London Chelsea Beats Man. U., Only 2 Wins From Title

In England, the soccer team – er, football team – Chelsea moved to within two wins of reclaiming the Premier League title after player Eden Hazard’s goal gave them a narrow victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge stadium in Fulham, England.

Victory in the coming games at Arsenal and Leicester City will return the title to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2010.

London’s Chelsea were pushed all the way by a resurgent Manchester United, looking toward a seventh successive victory.

Manchester United player Wayne Rooney and the recalled Radamel Falcao came closest for Man. U., but once again they fell victim to the resilience and defensive strength that is Chelsea’s trademark under manager Jose Mourinho, assisted by the brilliance of Hazard, states the BBC.

(Updated post)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wins?

Most news outlets are now claiming that Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party won the recent Israeli elections.  With nearly all votes counted on Wednesday, Likud had won 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset, comfortably defeating the center-left Zionist Union opposition on 24 seats. A united list of Israeli Arab parties came in third.

The New York Times:

“After a bruising campaign focused on his failings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won a clear victory in Tuesday’s elections and seemed all but certain to form a new government and serve a fourth term, though he offended many voters and alienated allies in the process.

“With 99.5 percent of the ballots counted, the YNet news site reported Wednesday morning that Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud Party had captured 29 or 30 of the 120 seats in Parliament, sweeping past his chief rival, the center-left Zionist Union alliance, which got 24 seats.”

Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday to form a new governing coalition quickly after an upset election victory that was built on a shift to the right and is likely to worsen a troubled relationship with the White House, according to Yahoo News.

In the final days of campaigning, Netanyahu abandoned a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state – the basis of more than two decades of Middle East peacemaking – and promised to go on bulldozing areas and building settlements on occupied land.

Such policies defy the vision of a peace treaty for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is embraced by President Barack Obama and his Republican and Democratic predecessors, states Yahoo News.

The result was in some ways an unexpected victory for Netanyahu:  opinion polls published four days before the vote had shown Likud trailing the Zionist Union by four seats.

More here

(Updated article)

South Carolina Man Wins Lions Club’s Highest Honor

The Manning Lions Club presented Lion George Calloway with the highest award one can receive from the Lions Clubs at the South Carolina group’s annual Valentine’s event on February 16th.

Pictured here, Lions President Joe McNeil, left, presented Calloway, right, with the Dr. Franklin Mason Fellowship Award, which recognizes the humanitarian efforts of an individual in the club striving continuously to adhere to the motto “We Serve.”

Calloway has been a member of the club for 57 years. During his long tenure with the Manning Lions Club, Calloway has been a leader in efforts to raise funds for the Lions’ primary mission, providing vision services to those in need.

“Calloway has worked many hours with vision projects, including vision screenings in the schools and other services within the community,” said McNeil. “The Manning Lions Club proudly acknowledges Lion George Calloway for all he has done with the (club) and his other activities within the Manning Community.”

538: A Net Gain For Republicans?

According to FiveThirtyEight:

“If the polls are right, Republicans will take control of the United States Senate when it reconvenes next year.  They’ll retain the majority of the nation’s governorships, although perhaps with a net loss of one or two seats. FiveThirtyEight hasn’t issued a House projection this year, so here goes nothing: Republicans will keep it. (Want more detail? The Cook Political Report thinks Republicans will gain a few seats, probably a net of 6 to 12, from Democrats.)

“Sounds like a pretty good night for Republicans? It would be. But there are a few apparent complications.”

Complication No. 1.

Some prominent Republican incumbents are likely to lose. Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas is no better than even money to keep his seat against independent Greg Orman. Incumbent Republican governors are underdogs — some by slim margins — in Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Maine and Pennsylvania.  Rick Snyder of Michigan and Scott Walker of Wisconsin are likely but not certain to survive.

Complication No. 2.

Republicans are largely playing on “home turf.” The average Senate race this year is being held in a state where Barack Obama won just 46 percent of the vote in 2012. In the House, meanwhile, the median Congressional district is Republican-leaning. (Democrats tend to be packed into geographically compact, urban areas; this tendency is sometimes enhanced by gerrymandering.) A method of assessing the score probably needs to account for this.

Complication No. 3.

The House, Senate and gubernatorial results seem to tell different stories. Polls project major Republican gains in the Senate but modest ones in the House and perhaps a net loss of Republican governorships. How to reconcile this evidence?