It’s based apparently on the “Primal Scream” therapy that psychologist Arthur Janov came up with in the mid 1960s.
He argued that neurosis is caused by the repressed pain of childhood trauma and that repressed pain can be sequentially brought to conscious awareness for resolution through re-experiencing specific incidents and fully expressing the resulting pain during therapy. Primal therapy was developed as a means of eliciting the repressed pain.
TPM’s regular outbursts in the NZ Parliament could be seen as an equivalent.
Will it work? Possibly but unlikely: warped thinking doesn’t get cured like that.
I would like to be remembered as a good person from a small village in Mallorca. –Rafael Nadal, November 2024
One of the century’s greatest sportsmen
At the age of 38 the Spanish maestro has decided to retire. He would have liked to play on, but persistent injuries in recent years have meant he could not continue at his best.
Nevertheless he leaves an amazing legacy. Amongst his many achievements, the greatest has been his mastery of the clay surface and especially in the Roland Garros grand slam in Paris.
VICTORY BELONGS TO THE MOST TENACIOUS.
These famous words, attributed to World War One flying ace Roland Garros, are engraved high up on the Phillipe Chatrier Centre Court in French and English. Rafael Nadal’s incredible tenacity won him the French grand slam on that court an amazing 14 times. Surely this a record that will never be beaten.
A ferocious competitor on court and a humble man after the action
Coached by his uncle, the inscrutable Toni Nadal, Rafa has been a very disciplined player with a never-say-die attitude. He possessed breath-taking mobility, which enabled him to retrieve seemingly impossible returns and often ran round his backhand to hit powerful, tightly-angled forehands beyond the reach of his opponent.
His final grand slam victory – number 22 – was in the 2022 French Open when he beat Casper Ruud in three straight sets. The Norwegian actually broke Nadal’s second service game, contributed to many excellent rallies and scored many winners with his strong forehand. However, the Spaniard was not going to be denied yet another victory on his favourite court, and exhibited his superb retrieval skills, beautifully placed passing shots and strong forehand winners. His volleying and overhead were excellent and he swept Rudd away with his powerful returns and accurate serving in the third set in which he didn’t lose game.
This would be Rafa’s last hurrah as a Grand Slam victor.
Rafael Nadal is one of the world’s greatest ever athletes. His 22 Grand Slams put him two ahead of Roger Federer and only Novak Djokovic with 24 has bettered his total. The debate will continue as to who is the greatest tennis player of all time, however, most tennis fans are happy to acknowledge that the three legends have been in a class of their own and definitely a cut above the rest.
As well as his superb skills, fans enjoyed Rafa’s idiosyncrasies:
touching his face in several places before serving
placing his drink bottles by his seat just so
folding his towel very tidily before serving
being very careful where he walked prior to serving
giving the Spanish shrug during interviews – legendary triathlete Mario Mola did the same!
often adding “No?” to comments when being interviewed eg on Latvian Ernests Gilbis in 2014 Special player, no?
A selection of the scores of tributes from fellow players and other sports people—
You have inspired millions of children to start playing tennis, and I think that is probably the greatest achievement anyone can wish for. Your tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit is going to be taught for decades. Your legacy will live forever. –Novak Djokovic
What a career, Rafa! I always hoped this day would never come. Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It’s been an absolute honour. –Roger Federer
Among many titanic battles for the sport’s major prizes, the pair contested arguably ‘the greatest match ever played’ in the 2008 Wimbledon final. Nadal won 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7.
Thank you very much for being an example at all levels, your legacy is unrepeatable. I’ve enjoyed you so much and will miss you so much when you quit after Davis Cup, Rafa! -=Carlos Alcaraz
It’s tough news for all the tennis world. I was very lucky to get to know him and he’s an unbelievable person. He gave to all of us a lot of emotions when we saw him playing. –Jannik Sinner
One of those perfect examples of how to do things on and off the court. –Ben Shelton
You are amazing! It’s been so incredible to witness your greatness and work ethic and be able to learn from it. –Coco Gauff
Thank you Rafa for inspiring me and all of us. You will be missed. –Ons Jabeur
He’s a legend of our game, he’ll be truly missed. To win that many matches on clay, no one will ever accomplish that feat again and that sort of winning record at the French Open. ==Greg Rusedski
Rafael Nadal is one of the greatest male tennis players of all time and as sad as it is to hear this news, I would like to congratulate him on his phenomenal career. — ITF president David Haggerty
You are a legend. A true Olympian and a great champion who understands the power of sport to make the world a better place. Whatever you do next, I am certain you will continue to give everything you have — as you have done throughout your career. –International Olympic committee president Thomas Bach
Rafa, what an incredible race you’ve had! Your dedication, passion and incredible talent have inspired millions around the world. It has been an honour to witness your journey and to be able to call you a friend. Congrats on an amazing career! Enjoy your retirement! –Cristiano Ronaldo
The way ahead
Rafael Nadal may have retired from active play but his influence will continue. Back in 2016 he and his former coach Toni Nadal (Uncle Toni) set up the Rafa Nadal Academy as a training centre on the island of Mallorca. He will definitely be featuring there in the future, and he will doubtless play exhibition matches elsewhere.
The ‘King of Clay’ will no longer play the professional tournaments, but his legacy will live on.
Amusing in itself, but who’s making all the decisions to escalate Joe’s Great War right now — Blinken alone, perhaps with fellow Biden cabinet warmonger Jake Sullivan? It’s unlikely this halfwit does anything.
The Biden administration is now pushing Ukraine to lower its minimum draft age from 25 to 18 in order to provide more cannon fodder for the war against Russia.
Polls say that both Ukrainians and Americans want this US proxy war to end, but instead of ending it, Washington is pressuring Kyiv to throw teenagers into the threshing machine of an unwinnable conflict.
And we were told this war was all about protecting democracy. [That’s the last thing it’s about. —Eds]
❖ Russia keeps getting hit by Ukraine with US-supplied long-range missiles and is now saying that “retaliatory actions are being prepared.” This happens as Trump appoints virulent Russia hawk Keith Kellogg as his envoy to the conflict, adding further weight to my concerns that these soaring tensions may continue to escalate after Trump gets into office.
I’ll say right now that if all this insane brinkmanship results in Russia hitting Ukraine with a tactical nuke or something I’ll be a lot more enraged at the western power structure I live under for giving rise to that horror than I’ll be at Vladimir Putin.
Don’t side with the US empire against any nation it targets. Don’t side with cops against their victims. Don’t side with billionaires and politicians against the people.
❖ Every four years Americans get to choose between the Republican Party and the party that consistently leaves them so disgusted that they then vote for the Republican Party.
The latest from ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson on how Russia is going to respond to Blinken, Starmer and Macron’s growing provocations:-
Blinken, Biden, Starmer, Macron et al know they’ve lost their war in Ukraine — as well as their electoral war in America — but want to exact as much vengeance on the victors as they can.
History students know that’s exactly how Hitler behaved with his V2 supersonic rockets in 1944 and the ME262 jet fighter although its development was left too late to be of much effective use.
The result of the Nazis’ protracted war, the outcome of which was inevitable, was millions of extra dead and maimed and hundreds of smashed up German cities that could have been spared.
History is being repeated but the consequences will be much worse.
It’s one year since the National-led Government took office and immediately got to work on reducing the cost of living, restoring law and order and delivering better health and education.
The achievements we’ve made in just one year are thanks to the resilience and determination of everyday New Zealanders.
There’s a lot more work to do, and I know many Kiwis are still doing it tough. But we have made real progress to ensure that Kiwis keep more of their hard-earned money, feel safer in their communities, can access life-changing medicines and treatments, grow their businesses, can benefit from critical infrastructure, and to help our kids achieve at school. Here are just some of the highlights from our first year in Government:
Inflation has dropped to 2.2%, bringing relief from mortgages
83% of New Zealanders have received tax relief, putting more money in their back pockets
Wages are growing faster than inflation, putting more money into Kiwis’ budgets
40,000 families have received FamilyBoost childcare payments to help reduce their childcare costs
Delivered a 30% increase in Police foot patrols and a 60% decrease in ram raids
Invested $604m in Pharmac to deliver up to 26 new cancer treatments
Slashed the regulations holding back farmers
Progressed the Fast Track Approvals regime to get stuff built, fast
Led eight trade missions, delivered three trade agreements and resolved 16 barriers to trade because more Kiwi products on shelves overseas means higher incomes
Cracked down on gangs and banned gang patches in public
Progressed our plan for tougher sentences for serious criminals
Banned cell phones in classrooms
Required an hour of reading, writing and maths a day for our students
Put in place structured literacy and maths from Term 1 next year so kids can grow the skills they need to succeed
Invested $16.7b into health and set ambitious targets for shorter waits in the emergency department and for surgery.
My Government was elected on a promise to improve the lives of New Zealanders in the areas that matter most to them. We’re making good progress and I’m committed to keeping our promise with bold action that delivers positive results for all New Zealanders.
Although the election was in October last year, negotiations took over 5 weeks, much to the impatience of the Leftist Legacy Media who were keen to start bashing, just as we’ve seen in the last 3 weeks in America. Many people we know, including most of our editorial group switched to ACT last year because of a lack of confidence in Chris Luxon to deal with the tough issues, although we backed National candidates for electorate seats. —Eds
