Russell Brand speaks to UK MPs on drug addiction

Comedian and actor Russell Brand told the British government on Tuesday that it needs to adopt a pragmatic approach to address the social issues that lead young people to take drugs.

Dressed in a flamboyant ensemble of black, Brand struck a contrast against the formally attired politicians with his long coat, vest, hat and leather wristbands.

Brand, a former heroin addict who has been arrested 12 times, appeared before politicians to give his views on the government's drug policies and his battle with drug addiction. unsecured loans

The comedian answered questions from the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee on his experiences and stressed the importance addressing addiction as an illness rather than a criminal or judicial matter.

"It's more important that we regard people's suffering from addiction with compassion, and that there is a pragmatic rather than symbolic approach to treating it," he said.

The committee is looking at the government's drug policy, existing sanctions and the case for decriminalizing some substances.

"The status of a drug is irrelevant to a drug addict. If you're a drug addict, you're getting drugs. That's it. So in way, it's probably best to make it simple," bad credit loans he said.

Brand told the committee he became addicted to drugs because of emotional and psychological difficulties as well as spiritual malady.

"I was sad, lonely, unhappy, detached and drugs and alcohol for me seemed like a solution to that problem," he said.

Brand called for more awareness and research into abstinence-based recovery, which he underwent to treat his addiction at rehabilitation charity Focus12, of which he is a patron.

"If you have the illness or disease of addiction or alcoholism, the best way to tackle it is not use drugs in any form whether it's state-sponsored opus like methadone or illegal street drugs," Brand said.

"There is some confusion and ignorance around addiction and it's quite understandable because a lot of drug addicts...are a strain on society, they necessarily engage in criminal activity, they're a public nuisance in many ways.

"It wasn't until I had access to abstinence-based recovery that I was able to change my behavior and significantly reduce, all but obliterate my criminal activity, apart from the occasional skirmish," he joked lightly.

The comedian has written about his struggle with drug addiction in his autobiography "My Booky Wook" in 2007 and wrote a touching obituary about singer Amy Winehouse when she died last year after battling alcohol and drug abuse for years.

"We need to review the way society treats addicts, not as criminals but as sick people in need of care," Brand wrote on his website.

"We need to look at the way our government funds rehabilitation. It is cheaper to rehabilitate an addict than to send them to prison, so criminalization doesn't even make economic sense."

Gideon Sundback zipper

Gideon Sundback invented the zip, a product that has been holding together much of the parts of our lives for about a century now. And Google has paid a tribute to the man with a an unzippable doodle on this 132nd birthday.
Google Gideon Sundback's 132nd birthday doodle gives the appearance of a jacket front that has the Google logo embroidered on it and a zip runs through the middle of the Google logo, separating the second 'o'. To get to know what the doodle is all about users can either click on the logo or better, unzip to reveal what lies within.
We all use zips, but few may have pondered about how they actually work. Sundback's design, that he finalised in 1913, had a zipper with interlocking oval scoops (earlier designs made use of hooks) that could be easily interlocked by moving a slider. The patent application for the new invention was filed in 1914 and issued in 1917.

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Excerpts from Gideon Sundback's patent for the 'separable fastener' detailing how his invention actually works:
This invention relates to separable fasteners, and has particular reference to that type of fastener for garments and other purposes, where two flexible stringers are locked and unlocked by a sliding cam device mounted on both members, the locking being effected by an movement in one direction and unlocking by an opposite movement.
The objects of the present invention are to decrease the weight and bulk, to increase the flexibility and security of locking, and to provide one form of locking member for both stringers, so constructed and arranged that when properly positioned unsecured loans relatively to each other on the stringers they lock and unlock upon proper movement of the cam sliding device.
A further object of the invention is to simplify the cam sliding device, which is possible owing to the reduction of locking members to one form for both stringers, instead of the different forms heretofore employed on the respective stringers.
According to the present invention, the stringers are alike, as in some prior types of this fastener, preferably consisting as herein shown of a fabric tape provided with a beaded or corded edge, upon which the locking members, are clamped. bad credit loans
The locking members are all alike, and therefore interchangeable, and in general form consist of contractible jaw portions which are clamped upon the tape and projecting locking portions of elongated cup shape, so that the outside of one member nests within the recess of an adjoining member when in locked relation.

Claire Squires dieds in london marathon

DONATIONS have poured in for a 30-year-old woman who collapsed and died during this year's London Marathon as news of her death has spread.

The woman, named in reports as Claire Squires from North Kilworth in Leicestershire, fell to the ground as she made her way along Birdcage Walk, near St James' Park, on the final stretch of the 26.2 mile course.
She was given medical attention by paramedics but died at the scene yesterday afternoon, organisers said.
According to a JustGiving page she had set up, donations for Ms Squires, who was running the marathon for the Samaritans, have gone from £500 to more than £6600 since news of her death circulated as donations poured in from more than 570 people.

The total is still rising at a rapid pace as more people give funds for her cause and in her memory.
Ms Squires' JustGiving page said: "I'm running the london marathon for Samaritans because they continuously support others", and earlier this month, she wrote: "hi guys as you all know i am running the london marathon it was just going to be for fun. but its a fab opportunity to raise money for my charity the samaritans if everyone i know could donate £5.00 that would be a great help and change lives."
Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of Samaritans, said the organisation was deeply saddened at news of her death.

She said: "We are devastated following the tragic death of one of our marathon runners and are supporting the family through this very difficult time. Our thoughts are with everyone who knew her.
"We appreciate all that our marathon runners do; it is with their support, commitment and fundraising efforts that that we are able to offer our vital service for people with nowhere else to turn."
Today, a flurry of tributes and donations had been made on the page in the wake of the 30-year-old's sudden death.

Rebecca Herity wrote: "Such an amazing girl! Miss you so much already! Beautiful angel xxx", while Jo Lovell also wrote: "Amazing lady!xxx".

Friends also took to Twitter to pay tribute to Ms Squires, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in March to raise money for the the Royal Air Force Association (RAFA), according to another JustGiving page.
DaisyMilburn wrote: "R.I.P Claire Squires deeply saddening news & you'll be hugely missed. xx", and Callie Wright wrote: "RIP Claire Squires - lived life to the full. Only lady I know to take hair straightners up a mountain! xxxx RIP Bear xxxxxxxx"

A statement on the London Marathon website said: "A 30-year-old woman collapsed at Birdcage Walk, and although immediate medical attention was provided to the casualty, the fatality was confirmed this afternoon.

"The organisers of the Virgin London Marathon would like to express their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

"We would like to emphasise that our immediate concern is for the family of the deceased. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with them at this difficult time."

Tests to establish how Ms Squires collapsed and died as she neared the finish line are expected to take place in the coming days.

The fatality occurred with the finishing line only one bend away, after 25 miles of the marathon.
Birdcage Walk borders St James's Park and is the last road the runners have to travel before reaching Buckingham Palace where they turn unsecured loans  on to The Mall where the finish line is located.

Ms Squires was a hairdresser at Moko hair salon in Church Street, Market Harborough.

Today a stylist at the salon said Ms Squires's family had been in touch and asked them not to comment on her death and to respect their privacy. She added that the family did not wish to say anything at this time.
Ms Squires's death was the 10th since the London Marathon began in 1981.

Five of the previous fatalities were a result of heart disease bad credit loans in runners apparently unaware that they had a problem. Four of these were cases of severe coronary heart disease.

The last competitor to die before yesterday was a 22-year-old fitness instructor in 2007.

martin luther king

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.”

– Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream Quote

January 16, 2012 was celebrated as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a day that reminds us of the ideals of Dr. King Jr. A man of peace! Peace is the most precious commodity that the world needs! Conflicts, racism, discrimination, and oppression are some of the vices which are ripping countries apart.

Yes! I couldn’t agree with Martin Luther King Jr. in his statement that, “Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” He declared that he had a dream for a more peaceful and united society, he envisioned that one day little children of all races would be able to walk down the street hand-in-hand!

King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. This year the celebration of the day fell on January 16, 2012. The day was used by many, especially students in USA and Canada to reflect on the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which drives our society on the wheels of social justice! My school used the day to engage students in focusing on their individual dreams that could help make them better students and better persons! It is my prayer that as we reflect on the dream and speeches of Dr. King, we will remind ourselves that according to Dr. King, the purpose of education is: “To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”

Words We Use Must Uplift and Build Us as Human Beings

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a Minister of the Gospel, admonishes us to be careful with the words we use on other people. The Bible says in Proverbs 12:25 that, unsecured loans “An anxious heart weighs a man down but a kind word cheers him up.” How true! The words we use can build or destroy; unite or divide; bring peace or tension (even war) and so on.

Pronouncements of Some Ministers of the Gospel and Politicians in Ghana Recently:

Of late an unfortunate development of unkind words being used by some Pastors and some politicians in Ghana leaves much to be desired in our beloved country. One could refer to news coverage of some Pastors using words of curse on innocent bad credit loans children in their efforts to prove that they are ‘powerful’! Such unbridled tongues have been left to ride their freedom in the country. This is very sad indeed. However, judgment of the Almighty God awaits those who use words to destroy others. Remember, our deeds and words will be brought to judgment one day!

Radio stations are being used to insult people in authority, including even the President of the nation by politicians who ought to know better! Our political divide has become acrimonious and very shameful. How can we develop as a nation if we are at each other’s throat? Let’s pause and reflect on the following words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that “Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”

The culture of Ghana has strong foundation in respect for authority and hospitality towards strangers. These cornerstones of our culture should not be sacrificed at the altar of hate and indecency!

Scarlett Johansson wears nothing under her catsuit

Playing dress-up
During the filming of the new Avengers Assemble film with Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson let us into a little secret about what went on under her lovely leather catsuit.
Nothing.
Avengers Assemble tells the story of Colonel Nick Fury, a spy who brings together a team of superheroes to save the earth from an army of villains. unsecured loans
Reprising the role of Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow, which she first played in the hit film Iron Man 2, Scarlett says she was pleased to be playing the character again even if that meant wearing a boiling hot leather catsuit day in, day out.
“Everyone on the film has their own uncomfortable costume situation – but it’s 800° in mine,” she told The Metro.“And it’s a one-piece – I have nothing underneath it.”

Talking about the impressive outfits the entire cast of the Marvel film had to wear, Scarlett described it as “like a surreal, out-of-body experience – like a dress-up, but to the extreme.”
“Everybody looks incredibly uncomfortable until the cameras are rolling, then we all look badass,” she explains.
“When the Avengers assemble, it feels like being a little kid. But then it's ‘cut!’ and we’re all like, ‘arrgh, God, get this thing off me!’
“As soon as we cut, everything comes off. All our costumes are unzipped, some air conditioning venting unit goes in, someone is having a wig removed – we all have our various things that we have to do to get comfortable.”
Avengers Assemble is bad credit loans due for UK release on April 26.

Elizabeth Taylor death

 

Elizabeth Taylor, who died today at age 79, didn't dwell on death—as she used to say, she'd already been there, done that.

"I'm a survivor," she once said, "a living example of what people can go through and survive."
Was she ever.




Nine Lives
In the beginning, in the 1940s, Taylor was a child star of uncommon beauty who won hearts in Lassie Come Home and National Velvet. In her prime, in the 1950s and 1960s, she was an A-list star who commanded the screen opposite Paul Newman (Cat on Hot Tin Roof), James Dean and Rock Hudson (Giant), and drew Hollywood's first $1 million payday. In later years, she was a bawdy, grand dame who didn't shirk her past, or make excuses for her excesses.

"When I was 15, I told  L.B. Mayer to go to hell," Taylor said in The Advocate in 1996. "It was then that I realized I was a complete, free individual and that I loved God…And I felt free."
True to her spirit, if not her sense of the dramatic, Taylor was the first actor to be pronounced dead—and go on to win two Academy Awards.
No, the great Elizabeth—she detested her media nickname, Liz—didn't do anything small.
"The more, the better, has always been my motto," she said in 1994.

Beginnings


Born Elizabeth Rosamond Taylor on Feb. 27, 1932, in London to American parents, the girl for whom the phrase "violet-eyed beauty" would become synonymous arrived in Hollywood in 1939 as her family fled war-torn Europe. A neighbor secured Taylor a screen test with Universal Pictures. She was put under contract, and at age 10, debuted in the 1942 comedy, There's One Born Every Minute.
If Taylor's screen presence was evident early on, Universal didn't see it—the studio cut her loose. And so it was MGM that would secure the services of the future icon.

Her first feature for Mayer's star factory was the Technicolor canine classic, 1943's Lassie Come Home, costarring Roddy McDowall, a fellow child actor who became one of Taylor's fiercest real-life friends.
Her next major role, in 1944's National Velvet, proved her breakthrough—and her medical downfall.
During filming of the equestrian drama, the 12-year-old Taylor took a spill from a horse. The resulting back injury proved chronic—the first in a terribly long list of ailments, which included: an emergency tracheotomy (a byproduct of near-fatal double pneumonia) (1961); severe respiratory problems (1990); double hip replacement surgery (1995); an irregular heartbeat (1996); a benign brain tumor (1997); a broken back (1998); a second broken back (1999); pneumonia (2000); skin cancer (2002); a broken foot (2003); heart surgery (2009); and congestive heart failure dating back to the early 2000s. The health troubles helped fuel dependencies on alcohol and painkillers, which landed the legend twice in rehab, in 1983 and 1988.
During the double pneumonia spell, which resulted in Taylor being administered last rites, the actress said she "actually saw the light."

"When I came to, there were about 11 people in the room. I'd been gone for about five minutes—they had given me up for dead and put my death notice on the wall," Taylor told The Advocate.
Taylor's habit of holing up in the hospital was rivaled only by her habit of walking down the aisle.

Marriages and Divorces
In what's now known as corporate synergy, but then was just good old-fashioned publicity, MGM launched production of Father of the Bride in tandem with the announcement that Taylor, at age 17, was engaged to one William Pawley Jr.

The Taylor-Pawley nuptials were never to be, superceded by the Taylor-Hilton nuptials. Hilton was Nicholas Conrad Hilton Jr., the hotel scion and future great uncle of Paris and namesake Nicky Hilton. He was also the first ex-Mr. Taylor.

The Taylor-Hilton union endured less than nine months, with reports of Hilton's alleged abusiveness to surface years later.

A divorcee at not-quite 19, Taylor became a mother at not-quite 21, with the birth of a son to her second husband, actor Michael Wilding.

The Taylor-Wilding union produced one more son before ending in 1957.
Proving that the 1950s must have been more a tad more permissive than public-health films of the era let on, the moviegoing public never disowned its "violet-eyed beauty," even if by mid-decade, she was a two-time divorcee. Taylor, in fact, enjoyed her greatest cinematic run, highlighted by four successive Oscar nominations, from 1958-1961, as she embarked on her third and fourth marriages.

In 1957, the 24-year-old Taylor wed producer/impresario Mike Todd. The marriage produced a daughter, born prematurely in August 1957, but lasted only 13 months. The culprit wasn't divorce; it was a plane crash that claimed Todd's life. (As noted by People, Taylor's own passing came nearly 53 years to the day of the March 22, 1958, accident.)

Following Todd's death, public sympathy for Taylor was at an all-time high.



In 1958, Fisher was a chart-topping singer, a TV star, and a picture-perfect husband to girl-next-door Debbie Reynolds. Fisher and Reynolds were good friends of Todd and Taylor. When Todd died, Fisher lent Taylor a hand. And then some.
"The thought of having a love affair with Elizabeth never entered my mind. Never," Fisher wrote in his autobiography. "But at about 4 a.m. [one] night…she called me. I don't remember much of our conversation, except she said emphatically,  unsecured loans 'When you get back, we have to talk. I want to see you.' I assumed she wanted to talk about Mike. Which demonstrates how little I understand women."
And thus commenced the Taylor-Fisher affair, which begat the Reynolds-Fisher divorce, which, in 1959, begat the Taylor-Fisher marriage.
While the scandal cooled the career of Fisher, who died in 2010, it helped his new bride score a groundbreaking movie deal.

In October 1959, Taylor, notorious as a home-wrecking sexpot, agreed to star as the empire-wrecking sexpot of Cleopatra for $1 million, the first time any Hollywood star—male or female—hit the seven-figure mark.

In the beginning, Taylor's salary amounted to one-half of Cleopatra's budget. In the end, it didn't amount to one-fortieth.

Cleopatra was, in two words, a mess. The production schedule was plundered by bad weather. Sets were built, taken down and rebuilt. A director quit. Costars bailed. The script never quite got done. Pneumonia nearly killed the leading lady.

By April 1961, Taylor, at least, was back bad credit loans on track, having risen from her deathbed to accept her Oscar, her first, for the call-girl drama Butterfield 8. (Remarked Shirley MacLaine, nominated that year for The Apartment: "I thought I might win...until Elizabeth Taylor had her tracheotomy.")

Meanwhile, back at Cleopatra: Richard Burton, then in-demand as the star of Broadway's Camelot, was brought in to play Marc Antony, Taylor's onscreen lover. In time, he became Taylor's offscreen lover, too. And thus commenced the Taylor-Burton affair, which begat Burton's divorce from his wife, which begat Taylor's divorce from Fisher, which, in 1964, begat Taylor's marriage to Burton.
"What do you expect me to do?" Taylor asked once. "Sleep alone?"
Meanwhile, back at Cleopatra: The movie finally got made. It bowed in theaters in 1963, won four Oscars and grossed a then-strong $26 million. One problem: It cost its studio a then-staggering $44 million—the equivalent of a $300 million-plus production today.
What marriages, divorces and scandal could not do, Cleopatra did: The movie put a drag on Taylor's career.


Transitions
After Cleopatra, Taylor never again starred in anything approaching an epic or box-office blockbuster. In just her early 30s, she became the world's most famous character actress, taking on offbeat films, such as John Huston's Reflections of a Golden Eye, and rejecting glamour for dowdiness, as in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for which she won her second Best Actress Oscar.
Taylor's new career was Burton. The star couple costarred in eight films, including Virginia Woolf, and one TV-movie. Most of the projects were bad or worse. With movies such as Boom! to their discredit, Taylor and Burton proved themselves the anti-Tracy and Hepburn.
At least the couple appeared to be enjoying themselves. They adopted a daughter in 1964, and stayed together long enough for Taylor to celebrate her first, and only, 10-year wedding anniversary. But not long after the milestone, the Taylor-Burton union ended. It was briefly revived for Taylor-Burton II, from 1975-76.

By the 1970s, Taylor's film career was all but over. During her 1976-82 marriage to U.S. Sen. John Warner, her seventh husband, Taylor's weight ballooned, and she became a comic target for the likes of John Belushi and Joan Rivers.
Eventually, the laughter died; Taylor lived on. She did stint on General Hospital, at the height of the soap's Luke-and-Laura popularity. She did Broadway, even reuniting there with Burton. In 1985, as friend Hudson was dying of AIDS, she led Hollywood efforts to battle the disease, cofounding the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and later, establishing the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the Elizabeth Taylor Endowment Fund. She launched her own line of perfume. She even got married—again.

During a 1988 rehab stay at the Betty Ford Center, Taylor met Larry Fortensky, a fellow patient and mullet-maned construction worker 20 years her junior. It was a match made for a paparazzi-pleasing 1991 wedding at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Said Taylor at the time: "I always said I would get married one more time and with God's blessings, this is it, forever."
Forever lasted about five years. Taylor and Fortensky separated in 1995, with the divorce finalized in 1997.
Burton, whom Taylor called, along with Todd, "one of the two great loves of my life," died in 1984, at age 58.
In later years, about the closest Taylor came to the altar was when she stood up for Liza Minnelli at the singer's own ill-fated 2002 wedding to producer David Gest. (Appropriately, Jackson was present for those nuptials, too.)
Taylor's last film appearance came in 1994's The Flintstones.


The Dame


If Taylor's career waned in the later years, then her early years were enough to ensure a wealth of career honors—from the American Film Institute, the Kennedy Center, the Motion Picture Academy, and even the Queen of England, who deigned Taylor a Dame of the British Empire in 2000.
In 2003, Taylor announced her retirement. Public appearances became rare. When she did venture out, she was often in a wheelchair. In 2006, Australian and U.K. tabs said Taylor was "at death's door." Her publicist labeled the reports false. A month later, the National Enquirer said Taylor was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. This time, Taylor herself labeled the report false.

"Oh, come on, do I look like I'm dying?" Taylor asked Larry King in 2006, her first TV interview in years. "Do I look like or sound like I have Alzheimer's?"

Ever the survivor, Taylor outlived the author of her New York Times obituary by nearly six years.
Though retired from Hollywood, Taylor refused to retire from her activist work. "There's still so much more to do," she told the Associated Press in 2005. "I can't sit back and be complacent, and none of us should be. I get around now in a wheelchair, but I get around."
Yes, Taylor did manage to get around.

As she herself once admitted: "My life has had so many ups and downs that sometimes it takes even my breath away."

Chelsee Healey to replace Alesha Dixon

After it was revealed that Alesha Dixon was jumping ship and would not be appearing on this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, bosses quickly started looking for a new star to fill the role.
The ‘Man Does Nothing’ hitmaker has defected from the BBC dance show, to the judging panel of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent and will begin auditions for the new unsecured loans series later this month.
The Mirror reports that producers have already approached Chelsee Healey about taking Dixon’s seat at the judges’ table, after she shot to fame on the 2011 series of the show, finishing in second place behind Harry Judd last month.

“BBC bosses have a shortlist of about eight names and Chelsee is one of them. She would do really well with younger viewers and help bring in a new demographic.
“As a successful past contestant – like Alesha was – Chelsee will understand exactly what the celebs are going through and bring with her that empathy.”
However she does face some competition for the job and insiders admitted that also vying for a spot on the panel is former contestant Nancy Dell’Olio. Despite the fact that she was perhaps the worst dancer of the 2011 run and spent more time being flung around by bad credit loans her partner Anton DuBeke than actually dancing, the Italian beauty thinks she would be perfect for the role.

Nancy has her heart set on the role. She was one of the main reasons the last series had such fantastic ratings.
“She believes people stopped watching when she was booted off and thinks her sense of fun and unique personality are just what Strictly Come Dancing needs.”
Who do you think should replace Alesha this year? Many Unreality TV readers have already admitted that they would love to see Arlene Phillips returning to the show. Would you back that move? Leave your comments below.

One Direction

One Direction are in a spot of legal bother as a US band has filed a lawsuit, saying that they owned the name 'One Direction' first.

The pre-pubescent popstars, who are currently reducing teenage girls across America to tears, could be forced to pay out over £600,000 in damages to a US boyband, who also have five members.

The other One Direction formed in 2009 and also claim that they registered the name with US Patent and Trademark Office before The X Factor runners up even met.

Writing on their blog, the US One Direction attempted to soften the blow of the lawsuit by stating that they liked the British version of the band, but were going to sue them anyway.

They wrote: "To protect our rights, we reluctantly have filed a lawsuit. Despite our best efforts, unsecured loans we were unable to negotiate a reasonable compromise with the handlers for the band. They chose not to use a different name. They chose to press ahead, using the exact same name, One Direction, setting up the current difficulties and confusion in the United States.

The blog added: "The British boy band is well funded and high profile. They have Mr Cowell's enormous resources behind them. We on the other bad credit loans hand do not. In our view, we were here first. We have rights. We have talent, and we have heart. We are standing up for all of the above. Not having money does not take away your rights or make you 'less than'."

One Direction have not commented on the suit as yet.

Bubba Watson, the Anti-Tiger

For followers of Bubba Watson, the gap wedge he hooked forty yards around trees and gallery and onto the green yesterday to secure his Masters victory wasn’t terribly surprising. Nor was the fact that twice on the eighteenth—once in regulation and again in the playoff—Bubba hit drives that left him throwing distance from the pin on a hole most of the field had to approach with long irons. Bubba’s power, and his shotmaking prowess, are by now as common to witness as Tiger Woods’s Sunday red. You see Bubba pull out the pastel driver (pink clubhead and shaft, his way of supporting breast cancer awareness) and punish the ball with an arrhythmic thwap, the recoil of which requires him to tap step his follow-through, and you know the ball he’s just hit is travelling some three hundred plus yards forward and fifty side-to-side.

It’s unorthodox, Bubba’s game, and until a couple of years ago it was unproven against the multitude of perfectly planed swings the Tiger era has produced—swings like Adam Scott’s and Justin Rose’s, two of the purest on tour, both honed under the direction of Butch Harmon and Sean Foley, respectively, Harmon being one of Tiger’s old coaches, and Foley his current one. Like Tiger, and seemingly most other players on tour, Scott and Rose are forever in lesson mode: fearful of crossing the line on their backswing, of getting stuck inside, of the left elbow being a smidge out of position on the takeaway, throwing the whole process into doubt. Bubba has no such concerns, though, because he’s never had a lesson and, to hear him tell it, never had a swing thought, either. He tees the ball up and smashes it as hard as he can—past everybody on tour, it should be noted—and then hunts it down and smashes it again. Often he finds himself in places not designed for the normal course of play, hence the need to have a forty-yard hook wedge in the bag. This week, though, it worked. Watson, after years of struggle on the P.G.A. Tour, finally broke through in 2010, when he finished in a tie for second at the P.G.A. championship. Now, after taking advantage of a course that favors big hitters, as my colleague John Cassidy predicted he might, Bubba is a major champion, and Rose and Scott, for all their technical perfection, could manage only top tens.

Watson grew up on the Gulf Coast not far from me, and occasionally I would have to compete against him in junior golf tournaments. He’s a few years my senior, so we didn’t face off often, but when he was in the field you knew about it. At the beginning of the tournament you’d hear of his feats the week prior—Bubba carved a three-metal around the clubhouse, landed it pin-high; Bubba drove it over the green on a three-hundred-and-seventy-yard par four; Bubba blasted one out over the lake, brought it back into play with a violent slice. You didn’t know what to believe. Then you would walk to the first tee well before your starting time, watch Bubba launch one, and realize that the rumors were all true. Or true enough. There was solace in the fact that he’d likely hit it deep in the trees, but by the end of the day he’d beaten you, and everyone else.
Autodidacts have all but disappeared from professional golf since 1997, when Tiger won Augusta by a million shots. That victory was proof that greatness on the golf course required constant monitoring and tutelage on the practice tee. Dissections of the unsecured loans for you golf swing, aided by increasingly advanced high-speed cameras, became commonplace. So did having a swing coach handy at all times to tell you, immediately after you sign your scorecard in Torrey Pines or Pinehurst or Winged Foot or Valhalla, why you overcooked that eight-iron on the fourth hole. (The club got half a click past parallel at the top.) But recently, with Rory McIlroy’s victory last year—McIlroy has a swing coach, but one whose approach is, by modern standards, hands-off—and now with Bubba taking the green jacket in overtime, the play-by-feel method which dominated the game for so long could be making a comeback.

It was hard to imagine, in the days of junior golf, that someone with a swing as non-conformist as Bubba’s could someday win a major. In many  bad credit loans ways Bubba was and is the anti-Tiger. He’s a lefty, he’s self-taught, and he’s emotional after the round, not just during it. Yesterday, before Watson could make it to Butler cabin to talk it over with Nantz and Faldo, he was met on the tenth green by some of his biggest fans who just happened to be fellow tour players. There were hugs, and some tears. And a hint, maybe, of a new way forward for golf, a way that feels a bit more natural.