Censorship is a growing problem in our news and other media – Bluefield Daily Telegraph

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Adolph Ochs, former publisher of The New York Times, back in 1896 adopted the slogan All the News Thats Fit to Print, and insisted on reportage that lived up to that promise. That phrase appears in the upper left corner of the papers front page every day.

He might be appalled today to find that The Times, among other media, sometimes operates on the motto All the News That Fits, as some news media move steadily toward advocacy over objectivity.

We now find two major newspapers censoring conservative opinion on their opinion pages, where traditionally newspapers published a variety of editorial opinion in order to give their readers a diverse mixture. Its the one place in a newspaper where opinion is appropriate.

The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer both had editors resign their positions recently because of staff objections to editorial decisions they made.

Several days ago, The New York Times editorial page editor, James Bennet, resigned following a revolt among employees over an op-ed the paper had requested from Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on George Floyds death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Some of the staff called in sick one day in protest, and the paper said later that a review found the piece did not meet its standards.

Just a week later, however, the Times published an op-ed from a person who is a fellow at George Soros Open Society Foundation, and who is a far-left activist. No editors resigned and no standards were violated.

The Floyd matter was at the center of another newspaper editors sudden departure. The Inquirers top editor resigned after his choice for a headline on an article addressing the mob violence which evolved from protests over Floyds death produced a revolt among employees.

Lamenting the senseless destruction and damage from the riots, Stan Wischnowski titled the article Buildings Matter, Too. The totally accurate headline was too much for the staff to swallow, so Wischnowski decided to step down.

The one place where opinions are proper in a newspaper pages containing editorials and commentary in those two papers now presents only that narrow set of politically biased ideas that have the approval of the newspaper staff. Ladies and gentlemen, this is precisely the opposite of what press freedom is all about.

An older tendency among news providers is for them to be politically guided in what they report and what they dont. This tendency towards advocacy-over-objectivity is much more widespread than many realize. The reaction of the news staffs of the Times and Inquirer support that this journalistic breakdown exists.

However, such shenanigans are not limited to newspapers. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appearing on CNNs State of the Union with Jake Tapper, said about President Donald Trump, First, we were hearing that its [the coronavirus] a hoax... referring to Trumps describing the way the Democrats used the coronavirus. Tapper later admitted he knew it was a lie, but chose not to say anything. I thought about it, because the president did not call the virus a hoax, he said.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which the press is quick to throw out to defend against challenges to its work, guarantees the press the necessary freedom to do its job of telling the people what is going on. That is a very valuable thing, and a rare thing in our world.

But the freedom the press enjoys is accompanied by the essential obligation to do that job honestly, without fear or favor, accurately and objectively. When those things are missing from what the news media is doing, it has abandoned its press freedom protections.

The press is a very different animal today than in the days of the Bill of Rights, and now includes broadcast media and Internet media in addition to print media.

While online social media sites are not the same as news providers, they are extremely popular communication instruments. Ostensibly an open forum for participants to post and comment whatever they choose, some have begun to monitor and over-ride participants posts and comments. Sometimes that action is used for improper language. Sometimes it is used to censor undesirable political content.

MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin took a quote from Trumps Fox News interview with Harris Faulkner out of context to make it look like Trump was approving of chokeholds. Trump on Fox: I think the concept of chokehold sounds so innocent, so perfect, he tweeted, making it appear that Trump condones chokeholds. He doesnt.

Contrary to its policies that catch so many conservative tweeters, Twitter did not flag this lie.

There are many instances of such malpractice. Either you have an open forum that leaves people alone to express themselves as they choose, or you dont.

If you do, no problem. If you dont, you become a different animal, one which purports to be open, but which covertly censors only some users, and may thus be subject to legal action.

Why does the left cheat like this? Because its much easier to gain support for your ideas when there is only one set of ideas to choose from. Why confuse people with extraneous stuff?

James H. Smokey Shott, a resident of Bluefield, Va., is a columnist for the Daily Telegraph. Contact him at james.shott@yahoo.com

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Censorship and the future of e-readers – Catholic Culture

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By Phil Lawler (bio - articles - email) | Jun 18, 2020

A Kindle, or any comparable e-reader, can be a great convenience. If youre packing for a vacation trip (which you probably arent doing this year, but thats another story), its nice to know that you can bring along all of Shakespeare, all of Trollope, a few dozen mysteries, and the Summa, without making your suitcase any heavier.

But theres a disadvantage to Kindle. And I dont mean only the pleasure of handling a physical book, or the ability to flip back and forth easily through the pages. I mean the fact that you can buy a Kindle book, but you still dont own that book. You cant lend the book to a neighbor, or pass it along to a child. You dont have physical possession. Amazon does.

That distinction becomes more important when you hear suggestions that the works of Flannery OConnor should be censored because of her politically incorrect attitudes. And Mark Twain. And T.S. Eliot. And Kingsley Amis. And David Mamet. And maybe even Ray Bradbury, since censors are not sensitive to irony. Suppose, at some future date, the panjandrums of public opinion decide that these books should no longer be available. With a few keystrokes, Amazon (or its competitors) can make that happen. The next time you log on, you notice that those books the books you paid for no longer exist.

If there is anything about the recent behavior of large tech companies that gives you confidence this could never happen, please let me know.

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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U.S. senator: Twitter tried to censor me and lost – The Highland County Press

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By U.S. Sen. Tom CottonR-Arkansashttps://www.cotton.senate.gov/

A Jacobin mob of left-wing thought police has risen up across our country.

No statue, no movie, no cartoon is immune. Nor any op-ed.

The New York Times, after publishing my op-ed about the Insurrection Act, capitulated to a woke mob of its employees.

But its not just the Times. I reveal here for the first time that the Twitter thought police also targeted me for expressing an opinion shared at that time by a majority of Americans.

Heres the behind-the-scenes story.

On June 1, Americans awoke to news of rioting and looting in our streets. In Washington alone, rioters burned an historic church, looted many businesses and defaced memorials to Abraham Lincoln and the veterans of World War II.

First on television, then on Twitter, I noted that the National Guard and active-duty troops could be called out to support local police if necessary, as happened during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. No quarter for insurrectionists, anarchists, rioters and looters, I wrote.

This was apparently too much for the professional umbrage-takers on Twitter. In high dudgeon, they exclaimed that no quarter once meant that a military force would take no prisoners, but instead shoot them.

Never mind that the phrase today is a common metaphor for a tough or merely unkind approach to a situation. For instance, former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and The New York Times have used the phrase in this way.

Or that politics often employs the language of combat as metaphors: campaigns, battleground states, target races, air war and ground war, and so forth. And, of course, the exaggerated foolishness that I was literally calling for the arrest and summary execution of American citizens.

But a sense of proportion is not Twitters long suit. Within a few hours, a low-level employee in Twitters Washington office contacted some of my aides at random, claiming that my tweet violated the companys policies. She also issued an ultimatum: delete the tweet or Twitter would permanently lock my account. She gave me only 30 minutes to comply.

My aide tried to reason with the employee. We offered to post a new tweet clarifying my meaning which I did anyway but the employee refused, insisting I had to delete the original tweet because some snowflakes had retweeted it.

We asked why my tweet wouldnt simply be flagged, as Twitter recently did to a tweet by the president. She contended that Twitter only did so for heads of state, not elected legislators, though its policy plainly states otherwise. The only option, she reiterated, was deleting the tweet or losing my account.

Finally, we provided them some dictionary definitions of no quarter. She said that she would take that back to our teams.

It was clear, I should add, that this low-level employee was acting as a front for more senior officials at Twitter, whom one might expect would contact directly a sitting senator to discuss such a serious matter. It was equally clear that she avoided putting as much in writing as possible.

Accountability is not Twitters long suit, either.

I called Twitters bluff, and 30 minutes came and went. I retained control of my account. Finally, almost two hours after the initial contact, the employee called to say Twitter would take no action against my account, but she was not authorized to say more.

Twitters arbitrary approach to political speech was only highlighted later that day, when the company flagged a tweet by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., for violating its policies. My aide subsequently asked why Gaetzs tweet was flagged since hes also a legislator, not a head of state. She clarified that their policy covers all elected officials, but only if the account has 100,000 followers.

Not only had we received a false account of the companys own policy, but my account had grown to over 100,000 followers that day, reflecting how arbitrary the policy is to begin with.

Twitter began as an open platform committed to the free exchange of ideas; over time, it increasingly has taken upon itself the role of politically correct censor of thought-crime by elected officials and ordinary citizens alike. Not surprisingly, the censorship falls overwhelmingly on conservatives.

Though Twitter purports to police only threats of violence, the company wont even cooperate with law enforcement investigating death threats against me and other legislators. And the orthodoxy starts at the top: CEO Jack Dorsey reportedly unfollowed the Twitter account of The New York Times Opinion section after it published my op-ed.

The censorship, the hypocrisy and the arbitrary action are reasons why Twitter and other social-media platforms face so much scrutiny today. Many legislators want to limit or eliminate their liability protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The companies also face potential antitrust actions by the Department of Justice and state attorneys general.

These social-media companies have improved the lives of Americans in many ways. But they should not be surprised public opinion is turning against them when they act as censors and moral scolds to millions of Americans. Nor should they expect to find many people rushing to their defense. In fact, to coin a phrase, those of us in their crosshairs might say: No quarter for Big Tech censorship.

Sen. Tom Cotton is a United States senator from Arkansas. His committees include the Banking Committee, where he chairs the Economic Policy Subcommittee, the Intelligence Committee, and the Armed Services Committee, where he chairs the Air Land Power Subcommittee. He graduated from Dardanelle High School, Harvard and Harvard Law School. After a clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals and private law practice, Sen. Cotton left the law because of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. He served nearly five years on active duty in the United States Army as aninfantry officer. He served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team.

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U.S. senator: Twitter tried to censor me and lost - The Highland County Press

Is this the maddest target of woke censorship yet? – Spiked

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There is nothing racist about rugby fans singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

Woke censorship has now come for rugby. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is reviewing the use of the song Swing Low, Sweet Chariot by fans in an apparent concession to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Many fans, the RFU says, are unaware of the origins of the song, which was written by former slave Wallace Willis in the post-Civil War United States. Some believe the lyrics make reference to the Underground Railroad, a system of escape routes for slaves to flee captivity into the free states of the north.

It is true that the song has become a major part of black culture. The song has been sung at many black funerals and at civil-rights marches, and has been honoured by the US congress.

What a bizarre world we live in when banning a song steeped in black culture is deemed to be an act of anti-racism. Indeed, as Trevor Phillips points out, the last attempt to ban the song was in Nazi Germany in 1939. The censorship of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is the kind of move the anti-black segregationists of yesteryear would have called for.

The RFUs review smacks of woke elitist disgust at the unwashed masses of rugby fans. This is another attempt by middle-class intellectuals to sterilise sport for the ordinary people that love it, all under the guise of fighting prejudice.

Anyone who thought the current campaign of woke censorship would be limited to the statues of slave traders must have been incredibly naive. Nothing is safe from the ever-growing woke blob.

Picture by: Getty.

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The Unplug Collective Allows Black Women to Express Themselves Without Censorship – Teen Vogue

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TV: I read on your website that all your main staff are young Black women. Why did you feel like it was important for young people to be at the forefront of the magazine, and particularly young Black women?

AT: Its funny, we recently made the decision not to put for Black women in the bio of our site. We thought about it, and we realized that so many spaces for white people exist just by default they dont have to name the space for it to be for white people. So we decided we wanted to create a space that prioritized Black womens needs, but put it out there as if its a given.

Of course, I wanted to uplift specific voices, and thats why my team is made up of Black women, but the people on my team are also some of the most brilliant people Ive ever met. Everyone is so good at their role and so passionate about the mission. Were all students and were all so committed to learning and seeing this through, and I think that really shines through on the site.

TV: What do you think Unplug Collective is adding to the discussion of Black womens bodies that maybe other magazines arent talking about as much?

AT: I feel like were taught that story telling has to be a very specific arc: It has to have a beginning, a middle, and an end, and the end needs to have some sort of resolution. But I think for Black women specifically, and especially when were talking about our journeys with our own bodies, there might not be a resolution to the story yet. For example if someone is writing about fatphobia and medical discrimination, and theyre writing about a time when they were misdiagnosed for an illness because of their weight, they are still going through this, and there is not a typical resolution to their story yet. Our number one priority is to allow people to be transparent about their feelings, rather than have a tidy story thats going to get views.

Whats often so difficult about writing is that a lot of language related to trauma is inaccessible. For example words like gaslighting or fatphobia are things that many Black women have faced, but may not have the language to talk about. I think that if we can show people that our lived experiences are just as valuable to learn from as a typical textbook, we can make a huge shift in the way that people view Black womens trauma and trauma in general.

TV: What has the response been to the Unplug Collective since you launched?

AT: The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I would say I get a least two responses a day saying I just started therapy after reading your website or I didnt know I had an eating disorder until I read a conversation in the comments section.

We see the comments section of the website as a bit of a community healing circle. Our publication doesnt remove the writing process from the reaction process: Our titles are very to the point, we encourage writers to submit a photo along with their work, and every article has a comments section so people can respond to someones story immediately. Its essentially online group therapy in a way thats very accessible.

Our whole mission revolves around the idea that everyone is a story teller, everyone is a writer, and everyone has influence. That means that anyone can submit as well. The only pitching process is sharing your Google doc, and if your story is accepted, the editor will call you, talk to you about what youre going through, and see if you need any support in your writing. So by the time the story has been published, the writer will have gone through a bit of a healing process already, and then when people begin to comment, it continues that process.

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The Unplug Collective Allows Black Women to Express Themselves Without Censorship - Teen Vogue

Gail Asper ‘very troubled’ by allegations of discrimination at Canadian Museum for Human Rights – CBC.ca

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Gail Asper, the woman who led the campaign to bring her father's vision for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to fruition, says she is "very troubled" by allegations of racism and homophobia raised by current and former employees in recent weeks.

Her comments come the same day the museum issued an apology on behalf of its executive team for the practice of hiding gay content on tours at the request of certain tour groups.

Asper took over the museum project when her father,Izzy Asper,died in 2003,and now sits on its board of trustees. Shesaid she is watching the developments closely.

"They are committed to a complete and fully transparent accounting of systemic racism and discrimination at the museum," she said in a statement to CBC.

"I'm happy they are undertaking this process."

Earlier this week, CBC News reported that current and former employees said management would sometimes ask staff not to show any gay content on tours at the request of certain guests, including religious school groups.

The museum confirmed that from January 2015 until the middle of 2017, schools and classes could make a request for content to be excluded. That included stories about diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

"This practice was wrong and was ended. This practice is contrary to the museum's mandate, and contrary to everything we stand for as a museum for human rights," the museum's apology letter, issued Friday afternoon, says.

The letter goes on to say that the executive team acknowledges that hiding these stories and experiences is a "profound betrayal" to the LGBT community, to students, and to the museum's staff, volunteers and donors.

"And it is a betrayal of the museum's central conviction that all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights," the letter says.

A thorough review of the practice will be done as part of the external investigation the museum has initiated into complaints about systemic racism and discrimination at the museum, the letter says.

The letter comes after John Young, the CEO of the museum, announced Thursday in a staff-wide email that he won't be seeking reappointment when his term ends this August. He had previously said he intended to continue his role.

Last week, the museum said it has hired a lawyer to investigate complaints of racism and other forms of discrimination including homophobia at the museum in Winnipeg.

Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray, who was the first openly gay mayor of a major North American city, also announced Thursday he was stepping down from the board of the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights over the allegations, saying this type of behaviour totally goes against what the museum was set up to do.

"When you see this culture of people who are experiencing racism, who are seeing the erasing and denial of the other journeys that are the whole reason for the museum, it's devastating," he told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa in an interview Friday.

"It's totally institutionalized discrimination."

The original vision for the museum which wasfirst announced in 2003, during Murray's time as mayor was asa "transformative" institution for Winnipeg and for the world, he said, where people could not only learn about the history of human rights, but a place where current human rights issues would be discussed and advanced.

Murray who iscurrentlyrunning for the leadership of the federal Green Partysaid he thinks it's time for the federal government to look into why that's not happening.

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said in an emailed statement that an institution like the CMHR "should not be perceived as condoning homophobia or engaging in self-censorship."

"Its role is to expose the realities of those whose voices have been silenced, not to silence them even more."

He said his office takes this matter very seriously and is in contact with the museum's senior management to ensure it is addressed.

In an email, Barry Karlenzig, the president of Pride Winnipeg, said his organization was very disappointed by the recent news that the CMHR has been censoring its exhibits for certain guests. He said Pride Winnipeg will be looking at different venues to host its welcome gala for the Fiert Canada Pride conference, set to take place in Winnipeg in 2022.

"We hope the CMHR will take this opportunity to do better, to accurately and fully reflect the history and culture of 2SLGBTQIA* Canadians in their permanent exhibitions without censorship,"Karlenzigsaid.

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Bolton book decision: Right answer, wrong reasoning | TheHill – The Hill

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On June 20, 2020 U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth denied the Trump administrations request to block the release of former national security advisor John BoltonJohn BoltonSunday shows preview: Bolton delivers bombshell while US tackles COVID-19, police brutality White House says it plans to ensure Bolton gets 'no profits' from book Trump touts ruling on Bolton book: 'Now he will have bombs dropped on him!' MOREs tell all book. The narrow holding denying the governments request to stop the distribution of the book was correct. But the courts reasoning was flawed, and could be used to silence future whistleblowers and embolden government censors.

The decision to permit the release of the book was based on pragmatic grounds. The court reasoned that because 200,000 copies of the book were already in distribution worldwide, an order blocking the books release would be futile. As Judge Lamberth put it: the horse is already out of the barn.

However, the Court found that the government was correct on the merits. The court agreed with the Trump administration that Bolton violated prepublication review requirements. These requirements apply federal employees who have access to classified information. Current or former government employees must submit publications to a censor for review and approval prior to publishing a book or an article. The scope of the review is limited to ensuring that state secrets are not spilled.

Judge Lamberths decision indicated that if the horse was not already out of the barn, he would have issued the injunction and suppressed the publication of the book. The court gave the Trump administration the leeway to use prepublication procedures to suppress criticisms in the future. Moreover, the vast majority of persons who are subject to the prepublication rules are not in a position to have 200,000 copies of their publication ready for release prior to the completion of the review process.

Had Bolton not obtained a publisher willing to print 200,000 copies of his book, and commence distribution worldwide, the American people could have been denied access to Boltons information until after the 2020 presidential (and congressional) elections.

Although the Court did not block the publication of the book, it left open the possibility that Bolton could be criminally prosecuted. It also indicated that the government could seize all of his book royalties or subject him to other penalties. This part of the courts decision will have a chilling effect on whistleblowers who try to use the prepublication process to inform the American people about misconduct, but are stymied by long delays.

Yesterdays news wraps fish. In terms of the impact a whistleblower disclosure may have on congressional action, public opinion, or a voters decision, timing is everything. Delaying the exposure of government misconduct can have the same effect as stopping the disclosure altogether.

In the Bolton book case, Bolton submitted his book to government censors on Dec. 30, 2019. However, the clearance process was long delayed, in violation of law. For example, the nondisclosure agreement Bolton was required to sign that covered a review of sensitive compartmented information (the most highly secret information for which Bolton had access), set a strict time limit for the government to conduct its review. The agreement only permitted the government a reasonable opportunity to determine if a book contained classified information, that under the rules cannot exceed 30 working days from date of receipt.

Thus, if the government followed the law the book should have been reviewed and cleared well before the Senate was asked to vote on subpoenaing Bolton to testify at presidents impeachment trial. Instead, the review of the book was delayed until long after the impeachment proceedings ended.

On April 27, 2020, the government official with responsibility to clear Boltons manuscript finally completed her review. She concluded that Boltons book did not contain classified information. This should have ended to story, and the book should have been cleared for publication forthwith. But that letter did not come to pass. Instead the review process went radically awry.

The Trump administration ignored the reviewers findings and appointed a new censor to start the review process again. This censor was a proven Trump loyalist, who formally worked for one of Trumps staunched defenders in Congress, Rep. Devin NunesDevin Gerald NunesSunday shows preview: Bolton delivers bombshell while US tackles COVID-19, police brutality We cannot take our eye off China Nunes's hunt for Twitter cow's identity at 'dead end,' attorney says MORE (R-Calif.). This time the Bolton team apparently had enough, and decided to go forward with publication.

Judge Lamberth ignored the delays Bolton faced and the importance of the first reviewers determination that the book had no classified information. Instead he compared the delay Bolton faced in having his manuscript cleared to the amount of time it takes to get a passport: Many Americans are unable to renew their passports within four months, but Bolton complains that reviewing hundreds of pages of a National Security Advisors tell-all deserves a swifter timetable.

This reasoning is a green light for the government to run out the clock on freedom of the press. It ignores the law. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that government-induced delays in exercising free speech rights constitutes unlawful censorship. The Court was unequivocal in establishing the rule: "it is vital to the operation of democratic government that the citizens have facts and ideas on important issues before them. A delay of even a day or two may be of crucial importance in some instances.

Delay is tantamount to denial. In a landmark decision ruling on the legality of the prepublication procedures, decided almost 50-years ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit directly tackled the potential that government officials would use a delaying tactic to undermine the legitimate goals of the prepublication process. In U.S. v. Marchetti the court explained that the government must act promptly to approve or disapprove any material. Thus, under the Marchetti precedent the governments maximum period of time for reviewing a manuscript for release should not exceed thirty days.

Every government official reviewing Mr. Boltons book was (or should have been) aware of these deadlines. The Trump administration decided not to put the resources in place to complete the review of the book in a lawful and timely manner. It was in President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump mocked for low attendance at rally Trump suggests legislation that would jail people who burn the flag for a year Trump makes defiant return to campaign stage amid controversies MOREs interest that the books official release be delayed until after the impeachment proceedings ended, and ultimately until after the 2020 elections. If the book really contained dangerous information threatening the national security, the administration should have done its job in a timely manner, consistent with constitutional requirements.

Suppressing the speech of current or former government officials is inconsistent with the core mandates of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The words of the First Amendment are clear. There can be no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press of the American people. Although the district court reached the right judgment in refusing to block the publication of the book, it erred in giving the government the green light to file civil or criminal charges against Bolton.

Stephen M. Kohn is a whistleblower lawyer and a founding partner at the qui tam law firm of Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto. He serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center. He has successfully represented numerous whistleblowers under national security prepublication review regulations.

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Bolton book decision: Right answer, wrong reasoning | TheHill - The Hill

Cyberpunk 2077 Gets A Second Wave of Figures from McFarlane Toys – Bleeding Cool News

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Cyberpunk 2077 has sadly been pushed back yet again. We will now not be able to see the video game until it's the new release date of November 19, 2020. I assume this is most likely to coincide with the highly anticipate video game debut with the release of the next-gen consoles which have not been revealed just yet. Until then, it looks like McFarlane Toys has announced its next wave of figures for its Cyberpunk 2077 figure line. There will be two figures in this wave one, with one being a re-release with a new accessory and another is a new character entirely. First up is the re-release with Keanu Reeves character Johnny Silverhand. This will be the third figure in the McFarlane Toys line and it is quite similar to the original release. However, this one will include a duffel bag accessory which makes it sort of a new variant figure. Even though the game is not out yet Johnny Silverhand has already made a name for himself in the collectibles world. I doubt this will be the last figure we will see of him and I expect plenty more to come once the game is finally released. This next figure from Cyberpunk 2077, the upcoming villain Takemura arrives. Takemura is a pretty mysterious figure as we do not know too much about this character until the video games launch. If everything stayed on track we would've already known plenty about this game but delays happen for a reason. Until then this figure will have to do and he will feature nice robotic detail under his neck and on his face. He will come in at 7 inches tall and will have roughly 22 points of articulation. He is dressed up in what you would expect a crime boss to be in and he will come with a gun accessory.

If you're trying to collect the complete McFarlane Toys Cyberpunk 2077 figure line then these are both for you. I do wish we got a completely new mold for Johnny Silverhand rather than just a re-release with a new accessory. However, for people who did miss the original launch of the Silverhand then this will be a nice replacement as this character continues to get popular. Takemura is a great choice for the figure line as it gives our other characters a villain to go after. These figures are expected to release by the end of September and will most likely be priced at the usual $19.99 price tag. Pre-orders are not live just yet but you will be able to find them and other Cyberpunk 2077 McFarlane Toys figures here. Cyberpunk 2077 will hit game consuls November 19, 2020 pre-order your copy today.

He has been the Collectibles Editor since late 2019. Funko Funatic, Historian, Air Force Veteran, and dedicated collector of many things.

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Cyberpunk 2077 delay moves release into November – VentureBeat

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Cyberpunk needs more time in the cyber-oven. Developer CD Projekt Red revealed today that it is going to take more time to polish up its sci-fi role-playing adventure. To that end, the company is delaying the release of Cyberpunk 2077 from September 17 to November 19.

CD Projekt Red made the announcement in a post on social media today. Heres a piece of the statement from cofounder Marcin Iwiski and studio head Adam Badowski:

Those of you who are familiar with the way we make games know that we wont ship something which is not ready. Ready when its done is not just a phrase we say because it sounds right, its something we live by even when we know well take the heat for it. At the same time, we are fully aware that making such a decision costs us your trust and trading trust for additional time is one of the hardest decisions a game developer can make. And despite that we think its the right decision for the game, wed still like to apologize for making you wait longer. Our intention is to make Cyberpunk 2077 something that will stay with you for years to come. In the end, we hope you understand why we did what we did.

This delay puts Cyberpunk 2077 squarely in the likely launch window of both next-gen consoles. Sony and Microsoft plan to launch the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, respectively, this holiday. But while you can get your Cyberpunk action on those systems through backward-compatibility mode, you may have to wait for newer optimized versions.

This delay isnt about adding more content into the game. Iwiski and Badowski note that Cyberpunk 2077 is done in terms of gameplay and quests. Instead, the issue is that it has so much content that the developer is worried about players having a smooth experience.

With such an abundance of content and complex systems interweaving with each other, we need to properly go through everything, balance game mechanics, and fix a lot of bugs, reads the statement. A huge world means a huge number of things to iron out, and we will spend the additional time doing exactly that.

In the meantime, CD Projekt Red is sending out preview codes to the media. That should give fans the best insight yet into exactly what to expect from the follow-up to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

We are eager and quite stressed to hear [the medias] opinions, as we as see your reactions when they publish their previews right after we air Night City Wire on the 25 of June, reads the statement. We hope this will satisfy some of your hunger for the game as we work to polish it for the November launch.

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Cyberpunk 2077 delay moves release into November - VentureBeat

The Week in Gaming: Star Wars: Squadrons revealed, Last of Us 2 drops, Cyberpunk delayed – SYFY WIRE

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Welcome to The Week in Gaming, the place where we pause each week to take a look at the video game news beats both big and small that you might be missing while also taking a peek around the corner at what's ahead. Check in each Friday for news (and occasionally even views) on everything from sprawling RPGs to Metroidvania platformers to the latest in VR and free-to-play. We'll even throw in a good old-fashioned board game every now and then!

Of all the forms of entertainment the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted, it's perhaps video games that have been disrupted the least. While all the on-site fan conventions that typically herald the start of summer have had to take things online, the games themselves just keep coming, lifting a medium that's tailor-made for spending time at home. Going online didn't hurt Sony's PlayStation 5 event last week; in fact, it took fewer than seven days for Sony's "The Future of Gaming" presentation to become the most-viewed product announcement in the company's history.

With in-person events off limits, one game studio or media organization after another is following the new online announcement model, including Star Wars license holder Electronic Arts. At this week's EA Play event, the publisher may have strengthened its case to players that EA for years criticized for what many fans viewed as an ad hoc approach to the franchise is taking Star Wars as seriously as the players are.

That's a long way of saying that Star Wars: Squadrons, EA's newly-announced pilot sim set in the galaxy far, far away, looks absolutely incredible at least at first glance. Following on the success of last year's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the next Star Wars game in EA's playbook leaps straight off the big screen and into its first pair of trailers as something approaching a playable Star Wars movie, putting players in the very middle of the dogfight action that the final trilogy in the Skywalker saga regardless of how fans feel about the series' overall direction took to a whole new level.

We've broken down both those trailers elsewhere (check out more on the cinematic announcement trailer here and the gameplay trailer here), but it's still cool to take a step back and take stock of where Star Wars stands in EA's lineup versus where it appeared to be after the studio gained rights to the franchise in 2013. In that time, EA has scuttled nearly as many planned Star Wars games as it's actually released, and had to fight to redeem some lost good will among fans who hopped on board early for Star Wars Battlefront II a game whose ongoing support from the publisher strengthened it into a far, far better experience than the one that first shipped back in 2017.

Fast-forward to today's post-Fallen Order landscape; one in which EA has now shown off two big titles that sync up nicely not only with each other, but with the beloved movie universe on which they're based. Fallen Order deftly struck a balance between familiar and new lore while nailing the look and feel of a modern Star Wars game, and has already spawned plans for a sequel. Squadrons may have even bigger shoes to fill as the heir to a line of occasionally great Star Wars pilot sim games over the years, but it's impossible not to be encouraged by the first looks EA's shown off so far.

Of course the proof is in the actual gameplay, so there's no way to pre-emptively coronate Squadrons an instant success but Fallen Order has shown that EA has what it takes to wrap a great Star Wars story inside a solid single-player experience, so we're hyped to hop in the cockpit when Squadrons releases on Oct. 2 in the hope that the Star Wars video game franchise is finally striking back.

Get this: Cyberpunk 2077 was first announced eight years ago, all the way back in 2012. Since then, perhaps no other cross-platform game has generated as much buzz as CD Projekt RED's sprawling dystopian urban dreamscape. As the first AAA game to follow in the iconic footsteps of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, fan expectations soared for 2077 after Wild Hunt redefined open-world RPGs for the PS4 and Xbox One generation when it arrived in 2015. And if there's one thing the Polish developer wants to get right with Cyberpunk 2077, it's sticking the landing.

After a series of delays that've bumped 2077 from an original release target that's now in the rear-view mirror (April 16), CD Projekt RED has bumped the game once more, pushing 2077 from its planned Sept. 17 release to Nov. 19. The studio made the announcement via Twitter this week, with an earnest message to fans that signaled the delay is all about quality. "Those of you who are familiar with the way we make games know that we won't ship something which is not ready," it states:

As many of the fan comments can attest, CD Projekt RED has good will to spare in postponing its hugely anticipated release, and we're right there with them. But it does raise an interesting scenario for players torn between scooping up the game for their PS4s or Xbox Ones, or waiting for the slicker graphics, greater speed, and built-in longevity of the next-gen version.

Fortunately, the studio is making that decision significantly easier, regardless of which path you take. In a reported call with investors this week, CD Projekt confirmed that not only will 2077 get a full release for the PS5 and Series X; it'll also be a free upgrade for anyone who's already bought a PS4 or Xbox One version of the game. From that report (via Gamespot), it sounds as though the initial next-gen release will mark an incremental improvement in graphics and loading times over current-gen versions. But the developers added that a "more robust update" one tailored specifically for the new consoles is planned to arrive in the distant future.

It likely won't be long before we learn much more about how Cyberpunk 2077 will stagger its launch between current and next-gen consoles. The game gets the neon spotlight all to itself next week, when CD Projekt RED's "Night City" online showcase drops a fresh batch of new details (stay plugged in to the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter feed for upcoming info on how to watch.)

Sony's PS5 reveal event last week spun off a ton of bite-sized game trailers that have since gone on to be viewed a mind-boggling number of times. And of the reported 16 games that generated 1 million or more peeks on YouTube after just one week, none has drawn as many eyeballs as Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Showing off a cinematic trailer that puts Peter Parker's successor squarely in the next-gen spotlight, Miles Morales has attracted nearly 11.5 million looks at its announcement clip so far, just on PlayStation's official YouTube channel alone. But fans who came away from Sony's event expecting a complete sequel to 2018's Spider-Man got some tempered news this week, after creative director Brian Horton explained via the PlayStation Blog that Miles' adventure is more of an in-between morsel in terms of overall scope even as he described it as a "standalone game."

"We know a lot of you want to know how big this game is," wrote Horton. "Our team at Insomniac has been working incredibly hard to bring you a fantastic Miles Morales adventure since we concluded development on Marvel's Spider-Man. You'll experience a full story arc with Miles, one that's more akin to a game like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy in terms of overall scope."

For comparison, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy clocked in at around 10 hours in length when it landed in PS4 players' hands in 2017. If Miles Morales' story indeed follows in those footsteps, that would put it firmly in the middle-ground realm of a title that's more than an update; but less than a full game.

If that's disappointing for PS4 Spider-Man fans eager to spend another 20-30 hours swinging through the concrete and steel canyons of New York, there's some upside. Insomniac appears to be throwing every available trick at the new game to showcase what the PS5 can do right when it launches this fall, with Horton teasing "near-instant loading, ray-tracing, 3D audio," and upgraded character scans with "improved skin shading for more realistic looking characters and spline-based hair that moves far more naturally." And it appears the studio's more long-ranging plans for Spidey will continue long after Miles Morales releases later this year. "Don't worry, we still have much of Peter's story left to tell," Horton teased. "But this game is all about Miles, a critical part of our Spider-Man universe, and you won't want to miss what happens."

The best of the rest

At last The Last of Us Part II is here! After a long development cycle that came with its share of ups and downs, Naughty Dog's hugely hyped sequel has endured and survived to finally make its PlayStation 4 debut. Early reviews have TLOU2 sitting at the very top of acclaimed games among Sony's lineup of PS4 exclusives, but now it's the players' turn to weigh in on Ellie's grown-up adventure.

Other than all the buzz you're likely to encounter as opinions come flooding across social media, there's not a ton of new news to go along with Part II's arrival the game's release is the big news. But to commemorate a day that feels like Christmas morning for longtime fans, here's a cool new clip from Chandler Riggs a guy who knows a thing or two about outrunning plague-stricken zombies in the post-apocalypse talking about how he became a lifelong fan of the franchise after playing through the 2013 original:

We get it, man we really do. Joel and Ellie made perfect complements to each other in the first game, each needing something that the other was uniquely suited to provide, and we can't wait to dive in to Part II this weekend and see where the passing of time has left them. We've managed to stay away from all the spoilers and leaks, and we hope that you did, too: The Last of Us Part II is ready to play now for PlayStation 4.

Welcome to water world Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 3 is finally here, flooding the game map and bringing a new aquatic theme that makes island outpost hopping the new way to play for the foreseeable future. In keeping with the new season's slippery motif, raising your Season 3 sail gets players on board for a "Splash Down" slate of events that even summon Aquaman himself in actor Jason Momoa's full likeness who fist-bumps a tease that, like Deadpool last season, we'll probably be seeing a lot more of him (and his trident).

Sharks? You know there are sharks; only these are the kind you can ride instead of run from. Fortnite's become such a ridiculously do-anything game (and we mean that as a compliment) that it's hard to describe everything Season 3 has in store in no small part because Epic Games refreshes the emergent experience almost constantly with in-game happenings and noncompetitive diversions in its recently-introduced Party Royale mode.

In terms of structure, the new baddies for Season 3 are the swashbuckling Marauders, seafaring pirate types who come crashing the island party. Among the first batch of in-game challenges is a quest that can unlock a pair of new Aquaman skins, though we're certain future challenges (which arrive every Thursday) will begin upping the ante once everyone's suited up for their best Arthur Curry imitation. As always, the best way to stay on top of what's happening in real time is to follow Fortnite's Twitter feed, and refresh the game's always-updating Season 3 landing page.

Oh, Snap! Nintendo is reviving a slice of Pokmon life from days gone by with New Pokmon Snap, a new Switch version of an old fan favorite that channels the spirit of the Nintendo 64's original picture-taking game.

Snap was revealed as part of a long list of Pokmon-themed announcements as part of Nintendo's "Pokmon Presents" online event, which also included fun teases for Pokmon Caf Mix (a laid-back puzzle game) and Pokmon Smile a AR-based smart phone game that encourages kids (and perhaps even grown-ups) to have fun brushing their teeth.

New Pokmon Snap hasn't been given a release date, but in related Nintendo news, another N64 classic is getting a fresh reimagining for the Switch with Paper Mario: The Origami King (teased in the trailer above). The Origami King updates the original Paper Mario's unique 2D style while giving Mario a new travel companion: Olivia, the good sibling to the evil King Olly, who's trapped Princess Peach's castle with plans to move the whole thing "to a distant mountain as part of his plan to re-fold the world."

Measure twice and cut once, because this one's coming soon: Paper Mario: The Origami King leafs its way onto the Switch on July 17.

Spare Parts

- Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto and the newly-formed V1 Interactive studio have taken the wraps off Disintegration, the new sci-fi first-person shooter from V1 and publisher Private Division. Check out the launch trailer above, and head to the game's landing page to pick your flavor: Disintegration is out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

- Survival horror series Remothered makes its return this summer with Remothered: Broken Porcelain, which stalks onto the PS4 on Aug. 25. Check out the trailer above, and head to the PlayStation Blog for a deeper look at how Broken Porcelain will challenge players to problem-solve their way out of third-person terror.

- The Lord of the Rings is heading to smart phones with The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, an officially licensed strategy game set in the Third Age of Middle-earth. There's no early word on a release date, so keep that Eye of Sauron open for more details.

- Insomniac added a fun new wrinkle to what we can expect when Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, teased as part of the PlayStation 5's reveal showcase last week, makes its yet-unscheduled arrival to the PS5. Remember that mysterious female Lombax from the big reveal trailer? We still don't know her name but thanks to the studio's tease above, at least we do know she'll show up "from another dimension" as a playable character.

- A fan-favorite Skyrim mod is about to become its own standalone game. Via VG24/7, The Forgotten City, a story-driven game set within The Elder Scrolls V universe, is set to debut "this winter" from developer Modern Storyteller and publisher Dear Villagers.

- Take a listen to Microsoft's new Xbox startup sound, which (via Eurogamer) will be the recurring noise that greets Xbox Series X owners when the new console debuts this fall.

- Persona 4 Golden, a hidden PS Vita gem in Atlus' long-running Shin Megami Tensei series of RPGs, landed at Steam for PC players to pick up this week. Snag the standard edition for $19.99, or the deluxe edition which comes with an art book and the digital soundtrack for $24.99.

- Square Enix and partner studio Eidos Montreal have announced the formation of Eidos-Sherbrooke, a new regional wing of the studio behind the Deus Ex franchise and the latest installment in the Tomb Raider series. Described as a studio to "support research and development by exploring, testing and applying new technologies to create the video games of tomorrow," via a Square Enix press release, it sounds like the publisher's very own in-house R&D skunkworks lab for video games or, in other words, just our kind of place.

- Let's sign off with something cool: a creative pairing between Square Enix and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Gary Whitta. After the Final Fantasy developer showed off a killer-looking but mysterious new game during Sony's big PS5 event last week, Whitta followed up by sharing with Twitter fans that he'd helped come up with the story concept for the next-gen game's fantasy world.

Going by the working title of Project Athia, the game marks an all-new IP from Square Enix's in-house Luminous Productions (it's actually Luminous' very first game.) Neither Whitta nor the trailer tell us too much about the world, which appears to merge present-day elements with a tech-infused land of magic; the kind of place where a girl in sneakers and a light-powered dragon can coexist even if it isn't exactly peaceful:

We're not sure whether Whitta's involvement with Project Athia is ongoing as a writer, or if he's already left his mark as a source of bigger-picture ideas. His tweet puts things in the past tense, but he also teased that he "[c]an't wait for you to see and learn more" about "this immense new universe." But hey, if Project Athia can match even a sliver of the intensity of Rogue One's final moments, we'll take any Gary Whitta involvement we can get.

That's it for this week! We're off to see if The Last of Us Part II has finished downloading, so you know what we'll be doing this weekend. In the meantime, stay Cordyceps free until we're back together to talk more gaming goodies next Friday. Endure and survive!

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The Week in Gaming: Star Wars: Squadrons revealed, Last of Us 2 drops, Cyberpunk delayed - SYFY WIRE

Cyberpunk 2077 delay will also push back DLC and multiplayer mode – PC Gamer

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It was disappointing, but not entirely surprising, when CD Projekt pushed back from the release of Cyberpunk 2077 from its planned release in September to November 19. In a follow-up call to investors, CD Projekt vice president of business development Micha Nowakowski said that the delay will also impact the scheduling for post-release content, including the planned multiplayer mode.

"We prefer to call them expansions as theyre bigger than typical DLCs, but of course the fact that the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 has been moved will proportionately move the release of such potential expansions," Nowakowski said, adding that post-release content is still in development, and that a release date hasn't actually been set at this point.

"When it comes to multiplayer, similarly to the expansions, its launch is going to be proportionately delayed as well, although multiplayer is a bit more distantso its a matter for the future anyway."

Nowakowski also went into a bit more detail on what exactly CD Projekt is doing with the extra time, saying that the game is "100 percent done," but could still stand some fixing and polishing.

"Lets say theres a character walking down a street and theyre passing through a lantern as if it didnt exist. So obviously we dont want to happen in the final build of the game," he said. "This and many other thingsmaybe some light effects may be wrong here and there in particular circumstances. In a huge environment like that these bugs need to be eliminated before we pass the game to the players."

"We dont want to have their experience ruined by the fact that if it rains and its 4:01 am. and you walk outside of that particular bar on that particular street, the night turns into day for three seconds. And theres things like that popping up, which were fixing."

During the same call, CD Projekt joint CEO Adam Kiciski said that the developers "truly believe" that the November 19 release date will hold. "That's all I can say now, but of course, any decision like this costs us trust," he said. "We try to be as reasonable as possible when making the final decision. That's our take for nowwe believe the game will be released on November 19."

Thanks, VGC.

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Cyberpunk 2077 delay will also push back DLC and multiplayer mode - PC Gamer

How to watch the Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire stream – Tech Advisor

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How to watch the Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire stream - Tech Advisor

Big in 2020: Cyberpunk 2077 will give us a glimpse into the next generation of RPGs – GamesRadar+

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(Image credit: CD Projekt)

Game Cyberpunk 2077DeveloperIn-housePublisher CD ProjektPlatformsPC, PS4, Xbox OneRelease September 17, 2020Pre-order Cyberpunk 2077

This feature on Cyberpunk 2077 originally ran as part of GamesRadar's spring preview. Our position on the game hasn't changed it still looks incredible! With that in mind, we've given the write up a little refresh and have included it as a part of our Big in 2020: summer preview too.

It isn't a question of if Cyberpunk 2077 is going to revolutionise the RPG, but rather a question of how drastically. With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, developer CD Projekt Red left what is arguably the deepest impression on the genre since The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim reignited our imaginations. And it certainly looks as if it is set to do it all over again in this ambitious 2020 adventure, as we set out across Night City in search of a prototype implant that is said to be the key to immortality.

And I say "looks as if" because nobody outside of the studio ecosystem has had the opportunity to get their hands on Cyberpunk 2077 just yet. Truth be told, that isn't all that surprising; CDPR handled the run-up to The Witcher 3 in a similar fashion, navigating the swelling tide of skepticism and delays with a gentle wave of walkthrough demonstrations and revealing interviews. Cast your mind back to 2014, The Witcher 3 seemed too good to be true. Until it wasn't, of course; the game set a new standard for the fantasy-RPG, one no other developer has been able to match since. CD Projekt Red is the type of studio that likes to let the final product do the talking.

What, then, will Cyberpunk 2077 have to say for itself? That's difficult to pinpoint, because the scope of this game appears to be absolutely out of control. Cyberpunk 2077 puts you in command of V, a mercenary outlaw that lives in a claustrophobic cityscape that is becoming consumed by violent turf wars. CDPR is designing Cyberpunk 2077 to give you the space to shape your adventure and to navigate the escalating tensions threatening to tear apart Night City as you should so desire. It's attempting to deliver an experience where you have the freedom to customise your character's cybernetic enhancements and skillset to your heart's content, with the game bending to breaking point to facilitate your preferred playstyle.

It's a little difficult to conceptualise, but it's here that the true impact of Cyberpunk 2077 should be measured. If this game lands as it has been pitched, it will surely set a new benchmark for immersive quest design in the RPG-space. Night City is clearly an energetic ecosystem, full of depth and detail; a space that seems to exist around you rather than in spite of you and it's the way in which it will intertwine with the choices that you make, and reflect back consequences earned, that will truly set it apart from anything else in the genre. For CDPR, it's a monumental undertaking, one it intends to meet head on.

"The philosophy behind our quest design is that, if a player should logically be able to do something if the character would logically be able to do it in the world then you should be able to do it in the game," says Patrick Mills, veteran quest designer at CDPR. "Obviously, we can't provide for every contingency and every option, but we want to provide enough of them that you always feel like you have a robust suite of choices in front of you."

Cyberpunk 2077 is the riskiest and most ambitious project in CDPR's history. The studio spent a decade exploring the carefully outlined boundaries of The Northern Kingdoms, but, with Cyberpunk, it will be diving into a property that has experimentation and innovation built into its foundational design.

"We want you to always feel like you have a robust suite of choices in front of you."

Cyberpunk was established by creator Mike Pondsmith to encourage free-form play at its most fundamental level, as a conduit for enthusiastic players to explore a dense and detailed science-fiction world. It's that spirit the studio is embracing for Cyberpunk 2077.

The Witcher, on the other hand, is a series that has been naturally scoped by the presence of its iconic hero CDPR knew where the line was, and it built one hell of a fantasy playground within it all. "Geralt actually let us narrow down the choices players had, because there are certain things that Geralt is just not going to do. We can be a lot more open with V than we could with Geralt, because we want the character that you create to be a collaboration between us and the player."

When CDPR speaks of collaboration between studio and player, it's suggesting that we will truly be given the space to role-play as V in Cyberpunk 2077. It means that the team's efforts to create a dense and detailed playing space full of hand-crafted main and side-quests will be actually capable of funnelling your choices out across the story and the world around you. Cyberpunk 2077 might be quick to catch the attention of anybody that puts their eyes on it, but it is the quest design that will hold it.

On the eve of the next-generation, Cyberpunk 2077 is setting its sights on reinvigorating the RPG. It's giving us an insight into what the next generation will hold for the RPG genre and, should CDPR pull this off, who knows if it'll take another generation cycle for other developers to clear the high benchmark it is sure to set.

GamesRadar+ is exploring the games that are helping to shape 2020. For more, click through to ourBig in 2020coverage hub.

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Big in 2020: Cyberpunk 2077 will give us a glimpse into the next generation of RPGs - GamesRadar+

Covid-19 in Brazil has exposed socio-economic inequalities and underfunding of its public health system – The BMJ – The BMJ

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Brazil currently has the worlds second highest number of deaths from covid-19. The lack of action from the Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, and his open denial of the pandemic is widely seen as being one of the reasons for this crisis. However, while that is undoubtedly one of the causes of the high rate of infection and deaths from covid-19, we argue that the countrys underlying conditionsits deeply rooted socio-economic inequalities, the fragmentation and chronic underfunding of its public health systemare equally important factors. In the midst of a rapidly evolving public health and economic crisis, there are early signs of some form of resilience in the system, and possible lessons to be learned for the countrys future.

Although the pandemic has not yet reached its peak in Brazil, the country is at risk of being shattered by the coronavirus. The bed occupancy rate in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is over 90% in three Brazilian statesAmazonas, Cear, and Rio de Janeiro. How did Brazil reach this point? It is the combination of the health systems flaws and entrenched inequalities, as well as President Bolsonaros denialism and lack of action that have cost the lives of so many Brazilians.

Since Brazils first case of covid-19 at the end of February 2020, Bolsonaro has denied the gravity of the pandemic and acted against public health measures such asphysical distancing. He has used words such as hysteria, neurosis and fantasy to criticize the reaction of people and the media to what he classified as a little gripe. [1] Within one month, two of his ministers of health left their position, refusing to implement Bolsonaros plans to end quarantine, and prescribe hydroxychloroquine to all covid-19 patients regardless of their health condition. But despite his antics and blunders, it is too simplistic to only blame Bolsonaro for the rapid escalation of the epidemic.

It is really the underlying conditions of Brazils health system that have allowed the pandemic to take hold and get out of control. Brazils health system is highly fragmented. Although everyone uses the public unified health system (Sistema nico de Sade SUS), 25% of the population hold private health insurance, mostly through their employment. This has created an ethical, equity, and social justice problem within the pandemic, as those who can afford it, use private health services. The large majority of those who cannot pay for an insurance, use the SUS. Long before this pandemic, Brazils SUS struggled with chronic underfunding, aggravated by the austerity measures introduced in the aftermath of the 2014-2016 economic recession. [2] Despite the universal public system, 56% of Brazils health expenditures are private. [3] In the last few years, there has been an increase in out-of-pocket expenditures, especially for medicines.

In Brazil, the pandemic started in affluent urban areas more exposed to contagion from international travel. It is now quickly spreading to the suburbs and favelas (slums). Brazils deeply entrenched social inequalities and the vulnerability of specific populations, have provided a hotbed for the pandemic. In Brazil, the wealthiest 1% of the population concentrates 28.3% of the countrys total income. About 150 million Brazilians live on an average monthly salary of 420 Reais (around $70). Roughly 13 million Brazilians live in favelas, where hygiene and sanitation is poor. [4]. The virus has also spread among more than 600,000 prisoners in the country, and there is the likely risk of rapid dissemination among the population of Indigenous people, which is approximately 800,000 people.

With such underlying conditions, it is surprising the system did not collapse sooner. Thankfully, a few mitigating factors have been able to boost resilience in the face of Bolsonaros lack of action and denialism. There are currently 478,000 active doctors (2.3 per 1,000 population) and 2.3 million nursing professionals. Despite its numerous failings, Brazils SUS still guarantees free access to all levels of health services, from primary care to specialists. Its extensive primary health care network in particular stands out: there are 43,000 Family Health teams and 260,000 community health agents in Brazil, embedded in the community. The primary care network functions as a gateway for early case identification, referral of severe cases to specialized services, monitoring of vulnerable groups such as older people, people who are immunosuppressed, chronically ill, and pregnant women. The primary healthcare system also provides surveillance of mental health disorders, rates of domestic violence, and alcoholism during lockdown.

The joint performance of professionals working in the SUS system, universities and public scientific institutions, have historically helped overcome crises and produced sound public health responses, such as dealing with the Zika outbreak, or the national responses to the HIV and AIDS epidemic [5,6] Most importantly, responsibility for the health system in Brazil is decentralized and regionalized. [5] Decentralised funds for healthcare are larger than the funds transferred by the central state. States and municipalities manage hospitals and services, buy supplies, hire human resources, and carry out health surveillance. As the spread of coronavirus occurs at different time intervals and geographical regions, such decentralisation has allowed the implementation of locally-tailored measures. This localised approach has allowed to keep the epidemic in check to a degree, stopping its spread to the rural areas.

Despite all the challenges posed by the pandemic, it would appear that the checks and balances of Brazils democracy, together with its decentralized health system, still seem to be working, and are tapping into the countrys vast, if depleted, capacity to respond to the pandemic. It would appear that strengthening its national healthcare system and preserving the existing democratic institutions are Brazils only guarantees in dealing with covid-19.

Raquel Nogueira Avelar e Silva, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark

Giuliano Russo, Centre for Global Public Health, Queen Mary University of London, The UK

Alicia Matijasevich, Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Mrio Scheffer, Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Competing interests: None declared

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Covid-19 in Brazil has exposed socio-economic inequalities and underfunding of its public health system - The BMJ - The BMJ

Global solidarity in the face of COVID-19 – UNDP

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The COVID-19 pandemic has upended almost every aspects of life as we know it. Even those countries that are supposed to have the means to manage the spread and mitigate the effects are struggling.

Besides the US$5 trillion stimulus package that the G20 economies agreed to deal with the pandemic, individual countries are also devising various measures to shore up their health care systems, stabilize their economies, and assist affected workers and businesses.

Even before the full brunt of the coronavirus outbreak reached some of the poorest countries, the economic impacts are already being felt. With declining global demand for raw materials, breakdown of global supply chain, and mounting debt burden, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to exceed US$220 billion.

The urgent shouldnt crowd out the important

With greater uncertainty and fear of global recession looming, governments are looking for resources needed to lessen the socio-economic pains of the crisis. In this process, official development assistance (ODA) wont be spared and could come under increased scrutiny.

Decisions made now will have potentially devastating or transformative impact for years to come. Despite the economic and political pressure, we must protect ODA, which is needed more than ever.

The spread of COVID-19, especially in places with weak governance and health infrastructures is expected to be overwhelming if the international community does not act now.

In sub-Saharan Africa, many countries have the lowest number of physicians per capita in the world while some experience ongoing conflicts, making it difficult to fight the virus.

Collateral impact

The collateral impact of COVID-19 on health, education and nutrition systems will be extremely damaging, and in many cases irreversible, for children and society at large. And when the world opens up again, the resilience of the weakest health systems will dictate how well we do against future threats.

The UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres, argued that, this human crisis demands coordinated, decisive, inclusive and innovative policy actionand maximum financial and technical support for the poorest and most vulnerable people and countries.

It is critical for the international community to fulfil the humanitarian appeal for COVID-19 response while protecting existing commitments to long-term development and other silent emergencies.

Doing so will help protect the most vulnerable people from being exposed to the effects of COVID-19 and preserve hard-earned development gains in fighting global poverty and expanding basic services.

Left to their own devises, fragile nations may risk the breakdown of socio-political order, civil unrest and state collapse, further exacerbating the dire situation.

A humanitarian and development crisis

COVID-19 is not only a humanitarian crisis, but also a development crisis. Development agencies are supporting countries to prepare for, respond to, and recover from the crisis.

The effectiveness of their response to certain degree depends on the flexibility afforded to them in funding and operational procedures.

To tackle this uniquely complex health and development crisis, the adequacy and flexibility of funding to development agencies are pivotal. Flexible core funding is already making a difference in the COVID-19 response to reach people in need faster, empower local actors, deploy essential supplies to the frontline, and protect the most vulnerable children, refugees, women.

Immediately responding to threats

This enabled the communities to practice due diligence and self-driven discretion to immediately respond to threats of the pandemic, while waiting for the pledged assistance to arrive. For instance, in Nigeria, funding flexibility allowed UNICEF to come up with an innovative solution to fight misinformation around COVID-19 while UNDP was able to support the government double the ventilator capacity in the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a devastating crisis in history. But it also posits an opportunity to remind the global community why multilateralism is vital to securing the worlds peace, security, and prosperity.

We witness how the health crisis of todays globalized world interlinks global economy, geopolitics, and social values. Our effective response to the public health crisis should be key to resolving the ensuing economic, humanitarian and development challenges.

A complex reality

Understanding this interlinked and complex reality of COVID-19, governments need to work together closely to take coordinated actions and share scientific information, resources and expertise.

It is this strong motion for collaboration that underpins the UN agencies commitment to reinforce the humanitarian-development nexus to jointly respond to the COVID-19 crisis, working closely through the UN Crisis team, humanitarian response plan, UN Response and Recovery Fund for COVID-19.

In Guinea-Bissau, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, and IOM joined hands to help build isolation facilities and triage space, and procure necessary equipment for COVID-19, both for the national hospital as well as for the re-modelling of the UN clinic.

With strong solidarity and effective cooperation, the international community will not only arrest COVID-19, but also use the emergency to build back better health systems and a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

This article was originally published here.

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The revolutionary new vision for a post-Covid Scottish economy – HeraldScotland

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THE Scottish economy needs to be radically reorganised in the wake of Coronavirus, according to one of the nations leading economists.

Professor Ronald MacDonald, of the Adam Smith Business School at Glasgow University, publishes a paper today outlining the revolutionary changes needed in the face of Covids devastation of the economy.

MacDonalds proposals include moving from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism - recalibrating the economy so its fairer for ordinary workers. This would involve the introduction of a wealth tax for high net worth individuals.

The pandemic, MacDonald says, has underscored and highlighted the many inequalities that exist in the UK. GDP shouldnt be the only measure of a nations success but also health and social care, the environment, and the quality of life.

Post-pandemic unemployment could be as high as 16%, MacDonald warns, and is likely to be especially high in Scotland given the structure of the Scottish economy.

A new form of social contract will be needed as we move out of the pandemic, he says.

The government should instigate a wellbeing fiscal stimulus that has a major focus on greening the economy.

That means no return to austerity policies, and a focus on building social capital to create a stronger, more connected society. Simply focusing on growth, rather than human happiness, is not enough.

MacDonald says: The prioritising of health and wellbeing during the pandemic indicates that there should not be an exclusive focus on economic growth but a shift to a more holistic wellbeing measure; such a measure should recognise the deficiencies of the pre-pandemic economy in terms of inequalities, a reliance on relatively low paid and insecure jobs and a lack of resilience in health and social care.

MacDonalds call for such revolutionary change will be listened to by governments and policy-makers around the world given his distinguished background. Hes currently professor of macroeconomics and international finance at Glasgow University.

MacDonald, who is an OBE, has consistently been ranked amongst the worlds top 1% of economists. Hes worked with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank.

His paper will be published by the think-tank Policy Scotland. Its titled The Post Pandemic New Normal: the likely socio-economic implications and policy choices facing Scotland and the UK.

MacDonald says: The current dire straits engulfing the whole global community is unique in the sense that all governments are facing a stark trade-off between the health and well-being of their populations and maintaining the economic efficiency of their economies.

The pandemic has also exacerbated the decline of globalisation as a central component of the current world order. The current crisis could be the final nail in the coffin of globalisation.

The economic threat from pandemic has been heightened by a prolonged period of under-investment in developed economies. The economic response to the pandemic by governments has been uncoordinated.

The threat of inflation is growing. If inflation does start to take off then there may at some point be a need to raise nominal interest rates sharply, he warns, adding: The focus would then need to switch to what public spending would need to be cut or what taxes to raise. Given that there seems to be no appetite for spending-induced austerity now, it would seem that the time to start planning for eventual tax changes is now specifically in terms of reforming the tax system.

Theres likely to be a reduced appetite for risk by the private sector and an increased risk aversion with increased precautionary savings on the part of consumers and low investment by business as a consequence. Levels of debt are eyewatering. The immediate impact of the pandemic could see a collapse in commodity prices.

TAX REFORM

The damage to the economy from pandemic presents a stark choice: tax hikes or spending cuts. MacDonald says: Given the austerity imposed after the financial crisis is one of the contributing factors to the lack of resilience in the health service and other public services during the pandemic we rule this out as an option. Which leaves taxes as the main vehicle to deliver rectitude in debt and deficit.

MacDonald sees the post-Covid landscape presenting an ideal opportunity to consider tax reform.

It is crucial, he says, that any tax changes that are introduced should not impede the recovery and there seems to be a growing consensus among economists that any such changes should be focussed on wealthy individuals rather than increasing business taxes.

Inequality has been deeply intensified during the pandemic. MacDonald says: Perhaps, the time has now come for the stakeholder model of capitalism to replace the shareholder model. Fifty years ago, 6.5% of corporate revenues went to shareholders - today it's 13%.

Post-pandemic recovery will require taxes to change. MacDonald says: Given the large inequalities within the UK today any new system should be progressive and in large measure should avoid income and goods and services taxes.

To this end, a permanent reduction in labour taxes such as national insurance would clearly be an obvious alternative to the salary subsidies that have been given during the lockdown and would help to maintain employment levels as the recovery phase proceeds, he says.

Furthermore, such a reduction in the tax wedge would give entrepreneurs the incentive to expand existing business and also invest in sectors that will become more attractive post-pandemic. It would be a mistake to pay for the lower taxes on labour by increasing corporation tax, given that an increased investment spend will be essential to permanent recovery from the recession.

A wealth tax would be a credible tax on capital and is becoming increasingly popular particularly given the nature of inequalities prevalent in the UK.

MacDonald also suggests a land tax as it does not affect economic efficiency and can reduce inequality. Business rates and council tax should also be reformed, and small and medium-sized companies should be assisted by grants not loans.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS

Unemployment in Britain is likely to hit 10% by the end of the year, or even in the worst-case scenario reach 16%. MacDonald warns: Given the structure of the Scottish economy, the unemployment situation in Scotland is likely to be worse than that in the UK. Scotlands dependence on the oil and hospitality sectors, and high-end food and drink exports, leave the nation vulnerable.

As well as the permanent shutting of some businesses, MacDonald worries about the replacement of people with technology-driven alternatives.

The blight of unemployment, he says, is the inevitable consequence of the pandemic.

As lockdown eases, there is considerable uncertainty over whether people will binge spend to release pent-up demand for goods or will save as a precaution due to the uncertainty in the economy.

The job market will change dramatically. People will have to train and retrain a number of times throughout their lives and governments will have to help make that possible.

Post-pandemic unemployment will create greater inequalities in society, mostly affecting the low skilled, those on low incomes and the young. The crisis risks creating a lockdown generation with permanent scarring.

The fracturing of globalisation could also lead to a sharp fall in demand from abroad. Governments will have to stimulate the economy by increasing investment in infrastructure such spending will, of course, have further implications for the fiscal deficit and public debt.

RADICAL RECOVERY

Key to MacDonalds vision of post-pandemic economics is the greening of the Scottish economy. This, he believes, could generate many new jobs in construction and energy. Climate change, says MacDonald, is the pandemics twin.

Low-carbon-recovery could not only initiate the significant emissions reduction needed to halt climate change but also create more jobs and economic growth than a high-carbon recovery would, he says.

MacDonald believes building social capital - strong, positive connections between ordinary people - is another key to recovery. He cites the 10 million Britons who have volunteered to help during the pandemic.

Social capital is at least as important as human and physical capital in driving forward socio-economic progress, both in terms of GDP and of wider measures of prosperity such as wellbeing. However, the move in many western societies to individualism has led to a dramatic breakdown of social capital.

MacDonald adds: Western liberal democracies have moved from societies based on the market to a market society, where the market governs our lives, and where a good, asset or service only has value if it is in a market and can be priced In such a society, values such as solidarity, fairness, responsibility and compassion get downplayed and undervalued, if not totally ignored.

The pandemic, however, has taught us that we can prioritise health and wellbeing before economic efficiency. There is also increasing evidence that people would prefer to prioritise health and wellbeing and other societal values over economic growth once the crisis is over.

In going forward, MacDonald suggests, the UK and Scottish governments should not make GDP their exclusive target for the nations overall wellbeing. Health, social care, the environment and quality of life also matter.

Governments need to emphasise wellbeing creation as the ultimate goal of kick-starting productivity and growth, rather than a sole focus on wealth creation. This would be a major reprioritisation of our society.

Governments should have been better prepared for a pandemic. The appropriate form of resilience in the public and private sectors could and should have been in place, MacDonald says, adding: As in the case of climate change, the current epidemic did not happen by chance but as a result of mankinds rapacious demand for global resources.

Post-pandemic, greater resilience in our health and social care systems must be built in. The World Health Organisation should be strengthened to coordinate any response to future pandemics.

HOW LIFE WILL CHANGE

With the demise of the current globalisation era, countries will seek to be more resilient and self-sufficient at home. Building resilience in agriculture could led to innovations such as vertical farming.

However, home bias in other countries would have repercussions for the UK and Scottish export markets.

MacDonald predicts that the rise of working at home during the pandemic will alter the housing market, as well as leisure, and the retail and hospitality sectors. Home-working could also reshape how people live and work in the central belt in Scotland. This would have knock-on effects for the environment, the shape of cities, and road traffic as well as health and happiness.

If a vaccine is not discovered and there are further mutations of this virus then there may be a steady migration from cities, MacDonald suggests. This could have important implications for house prices both in and out of the city and could lead to reduced inequality.

Similarly, the shift to shopping online, e-learning in education, and also telemedicine will alter how we live and work.

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The revolutionary new vision for a post-Covid Scottish economy - HeraldScotland

British theatre has a class problem, and coronavirus could make it worse – The Guardian

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Theatre, ultimately, is not about buildings or props or sets its about people. The people who make it, the people who engage with it, and the crossover between.

The greatest threat to the vitality of plays, musicals and live performance once the lockdown ends is a drain of people leaving the arts. Audiences who can no longer afford ticket prices against a backdrop of economic strain, reinforcing the idea that culture is not for them. Skilled artists particularly those from lower socioeconomic and working-class backgrounds (yes, we do exist in the arts) who cant afford to remain in the industry.

In normal times, theatre is a hugely profitable industry, and one of the UKs most successful cultural exports. But the industry has always been staffed by precariats. Despite the glamour of the trade, almost three-quarters of its employees, no matter what our backgrounds, are freelancers living from job to job. And a significant proportion of this workforce fell through the cracks of the governments job retention schemes.

Right now, nothing frightens theatre creatives more than a slowdown or reversal of even modest gains made in recent years in terms of the inclusivity and diversity of the theatre, on stage and off. These included Natasha Gordon becoming the first (and sinfully late) black British woman to have a play in the West End, with the extraordinary Nine Night, and the National Theatres commitment to 50:50 gender representation. But theres still so much left to do.

The postwar settlement in 1945 was built on the passionate belief that art for everyone was vital to peoples wellbeing and social cohesion. Our aspirations for the future of the industry should be just as hopeful and as high. Assuming the industry survives, its incumbent upon us to hardwire radical, imaginative, hopeful strategies into its recovery, ensuring greater access across society.

For this reason, class barriers require our full attention. Theatre has a class problem. Few would deny it, but there is often a squeamishness in talking about this particular area of representation and a lack of confidence in how to define it. I myself have wrestled with the existential angst that once you reach a certain level in the industry, you must abandon any claim to this identity.

There are also justifiable suspicions, particularly from black, Asian and minority ethnic artists, that the term class is deployed as a proxy to mean exclusively white, working-class men. So it is vital that any discussions of class must wholeheartedly intersect with every community, identity and culture in Britain, and for white working-class writers to amplify and champion their even more neglected peers.

The socio-economic group you were born into and the levels of social deprivation youve experienced are the most decisive factors in whether or not you go to the theatre, let alone carve out a career within it. It seems that half the country goes, half the country doesnt. And the half who dont are unlikely to want to if they cant hear their voices or see their own stories represented on stage.

There are glimmers of opportunity in this crisis. Zoom networks offering peer-to-peer support in quarantine have sprung up, including the digital coffee mornings for working-class artists led by Common, an arts and social justice organisation Im a patron of, alongside the director Matthew Xia and writer Nessah Muthy. Such engagement should continue as leaders listen to the lived experiences of their freelancers when deciding how to rebuild.

Theatre outreach and education departments have been some of the most dynamic during the pandemic. In Leeds, the theatre company Slung Low, based at The Holbeck, an old social club, has been active in distributing food and care packages in the community.

But other mountains feel steeper to climb. The cultural disparity between the south-east, where much of the arts and theatre industry is concentrated, and the rest of the country could grow wider as smaller local organisations and touring groups collapse. The unforgivable demise of arts education in state schools over recent years may further narrow the already limited pool of artists and audiences.

Most importantly of all, of course, are cheaper tickets. Cheaper, cheaper, cheaper, cheaper tickets. We know this will be even more challenging for theatre companies barely able to make ends meet. Whatever new, inventive, convention-defying methods that artists, fundraisers, producers and sponsors can collectively devise, our new theatre culture can only claim to represent contemporary Britain if everyone who lives here is allowed to come and see it.

James Graham is a British playwright and screenwriter

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British theatre has a class problem, and coronavirus could make it worse - The Guardian

Aggrieved customers of defunct banks threaten to besiege Jubilee House – GhanaWeb

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Business News of Saturday, 20 June 2020

Source: GNA

The 2,221 aggrieved customers, spread across the Bono Region threatened to embark on a protest

A group calling itself Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of collapsed banks in the country has called for the government to act quickly to pay their cash deposits running into millions of cedis.

The 2,221 aggrieved customers, spread across the Bono Region threatened to embark on a protest march to the Jubilee House, the seat of government, if they did not receive their monies within two weeks.

According to the group, comprising customers of the defunct GN Bank and UT Bank, as well as the DKM and God is Love Micro-finance, whose cash deposits were locked-up following the collapse of the financial institutions, President Akufo-Addo had failed to refund their cash deposits.

Last year, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the licenses of some savings and loans companies in the country.

The revocation of the licenses of the financial institutions, according to the central bank were necessary because they were insolvent even after a reasonable period within which the BOG had engaged with them in the hope that they would be recapitalized by their shareholders to return them to solvency.

But, at a news conference held at Abesim, near Sunyani, some members of the coalition who wore red armbands and headgears to portray their anger, explained that the life time savings of many of them were locked up at the defunct banks, thereby collapsing their businesses and worsening their socio-economic livelihoods.

Many of us who entrusted our money and lifetime savings in these banks and financial institutions held on to Governments promise that our monies would be safe, Mr. Nicholas Saddari, the convener of the group, said.

We never anticipated that the Governments so-called clean-up of the banking and financial sector would take-down so many banks and financial institutions especially on the basis that Government itself indicated that it required between Gh9 billion to Gh13 billion to solve the crises in the banking and financial sector.

Today government is saying they can't pay us, so they have issued a five-year bond for our locked-up deposits, that is zero or no interest paid on our deposits and investments after we have to wait for the 5 years to receive our money.

Then after many of us depositors agitated by saying we cannot wait for five years then government tells us to take the five bonds to Consolidated Bank of Ghana which will discount the bonds by 50 percent of the face value amount of the bond and pay that to us whilst we forfeit or forgo the remaining 50 percent the bond value which CBG will keep.

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Aggrieved customers of defunct banks threaten to besiege Jubilee House - GhanaWeb

Aggrieved customers of collapsed banks threaten to besiege Jubilee House – Ghana Business News

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A group calling itself Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of collapsed banks in the country has given the government a 14-day ultimatum to pay their cash deposits totaling millions of Ghana cedis or face their anger amidst the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19).

The 2,221 aggrieved customers, spread across the Bono Region therefore threatened to embark on a protest march to besiege the Jubilee House, the seat of government if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo failed to address their grievances.

According to the group, comprising customers of the defunct GN Bank and UT Bank, as well as the DKM and God is Love Micro-finance, whose cash deposits were locked-up following the collapse of the financial institutions, President Akufo-Addo had failed to refund their cash deposits.

Last year, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the licenses of some savings and loans companies in the country.

The revocation of the licenses of the financial institutions, according to the central bank were necessary because they were insolvent even after a reasonable period within which the BOG had engaged with them in the hope that they would be recapitalized by their shareholders to return them to solvency.

But, at a news conference held at Abesim, near Sunyani, some members of the coalition who wore red armbands and headgears to portray their anger, explained that the life time savings of many of them were locked up at the defunct banks, thereby collapsing their businesses and worsening their socio-economic livelihoods.

Many of us who entrusted our money and lifetime savings in these banks and financial institutions held on to Governments promise that our monies would be safe, Mr. Nicholas Saddari, the convener of the group, said.

We never anticipated that the Governments so-called clean-up of the banking and financial sector would take-down so many banks and financial institutions especially on the basis that Government itself indicated that it required between GH9 billion to GH13 billion to solve the crises in the banking and financial sector.

Today government is saying they cant pay us, so they have issued a five-year bond for our locked-up deposits, that is zero or no interest paid on our deposits and investments after we have to wait for the 5 years to receive our money.

Then after many of us depositors agitated by saying we cannot wait for five years then government tells us to take the five bonds to Consolidated Bank of Ghana which will discount the bonds by 50 percent of the face value amount of the bond and pay that to us whilst we forfeit or forgo the remaining 50 percent the bond value which CBG will keep.

Source: GNA

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Aggrieved customers of collapsed banks threaten to besiege Jubilee House - Ghana Business News

Late Night Poker: A Week That Changed The World – Padraig Parkinson Blog – CardPlayer.com

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One afternoon, a little over 20 years ago, I wandered into the tiny bar in the Aviation Club for a beer and a bit of craic with the bartender. Shortly afterwards, I was joined by journalist and magazine editor Nick Szermeta and a guy he introduced as Rob ardner, who he said worked for Cardiff based TV production company Presentable. They seemed excited but who wouldnt be on a trip to Paris that someone else was paying for?

As it turned out, they were there to break the news that Presentable had been commissioned by Channel 4 to film a TV poker tournament with a difference. Under table cameras would allow viewers to see everyones cards and poker would be transported from the backroom to the living room. Poker players would be stopped by complete strangers in supermarkets who recognized them from somewhere and asked if they had by any chance met them in The Algarve two years ago.

It got a bit hazy from there as we gave the red wine a bit of a lash, but a couple of weeks later, an invite to play in Late Night Poker 1 arrived in the mail. I decided not to play, as I didnt want to show people how much larceny was going on. There was very little information out there on tournament tactics and I preferred to keep it that way. Laughable now. But not then. Of course, there was no reason why you couldnt go on TV and mislead people, but I wasnt bright enough to figure that out. No surprises there. Its an Irish thing!

I wasnt alone, and in a strange way, it greatly helped the popularity of the show that as a result a lot of amateurs that the viewers could empathize with were involved. It certainly helped to have the charming Lise Vigez aka The Pink Lady smiling at the table. Destiny played a big part with two megastars being born in the first series winner The Devilfish and the now legendary commentator, Mr Jesse May. It could quite easily have been a lot worse.

I realized Id fucked up after I turned down invites to the next 3 series when I figured out what was going on. The Fish, Vicky and The Hendon Mob were doing the smart thing commercially whilst I was arsing around in Paris. By the time Jesse asked if Id play series V, I jokingly said I would if I could be put in the same heat as Helmuth (there was a little bad blood from the WSOP, but not much). He laughingly said ok. So, I flew to Dublin to hook up with my friend Frank McGuigan, who was coming to Cardiff for the craic, and US pro Melissa Hayden who was stopping off in Dublin en route from Vegas to Cardiff. Then, the wheels fell off.

I visited my mother in hospital where she was having tests. The news couldnt have been worse. The cancer that shed beaten ten years before was back. And way worse. Even I could figure that one out. I wanted to just go home to Paris and bollocks to late night poker. Vro, Frank and Mel talked me out of that, so I headed for the bar in Dublin Airport and then the bar in the Hilton (I think) in Cardiff. There, we hooked up with my friends Mad Marty and Katharine, who had become unofficial hosts of LNP.

Marty was becoming a specialist at finishing second in his heats, which was commendable. He was also the first and, as far as I know, only player to pay for his buy-in by stealing and selling 1,000 traffic cones from motorway roadworks in the wee small hours. This led to rather unfortunate consequences for a shocking number of would be commuters, but thats a story for another day. We were joined by Helmuth, Negreanu and others for beer and a cash game. It was handshakes all around. Daniel won. I lost. Breakfast, a quick nap and the party was back on. Flood arrived and couldnt help himself. He didnt approve of people having fun as a rule. Frank and my good friend the legend Colette Doherty told me theyd told him now wasnt the time to interfere. Funny, I thought Id heard them telling him to fuck off. The ears can play strange tricks!

When I arrived in the studio later, it was all going off. Phil and I were to be in the same heat. Jesse May and Ian Dobson were acting as bookmakers and installed me as 2/1 favorite and made Phil a 5/2 shot. Phil wasnt amused. Everyone else found it hilarious. Phil was banging on about his 6 bracelets. Nobody cared and bet on me just to keep the pot stirring!

It didnt get any better for Phil as he was drawn between me and my mate Kevin OConnell. Kev is from Burnley and has so much money that he doesnt feel the need to tone the accent down a bit to make himself understood. I helpfully translated and told Phil Kev agreed with the bookmakers! Oh God! On Kevs left was Willie Tan, whose English was also suspect. Talking to Willie was like trying to have a conversation with The Racing Post. On a good day. Anyway, off we went.

We were all having a great old time. Well, Kev and I were anyway. After some time, I knocked out Phil so Kev and I had to amuse ourselves by having the craic with Willie instead. Which was tricky, with the language barrier and all that. Eventually, I was heads-up with Ken Lennard, dogged him and went back to the socializing in the hotel. Unbelievably, Jesse and Ian lost on their bookmaking business. It was a glimpse of the future for Jesse. I should have known! Anyway they made me 2/1 for the 8 person final. What a dreadful price.

There was a shock coming. Winner of LNP IV, Hemish Shah, died. I had last seen him sitting on a chair looking like death warmed up in Binions. I joined him to see if he was okay. He had felt ill all night and was waiting to play the FT of the 5k Limit Holdem event. Unbelievably, he won it before spending several months in hospital before he died.

The final of NLP was delayed till midnight as Vicky, Joe Beevers and a few Presentable people took a helicopter to London to attend the funeral. It was all a bit surreal. It was like we were just going through the motions. After an extra five hours in the bar, some of us were for real. I spent most of the first couple of hours chatting to Joe, who was quite upset. We did have a laugh when, after Jacarama had changed headgear and spectacles half a dozen times, I remarked that if poker made it onto childrens TV, hed be a big hit with the under-6 age group.

Then, we went on a break. Surrinder grabbed me and took me for a walk on a lucky route around the outside of the studio. Hes the most superstitious person I know, so I was kind and didnt ask him why hed been knocked out, if the lucky route was so lucky. Im like that sometimes! Then unbelievably he stopped, pointed at a bright star in the sky and shouted Hemish, Hemish. Send Padraig down the power! Jesus! Then, Mad Marty appeared out of nowhere and gave me a pint of Guinness. You couldnt make it up.

We went back in. The average stack was small relative to the blinds. I went all-in four hands in a row and took a lead I never lost. Someone had to do it! I guess I was lucky nobody picked up a hand they fancied. Before too long, I was heads-up with Koresh. Helmuth backed me at a ridiculous 1/3 with the lads. He won anyway!

We had a good laugh with Jesse back in the hotel. There was still the feeling that LNP was changing poker in a positive way. We got a sign of the future when Joe produced a box of Hendonmob T-shirts which he was flogging off at 10 a pop. When the cardboard box was empty Mel, an excellent photographer, took a picture of me and Phil displaying the empty box. Then me, Daniel and the box. And so on. Then Frank, Mel and I headed for the airport with our suitcases, the trophy and The Box. The airport was nearly empty so we had photo opportunities with the Ryanair girls and the Rent a Car people with the box. And the bartender of course. Mel called it street art. We didnt!

Things got a bit ropey when we put the empty box through the X-ray machine. Security guys were called. I was afraid Mel was going to tell them about our rights and get us arrested. If she had been born a few decades earlier, she would have marched with King. Amazingly, she let it go. She had now decided she was going to stop off in Paris to play poker for a few days on her way home. That mission lasted about twelve hours. Apparently, she had a few differences of opinion with the French. I was gutted I missed the show when she rang us from the airport and said she was going home. Lucky for her. Twenty-four hours later, she was home when two hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Centre Twin Towers and the world as we knew it changed forever.

From the book REBEL WITHOUT A PAUSE by Padraig Parkinson

Any views or opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the ownership or management of CardPlayer.com.

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Late Night Poker: A Week That Changed The World - Padraig Parkinson Blog - CardPlayer.com