DramatistDreamer

This hasn't gotten attention in the way that the TPP and other trade agreements have gotten, nonetheless, there has indeed been a negotiation of a trade pact in Africa. African nations sign largest free trade agreement since WTO Of course, as with any trade pact, there are holdouts. Nigeria (having one of the largest economies on the continent) is being heavily criticized for being one of them. Perhaps they holdout because the pact is seen to favor small to medium-sized businesses and Nigeria's corporate conglomerates (they have more than any other country in Africa) don't stand to benefit directly. Having said that, it seems somewhat bizarre that any African country would forgo the opportunity to trim and/or eliminate high tariffs between African countries when African states currently pay higher tariffs to export between other African countries than they do to export outside of the continent. Again, though, Nigeria and likely, South Africa (another holdout), with their large number of multinationals probably saw no problem with this arrangement as it was unlikely to affect them directly. Still, that doesn't say much for their sense of unity and prosperity throughout the continent or their sense of forward-thinking in terms of the indirect benefits that they could get from their neighbors having more stable economies.

None of this should come as a surprised, given that the results were foretold a year ago but still...identical twins...WTH!

Yeah, this was not a surprise to me. Naomi is on a confidence high and is playing well and Serena's still trying to work her way back. I think she is discovering that working her way back is very different from previous times when she was injured, a totally different situation for her. A lot of people are now criticizing Serena because two reporters just reported that she skipped the post-match press. One even tweeting that she "stormed" out. The criticisms of the WS are always intense so I think I'll close out of that part of social media today.

According to sources, neither of the actors were aware of what the other was being paid. JMO but Claire Foy should be paid a commensurate salary retroactively, at the very least for Season 2 where her image was consistently used (more than anyone else's) in all the promotional materials for the show. Honestly, her salary should've been equal to his in Season 1 (he may have been in Dr. Who but she's the bloody Queen!) and she should've made more than he in Season 2 because her acting award added to the show's critical acclaim.

Here is the other part of Channel 4's documentary on Cambridge Analytica. I don't know why they bothered to pretend that firing Nix would solve anything when the entire enterprise is shady as hell!

@j swiftBarbara's brother Rick Ryan also returned briefly in 1986. Check out 12:18.

Nicole Vaidisova (remember her?) is pregnant. That's why Stepanek went home.

That article, sadly is of no surprise to me. I remember a study done about a decade ago and the findings stated that the lighter the shade of one's skin, it was equivalent to akin to having an extra year of education, such was the high regard for a lighter complexion. The closer to white your skin, the higher the paycheck. Also, we also know that blacks get worse mortgage rates than whites, regardless of credit, finances. Studies have shown a white person with the same credit rating/history and income as a black person and the black person was still steered toward a more disadvantageous terms in their loan package.

That song was so bad! But Jr. ain't worth sh*t, so I guess that sounds about right.

Roger and Nick were both in Chicago today to promote the U.S. edition of the Laver Cup.

This will come as no surprise to any of us but look at the number or trade agreements being signed and negotiated without the U.S. as countries look for alternatives to trade with the U.S. What stands out is just how instrumental Canada is becoming in quite a number of these trade agreements, which makes sense. ‘World Upside Down’: As Trump Pushes Tariffs, Latin America Links Up

I try to limit my reading/posting of Op-Ed pieces but this one caught my eye. From what I've observed from others and read I tend to agree with everything being expressed here except the part about Trump W.H. Inc. being committed to a lasting peace in the region. I don't believe Trump W.H. is committed to anything except burnishing their bankroll. Israel’s Self-Inflicted Wounds

That was such an intense and entertaining match!! Those guys bring out the best in each other on court, and the worst in each other in temperament! I was glad to see someone who struggled with injuries and multiple surgeries, the way Juan did and manage to make it back as a competitor and win big! It is hard to believe that there won't be another title for Roger to win somewhere. There's literally another tournament around the corner, in a few days. Although I do wonder whether Juan will try for the famous "Sunshine Double". @Faulkner ESPN's online app actually streamed the trophy ceremony. I already watch online, this was how I found out. It's weird because I checked before the match began, and I swear, it wasn't on the schedule.

Osaka did everything well today, except for that speech! Seriously though, it was nice to see and surprisingly, I felt pleased for Sascha, her coach. In other warm and fuzzy news.

Here's a concise documentary by Channel 4 on the origins of the Cambridge Analytica company and how they grabbed so much personal data from FB users.

Nia Long (Kat Speakes, GL) is one of the stars of the Netflix original movie Roxanne Roxanne.

ESPN literally went on to list the myriad of coaches that Milos has had before the commentators then discussed the possibility of Milos either searching for the right fit and not afraid of change but not before one (Chris what's-his-name again) proposed that perhaps the problem rested with Milos himself and the possibility that Milos was a very deep thinker, perhaps too much so. Then Patrick suggests that Milos has a very "straightforward" game and shouldn't need to overthink anything. These guys are exhausting. I'm glad I don't often have to listen to them.

They just started talking about how big he looks and mentioned an anecdote about how Ivanisevic had once talked about the ideal kg for Raonic and how he surely was heavier than that ideal now. Then Chris-what's-his-name mentioned that it must be difficult to carry that amount of weight around the court and expect to move quickly. Something like that.

It has gotten very minimal media coverage, which is a shame. I've read more about it on social media from those who knew the victims. It would be hard to believe that there wouldn't come a point that all of Trump's scheming wouldn't catch up to him.