The controversy over the behavior of Serena Williams at the US Open final overshadowed the powerful performance of the winner Naomi Osaka who showed great power and skill during a match that she dominated from the start. But while the US media may have talked most about Williams, in Japan it was quite different, and they exulted in Osaka’s win, which also had the effect of bringing to prominence the role of mixed-nationality people in a society that struggles with xenophobia and outright racism. As Jake Adelstein points out, pride in her victory enabled most people to overcome, at least in the short run, the antipathy felt by many towards those who are not considered ‘truly Japanese’, which not only means having both a Japanese mother and father but also having been born and grown up in Japan.
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In another in the series of dogs behaving well, this big dog wants the two little dogs to get their treats first. (Click on the image to activate the gif.)

People have always had a fascination about the lives of rich and famous people and it is a staple of the media to feature celebrity interviews that encourage them to open up about the most mundane elements of their lives. And if the celebrity is not willing to divulge that information voluntarily, then there are the paparazzi and other groups that will resort to all manner of methods to get it. Gossip sells.
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Much has been written about Serena Williams’s outburst during US Open final match again Naomi Osaka, with some defending her action saying that there is a double standard in tennis in which women are judged more harshly than men. (I expressed my own opinion here and here.) Another tennis legend Martina Navratilova, a tough competitor but always gracious in victory and defeat and who is deeply familiar with the rules and culture of the sport, has written a carefully argued op-ed in the New York Times where she says that that argument misses the point.
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… about the danger posed by hurricane Florence, nothing will.

The Weather Channel has used green screen technology to graphically demonstrate what different levels of storm surges might look like if you happen to be trapped in it.

Storm surge will be a huge factor for Hurricane #Florence Check out what it might look like with @TWCErikaNavarro: pic.twitter.com/TPqTZTmiAM

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 13, 2018

Serena Williams is a tennis phenomenon, dominating the sport for two decades even as she had a baby during that period. She will easily go down in history as one of the greatest tennis players ever. But earlier today, the 36-year old lost the final of the US Open 3-6,4-6 to 20-year Naomi Osaka for whom this was her first major final. But what was noteworthy was how ugly the match was.
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I hate cheating in sports and feel that players who do so should be punished severely. I have written before on this when it comes to cricket where a player who violates the rules is punished and if the act is particularly egregious, such as showing signs of premeditation or careful planning or collusion, then the punishments become even stiffer for ‘violating the spirit of the game’.
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I will be visiting my grandson over the long weekend and so blogging will be slight over the next few days.

The European Union Commission has recommended abandoning the practice of adjusting clocks by one hour every spring and fall, in response to polls suggesting that most people dislike it. Given the complicated nature by which the EU makes decisions, there is a long way to go before this could take place, if at all. But it is a step.
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You have no doubt heard of the phenomenon of the people who ‘dine and dash’. These are people who eat in a restaurant and then leave without paying. The usual perpetrators are small groups of young men. Why they do it is unclear, since usually it is not because they are hungry and lack money for food. Maybe they treat it as a lark. This is a despicable practice, especially since some restaurants dock the server for the amount of the unpaid bill. Given that servers get paid less than the minimum wage, this seems particularly outrageous.
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