@propublica Thx for this @deldeib. I had a similar denial experience though different specifics. Advocacy was my “secret” to winning after months of weekly calls, faxes, and escalations. Just like your story’s subject, any joy at resolution was buried by exhaustion and expressed in tears.
Statement from Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on the papal encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas:"
In "Magnifica Humanitas," Pope Leo XIV has given us a profound gift: a teaching that reminds us that every human life possesses an inviolable dignity and that safeguarding this dignity must be the foundation of every decision we make as we develop and apply artificial intelligence.
Signing this encyclical on the 135th anniversary of "Rerum Novarum," Pope Leo XIII’s historic letter on the rights of workers, is a deliberate choice. Just as Leo XIII addressed the disorientation of the industrial revolution, Leo XIV calls us to moral clarity and solidarity in the midst of this latest societal transformation, underscoring the urgency of the questions humankind faces.
At Notre Dame, our mission as a global Catholic research university compels us to advance Pope Leo XIV’s historic contribution to Catholic social tradition through our research, our teaching, and all of our work in service of the common good. The Holy Father has highlighted the critical role that Catholic scholars and researchers — and all those of goodwill — must play in raising moral questions and actively shaping new technologies to ensure they serve the entire human family.
@styblova@fx_hash_ Po’ but chapeaux.
My prize of the ilk might be a chambray Infor cap signed by racquet sport champion Jack Sock at some HQ rooftop meet and greet. Like, did that really happen?
Ready for a good mystery? I'm glad my client let me publish this case study. It was an interesting one, that's for sure :) -> Deindexed, Delayed, and Down: Investigating A Site’s Removal From Google Before A Delayed Manual Action Arrived [Case Study]
It started with an email from my client that they had been completely deindexed, they had no idea why, and were freaking out a bit. My knee-jerk reaction had me thinking AI-generated content or programmatic content could be at play... but then digging into GSC (especially the right properties) revealed the issue. And yep, it was bad.
My hope is this case study can help other site owners out there avoid this situation. Or, if they get into a similar situation, maybe the case study can help them get out of it. I provide a final section of bullets with important points for site owners. https://t.co/2zXnkfxJbc
I’d have more sympathy for NFT platforms shutting down if they hadn’t so openly embraced the capitalist extraction engine; the blinding antithesis of decentralization. These were businesses, and they made bad decisions. Own it.
You don’t get to take artists’ and collectors' money and then ask us to feel sorry for how hard you worked. You were salaried. You were paid to believe in the thing you were building. If you overworked yourself to meet the demands of the machine, that was a choice made within a system that still compensated you.
We don't get paid. We show up every day without salaries, without guarantees, carrying the cultural and creative risk that gives these platforms value in the first place.
So yes, we’re allowed to have opinions. And "but we worked so hard" is not accountability.
Take two minutes and listen to these words from Marcus Freeman whether you’re a Notre Dame fan or not. This is what old school sports used to mean
Joe DiMaggio said something very similar
This is the way my dad raised me
#MarcusFreeman#NotreDame@ClintHurdle13@shegone03@SeanUnfiltered
The partnership that redefined pro cycling just died.
Not from failure. From exhaustion.
Rapha and EF Education are splitting after seven years. One of the most recognisable, innovative partnerships in modern cycling - over.
The duck helmet. The Palace collaboration. The pink jersey everyone could spot from space. Gone.
Rapha's CEO said the relationship "had gotten tired."
Not unsuccessful. Not unprofitable. Tired.
That line stuck with me because it's brutally honest about something every brand partnership faces but nobody admits.
They didn't fail. They just stopped caring.
When Rapha joined EF in 2019, they weren't just supplying kit. They were building culture.
The alternative calendar sent pro riders to Unbound Gravel and Leadville. Lachlan Morton's solo Alt Tour captured millions of views. The Gone Racing documentary series brought fans inside the sport.
They gave cycling personalities again.
The partnership won stages at all three Grand Tours. Victories at Flanders and Paris-Roubaix Femmes. World championship gold this year.
By every metric, it worked.
But Rapha reported losses for seven straight years. And somewhere along the way, the magic became maintenance.
The innovation became obligation.
The disruption became routine.
That's how partnerships die in 2025. Not with a bang. With a memo about "broadening horizons."
Meanwhile, Ineos Grenadiers - once cycling's dominant super team - can't find a bike sponsor for 2026.
They're hiring agencies. Talking to "hundreds of brands." Offering unprecedented opportunities.
But nobody's signing.
Because the model is broken.
Brands enter cycling to build community, create culture, tell stories. Then they realise that costs money and doesn't show immediate ROI.
So they optimise. Cut the storytelling budget. Focus on logo placement and activation metrics.
The partnership becomes transactional.
The magic disappears.
The "relationship gets tired."
Then they leave. And everyone acts surprised.
Rapha and EF proved something valuable: partnerships that build culture create value beyond spreadsheets.
But building culture is expensive.
It's long-term. It's hard to measure.
So brands choose transactions over transformation.
Then wonder why nothing sticks.
The real tragedy isn't that Rapha left. It's what they're leaving behind.
EF now has to find a partner willing to fill boots that might be "too big to fill" according to brands who considered it.
Because Rapha wasn't just a kit supplier. They were culture architects.
And in cycling's current sponsor market, nobody wants to pay for architects.
They want vendors.
Seven years of losses finally made Rapha ask: is this worth it?
Their answer was no. And honestly, looking at the economics, I can't blame them.
But that's the problem. When the economics say no to building culture, everyone loses.
@BenjiNaesen@PCyclingManager I was more impressionable in 2016. That double was a hallmark of me loving the sport all over again after …the dark years. This double has a lesser impact, not so much from being once more jaded, rather numbed by the sustained excellence.