How Seinfeld predicted the we live in a society meme – Happy

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

On May 23, 1991, the NBC first aired The Chinese Restaurant,the eleventh episode of a failing second season of Seinfeld. The episode sees the three characters Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine Benes, and George Costanza waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant. Thats it. Thats the entire plot of the 23-minute episode. The audience watches in real-time as the characters simply wait.

The episode eventually ends with the characters leaving before getting a table because they no longer want to stand around. Today, its remembered as one of the greatest and most exemplary episodes of the radical, revolutionary 90s sitcom.

When the second season of Seinfeld aired, it was to disinterested spectators. Episodes were met with lukewarm audience responses, a bewildered network, and dwindling ratings. Unlike its contemporaries, Seinfeld pulled humour out of the most mundane of activities and interactions. It didnt make up elaborate conflicts or climaxes. Instead, it proudly garnered a tagline as The show about nothing. Seinfeld went on to air for another six seasons, generate an audience of 76 million, and rack up $3 billion in returns. Today, running gags like yada yada yada, master of his domain, and no soup for you, still thrive in the current 21st-centurycultural zeitgeist.

Outside mainstream popular culture, Seinfeld remains prophet to the surrealist memescape of 4chan and Reddit, having predicted the trends of recontextualising quips and subversion of genre, as well as a distinct departure from elitist forms of media and traditional storytelling. The show about nothing would go on to set the precedent for everything.

It goes without saying that popular culture is distributed and consumed in a very different fashion today versus the 1990s. Seinfeld seemed to initially trip-up at a time when sitcoms like Full House, Married With Children, and of course network frenemy, Friends, were situated in a landscape that was still riding the sitcom wave of the 70s; creating plots from the same rules of relatable and accessible post-war television, with familiar characters in familiar scenarios created for a casual weekly viewership.

Seinfeld, on the other hand, was a sitcom meant for a binging era. With characters continually smirking nods to past jokes, it rewarded viewers for sticking with the sinking ship. Creator Larry David had one golden rule for the Seinfeld writers: no hugging, no learning. It pushed boundaries, always keen to test audiences with controversial story arcs like trying to abstain from masturbation or the meta episode arc in the fourth season where Jerry and George pitch their lives as a sitcom on the NBC. It was a show for its cult following and it didnt try or want to appeal to the masses.

Platforms like TikTok, 4chan, and Reddit thrive off this same exclusive community consciousness and, like Seinfeld, it can be difficult to penetrate them from the outside. Think of the different sides of Tik Tok basically the idea that the algorithm funnels users into different subsets of TikTok content, and liking particular clips will see your timeline inundated with similar posts.

Once creators discovered this is how the app curated the For You page, they purposely played on this idea by creating an absurdist bean genre of TikTok (which was basically nonsensical 15-second edits of beans from a can), or the Jason Daniel Earles side of TikTok (which saw clips dedicated to the appreciation of the 43-year-old on-screen brother of Miley Cyrus in the since finished Disney Original series, Hannah Montana).

There was a thrill in seeing if you could make it into the niche community, and knowing that your contribution could mean that these nonsensical TikToks could make it onto an unassuming users timeline. Isolated and without context, these edits are not particularly witty. But when it exists within a cultural consciousness where everyone except those on the outside gets the joke, there is humour in its unapologetic absurdity.

It can be difficult to deconstruct the surrealist meme genre, much like how its difficult for an audience to resonate with an episode about waiting and leaving a Chinese restaurant. Both are aware of their irrelevance, and both soak in it.

The we live in a society meme emerges from these same themes of absurdity within a community connected by cultural consciousness. If you arent aware of this meme or have just come to accept you probably arent deep enough into the internet to get it dont worry, thats the entire point of its appeal. Like all absurdist memes, its born completely out of irony and subversion of the meme genre. Typically, the meme is connected to the Joker, either including the character himself or editing other people to look like the green-haired, red-lipped man.

So where doeswe live in a society meme come from? The earliest trace of its origins can be found on Hong Kong-based meme site 9gag in April 2015. This is in the form of an image macro of the Joker, accompanied by the caption: When the nice guy loses his patiance (sic) / the devil shivers.

This particular meme struck gold for a few reasons. Firstly, the whole nice guys finish lastgamer/incel superiority complex has long been a running joke in the commentary of 9gag. This meme captures it in just absolute peak irony: channelling the Joker to symbolise a higher than average IQ, and then misspelling patience. The joke wrote itself. As of a couple of months ago, the meme had garnered upwards of 38,600 points and 520 comments on 9gag, with much of the engagement boosted by ironic trolls, wanting to make sure this meme became the absolute epitome of the meme site.

The DC supervillain has long been connected to the gamer identity, a sort of figurehead for a whole online incel cyber world syndicate after the Dark Knight film came out in 2008. Online outcasts began to worship the Joker, believing they too embodied the misunderstood, highly intelligent social outcast driven to villainy by the amorality of society. In a world where its impossible to compete: the nice girls chase after hot guys and neckbeards are left without girlfriends.

So, in that way, the Joker became a sort of re-contextualisation, a way to armour themselves with their difference. These people were proud of their nonconformist identity. It showed they were wiser, more woke. To them, the way the world operated was backwards; it rewarded parasites and liars. And so, they used these online spaces to vaunt how corrupt humanity was and how, rather than society excluding them, it was they who refused to be a part of society.

As these cringe, wannabe-profound memes became increasingly popular on sites like 9gag, they began to be enjoyed as pieces of satire on edgier online spaces like 4chan, Reddit, and shitposting groups on Facebook. In the process, absurdist meme-makers began to pierce the elitist, counterfeit-intellect of the Joker symbolism, making their own memes with a sentence fragment that mocked the incel gamer ipseity, in what we now understand as the we live in a society meme. However, this meme has certainly diverged from its DC comic origins and now the phrase has evolved into internet shorthand for being faux woke with a profound lack of self-awareness.

While somewhat disputed, it is thought that the phrase we live in a society was chosen due to the aforementioned The Chinese Restaurant episode of Seinfeld, where George channels his own hyper-macho superiority complex to sanctimoniously discuss the injustices of the episodes payphone politics, and ultimately, the wrongs of the world. Seething, with clenched fists, he yells: Were living in a society!

Still angry, Costanza goes on a rant, not unlike the incel gamers on 9gag Does anyone ever display the slightest sensitivity to the problems of a fellow individual? No! only to immediately double back and change his tone when the stranger apologises for their extended use of the payphone. Immediately, George snaps out of this edge-lord fantasy and back into his wimpy character, no way being this macho man he made himself out to be.

While its arguable that this clip is just a coincidence and unrelated to the true origins of the we live in a society meme, it is certain that Seinfeld polished the tools of the trade that we see within the 4chan and Reddit memescapes. These memes, fuelled by irony and subversion of the form, are not dissimilar to how Seinfeld took the sitcom and made a joke out of it, forcing the audience to wait 23 minutes for a table to become available at a Chinese restaurant.

Seinfeld, much like absurdist memes, never tries to act like it has the answers or holds some greater meaning. In fact, Seinfeld actively opposed this sentiment. It never tries to be about more than whatever is happening to its characters at any given moment, just like the humble we live in a society meme.

If we can take away anything from this, its that only one thing is for certain. There is a societyand we live in it.

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How Seinfeld predicted the we live in a society meme - Happy

Trumps dream of a V-shape rebound slowly slips away – POLITICO

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Pending home sales rebounded strongly in May and June amid declining mortgage rates. Existing home sales also rose sharply in June. Soaring jobless claims began declining in March as states started to reopen and the unemployment rate declined from a high of 14.7 percent in April. But the increase last week suggested the fresh wave of virus cases and a return to stricter lockdown orders in some states has dented the labor market comeback.

Economists say a great deal has to go right for this rosiest of scenarios to play out including swift passage of further enhanced jobless benefits, rapid progress in vaccine development and the survival of thousands of businesses that are unlikely to make it through further lockdowns.

Not many are confident that all of this will come together.

To me it seems like a pipe dream. I cannot image a V-shaped recovery in the offing any time soon, said Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist at Standard & Poors Ratings Services. Aside from the fact that Covid-19 doesnt seem to be under control, this is a $22 trillion economy. You cant turn it off and on like a light bulb.

The most likely scenario painted by economists is that a significant bounce back does arrive in the third quarter given the depth of the drop in the second. But the persistence of the virus, reluctance of Americans to go back to their offices or go out to shop and eat and spend money keeps a lid on the scale of the recovery.

Under this scenario, the unemployment rate could stagnate or even rise again before the election as fresh lockdowns cause more businesses to lay off workers and widespread uncertainty over the future keeps a lid on business investment.

Any significant lapse in expanded jobless benefits, which officially expire July 31 but have already run out for many, could also put a major dent in spending and lead to increases in defaults on mortgages, credit cards, automobiles and other loans.

We still have a large part of the population that still depend on these benefits, Moya said. And its not easy to be optimistic about large swaths of the labor market. I once thought we might see the unemployment rate drop to around 8 percent this year but now it looks like it will probably be higher.

Moya added that good vaccine news probably wont arrive until October or November with the completion of the first Phase III trials. And that means Americans will probably remain hesitant to engage in a lot of normal economic activity. The work-from-home economy will remain resilient but you arent going to see a widespread return to normalcy very quickly.

Evidence of a slowing recovery pace is also piling up. Consumer confidence sank to 92.6 in July from 98.3, according to the Conference Board, amid mounting fears of rising virus cases. The index hit a near 20-year high of 132.6 in February before the virus slammed the U.S.. Retail sales bounced in July but could fade again as virus cases mount. Further virus-driven declines in consumer activity are likely, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a recent note. We estimate that if all states currently tightening policy imposed stricter measures similar to those just imposed in California, this would reduce U.S. consumption back to the June level.

The doomsday scenario would feature Covid-19 raging out of control again without enough good news from Phase III vaccine trials coming this fall. It would also feature Congress failing to extend jobless benefits and pump enough streams of cash into the economy through direct payments and more aid to individuals, small businesses and state and local governments. In essence this would be a return to fiscal austerity at a time when over 30 million are receiving jobless aid and the virus remains unchecked.

Under this scenario, the jobless rate would begin rising again by August and September and the fourth quarter would see a much smaller GDP gain and perhaps even a return to contraction.

Several things could turn this already slow recovery into a nosedive including bad health outcomes and a premature return to fiscal austerity, said Bovino. Her teams worst-case scenario with the virus going out of control would show a GDP drop of 8.7 percent for 2020 and 14.6 overall from the peak of the economic cycle to the trough.

A rising jobless rate, widespread new lockdowns and increased Covid-19 deaths could make Trumps reelection prospects close to impossible. The president once enjoyed a solid lead on the economy over Biden. But recent polls show that lead has essentially evaporated. Its likely to go negative if the economy goes in the tank again. And while not the most likely scenario, it could certainly happen.

The worst case is we reverse all the job gains and any progress in terms of economic activity, said Farooqi. And that sort of spreads from the service side of the economy to manufacturing. And then instead of a strong rebound we get a slower pace of growth or even a return to contraction.

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Trumps dream of a V-shape rebound slowly slips away - POLITICO

Trump’s decision to move troops from Germany slammed as ‘a gift to Putin’ – CNN

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Trump's explanation to reporters about the withdrawal, announced Wednesday morning by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, misrepresented how NATO works and contradicted his own military officials, raising questions about what strategy -- if any -- drove the decision.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah described Trump's move as "a gift to Russia" and a "slap in the face at a friend and ally." Romney added that the "consequences will be lasting and harmful to American interests."

Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said aspects of the move, including the cap on US personnel in Germany, were "troubling."

Rachel Rizzo, director of programs at the Truman National Security Project, who specializes in European security, said, "It's hard, if not impossible, to see any benefit."

Counterproductive

The former commanding general of US Army Europe, retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, said in a tweet that he was "sickened by this decision and explanation. It is not tied to any strategic advantage and in fact is counterproductive to showing strength in Europe."

And retired US Navy Adm. Jim Stravidis, the former top military commander in Europe and NATO, said in a tweet that "abruptly pulling 12,500 troops out of Germany (to put half of them in countries who spend LESS on defense) doesn't make sense financially, hurts NATO solidarity overall, and is a gift to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."

Removing US troops from Germany pulls them from a central location with a sophisticated transport and logistical network that speeds the movement of troops and equipment in Europe and beyond -- allowing for a powerful counterweight to Russia, analysts say.

Reducing the American footprint in Germany could waste billions spent on recent upgrades to US military facilities there and require spending billions more to replicate those resources elsewhere. Among other issues, military analysts also say that replacing permanent troops with rotational forces can make training with host countries more challenging and create morale issues.

Trump himself seemed to underscore that thinking Wednesday, saying the troop reductions had to do with Berlin's failure to meet defense spending targets and not the strategic reasons Esper laid out when he announced the move, which included countering Moscow.

The President most recently spoke to Putin last Friday, the latest in a series of phone calls that CNN's Marshall Cohen has documented as the most sustained publicly disclosed period of contact between the two leaders. In an interview released Wednesday, Trump told Axios that in that conversation, he did not raise US intelligence that alleges Moscow offered bounties to Taliban fighters to kill US troops in Afghanistan.

It's not clear if the two leaders discussed Trump's plan to reduce the US military presence in Germany, meant to be a bulwark against potential Russian aggression. But after Esper announced the troop drawdown, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the "champagne must be flowing freely this evening at the Kremlin."

Esper explained the current plan is to move approximately 11,900 military personnel from Germany, reducing numbers from roughly 36,000 to 24,000. Of the troops leaving Germany some 5,400 will be "staying in Europe," a senior US defense official said. The remaining 6,400 forces and their families will be returned to the US and will, in time, redeploy to Europe.

While Esper said the move was intended to help deter Russia, it did not appear that any US troops are being permanently repositioned to countries closest to NATO's eastern frontier with Russia, despite those countries' long-standing requests for such forces.

Italy and Belgium

The President of one of those countries, Lithuania, posted on Twitter, "We are ready to accept more US troops."

But the vast majority of the troops permanently remaining in Europe will instead be relocated to Italy or Belgium, not posted in countries most concerned about the Russian threat.

"There are or may be other opportunities as well to move additional forces into Poland and the Baltics," Esper said, without offering much in the way of specifics.

Removing US troops from Germany takes them from what Jeff Rathke, president of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University, calls "the best place from which they can operate. The German logistical network, which the US is able to access, is very sophisticated -- airfields and bases, the rail network, which allows the US to move equipment."

Germany is also "a central location from which the United States can move," Rathke said. Pointing to the combination of Germany's location along with its transportation and logistics, Rathke said, "You can't replicate that in other places. They don't exist in Poland or farther east."

Menendez noted in a statement that Germany doesn't just allow for "an enhanced forward presence effort in Eastern Europe to counter Russia," but also "for US security interests across the Middle East and Africa."

"That platform is not easily replicated elsewhere," Menendez said.

There's also the question of how much this will cost American taxpayers at a time of record-setting US budget deficits. The military move will potentially cost "several billion dollars," Esper said Wednesday.

The Pentagon would be walking away from billions spent between 2004 and 2011 on upgrades to secure and consolidate key US military locations in Germany, Hertling said, only to have to replicate facilities such as housing, schools, HQs and barracks in new locations.

Rathke points out that there also are costs to bringing troops back to the US. "If you're going to bring people back from Germany, where are you going to put them and has it been budgeted for, whether it's housing or the base infrastructure for these people returning from Europe."

NATO said in a statement that the announcement "underlines the continued commitment by the United States to NATO and to European security."

But Hertling said that "what is obvious to me -- having served 12 years in Germany and having participated in the last force structure change from 2004-2011, this is not a 'strategic' move." Instead, he said, "it is disruptive, and affects readiness ... especially when this is all happening without a previous plan."

'Punishing Merkel'

Moreover, Hertling was among many who argued that the President's decision is about "punishing Merkel" and "is specifically a directed personal insult from Trump to our great & very supportive ally Germany."

Agathe Demarais, global forecasting director at The Economist Intelligence Unit, said the move is part of a broader story of disintegration in US-German relations that "is partly because of a mutual enmity between the political leaders of the two countries." Merkel and Trump "are different characters and have failed to build any sort of rapport since Trump came to power in 2016."

Germans themselves pointed out that in moving US troops, the Trump administration seems to be working against some of its stated goals.

"In withdrawing 12.000 soldiers from Germany, the USA achieve the exact opposite from what Esper outlined," the head of the German Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Norbert Roettgen, who is a staunch Merkel ally, tweeted on Wednesday. "Instead of strengthening #NATO it is going to weaken the alliance," Roettgen said. "The US's military clout will not increase, but decrease in relation to Russia and the Near & Middle East."

In Bavaria, which hosts several US bases, the state governor, a member of Merkel's conservative block, said, "We very much regret the decision of the US government."

"Unfortunately, this seriously damages German-American relations," Markus Soeder said. "A military benefit cannot be seen. It weakens NATO and the USA itself."

CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Berlin contributed to this report.

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Trump's decision to move troops from Germany slammed as 'a gift to Putin' - CNN

Your first look at Donald Trump, as played by Brendan Gleeson in The Comey Rule – CNET

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Gleeson looks convincing as Donald Trump.

The Comey Rule, a mini-series based on James Comey's book A Higher Loyalty, is set to be shown on Showtime on September 27 and 28. It stars Jeff Daniels as Comey himself, with Brendan Gleeson taking on the role of Donald Trump.

In a new trailer released today, we finally get to see brief glimpses of Gleeson's performance as Trump. It seems... good.

(Disclosure: CNET is owned byViacomCBS, which also owns Showtime.)

Which is to be expected since Gleeson is one of the best actors in the business.

We're used to seeing Trump parodied. Everyone does a Trump impression. And while spoofs like Alec Baldwin's recurring role on Saturday Night Live are good in their own way, Gleeson's take appears to be far more menacing. I'm hoping this signifies that Glesson's take is less of an impression and more of a performance. Seems promising so far.

According to Vanity Fair, who first revealed the trailer in a feature story published today, Gleeson initially turned the role down, but later agreed to get on board with the project.

Entertain your brain with the coolest news from streaming to superheroes, memes to video games.

The Comey Rule is written and directed by Billy Ray, best known for his work on Captain Phillips. He was intent on making sure this series was released before the 2020 election.

"I wanted this series to air before the 2020 elections," Ray told Vanity Fair. "I think our democracy is on the line right now. And I wanted this series to be part of that conversation."

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Your first look at Donald Trump, as played by Brendan Gleeson in The Comey Rule - CNET

Latest Donald Trump news, coronavirus updates and more: Whats trending today – cleveland.com

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Read the latest coronavirus news, get updates on Donald Trump and his administration and see more stories trending online today.

Trump doubles down on defense of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 despite efficacy concerns (ABC)

Twitter removes tweet highlighted by Trump falsely claiming COVID-19 cure (NBC News)

Trump administration is refusing to fully reinstate DACA (Vox)

Trump administration in talks with Oregon governor to draw down federal agents: report (Fox News)

White House, lawmakers tangle over scope of new coronavirus legislation (Reuters)

Fauci says there are early signs coronavirus outbreaks are brewing in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee (CNBC)

21 states now in federal red zone for serious coronavirus outbreaks (The Hill)

Misleading coronavirus video spreads online (NY Times)

Hong Kong on verge of large-scale outbreak (BBC)

States resist mask rules as Midwest virus uptick stirs alarm (AP)

These womens coronavirus symptoms never went away. Their doctors willingness to help did. (NBC)

Readcomplete prior coronavirus coverage.

Biden says he will pick running mate by end of next week (Washington Post)

Agriculture officials warn not to open unsolicited packages of seeds labeled from China (ABC News)

U.S. expands charges against ex-Twitter employees accused of spying for Saudi Arabia (CBS News)

Virgin Galactic unveils the interior cabin of its tourist spaceplane (The Verge)

Tempers flare in Dodgers-Astros game following sign-stealing punishment (CNN)

New Hubble image of Saturn released (CBS)

Latest Donald Trump news, coronavirus updates and more: Whats trending today - cleveland.com

Facebook CEO corrects confused congressman over Trump Jr. Twitter ban – Mashable

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Leave it to a member of Congress to make Mark Zuckerberg seem relatable.

The opening statements at Wednesday's House antitrust hearing had barely cooled when Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin accused Facebook of temporarily suspending the account of Donald Trump, Jr. There was just one problem, which the Facebook CEO wasted no time in addressing: Congressman Sensenbrenner had confused Facebook with Twitter.

That's right, it was not Facebook which took the described action against the president's son for sharing dangerous coronavirus misinformation. Rather, it was Twitter which briefly suspended Trump Jr. for sharing a video that hyped the drug hydroxychloroquine and suggested masks aren't necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

"I think what you might be referring to happened on Twitter."

But no one apparently told that to Congressman Sensenbrenner, who, at the antitrust hearing, appeared fixated on the baseless claim that Facebook censors conservatives.

"It was reported that Donald Trump, Jr. got taken down for a period of time because he put something up on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine," Sensenbrenner said to Zuckerberg. "Now, I wouldn't take it myself, but there still is a debate on whether it is effective either in treating or preventing COVID-19, and I think that this is a legitimate matter of discussion and it would be up to a patient and their doctor to determine whether hydroxychloroquine was the correct medication, you know, given the circumstances. Why did that happen?"

Congressman Sensenbrenner trying really hard to miss the point.

Image: screenshot / house Judiciary hearing

Zuckerberg, likely relieved to not have to address any of the substantive antitrust arguments against his company, took it upon himself to patiently explain why Donald Trump, Jr. had been suspended from Twitter.

"Congressman, well, first to be clear, I think what you might be referring to happened on Twitter so it's hard for me to speak to that," replied the Facebook CEO. "But I can talk to our policies about this. We do prohibit content that will lead to imminent risk of harm, and stating that there's a proven cure for COVID, when there is in fact none, might encourage someone to go take something that could have some adverse effects."

To drive the point home, Zuckerberg added that Facebook would remove content promising an unproven cure for COVID-19.

"So we do take that down," explained the clearly exasperated CEO. "We do not prohibit discussion around trials of drugs, or people saying that they think that things might work, or personal experiences with experimental drugs. But if someone is going to say that something is proven, when in fact it is not, that then could lead people to make a decision with their health."

SEE ALSO: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Google deserve to be grilled at the House antitrust hearing

In fact, the misleading viral video in question was viewed 17 million times on Facebook before it was taken down by Facebook. Versions of it were still being shared across Facebook-owned Instagram as of yesterday, however.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, meanwhile, was not in attendance at the hearing. Perhaps, instead, he's spending the day drinking salt juice in his EMF-shielded tent.

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Facebook CEO corrects confused congressman over Trump Jr. Twitter ban - Mashable

First Thing: Trump’s ‘serious’ approach to Covid-19 lasted a week – The Guardian

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Good morning. Donald Trumps serious new approach to the pandemic lasted all of one week. Speaking at his daily White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, the president described as very impressive a doctor who claims face masks do not combat the spread of Covid-19 and says DNA from aliens is being used in medical treatments.

Trump had shared an online video featuring the doctor and other supposed experts recommending the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, and contradicting official government guidelines on the disease. The clip, which was also touted as a must-watch by the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr, has since been removed by Facebook and YouTube for containing false public health information.

Meanwhile, US officials say Russian intelligence services are using English-language websites to spread disinformation to Americans about the pandemic, as part of an ongoing effort to sow confusion before the presidential election in November.

The US attorney general clashed with Democrats on the House judiciary committee on Tuesday, as he denied the interventions of federal agents in Portland and in Washington DCs Lafayette Square were motivated by Trumps re-election efforts. The president wants footage for his campaign ads, and you appear to be serving it up to him as ordered, the committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, told Bill Barr, who insisted the federal forces cracking down on protests in Portland were not out looking for trouble.

Meanwhile in New York, there was outcry after police apparently bundled a protester into an unmarked minivan, in an arrest described by the American Civil Liberties Union as dangerous, abusive, and indefensible.

Trump is damaging Americas reputation abroad not only with his own antics, but also through those of his ambassadors, according to a report by Senate Democrats, entitled Diplomacy in Crisis. A record number of the presidents ambassadorial appointments have been political, and many such senior diplomats had no qualifications besides being big-money Republican donors, writes Julian Borger.

Woody Johnson, the billionaire Trump backer who became the US ambassador to London, has been accused of making sexist and racist remarks (which he has denied). Jeffrey Ross Gunter, the US ambassador to Iceland and a dermatologist by trade reportedly became so paranoid about security that he asked to carry a gun and to travel in an armoured car, despite the absence of security concerns in Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital.

The Five Eyes intelligence alliance could expand by adding Japan to its existing membership: the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Some British Conservative lawmakers say widening the longstanding alliance would pool key strategic resources and help to lessen the wests dependency on China.

As the Guardian continues its climate countdown in the run-up to the presidential election and to Trumps threatened withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate agreement Emily Holden examines the environmental plans of the presumptive Democratic nominee. Joe Biden has pledged to link the climate fight to jobs, by spending $2tn on clean energy as quickly as possible within four years, and transitioning the US entirely to clean electricity by 2035.

The US needs collective action and systemic change to fight the climate battle, argues Prof Michael Mann and the simplest way to start that systemic change is by voting:

Your vote will reverberate for years, as the efforts that have grown in the dark shade of the Trump administration are poised to bloom with a President Joe Biden, a climate-friendly Congress and state and local politicians who favour climate action.

The Esselen tribe of northern California has regained part of its ancestral land after 250 years, buying a 1,200-acre ranch near Big Sur, which tribal leaders say will be used for education and cultural purposes, and to conserve local flora and fauna.

Mark Zuckerberg will tell Congress companies arent bad just because they are big, when he appears with other top tech CEOs at a hearing on Wednesday, part of a major antitrust investigation into the power and size of the big tech firms.

Abortion could be decriminalised in Mexico as the result of a potentially historic supreme court ruling on Wednesday, which is hotly anticipated by activists on both sides of the countrys abortion debate.

Americans have been warned not to plant seeds from packets reportedly sent to residents in several US states from China. The seeds are thought likely to be part of a brushing scam, whereby people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales.

The photographer snapping New Yorkers private thoughts

Photographer Jeff Mermelstein has spent most of his career emulating the classic, 35mm sidewalk reportage of Diane Arbus or Joel Meyerowitz. But for the past three years he has been pursuing a new project: capturing New Yorkers private messages as they compose them on their phones, as he explains to Alex Rayner.

The white women defecting from Trump

Trump won in 2016 with help from a crucial and somewhat unlikely demographic: white women with college degrees. Four years later, finds Adam Gabbatt, some of them bitterly regret their decision and are trying to make amends in 2020.

In a new interview, Ed Sheeran admits he used to binge-eat and vomit at the height of his fame. The revelation is a reminder that its not just women who can have a tortuous relationship with food, writes Arwa Mahdawi.

The late Steve Jobs is another example of how we mythologise rather than pathologize unhealthy eating in important men. According to his official biography, Jobs would sometimes live on only apples and carrots for weeks and would fast for days on end in an attempt to induce euphoria. That is something I did when I was 15 and it was quite rightly labelled anorexia.

Virgin Galactic has unveiled images from the interior of the VSS Unity, the craft in which the commercial space firm plans to take paying tourists to the edge of Earths atmosphere. For most of us, the photographs are the closest well get to a suborbital flight on Sir Richard Bransons passion project: tickets cost $250,000 each.

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If youre not already signed up, subscribe now.

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First Thing: Trump's 'serious' approach to Covid-19 lasted a week - The Guardian

Donald Trump Doesn’t Want You to Read the Tell-All. That’s Why You Want to Read the Tell-All. – TownandCountrymag.com

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal attorney, was released from prison today by a judge who ruled on Thursday that Cohen had been returned to federal custody from home confinement because he refused to agree to not write a book.

I make the finding that the purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement to jail is retaliatory. And its retaliation because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and to discuss anything about the book or anything else he wants on social media and with others, said Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of Federal District Court.

David Dee DelgadoGetty Images

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to criminal campaign finance violations (for arranging hush-money payments to women who said theyd had affairs with Trump) and for lying to Congress. He was released on medical furlough in May but was sent back to prison on July 9 after what he and his lawyer had thought would be a routine parole meeting.

Instead, according to Cohen, he was asked to sign a document promising he would not continue work while he served his sentence on a book he is writing about the President. When he refused, Cohen said he was abruptly taken back into custody.

Earlier this week, Cohen filed suit against Attorney General William Barr and federal prison officials (the ACLU also filed a petition on Cohens behalf) claiming, among other things, that his First Amendment rights had been violated. The suit stated that Cohens book, tentatively titled Disloyal: The True Story of Michael Cohen, Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump, would allege that President Trump made anti-Semitic remarks and racist statements, including about President Obama and Nelson Mandela. On Wednesday, the Department of Justice denied it had taken retaliatory action against Cohen.

Hellersteins order was the most recent setback in a series of legal efforts to prevent or curtail the publication of books critical of the President written by former staffers, political appointees, and a family member. Its very hard to prevent a book from being published, says James Zirin, a former Assistant United States Attorney and the author of Plaintiff in Chief: A Portrait of Donald Trump in 3500 Lawsuits. Courts view most attempts at prior restraint as a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.

So what have all the lawsuits achieved?

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man

Simon & Schusteramazon.com

Plot Twist: President Trumps nieces first-hand account of growing up in the New York real estate dynasty shines a bright light on the dark history of their family, according to its publisher, Simon & Schuster.

Legal Case: President Trumps brother Robert Trump sued Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster to block publication, claiming she violated a confidentiality agreement that was part of a 2001 settlement of the estate of his father and her grandfather, Fred Trump Sr. The case against the book went all the way to the New York State Supreme Court, which ultimately vacated a restraining order on July 13. Interestingly, even though the book is aimed at President Trump, the suit was brought by his brother, said Zirin. The President would have been subject to deposition and interrogatories [if he had brought the suit himself] and he probably wanted to stay out of all that.

Howd it do? Too Much and Never Enough sold 950,000 copies on its first day of publication, a record for Simon & Schuster, and 1.35 million copies in its first week.

The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir

amazon.com

Plot Twist: The former national security advisors memoir includes behind-the-scenes details of his time at the White House, including descriptions of his many disagreements with President Trump and fellow White House advisors over policy issues.

Legal Case: The Trump Administration sued Bolton, claiming his book contained classified information, but a judge refused to issue an injunction. The courts only agree to [prevent publication] in extreme cases, usually involving national security. said Zirin. In this case, most of the juicy parts of Boltons book had already been described in newspaper and on website articles. The information was already public, and an injunction would have been moot.

Howd it do? The Room Where it Happened sold 780,000 copies in its first week of publication and has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for non-fiction ever since.

A Warning

Twelveamazon.com

Plot Twist: This book, by the same author who wrote an un-bylined piece in the New York Times opinion page in September 2018 titled I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," claims to offer a first-hand perspective by a senior administration official of President Trump and to explain why electing him to a second term would be a terrible idea.

Legal Case: Treason? tweeted President Trump on the day the op-ed came out. And while there was no mention of that particular charge from the Department of Justice, one of its lawyers did send a letter a year later to the publisher Hachette and literary agent Javelin warning that the author of the forthcoming book might be breaching non-disclosure agreements. Both refused to comply with DOJs request for information, and no further action was taken.

Howd it Do? Shortly after its publication, A Warning appeared at the top of the New York Times Best Seller list in the non-fiction category.

Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House

Gallery Booksamazon.com

Plot Twist: A tell-all by one of Donald Trumps former co-stars on The Apprentice who went on to become communications director for the Office of Public Liaison in the White House, a position from which she was fired in 2018.

Legal Case: The Trump Campaign filed an arbitration case against Manigault Newman, claiming she had violated a non-disclosure agreement she signed in 2016. Two days later, she released a secret recording she made in which the Presidents daughter-in-law Lara Trump discussed a potential job offer. Final results of the arbitration filing were not made public.

Howd it Do? Unhinged reached the number one spot on the New York Times Best Seller list for non-fiction in August of 2018, a few weeks after the arbitration case became public.

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House

1250158060amazon.com

Plot Twist: After being granted unprecedented access to the Trump White House, Wolff wrote an unsurprisingly (to anyone who had ever read anything by the author) unflattering book about its inner workings.

The Case: In January 2018, a lawyer for President Trump sent an 11-page legal demand to the publisher Henry Holt claiming the forthcoming book included defamation, libel, and invasion of privacy. A spokesperson responded, Henry Holt confirms that we received a cease and desist letter from an attorney for President Trump. We see Fire and Fury as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book. The legal demand didnt stand a chance, says Zirin. All it did was boost sales for a book.

Howd it Do? Debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list when it came out on January 4, 2018. By the end of the month it had sold over 1.5 million copies.

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Donald Trump Doesn't Want You to Read the Tell-All. That's Why You Want to Read the Tell-All. - TownandCountrymag.com

Fact check: Trump falsely says ‘large portions’ of the US are ‘corona-free,’ repeats claim that protests are leading to rising cases – CNN

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

As is often the case with these briefings, however, Trump's scripted message eventually devolved into a series of false and misleading claims about the state of the pandemic. At one point, Trump claimed that "large portions" of the US are "corona free" (not true). He also claimed that protests in Seattle and Portland were leading to spiking cases there (also not true).

Trump again touted what he claims are the benefits of hydroxychloroquine as a successful drug to fight the coronavirus, despite numerous studies that fail to bear that out. Despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration, Trump even claimed that the drug was completely safe to use.

"It's safe. It doesn't cause problems," Trump said, anecdotally noting that he "had absolutely no problem" when he took the drug earlier this year. "Felt no different. Didn't feel good, bad or indifferent."

Facts First: The FDA has said there are many safety issues with using hydroxychloroquine against the coronavirus, including kidney injury, heart rhythm problems, liver problems, and more.

Downplaying the spread of the virus

Trump tried to paint a rosy picture of how well the country is responding to the coronavirus by downplaying its spread and saying that the virus has been eliminated in large parts of the country.

"We're seeing improvements across major metro areas, and most hotspots, you can look at large portions of our country, it's corona-free. But we are watching very carefully California, Arizona, Texas and most of Florida, it's starting to head down in the right direction. And I think you'll see it rapidly head down very soon."

Facts First: This is misleading. No areas of the country have eliminated the virus, and the only places that are "corona-free" have no human population, or are rural areas that have an extremely small population.

Every state in the US has reported new Covid-19 cases in the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and13 statessaw their highest 7-day averages for new daily cases yesterday, per data from Johns Hopkins University.

There is some truth to the President's claim that some states are heading in the right direction, and in the past week several of the states he's mentioned have begun to flatten the curve of new cases, but they're still exponentially higher than where they were two months ago and show no signs of "rapidly head down very soon."

Tribal communities

Trump touted his administration's work serving tribal communities by noting that "under the CARES Act we provided $8 billion" to tribal communities who are "very vulnerable to this horrible plague." He also claimed it is the "largest investment in Indian country in US history. There has never been an investment that big in Indian country."

Facts First: It's not true that the Trump administration has provided $8 billion to tribal communities. While the CARES Act did allocate $8 billion in funding to tribal communities, only 60 percent of it has actually been disbursed so far, and that only happened after a lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration to release the money. It's unclear if and when the rest will be released.

Protests in Portland and Seattle

Trump claimed that coronavirus cases in both cities have increased as a result of these recent protests.

"In the wake of the recent mass gathering Americans have witnessed in the streets of Portland and Seattle, we are also tracking a significant rise in cases in both metropolitan areas because of what's been going on," Trump said.

Despite these gatherings of sometimes large amounts of people, the protests have had a limited impact on coronavirus cases so far, possibly in part because the protests took place outdoors, where the virus is transmitted less efficiently than in indoor spaces; possibly in part because a significant percentage of protesters wore masks; and possibly because some non-protesters may have reduced their in-person interaction as they tried to avoid the protests.

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Fact check: Trump falsely says 'large portions' of the US are 'corona-free,' repeats claim that protests are leading to rising cases - CNN

Trump says he will accept Republican nomination in North Carolina after all – POLITICO

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Trump told WRAL he would announce the exact location of his acceptance speech in the coming week.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Republican National Convention was set to take place in Charlotte. But as cases and deaths mounted in North Carolina over the spring, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper insisted a scaled-down convention was necessary.

Trump bristled at the possible denial of a blockbuster event and wrote on Twitter on June 2 that he would be moving the main action of the convention away from North Carolina.

Nine days later, the Republican National Committee picked Jacksonville as its new destination, with Trump scheduled to deliver the keynote acceptance address as part of a multinight event. But the shift to Jacksonville proved to be too fraught with complications as Floridas Covid-19 caseload spiked, straining the state's resources.

As recently as July 21, Trump campaign officials were assuring the public the event could go on safely, even as local law enforcement sounded warning signs. Trump called off the Jacksonville event on July 23.

It's just not the right time, Trump said.

The North Carolina Democratic Party blasted Trumps acceptance speech flip-flop as evidence of his bungled response to the coronavirus.

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Trump says he will accept Republican nomination in North Carolina after all - POLITICO

Trump Is Now Openly Defying the Supreme Court – Slate

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it will continue to defy a federal court order compelling the full restoration of DACA, the Obama-era program that allows 700,000 immigrants to live and work in the United States legally. By doing so, the administration has chosen to flout a decision by the Supreme Court, effectively rejecting the judiciarys authority to say what the law is.

Donald Trump first attempted to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in September 2017, a move that wouldve stripped its beneficiaries of work permits and subjected them to deportation. But his administration continually cut corners, failing to explain the basis for its decision and refusing to consider the impact of DACA repeal on immigrants, their communities, and their employers (including the U.S. Army). This June, the Supreme Court ruled that the administrations actions were arbitrary and capricious under federal law and therefore set aside DACA repeal.

To implement that decision, U.S. District Judge Paul Grimm compelled the administration to restore DACA to its pre-repeal condition on July 17. Grimms order required the Department of Homeland Security to let DACA beneficiaries renew their status for two years, accept new applicants, and restore advance parole, which permits travel outside the country. But DHS did not do that. Instead, the agency maintained that it would reject new DACA applicants. It also declined to accept DACA renewals or reinstate advance parole.

At a hearing Friday, Grimm tore into Justice Department attorneys for flouting his order. The governments actions, he explained, created a feeling and a belief that the agency is disregarding binding decisions from the Supreme Court. DOJ attorneys insisted that DACA applications were merely on hold, or placed into a bucket, while the administration decided how to proceed. But, as Grimm retorted, it is a distinction without a difference to say that this application has not been denied, it has been received and it has been put in a bucket. The judge once again directed DHS to comply with the law by accepting new applicants and processing renewals.

Incredibly, the agency has decided to disobey this order, as well. On Tuesday, acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf declared that it would not accept new applications and would only grant one-year extensions to current beneficiaries on a case by case basis. This tactic will make it easier for Trump to deport DACA beneficiaries if he wins reelection, since their status will expire sooner. The agency will also deny advance parole absent exceptional circumstances. This new policy is nothing less than brazen defiance of a federal court ruling. Grimm, and the Supreme Court itself, ordered DACAs full resuscitation, which requires the acceptance of new applicants and the conferral of two-year renewals. There is simply no legal basis for DHSs zombie version of the program.

The administration has tried this malfeasance before with a different policyand it didnt work then, either. After the Supreme Court blocked Trumps addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census, Trump insisted they would find a way to do it anyway. That court decision, too, found that the government had violated the law through dishonest incompetence. And in its aftermath, the administration scrambled to work around SCOTUS and snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. It failed, though not before tiptoeing up to the line of defying the Supreme Court.

Now the administration has crossed that linesprinted past it, really, without any apparent hesitation. It is true that SCOTUS allowed the Trump administration to take another stab at rescinding DACA. But Wolfs memo does not purport to initiate a new process of winding down the program. Rather, Wolf presented these new rules as interim changes while DHS decides how to repeal DACA legally. Certainly, the agency can go back to the drawing board and devise a new method of killing the program. But neither the Supreme Courts decision nor Grimms order gave Wolf the power to limit [DACAs] scope in the interim.

It is no surprise that DHS, whose agents are unconstitutionally kidnapping and brutalizing peaceful protesters in Portland, Oregon, would disregard the law. Trump is doubling down on his smash-and-grab approach to governance. While the president demands law and order and Attorney General William Barr complains about mass disrespect of authority, the administration is intent on getting its way even when it means ignoring a federal court order. The presidents men are restrained only by their own sense of what they can get away with.

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Pressure to prove production – Telangana Today

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

We crossed 90 days of lockdown. So, has your productivity peaked during this period? Have you learnt to bake, cook even better, write a book, start a blog, speak a new language? Are you feeling guilty for not doing enough? Are you plagued by FOMO? Then, please read on

For the salaried class, the WFH facility was initially thought to be a great idea as it was required to work in the comfort and convenience of ones own home. All the non-IT employees who envied their IT counterparts of the perk of WFH were finally going to experience it themselves. However, less than two months down the line, people were longing to go back to office.

With our homes not built to accommodate lavish and comfortable office spaces, with not-so-effective Wi-Fi connectivity, non-ergonomically designed chairs, jostling for space and some seclusion with a working spouse and two children in 2BHK flats (mostly), people were stressed and how. Visuals of couples working with laptops perched on the bed, women cooking while participating in a zoom meeting (with audio/video off), children popping up in official meetings on MS Teams, etc., went viral on social media.

For the salaried class, this was not a holiday. It was BAU in an utterly unknown WFH format which they grappled with. We lead a mundane life and need to show up in front of our laptops and meet deadlines, especially with the threat of job losses and paycuts looming large.

With no access to the maid the lifeline of an Indian family, life became a never-ending cycle of cooking, cleaning, working, caring for kids and elderly. Further, in a bit to stay visible while WFH, people were becoming overzealous and trying innovative ways to showcase their productivity.

Between witnessing people uploading videos of exotic baked dishes and jaw-dropping workout sessions, and deciding to pick and choose from the never-ending supply of webinars (dubbed as Death by Webinar), picking up the motivation to do office work, while trying to remain safe and healthy, sanitising the veggies, groceries and hoping that you will not be given the pink slip has caused anxiety pangs among the employees.

The Covid-related WhatsApp forwards that keep inundating your phone and brain and the gyan thrown at you by people on the best ways to keep yourself occupied and be productive has become mentally exhausting with no predictable end date in sight.

As we navigate this unprecedented once-in-a-lifetime experience, we are finding it difficult to focus. We didnt sign up for this and we are at our wits end, just hoping that we will all sail through this without any mishaps. We are facing extreme emotions and sometimes even overlapping emotions. As per psychologists, feelings of inadequacy, listless stupor, uselessness and guilt for not doing enough are likely to impact people.

Different people process thingrently. People have different coping mechanisms. There is no right way. So, although your OTT friend or neighbour appears to be super-productive by attending back-to-back online activity classes, dont get tempted to join the bandwagon.

For some, binge-watching movies is a way to unwind. For some, it is playing Ludo (why not?), for some it is crochet, gardening, music, gymming, etc. Find out what helps you calm down and indulge in it. There is no right or wrong formula. For some a timetable works, some prefer to go with the flow, depending on their mood.

Sometimes, doing nothing is so liberating. Try it! Life does not need to be an endless completion of to-do list. Take a break if you must. Clear the cobwebs of your mind. This could be the time for deep introspection and reflection.

You would have realised the benefits of home-cooked food. Exercise regularly. For those who have lost their jobs or about to lose one, dont panic. It is difficult, no doubt. But it is not the end of life, maybe end of a lifestyle that you were used to.

Corporates have tied up with online counselling services which are available free of cost to the employees. Sign up for those if required.

Our self-worth and self-esteem are being dictated by the number of accomplishments and accolades we have received. Not everyone is designed to thrive under adverse circumstances. Be kind to yourself.

The unplanned downtime can be used in several ways, to bring a smile to your face. There are several ways to unwind, which are not necessarily Facebook or Instagram worthy.

When you look back, do not look at this time with regret. Use this for some course correction not only in your professional lives but also personal lives.

As long as you come out unscathed from this pandemic, having done even a wee bit to enhance your life, it would be a time worth spent. Remember, its more important to be positive than productive.

Stay safe, Stay positive!

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Pressure to prove production - Telangana Today

Garmin outage: Garmin Connect is recovering, so did Garmin pay a ransom? – T3 (US)

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

After almost a week of suspense, it seems the Garmin outage story is finally over with Garmin Connect in recovery. In the Garmin Connect app, instead of the ominous 'Server Maintenance' warning window, Garmin watch users are relieved to see a different message (below), and data is now visible that hasn't been since last Thursday.

(Image credit: Future)

As relieved as we all are, we can't help but wonder: did Garmin pay the $10 million ransom, as requested by the 'Evil Corp', or have the developers found a way to eliminate the threat somehow without paying the money? The Times suggests "Garmin must have paid a large ransom to recover computer files stolen by hackers", but until any official communication is received from Garmin, we can't be sure.

As a company listed on the stock exchange, Garmin will presumably have to confirm or refute this at some stage, unless the amount involved can be buried under 'miscellaneous sundries', like when we do our expenses.

ASICS Runners Face Cover is a running face mask you can drink through

The Garmin outage has been the hottest topic last weekend in running and cycling circles but it seems like the panic is over and everyone can calm down finally as Garmin announced on Twitter that "many of the systems and services affected by the recent outage, including Garmin Connect, are returning to operation".

However, the company also added that "some features still have temporary limitations while all of the data is being processed".

The ransomware attack on Garmin thought to be the work of 'Evil Corp', a group of Russian hackers who allegedly mainly targets US corporations, The Guardian reports. Garmin services started to go offline Thursday 23 July 2020 and many of the most popular services, including Garmin Connect and most of the Strava integrations, were unavailable to users over the weekend period.

Check out Garmin's 'Outage FAQ'

As reported by The Independent on Monday morning, Garmin Connect was supposedly coming back to life, although at that point most users still reported issues with Garmin Connect. The website and the Garmin webshop was available, however.

Garmin issued a few statements on Twitter, stating the outage also affected its call centers and that they were unable to receive any calls, emails and also couldn't fire up online chats either, making a lot of Garmin watch users rather anxious.

In case you are worried about your personal information being leaked due to the attack, on its FAQ page, Garmin reassured users that there has been "no indication that this outage has affected [the users] data, including activity, payment or other personal information." That is not the same as saying your data definitely hasnt been stolen, but its a lot better than nothing. But never mind that, what about your run and cycle data? Is it lost forever?

The following services and features are online:

The following services and features are online but might have limited functionality:

Strava services are also limited at the moment:

(Image credit: Garmin)

As many people also pointed out, workouts can be directly uploaded to Strava using a USB cable but we wonder how many people actually went through the hassle of manually uploading their workouts this way when they could have just waited five days for the issue to be resolved.

Despite the fact you can't upload data to Garmin Connect, most Garmin watches have the ability to store training data on the device so you can still log exercises and sync them with Garmin Connect once you can.

The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro, for example, has 32GB of internal memory, plenty of space to store hundreds of workouts. Cheaper Garmin watches have way less, of course, so maybe dont try for any personal bests until this gets fixed.

(Image credit: Garmin)

The Garmin Outage has been going on since last Thursday when initially users noticed that certain Garmin online services are unavailable (making my life harder too as I was halfway through writing up my Garmin Instinct Solar review). Since then, Garmin issued the following statement on its Garmin outage FAQ page:

"Garmin Ltd. was the victim of a cyber attack that encrypted some of our systems on July 23, 2020. As a result, many of our online services were interrupted including website functions, customer support, customer facing applications, and company communications. We immediately began to assess the nature of the attack and started remediation.

We have no indication that any customer data, including payment information from Garmin Pay, was accessed, lost or stolen. Additionally, the functionality of Garmin products was not affected, other than the ability to access online services. Affected systems are being restored and we expect to return to normal operation over the next few days.

As our affected systems are restored, we expect some delays as the backlog of information is being processed. We are grateful for our customers patience and understanding during this incident and look forward to continuing to provide the exceptional customer service and support that has been our hallmark and tradition."

Fitbit Versa 2 Special Edition | On sale for 174.68 | Was 219.99 | You save 45.31 at AmazonDon't fancy a Garmin watch after all the bad news? Get a Fitbit instead. Feature-wise, the Special Edition is identical with the standard Fitbit Versa 2 and comes with built-in voice assistant, 24/7 heart rate tracking, smart notifications, over four days of battery life and even integrated memory for music. The difference is the fancy strap and considering that both variety are roughly the same price with the current discounts, you might as well get this version.View Deal

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Garmin outage: Garmin Connect is recovering, so did Garmin pay a ransom? - T3 (US)

Qatar- QIB announces new features to its award-winning Mobile App – MENAFN.COM

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Peninsula

Doha: As part of QIB''s ongoing efforts to provide innovative digital solutions to empower its customers, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) recently released the latest version of its award-winning QIB Mobile App with the introduction of key new features, as well as a host of performance enhancements.

Developed with its customers'' daily banking requirements in mind, the latest update further empower QIB customers by allowing them to fulfil the majority of their banking needs through the mobile app without the need to visit a branch.

Following the upgrade, customers can now update their QID and Passport information through the App, retrieve their username and unblock their access to the App, instantly settle Vodafone payments using Absher rewards points and request to cancel a Western Union transfer.

Customers who have an expired QID or passport in QIB''s records are able to instantly update their details by simply uploading their renewed QID or Passport and continue to enjoy the full suite of QIB services offered by the App, including making transfers and payments or opening additional accounts.

The latest update, in response to the prioritized customer needs, enables users to retrieve their username and unblock their access to the App. To retrieve the app credentials, customers need to enter their debit card number and the card''s PIN as well as the onetime password (OTP) which is sent to the customer''s registered mobile number with QIB. As part of QIB''s continued efforts to reward the customers through the ABSHER Rewards Program, customers can now redeem their earned points to settle their Vodafone payments instantly through the App.

Customers can continue settling Ooredoo bills/ top-ups and Kahramaa bills by redeeming ABSHER Rewards Points through the app. Since the beginning of the year, QIB partnered with Western Union to offer the fastest and easiest way to send money anywhere in the world through the QIB Mobile App. Customers can now request to cancel a previously initiated Western Union transfer. The cancelation request is available in case the transfer is still pending and has not been yet collected by the beneficiary.

Commenting on the updates, D. Anand, QIB''s General Manager Personal Banking Group, said: ''Customers will always remain at the heart of our business. As we continue to progress by deploying new and innovative digital solutions and technologies, we remain customer-centric throughout. By digitalizing our products and services, we are enabling our customers to perform the majority of their daily transactions by simply logging into our all-inclusive Mobile App from anywhere, without the need to visit a branch.

He added: ''Especially under the current circumstances, we urge our customers to continue using our digital channels for all their needs, while reminding them that we are available to support them with any banking request. Customers can call our Call Center or their respective Relationship Managers for any banking inquiry or support on how to use our digital banking services.

QIB''s core strategy keeps customers'' best interests in mind, exemplified by the rigorous updates the bank''s digital platforms receive. The QIB Mobile App has become a single one-stop-shop for customers, providing multi-services and accommodating all financial requests.

Testifying to the quality services that QIB offers on its Mobile Application, the Bank achieved the highest rating amongst all local banks on Apple Store and Google Play Store, by receiving an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.0. To download the app, customers can visit the Apple Store or Google Play Store and search for the keyword: QIB Mobile App

MENAFN29720200006311010ID1100559147

Fact check: False Theodore Roosevelt quote about liberals and conservatives – Reuters

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Posts circulated on social media attribute a quote onliberals and conservativesto the 26thPresident of the United States,Theodore Roosevelt. The quote, however, is falsely attributed to him.

Reuters Fact Check. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

The posts show a photograph of Roosevelt alongside text which reads:To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.The posts do not point to a sourceforthe quotation, nor a possible date.

Examples of the claim are visible here , here and here .

On social media, users have responded with conflicting reactions. Some haveconcurred with the sentiment(one posted:Goshthats dead on),while others have disputed theauthenticity of the quotation.

Reuters found no mention of this quote among those compiled by the Theodore Roosevelt Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated toperpetuatinghismemoryandideals( here ).

The quote did not appear among the list of notable quotations listed by the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University, another organization working to preserveRoosevelts legacy ( here ).

In the past, the quotation has been attributed to other statesmen like Winston Churchill, ( here , here ).On other social media sites, the quotation has circulatedwith attribution to Roosevelt, as anonymous, or attributed to an unknown source since 2009( here ).

In 2013, BarryPopik, a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Yale Book of Quotations and the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, found that the quote had been in print since about 2007 ( here ), as first reported byPolitifact( here ). Well after Roosevelts lifetime,Popiknotedin a blog entry.

Throughout the years,other fact-checkers have debunked this claim, ( here , here ).

False. The quote on liberals and conservatives attributed to Theodore Roosevelt is false.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .

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Fact check: False Theodore Roosevelt quote about liberals and conservatives - Reuters

Hagerty is a Conservative who will stand up to Liberal mob | Opinion – The Jackson Sun

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

ANDY HOLT, State Representative Published 1:20 p.m. CT July 28, 2020

In his monumental Fourth of July address at Mt. Rushmore, President Trump said: Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children."

I couldnt have said it better myself. Its difficult to witness the dangerous and lawless direction that some in our country have chosen to pursue over these last few weeks. Amidst the violent protests, the liberal mob wants to remove our statues, monuments, holidays - erasing our history. They want to change the National Anthem. They even will go as far as to burn the American flag. They want to get rid of statues and depictions of Christ. Its sickening, dangerous and patently un-American.

In a recent tweet, Joe Biden said his election would mean the transformation of America. Lets be clear - if the American people send Joe Biden to the White House, our nation will be transformed into a socialist country. Everything were seeing from the left is a part of their march toward socialism.

As a father of seven precious children, I am concerned about the country that we will be leaving to them if the radical mob continues down the path it is on unchecked.

The last thing we need in the U.S. Senate are weak-kneed Republicans, who lack the courage to stand up for whats right. How are they any different than the liberal mob when they side with them to remove our statues, to replace holidays like Columbus Day, and even to impeach our President? That is not what Tennesseans want; its not a representation of our values. The good people of our state want an unwavering true conservative representing them, a conservative who will stand against this nonsense and the progression towards socialism.

President Trump has endorsed Bill Hagerty not once, but twice, for the U.S. Senate - thats a far cry from being the establishment choice as some have claimed about Bill. The President can see establishment candidates a mile away, and he not only does not support them, he endorses their opponents - look to the Alabama U.S. Senate Race and Coach Tommy Tubervilles commanding win for clarity on that topic!

The President does not give his endorsement lightly, and after working closely with Bill Hagerty for years now - you know it holds water. I know Bill will stand firmly beside President Trump to implement his America First agenda and fight for the country we love that is far too close to slipping away.

Ive known Bill for over almost a decade, and he has also earned my endorsement. Bill Hagerty is a Christian, a fine husband and father, a dedicated public servant, and a freedom-loving patriot. In the Senate, he will work tirelessly to defend our conservative values from those trying to undermine them. Like me, he is gravely concerned with the direction of our country, and will not stay silent while the radical liberals attempt to destroy our country. As the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Bill has seen firsthand from neighboring regimes like China and North Korea what happens when we let socialism or, even worse, communism take control of our government systems. It leads to chaos, failed public policies and systemic oppression. Bill will stand with President Trump in ensuring that we never become a socialist country under his leadership.

Our values have never been more under attack than at this moment in history. We must have the courage to stand boldly for them and ensure that we elect Bill Hagerty to the U.S. Senate. No one will fight more persistently for our conservative way of life than my friend, Bill. He is a solid conservative, and I am proud to join President Trump in fully endorsing him for the U.S. Senate.

State Representative Andy Holt represents District 76 of Tennessee, which includes Weakley County, and part of Obion and Carroll Counties.

Read or Share this story: https://www.jacksonsun.com/story/opinion/2020/07/28/hagerty-conservative-who-stand-up-liberal-mob-opinion/5528967002/

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Hagerty is a Conservative who will stand up to Liberal mob | Opinion - The Jackson Sun

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint wears a bin bag to call out ‘sexist rubbish’ after column describes her clothing choices – ABC News

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

A female politician has donned a garbage bag to call out what she says is the sexist "rubbish" women in politics are forced to put up with.

In the minute-long video, posted to Twitter, South Australian Liberal MP Nicolle Flint lists off a series of incidents she's endured since entering federal politics, including being targeted by a male stalker and having her campaign office defaced with "skank" and "prostitute".

She also criticises male commentator Mike Carlton who, during an episode of Q+A, tweeted that panellist and singer Jimmy Barnes had "shown great restraint by not leaping from his seat and strangling [Nicolle]".

But Ms Flint appears to have drawn the line on Sunday when another commentator, and ABC radio host, Peter Goers, wrote a column criticising the glossy brochures issued by MPs, at taxpayers' expense, to their constituents.

Mr Goers mentioned other South Australian Liberals, including "king of the open-necked shirt, David Basham", but reserved his most detailed observations for Ms Flint, her "pearl earrings and a pearly smile" and "vast wardrobe of blazers, coats and tight, black, ankle-freezing trousers and stiletto heels".

Wearing those very stilettos and black, ankle-freezing trousers, Ms Flint ends the video by posing the question: "So Mr Goers, what should a woman in politics wear?"

"How about a garbage bag to match your rubbish views," she says, while removing her black coat to reveal a grey bin bag cinched with a black belt.

Federal MPs are given tens of thousands of dollars each year, some of which can be used for printed material.

Almost immediately, her post drew praise from female politicians across the aisle, including Labor's Anika Wells who tweeted "I'm with Nicolle Flint".

"The standards expected of women politicians are garbage," she said.

"Be authentic but appeal widely. Be charming but don't try too hard. Confident, but modest ya know?"

Another Labor MP, Madeline King, also took to Twitter to declare: "I stand with Nicolle Flint," saying the kind of sexist rubbish she had copped belong "in the bin".

Women in politics have long complained about the double standards to which they are held particularly when it comes to appearance but many are reluctant to, or tired of speaking out about it.

Ms Flint is from the conservative wing of the Liberal Party, which is typically even more hesitant to discuss their experience as female MPs, fearing they'll either be defined by it, or raise eyebrows among often male-dominated pre-selection committees.

But the public examples of sexism in politics are endless.

From Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young's "slut-shaming" defamation case against former senator David Leyonhjelm, to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott pointing out the "sex appeal" of then-candidate Fiona Scott and Liberal Don Randall accusing then-Democrat Cheryl Kernot of "having the morals of an alley cat".

Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard suffered years of negative commentary about the fit of her jackets, her hairstyle, the tone of her voice, even her decision to not have children.

One of her fiercest critics, right-wing commentator Alan Jones, suggested putting Ms Gillard into a "chaff bag" and throwing her out to sea and after the death of her father, claimed he had "died of shame".

Mr Jones also appeared at anti-carbon tax rallies outside Parliament House where protesters held up placards which read "Ditch the Witch" and "Bob Brown's bitch".

In the years since, the ranks of women in Parliament have been bolstered mainly on the Labor side which has helped shift the tone of debate but it has certainly has not settled it.

Ms Flint, who is 42, and Ms Wells, 34, are from different states and different parties, and sit on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, but their intervention strongly suggests the next generation of women in politics won't cop such "sexist rubbish" silently.

Mr Goers has been contacted for comment.

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Liberal MP Nicolle Flint wears a bin bag to call out 'sexist rubbish' after column describes her clothing choices - ABC News

Quokka Brew Debuts Jitter Free Coffee that will start your breakfast on the right foot natio … – Drew Reports News

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

For millions of consumers, coffee is a vital beverage, supplying the needed boost to get going in the morning, a pick-me-up for later on in the day and a delicious drink to delight in.

But coffee likewise has the propensity to trigger jitters, making customers feel unsteady, overstimulated and nervous. 2 college students at University of California Berkeley, Ofek Arush and George Passantino, were experiencing them as they drank coffee to study for examinations in 2018. They chose to go into business enhancing the drink, and Quokka Brew was born.

Quokka Brew is a canned iced latte made with oat milk that states it will get rid of coffee jitters. Called after an Australian animal that is curious, courageous and constantly smiling, the business wrote on its blog that their coffee will make consumers feel the same way.

According to the brands site, Quokka Brew is formulated with amino acids and nootropics that neutralize the adrenaline and higher high blood pressure that triggers the jitters. Nevertheless, the caffeine material is intact, so the coffee will still perk the customer up.

We eliminated these negative side effects, allowing us to completely reimagine how productive and sharp coffee can make us feel, Arush said in a press release sent to Food Dive.

As more people are trying to find their everyday caffeine boost, and research study keeps revealing coffee is not damaging to the body, ingenious takes on coffee will continue to perk up both customers and markets. And if Quokka Brew can provide a smooth customer experience and taste, it simply may jolt the coffee segment much more.

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Quokka Brew Debuts Jitter Free Coffee that will start your breakfast on the right foot natio ... - Drew Reports News

Cyberpunk 2077-Inspired Game Boy | TheGamer – TheGamer

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Cyberpunk die-hard has brought to life a Game Boy in the guise of CDPR's magnum opus utilizing Blender and a lofty artistic ability

With nearly four months remaining before release, the hype for Cyberpunk 2077 is now at its boiling point. Fans cannot wait to enter into and run rampant across the bustling streets of Night City, with that tinge of electric neon swirling all around them and the occasional voice of Johnny Silverhand weaving into the back of V's consciousness. Though, with ample time on hand until its fated debut, fans across the world and among various artistic subsets have begun imbuing their own Cyberpunk fandom into feats of immense and mesmerizing engineering, like designing custom LEGO min-figs and building an entire Cyberpunk 2077 platform database.

One such Cyberpunk die-hard has brought to life a Game Boy in the guise of CDPR's magnum opus utilizing Blender and a lofty artistic ability.

RELATED: Despite Speculation, Cyberpunk 2077 Will Not Be On Game Pass

The fan, named Tomek Dittrich, shared his conceptual render to immediate praise and applause, with many others seemingly begging to buy this custom Game Boy in real life. The Blender projectis a chef's kiss for fans excited for this sci-fi adventure yet still in love with retro gaming. It hassome awesomedetail, like actual Game Boy cartridges, an adapted Night City Cyber Boy product name, and even a Cyberpunk 2077 game itself, which brings to life Johnny Silverhand in that now-memorized official cinematic trailer from last year's E3. Below the Cyberpunk 2077 cartridge are the game's three Witcher series predecessors. Despite there being no Cyberpunk 2077 demoson the horizon, this is about the next best thing available (and here's to hoping someone out there eventually designs a top-down retro recreation of the game).

The Cyber Boy has some sweet Cyberpunk 2077 callouts, like it being manufactured by Militech and that "No Future" text printed on the back simply seals the whole piece as something deserving of its own museum showcase. Unfortunately, the Night City Cyber Boy won't be available until the 57th anniversary of the Cyberpunk 2077 release - that is, if it doesn't get delayed again (cross those fingers so it doesn't). Time to sift through all the gamer junk stashed away in the horde closet and find that long-lost Game Boy to replicate thisartistic wonderourselves.

With the thought of in-game side quests being so in-depth completing the main questline isn't even necessary, Cyberpunk fans are itching to dive into this massive and beautiful open world, so much so they have consistently brought their fandom into the real world. Until November, hope remains there will be plenty more creativefan-made ingenuity in the works.

A Cyberpunk 2077-themed PlayStation 2 would be legendary.

NEXT:Is Hideo Kojima Going to Be in Cyberpunk 2077?

Grounded Arachnophobia Mode: What Does It Do?

A horror connoisseur, RPG adventurer, open-world fanatic, and part-time battle royaler. Ryan has worked with such outlets as Vocal and IBTimes, as well as published a book with two friends titled Drownin University by RECALL. Games, from boards to MMORPGs, are his true passion for they invite boundless imagination, an ability all should consistently emulate.

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Cyberpunk 2077-Inspired Game Boy | TheGamer - TheGamer

From Frying Pan to Fire: Strategic Issues When Reimbursement Disputes Turn Into Criminal Investigations – Lexology

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Danzig

Early on the morning of June 13, 2017, over one hundred federal agents raided facilities across southern California belonging to behavioral health provider Sovereign Heath. The agents provided search warrants indicating that they were seeking evidence of fraudulent billing and kickbacks. The items sought suggested a potential connection to a civil lawsuit that Sovereign had filed against insurer Health Net for bad faith denial of insurance claims, as well as cross-claims for fraud and kickbacks that Health Net had filed in response. Sovereign eventually collapsed. On May 5, 2020, it filed a federal racketeering lawsuit against Health Net, its parent company Centene Corp., and several of Health Nets outside counsel, accusing them of providing false information to the government in order to induce the investigation and force Sovereign out of business. Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center, Inc., et al. v. Centene Corp., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-04112 (C.D. Cal.).

While perhaps a dramatic example, the Sovereign case is hardly the only one in recent years in which a private insurer has allegedly encouraged law enforcement to pursue a provider, sometimes while the insurer and provider are engaged in a dispute. For example, beginning in 2016, insurers sued several dialysis providers for paying kickbacks through a charity, while a related DOJ investigation was underway. In October 2018, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee confirmed that it was cooperating with the Department of Justice in the prosecution of various individuals and companies allegedly involved in a $174 million telemedicine fraud against private insurers. And earlier this month, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions of two Alabama doctors for defrauding private insurers and others; a Blue Cross Blue Shield employee testified in the trial as a government witness. See United States v. Ruan, Case No. 17-12653.

Criminal cases involving commercial health insurers often proceed in parallel with civil litigation between the payer and provider. In some cases, the payer asserts an overpayment and initiates litigation including fraud claims. In others, the provider sues for non-payment or underpayment, and the insurer either defends or countersues by alleging fraud. However the dispute arises, insurers have become increasingly aggressive in referring fraud claims to law enforcement agencies, including DOJ, in connection with the civil litigation. Often, these referrals are made through the insurers Special Investigative Units and counsel, sometimes with the hope of gaining additional leverage in the dispute. As in any situation featuring overlapping criminal and civil cases, such collaborations between insurers and prosecutors are rife with strategic and procedural landmines for both sides.

One of these critical issues that often arises for the provider in the civil case is whether to assert the Fifth Amendment and refuse to testify. If a provider does so in federal civil court, it can result in the judge or jury drawing adverse inferences that can be devastating to the providers case. Even in the state courts of California or other jurisdictions that prohibit such adverse inferences, asserting the self-incrimination privilege can make it harder for the provider to introduce helpful evidence. But waiving the Fifth Amendment and testifying can provide valuable fodder for the government in the criminal case, which may prove even more dangerous. For that reason, the provider may seek a stay of the civil case until the criminal matter is completed, which may delay resolution of the payment issue but can avoid the self-incrimination dilemma.

On the other side of the coin, the civil proceeding may offer the provider certain advantages in the criminal case. In particular, civil litigation allows for much broader discovery than is generally afforded to criminal defendants. A provider facing parallel cases can use depositions, document requests, and other discovery devices to pin down testimony from key witnesses, extract exculpatory admissions, and obtain documents useful for his defense, all of which might be unavailable in a criminal case. For that reason, the provider might choose risk defeat in the civil case by not pursuing a stay, while the government might instead ask to suspend the civil proceeding. In other cases, the government may not seek a stay, but instead ask the court for a protective order barring discovery of witnesses communications with the government, or other information the disclosure of which could undermine the criminal investigation. See State Compensation Ins. Fund v. Drobot, 2016 WL 3546583 (C.D Cal. Feb. 29, 2016).

The government and payer, too, must be careful in pursuing a coordinated attack. Courts have held that the government may not secretly use a civil proceeding to obtain information for a criminal case. See United States v. Stringer, 521 F.3d 1189 (9th Cir. 2008). In other cases, they have found that the governments excessive direction of a private actors dealings with a criminal defendant render that private actor a government agent, whose actions can violate the defendants constitutional rights. See United States v. Connolly, et al., Case No. 16-cr-370 (S.D.N.Y.) If the government and insurer appear to be working too closely, and one seems to be taking too much direction from the other, a court could find misconduct or perhaps order additional discovery from the insurer in a criminal case. At a minimum, close involvement between the two could provide a line of defense in the criminal case regarding the bias or improper motives of the government. A similar defense was successful in the recent acquittal of a Fitbit executive on criminal trade secrets charges apparently prompted by a competing companys advocacy.

Like anyone who provides information to law enforcement, insurers referring matters to the government must also be both scrupulously accurate and reasonably thorough in their disclosures. If an insurer give false or misleadingly incomplete evidence to the government in order to persuade it to pursue charges against a provider in order to gain a litigation advantage, it could be subject to a claim of malicious prosecution, or even criminal false statements charges under 18 U.S.C. 1001. Such allegations of false accusations provided part of the basis of Sovereign Healths RICO lawsuit against Health Net, discussed above.

While civil disputes and criminal investigations may sometimes mix, particularly in the case of provider-insurer reimbursement disputes, they raise both the stakes and the complexity in both proceedings. Navigating such parallel proceedings requires careful planning and counsel with experience in both the civil and criminal realms.

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From Frying Pan to Fire: Strategic Issues When Reimbursement Disputes Turn Into Criminal Investigations - Lexology

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Hagerty is a Conservative who will stand up to Liberal mob | Opinion – The Jackson Sun

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint wears a bin bag to call out ‘sexist rubbish’ after column describes her clothing choices – ABC News

Quokka Brew Debuts Jitter Free Coffee that will start your breakfast on the right foot natio … – Drew Reports News

Cyberpunk 2077-Inspired Game Boy | TheGamer – TheGamer

From Frying Pan to Fire: Strategic Issues When Reimbursement Disputes Turn Into Criminal Investigations – Lexology