Xavier Cromartie

Is this statement directed only at SuperJerk, or is it for everyone? It seems to conflict with this statement, made one week ago: I'm under the impression that I'm never getting in to the 'big league.' I was denied twice and haven't heard any indication that anything has changed. And it's not because of my posting quality or my personality or anything actually relevant to the forum, but because I enjoy conversing with my friend Leelee on Facebook and on my blog. Is that correct? 52. I wrote another NFL Draft entry on my blog that I'd like to share. I'll likely move on to another topic for post 53. A useful draft grade: how much did Bill Belichick fleece his trade partners? Most NFL teams use a form of the draft trade chart that was devised in the 1990s by Jimmy Johnson. This chart never made any sense to me. Based only on talent (instead of contract size), would you rather have pick 1 or picks 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 70? They're both worth 3000 points. Bill Belichick understands that the Johnson draft trade chart severely undervalues players from the mid first round through the end of the third round. For example, look at the Patriots' trade with the Packers in the 2009 Draft. New England traded picks 26 and 162 (727.6 points) for picks 41, 73, and 83 (890). Even under the Johnson DTC, this trade is lopsided for New England. But it's even worse when a much better chart is used. The Johnson DTC simply looked at a few trades that occurred in the late 80s and early 90s and figured out what picks were valued at. In 2009, we have advanced statistical analysis that can tell us what picks should be worth. Thus, in Pro Football Prospectus 2008, the FootballOutsiders.com writers offered us the Actual Draft Value Chart. According to this chart, picks 26 and 162 are worth 2355 points, whereas picks 41, 73, and 83 are worth 3335 points. The difference is the value of an early third-rounder under the Actual DVC, whereas it's only a late third-rounder under the Johnson DTC. Let's see how many points the Patriots gained overall according to the Actual DVC. The trade of Ellis Hobbs for picks 137 and 141 will be considered numerically equal. Thus, I will give them pick 99 with an asterisk to represent Hobbs. A 2010 pick will be considered to be worth the median value of its round (second-rounder = 45*). Patriots' picks when the draft began (23, 34, 47, 58, 89, 97, 99*, 124, 170, 199, 207, 234): 9317.4 points. Patriots' picks after the draft ended (34, 40, 41, 45*, 45*, 58, 83, 97, 123, 170, 198, 207, 232, 234): 11412.8 points. The Patriots gained 2095.4 points this weekend. That's approximately the value of the 28th overall pick in the draft. The Patriots got the equivalent value of an extra late first round pick for free. Patriots' draft grade: A+.

I must say, after all the drama happened, Leena told me what her payment agreement with Mike was, and I can guarantee that the Maffs would have paid more. Mike simply didn't want them in charge anymore, for his own reasons. It is for the best that they started a new forum that ensures the stability of TSM. The problem is their belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority. You know what I did there? I just copy/pasted the definition of elitism from dictionary.com. To me, the 'real' TSM is about self-reference, not elitism. 51. NFL Draft Saturday is the real Christmas for me. It's the best day of the year. I had a lot of fun this year, as usual. I'm happy with the Vikings' draft. Leelee is happy with the Bills' draft. Although, after my 2007 win, my 'mock draft grand prizes' losing streak is now at two. I did have Darrius Heyward-Bey to the Raiders, though. The Sourced Mock will now return to doing nerdy analysis and philosophy. Here's the entry I wrote today. How should mock drafts be scored? There are a variety of scoring methods for NFL mock drafts: 1. NFL.com's game emphasizes draft order. It awards 100 points for predicting the exact draft slot of a player (e.g., Mark Sanchez at 5), 50 points for one slot off, 20 points for two slots off, and 10 points for three slots off. ESPN (RIP) used a similar system. NFL.com, however, also awards bonus points at the end based on the number of correct picks (further emphasizing draft order). 2. Mock Draft Central also focuses on draft order, but it uses ranges. If you're sure that Darrius Heyward-Bey is going at 7, you pick a range of zero. If he goes at 7, then you get 11 points. Otherwise, you get nothing. If you're not sure, however, whether Aaron Curry will go third, fourth, or fifth, then you can put him at 3 with a range of two, or at 4 with a range of one. In the first case, you'd get 7 points if he went 1–5. In the second case, you'd get 9 points if he went 3–5. 3. The Huddle Report focuses on the bigger picture. The primary objective is to match teams with players (2 points each), and the secondary objective is to understand who the first-round prospects are (1 point each). Let's step back and think about why we do mock drafts. It's not about getting the order approximately correct. Doing so does not demonstrate knowledge. The goal is to demonstrate the best understanding of what each team will do. It's very easy to see the flaw in NFL.com's scoring system. Here's an example: the winner of NFL.com's 2009 contest—Chiefs Fan 2002—predicted that the Jets would take Josh Freeman at 17 and that the Bucs would take Robert Ayers at 19. He earned 150 points for those two players. I predicted that the Bucs would take Josh Freeman at 19 and that the Broncos would take Robert Ayers at 18. I earned 120 points for the same two players. I was right on matching both players to the correct team, and he was wrong on both! But, since the Bucs moved to 17 for Freeman, he earned 100 points and I earned 20. The range system is a partial success. But, there's a problem here. What if I pick a range of zero for Josh Freeman, because I know that he's going to the Bucs and not the Jets? When they move up to 17 in order to ensure that they get him, I go from 11 points to zero. The entrant who was sure that the Jets would take him gets 11 points. The matching system makes some sense, but it also has its flaws. First, it doesn't allow conditionals like the range system does. It's simply 2 points or none. I know that Aaron Curry is going to the Seahawks if the Chiefs take Tyson Jackson. But if I have Curry going to the Chiefs, then I get a cascading failure, because I'll have Michael Crabtree going to the Seahawks, and so I can't have Crabtree going to the 49ers later. Additionally, the 1 point per first round pick is rather useless. Almost everyone will get somewhere around 26–27 of the 32. It proves little. The following is the scoring system that I propose, which shall be known universally as XavierScoring. Mock drafters should focus on matching teams to their targeted players, but they should also have flexibility so that one incorrect pick doesn't automatically entail a series of incorrect picks. Thus, for each team, the mock drafters should pick, in order, the three most likely choices. Scoring will be 4 points for the first choice, 2 points for the second choice, and 1 point for the third choice. No bonuses. The tiebreaker is most correct first choices. The same player cannot be in the (1) slot more than once, and so a standard mock draft could be formed from it. A sample mock: 1. Detroit Lions (4 points) (1) QB Matthew Stafford (Georgia) (2) OLB/ILB Aaron Curry (Wake Forest) (3) LT Jason Smith (Baylor) 2. St. Louis Rams (4 points) (1) LT Jason Smith (Baylor) (2) LT Eugene Monroe (Virginia) (3) QB Mark Sanchez (Southern California) 3. Kansas City Chiefs (2 points) (1) OLB/ILB Aaron Curry (Wake Forest) (2) 3-4 DE Tyson Jackson (Louisiana State) (3) DE/OLB Brian Orakpo (Texas) 4. Seattle Seahawks (2 points) (1) WR Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech) (2) OLB/ILB Aaron Curry (Wake Forest) (3) QB Mark Sanchez (Southern California) 5. Cleveland Browns (0 points) (1) DE/OLB Brian Orakpo (Texas) (2) OLB/ILB Aaron Curry (Wake Forest) (3) QB Mark Sanchez (Southern California) And so on. The Browns' pick was worth zero instead of 1 point because their first pick was C Alex Mack at 21, not QB Mark Sanchez at 5. However, if the mock had had Sanchez as the third choice for the Jets at 17, then the Jets' pick would be worth 1 point. ###

50. We've reached the halfway point. There will be an intermission after this post. Backstory: Mike chose to offer board ownership to Leena instead of the Maffs... Vitamin X thought his life was over... Multiple posters asked about who Leena is... She said that she was the girl in the tennis pic... Nobody knew what the tennis pic was... goldengreek asked her to e-mail the tennis pic to him. Here is the tennis pic to which she referred. It's from 2002, and so Leelee was 19 in it. So, please, no more talk of "men you thought were women," "she-male," "Leeter," or "Peter Z." She's a normal girl from the Buffalo, NY area. The Peter Z post was a joke that I wasn't in on. (It confused me because I had always suspected that she was really in Buffalo instead of Arizona.) Her philosophy for TSM was to make it open to everyone and encourage newcomers, with the hope that the variety of opinions would lead to good discussion. I agreed with that philosophy, and so she offered me an admin spot. We wanted the best posters on merit (Czech, o.p.a., Edwin, Cheech, etc.) to be mods who led the discussion in their respective folders. But, the Maffs have a different vision of what TSM should be. They like being the Stonecutters, with elite, closed membership and insider rituals. And most of TSM likes being a part of the Stonecutters, even though they have double- or triple- digit member numbers. I respect this philosophy as well. It's fun for the people who are a part of it. So, let's not demonize and hate each other just because of this difference of opinion. Now, I'm taking a break from posting in order to get away from here for a few days and focus on the NFL Draft. I'll resume sometime next week.

49. Hey, good post. I'm offering some information about myself because (1) it's likely my farewell thread and I'm purging everything that I feel like writing about before I go, (2) I don't like the perception that I'm "Leena's right-hand man," and (3) I like doing meta-analysis. NHB is for meta discussion of posters. Most of my upcoming posts will be typical forum discussion topics, though. I've written enough about this issue. Somalia is a unique situation, and I believe that the definition of privateer is the best choice for this situation. I believe that it's important to distinguish them from other modern pirates. Indonesian pirates murder honest sailors and sell ships purely for profit. I would never defend them like I do with the Somalis. * TSM WWE Fantasy League (Season 4): Champion * TSM WWE Fantasy League (Season 5): Champion * TSM WWE Fantasy League (Season 6): Champion * TSM WWE Fantasy League (Season 8): Champion * TSM FIFA World Cup 2006 Pool: Champion * TSM Death Pool 2006: Champion * TSM NFL Draft Forecast 2007 (ESPN): Champion * TSM NCAA Men's Basketball Pool 2008 (ESPN): Champion * TSM NCAA Men's Basketball Pool 2008 (Yahoo!): Champion

48. Well, that tournament was fun for me, despite the lack of poster interaction. I would guess that Czech appreciated the effort, because he hates it when you guys just list 32 posters with no explanation in the poster tournaments. Also, the Shelton Trophy is more aesthetically pleasing than the Damian Gonzalez Memorial Trophy. It's unfortunate that we didn't do this tournament as one big happy TSM family. I plan to have one more tournament and two drafts (each a single post) in this thread. In one of my TSM blog posts, I tried to give an honest critical assessment of myself as a volleyball player.[1] Now, I'm going to try to give an honest critical assessment of myself as a TSM boarder, using the same stream-of-consciousness, scouting-report style. Positives Offers unorthodox insight... Sees things from a worldly/"big picture" perspective... Doesn't want to make enemies and likes most posters... Empathetic... Has boarded hard since late 2008... Creative... Aims for quality over quantity... Knowledgeable on a variety of topics... Not afraid to give honest thoughts... Observant... Tranquil and completely non-malicious... Helpful... Cites sources... More humorous and silly than he seems... Participates in TSM competitions... One of the few active TSM bloggers... TSMpedia contributor... Still improving and has much untapped potential. Negatives Closest friend of the widely hated Leelee... Boastful about victories... Didn't emerge as a major poster until late 2008... Practically disappeared in 2007... Overly formal/philosophical writing style... Content to be in his own quirky world... Too many Somalia posts... Not an ideal match for the cliquey nature of the board... Generally acts star-struck with his favorite people and doesn't pay attention to the others. Comparable posters objet petit a, Crimson G, Cheech Tremendous.

47. THE CHAMPIONSHIP 9. tobin vs. 11 Shelton Benjamin outta f'n nowhere!. Let's look hypercritically at tobin's negatives. tobin showed laziness/lack of awareness when he asked for WWE DVD schedule info. He thinks that Matt Hardy is a douchebag because Hardy writes in his blog that he is happy with his life. If you want to see a real douchebag, look at Danny Gokey. tobin is rather humorless and complains a lot about how much things suck or are boring. But, on the positive side, you might learn something or hear an interesting take on wrestling when you read his posts. In SBOFN!'s case, his major problem is his lack of meaningful content, as I mentioned in the previous post. But, he's upbeat. His posts bring lighthearted cheerfulness to a board that could use much more of it. You can have fun on a message board without alienating other posters? Well I'll be damned. Unanimous decision... THE TROPHY FOR 2009 TSM ROOKIE OF THE YEAR GOES TO SHELTON BENJAMIN OUTTA F'N NOWHERE! FINAL BRACKET

I'm saving the 'hot girls' discussion for post 69. 46. SEMIFINAL RESULTS 5. Old School vs. 9. tobin. Old School is rated at one star in his profile. His tone—especially in his earlier posts—may be a little harsh, but perhaps "hostile" was too strong of a word. He's feisty. One weakness in his boarding is that he has a fairly high percentage of one-sentence posts. Still, his content is solid. tobin usually writes a good paragraph. He is very friendly as well. I find myself sincerely interested in reading what he says about wrestling. We have a majority decision. THE FIRST CONTENDER FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP TOBIN 7. johnson316cane vs. 11. Shelton Benjamin outta f'n nowhere!. They both have fascinating names, and they both have fans. They also both add a bit of humor to some of their posts. johnson316cane had a nice dig at Matt Hardy's calling himself "Cold Blood." ("That sounds like one of those failed nicknames they tried to stick Steve Austin with before he came up with Stone Cold.") SBOFN! edited a double post to the following: "Hulkamania ran wild over me this morning. Free Nick Bollea!" johnson316cane also adds some good analysis, such as his argument in favor of blood in wrestling. If he has a weakness, I'd say it's that he could explain his opinions in more detail. SBOFN! is quite witty and funny in many posts. I love that he gives sources, too. This decision is the most difficult one so far. In regard to posting quality, johnson316cane is better. SBOFN! simply does not have a lot of meaningful content in his posts. In the tournament rules, however, I defined 'best' not only in terms of posting quality but also general likability. SBOFN! is more likable. It's an extremely close split decision. THE SECOND CONTENDER FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP SHELTON BENJAMIN OUTTA F'N NOWHERE! THE BRACKET

Somali Pirates Tell Their Side: They Want Only Money By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN Published: 30 September 2008 NAIROBI, Kenya — The Somali pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks, artillery, grenade launchers and ammunition said in an interview on Tuesday that they had no idea the ship was carrying arms when they seized it on the high seas. “We just saw a big ship,” the pirates’ spokesman, Sugule Ali, said in a telephone interview. “So we stopped it.” The pirates quickly learned, though, that their booty was an estimated $30 million worth of heavy weaponry, heading for Kenya or Sudan, depending on whom you ask. In a 45-minute interview, Mr. Sugule spoke on everything from what the pirates wanted (“just money”) to why they were doing this (“to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters”) to what they had to eat on board (rice, meat, bread, spaghetti, “you know, normal human-being food”). He said that so far, in the eyes of the world, the pirates had been misunderstood. “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits,” he said. “We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.” The pirates who answered the phone call on Tuesday morning said they were speaking by satellite phone from the bridge of the Faina, the Ukrainian cargo ship that was hijacked about 200 miles off the coast of Somalia on Thursday. Several pirates talked but said that only Mr. Sugule was authorized to be quoted. Mr. Sugule acknowledged that they were now surrounded by American warships, but he did not sound afraid. “You only die once,” Mr. Sugule said. He said that all was peaceful on the ship, despite unconfirmed reports from maritime organizations in Kenya that three pirates were killed in a shootout among themselves on Sunday or Monday night. He insisted that the pirates were not interested in the weapons and had no plans to sell them to Islamist insurgents battling Somalia’s weak transitional government. “Somalia has suffered from many years of destruction because of all these weapons,” he said. “We don’t want that suffering and chaos to continue. We are not going to offload the weapons. We just want the money.” He said the pirates were asking for $20 million in cash; “we don’t use any other system than cash.” But he added that they were willing to bargain. “That’s deal-making,” he explained. Piracy in Somalia is a highly organized, lucrative, ransom-driven business. Just this year, pirates hijacked more than 25 ships, and in many cases, they were paid million-dollar ransoms to release them. The juicy payoffs have attracted gunmen from across Somalia, and the pirates are thought to number in the thousands. The piracy industry started about 10 to 15 years ago, Somali officials said, as a response to illegal fishing. Somalia’s central government imploded in 1991, casting the country into chaos. With no patrols along the shoreline, Somalia’s tuna-rich waters were soon plundered by commercial fishing fleets from around the world. Somali fishermen armed themselves and turned into vigilantes by confronting illegal fishing boats and demanding that they pay a tax. “From there, they got greedy,” said Mohamed Osman Aden, a Somali diplomat in Kenya. “They starting attacking everyone.” By the early 2000s, many of the fishermen had traded in their nets for machine guns and were hijacking any vessel they could catch: sailboat, oil tanker, United Nations-chartered food ship. “It’s true that the pirates started to defend the fishing business,” Mr. Mohamed said. “And illegal fishing is a real problem for us. But this does not justify these boys to now act like guardians. They are criminals. The world must help us crack down on them.” The United States and several European countries, in particular France, have been talking about ways to patrol the waters together. The United Nations is even considering something like a maritime peacekeeping force. Because of all the hijackings, the waters off Somalia’s coast are considered the most dangerous shipping lanes in the world. On Tuesday, several American warships — around five, according to one Western diplomat — had the hijacked freighter cornered along the craggy Somali coastline. The American ships allowed the pirates to bring food and water on board, but not to take weapons off. A Russian frigate is also on its way to the area. Lt. Nathan Christensen, a Navy spokesman, said on Tuesday that he had heard the unconfirmed reports about the pirate-on-pirate shootout, but that the Navy had no more information. “To be honest, we’re not seeing a whole lot of activity” on the ship, he said. In Washington, Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, declined to discuss any possible American military operations to capture the ship. “Our concern is right now making sure that there’s a peaceful resolution to this, that this cargo does not end up in the hands of anyone who would use it in a way that would be destabilizing to the region,” Mr. Morrell told reporters at the Pentagon. He said the United States government was not involved in any negotiations with the pirates. He also said he had no information about reports that the pirates had exchanged gunfire among themselves. Kenyan officials continued to maintain that the weapons aboard were part of a legitimate arms deal for the Kenyan military, even though several Western diplomats, Somali officials and the pirates themselves said the arms were part of a secret deal to funnel weapons to southern Sudan. Somali officials are urging the Western navies to storm the ship and arrest the pirates because they say that paying ransoms only fuels the problem. Western diplomats, however, have said that such a commando operation would be very difficult because the ship is full of explosives and the pirates could use the 20 crew members as human shields. Mr. Sugule said his men were treating the crew members well. (The pirates would not let the crew members speak on the phone, saying it was against their rules.) “Killing is not in our plans,” he said. “We only want money so we can protect ourselves from hunger.” When asked why the pirates needed $20 million to protect themselves from hunger, Mr. Sugule laughed and said, “Because we have a lot of men.” Wikipedia links: Somalia Piracy in Somalia List of ships attacked by Somali pirates Eyl (pirate haven) Xarardheere (pirate haven) Economy of Somalia Anarchy in Somalia Excellent articles: Better off stateless: Somalia before and after government collapse (3 February 2006, WVU.) Somalia after state collapse: chaos or improvement? (30 November 2006, Independent Institute.) The rule of law without the state (12 September 2007, Mises Institute.) Life in Somalia's pirate town (18 September 2008, BBC.) The dismemberment of Somalia (6 October 2008, Somali Musings.) Pirates live the high life, transform villages into boomtowns (19 November 2008, AP.) The physiology of a nation at war (27 November 2008, Wardheed News.) No way to stop us, pirate leader says (1 December 2008, CNN.) Captured by pirates, ship captain recounts ordeal (2 December 2008, NBC.) Mercenaries, sonic blasters no match for pirates (2 December 2008, Wired.) Pirates don't like loud noises (3 December 2008, Salon.) How do you pay a pirate's ransom? (3 December 2008, BBC.) Somali pirates thrive after U.S. helped oust their Islamic foes (4 December 2008, Bloomberg.) The poor fishermen of Somalia (4 December 2008, Spiegel.) What I learned from the Somalia pirates (5 December 2008, Mareeg.) The unlicensed and undocumented privateers of Somalia (9 December 2008, Garowe.) Piracy is not terrorism: it's something else (14 December 2008, BlackState.) Pirates outmaneuver warships off Somalia (15 December 2008, The New York Times.) Q&A: Somali pirate explains how to steal ships (18 December 2008, Newsweek.) Somali national self-determination (23 December 2008, Somali Musings.) The US role in Somalia's calamity (29 December 2008, Huffington Post.) International Maritime Bureau live piracy map (Current, ICC-CCS.) How does forums.thesmartmarks.com feel about Somali piracy privateering? Is it "nothing short of terrorism"[1] or is it, as quoted above, "like a coast guard" that, considering the circumstances in Somalia, is justifiable?

45. QUARTERFINAL RESULTS 1. YKRG vs. 9. tobin. I've examined tobin's posting history, and he is consistently a very good WWE poster. He always writes rational paragraphs that add meaningful content to the discussion. No one in the tournament can compete with the quantity of content that YKRG produces, but does his quality make up for it? I must say that he sounds more like a headline writer than a quality analyst. PBONE REGION CHAMPION TOBIN (UD) 5. Old School vs. 13. KobashiFS. Old School is up and down in the wrestling folders. He does make quite a few good points about TNA and its roster. But, he also is a bit hostile toward other posters. KobashiFS is a harmless and likable poster, but he's a "chime-in" kind of guy who doesn't add much meaningful content. It's a close matchup. NIGHTWING REGION CHAMPION OLD SCHOOL (SD) 3. Noah Fentz vs. 11. Shelton Benjamin outta f'n nowhere!. Is this matchup the easiest of all time to decide? Yes. Noah Fentz is a prototypical blowhard. ("I would imagine I have about 20 years in life on you and about 15 years of wrestling business on you, so keep your sarcasm to yourself.") There's no way that he would win against a credible opponent. First-round KO. MELLOW REGION CHAMPION SHELTON BENJAMIN OUTTA F'N NOWHERE! (KO) 2. theone vs. 7. johnson316cane. Seriously, what is that name? Dwayne Johnson + Austin 3:16 + misspelled Kane? Upon further review, I see some of the problems with theone. He describes other posters with phrases such as "fucking idiot." He has a very reliable source in the wrestling business. He feels that capitalization and punctuation are optional. He uses the phrase "for the win." He believes that mellow is a troll who lacks wit. DCH REGION CHAMPION JOHNSON316CANE (TKO) THE BRACKET

44. 1. I don't know that 300-post member who hasn't logged in since 2005. Consider YKRG the Ichiro of Rookie of the Year candidates, if he really is TheDon. 2. Lazarus who posts in the WWE folder. I'm thinking that there's more than one person named Lazarus. There were two in the New Testament. 3–5. Do you think that this community attracted a large amount of high-quality posters in 2008? ROUND-ONE RESULTS pbone region 1. YKRG defeats 16. ForumPro. I have noted that Dandy described YKRG as "awful." YKRG hangs out in the WWE, Sports, VG, and Entertainment folders. He is not particularly good, but he contributes. I'm looking through the Worst Poster tournament, and he isn't getting much hate. Dandy didn't think that he was worse than Jericholic82. ForumPro was quite funny with his "I don't claim to be a professional at forums" bit. Otherwise, borderline annoying. I'm going to use boxing terms for victories. We'll call this one a majority decision. 9. tobin defeats 8. Grungy Punk. Just looking at Mr. Punk's custom title indicates that he is terrible. Looking at his posts indicates that he's really fucking terrible. Tobin wins by TKO. I'll take a closer look at him next round. Nightwing region 5. Old School defeats 12. Display Name. Mr. School seems quite reasonable in the WWE folder. Mr. Name capitalizes a lot of words. Is he German? Old School by unanimous decision. 13. KobashiFS defeats 4. rezinda. rezinda appears to be a replacement-level WWE poster. KobashiFS is more mobile, and he shows some thoughtfulness. KobashiFS gets the UD. mellow region 11. Shelton Benjamin outta f'n nowhere! defeats 6. lee_hero. lee_hero is ok in the wrestling folders. He knows about championship belts! But, first, Shelton Benjamin outta f'n nowhere! is an all-time classic name. Second, his posts are enjoyable. Third, he cites sources. SBOFN! by KO. 3. Noah Fentz defeats 14. jackmcmanus21. At TSM?! jackmcmanus21 adds nothing. Noah Fentz by REFEREE TECHNICAL DECISION. DCH region 7. johnson316cane defeats 10. Lazarus. johnson316cane is a horrendous name, but he's a decent wrestling poster. Lazarus is as well. This one is a close call, but I'm going to say that johnson316cane is slightly better. He throws in a bit of humor. Split decision. 2. theone defeats 15. BradyQuinnManCrush. Not a single person offered a reason to vote against theone in the worst poster tournament. He's the one whom no one knows! He called Mr. Kennedy's film "Kane / Katie Vick awful." I find that description humorous. BradyQuinnManCrush is simply a Rorschach inkblot. TKO. THE BRACKET

I can say that there is precedent of releasing ships without ransom.[1] Please end your habit of constructing straw men and then angrily pummeling them. I am under the impression that you make your replies to the mere presence of keywords instead of how the sentence is written. Calm down and consider the actual points more carefully. 43. I don't know what happened to my 'changes' thread. I moved it from the Staff folder to here, but then it was either deleted or returned to the Staff folder. Anyway, one of the ideas that I mentioned was that I wanted to hold a TSM Rookie of the Year tournament. We are going to do that right now. 2009 TSM ROOKIE OF THE YEAR TOURNAMENT Rules: 1. Eligible posters are those who first joined TSM between 1 January 2008 and 31 January 2008. 2. I have already examined the nominees and have chosen the 16 best candidates. 3. Seeding is done according to post count. Most posts gets the 1 seed. 4. One round per day. We'll be done Monday night/Tuesday early morning. 5. We will not be using your American democracy. There aren't enough (if any) voters. For each round, you may write whatever you wish about any or all of the matchups. I will read and seriously consider all input. Ultimately, I will decide who deserves to advance. I will write my explanations when I post the updated brackets the next day. 6. This tournament is of the 'best' variety, not 'worst.' We are examining posting quality and general likability. 7. Note: The bracket regions are named for the best posters who joined during 2007. THE BRACKET

I would accept that the origins of the fishermen's efforts were as coastguards, and the modern privateering operation evolved from those actions. 42. Why I called it a short-term mistake: The Somalis have no history of killing hostages. They are friendly to cooperative hostages. They have to make threats in order to get the ransom, but they have no intention of killing. It is against their interests. The Somalis on the boats are only a small part of the overall operation. Somalis do not want to jeopardize their operation by killing. I do not believe that the captain was truly in danger. Why would they shoot their hostage who is worth up to $2 million and ensures their safety (except from snipers)? I've read the excuses such as that the Somalis were increasingly desperate or suffering qaat withdrawal. They sound like bullshit. Haven't we seen many instances in which a police officer—whose mindset is focused on possible threats—wrongly shoots and kills a person (e.g., Oscar Grant, Timothy Stansbury, Jr.)? The U.S. Navy had a 'justifiable' opportunity to end the situation, and they took it. Another point is that one of the privateers in Eyl claims, "The American liars have killed our friends after they agreed to free the hostage without ransom."[1] I called it a short-term mistake because I believe that three Somali human beings were unnecessarily executed. Why I called it a long-term mistake: I worry that the Somalis will no longer treat American (and French) hostages well. I'm sure that they will discuss it rationally and do what's best for their operation, but they utterly despise injustice. They may intend only one act of retribution (and I'm not saying that it will be a killing), but the Americans certainly won't be happy about it. In order to 'save' one American's life, we may now have the consequence of many more Somali deaths and possibly multiple American deaths. The outlook is terrible. The world needs to stop putting all of the blame on the Somalis.

41. Nightwing, I will follow up on your post in #42. First, I have something to note about this pirates vs. privateers matter. I contacted Mr. Nasr Ibn Othmann (my Somali writer buddy) in regard to his return to the usage of pirates instead of privateers in his latest article. He gave me an extraordinary response: Therefore, as I interpret it, his answer is threefold. 1. His personal belief is that they are privateers, and they may also be referred to as coastguards or marines. 2. They are commonly referred to as pirates, and so he uses that term for ease of communication. 3. But he uses the term ironically/sarcastically, mocking the supposedly 'law-abiding' Western and Asian nations.

40. I do not care about this trivial polarization talking point. I will make a related post about how I feel about President Obama. I've been supporting him since 2007. I knew right away that he was the best choice. The 2008 campaign was exciting, and I'm happy that he crushed Hillary. I credit him for getting me much more into politics and economics. (I had mostly ignored them because Bush was so repulsive from day one.) I attended the rally at which he officially clinched the Democratic nomination. I found Dreams from My Father interesting. The philosophical ideas he presented in his speeches were tremendous. The speeches on race, patriotism, and education stand out. Overall, I approve of how he's doing. I'm looking forward to the expanded domestic service opportunities. But, I don't agree with everything that he does. We differ on economic and freedom issues. His marijuana stance is particularly annoying. Above all, I'm angry that he authorized snipers to kill those Somalis. Big mistake, short-term and long-term. And now he seems open to attacking towns like Xarardheere and Eyl. I hope that he doesn't.

39. Eddie's post about his TSM friends is an all-time classic. What makes it even greater is that I picture him as Eddie Guerrero, as if he never died. Quoting the whole thing because it's worthy: Leelee would be my sleepover friend. We can talk about anything. objet petit a would be the friend who was in my college philosophy classes. We'd hang out on campus together but probably lose contact after we graduated. Smitty would be the "cool professor" whom I talk to outside of class. Toryn would be the friend who always calls about going to clubs or parties. Cheech would be my sports friend. He'd set up flag football games in the park and I'd be there every week. Czech would be there and I'd always line up as cornerback against him. I'll update the list later... but I really love most of you if not all.

38. Post of randomness. Happy birthdays BUTT and Gary Floyd. I wonder how Gary Floyd felt when he realized that it was the Maffs who pretended that he'd become mod of the Music folder.[1] President Obama is called the most polarizing president because of the wide difference in percentage between Democrats who approve (88%) and Republicans who approve (27%). Thanks. I'd never beg; I want to hear their 'argument' instead of silence. Are they still worried about Leena? She's done with TSM. I think it's my extreme preference for personal freedom that makes my views seem odd. It's not a party without Xavier Cromartie. "Czech fucked the board." Where this thread is heading: * More philosophical thoughts * More critique and analysis of TSM (especially Czech) * More about me.

37. As I reexamine this quote, I find it somewhat offensive. I understand that Czech isn't attracted to black or Asian girls. I don't have an objection to that part. The key phrase is "Asian fetishes." Isn't the point of a fetish that it's a sexual deviation? Wikipedia defines it as "sexual attraction to objects, situations or body parts not conventionally viewed as being sexual in nature." It's rather dehumanizing to equate sexual interest in an adult Asian with sexual interest in a corpse, for example. I had sex multiple times with my Korean girlfriend. Am I a sexual deviant and "downright creepy" for doing so? I think that having sexual interest in a healthy, adult human female is not creepy at all!

36. It's Easter. I'll talk about spirituality. I'm a deist, but I won't get into my beliefs. Let's just say that they are centered around evolution. I've been skimming through Smitty's religion thread. Panthermatt7 and TheBigSwigg are pretty good in it. (Especially compared to Czech's 'I'm above you all' act.) It's pretty much "the Bible says yadda yadda," then it derails until Twisted Intestine asks interesting questions. I think that serious spiritual discussion is rather silly if you're talking about anything but philosophical beliefs. What we're really looking for is the logically sound combination of metaphysics and ethics (the nature of our existence and what we're supposed to do). We should either discuss the arguments made by highly intelligent philosophers such as Augustine, Anselm, Avicenna, Averroës, and Aquinas or present our own ideas. See the last post in the above thread for an example of what I mean. Yes, but the above statement is not a good example of spiritual discussion. Catholic ethics do not advocate raping children. This part is much better. It's metaphysical. Why'd you call it off-topic? The problem, though, is that you act as if no one who has lived during the last 2,000 years has thought about these issues. Augustine, for example, meticulously worked on De Trinitate over the course of many years. He attempts to understand the Trinity by looking at trinities within the human mind. (Humans are made in God's image, after all.) In Book X, for example, he discusses the mind's trinity of memory, understanding, and will. I remember, I understand, and I will. They're not the same things, but they unite in one mind. I'm not an expert on the Holy Spirit, but my interpretation is that it is the person of God that is responsible for holiness and miracles in the world. We can understand God and His qualities (love, etc.) through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit performs miraculous actions such as transubstantiation, supernatural healing, prophecy, and raising the saved to heaven.

35. Since I have no other use for Twitter, I've decided to use it as a micro-blog for Somali-privateer-related topics. And so, I won't be talking about it here anymore. Also, it appears that K'naan (the Somali rapper) has been somewhat receptive to my comments to him about not calling them pirates: He started putting quotation marks around 'pirates.'

Molotov doesn't like me. I never really noticed him. You should be able to perceive the mocking tone in that blog. It documents awkward/sexual quotes. 34. Agreed, these people are horrible. Two days ago, I listed something in the FREE stuff, and I had (1) someone who didn't want to pick it up and (2) a no-show. Who are these no-show people? Do they pathetically troll Craigslist to set up fake meetings, do they forget the time, do they get lost, or do they just say 'fuck it' without bothering to communicate? In Cromartica, these people would be found guilty of fraud and would compensate all of their victims.

Czech represents everything that is wrong with The Real TSM.[1][2] All of a sudden we need our existence approved by some whiny little jazz band art fag who thinks because he drops $100 words in his posts and owns some obscure 80s modern rock on vinyl that he's above everything.[3] 33. Although bob_barron gets the creepy Disney fan stigma (deservedly for getting Miley Cyrus to sign his copy of Miles to Go[4]), my posting history tells you that I have some interest in Disney.[5][6] Certainly I'd never go to a Hannah Montana concert or stand in line for a Cheetah Girls autograph. But, some of the TV shows and films aren't bad. I like the music of Ashley Tisdale and Demi Lovato. (I also want to fuck Ashley Tisdale.) And I like evil Disney bitches like I like heels in wrestling. For example, this video is awesome:

For more changes, see The Obameter and Timeline of the Presidency of Barack Obama * Added 17,000 troops to Afghanistan. * Orchestrated and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. * Returned a loaned bronze bust of Winston Churchill to the Brits. * Signed the DTV Delay Act, allowing for a delay of the digital transition until 12 June 2009. * Established President's Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. * Signed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. * Imposed a cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive large amounts of bailout money. * Created the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families. * Signed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. * Wrote a letter to Iran, encouraging direct talks. * Pressured Citi to abandon plans for a new $50m corporate jet. * Allowed states to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards. * Announced Recovery.gov to show how the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is used. * Lifted the ban on funding abortion services abroad. * Ordered closure of Guantanamo Bay prison and CIA secret prisons and the usage of the U.S. Army Field Manual for interrogation techniques. * Emphasized the importance of government transparency. * Revoked GWB's Executive Order 13233 (which limited access to records of former Presidents). * Limited lobbyists' access. * Enacted a pay freeze on aids who make US$100,000+. * Expanded and emphasized the Office of Public Liaison. * Created the White House blog. * Created the Citizen's Briefing Book for the people to submit ideas to President Obama. * Created 'Open for Questions.' * Created USAService.org for finding local volunteer opportunities. * Gave weekly addresses on YouTube. * Offered transparency on transitional documents and meetings. * Created a presidential transition blog.

32. No, I'm a composite of at least seven European ethnicities. But I live in the Twin Cities, which has a large Somali population. As I learned about and interacted with Somali people, I found that I inherently like and agree with them. Ok, I amend my original statement to "I wonder if anyone at The Real TSM's discussion on this issue is similarly enlightened." I didn't mean everyone. (Certainly not Myron the Mod!) Yes, I would like that. I'm bitter because I feel it's just like the type of injustices that get me stirred up about Somalia, and I'm not assuming that I'll ever be allowed in to The Real TSM. I've been making the transition to another forum. This thread is for me to purge every TSM-related thought and then move on, if necessary.

31. How is it a low blow? I did not present the statement as fact; I wondered. To wonder is to be curious about something uncertain. I was uncertain about whether Real TSMers would return to making comments such as "torpedo their asses"[1] and "blow them up"[2] since they knew that I would not see their comments. I am now satisfied because you have provided me with the answer that they have not made such comments. Are they still my friends? As far as I know, only Toryn, Cheech, and objet petit a have spoken out against my exile. Is everyone else either indifferent toward or in favor of the Maffs' suddenly deciding to cut me out of a community that I have been a part of for many years? Why, because I don't think Leena is pure evil? I've felt that way for three years. So what? I still haven't heard the official reasoning for my exile from them. They don't know what happened with the board transition. They've ignored me when I've contacted them privately to discuss things. It's insulting to me that they presume that I lack moral character. *prays* One gimmick idea I had was Socrates. I'd try to make points with nothing but questions. Yes, but I find it difficult to morally justify live streaming an entire PPV.

30. Important message from eBay: This policy is fucking stupid. Ratings go up to only 5. If one piece of shit buyer decides to give me a 1 for shipping price, I won't be able to sell my items. I almost always start the auction price at US$0.99. I'm not going to risk shipping something for less than the price of shipping. I also have to acquire the shipping materials, address them, and spend my time going to the post office. Go fuck a tire iron if you think that charging you US$6.99 for something that costs US$6.13 to ship is such a heinous act that I should no longer be able to sell things. (BTW, I can still sell things, for now. Also, selling on eBay is not my primary occupation.)