PSL
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the United States founded in June 2004 following a split from the Workers World Party led by figures including Brian Becker.[1][2] The organization positions itself as a revolutionary force dedicated to overthrowing capitalism through mass struggle and establishing a socialist society where production is collectively controlled by workers, explicitly rejecting reformist approaches within the capitalist framework.[3][4] Organized into branches nationwide, the PSL combines electoral participation—fielding candidates for local, state, and presidential races—with activism in labor, anti-war, immigrant rights, and anti-police brutality movements, often through coalitions like the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) network, which it helped initiate to mobilize against U.S. military interventions.[1][5] Its presidential nominees, including Gloria La Riva in multiple cycles and Claudia De la Cruz in 2024, have garnered minimal vote shares, reflecting the party's emphasis on building long-term revolutionary consciousness over immediate electoral viability.[6] The PSL's defining characteristics include a staunch anti-imperialist outlook that defends governments targeted by U.S. policy, such as those in Cuba, Venezuela, China, and Russia, framing such stances as opposition to American hegemony rather than endorsements of those regimes' internal policies; this has sparked controversies, with critics accusing the party of selective outrage and apologetics for authoritarian practices inconsistent with its domestic rhetoric on democracy and human rights.[1][3] Despite its small membership and influence—drawing from a mix of students, workers, and veterans—the PSL has sustained visibility through publications like Liberation News and participation in high-profile protests, including those against the Iraq War and more recent conflicts, underscoring its commitment to linking local grievances to global capitalist dynamics.[7][8]Sports
Pakistan Super League
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a franchise-based professional Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan, featuring city-representing teams competing in a league and playoff format. Organized annually by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the league aims to develop domestic talent, attract international players, and restore cricket's popularity in the country following a decline due to security concerns after the 2009 Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team.[9] The inaugural season began on February 4, 2016, with five teams, expanding to six from 2018 onward.[10] The PSL has played a significant role in reviving international cricket hosting in Pakistan, as early seasons were partially or fully held in the United Arab Emirates due to safety issues, but progressive returns to Pakistani venues like Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi have normalized domestic play and boosted fan engagement.[11] By 2025, the league had completed ten seasons, drawing substantial viewership and contributing to the emergence of players like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi into global prominence through high-stakes T20 exposure.[12]Format
Each PSL season follows a double round-robin group stage where the six teams play 34 matches in total, with each team facing every other twice (once home, once away, though "home" designations vary due to venue rotations). The top four teams advance to playoffs: the first- and second-placed teams contest Qualifier 1, while third and fourth play the Eliminator; winners of those proceed to the final, with a potential second qualifier for the loser of Qualifier 1.[10] Matches are limited-overs T20 games, typically scheduled from February to March, with player selection via drafts emphasizing a mix of local and international talent capped at four overseas players per playing XI.[12]Teams
The league comprises six franchises, each tied to major Pakistani cities or regions:- Islamabad United (Islamabad)
- Karachi Kings (Karachi)
- Lahore Qalandars (Lahore)
- Multan Sultans (Multan; added in 2018)
- Peshawar Zalmi (Peshawar)
- Quetta Gladiators (Quetta)
Seasons and Results
As of the 2025 season (PSL 10), Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United share the record for most titles with three each. The following table summarizes winners and runners-up:| Season | Year | Winner | Runner-up | Final Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | Islamabad United | Quetta Gladiators | Dubai |
| 2 | 2017 | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators | Lahore |
| 3 | 2018 | Islamabad United | Peshawar Zalmi | Karachi |
| 4 | 2019 | Quetta Gladiators | Peshawar Zalmi | Karachi |
| 5 | 2020 | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Lahore (played in UAE due to COVID-19) |
| 6 | 2021 | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Abu Dhabi |
| 7 | 2022 | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Lahore |
| 8 | 2023 | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Lahore |
| 9 | 2024 | Multan Sultans | Islamabad United | Lahore |
| 10 | 2025 | Lahore Qalandars | Quetta Gladiators | Lahore |
Premier Soccer League
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the governing body for professional association football in South Africa, headquartered in Johannesburg. It oversees the Betway Premiership, the country's highest-tier league, which comprises 16 clubs competing in a double round-robin format over 30 matches per team, with the season spanning August to May.[17] [18] The PSL also manages subsidiary competitions, including the Nedbank Cup and promotion playoffs linking to the National First Division.[19] Established in 1996 following the end of apartheid, the PSL unified fragmented leagues into a professional structure to elevate standards and commercialization, succeeding the National Soccer League.[18] The inaugural 1996–97 season featured 18 teams, with Manning Rangers claiming the title under coach Gordon Igesund.[20] Over time, the league has expanded commercial partnerships, such as the current Betway sponsorship, while maintaining promotion and relegation to ensure competitiveness; the bottom team typically faces playoffs against National First Division contenders.[17] Mamelodi Sundowns hold the record with 18 championships, followed by Kaizer Chiefs (13) and Orlando Pirates (9), reflecting the dominance of established Soweto-based clubs.[21]| Club | Titles |
|---|---|
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 18[21] |
| Kaizer Chiefs | 13[21] |
| Orlando Pirates | 9[21] |
Philippine Super Liga
The Philippine Super Liga (PSL) was a club-based women's volleyball competition in the Philippines, established to offer a platform for athletes transitioning from collegiate play in a sport overshadowed by basketball's dominance.[25] It operated as a semi-professional league distinct from collegiate circuits like the UAAP or NCAA, featuring corporate-sponsored teams rather than school or regional representatives.[25] Unlike the V-League's invitational structure, the PSL emphasized regular-season play among domestic clubs with professional aspirations, including rules allowing players to return to college after two years of participation.[25] Launched on July 7, 2013, with its inaugural Invitational Conference at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan, the league began with six teams: Cignal HD Spikers, PLDT myDSL Speed Boosters, TMS-Philippine Army Lady Troopers, Cagayan Valley Lady Rising Suns, PCSO Bingo Milyonaryo Puffins, and Petron Blaze Spikers.[26] Initially organized by SportsCore Event Management and Consultancy, Inc., operations later shifted to the Athletic Events & Sports Management Group (ACES), Inc.[26] Matches occurred three times weekly—Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays—typically between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. The league structured its seasons into multiple conferences: All-Filipino editions restricted to Philippine nationals for exclusivity and brevity; Open or Reinforced conferences permitting foreign imports, such as Thailand's Jang Bualee or Patcharee Sangmuang; and Invitational events pitting local squads against international opponents.[25] The 2013 conference concluded with the Philippine Army Lady Troopers as champions.[26] The PSL ran for seven seasons, fostering talents who later competed at higher levels, though teams like Cignal and PLDT persisted into successor leagues while others, including Petron, became inactive.[26] Operations faltered amid the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by player attrition, internal disputes, and a broadcasting partnership collapse with TV5, leaving only three teams by early 2021.[27] With no active rosters by March 2021, the league effectively disbanded as franchises migrated to the emerging Premier Volleyball League (PVL), which achieved professional status and absorbed much of the PSL's infrastructure and personnel.[26] [28] ACES, the PSL's final operator, pivoted to collegiate events under the Shakey's Super League banner.[26]Places
Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie is a principal city in St. Lucie County, Florida, located on the southeastern Atlantic coast as part of the Treasure Coast region. Incorporated on April 27, 1961, by a development group aimed at selling quarter-acre lots primarily to retirees, the city has experienced rapid population growth, becoming Florida's sixth-largest municipality with over 260,000 residents as of 2024.[29][30] The city spans approximately 120 square miles, featuring a mix of residential subdivisions, commercial districts, and natural preserves along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River.[29] Historically, the area was sparsely populated prior to the mid-20th century, with early European settlement in St. Lucie County dating back to the 19th century but focused northward in Fort Pierce. Port St. Lucie's founding emphasized planned suburban development without initial infrastructure like schools or hospitals, leading to reliance on county services in its early years; by the 1970s, it had annexed surrounding lands to support expansion. The city's growth accelerated in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, driven by migration from northern states and in-state relocations seeking affordable housing and coastal proximity.[30] Geographically, Port St. Lucie lies at an elevation of about 23 feet above sea level, with a landscape of flat coastal plains, pine flatwoods, and mangrove-lined waterways vulnerable to hurricanes and flooding. It experiences a humid subtropical climate characterized by hot, wet summers averaging 90°F highs and mild, drier winters with lows around 50°F; annual precipitation totals roughly 50-60 inches, concentrated from June to October.[31] The economy centers on construction, retail trade, healthcare, and professional services, reflecting ongoing residential and commercial development; the median household income stands at $78,137, with a poverty rate below the national average. Demographically, the population is predominantly White (51.8% non-Hispanic), followed by Black or African American (18.2%), and Hispanic or Latino (around 20%), with a median age of approximately 42.5 years and a workforce skewed toward service and sales occupations.[32][33][34]Business and Economics
Personal Seat License
A personal seat license (PSL) is a one-time fee paid by an individual or entity to a sports franchise or stadium authority, granting the holder the exclusive right to purchase season tickets for a specific seat or group of seats on an ongoing basis, typically for the duration of the venue's useful life or until the license is transferred or revoked.[35] This arrangement functions as a contractual license rather than ownership of the seat itself, with teams retaining control over revocation for reasons such as non-payment of season tickets, scalping, or unsportsmanlike conduct.[36] PSLs emerged primarily as a mechanism to finance stadium construction and renovations, allowing teams to generate upfront capital from fans without relying solely on public subsidies or debt, with prices varying widely from a few hundred dollars to over $100,000 per seat depending on location, team popularity, and market demand.[37] The concept gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s amid a wave of new sports facilities in the United States, with early adopters like the Washington Redskins using similar rights to fund RFK Stadium expansions in the 1960s, though widespread application accelerated with deals such as the Atlanta Falcons' 1992 PSL sales for Georgia Dome construction, which raised hundreds of millions.[38] In the NFL, at least 17 teams have employed PSLs to offset stadium costs, exemplified by the Oakland Raiders' 2020 Las Vegas relocation where licenses helped fund Allegiant Stadium, and the San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium, which secured $554.6 million in PSL revenue in its first year alone.[39] [40] MLB and NBA franchises have followed suit, with PSLs contributing to venue financing in markets like New York and Golden State, where they target affluent fans willing to invest for premium access.[41] Economically, PSLs provide teams with immediate liquidity—often pooled into construction funds—while shifting some financial risk to licensees, who may resell licenses on secondary markets but face team-imposed restrictions on transfers or pricing.[36] Legally, courts have treated PSLs as personal property interests that are alienable per contract terms, upholding resale policies but permitting team clawbacks in cases of default or relocation disputes, as seen in the St. Louis Rams' 2017 resistance to refunding PSLs after moving to Los Angeles, where affected fans sought reimbursements exceeding $20 million.[42] Critics argue PSLs exacerbate affordability barriers for average fans, functioning as a de facto barrier to entry that prioritizes high-end revenue over broad attendance, with instances of widespread defaults—such as over 7,000 Atlanta Falcons accounts since 2016—highlighting risks of overvaluation in secondary markets.[43] [44] [45] Despite these concerns, PSLs remain a staple in professional sports financing, enabling projects like the Buffalo Bills' new stadium, where approximately 54,628 seats require licenses averaging up to $50,000 each.[46]Priority Sector Lending
Priority Sector Lending (PSL) is a regulatory framework mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) requiring commercial banks to allocate a specified portion of their adjusted net bank credit (ANBC) to designated priority sectors, including agriculture, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), education loans, housing for economically weaker sections, social infrastructure, renewable energy, and export credit.[47] The policy aims to ensure inclusive credit flow to underserved areas of the economy that might otherwise face lending gaps due to perceived higher risks or lower profitability for banks.[48] The origins of PSL trace back to recommendations in 1972 from an RBI study group submitted to the National Credit Council, following bank nationalizations in 1969 that emphasized directed credit to agriculture and small-scale industries.[49] Initial targets set in 1974 required 33.33% of total credit for priority sectors, escalating to 40% of ANBC by 1985 for all scheduled commercial banks.[50] Foreign banks with 20 or more branches were brought under the 40% target by April 2020, up from a prior 32% threshold.[51] Sub-targets include 18% for agriculture (with 8% specifically for small and marginal farmers) and 10% for weaker sections, such as small and marginal farmers, artisans, and persons with disabilities.[52] Under the RBI's Master Directions on Priority Sector Lending – Targets and Classification, 2025, effective April 1, 2025, banks must meet overall targets of 40% for domestic commercial banks and regional rural banks, and 75% for small finance banks.[53] Key revisions include a differential lending weightage system to incentivize credit in underbanked districts (e.g., loans in low-credit districts count double toward targets), expanded eligibility for NBFC lending, removal of securitization pricing caps, and higher loan limits for renewables (up to ₹50 crore per project) and affordable housing.[54] [55] Non-compliance triggers penalties, such as contributions to the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund at rates up to 5-7% of shortfalls.[56] PSL has facilitated substantial credit growth, with overall priority sector disbursements rising 85% from ₹11.5 lakh crore in 2019 to ₹21.3 lakh crore in 2024, particularly in MSMEs (from ₹10.99 lakh crore to ₹21.73 lakh crore).[57] However, effectiveness is debated: while it has boosted formal credit access in targeted areas, studies indicate disproportionate benefits to larger or less risky borrowers within sectors, such as affluent farmers over smallholders, leading to higher non-performing assets (NPAs) in PSL portfolios compared to general lending.[58] Banks often prioritize easier-to-service loans to meet quotas, potentially distorting capital allocation away from highest-return uses and contributing to inefficiencies in resource distribution.[59] Critics argue for periodic recalibration to align with evolving economic needs, as rigid mandates may exacerbate risks without addressing root causes like information asymmetries or collateral gaps in underserved sectors.[59]Computing and Technology
Portable Standard Lisp
Portable Standard Lisp (PSL) is a dialect of the Lisp programming language, developed as a portable and efficient implementation compatible with the 1979 Standard Lisp specification.[60] It extends Standard Lisp with additional facilities for symbolic computation, debugging, and system interfaces, while prioritizing cross-platform portability through a retargetable compiler and low-level SYSLisp subsystem for machine-specific operations.[61] PSL was primarily created to support algebraic manipulation systems like REDUCE, providing a uniform environment across diverse hardware without sacrificing performance.[60][62] Development began at the University of Utah's Symbolic Computation Group in the late 1970s, building on earlier non-portable Standard Lisp implementations by researchers such as Anthony Hearn and Martin Griss.[60] Key contributors included Griss, Eric Benson, W. Galway, B. Morrison, B. Othmer, and John Peterson, with funding from NSF grants (e.g., MCS80-07034, MCS82-04247), Hewlett-Packard, and IBM.[61] The system evolved from a retargetable optimizing compiler for Standard Lisp, culminating in PSL version 3.2 released on March 16, 1984.[61] By the mid-1980s, PSL had been ported to over a dozen architectures, including VAX, DEC-20, MC68000-based machines, Cray-1, Apollo workstations, and the BBN Butterfly parallel computer, demonstrating its emphasis on adaptability via c-macros for assembly translation and conditional compilation directives likeIf_System.[60][61]
PSL's core features include full support for Standard Lisp data types such as integers (fixnums, bignums), floats, lists, strings, vectors, and hash tables, alongside extended primitives for efficient numeric and vector operations.[61] It incorporates an RLisp preprocessor for Algol-like syntax, flow control constructs (e.g., COND, FOR, WHILE), and debugging tools like TRACE, BREAK, BACKTRACE, and a profiler.[61] Additional modules provide hashed consing (HCons) for memory optimization, object-oriented programming via "flavors" inspired by early Common Lisp, and Common Lisp-compatible string functions (e.g., CHAR-UPCASE, STRING-TRIM).[61] The system includes an interpreter, a compiler generating C or assembly code, screen editors (EMODE/NMODE), and I/O facilities with channel-based file handling.[60][61] Portability is achieved through self-hosting Lisp code for most operations, with SYSLisp handling untyped, machine-oriented tasks, enabling bootstrapping on new platforms.[60]
Implementations of PSL were distributed as kits containing the compiler, interpreter, and utilities, often tailored for specific environments like Unix, Tops-20, or Aegis.[61] For instance, the BBN Butterfly port supported parallel processing via futures, maintaining syntactic and semantic fidelity to the core PSL.[60] Hewlett-Packard commercialized PSL in the mid-1980s for workstations, though some users later transitioned to Common Lisp variants for advanced performance needs.[60] PSL's influence persisted in symbolic computation, serving as the original runtime for REDUCE until extensions necessitated further evolution, and it informed later portable Lisp efforts by demonstrating compilation techniques on stock hardware.[60][62]