before the Calm

Eleven is in a coma-like deep sleep. Hasn't uttered a meow. The heat wears her out, too.

ELEVEN'S HEAT ENDED!

 

"Clippers" Investigation Findings

https://www.wlrk.com/docs/Report_of_Independent_Investigators_Concerning_the_LA_Clippers_and_Kawhi_Leonard.pdf

"Clippers" response: 

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/clippers-response-nba-ruling-vehemently-212459689.html

Ew Esse Em Elle Ee Today

"You knew this one, right?" Dr. Ana said as we reviewed the question.

All of the signs were there: 5-year old boy, family moved into different house, bad constipation, abdominal pain, developmental delay. What's the first thing the doc should do?

You have to read fast and I read "Blood lead" test as blood "leed" (long "e"), like there are medical leads that monitor all kinds of body processes. "No, this boy is severely constipated, the first thing is to get the stool out of him." So I chose some analrectal or rectalanal something. 

Lead (short "e") poisoning.

English. Love the language, but. But there are homonyms and heteronyms and all kind of nyms and I got hung on a nym. Bitter nettles.

Public Occurrences September 3, 2026

@LegionHoops

Legion Hoops

@LegionHoops

The total cost of Kawhi Leonard signing with the Clippers:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Jalen Williams

10 first-round picks

2 first-round pick swaps

PABLO TORRE FOUND OUT: NBA HAMMERS LA "CLIPPERS", TAKES FIVE 1ST ROUND DRAFT PICKS, BANS OWNER STEVE BALLMER ONE YEAR FOR KAWHI LEONARD SALARY CAP VIOLATIONS




9:00 am

Gloria Steinem, Feminist Icon, Dead at 92

Eleven on Moby Dick

 

Just venting. I know what to do if I want to.

This has been a trying heat by Eleven. My nerves are a bit frayed. Ana noticed that I was out of sorts yesterday when we studied USMLE at FIU. The howling and neediness, the jumping and sitting on my shoulders--I have to wear a special Eleven-proof shirt to guard against her claws--her body temperature is warmer than mine and I get hot with her on me, the ambush ejaculations at any time, any place, on anything or on me. I can't study with Ana, I can't read a book, I can't read on the computer, I can't eat unless I shut Eleven in a room I'm not.

My patience is short of this week.

Eleven came on Ana's computer screen that I have at home this morning. She did again in the afternoon. I put a plastic garbage bag over the screen and she ejaculated on that, the largest volume I have ever seen.

She came on my shirt while studying Monday. I can't sleep with the bedroom door open and she free to come (and cum) and go. I have to shut her in the living room.

This can seem humorous and most other heat's have been, but this one has gotten to me.

Just venting as I said. It will be over Friday.

Public Occurrences September 2, 2026

U.S. Military Targets Civilians

Iran fires on its Gulf neighbors, retaliating for US strikes after a wedding was hit


Yeah, Never Targets Civilians, you can keep up that false image of yourself but you hit a school like the first day, and you to this day have not acknowledged, now you hit a wedding. No, you target civilians. Your new, correct name is Targets Civilians

8:37 am:

U.S. Anti-Marriage Missile Strikes Home Wedding, Kills Only Five (only two kids, 4 and 16), Wounds 68+; Glorious U.S. Military: "never target civilians"

USMLE TODAY

A banner day of results for all concerned! For the first, maybe the second, time the field of med. brainiacs exceeded the target 65% score with 67%. Dr. Ana had a fine day, 55% and I hit my high on second pass with 45%.

I wish to choke USMLE pretty hard, maybe just a healthy slap on the face, for one question. I don't know if I got it right yet as we are going over the answers now. I immediately diagnosed the 14-year old girl as obsessive-compulsive but the answer choices included OCD and "obsessive compulsive personality disorder". I chose OCD and Ew Esse Em Elle Ee can eat my teets for parsing so finely.🖕

Eleven on Bleak House

 She knows I'm reading it--and wants me to stop! When I'm reading the computer, she walks on the keyboard to cause the screen to go hooey.

 

Trump's Call IN WWOR-TV Live September 11, 2001

😂

Sound on. I audio-recorded this audio of Eleven heat meowing from 35 feet away!

I sent it to my computer and played it for her and audio-visual recorded her reaction:

Public Occurrences September 1, 2026

            A Black September Begins

Ratcliffe Failed: Russian Drone Attack on Leipzig Airport

U.S., Iran Trade Strikes for Second Day in Three

XIII M Publocc

Do you have any words? I am mute.

Trump Will Not Attend 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks Because He Can't Make Speech, Has Golf Date Sept. 12 in Ireland, Security Concerns

President Trump originally intended to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 with remarks at ground zero, but the memorial’s organizers do not allow speeches. Mr. Trump changed his plans.

The president’s interest in speaking on Sept. 11 was conveyed to memorial planners in recent weeks, three of the people with knowledge of the events said. But since 2012, politicians have been barred from speaking at the site. 

At the Pentagon, Mr. Trump will be allowed to speak...

There are other considerations that led to Mr. Trump honoring the day in Washington, including that he will depart the next day for his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland...

...he has faced an uptick in threats since he began a war against Iran on Feb. 28.

Mr. Trump’s advisers have discussed possibly taking federal control of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, including as recently as last year. 

Mr. Trump, a native New Yorker who talked often about the Sept. 11 attacks during his 2016 presidential campaign

Mr. Trump, who was in New York on the day of the attacks, spoke to a New Jersey television station in the aftermath, saying that a building he owned had gained in stature because the twin towers had fallen. That building, 40 Wall Street, “actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually — before the World Trade Center — was the tallest.”

He went on, “And then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second-tallest. And now it’s the tallest.” (The statement was not correct; 70 Pine Street, nearby, was taller than Mr. Trump’s building.)

Haberman et al nytimes

 When I was on Twitter, this man was my hero.

Public Occurrences August 31, 2026

There are 950+ dead in Nepal with an astounding 4,400 missing. The flood hit on August 26, five days ago. Miracles happen, but after five days...You can do the sickening math. 

8:45 am:

Over 900 Now Dead in Flooding in Nepal, Thousands Still Missing

So far, President Donald Trump has not followed through on threats of an “economic D-Day” for Iran...

 American officials have asked allies to join their “Operation Economic Outcast” initiative...

AP

 I had three micro-bursts of sleep, with dreams and everything, after day-break and I feel great.

I think that Eleven thinks that I stand at the toilet with purpose for her to jump on my shoulders and then onto the shower stall railing. I don't know where my pants being down fits into the invitation that she thinks I am extending.

Trump is serious...

Ia...about bankrupting Canadian industry in order to get the country's oil, natural gas, and timber resources.

He only thinks of the bottom line, in that term's original sense only, dollars and cents. And to him there is no such thing as mutually beneficial transactions. The are zero-sum to him. One dollar that the other guy, or nation makes, is one dollar less for him and his nation. Trump's foreign adventures will here by judged only on his terms.

Ib. Trump was serious about decapitating Venezuela to get its abundant oil reserves.

Ic. Trump is serious about taking Greenland by force, in order to get its critical minerals, rare earth metals, and energy resources. He has the attention span of a gnat but that does not detract from his seriosness.

Id.  Trump's Iran war aims have devolved to one: keeping the Strait of Hormuz ("a New American Territory") open to keep the oil flowing. 

IIa. Trump will fail with Canada but will do catastrophic damage to Canada if his Jan. 1, 2027 50% tariffs on Canadian steel take effect.

IIb. Trump succeeded in decapitating the Maduro regime in Venezuela and has signed some sort of agreement with lap dog Delcy Rodriguez. 

IIc. On paper Trump could take Greenland relatively easily. It is a sparsely populated territory of Denmark. Neither Greenlanders nor Danes have the ability to withstand a tenth of the onslaught the U.S. could unleash. But Denmark, and by extension Greenland, is a NATO ally. A military effort by Trump would be unprecedented and would unravel all of Europe and Eurasia.

IId. Trump will get the Strait of Hormuz opened--in time. Trump has got twenty-eight months' time. I bet that is time enough.

IIIa. Trump has hurt American consumers with his tariffs generally. He has hurt them in miniscule degree with his tariffs on, and reciprocals by, Canada (Canada's latest go into effect Sept. 8). He will hurt American consumers more if the Jan. 1 tariffs go into effect. 

IIIb. U.S. consumers will not see the benefits, if they acceue, from Trump's taking of Venezuela's oil for years, beyond Trump's term in office.

IIIc. The U.S. would benefit greatly, in economics and power projection only, by taking Greenland. But NATO...

IIId. Trump has hurt American consumers with his Iran "excursion", now at six months plus. Opening the Strait, and keeping it open, will (I believe he will) take American consumers only back to the status quo antebellum.

IV. All of Trump's adventures, excursions, ambitions and consequence thereof will be undone by events foreseeable but unforeseen by him, and by the next American administration, Republican, or more likely Democratic. If he lives that long, he will leave public life as a failed, dissipated 82-year old still defiantly shouting that he "WON!" and watching enraged as his monuments to himself are dismantled. He is the greatest failure of all presidents and proof of the failure of Democracy in America.

Public Occurrences August 30, 2026

First Shooting Since July: U.S. Kills Several IRGC Preparing to Lay Mines in Strait; IRGC Fires at Jordan in Response

This cat's gonna sprout feathers she eats so much chicken

 

Those were some of the reactions last night to the Israeli attacks on NBC journalists. I agree/or am sympathetic with all of them. Sixty percent of American adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel; 30% believe that Israel has committed genocide; Israel has nuclear weapons; $3.8B of U.S. taxpayer money goes, and has gone, to Israel every single year; For ten years Trump repeatedly has called on U.S. NATO allies, with whom we have a mutual defense treaty, to pay more for collective security; Israel Firsters in Congress, with Netanyahoo approval, have now included continued Israeli aid in the U.S. defense budget, rather than have it be specifically approved each year: this is a double standard; "Everyone hates Israel now, everyone hates you", "Israeli wouldn't exist if it wasn't for me" Trump has said in rare statements of truth about Israel and Netanyahoo; Trump has made the U.S. principal to all of his war partner's war crimes. 

"American Zionist" Israel Firster Alan Dershowitz told fellow Israel Firsters in New York "Our enemy now is Canada" (for pledging to arrest 'Witz' hero Benjamin Netanyahoo on his ICJ war crimes warrant should said Netanyahoo ever set foot agayne in the True North). 'Witz told Canadian daily National Post that he is “in favour of Trump putting tariffs on Canada for its statements regarding Israel and Netanyahu, and even sanctions perhaps.”

Netanyahoo has made New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani his enemy, graphically the most prominent of four international enemies, one of whom is the leader of a NATO allied nation.

The case for Israel as an "enemy" of the United States is by powers of ten stronger than that for Canada as an enemy. Yet, Trump has tariffed Canada 50% with an additional 50% due on January 1, 2027 and has repeatedly declared the U.S.-Canadian border "artificial", has repeatedly referred to Canada as "the 51st state", to Canadian Prime Ministers as "governors", and issued existential threat directly to current Prime Minister Mark Carney that "Canada only lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark."; and has renamed Lake Ontario "Lake America". By contrast, Trump's tariffs on Israel are a much lower 27%, he has never said that Israel's borders are "artificial" (when they are), and has never threatened Israel's existence.

Officially, China is a "strategic competitor", not an enemy, of the U.S. Russia is classified as a "major strategic adversary", not an enemy. "Enemy" apparently is a term reserved for a war-time adversary. Israel is not a "strategic" anything to the U.S. It exists, as Trump said, on sufferance of America. Israel is not an "enemy" of the U.S., but neither is 'Witz' Canada--by orders of magnitude. These are all double standards of the highest degree. 

This Israel is not in America's national interest; This Israel is not in America's national security interest. This Israel is counter to America's national interests and to American national security. America should disengage from Israel; should end all economic and military aid to Israel; should economically strangle Israeli citizens until they change leaders; America should never, EVER, permit Israel to be destroyed as a homeland for the Jewish people. Only in an existential threat should the United States come to Israel's defense.

Public Occurrences August 29, 2026

The Israel Poison

Palestinian woman and NBC News team attacked by masked Israeli settlers in West Bank

The woman and crew were treated for injuries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he condemned the violence committed “by a handful of rioters.”

NBC

4:22 pm:

Trump's evolving endgame for the Iran war, in 6 quotes

March 2:

"Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities ... and their capacity to produce brand new ones. .... Second, we're annihilating their navy. ... Third, we're ensuring that the world's No. 1 sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon. .... And finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.

April 7:

"We have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran." 

June 17;

"We reached an agreement with Iran that achieves everything we set out to accomplish. Everything and much more." 

July 8:

"I don't want to deal with them anymore. ... As far as I'm concerned, it's over." 

July 24:

"There's a military exit where we just keep going just the way we are ... or there's a smarter strategy and that's you make a deal."

Aug 19:

"I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale." 

The bottom line: Trump's four- to five-week war has become a half-year conflict whose path to an end keeps changing.

Axios

Russian strike near Kyiv kills 37, in one of the year's deadliest attacks

npr headline

11:58 am:

Trump Seizes Control of Venezuelan Oil for Toilet Nation

Flagellation