Author Archives: Danzig

UK factories fear shortage of materials and workers as COVID and Brexit hit – Reuters

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LONDON (Reuters) - British manufacturers concerns about shortages of low-wage workers and supplies have risen the most in almost 50 years, a survey showed on Thursday, as they wrestle with COVID-19 disruptions and new customs rules after leaving the European Union.

FILE PHOTO: A staff member works at PALLITE, a designer and manufacturer of social distancing screens and desks from recyclable paper board, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wellingborough, Britain July 20, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

A measure of how manufacturers feel about their competitiveness relative to EU rivals deteriorated at the fastest pace on record, meanwhile, and companies expected output and orders to decline, the Confederation of British Industry said of its survey results.

Manufacturers across the board are continuing to battle major headwinds, CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said.

A monthly index of new orders for January dropped to -38 from -25 in December, and a quarterly measure of optimism sank to -22 from zero in October.

However, export orders bucked the broader trend, with this balance rising to its least negative since March, though it was still below its long-run average.

(This) suggests that EU firms are not hesitating to source goods from the UK, despite the extra red tape and rise in haulage costs, Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics said.

The survey adds to signs that Britains economy will contract in early 2021, hit by a surge in coronavirus cases and restrictions, and new bureaucracy for trade with the EU.

Manufacturing accounts for about 10% of Britains economy.

The much bigger services sector has been hit far harder by social-distancing measures and is also facing new barriers to trade with the EU.

Separately, a new experimental measure of consumer spending indicated that credit and debit card spending in early January slumped to 35% below its level last February, before the pandemic.

The figures - published by the Office for National Statistics using Bank of England data - are not seasonally adjusted, so part of the fall probably reflects a normal drop in spending after Christmas, on top of the impact of new COVID restrictions which closed non-essential retailers this month.

The CBI figures showed many manufacturers reported a rush to build up stocks and complete EU orders in December, before the new customs rules took effect on Jan. 1.

British goods are not subject to tariffs or quotas as they enter the EU, but do face significant new paperwork, adding to costs and delays.

Concern about shortages of materials and components rose by the most since January 1975, which the CBI linked to COVID disruption to international trade and Brexit-linked customs delays.

Concerns about a lack of unskilled workers rose by the most since April 1974. New immigration rules since Jan. 1 limit employers ability to hire low-paid workers from the EU, at a time when COVID has led to increased staff absence.

Additional reporting by Andy Bruce

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UK factories fear shortage of materials and workers as COVID and Brexit hit - Reuters

Brexit has driven 2,500 finance jobs and 170bn to France, says bank governor – The Guardian

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The Bank of Frances governor has said that Britains withdrawal from the European Union has driven almost 2,500 jobs and at least 170bn in assets to France.

London remains the continents foremost financial centre but Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris have all scrambled to attract businesses that wanted to remain active in the 19-nation eurozone.

The coronavirus pandemic made it even more important to boost business activity, given its severe economic effects.

In spite of the pandemic, almost 2,500 jobs have already been transferred and around 50 British entities have authorised the relocation of at least 170bn (150bn) in assets to France at the end of 2020, bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau told a press briefing.

Other relocations are expected and should increase over the course of this year, he added.

In particular, Brexit has forced Europe to develop its financial autonomy, de Galhau said.

The EU will allow London clearinghouses to operate across the continent for 18 months, because the union does not have comparable institutions of its own.

Once that deadline has expired, however, financial transactions in euros are in theory going to have to be settled within the EU.

In addition, a true financing union must allow us to better mobilise surplus savings de Galhau said.

He urged that the opportunity provided by Brexit be used to create a functional union of capital markets in the EU.

Boris Johnson admitted in December that the Brexit deal with the EU does not go as far as we would like in allowing access to EU markets for financial services, although UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, later offered the prospect of improved access.

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Brexit has driven 2,500 finance jobs and 170bn to France, says bank governor - The Guardian

Temporary Post-Brexit Regime Applies to UK Financial Institutions Operating in Italy – JD Supra

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In Short

The Situation: As of the close of the Brexit transition period ending on December 31, 2020 ("Withdrawal Date"), UK banks, UK investment firms, and UK electronic money institutions ("UK Financial Institutions") can no longer operate in Italy under the principle of mutual recognition.

The Action: Article 22 of Italian Law Decree No. 183 of December 31, 2020 ("Milleproroghe Decree")as further explained by the press releases issued by Bank of Italy and Consob on January 2, 2021provides for a "grace period" until June 30, 2021, for UK Financial Institutions, provided that a request to operate in Italy had been submitted to the relevant Italian competent authority by the Withdrawal Date.

Looking Ahead: UK Financial Institutions are required to inform Italy-based clients of the effects of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.

Article 22 introduced measures applicable to UK Financial Institutions regulating the transition from the regime based on the principle of mutual recognition at European Union level to that applicable to third-country intermediaries.

Grace Period Provided for UK Financial Institutions Under Article 22 and the Press Releases

The measures provided for by Article 22 enable UK Financial Institutions to continue to operate in Italy subject to the following:

If an authorization is refused after the Withdrawal Date, the activities for which the authorization has not been obtained must be terminated in a way and within a time frame that do not prejudice the UK Financial Institutions' Italy-based clients. The orderly termination of the existing agreements should not be compromised, but it should be done by no later than three months from the date the Italian competent authority communicated its denial of authorization.

However, as a general principle, if a UK Financial Institution did not file its application before the Withdrawal Date or had its application denied before the Withdrawal Date ("Non-Authorized UK Financial Institutions"), it may no longer carry out reserved financial activities in Italy as of the Withdrawal Date.

Entry into Force of the Milleproroghe Decree

The Milleproroghe Decree was published in the Italian Official Gazette and entered into force on December 31, 2020. It may be subject to amendments by the Italian Parliament during its conversion into law, provided that if any provision does not become law within 60 calendar days from the Milleproroghe Decree's publication in the Italian Official Gazette (i.e., by March 1, 2021), then it will be deemed to have had no force or effect at all.

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Temporary Post-Brexit Regime Applies to UK Financial Institutions Operating in Italy - JD Supra

The Brexit Agreement And Data Flows: A View From Finland – Privacy – Finland – Mondaq News Alerts

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21 January 2021

lus Laboris

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The EU and UK reached a Trade and Co-operation Agreement('Brexit Agreement') on 24 December 2020 bringing clarityto many complex issues following the end of the Brexit transitionperiod, including transfers of personal data. Transfers of personaldata to the UK may continue as normal for up to six months afterthe Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020 until the EUCommission makes an adequacy decision concerning the UK.

Brexit means that the UK will no longer benefit from the freeflow of personal data between EU and EEA countries. Any transfer ofpersonal data from the EU to the UK will, therefore, have to complywith the hefty restrictions on international transfers under theGDPR, recently upgraded by theSchremsIIjudgement.

The Brexit Agreement, however, provides an extension for thebenefit of EU-UK data transfers, referred to asthe'bridge', meaning that the free flow of personaldata between the EU and UK may continue for another four months(until 1 May 2021) extendable for another two months (until 1 July2021) unless objected to by either the EU or UK. The bridge isconditional on the UK not amending its data protection laws duringthe period. The period will terminate if the EU Commission confirmsbefore the end of the period that the UK provides adequateprotection for personal data (a so-called'adequacydecision').

If the bridge ends without an adequacy decision, companies inthe EU would have to have appropriate safeguards in place or relyon derogations as required under the GDPR to justify transfers ofpersonal data to the UK. This would be a considerable and priceycompliance burden for the many organisations operating across thenewly adjusted EU border including, for example, EU-based corporategroups with UK entities.

The daunting complexities surrounding international transfersand Brexit have been postponed, but not solved. Stakeholders onboth sides of the Channel now face the task of preparing for twoopposite scenarios simultaneously. In the absence of an adequacydecision, EU companies would have to have all necessary measures inplace (such as standard contractual clauses or other safeguards) toensure that transfers of personal data to the UK comply with therequirements for international transfers under the GDPR.

At the same time, it is highly desirable and likely that UKadequacy will be confirmed, thus rendering any further safeguardsor measures unnecessary. Nevertheless, organisations have to bemindful of both potential outcomes. For example, the UK InformationCommissioner's Office has recommended putting alternativesafeguards in place before the end of April.

With this in mind, any EU company potentially transferringpersonal data to the UK (including providing access to personaldata) should carry out the following measures to prepare for anon-adequate scenario:

A confirmation of UK adequacy will be highly anticipated duringthe following months. Although the UK has now regained autonomyover its data protection law, the requirements of the GDPR havebeen converted into domestic UK law. This means that GDPR standardswill, for now, remain part and parcel of UK data protection law,favouring a finding of adequacy by the EU Commission. After all,the Brexit Agreement and the bridgeitestablishesaimprecisely at allowing sufficient time todecide on adequacy.

However, the EU Commission will have to carry out an intricateanalysis of the UK's broader relevant legislation, notably theUK's surveillance regime, which has been said to cast doubts onadequacy. The recentSchrems IIjudgement, inwhich theEuropean Court of Justiceinvalidated thepartial adequacy arrangement for the US (Privacy Shield),specifically boiled down to excessive surveillance powers of localauthorities. Interestingly, the compliance of the UK'ssurveillance regime with EU lawwaschallenged bytheEuropean Court of Justiceonly a few months ago, on 6October 2020 (case C-623/17,'PrivacyInternational'). Therefore, the risk of non-adequacycannot be ruled out and a confirmation of adequacy bears the riskof privacy campaigners subsequently challenging the adequacydecision, as demonstrated by theSchremscaselaw.

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

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The Brexit Agreement And Data Flows: A View From Finland - Privacy - Finland - Mondaq News Alerts

Post-Brexit, Schrems II, And The GDPR: Privacy Compliance Priorities In Early 2021 – JD Supra

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On December 31, 2020, the Brexit transition period ended and the United Kingdoms (UK) domestic implementation of the GDPR, the UK Data Protection Act 2018, as amended (UK GDPR), now governs the processing of personal data in the UK.

As if the UKs separation from the European Union (EU) was not enough to muddle the privacy compliance landscape for U.S. companies doing business in the EU and the UK, the mid-yearSchrems IIdecision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield also ushered in a round of regulatory guidance from both the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Commission (EC).

On November 10, 2020, the EDPB released recommendations on what theSchrems IIcourt referred to as supplemental measures to be taken by entities relying on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as a valid data transfer mechanism. Just one day after the EDPB released its guidance, the EC published drafts of new versions of the SCCs aimed at replacing the existing form SCCs for data transfer outside the EU, as well as wholly new form SCCs to be entered into between all controllers and processors under GDPR Article 28. And most recently, on January 15, 2021, the EDPB and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted joint opinions on the proposed draft SCCs, concluding that the drafts presented a reinforced level of protection that was intended to address some of the main data privacy and security issues identified in theSchrems IIdecision.

These significant developments at the close of 2020 and turn of the year charted a course in privacy compliance for companies doing business in Europe to take in early 2021. In this two-part Client Alert, the Lowenstein privacy team will explore this compliance to do list in more detailstarting with this first installment,Part I: Brexit, the GDPR, and a UK Adequacy Decision.

Part I: Brexit, the GDPR, and a UK Adequacy Decision

Data protection in the UK is now regulated by the UK GDPR and the GDPR no longer applies. The good news is that the UK GDPR is essentially identical to the GDPR, although differences are inevitable over time as the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and courts interpret and enforce the regulation. However, companies that implemented GDPR compliance programs will need to update their privacy policies, privacy disclosures and other GDPR-related processes to ensure compliance under the UK GDPR. If nothing else, companies will need to update references to the EU and the GDPR to explicitly address the UK and the UK GDPR. Another particularly important requirement under the UK GDPR for companies without a physical presence in the UK is the engagement of a UK representative that is separate from the EU representative named under the GDPR.

The most anticipated post-Brexit consideration in the privacy sphere has been whether the EU will determine that the UK provides an adequate level of data protection. This adequacy designation, held by very few countries worldwide including Israel, Canada and South Korea, would eliminate any need for companies transferring personal data between the UK and EU member countries to rely on the SCCs or any other approved data transfer mechanism for the valid transfer of data.

Although that adequacy decision is still pending, the trade negotiations between the UK and the EU that began shortly after Brexit formally ended on December 24, 2020 with theEU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)being approved in principle. While the TCA has not yet been ratified by the parties and in any case does not provide an adequacy decision on the UK, it does implement transition measures that allow data flows to continue unimpeded between the EU and the UK for the time being. This is a welcome, albeit temporary, reprieve for companies with data flows between the UK and the EU, but certainly a matter to keep a close eye on.

Next week we will circulatePart II: Draft SCCs and Post-Schrems II Regulatory Guidance, which will focus on the draft SCCs and the impact on U.S. companies of the EDPB and EDPS opinions.

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Post-Brexit, Schrems II, And The GDPR: Privacy Compliance Priorities In Early 2021 - JD Supra

‘Absolute carnage’: EU hauliers reject UK jobs over Brexit rules – The Guardian

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A British freight company director with more than 20 years experience has told how EU hauliers and transport companies are turning their backs on UK business because they are being asked to provide tens of thousands of pounds in guarantees to cover VAT or potential tariffs on arrival in Britain.

The financial guarantee requirement did not exist before Brexit and EU transport companies who previously provided a shipping service for small and medium-sized firms have decided they do not want the extra financial burden, according to Colin Jeffries, who runs Key Cargo International in Manchester.

Weve got people that are trying to bring textiles in from Italy but we are being told there is no haulage availability on that. Nobodys willing to touch anything because of these guarantees. In Poland, were trying to get masks in for PPE in the workplace and we cant get anyone to bring them over.

Jeffries, who has been in the freight forwarding business for 24 years, said his business nearly came to a standstill last week because of the sudden trade barriers erected on 1 January.

He said it was absolute carnage out there trying to get EU hauliers to come to Britain, because they underestimated the gravity of the financial guarantees, known as T1s, that now apply to goods being exported to the UK.

A truck with a 200,000 cargo would need cash or a T1 financial guarantee document for 40,000 in VAT alone, he said, a significant burden for transport companies with multiple trucks going to the UK.

Before Brexit these guarantees were not required for goods coming from the EU.

Many agents who are completing T1s have run out of guarantee funds, which they need to have in place, he added.

He spoke as data showed that an increasing number of freight groups rejected contracts to move goods from France to Britain in the second week of January.

Transporeon, a German software company that works with 100,000 logistics service providers, said freight forwarders had rejected jobs to move goods from Germany, Italy and Poland into Britain.

In the second week of January the rejection rate for transport to the UK was up 168% on the third quarter of 2020 and had doubled in the first calendar week of the year.

Jeffries said one of the problems was how complicated exporting to the UK had become.

While goods could sail through British ports before Brexit, now EU suppliers, like the UK exporters, had to provide a panoply of paperwork before export in addition to the T1 financial guarantee.

Apart from the customs declaration and the T1 financial guarantee they have to provide a Rex (registered exporter system) document to certify the origin of the product, which will determine whether tariffs will apply on entry to the UK or whether they are subject to preferential treatment.

Jeffries also hit out at the government for its repeated refrain to businesses instructing them to go to freight forwarders or customs agents to prepare them for Brexit.

They havent issued freight forwarders with a magic book, he said. A lot of people think we have inside knowledge because the government says go to a freight forwarder or customs agent. But we havent been given any insight. We are researching this like everyone else and like everyone you can only gain access to some systems from 1 January so you had no time to test systems until it went live.

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'Absolute carnage': EU hauliers reject UK jobs over Brexit rules - The Guardian

Freight traffic slumps and costs soar as Brexit friction bites – Sky News

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Freight traffic between Britain and the EU is down almost a third following the end of the Brexit transition, with new red tape and soaring transport costs prompting some small firms to suspend exports to the continent.

Data seen by Sky News shows lorry freight passing between Britain and its major European trading partners since 1 January has fallen dramatically compared to the same period in 2020.

Daily truck volumes between Britain and European Union countries, including France, Ireland and the Netherlands, fell by 61% in the first days of January and are 29% down on average in the first 20 days of the year, according to logistics data company Sixfold.

At the same time, the cost of moving goods from France to Great Britain has risen 47% year-on-year, while the rejection rate, a measure of hauliers across the continent turning down cross-Channel work, has jumped by 168%.

The findings come as companies across a range of sectors, from fishing and food to Formula 1 and farming, say that the Brexit deal has added cost, complexity and delays to doing business in Europe.

Britain's departure from the EU has introduced a raft of new customs and safety procedures - "non-tariff barriers" in trade jargon - for European imports and exports.

Previously these only applied to UK trade with non-EU destinations, known as third countries.

This has been compounded by the sudden introduction of mandatory COVID testing by the French government in the week before Christmas, which has added another layer of complexity of what was previously a frictionless border.

Government officials told MPs on Thursday that as many as 200 lorries are being turned back from the Dover and Folkestone short straits crossings every day, with on average 5% of vehicles found to be non-compliant.

Now the UK is itself a third country, food importers and manufacturers have told Sky News they fear the new border arrangements will make the UK less attractive to European companies.

One told Sky News it had suspended exports while the new regulations bed in.

Rodanto, a family-run fruit grower and importer, has 68 years' experience trading across the continent and owns farms in Spain and Morocco as well the UK, including its base in Sidcup, Kent.

Even with vast experience, its own fleet of lorries, and staff in Europe, it has found the change of systems tough.

Import manager Edward Velasco said Brexit has compounded the challenge of dealing with the disruption of coronavirus, and a destructive cold snap in Spain that hit supplies of citrus fruits and some vegetables including broccoli.

Mr Velasco said he "likes to be positive" about the prospect for business and said he expected border procedures to settle down, but he was concerned about the long-term impact of delays to cross-border trade.

"The challenges of getting fresh produce here makes it less attractive," he said.

"We've got new challenges every week it seems, and it does make it less attractive."

"Hauliers have an extra cost in coming here, they don't know if their drivers are going to get back within a certain amount of time.

"If the wheels aren't moving they're losing money and ultimately so are we so it does create an extra challenge and it makes the UK less attractive."

Nim's Fruit Crisps, based 30 miles away in Sittingbourne, would usually source the raw materials for its air-dried fruit and vegetable crisps from European providers.

Delays to deliveries from Spain before Christmas forced them to look elsewhere, eventually importing lemons from Egypt that were delivered by ship in weeks rather than by lorry within 48 hours.

The company has grown rapidly over the last eight years, placing its products in 2,000 Tesco stores, producing own-brand produce for M&S, as well as growing exports to five European countries.

But owner Nimisha Raja says she has decided to stop all trade with Europe for a month while the new systems bed in, hoping that in time it will become cost-effective.

"We decided that for the month of January we are not going to import anything from the EU, we're not going to export to the EU until we fully get the handle of what it means to export to the EU.

"Now we were selling to five different countries but we stopped exporting pretty much last year leading up to this.

"Exporting and importing is really difficult for a small business like ours.

"For exporting it's a lot of added costs, for staffing, for all the documentation, we have to pay for a lot of documentation as well, like certificate of origin."

Complex rules-of-origin regulations that attract taxes on goods passed from third countries to European customers by UK companies have also increased consumer prices.

The fishing industry has found the change particularly disruptive, with a third of the Scottish fleet tied up and volumes traded through Peterhead, the largest fish market in Europe, running at a fraction of pre-Brexit levels.

The prime minister and cabinet members have characterised the impact of non-tariff barriers on traders as "teething problems", preferring to focus on the pre-Christmas COVID border closure ordered by Emanuel Macron and the general impact of coronavirus on European economies.

That was the message when new Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng spoke to MPs this week.

"We were in the EU for 47 years," he said.

"A lot of predictions of total congestion and chaos have not materialised, that doesn't mean we are out of the woods.

"But the most scary predictions were not borne out in reality.

"I'm confident that we will be able to get to a regime where we will have to get to a much smoother process."

Government officials confirmed to MPs on Thursday that trade is at around 70% of last January's level.

Emma Churchill, director general of the Border Protocol Group, told the Public Accounts Committee that between 3% and 8% of freight vehicles were being turned back at the border.

This is lower than anticipated, with compliance with new paperwork including the Kent Access Permit required to pass through the county higher than expected.

Some 636 fines have been issued for non-compliance with the KAP.

Ms Churchill also suggested trade volumes may not recover to 100% of last year because of COVID, which depressed trade to around 80% of average levels during the March lockdown.

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Freight traffic slumps and costs soar as Brexit friction bites - Sky News

Malachi O’Doherty: Backstop dominated Brexit debate for two years…but what happened next? – Belfast Telegraph

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There was a moment in modern British history when Arlene Foster seemed to control the course of events.

his was in early December 2017. Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the UK was in Brussels to sign off on an agreement on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. Had that meeting proceeded smoothly, the successive three years of wrangling and angst might have been avoided. We might never have heard the tiresome word "backstop".

But it didn't. At lunchtime, May took a call from Arlene Foster. The DUP was in a "confidence and supply" arrangement with the Conservative Party to keep it in power. And Arlene Foster made plain that this deal with Brussels was not acceptable to the DUP. There would be no more backing for Tories in Parliament if May signed it. Mrs Foster had the unprecedented power, for a unionist leader, to call Mrs May back home and insist that she think again.

What was wrong with the agreement was that it established "regulatory alignment" between Northern Ireland and the European Union. May had realised that this was the only way to get out of the European Union without creating a hard border in Ireland.

The deadlock was broken days later with a form of words that enabled negotiations to proceed. If Britain and the EU had not reached a full free trade agreement by December 2020, the UK would have to come up with a good idea to avert a hard border, or Northern Ireland would continue to trade under EU rules. That held open the option of an alternative to the regulatory alignment - if anyone could think of one.

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Power: then Prime Minister Theresa May greets DUPs Arlene Foster, Nigel Dodds and Jeffrey Donaldson at Downing Street in 2017

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When the EU came back in February 2018 with a renewed clarity in its language about the backstop, May baulked. She was back under pressure to concede what the DUP refused to allow and she had to find another way.

That other way could only be a backstop that applied to the whole of the UK, diluting the whole concept of Brexit. This appalled the hard Brexiteers in the Conservative Party, but - crucially - the DUP opposed it, despite the fact that it had been contrived to meet their demand that there should be no difference between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in relations with the EU. "We leave as one" was Arlene Foster's core principle. And Brexit had to be Brexit.

For three years, the British Parliament would anguish over how to leave the European Union without a hard border in Ireland and without taking rules from the EU. And it would come back in the end to special arrangements for Northern Ireland as the only solution.

By then, the DUP would have lost its stranglehold over the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson would be Prime Minister and no phone call from Arlene Foster was going to rein him in.

Now, no one talks about the backstop, but the intention of avoiding a hard border in Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland aligned with the EU has been met. Even in the last weeks of negotiations in 2020, Boris Johnson threatened to undermine his own agreement to this - and to break international law to do so.

In the end, an announcement came in December, three years, almost to the day, after May's summons from Arlene Foster, that Michael Gove had agreed a "protocol" on Northern Ireland and much of the agonising in between seemed to have been a waste of breath.

Now the graffiti is calling for Arlene Foster to go, because her campaign to secure Brexit has led to what both Britain under May and the EU both foresaw: an Irish Sea border.

The bizarre thing about the DUP's determination to back Brexit is that it was not in their own interest. They appear not to have sat down and thought about how it would work out.

Belatedly, they thought up the argument that a division of the UK - a border in the Irish Sea - would be as much a compromise of the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement as customs checkpoints on the roads to Dundalk and Muff and about 300 other roads between them.

The real problem about the land border was that it would be impossible to control, would open up massive smuggling and would ultimately impose a need on the Republic to leave the single market.

There was no need for the argument, much deployed, that such a border would bring back the Troubles; that it would also rile the rabble and send them burrowing for their guns.

There may have been some substance to that case, but it ultimately isn't a good look to say that something has to be done because otherwise terrorists will get twitchy.

Having played that fear so adamantly has created the conviction in some loyalists that we only have an Irish Sea border because we needed to appease militant republicanism.

That's the argument of Jamie Bryson in his book Brexit Betrayed. He can cast up at unionists their defunct "red lines"; their insistence that there would be no Irish Sea border. Oh, how they swore it would never happen.

But he can also attack nationalism and what he quaintly calls the "latte-drinking liberal elite" for raising the threat of violence and suggesting that affronting nationalists is a greater breach of the Good Friday Agreement than affronting unionists would ever be.

Anyway, the damage is done. The Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, has the luxury of being able to say that the sea border does not actually exist, because he does not rely for votes on those he seeks to befuddle. Arlene, on the other hand, lives here and leads here and can lose her party and her people.

This is the big weakness in the whole point of having a Secretary of State. It is written into the terms of their employment that, being from neighbouring island constituencies, they don't have to pay for their mistakes in the way that normally keeps a reckless politician in check. Jacob Rees-Mogg is happy because the fish are happy. There's the depth of his commitment.

There are some unionist hopes of reversing the protocol: claims that it can be revoked, hopes that a vote in the Assembly in four years time might scrap it.

In the meantime, Ian Paisley seeks to be his father's son, even making appeals to the consciences of Tories and asking them to search their hearts, expecting them to comprehend the hurt suffered by unionists. Ian had thought that he was riding some kind of wave of unionist enthusiasm. Plucky little Britain was standing up to the Eurocrats again and he was in the frontline.

Sammy Wilson seems to have become a libertarian. I suspect both he and Ian have spent too much time in the company of Nigel Farage. Basically, the Brexiteers were happy to have the DUP onboard, but they were never going to let them steer the ship and, if they didn't like where it was going, they were free to jump off.

Boris Johnson had got what he wanted and won an election with a majority even he would have difficulty squandering in a single parliament, though he might well do.

It's a long way down from Arlene Foster being able to pick up a phone and demand that the Prime Minister think again.

The hope remains that a future big deal between Britain and the EU will make no borders necessary, but until then the fall-back position, the backstop, is that Northern Ireland will do things the EU's way as Great Britain sails ahead into its glorious sovereign future, or wherever.

But having seen how poorly the DUP thought through the challenges that Brexit posed for them, one can hardly hope that they can come to some settled understanding among themselves on how to respond when they are further eclipsed, or when they have another big constitutional question in front of them - like a border poll.

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Malachi O'Doherty: Backstop dominated Brexit debate for two years...but what happened next? - Belfast Telegraph

Vicky Kaushal opens up about shooting for The Immortal Ashwatthama amid the pandemic – Times of India

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Vicky Kaushal recently opened up about shooting for The Immortal Aswatthama amid the pandemic with all the protocols in place. This will be the actors first superhero film.Talking about the same, Vicky told a news portal that shooting in this new normal comes with its own set of challenges; youve to test every single person, quarantine everybody, put them in bio-bubbles. According to him, there are several Covid-19 protocols to follow, and everybody needs to be cautious. Elaborating further, the actor added that the responsibility falls on the production team to make it happen without any trouble. And that isnt an easy job. However, Vicky also thinks that everybody is getting accustomed to it and trying their best to adapt. The actor hopes by the time they start shooting for The Immortal Ashwatthama, the pandemic will be much in control.On the work front, Vicky will next be seen in Shoojit Sircars Udham Singh biopic. Apart from that, he also has Meghna Gulzars upcoming film based on the life of Sam Manekshaw.Vicky is also a part of Karan Johars period drama, Takht. The magnum opus also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Bhumi Pednekar, Janhvi and Anil Kapoor in lead roles.

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Vicky Kaushal opens up about shooting for The Immortal Ashwatthama amid the pandemic - Times of India

Ram V and Filipe Andrade team for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr – Multiversity Comics

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Cover by Felipe Andrade

Writer Ram V is quickly becoming one of the busiest names in comics, with upcoming projects from DC Comics and Vault Comics. Speaking of this new series, Ram V said The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is a strange, funny, odd, and occasionally morbid comic about death, love, innocence, and the human condition. He spoke about how his Indian background inspired the series, explaining where I come from, gods are flawed, perhaps more so than people. Life is an endless cycle of trying to get things right, and death? Death is only the beginning.

Artist Filipe Andrade, coming fresh off of 2020s Star mini-series, said that The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is a story about love and connection, but also the beauty and cruelty of it. Ram Vs script takes readers through a journey into a near-future version of Mumbai, which Andrade says is touched by a mystic and exotic perfume. I want to transport and involve the reader in this trippy and vibrant world. Andrade will also be drawing the main series covers, with variants from David Mack and Anand RK.

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Ram V and Filipe Andrade team for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr - Multiversity Comics

Immortal Fenyx Uprising Crossover with Netflix’s Blood of Zeus – Player.One

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Immortals Fenyx Rising is having a limited-time crossover with the Netflix series Blood of Zeus. The event started on January 22 and runs through January 28. It has players take on two evil creatures and in return for defeating them get excellent rewards.

The crossover event is titled "A Tribute to Family" and is going to be available to players who finished the "Gods and Monsters" quest. This new event is trackable on the game map and brings players to the Hall of the Gods. There, they get to meet a lone ghost who tasks them to take down Chimera and Cerberus. Beating these two evil monsters rewards players with the Eagle pendant along with customization options inspired by the show.

Players can also buy a new weapon pack that has Blood of Zeus-themed skins for their sword, ax, and even bow. They can also customize their armor, helmet, wings, mount, and Phosphor, with the same theme. This weapon pack is going to be available even after the crossover event.

In Immortals Fenyx Rising, players get the role of a winged demigod Fenyx. As Fenyx, they go on a quest to save the Greek gods and their home. Played through a third-person perspective, the game offers a large open world thats composed of seven unique regions, each inspired by Greek gods.

Immortals Fenyx Rising was released on December 3 and available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia. Its also available for next-gen consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. You can learn more about the game on their official site here.

Meanwhile, Blood of Zeus is an animated TV series released on Netflix last October 27, 2020. The story revolves around Heron, a son of Zeus. While the show is set in a world based on Greek mythology, the main character Heron was created specifically for the show. The first season consisted of eight episodes with a second season already given the go signal by Netflix. According to series creators Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, they project the entire show to consist of five seasons. Learn more about the show here.

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Immortal Fenyx Uprising Crossover with Netflix's Blood of Zeus - Player.One

Immortal Hulk: Who Are the U-Foes, the Avenger’s Elemental Enemies? – CBR – Comic Book Resources

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Since their attempt to replicate the Fantastic Four's powers went wrong, the U-Foes have been some of the Hulk's most dangerous villains.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #42 by Al Ewing, Alex Lins, Adam Gorham, Rachel Stott, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Chris O'Jalloran, Paul Mounts & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.

Henry Peter Gyrich hasn't changed much since his early days in the Marvel Universe. Theformer Avengers coordinator and government bureaucrat who once alienated most of theteam is now alienating Gamma Flight as he runs the hunt for Hulk. With Gamma Flight walking out on him, Gyrich has brought in a new team of Hulk-hunters in The Immortal Hulk.

This team is the U-Foes, a supervillain team that made their debut in 1980 in The Incredible Hulk #254 byBill Mantlo,Sal Buscema,Bob Sharenand Diana Albers. Since that time, they have grown to become some of the most dangerous individuals in the Hulk's rogues' gallery.

RELATED:Hulk: How Heart Of The Monster Made The Avenger STRONGER Than Ever

InThe Incredible Hulk #254, four people planned a mission to gain superpowers similar to that of the Fantastic Four. Millionaire Simon Utrecht planned out the mission -- flying into the cosmic rays unprotected with pilot Mike Steel, engineer Jimmy Darnell, and life-support specialist Ann Darnell. They were very similar to the Fantastic Four, with Mike, a muscular hothead, Ann and Jimmy being siblings, and the mastermind Simon. However, Simon, a rival of Tony Stark, didn't want to be a hero. He wanted power for power's sake and was willing to do anythingtoget it.

Bruce Banner showed up in the lab soon after and saw cosmic rays bombarding the ship. Believing they needed to be saved, Bruce helped bring them back to Earth. The four came out with powers but were angry that their powers were not as great as they had hoped and blamed Banner for bringing them back before reaching their full potential. Simon became Vector, who possessed the power of telekinesis. Ann was Vapor, who could alter her form to any known gas. Jimmy became X-Ray, and transformed into a pure form of energy. Michael was Ironclad, transformed into organic metal. However, in their new forms, they couldn't touch each other without shorting their powers out, which cost them in their first fight with Hulk.

RELATED:Hulk: The POWERHOUSE Ultimate Marvel Hero Never Got His Due

Throughout the years, The U-Foes popped up here and there, mostly to battle Hulk. They also got a chance to be heroes when Norman Osborn placed them in North Carolina as part of the Initiative during Dark Reign.They were even responsible for the Siege event, as they attacked Vostagg in Chicago, the event leading to the war with Asgard. Now, they have a chance to work with the U.S. government again, but only if they can bring in Hulk in exchange for time off of their prison sentences.

While that might seem like a tall order for most villains, it's well within the U-Foes' power. Vapor showed this on her own in the alternate worldsMaestroseries, where she single-handedly killed Hercules. However, as a team, they typically stand little chance when trying to take down Hulk.

KEEP READING:Ang Lee's Hulk Used Iron Man's BEST Trick Before The MCU

Damian Wayne Will Utilize Multiple Costumes in His Robin Series

Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who received his Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma with a minor in Film Studies. He has worked as a journalist for 25 years, starting in newspapers and magazines before moving to online media as the world changed. Shawn is a former member of the Society of Professional Journalists and a current voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has work published on websites like The Huffington Post, Time Warner Cable, Yahoo Movies, The Movie Network, Chud, Renegade Cinema, 411mania, and Monsters & Critics. Shawn is also a published author, with a non-fiction book about the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers and has begun work on a new fiction series as well. Visit Shawn Lealos' website to learn more about his novel writing and follow him on Twitter @sslealos.

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Immortal Hulk: Who Are the U-Foes, the Avenger's Elemental Enemies? - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Does Matthew Die in ‘A Discovery of Witches’? The Vampire’s Fate Revealed! – Distractify

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After Diana absorbed the Book of Life, many fans questioned if that would mean she is now immortal like her vampire beau. Though this is not disclosed in the book series, Harkness addressed the question about Diana's mortality and Matthew's immortality during a fan Q&A.

While some fans have theorized that Diana may have created her own immortality spell to live out her days with Matthew, Harkness confirmed during the fan event that she will eventually die. "Shes mortal and a warm-blood, and not going to have an extended life," Harkness said.

The author added, "Matthew has an extended life, and I think, again, the sad truth is none of us really live forever, and we all have to make the best of what we get handed. So I think thats a really normal part of life. One of the things we need to do better maybe in our time is learning to say goodbye, and learning how to live without the kind of regrets."

Watch new episodes of A Discovery of Witches on Sky One or AMC.

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Does Matthew Die in 'A Discovery of Witches'? The Vampire's Fate Revealed! - Distractify

India vs Australia: From impossible to immortal, will we ever see anything like this again? – Firstpost

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First, you can never take anything for granted. Second, never, ever, ever underestimate the Indians.

On the 19th of December, 2020, 36 all out happened.

Then, India lost Virat Kohli, and Mohammed Shami.

Then Umesh Yadav.

Then KL Rahul.

Then Ravindra Jadeja. And R Ashwin. And Jasprit Bumrah. And Hanuma Vihari.

India lost a lot.

And then, exactly a month on from 36, India won.

***

The lineup that India were able to assemble, eventually, for the decider of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21, at Brisbane Fortress Gabba/Gabbatoir/Come to Gabba et al was this:

1. Second away Test as an opener2. Third Test3. Ridiculed for intent4. Stand-in captain5. Recently-dropped opener6. Ridiculed for mostly everything7. Debutant, with no FC game in three years8. 10-ball long Test career9. Second Test half of it riddled with injury10. Third Test on the back of racial abuse, on the back of losing his father11. Debutant potentially ninth-choice fast-bowling option

If you were to make an equivalent Australian XI, considering similar blows and absentees, it could read something like this: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade, Joe Burns, Tim Paine, Moises Henriques, Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott, Trent Copeland, Jackson Bird.

Now picture this revised Australian lineup playing a series-decider, against a full-strength India, at Chepauk.

How do you imagine that panning out?

***

The last visiting XI to win a Test at the Gabba read thus: Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson, Carl Hooper, Viv Richards, Gus Logie, Jeff Dujon, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Patrick Patterson.

When that West Indian team completed their victory, Sachin Tendulkar was a year away from his India debut, Virat Kohli was barely two weeks old, Diego Maradonas Argentina were world champions, and Steffi Graf had just become the first and still remains the only tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam (winning all four majors plus the Olympic gold in the same year).

***

Australia is the first country India made a cricket tour to as an independent nation. Indias travels to the distant land, from 1947 right upto 2018, had been the stuff of folklore even without ever actually winning a series there.

It was a different kind of folklore, though, until that point.

For through the first 70 years of Indian visits to the land Down Under, Indian cricket learned, to quote Christopher Nolan, that there can be no true despair without hope.

Think Brisbane 1968. Think Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide 1977/78. Think Adelaide 1992. Think Sydney 2004. Think Sydney 2008. Think Adelaide 2014.

And then, after seven decades of waiting seven decades of determination enveloped by disappointment, of dedication covered with dismay came the Aussie summer of 2018/19.

The promised land had been met.

But, it would be said in its wake, that it would be an achievement asterisked.

Australia didnt have two of their best players. Australia were a side in transition. Australia were a team inching their way out from their darkest pit.

How about this time, then?

Before the series, India didnt have their senior-most fast bowler. One game into it, they were without their captain/best batsman, and now deprived of two of their three first-choice pacers. Two games in, they were without three of their four first-choice pacers. By the time the last match arrived, they almost had more candidates for a hospital ward than they did to put out on the park.

For years, Australian tours to India had been billed as their final frontier. For India, their tours to Australia were more in the realm of the impossible dream.

Well, as it stands India have more Test series wins in Australia in the last two years than Australia have in India in the last 50.

Perhaps Mr.(Stephen) Kings take fits more nicely than Mr Nolans then: Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

***

Against Australia, mystically or not, have come some of the most astonishing triumphs in Indian Test history. From Kanpur 1959 to Kolkata 2001, from Melbourne 1981 to Adelaide 2003 to Perth 2008.

They will never be forgotten.

But this summer, this tour, this game this will never die. This now becomes the reference point. The permanent beacon. The forever sign-board, for any and all Indian travellers, feeling lost and out of sync.

From impossible, on the 19th of December, to immortal, on the 19th of January.

First, you can never take anything for granted. Second, never, ever, ever underestimate the Indians.

These words didnt come out of the Indian camp. They came, in a mark of begrudging respect, from the opposite coach, when Justin Langer spoke to the host broadcasters, Channel 7.

***

Oh, Covid youve been beaten! You could not stop one of the greatest spectacles you could see in life. You cannot stop sport. You could not have seen anything better than this!

Who else, but Harsha Bhogle, to illuminate this brightest of all days in the annals of Indian cricket, as Ajinkya Rahane lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and passed it over to T Natarajan before you knew it.

Yes, there are far greater battles for the country as indeed the world to fight.

But for one afternoon, basking in the most glorious glory, a country was happily positive; this was an injection nobody refuted; today, even if briefly so, everyone was united.

Weve always known this is more than a game for India. Today, we knew, if ever it was in doubt, that this is more than a team.

You know the best part? We knew it, even before they stepped out for what will, for now, be the greatest day of their cricketing lives.

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India vs Australia: From impossible to immortal, will we ever see anything like this again? - Firstpost

Iron Fist: Heart Of The Dragon #1 Review: Does A Lot Of Things Right – Bleeding Cool News

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Iron Fist Heart Of The Dragon #1

7.5/10

Larry Hama brings the Immortal Weapons back with skill and panache as a threat from some of Marvel's best fighters goes interdimensional.

A mystery brews that threatens other-dimensional spaces, and Danny Rand with a little help from his friends is faced with saving heaven itself from this well-resourced, clandestine enemy. With the skillful hand of a legend writing the tale and superb production values, Iron Fist: Heart Of The Dragon #1 does a lot of things right.

The titular Danny Rand has an interdimensional gate in the Manhattan skyscraper that serves as his home and corporate headquarters. With his diminutive companion Fooh (if you liked Uncle Iroh, this guy will be familiar), he's getting ready to do a quick tour of the Seven Heavenly Cities, home of the champions called the Immortal Weapons (Iron Fist is one). Things don't go according to Rand's plans as colorfully garbed guest stars hint at the danger ahead from almost the opening bell.

As noted, Larry Hama is a legend in the space of comic book writing, influencing generations of creatives who followed him. Here, he wields each tool in the box with deftness and skill, deftly illustrating character through dialogue. It should be noted the work of David Wachter, Neeraj Menon, and Travis Lanham, who showcase (for example) the depth of Luke Cage in sitting on a couch or ripping apart aggressive zombie ninjas. Even the likes of Dog Brother get enough panel time to get a sense of them, if not the full picture.

The threat here is one specific to the area of influence Rand inhabits and adds some interesting villain-for-hire wrinkles (in a bit of an inside joke there) as the true architect of the challenge remains hidden from the reader. This is a mild wrinkle as the likes of Taskmaster and Lady Bullseye doesn't show up without deep pockets, and their specific assignments are pretty intense. That thematic deficit is perhaps the only real criticism of this otherwise fantastic issue, and that will likely bear out in future issues. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Iron Fist: Heart Of The Dragon #1By Larry Hama, David Wachter, Billy TanAN IRON FIST EPIC FROM LEGENDARY CREATOR LARRY HAMA! Someone is killing the ancient dragons that power the HEAVENLY CITIES, and only IRON FIST and the DEADLY WEAPONS can stop them if they candiscover who they are in time! Zombie armies, mystical portals, dragon hearts, some of the Marvel Universe's deadliest fighters all converge in one action-packed extravaganza, and the fate of all worlds hangs in the balance! LARRY HAMA and DAVID WACHTER are building a story that hits as hard as the Iron Fist itself!

Hannibal Tabu is a writer, journalist, DJ, poet and designer living in south Los Angeles with his wife and children. He's a winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt, winner of the 2018-2019 Cultural Trailblazer award from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, his weekly comic book review column THE BUY PILE can be found on iHeartRadio's Nerd-O-Rama podcast, his reviews can be found on BleedingCool.com, and more information can be found at his website, http://www.hannibaltabu.com.Plus, get free weekly web comics on the Operative Network at http://bit.ly/combatshaman.

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Iron Fist: Heart Of The Dragon #1 Review: Does A Lot Of Things Right - Bleeding Cool News

The DeanBeat: What Ready Player Two tells us about the metaverse – VentureBeat

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I was a fanboy for Ernest Clines Ready Player One book and the 2018 Steven Spielberg movie based on it. And so when the sequel novel Ready Player Two came out in December, I was all over it. Critics panned it, and I understand this sequel isnt as innovative as the first book. But amid the bleak reality of the pandemic, I enjoyed reading how Cline envisioned the evolution of technology and the eventual creation of the metaverse, or the Oasis, the universe of virtual worlds that are all interconnected. It fascinates me to see how technology, games, and science fiction are all intertwined in a creative vortex that generates faster progress in each of these disciplines.

And next week, our own conference about the metaverse (you can sign up here) takes place, inspired by books like Clines as well as Neal Stephensons 1992 novel Snow Crash and William Gibsons 1984 book Neuromancer, which defined the metaverse-like experience as a consensual hallucination.

Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki will speak at our event about his own dreams for the Oasis, which users have imagined inside Roblox in a treasure hunt promotion based on the new book. Millions of players have gone through that. Warner Bros. is in the early stages of making a movie based on Ready Player Two, though its not clear if Spielberg will come back for it. It may occur to Cline that, while Hollywood has been stalled by the pandemic, the video game industry is not, and making a Ready Player Two video game would make a lot more sense.

[This story has some book spoilers Ed.]

The first movie made more than $582 million at the box office. And just last month, Roblox raised more than $520 million at a valuation of $29.5 billion ahead of a public offering, and that means that Baszucki has a pretty good war chest to build a kind of Oasis or metaverse as he wishes. And he has said he wishes to do so.

Above: A scene from Steven Spielbergs 2018 movie Ready Player One.

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

When Ready Player One debuted in 2011, it was a prescient look at how virtual reality could become pervasive through society as everybody logs into a single online environment, the Oasis, where they live, work, and play. The book inspired people like Palmer Luckey, then a 19-year-old who had been building VR headsets as a hobby. Luckey envisioned how VR could be used in real life, and he went on to create the Oculus Rift. Facebook bought Oculus VR for $3 billion in 2014, and Luckey netted more than $700 million. Before Facebook made the acquisition, Cline visited Oculus and did book signings there. He saw that the conference rooms were named The Oasis, The Matrix, and The Metaverse. Facebook has spent billions more taking the Oculus tech to new levels and developing augmented reality glasses. And so, by the time Cline wrote his second book, the VR headsets he predicted were readily available.

In an interview with Baszucki in December, Cline said he was a fan of the Oculus Quest headset and watched films with his friends on an application called Bigscreen, a social VR app. Clines daughter is also a fan of Roblox, and she used it to stay in touch with friends during the pandemic, Cline said. Clines own enormous success with the books Ready Player Two debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller List after Ready Player One spent more than 100 weeks on that list has helped him live out his fantasies. He owns multiple DeLoreans, the cars used in Spielbergs Back to the Future films.

All of this mutual inspiration reminds me of what Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has told me multiple times: Were living in science fiction. Huang refers to advances such as artificial intelligence, but his own company created a metaverse for engineers dubbed the Omniverse. With full physics simulations, engineers can use it to remotely design products together today, as the Omniverse is in beta testing.

While Clines books can be criticized as fan service, they provide us with cultural touchstones that gives us a common vision for how our future could unfold. Just as we loved Back to the Futures DeLorean time machine, hoverboards, and sneakers that tied their own laces, we now share the hope that something like Roblox or Fortnite will turn into the metaverse. Playing World of Warcraft, Cline was inspired by the fact that people fell in love inside the virtual world, and got married in real life.

In the novels, Cline depicts the Oasis as built by a single entrepreneur, James Halliday, a kind of Willy Wonka mogul, who builds the virtual universe with his friend Ogden Morrow. The Oasis is a walled garden, and Cline said it was built by a company that was Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon all rolled into one. This company controls our collective imagination, and the Easter egg hunt that Halliday launches for his would-be successors triggers a race to control the Oasis. The sequel continues this, but with new technologies added.

Above: Ready Player Two is coming on November 24.

Image Credit: Ballantine

With Ready Player Two, I reveled in the pop culture references. I thought it was cool you could visit a world based on J.R.R. Tolkiens universe. The book didnt dwell on the popular The Lord of the Rings novels. Rather, it focused on The Silmarillion, the prequel to LotR that I liked better. No one envisioned a virtual world as well as Tolkien did, and here it was simply a tiny part of a vast Oasis universe where fans could spend all of their time if they wished. That reminded me of one thing I want the metaverse to be: vast. If the huge world of The Silmarillion could exist on a single planet within the Oasis, which had so many planets within it, the scale of the whole universe would be astounding.

Ready Player One takes place in 2045, just shy of 25 years from now. Thats enough time to imagine much cooler technology than we have today, but nothing totally magical like we see in other science fiction worlds. While physical reality has become apocalyptic, people escape to the Oasis. (This reminds me of our own troubles today.) Ready Player Two happens in the same time frame, but this time Cline introduces a new way of interfacing with the Oasis a new VR headset with a brain-computer interface dubbed the ONI. This device wires into your brain and your body, making it so that you cant tell the difference between physical reality and virtual reality. You can feel touch feedback, smell things, taste things, and such. It is the logical destination of the VR technologies that we see today, from haptic touch that lets you feel virtual sex to virtual impersonation of other people so you can really feel like what its like to walk in someone elses shoes.

Above: A haptic suit enables Wade to feel touch in the Ready Player One trailer.

Image Credit: Ready Player One

Cline envisions streamers providing a service to people, who shared their own .oni files that other people could play. If they went traveling to some great place with forehead-mounted cameras, the followers could play that experience and see what it was like to be another person on a tourism journey. Cline predicted vast improvements in education as a result, as well as an improvement in empathy. You could, for instance, truly understand what its like walking a mile in someone elses shoes. The flip side of this is that your actions in the ONI could always be recorded by someone else observing you, and so mutual surveillance could produce huge invasions of privacy, as you would never know if a streamer was recording you and revealing your actions to millions of followers.

Cline included plenty of warnings about the technology, similar to issues today like video game addiction and obsession, as well as relationship challenges that emerge when one partner is in love with the ONI and another isnt. If you spend more than a dozen hours in the ONI at once, you can start suffering severe health effects. And so the technology forces you to get out of it if you exceed half a day. Yet these tools could also help people who are missing limbs feel what its like to have all of their body parts in VR.

Cline showed how deadly rogue AI could become, particularly if it could control an army of drones. And he gave us a peek into the future of real combat as ONI users operated war machines virtually so that they didnt have to risk their own bodies as they hurtled into battle while operating drone controls.

Above: Aechs Garage in Ready Player One.

Image Credit: Sansar

Perhaps the most intriguing technology that Cline talks about is being able to make a digital copy of a person. The ONI can scan your entire brain and capture all of your memories, experiences, and knowledge. You can take this digital copy and put it into the mind of a virtual character, who lives only in the Oasis. That virtual person would behave the same way as the real person it is based on, but the virtual persons life would diverge from the real persons, as time goes on. As such, it can move people into the post-human world, where our minds are freed from our bodies. We could meet a clone based on a certain point in our lives.

This notion of digital immortality and the post-human life is also explored in the plot of the recent video game Cyberpunk 2077, which Cline said he was itching to play on a PC.

This raises the prospect of digital immortality, a concept explored in other science fiction such as Black Mirrors mind-blowing San Junipero episode (Season 3, Episode 4 of the Netflix TV show series), as well as Frank Herberts Dune series, and Ramez Naams Nexus trilogy (Im going to moderate a talk with Naam and Tim Chang on February 17.) Cline explores the ethics of creepy behavior like capturing someones identity without permission and then re-creating some kind of digital plaything, as well as the question of whether AI characters who have someone elses memories have the same right to exist as people living in the physical universe.

Edward Saatchi, the head of Fable Studio, operates a Virtual Beings Summit that explores topics like bringing back a dead James Dean to act in movies and other uses for artificial people. These kinds of visions raise the kind of moral questions that well have to figure out before we unleash the worlds and peoples who could turn out to be far more real than we could ever imagine.

I look forward to exploring these questions and talking about these technologies next week, at our Into the Metaverse/Driving Game Growth event with many of the players who have been inspired by Cline and are in a position to build some of the technologies that hes talking about.

And for me, as long as were stuck in a world with an accursed pandemic and a Zoomverse, that future cant come soon enough.

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The DeanBeat: What Ready Player Two tells us about the metaverse - VentureBeat

Watch: Kim Jae Hwan Performs On Immortal Songs For The First Time In A Year And A Half – soompi

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Kim Jae Hwan made an appearance on KBSs Immortal Songs for the first time in a year and five months!

During the January 16 episode,MC Kim Shin Young commented that Kim Jae Hwan is insome of the most rewatched videos from the show. Kim Jae Hwan said, [Since its my first time here in a while], Id like to perform last and take the trophy home.

He added jokingly that his junior labelmate, Kim Young Heum, was his biggest rival on the show. I dont want to lose to someone at the same label, he said. He hasnt even made his official debut, but hes already won on this show. And he practices so much. I tried to draw him out bybuying him food andpromising to buy him ice cream. Kim Young Heum quipped, No wonder he kept inviting me out to eat.

For his performance, Kim Jae Hwan performed the late Kim Hyun Siks Making Memories andaccompanied himself on guitar.

In the end, Hwang Chi Yeol took home the final win on the episode.

Watch Immortal Songs below!

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Watch: Kim Jae Hwan Performs On Immortal Songs For The First Time In A Year And A Half - soompi

The Science of It: Ancient construction from Pompeii – WESH 2 Orlando

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SHELDON: THE TECHNIQUES AND POMPEII, I FOUND OUT MORE ABOUT THEM AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. WE ARE BACK WITH THE SCIENCE CENTER. WE ARE HERE IN THE POMPEII EXHIBIT. A LOT OF GREAT, INTERESTING THINGS ON DISPLAY, INCLUDING THIS THING. WHAT IS IT? >> THIS IS A CRANE THAT THEY USED WAY BACK THEN, JUST LIKE WE SEE ON I-4 TODAY. ITS MAN POWERED. PEOPLE MOVE ONE WAY TO RAISE THE LOAD AND THE OTHER TO LOWER IT. THERE WOULD BE TEAMS OF PEOPLE IN THE BACK SECTION TO RAISE THE ARM AND MORE TO ANGLE THE LOAD AND ONCE IT WAS ANGLED CORRECTLY, PEOPLE WALK THE OTHER WAY TO LOWER IT DOWN. >> INTERESTING. >> THIS IS MASSIVELY SCALED DOWN. THINGS LIKE THIS WOULD ACTUALLY BE LIKE THE COLISEUM IN ROME OR ONE OF THE BIGGER AMPHITHEATERS IN POMPEII. SHELDON: EVEN WITHOUT THE TECHNOLOGY WE HAVE TODAY THEY WERE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT THESE AND THINGS HAVE STAYED STANDING. >> YES, THE CITY ITSELF SURVIVED THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION AND MOST OF THE STRUCTURES ARE STILL OPERATE BECAUSE OF THE INGENIOUS -- UPRIGHT BECAUSE OF THE INGENIOUS ENGINEERING. THIS EXHIBIT IS ON LOAN FROM THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF NAPLES AND IT WILL BE HERE THROUGH JANUARY 24, SO TIME IS RUNNING OUT. 10:00 TO 5:00. TICKETS ARE ONLINE BY RESERVATION AND THERE ARE TIMESLOTS FOR POMPEII ITSELF THAT YOU HAVE TO RESERVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DONT HAVE OVERCROWDING AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN DO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING SMART AND SAFE. SHELDON: THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER IS EXTENDING THE -- THEIR HOURS FOR THE FINAL WEEK OF THE EXHIBIT, STAYING OPEN UNTIL 8 P.M. AND THE LAST TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT 7 P.M. I TOOK LATIN IN HIGH SCHOOL AND WE LEARNED MORE ABOUT ITALIAN AND ROMAN CULTURE, BUT THAT WAS A GREAT REFRESHER. JAZMIN: MY FATHER RECEIVED HIS HOLY COMMUNION IN POMPEII. MY DAD IS FROM NAPLES. SHELDON: THATS SO AWESOME. JAZMIN: I WISH HE

The Science of It: Ancient construction from Pompeii

Updated: 11:19 AM EST Jan 19, 2021

WESH 2 News has partnered with the Orlando Science Center to bring you The Science of It.Today, we're learning about ancient construction in Pompeii.Pompeii: The Immortal City is now at the Orlando Science Center.During the final days through Jan. 24, there are extended hours on Jan. 22 and 23, according to the website.The last ticketed time will be 7 p.m. and the building will close at 8 p.m. for those two days only. This exhibit is only on display until Sunday, Jan. 24. Pompeii: The Immortal City is supported, in part, by a grant from Orange County Government through the Arts and Cultural Affairs Program and its tourism partners.For more information from the Orlando Science Center, CLICK HERE.

WESH 2 News has partnered with the Orlando Science Center to bring you The Science of It.

Today, we're learning about ancient construction in Pompeii.

Pompeii: The Immortal City is now at the Orlando Science Center.

During the final days through Jan. 24, there are extended hours on Jan. 22 and 23, according to the website.

The last ticketed time will be 7 p.m. and the building will close at 8 p.m. for those two days only.

This exhibit is only on display until Sunday, Jan. 24.

Pompeii: The Immortal City is supported, in part, by a grant from Orange County Government through the Arts and Cultural Affairs Program and its tourism partners.

For more information from the Orlando Science Center, CLICK HERE.

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The Science of It: Ancient construction from Pompeii - WESH 2 Orlando

The Canadian Avengers Are Finally Heroes Again | Screen Rant – Screen Rant

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Dissatisfied with their new director, Henry Gyrich, Immortal Hulk's Gamma Flight are striking out on their own, becoming heroes once more.

Warning: contains spoilers forTheImmortal Hulk #42!

An offshoot of Canada's Avengers team Alpha Flight, the current Gamma Flight is a task force created for the sole purpose of locating the ever elusive Hulk.Beginning withformer Sasquatch Walter Langkowski, Gamma Flight grew to include Alpha Flight teammate Puck, villains-for-hire Absorbing Man and Titania, and Hulk ally Doc Samson. Together, the team repeatedly confronted the Hulk,oblivious until recently regarding his largely heroic intentions, and often complicating otherwise well-planned missions.

Recently, Hulk awoke imprisoned on the Alpha Flight Space Station, captured by the team. There, he met Gamma Flight's new boss, the infamous government agent Henry Gyrich. Gyrich's obssessive need for control and lack of research on the Hulk's new abilities allowed him to escape his restraints and the space station itself,risking the lives of a team who have already lost friends to their mission, and forcing a confrontation with Gyrich when the Absorbing Man refused to return.

RELATED:The Hulk: Why Marvel Should Retire Bruce Banner For Good

In Immortal Hulk #42 by Al Ewing with art by Alex Lins, Adam Gorham, Rachel Stott, Joe Bennett and others, Gyrich begins a team meeting by abusing his authority in hopes of forcing the team to pursueall gamma mutates, threatening to have Absorbing Man arrested.Gyrich then swings that judgmental pendulum at the new Doc Sasquatch, telling him he should have been killed the second he returned to life. While Gyrich tries and fails to threaten the superhero psychiatrist, Doc Sasquatch begins to carve the reinforced windows with his claws, putting everyone in the room in danger of being sucked out into space and asphyxiating. When Gyrich tries to call his bluff, the hero claims his experience with death and resurrection has left him willing to risk his teammates for his own freedom, andGyrichis forced to reluctantly let Gamma Flight go free. As the former government employees joke and return to being heroes, Gyrich plans on speaking to a "back-up team."

Gyrich's penchant for rules and obsessive agenda have not only forced him to be passed from position to position over the years but also made him very unpopular in the superhero community. With Gamma Flight, it was his fault that the Hulk escaped his incarceration, but instead of accepting blame, Gyrichprojected it onto the people whohaddone their job correctly. Whether it was threatening to incarcerate the Absorbing Man for past crimes or threatening to incarcerate or even kill the rest of the team, Gamma Flight had had enough and wanted nothing more to do with Gyrich and his gamma witchhunt. Although Doc Sasquatch may or may not have been bluffing in the moment, the former members of Gamma Flight will most likely continue their mission of locating the Hulk, but this time to join forces with himand stop the One Below All.

Having dealt with many insurrections in his career, Gyrich quickly moves past Gamma Flight's resignation by talking to his back-up team, the U-Foes, who have their own history and bone to pick with the Hulk. Promising money, amnesty and plausible deniability, this new Gamma Flight is simply a reflection of Gyrich's obsession, the same obsession that consumedGeneral Thunderbolt Ross and others like him: finding and capturing the Hulk with little to no regardof the consequences. Considering the current dilemma Hulk and his allies are dealing with, it looks like the former Gamma Flight picked the right time to quit asHulk willneed all heroes on deck to survive this incoming storm.

NEXT:A New She-Hulk is Being Teased By Marvel Comics

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Drew is a reader, writer, artist, and creative professional based in Westchester, New York. He dabbles into cosplay, movie references, comics, and some anime while also being a Ghostbuster. He has a Bachelors in History, a Masters in Publishing and is excited to be working with Screen Rant. Previously his articles have been featured on Comic Book Resources and Iron Age Comics and he's excited to see what happens next!

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Heat Star Gets Brutally Honest on Rookie of Year Snub: ‘I’m a Hall of Famer’ – Heavy.com

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Getty Kendrick Nunn against Grizzlies

Kendrick Nunn finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2019. He had 204 total points to Ja Morants 498, with no first-place votes. According to the Miami Heat guard, he should have won the coveted award, and now he plans to prove all his doubters wrong.

Nunn, who beat out Zion Williamson for second, revealed that of course he should have beaten out Morant for Rookie of the Year. But his long-term goals are higher than that as he seeks to join basketball immortality in Springfield one day.

Im an All-Star player. Im a Hall of Famer, Nunn told Alex Kennedy, via Basketball News. Thats my goal and I know thats what Im going to reach.

Nunn has caught fire of late for the Heat. Head coach Erik Spoelstra had been using the second-year guard sparingly to start the year, but a rash of injuries combined with COVID-19 health and safety protocol absences have turned Nunn into a key contributor off the bench. He has averaged 23 points in 34.5 minutes per game over the last two contests. Spoelstra praised him for not causing a ruckus after he pulled him from the starting lineup.

K-Nunn has an incredible competitive character, Spoelstra told reporters. He really does. He has a grit and a perseverance to him, that not only do you have confidence that hell be able to respond from this kind of adversity, but you respect him so much, that youre like really rooting for him, and you really want it for him.

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Back to that Rookie of the Year snub. Why did Nunn feel he deserved to win it? Well, he wanted to shock the world as an undrafted player beating out the No. 1 (Morant) and No. 2 picks (Williamson). No hard feelings, of course. Nunn was named Rookie of the Month three straight times in 2019-20.

Of course I shouldve won. Its really rare for an undrafted player to perform like that and have the kind of season that I had. Obviously, its expected that a lottery pick the No. 1 pick or No. 2 pick or No. 3 pick will win that award. So, just from a shocking-the-world thing, I feel like I shouldve won.

Thats all in the rear-view mirror for Nunn. The 25-year-old is gunning for a return to the NBA Finals this year to complete unfinished business for the Heat. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games despite being down key players like Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. All-Star forward Jimmy Butler recently caused a stir when he told GQ Magazine, we should have won. Nunn seemed to agree.

This season, my No. 1 goal is I want to run it back to the NBA Finals, Nunn told Kennedy. We gotta get that Finals win. That was kind of upsetting to me that we didnt get that win, and we could have.

Miami returns to action on Friday night (7:30 p.m., FOX Sports Sun) against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa. The Heat took the first game in their two-game set on Wednesday night thanks to 28 points (in 35 minutes) from Nunn.

The Heat will be without Butler (health protocols) for the fifth straight game, as well as guard Avery Bradley (health protocols) and center Meyers Leonard (shoulder strain). Tyler Herro (neck) is questionable while guards Goran Dragic (foot) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are probable to play.

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Heat Star Gets Brutally Honest on Rookie of Year Snub: 'I'm a Hall of Famer' - Heavy.com