Cryptocurrency: Redefining the Future of Finance – Visual Capitalist

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Many people are familiar with blockchain technology, but did you know that Ethereum has the largest and most active blockchain community in the world?

Unlike many other blockchain networks, Ethereum is programmable. This customizable feature has enabled developers to solve problems ranging from digital identification and privacy, to corporate ownership and data security.

When the blockchain community disagrees on what changes the network needs to function smoothly or when such changes should take place, developers plan for a fork (an offshoot) of the underlying code rules.

Todays graphic maps out the major Ethereum blockchain forks that have occurred to date, highlighting key events that surrounded each of these updates. It also includes details on the highly anticipated Istanbul hard fork, planned for December 2019.

Forks are common practice in the software industry, and happen for one of two reasons: split opinions within the community, and required changes to the blockchain code.

When either reason is discussed, four major types of forks can occur.

There are currently three types of hard forks:

Lets dive into the timeline of major Ethereum forks, and explore a few of their defining moments and characteristics.

Below are some of the most prominent and important forksboth hard and softon the Ethereum blockchain since its launch.

Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, and his team finished the 9th and final proof of concept known as Olympic in May 2015. The Ethereum blockchain, also known as Frontier, went live shortly after, on July 30, 2015.

Also known as Frontier Thawing, this was the first (unplanned) fork of the Ethereum blockchain, providing security and speed updates to the network.

Homestead is widely considered Phase 2 of Ethereums development evolution. This rollout included three critical updates to Ethereum: the removal of centralization on the network, enabling users to hold and transact with ETH, and to write and deploy smart contracts.

The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) event was the most contentious event in Ethereums short history. The DAO team raised US$150 million through a 2016 token salebut an unknown hacker stole US$50 million in ether (ETH), prompting the developer community to hard fork in order to recover the stolen funds.

Widely regarded as the only Ethereum fork of any significance, this hard fork was based on the controversial DAO event. The original chain became known as Ethereum Classic, and the new chain moved forward as the main Ethereum chain.

This September 2019 hard fork event required all software users to upgrade their clients in order to stay with the current network. Enhancements included better security, stability, and network performance for higher volumes of traffic.

Regarded as the third phase of Ethereums evolution, the Metropolis-Byzantium soft fork functioned more like an operating system upgrade, rather than a full split.

Constantinople is the current version of the Ethereum blockchain. This hard fork occurred concurrently with the St. Petersburg update. Important changes included closing a major security loophole that could have allowed hackers to easily access users funds.

Constantinoples most notable improvements include smart contracts being able to verify each other using only the unique string of computer code of another smart contract, and reduced gas feesnamely, the price users pay to process transactions more quickly.

The Ethereum community is preparing for the next hard fork event Istanbul, scheduled for release on December 4th, 2019.

Ethereums 4th and projected final stage of development is Serenity, which has yet to be scheduled. Community members have speculated what changes will come with Serenity, but many agree that the Ethereum blockchain will shift focus from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake.

Proof of Stake means that there is less competition for completing blocks of data, significantly reducing the energy required to process data. Currently, a single Bitcoin transaction consumes the same electricity as 1.75 American households do in a day.

Ethereum continues to be a leading blockchain platform, with the highest number of decentralized apps (dApps) and a massive, engaged community.

To date, cryptocurrencies have largely been the focus of news headlines. However, weve only begun to scratch the surface of what blockchain can offer, and the value it will create beyond the financial world.

[Blockchain] could be the foundation of a whole new era whereby our basic right to privacy is protected, because identity is the foundation of freedom and it needs to be managed responsibly.

Don Tapscott, Executive Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute

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Cryptocurrency: Redefining the Future of Finance - Visual Capitalist

Ethereum Users Giving the DAO Another Try After Digital Stickup – Bloomberg

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Four years after the $55 million hack on the DAO threatened the future of a new blockchain system known as Ethereum, the crypto community is giving it a second try.

Its known as the LAO this time, which stands for Limited Liability Autonomous Organization. If that sounds like some kind of cyber law firm, thats the point. Unlike the DAO, or decentralized autonomous organization, project where anyone with an Ether wallet could join in an effort to provide funding to startup projects, the LAO is limiting the number of participants as well as the amount of cryptocurrency they can contribute. So far, the LAO has raised 3,600 Ether, worth about $878,000, and awarded its first funding to a startup.

By contrast, when the DAO was attacked in June 2016 it held $250 million of Ether and counted thousands of participants. It was the most ambitious project seen on Ethereum at that time when the network was less than one year old. In a controversial move that still is argued over these days, the Ethereum community voted to change the blockchain history to make it so the DAO attack never occurred and no one lost any money.

Yet the spirit of wanting to help pick projects worthy of funding to further the Ethereum ecosystem has never gone away, said Aaron Wright, co-founder of OpenLaw, a digital contracting system that helped create the LAO.

I dont think that vision has ever dimmed when it comes to Ethereum, said Wright, who is also a professor at Cardozo Law School in New York. A lot has been learned about security, governance and making the LAO work inside of existing U.S. law, he said. This time, the LAO ties every transaction to legal documents via so-called smart contracts and the investors are vetted to ensure know-your-customer and anti-money laundering laws are obeyed, Wright said.

We have a robust set of tools to experiment with DAOs, and thats what the LAO is about, he said. The LAO is the marriage of the legacy world and the crypto world.

Like the DAO, the LAO works as a type of virtual venture capital fund. LAO users, who Wright said are more like partners in a partnership than security owners, contribute a maximum of 120 Ether each. Startups pitch their projects to the LAO participants who then vote on whether they think it deserves funding. Right now there are 42 LAO proposals for things like creating a market for digital art to something called The IAO that describes itself as like the LAO but for fishing, according to the LAOs web site.

One supporter of the LAO is Christoph Jentzsch, the co-founder of slock.it who wrote the code for the DAO in 2016. At the time, lawyers told Jentzsch that if a terrorist organization had somehow received funding through the DAO that other DAO users could be held liable, he said. Thats no longer a threat with the LAO.

Their whole idea about limiting liability is great because that was certainly lacking in the DAO, he said. Jentzsch, who owns 1% of the LAO and is able to vote on projects for funding, said if it can become a for-profit venture it could help solve the funding issue facing Ethereum projects. On the other hand, he worried that LAO investors might not spend much time vetting projects as they only have a small amount of Ether at stake.

This is a bit missing in the LAO, he said, referring to an economic incentive to do a lot of due diligence on projects.

The first startup to receive funding from the LAO is called Tornado.Cash, which received 244 Ether, worth about $59,000, Wright said. It adds a layer of privacy to Ethereum transactions that are traceable on the Ethereum blockchain if a persons address is known.

Read More: New Startup Aims to Prove Blockchain Is Fast Enough for Finance

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Ethereum Users Giving the DAO Another Try After Digital Stickup - Bloomberg

Skale CTO: Ethereums Strength Is the Ecosystem, Not Its Roadmap – Cointelegraph

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In the second part of the interview with Skale Network CTO Konstantin Kladko, he explainedwhy he believes that Ethereum (ETH) is more than just the Eth 2.0 roadmap, and what he believes to be the best use case for it.

Kladko is quite vocal about the failures of other layer-two solutions, though Skale itself partially relies on Ethereum. As Kladko explained:

Our token lives [on Ethereum]. When you register nodes on Skale, you register [them] through ETH. We probably have the largest ever set of smart contracts on ETH mainnet.

This architecture is consistent with Kladkos view that the ecosystem behind Ethereum is at this point an unstoppable bulldozer and that now its pretty much pointless and hopeless to compete with Ethereum.

Kladko recounted an episode in his life from the year 2000, when he was working at Stanford:

A friend of mine [...] got to my office and [...] he showed me Google. And the moment I saw this, the moment I just typed in the search query, I saw that this is going to be a hundred billion dollars company.

Sometimes in life you get this feeling, he added, mentioning Steve Jobspresentation of the iPhone in 2007 as another case of this.

For Ethereum, the same happened at Devcon 3, a conference held in November 2017. It was clear to us that even at that time, Ethereum had incredible momentum, he said.

For Kladko, the momentum and the community are the only things that matter for an ecosystem. Technology can always be fixed, he added.

When asked about how Ethereum 2.0 and its delays tie into the unstoppable bulldozer theory, he compared it to some programming languages like Java, which despite regularly taking double the planned time between releases was able to assert itself on the market. Continuing the analogy, he said:

So I think thats very much the same story with ETH. It doesnt really matter. Theyllprobably have delays because theyre all mature and open-source guys, but in the meantime, startups like ours will help. You will be able to do lots of things on ETH 1.0 plus Skale.

Skale, as the name suggests, aims at scaling blockchain through a sharded architecture, which he believes can compete with more centralized cloud platforms like AWS.

He recounted a science fiction novel that inspired him in this, Invincible by Stanislaw Lem. In the novel, a planet is engulfed in a war between two computer civilizations. One is made of large computers, and another is made of tiny swarms that can assemble into anything the swarms eventually win due to their flexibility.

As Kladko explained, Skale seeks to power the next wave of decentralized applications, which he says will replace Google, Facebook and other centralized data platforms.

People want to have the power, they want to control their data, and it's actually getting huge. And for this one, you actually need to use blockchain.

But Ethereum 2.0, with its 64 shards and thousands of transactions per second, is still not enough to host a decentralized Google, explained Kladko.

Skales vision in the next ten years is that Ethereum will provide a base security layer, and the thousands of transactions will be used by other networks like ours as a foundation.

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Skale CTO: Ethereums Strength Is the Ecosystem, Not Its Roadmap - Cointelegraph

EOS, Ethereum and Ripples XRP Daily Tech Analysis June 12th, 2020 – Yahoo Finance

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EOS

EOS tumbled by 8.86% on Thursday. Reversing a 0.37% gain from Wednesday, EOS ended the day at $2.5193.

A relatively bullish start to the day saw EOS rise to an early morning intraday high $2.7772 before hitting reverse.

Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $2.7958, EOS tumbled to a late afternoon intraday low $2.4250.

The reversal saw EOS fall through the major support levels before a move back through to $2.54 levels.

In spite of the partial recovery, however, EOS failed to break back through the third major support level at $2.6039.

A bearish end to the day left EOS back at sub-$2.52 levels.

At the time of writing, EOS was down by 0.87% to $2.4973. A bearish start to the day saw EOS fall from an early morning high $2.5132 to a low $2.4891.

EOS left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

EOS would need to move through to $2.5740 levels to take bring the first major resistance level at $2.7227 into play.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for EOS to break back through to $2.60 levels.

Barring an extended crypto rally, resistance at $2.60 would likely leave EOS short of the first major resistance level at $2.7227.

Failure to move through the $2.5740 pivot could see EOS struggle for another day.

A fall back through Thursdays low $2.4250 would bring the first major support level at $2.3705 into play.

Barring another crypto meltdown, however, EOS should steer well clear of the second major support level at $2.2216.

Major Support Level: $2.3705

Major Resistance Level: $2.7227

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $6.62

38% FIB Retracement Level: $9.76

62% FIB Retracement Level: $14.82

Ethereum slid by 7.22% on Thursday. Reversing a 1.64% gain from Wednesday, Ethereum ended the day at $230.15.

Tracking the broader market, Ethereum rose to an early morning intraday high $250.26 before hitting reverse.

Falling short of the first major resistance level at $251.68, Ethereum slid to a late afternoon intraday low $225.2.

The meltdown saw Ethereum fall through the days major support levels before finding support.

Late in the day, Ethereum moved back through the third major support level at $230.04 to limit the downside.

At the time of writing, Ethereum was down by 0.10% to $229.93. A bearish start to the day saw Ethereum fall from an early morning high $230.15 to a low $227.84.

Ethereum left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

Story continues

Ethereum would need to move through to $235 levels to support a run at the first major resistance level at $245.21.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break back through to $240 levels.

Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level at $245.21 should cap any upside.

Failure to move through to $235 levels could see Ethereum lose more ground.

A fall through the morning low $227.84 would bring the first major support level at $220.15 into play.

Barring another extended crypto sell-off, however, Ethereum should steer clear of sub-$220 and the second major support level at $210.14.

Major Support Level: $220.15

Major Resistance Level: $245.21

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $257

38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $367

62% FIB Retracement Level: $543

Ripples XRP slid by 7.44% on Thursday. Reversing a 0.91% gain from Wednesday, Ripples XRP ended the day at $0.18808.

A relatively bullish start to the day saw Ripples XRP rise to an early morning high $0.20388 before taking a hit.

Falling short of the first major resistance level at $0.2047, Ripples XRP tumbled to a late afternoon intraday low $0.18401.

Ripples XRP fell through the days major support levels before briefly recovering to $0.1920 levels.

Coming up short of the third major support level at $0.1939, however, Ripples XRP fell back to sub-$0.19 levels.

At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was up by 0.21% to $0.18848. A mixed start to the day saw Ripples XRP fall to an early morning low $0.18686 before striking a high $0.18860.

Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

Ripples XRP will need to move through to $0.1920 levels to support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.2000.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ripples XRP to break back through to $0.1950 levels.

Barring a broad-based crypto rally, resistance at $0.1950 would likely leave Ripples XRP short of the first major resistance level.

Failure to move through the 0.1920 pivot could see Ripples XRP fall back into the red.

A fall back through Thursdays low $0.18401 would bring the first major support level at $0.1801 into play.

Barring another extended crypto sell-off, Ripples XRP should avoid the second major support level at $0.1721.

Major Support Level: $0.1801

Major Resistance Level: $0.2000

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $0.3638

38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $0.4800

62% FIB Retracement Level: $0.6678

Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

Thanks, Bob

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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EOS, Ethereum and Ripples XRP Daily Tech Analysis June 12th, 2020 - Yahoo Finance

CTC HUB | CasperLabs: Ethereum 3.0 and A Silicon Valley Star Project – Cointelegraph

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The global technology transformation has increased the demand for blockchain technology. There has been a boom of innumerable cross-chain and consortium blockchain projects in the industry. Some of them have been developing, and some have failed.

On June 1, Cointelegraph China hosted its third HUB LIVE event to discuss the topic: Ethereum 3.0: A Silicon Valley Star Project CasperLabs. Cointelegraph China HUB is an online interview show initiated by Cointelegraph China. Speaking with the leaders of the blockchain and cryptocurrency world, we discuss the development opportunities and challenges of the industry segments today and how businesses can break through the current situation to eventually lead in the future. HUB LIVE is the video column of HUB. The third HUB LIVE event was hosted by Tracy Zhang, the commercial director of Cointelegraph China, and the show invited Mrinal Manohar and Cliff Sarkin as guests and had Steve Yue and Waylon Wu as the technology reviewers.

The first part was a Q&A with the CEO and COO of CasperLabs to get a quick and clear look at CasperLabs powerful technology content and the overall project outlook. In the second part the round table two technical experts, Yue and Wu, had an in-depth discussion with Manohar and Sarkin to analyze and discuss the development of blockchain technology and CasperLabs from a professional perspective.

Mrinal Manohar is the CEO and co-founder of CasperLabs. He received his master degree in Carnegie Mellon and has worked at Microsoft, Oracle, Bain & Company and Bain Capital. He also contributed to the open-source program of BitTorrent in 2002 and has been investing in cryptocurrency since 2012.

Cliff Sarkin is the COO of CasperLabs and received a bachelors degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. Before joining CasperLabs in January 2019, he was the vice president of business development at DNA, a leading blockchain venture fund in its early stages.

Steve Yue is a partner and the director of business development at DoraHacks. He graduated from the Tsinghua School of Economics and Finance.

Waylon Wu is a former Bay area engineer and an early adopter of blockchain technology.

1. Cliff Sarkin: Every decision at CasperLabs is made to broaden participation, ownership and ease of use.

2. Mrinal Manohar: Ethereum 3.0 is the full transition to proof-of-stake using CBC-Casper. We are releasing a blockchain with our provably live implementation of CBC-Casper this year.

3. Cliff Sarkin: CasperLabs will be publishing research on novel DDoS style attacks soon and how we can prevent them. This should benefit the industry overall.

4. Mrinal Manohar: App developers will have unprecedented control over their contracts. Our blockchain architecture does not mandate any transmission of private data to the blockchain.

5. Mrinal Manohar: CasperLabs is in the process of establishing a developer DAO with a very significant allocation of resources that will be solely managed by external developers to help drive the ecosystem and long term sustainability of the platform.

6. Mrinal Manohar: Having a lot of public blockchains is not a bug; it is a feature of innovation.

7. Mrinal Manohar: CasperLabs will continue to engage deeply with communities even as the coronavirus restrictions open up. We aim for a lot of in-person events, hackathons and much more which should see these trends gain more popularity. The launch is approaching, and we have begun preliminary conversations with leading universities.

8. Mrinal Manohar: CasperLabs never wants to sacrifice security and decentralization, and as a result, we use fundamental mathematical models to achieve this.

CasperLabs is athe blockchain platform purpose-built to scale opportunity for everyone. Building toward blockchains next frontier, CasperLabs is designed for real-world applications without sacrificing usability, cost, decentralization, or security. CasperLabs removes the barriers that prevent mainstream blockchain adoption by making blockchain friendly to use, open to the world, and future-proof to support innovations today and tomorrow. Guided by open-source principles and built from the ground up to empower individuals, the team seeks to provide an equitable foundation made for long-lasting impact.

Website: https://casperlabs.io/

Technical Specification: https://techspec.casperlabs.io/

Consensus Proofs: https://github.com/CasperLabs/highway/releases/download/v1.0/highway.pdf

Explorer: https://explorer.casperlabs.io/#/

Github: https://github.com/CasperLabs

Medium:https://medium.com/casperlabs

Twitter:https://twitter.com/meetCasperLabs

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CasperLabs

This is a paid press release Cointelegraph does not endorse and is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or other materials on this page. Readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company. Cointelegraph is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

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CTC HUB | CasperLabs: Ethereum 3.0 and A Silicon Valley Star Project - Cointelegraph

Facebooks Libra Stablecoin Project, Ethereum (ETH), Near, Bitcoin Cash are Currently Most Active Development Projects: Report – Crowdfund Insider

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The controversial Facebook-led Libra project is reportedly the most active project in terms of developer activity, according to CoinCodeCap data.

There are 41 active developers working on Libra, meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH), the worlds largest smart contract platform, has 36 active developers, the data site reveals.

Other active open-source protocols include Near (NEAR), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), CELO, and IOTA even though it recently experienced serious issues including a million dollar hack.

Filecoin (FIL), a highly-anticipated blockchain project that has been aggressively rolling out updates, is the 7th most active project right now in terms of developer activity.

Insolar (XNS), a Swiss enterprise blockchain development firm that counts Microsoft, Oracle and AT Kearney amongst its business partners and clients, has also consistently been in the top 10 in terms of having the most active development.

As confirmed in a separate report by Outlier Ventures, blockchain interoperability project Cosmos (ATOM) has seen many developers contribute to the ongoing development of its protocol.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) development has remained steady due to the significant amount of support it receives in terms of grants to developers, and also international support from established organizations like the Human Rights Foundation.

Development for stablecoin Dai, Decred (DCR), Stellar (XLM), Algorand (ALGO), Waves, Lisk (LSK), and Cardano (ADA) has remained fairly steady despite the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting economic uncertainty.

Despite being a fairly new player in the competitive DLT space, Libra has managed to attract 176 active authors in the past year which is a lot more than any other project.

This has all been going on while Facebook had to make significant changes to it development roadmap for Libra, after regulators heavily scrutinized the initiative citing concerns about the social media giants issues related to privacy and many lawmakers being against Big Tech moving into finance.

As reported, Facebooks Libra may serve as signal that Fintech firms like Visa, Paypal, Booking.com have been eager to explore stablecoins, one of the fastest-growing sectors in decentralized finance (DeFi) and the blockchain space, in general.

Lex Sokolin, the Global Fintech Co-Head and CMO at ConsenSys, a leading Ethereum (ETH) development studio based in New York, told CI in recent interview:

I think Libra will be very impactful, no matter what form it takes. If it just takes the form of a payment rail for CBDCs, that already is massively important. The existence of such a regulated blockchain rail, being private and closely regulated, will by definition take market share away from other types of permissionless open blockchain rails.

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Facebooks Libra Stablecoin Project, Ethereum (ETH), Near, Bitcoin Cash are Currently Most Active Development Projects: Report - Crowdfund Insider

EOS, Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP – Daily Tech Analysis June 10th, 2020 – FX Empire

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For the day ahead

Ethereum would need to move through to $244.30 levels to support a run at the first major resistance level at $249.71.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break back through to $249 levels.

Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Tuesdays high $249.99 should cap any upside.

Failure to move through to $244.30 levels could see Ethereum see spend another day in the red.

A fall back through to sub-$240 levels would bring the first major support level at $238.63 into play.

Barring another extended crypto sell-off, however, Ethereum should steer well clear of the second major support level at $233.23.

Major Support Level: $238.63

Major Resistance Level: $249.71

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $257

38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $367

62% FIB Retracement Level: $543

Ripples XRP fell by 1.49% on Tuesday. Reversing a 0.44% gain from Monday, Ripples XRP ended the day at $0.20120.

It was also a choppy start to the day for Ripples XRP. Within the 1st hour, Ripples XRP rose to an early morning high $0.20541 before hitting reverse.

Coming up against the first major resistance level at $0.2056, Ripples XRP slid to an intraday low $0.19979.

The sell-off saw Ripples XRP fall through the first major support level at $0.2022 and the second major support level at $0.2001.

Ripples XRP recovered to $0.2035 levels before taking a 2nd hit in the afternoon. Ripples XRP slid back through the first major support level to a low $0.20016 before finding support.

A return to $0.2023 levels was brief, however. A bearish end saw Ripples XRP fall back through the first major support level in the final hour.

At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was down by $0.10% to $0.20100. A bearish start to the day saw Ripples XRP fall from an early morning high $0.20120 to a low $0.20099.

Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

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EOS, Ethereum and Ripple's XRP - Daily Tech Analysis June 10th, 2020 - FX Empire

AceDcoin Will Be Switching to Ethereum Network with AceD Swapping to AceD Tokens – Press Release – Digital Journal

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This press release was orginally distributed by SBWire

Riga, Latvia -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/15/2020 -- Blockchain-based online gaming and gambling platform AceDBets has made good progress ever since going live earlier this year in March 2020. Since then, the developers of AceDCoin have been working to add many sporting events, as the platform hosts over 15 different online gambling facilities.

The platform offers support for Bitcoin but also has its own native cryptocurrency called AceD. All bets on the platform are in AceD and users can withdraw money from their AceD wallets anytime they want.

However, the developers have decided to undergo a major change. As per their latest community announcement, the AceD cryptocurrency will be swapped to AceD tokens.

This means that AceDBets will be moving away from its traditional MasterNodes platform. The decision of this swap arrived after a number of bad actors exploited the MasterNode rewards for a long time. This has not impacted the reputation of the platform, but brought down the value of AceD coins.

Switching to the Ethereum NetworkThe developers of AceDCoin have decided to move their base to the Ethereum blockchain platform. They think the switch to Ethereum network will help them overcome all these problems and hopefully boost the price of AceD tokens.

The developers have thus requested some co-operation from the existing token-holders to make this swap process absolutely swift and hassle-free.The swap of AceD tokens already took place in the last week of May.

The AceDCoin team has confirmed that the swap was successful and any swap requests coming forward shall be honored to a 1:1 ratio. The new Ethereum-based AceD tokens will be soon available in their official website i.e. acedbets.io. Thus, users will be able to start betting using the new Token.

Speaking about their successful swap, the AceDCoin team said: "Overall the swap was a success, we are proud to have made history by conducting the first Crypto Swap on a sportsbook. This proves that our platform's capacity and security is top notch as there was 0 Fallout".

Henceforth, the old AceD chain has become redundant. Also, the total supply for the AceD tokens have been maxed by four times to 100 million tokens.

After the successful swapping, all the non-circulating tokens are moved to a single address and shared publicly. However, in the near future, the cold staking facility will be available on AceDBets. AceD and GIN Strategic Merger

The AceDCoin team is currently discussing with other cryptocurrency projects Livecoin regarding a potential merger. Some of the benefits of this merger would be:- AceD will be listed on Livecoin (We will replace their current listing with AceD token) Approximately 4BTC to list on Livecoin right now.- AceD will receive rights to their twitter account (Over 5000 followers)- All the coin holders will receive a set swap ratio for the new aced token, this will expand the aced community and bring instant demand and value to AceD Token.- We will also be opening new sectors of business for ACED which will be carried over from merging the project's development team.

This will ultimately create a win-win situation for both AceD and GIN communities. With this merger, AceD will get access to a larger and quality community. This merger will help to bring more users and thus create bigger awareness to AceD's sportsbook, entertainment hub, and ecosystem.

As stated above, AceD will take over and put back life in GIN's Livecoin listing. You can read more details about the merger here.

Successful OTC Sale of 50 Million AceD Tokens And InPlay Betting

Recently, due to the high demand, AceDCoin team is conducting an additional OTC sale of 50 million AceD Tokens live on the Graviex exchange. The proceeds of this sale will go further platform development like exchange listings, aid development, maintenance of the platform, and upcoming products.

Powered by the AceDCoin Tokens, the AceDBet platform is a full scale sportsbook which offers comprehensive coverage of global events. The platform will soon be launching its much-awaited InPlay betting feature.

About CryptoshibCriptoshib tries to keep crypto enthusiasts updated with the latest happenings and stories from the crypto world. We try to post stories about projects and people of the crypto and blockchain communities from around the world.

Media Contact

https://cryptoshib.com/acedcoin-switching-to-ethereum/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/acedcoin-will-be-switching-to-ethereum-network-with-aced-swapping-to-aced-tokens-1294125.htm

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AceDcoin Will Be Switching to Ethereum Network with AceD Swapping to AceD Tokens - Press Release - Digital Journal

Ethereum (ETH) Down $0.97 Over Past 4 Hours, Entered Today Down 0.27%; Pin Bar Pattern Appearing on Chart – CFDTrading

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Ethereum 4 Hour Price Update

Updated June 16, 2020 01:36 AM GMT (09:36 PM EST)

The choppiness in the recent four-hour candle price action of Ethereum continues; to start the current 4 hour candle, it came in at a price of 231.33 US dollars, down 0.42% ($0.97) since the last 4 hour candle. On a relative basis, Ethereum was the worst performer out of all 5 of the assets in the Top Cryptos asset class during the last 4 hour candle.

Ethereum is down 0.27% ($0.63) since the day prior, marking the 2nd day in a row it has gone down. As for how volume fared, yesterdays volume was up 116.56% from the previous day (Sunday), and up 134% from Monday of the week before. Relative to other instruments in the Top Cryptos asset class, Ethereum ranked 3rd since the day prior in terms of percentage price change. Here is a daily price chart of Ethereum.

Notably, Ethereum is now close to its 20 day moving averages, which may act as price barrier for the asset. Volatility for Ethereum has been contracting over the past two weeks relative to volatility over the past month. Whether volatility reverts will be something to watch. Trend traders will want to observe that the strongest trend appears on the 90 day horizon; over that time period, price has been moving up. For another vantage point, consider that Ethereums price has gone up 7 of the previous 14 trading days. Also, candlestick traders! Note we see pin bar pattern appearing here as well.

For laughs, fights, or genuinely useful information, lets see what the most popular tweets pertaining to Ethereum for the past day were:

If you think #DeFi will have a smaller impact on $ETH than ICOs, you arent paying attention.The ICO boom flexed #Ethereums ability to perform 1 financial service: early-stage capital formation. #DeFi will flex Ethereums ability to perform *all* financial services.

#DeFi is so early that no applications are safe from being overtaken by innovative projects. While I think certain infrastructure pieces are coming into place & will be harder to unseat, the dApp game is wide open with only $1B in DeFi on #Ethereum. Its gonna be fun to witness.

hey does anyone know whats going on these days with Charles Hoskinson, Co-founder of Ethereum? Does he have a youtube or tiktok or something?I think he could be a great CEO for some company, I wonder why he didnt go down that route

For a longer news piece related to ETH thats been generating discussion, check out:

Ethereum 2.0: The Choice Between Ones Own Node and a Staking Service

While a minimum stake of 32 ETH is needed to become a validator on Ethereum 2.0, staking pools and services make the participation possible for everyone.While some users have already opted to run their own validator node, others are still choosing among becoming an independent validator, joining a staking pool or using staking provider services.According to Consensys, at least 33% of Ethereum users plan to use third-party services and 20% of the respondents who previously revealed the intention to run their own validator nodes said they would consider using a staking service instead.According to him, Ethereum staking will be quite profitable for users who keep their funds on exchanges: Exchanges like Bitfinex will charge a tiny fee to cover operation costs, but the large majority of rewards will go directly into the pockets of the users.Not all users want to go through the process of custodying their own assets and learning how to stake properly. Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, the CEO of Binance crypto exchnage told Cointelegraph that users who actively stake via Binance will be able to earn higher interest rates than those who simply hold cryptocurrency in their accounts: Binance will stake a fractional reserve of the Ethereum held by our users, as we still require some funds to be liquid for users to withdraw at any time, while automatically distributing proportionately the rewards to our users. Another convenience of centralized platforms and custodial services is that they undertake the conversion of the users ETH to ETH2.However, in order to join the pool, users will need to have a minimum of 16 ETH half as much of the minimum amount needed to run an individual validator node, but a lot more than what crypto exchanges would require.

See more here:

Ethereum (ETH) Down $0.97 Over Past 4 Hours, Entered Today Down 0.27%; Pin Bar Pattern Appearing on Chart - CFDTrading

Rick and Morty theories: Star Trek reference reveals neither Beth is a clone in the finale – Express

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Long term Rick and Morty viewers were introduced to a second version of Ricks (played by Justin Roiland) daughter in the last episode of season four. Now fans of the Adult Swim cartoon have speculated the true identity of Space Beth (Sarah Chalke) may not be what she appears to be.

After more than two years of hype, the fourth season of Rick and Morty finally continued the story of the unhinged inventor and his hapless sidekick.

Although the second half got off to a rocky start, many fans were hailing the final episodes of season four as some of co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmons best adventures yet.

During one of the shows most satisfying finales, Star Mort: Rickturn of the Jerri, fans were treated to the return of recurring villain Tammy (Cassie Steele) and an upgraded Birdperson, now going by Phoenixperson (Dan Harmon).

Audiences were also given the answers to one of the shows biggest questions from the conclusion of season three.

READ MORE:Rick and Morty theory: What is Mr Poopybutthole? Creator explains

Ricks daughter Beth had indeed decided to clone herself, with one version of Ricks daughter heading to space to lead the rebellion against the Galactic Federation.

Episode tens final moments delivered one of the shows darkest moments yet by confirming Rick had no idea which of his daughters was real and which was the clone.

The final scene brings back Mortys Mind Blowers, glass capsules which house erased memories of the duo's bleakest memories theyd prefer to forget.

Rick plugs one in to recall Beths cloning process, during which he turns his back on the two pods as they shuffled so he couldnt know the true identity of his daughter.

Rather than being cloned, a transporter malfunction splits Kirk into two equally cognitive beings, one representing his good yet indecisive side, the other his evil and impulsive half.

This fan continued by suggesting Beth may have undergone a similar process during Ricks cloning procedure at the end of the episode.

They added: What if Rick didnt make a clone of Beth. Instead he split her into two halves representing two different sides of Beth. Both equally her but not a clone.

Space Beth represents her bad-a** self. One wanting adventure. self loathing, the one that resembles her Dads personality, intelligence and quick thinking. Who doesn't need Jerry or anyone.

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Rick and Morty theories: Star Trek reference reveals neither Beth is a clone in the finale - Express

Stranger Things Season 4 Theory: The Jim Hopper In Russia Is A CLONE – Screen Rant

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Stranger Things season 4 has a lot of questions to answer, among those how Jim Hopper survived the explosion at the end of season 3 and how he ended up in Russia. As the Duffer Brothers have been keeping all details about season 4 a secret, fans of the series have been coming up with all types of theories, among those one that suggests the Hopper in Russia is actually a clone. Season 3 of Stranger Things left viewers wondering if Hopper was really dead, who the American prisoner is, and what will happen with Eleven now that her powers are gone and she moved out of Hawkins with the Byers.

With production of Stranger Things season 4 on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, plot details will continue to be a mystery for a while, but Netflix and the team behind the series decided to treat their fansand released a teaserwith a big revelation on Valentines Day: Hopper is alive, and hes being held prisoner in Russia. Of course, the biggest questions are now about how Hopper survived and how he became the American prisoner (supposing theres only one), and fans have come up with all types of explanations.

Related: Stranger Things' Hopper Reveal Highlights The Show's Big Problems

One of those suggests the Hopper seen being forced to work in a chain gang in Russia is not the Hopper that viewers know so well, but a clone. The theory can be supported by some details from the previous seasons of Stranger Things, as well as by some of the series (many) influences and the mystery that is the Upside Down and the creatures living in it. Heres how Hopper could be a clone in Stranger Things season 4.

The final episode of Stranger Things season 3 saw the main group and their allies divided into three factions: the Scoops Troop (Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica), the Griswold Family (Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, Max, Jonathan, and Nancy), and the Bald Eagle (Joyce, Hopper, and Murray). The latter group was in charge of infiltrating the Russian lab located underneath Starcourt Mall, and for that, they had to dress as Russian agents. Once there, Joyce and Hopper got to the part of the lab where the Key was (the machine designed to open gates to the Upside Down), and in order to shut it down, they had two turn two keys at the same time, but they were interrupted by Grigori (also known as the Russian Terminator). Hopper and Grigori fought near the machine, with Hopper pushing Grigori into the device, killing him instantly but also causing the Key to malfunction and trap him between the semi-open gate and a ray of energy. With seemingly no way out, he signaled Joyce to turn the keys, even if that meant he would die. Joyce did so and the machine exploded, killing those near it. Hoppers body (or what would have been left of it) was never found, which made fans wonder if he could have survived somehow.

Now that its confirmed that Hopper is alive, fans have come up with different explanations on how he survived. One of the most popular ones explains that, when Joyce closed her eyes when turning the keys and the screen went black, thats when Hopper made one final move to save himself. When the screen went back to the scene, right before the Key exploded, Hopper was not where he was supposed to, which has made fans believe Hopper found a way to escape at the last second. Its possible that the Russians learned a few lessons from their previous failed attempts to open gates and added a safe zone in case the Key malfunctioned again. With that in mind, Hopper could have found the ladder that leads to a safe area or the shockwave of the explosion tossed him away, falling into that zone. As he was wearing a Russian uniform, he might have been found by them and believed to be part of their team, which is how he ended up on the other side of the world.

Another well-known theory suggests the explosion sent Hopper through the gate and into the Upside Down, where he was trapped for a while. Given that everything about the Upside Down continues to be a mystery, it could have served as a portal of sorts that took Hopper to Russia and as the post-credits scene of season 3s finale revealed that the Russians have their own Demogorgon, that means they have successfully opened at least one gate, which could have been Hoppers ticket out of the other dimension.

Related: Stranger Things Theory: The Demogorgon Is Key To Hopper's Return

Stranger Things has relied a lot on many horror and sci-fi tropes, but it has also had its own twists. Season 4s could be that the Hopper being kept prisoner in Russia is not the real one, but a clone. The big question, then, would be how and whyhe was cloned but it might not be the Russians doing. In season 3, viewers followed Billy Hargroves transformation after his encounter with the Mind Flayer. Billy was taken to the Upside Down, where he came across with a clone of himself after the Mind Flayer planted a part of itself inside him (as it did with Will in season 2, but in a much deeper level). After that, Billy was under the control of the monster, which brought significant changes in him, both physical and behavioral.

Taking Will and Billys cases as examples, and following the aforementioned theory of Hopper being thrown into the Upside Down during the explosion, the Hopper in Russia could be a clone created by the Mind Flayer. The purpose of a Hopper clone in this case would be to continue with the monsters plans of taking over this dimension, more so after its past attempts have failed because of Elevens intervention. Cloning Hopper specifically would also help the Mind Flayer attract Eleven, given the strong bond between them, allowing it to get its revenge after all those times Eleven got in the way. The Mind Flayer has been getting stronger, and it wouldnt be surprising if it perfected its plan following its most recent defeat, including now the use of a clone.

However, if Hopper survived thanks to a safe zone in the lab and was mistaken by a Russian scientist and taken to Russia, then the purpose of a Jim Hopper clone would be different. Hopper knows too much about Hawkins Lab, the Upside Down, the monsters, and the Russians and the Russians are still experimenting on the other dimension and the creatures living in it. Cloning Hopper would not only help them get the information they need and use him however they need, but also help them get their hands on Eleven, whose powers would be very useful to them. The Russian guards line of not the American could then refer to the scientists keeping Hopper alive to clone him, so he couldnt be the Demogorgons dinner.

Stranger Things is heavily influenced by many sci-fi and horror films from the 1980s, among those classics like John Carpenters The Thing and the Star Wars films. The Thing has already been referenced in Stranger Things a poster can be spotted at Mikes basement and Lucas mentioned it when explaining why he liked New Coke but its influence in terms of narrative and more hasnt really been felt yet. Viewers were quick to point out how the season 4 teaser had big The Thing vibes: set in a snowy, isolated place, where a dangerous and mysterious creature is being kept (in this case, the Demogorgon). Some even found some similarities between the strange noise/scream heard at the end of the teaser and the sound the creature from The Thing made.

Related: How The Thing's Iconic Poster Was Made (In Just 24 Hours)

Carpenters film followed a group of American researchers in Antarctica who came across with a parasitic extraterrestrial life-form that assimilated and imitated other organisms. The creature began to attack the group and pose as some of them, making them paranoid as they could no longer trust each other, as it was very difficult to know if the person next to them was the real one or the thing. Stranger Things could be following the steps of The Thing in season 4 and bring clones to the mix, with Hopper being the chosen one to introduce this concept in the series, causing (even more) conflict and paranoia among the group.

Of course, theres also Star Wars, which also has its own clones. They were genetically engineered with the purpose of killing and dying to defend their makers. Clones in Star Wars had tragic lives, as all they knew was the battlefield and werent really treated like human beings. Though it appears that all clones were gone by the time the original trilogy begins, the sequels went back to the concept of cloning by revealing Palpatine had cloned himself. The Star Wars universe is in constant change, but that doesnt mean the Duffer Brothers cant borrow the idea, even if it wasnt really present in theStar Wars films from the 1980s. Some fans have found similarities between Hopper and Han Solos arc, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is among the many influences for Stranger Things season 4, so it wouldnt be surprising if they take these influences beyond the iconic 1980 film.

As mentioned above, the consequences of a Hopper clonewould depend on who created him and with what purpose. If its the Mind Flayers doing, it would mean that the groups encounters with it are far from over, and that the creature has once more evolved and even worse, it now has at least one more gate from which it can begin to take over this dimension. If the Hopper clone is created by the Russians, the bad guys could get easy access to very important information about Hawkins, the lab, and its residents, especially those the Russian scientists came across with. Both scenarios would represent a big threat to Eleven, as both can be used as bait: the Mind Flayer wants revenge, and Eleven can easily fall when seeing the Hopper clone, and the Russians could really use her powers in their experiments.

Of course, some of the biggest questions are if and how people would realize that theyre not dealing with the real Hopper. Going back to The Thing, cinematographer Dean Cundey hasteased that he added a subtle illumination to the eyes of uninfected characters, a hint for viewers to know who was real and who was a clone. Stranger Things season 4 could have its own subtle hint, which only those truly observant and those who know Hopper very well would notice. As for the real one, he could be either trapped in the Upside Down or being kept prisoner by the Russians, though under heavier surveillance than the rest. A Hopper clone would add more conflict and drama to Stranger Things, and as its still unknown when season 4 will be released, fans will surely continue trying to find explanations to some of the series biggest mysteries.

Next: Stranger Things: How M. Night Shyamalan Helped The Show Get Made

That 70s Show: What Happened To Each Character In The Alternate Reality

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate that wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films, to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she's not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!... But also Caps and Leafs), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said hi to her once. It was great.

"Vnligheten r ett sprk som de dva kan hra och de blinda kan se".

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Stranger Things Season 4 Theory: The Jim Hopper In Russia Is A CLONE - Screen Rant

Star Wars Lando Calrissian was very different in the early drafts – digitalspy.com

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We all know Star Wars' Lando Calrissian as a suave rogue with an enormous amount of charm and charisma. He's been a smuggler, gambler and card sharp, and generally acts out of his own self interest, though he did end up fighting for the rebels.

But there's one part of his backstory that was once very different. Lando was originally going to be a clone.

After the enormous success of A New Hope, Lucas was burnt out. He was also dealing with building Lucasfilm and figuring out how he was going to finance the sequel himself to stop Fox interfering. So, he decided to ask author Leigh Brackett, known as the Queen of Space Opera, to write the sequel.

Albert L. OrtegaGetty Images

She was an experienced screenwriter and had worked on films like The Big Sleep and Rio Bravo. In a story conference with Brackett in 1977, Lucas outlined his initial ideas for Star Wars II.

It was at this point that he brought up a new character: an old friend of Han who is a slick, charming con man, and a little like James Bond. Lucas went to great lengths to describe how Lando could be a clone.

"Someone who could look human but not really be human. He's possibly a clone... a Rudolph Valentino character[who's] almost too perfect looking. We assume that in the cloning process, they manipulated genes and improved on the original."

Lando isn't just any clone, though. His clan is one of the ruling classes in a world where there are planets of clones with around 700 countries. This wasn't even Lucas' most shocking idea: he wanted to establish that Lando's "clan were slightly weird in their own way... and were partly responsible for the [Clone] War[s]".

This was a different version of the Clone Wars we know. In Attack of the Clones, the war is established as a battle between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists. The clones are nothing more than a weapon used by the Republic against the Separatists' battle droids.

Lucas also considered making Leia distrust Lando because he is a clone and even refer to him in a disdainful manner. We can only guess that this could be because of an instinctive dislike of someone who seems human but isn't.

But it could also be linked to the fact that certain clones had some involvement in the start of the war. His initial plan was to establish Lando as a clone and then show him coming across his clan in a later film.

Brackett developed Lucas' initial ideas about Lando as a clone, and made a few of her own changes. In her script, most of Lando's clan have been killed in the Clone Wars. So Lucas' idea that he could meet up with clones like him, later on, was dropped.

Lando is first mentioned in Brackett's script when Han and Leia are fleeing from the Imperial fleet and need a safe refuge. Han thinks they can find it with his old friend. He tells Leia that Lando's family were refugees from the Clone Wars. Lando now lives on Hoth and has become a surrogate son of Chief Bahiri, the leader of the native population.

We can see many of Lucas' ideas in the story. Lando is described as "so handsome that, like Rudolph Valentino, he seems not quite real" and Leia is immediately suspicious of him because he is a clone.

Brackett then goes further. She shows that Leia's distrust increases after C-3PO is damaged and Lando states that the workshops can only repair him in a week. Lando senses Leia's wariness. He realises that she's always watching him. So he explains his backstory: he is a clone from the noble Ashardi family.

"My great-grandfather wanted many sons and he produced them from the cells of his own body. His sister, a remarkable woman, produced many daughters by the same means. Thus we keep the blood pure."

Lucas did, of course, create Jango Fett later on and used the idea of one man producing hundreds of clones in a very different way.

In Brackett's script, few of Lando's clan survive the Clone Wars, despite their numbers. Those who do, try to stay under the radar. This could tie into Lucas' idea that Lando's clan were partly responsible for the war. In one of the most moving parts of the story, Lando expresses how lonely he is now that all the faces on the street aren't the same as his own.

"It didn't seem strange to us to see our own faces endlessly repeated in the streets of our cities. It gave us a sense of oneness, of belonging. Now, when every face is new and different I feel truly alone."

But seconds after this speech, Lando betrays Han and Leia to Darth Vader. His surrogate father, Bahiri, tries to talk to his son about the things he's doing and ends up dying in a confrontation with Vader's troops. Lando is completely devastated. Once more, he's lost someone he loves. Lando switches sides and joins the rebels.

Brackett died of cancer soon after she sent Lucas a first draft. He thought it strayed too far from his initial ideas. Lucas ended up writing the next draft himself and then hired screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. This meant that Lucas dropped some of his earlier plans.

If Brackett had the chance to write further drafts, we may have had Lando as a clone in the first sequel to Star Wars, and who knows what that would have meant for Donald Glover's fabulous portrayal in Solo, or Billy Dee Williams reprising the role in The Rise of Skywalker?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K now, as well as on Disney+, Sky Cinema Premiere and NOW TV.

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Negril’s Hedonism II Resort to Reopen Caribbean Journal – Caribbean Journal

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The adults-only Hedonism II resort in Jamaica is reopening in July, Caribbean Journal has learned.

Jamaica is officially reopening its borders for tourism on June 15, and Hedonism II is targeting a July 1 relaunch date, according to a spokesperson for the property.

The Negril-area 280-room resort, famous for its adult parties and events, says it has implemented new sanitation and safety protocols to ensure guests can party safely.

That includes mandated social distancing in all common areas, temperature checks using infrared sensors; staff-served buffets; frequent sanitizing of high-contact areas, disinfection of luggage and continuous and effective disinfection of in-room surfaces and air conditioners.

Thats along with protocols like mandatory masks, regular temperature checks for staff and other measures.

In anticipation of Hedonism IIs July 1stre-opening, we have spent the last month undertaking preparations and consulting with local and international organizations to make sure our enhanced safety measures are up to the highest standards, said Kevin Levee, General Manager of Hedonism II. We look forward to welcoming home our guests and are confident that the iconic Hedonism II experience will shine through, even if its with some adjustments.

For more, visit Hedonism.

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Negril's Hedonism II Resort to Reopen Caribbean Journal - Caribbean Journal

The actor and the acid trip that inspired The Beatles song She Said She Said – Far Out Magazine

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Back in August 1965, The Beatles were holed up in a rented mansion hidden deep within the mountains above Beverly Hills, California. It was the perfect breeding ground for the newly famous Beatles to open up the taps on their celebrity and head straight for hedonism.

The bands manager, Brian Epstein, rented the property on Benedict CanyonDrive in the city of Los Angeles in an attempt to offer The Beatles a six-day rest. It came amid the height of their fame, as Beatlemania whipped around their extensive second major tour of the United States and left the country in a frenzy.

Apparently, despite renting the house as a chance for the band to hide away from the flashbulbs and groupies, the location was leaked to the press and thousands of adoring fans would flock to the address, blocking roads and attempting to scale the side of the mountain in a bid to get closer to the groupa frightening prospect for all involved.

Things had begun to turn a bit dark for The Beatles and their fam was now becoming not only a hindrance to their work but quite possibly their health. Finding it impossible to leave the house, the police were forced to introduce what was described as a detailed a tactical squad of officers in order to protect the house and the band inside.

Becoming slightly restless with their captivity within the house, the members of the band began inviting friends and celebrities over to hang out in order to break the routine. The likes of folk legend Joan Baez, acclaimed actress Eleanor Bron, musicians Roger McGuinnandDavid Crosby all visited John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr at different times across the six-day stay.

While visitors provided a let up from the hysteria ensuing outside the house, it was the arrival of the now-iconic actor Peter Fonda that ended up defining their stay at Benedict CanyonDrive. The late, great Fonda, was the star of 1969 film Easy Riderand a figurehead of a growing counterculture movement amid the somewhat hazy 1960s.

The colourful period of this era is seemingly defined by his loose arrival in Los Angeles on a chaotic August afternoon which resulted in all night, all day acid trip with some extreme highs and, in Fondas case, some slightly bizarre lows.

I finally made my way past the kids and the guards. Paul and George were on the back patio, and the helicopters were patrolling overhead, Fonda wrote forRolling Stonemagazine about the event. They were sitting at a table under an umbrella in a rather comical attempt at privacy. Soon afterwards we dropped acid and began tripping for what would prove to be all night and most of the next day; all of us, including the original Byrds, eventually ended up inside a huge, empty and sunken tub in the bathroom, babbling our minds away.

I had the privilege of listening to the four of them sing, play around and scheme about what they would compose and achieve. They were so enthusiastic, so full of fun. John was the wittiest and most astute. I enjoyed just hearing him speak and there were no pretensions in his manner. He just sat around, laying out lines of poetry and thinkingan amazing mind. He talked a lot yet he still seemed so private.

It was a thoroughly tripped-out atmosphere because they kept finding girls hiding under tables and so forth: one snuck into the poolroom through a window while an acid-firedRingowas shooting pool with the wrong end of the cue. Wrong end? hed say. So what fuckin difference does it make?

For both Lennon and Harrison this acid trip wasnt their first rodeo and, while believing in their new-found LSD enlightenment, the duo pushed both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to join them on their journey into the mind-melding trip. While Starr agreed, McCartney refused, Macca later shared his maiden voyage with his pal, Lennon. In what was supposed to be a moment for the band to bond amid some growing tensions, McCartney removed himself from the situation and left the party to those seemingly heading to a different planet.

Later in the evening, with time passing at a predictably slow pace, Fonda, Lennon, Harrison, McGuinn and Crosby all found themselves chewing the fat while slumped in a large sunken tub in the bathroom. At this point in his career, Fonda had done very little to make him well known in a creative sense, and his topics of conversation started to freak out all those people strapped in for teh trip.

In what was supposed to be an attempt to alleviate Harrison, who at this point of the evening was seemingly overcome by fear that he might be dying, Fonda brought up his near-fatal (and self-inflicted) childhood gunshot accident and began to show the group his gunshot woundnot exactly what you need when youre induced into a pretty heavy acid trip.

Lennon, growing more frustrated with Fondas comments, blurted out: Who put all that shit in your head? in a spit of annoyance and a showing of his quick temper. Youre making me feel like Ive never been born, he added. Remembering the moment, Harrison detailed his take of events in theThe Beatles Anthology when he said: [Fonda] was showing us his bullet wound. He was very uncool.

Later, during an interview in 1980, Lennon detailed the story in agreement with Harrison: We didntwantto hear about that, he said in reference to Fondas tale. We were on an acid trip and the sun was shining and the girls were dancing and the whole thing was beautiful and Sixties, and this guywho I really didnt know; he hadnt madeEasy Rideror anythingkept coming over, wearing shades, saying, I know what its like to be dead, and we kept leaving him because he was so boring! It was scary. You know when youre flying high and [whispers] I know what its like to be dead, man.'

Seemingly freaking everyone out, Lennon asked Fonda to leave the party and the trip calmed back to a steady pace with Lennon, Harrison, McGuinn and Crosby all returning to their happy place in that large sunken bathtub.

A year later, inspired by that unusual turn of events, Lennon used the acid trip as an inspiration for the 1966 song She Said She Said which would go on to appear on the bands seventh studio album Revolver. While the inspiration around the song came from an event with McCartney, the creation of it in the studio was met by similar turmoil when the bands bass player stormed out of the studio and did not contribute to the recording after an argument around the songs arrangement.

Peter Brown, Epsteins assistant of the time, later wrote that the song marked the unheralded beginning of a new era for the Beatles.

[MORE] The cocaine fuelled semi-secret final recording of John Lennon and Paul McCartney

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A Guide to What’s Happening at the First Digital London Fashion Week – AnOther Magazine

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It has almost been three months since the UK Government imposed a lockdown due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and yet normality in Britain at least still feels a long way off. This is true of fashion too, where, for the foreseeable future, runway shows are no longer possible. London Mens Fashion Week is still going ahead, though albeit in a different form: now gender neutral, the event will merge mens- and womenswear on londonfashionweek.com a new, digital-only platform hostingcontent from over 100 designers, in addition to creative individuals and cultural institutions.

Launching on Friday, this content will be available to access via a Netflix-style hub split into three streams: The LFW Schedule, which comprises timed moments, including conversations (betweenHussein Chalayan and Elise By Olsen, for example), collection launches and conversations; Explore, which aims to tell the story of Londons creativity and culture via BFC-created content (including a podcast featuring Edward Enninful and Sadiq Khan discussing the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement); and Designer Profiles, where the designers will introduce themselves and their work. Obviously theres a lot going on, so weve picked out a few of our highlights.

Accompanied by a trio of young South London musicians Rago Foot, Kwake Bass, andWu-Lu Nicholas Daleys Autumn/Winter 2020 collection took inspiration from Afrofuturism and the black abstract art movement of the 1970s, namely the work of Guyanese-born artistFrank Bowling whose first major retrospective opened at the Tate last year. At 12pm on Friday, the designer will be premiering The Abstract Truth, a behind-the-scenes filmby Amy Douglas that promises an insight into the making of this collection.

One of fashions rising stars, designer Priya Ahluwalia launched her eponymous brand in 2017, which draws both on her Indian-Nigerian heritage and her upbringing in London (herSpring/Summer 2020 collection took inspiration from old family photographs). At 1.15pm on Friday, Ahluwalia will be launching her second book, Jalebi, a limited-edition photography tome, shot by Laurence Ellis, which explores the designers work and what it means to be a young mixed-heritage person living in the UK. Jalebi will be showcased via an interactive and virtual gallery space.

Bianca Saunders, another rising star, launched her eponymous brand in 2017 too, and has since garnered attention for her thoughtful exploration of topics surrounding gender, race and her own Caribbean heritage, as well as the cut of her clothes, which imbuesthegarments with a sense of movement. At 11.30am on Saturday, Saunders will be launching a zine in addition to hosting a panel discussion with photographer Joshua Woods, stylistMatt Holmes and model Jess Cole.

Charles Jeffreys label is of course synonymous with his LOVERBOY club night at Vogue Fabrics in Dalston and all the hedonism that comes with. While club nights and hedonismmay feel like distant memory at this point in the pandemic, Jeffrey will be live-streaming a LOVERBOY party at 7pm on Saturday, to launch a new capsule collection and perhaps offer a foretaste of the freedoms we will be able to enjoy again once lockdown measures finally lift.

The alma mater of some of the greatest designers in fashion history, Central Saint Martins will present Class of 2021 Fieldwork material at11.20amon Sunday,produced by the colleges MA Fashion students engaged in the process of design; in its purest, almost abstract form. Precisely what this entails, youll have to wait and see.

The emerging Amsterdam-based designer Duran Lantink who was nominated for the LVMH Prize in 2019 for his innovate repurposing of deadstock has invited the multidisciplinary artist Angel-Ho to take over his platform on London Fashion Weeks digital hub. The music and performance artist continuously subverts and questions gender stereotypes with their work, and for London Fashion Week has chosen to spotlight a series of organisations which support Black Lives Matter and gender movements (SWEAT, Sistaaz Hood, The Marsha P Johnson Institute, Lovedale Press, and a petition for justice for Khosa Collins)alongside two emerging South African artists (Haneem Christian and River Moon).

East London-based shoe brand ROKER celebrates its signature box-toed boots with a series of films created for London Fashion Week. Claire Wang, Jordon Byron Britton, Luke Farley,Anna Engerstrm and Nina Kunzendorf, each wearing a pair of bespoke ROKER boots, captured themselves in their homes for the five films, which are now available to watch on the gender neutral brands Youtube channel.

Londons firstdigital fashion week launches on June 12, 2020.

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A Guide to What's Happening at the First Digital London Fashion Week - AnOther Magazine

It was supposed to be a year of mad hedonism: how Im feeling about turning 40 after lockdown – iNews

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My best mate and I have our birthdays within a month of each other, and we started this year with our feet in the sand on a beach in Thailand, talking about what we wanted from 2020. (Cue mirthless laughter). Its a landmark year for both of us, as its the last year of our 30s I turn 40 in December.

Neither of us are particularly happy about the prospect our voices get high and squeaky when we discuss it but I decided that one way of softening the blow was to have a mad year of hedonism. It was going to be like a Say Yes Night, as seen in Grace and Frankie, where you say yes to everything, even to experience things you might normally be scared of or feel like you dont have time for.

People say things like be glad to be alive when you express unhappiness around a birthday, and while I get the wider philosophical message, it does diddly squat to mitigate the things you are afraid of around such a landmark one. For me, its the knowledge that we still live in a society that lionises youth. Because of gender inequalities, that tends to hit women harder, with greater value and worth placed on our looks. Exhibit A: literally any red carpet event where the men look like theyve just woken up from a nap and the women have clearly spent days on their look.

Admittedly, I didnt take turning 30 well either because landmark birthdays force an unwanted inventory of your life. What you achieved, and more crucially, what you didnt. Turning 40 is similar, but with the additional layer that some things may soon be out of reach, such as having children. I cant say that I definitively want them, or Im sad about it, but I know that when I turned 30, Im pretty sure it was a given that Id have kids by now. Do I mourn what didnt happen or the fact that it may never happen because of biological clocks and whatnot?

The year of hedonism was to overturn that narrative of being past it. To counter the sadness with a lot of fun. To actually be spontaneous for once without over-thinking it. I know that when the clock strikes midnight on my 40th birthday, my bones wont instantly shrivel and become decrepit, but I wanted to use it as an excuse to generate the courage to try the things I always wanted to.

I didnt really date much in my 38th year because I couldnt be bothered, but my 39th year was supposed to be about dating loads. It was about meeting lots of new people, and not putting it off for another year. Travel was also a big one. I was going to try and actually stay at a festival for the whole duration usually I run away after two days because of the lack of showers and garbage. I wanted to finally hire a car and drive around Italy, something I have always wanted to do but kept putting off because the driving on the wrong side of the road scared me. I wanted to do the trek to Mount Everests base camp because I felt it would make me feel strong and capable. Beyond travel, I also wanted to change my personal life by pushing myself out of my comfort zone and socialising with people I didnt know (something Im notorious for hating), and take the next step with newer friendships by going on holiday with them.

But above all, I wanted to live this year with a sense of bravery and limitlessness, because I wanted it to teach me the lesson that age really is just a number, and that I was still capable of having fun, and being fun too.

Coronavirus obviously put a stop to all of that, and while it isnt exactly the worst problem to have, there is a clear sense after three months in lockdown, that this isnt going to be the year I thought I would have. Although I had a tantrum at the lost time I wouldnt get back (yes, you can still have tantrums in your late 30s), that has distilled into a sense of sharpness and focus around what is important. For a start, I had Covid-19, and now that Im in the middle of a slow recovery, I know Im lucky that it wasnt worse. But also, the things that make us scared of turning 40 or any landmark year for that matter almost always come from things externally, rather than how we feel inside.

Internally, I feel amazing. I dont feel past it. I dont feel like Im even halfway done

My friend joked that she is going to start lying about her age, and I said actually, it is important that we dont. Forty feels so bad because we associate it with being ill or things going wrong, or we think we wont be able to do as much, or because we simply havent had the right role models. We think of when our parents turned 40 and maybe we dont want that for ourselves.

Internally, I feel amazing. I dont feel past it. I dont feel like Im even halfway done. Health problems can happen to you at any age, so turning 40 is just a chance to make sure you take care of yourself a bit better, not an inevitability that parts are going to fall off. Being visible and being okay with being 40 is really important to setting the example to others around you, and especially to our kids and nieces and nephews.

So if I didnt get to do my year of hedonism, thats perfectly alright. All turning 40 will do is to sharpen my focus around what it is that I really do want, rather than having to commit to some mid-life crisis bucket list. Life doesnt end or even begin at 40, it just continues, and hopefully for the better. And for now, thats actually all I need or want.

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It’s another coronavirus casualty: the sad death of spontaneity – Sydney Morning Herald

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I wouldn't say going out has become a chore, but it has certainly taken on chore-ish qualities. You can't just rock up any more. Do they have room for you? How many of you are there? What if some people can only tentatively commit to coming? Do you book for the maximum and risk turning up short? Or do you underplay it and risk getting turned away?

Booking a table at a pub used to be akin to wearing socks with thongs: anathema to our way of life. Regrettably it crept its way into the mainstream. Now, under COVID-19, it's almost unavoidable.

The brief era of the introvert may be over, but now it's the organised extrovert's time to shine.

It's the same at the local pool, where you now need to lock in a time to swim your laps; and at the gyms, which reopened this weekend, where you'll have to nab a spot in miniature fitness classes or reserve time on the machines.

Booking is, in and of itself, a bit of a downer. Boring old adults book things. It's about committing to a predetermined path, instead of going where the circumstances lead you.

The best nights are always spontaneous, unencumbered by the weight of expectation. The drinks after work that lead to dinner with some people you only just met which morphs into karaoke and dancing and who knows what else. Hedonism can't have a start and an end time.

Of course, we know not everyone shares this particular brand of joie de vivre. There are those that thrive on order, precision and predictability, and who probably love the idea of being enslaved to a 90-minute "dining window" at a restaurant.

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The brief era of the introvert may be over, but now it's the organised extrovert's time to shine. That friend who books in catch-up weeks in advance. The one with the meticulously organised calendar. The one who always makes a reservation and shows up five minutes early. This is their moment.

I don't want to yuck anyone's yum, because we need these people in the world, making lists and spreadsheets and calendar invites, and generally keeping the show functioning. Let's face it: if things were in the hands of the disorganised extroverts, it would be chaos.

But in these shackled times, let's not lose our sense of spontaneity entirely. When the world opens up properly we're going to want a return to the random, the unpredictable, the unplanned and the haphazard. Because booking a table at a pub still sucks.

Michael Koziol is deputy editor of The Sun-Herald, based in Sydney.

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The Roles Are L.G.B.T.Q., but the Movies Are Not About Self-Discovery – The New York Times

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After making it through decades of stereotyping as villains or tragic figures, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters often ended up being corralled into a relatively limited range of story lines involving a form of coming out, from sexual or emotional awakening to figuring out ones gender identity.

Some of these stories have spawned artistically accomplished movies, of course, and they have provided necessary guidance, hope and succor for many viewers. At the same time, L.G.B.T.Q. characters are perfectly able to shoulder the broad range of narrative challenges routinely afforded their straight or cisgender counterparts.

The past decade has seen a surge of films that have eschewed self-discovery narratives and propelled these characters into wonderfully complicated directions. In honor of Pride Month, here are nine worth watching.

Lisa Cholodenkos Golden Globe-winning, very funny drama captures seemingly banal domesticity with a generous, quietly acidic manner. Annette Bening and Julianne Moores Nic and Jules enjoy a normcore upper-middle-class life with their teenage children, but the idyllic family portrait shows cracks which deepen further after the kids (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) track down their sperm-donor father (Mark Ruffalo). When the family unit eventually circles the wagons, the movie subtly makes us think about the very meaning of conformity.

Stream it on HBO; buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

2012

A cursory synopsis of Ira Sachss drama reveals the plot points that once haunted sanctimonious, homophobic novels and movies about gay life: promiscuity, addiction, lies, anomie look at these poor people! But Sachs tracks the evolving relationship between two messed-up men with a clear eye and a compassionate heart. Erik (Thure Lindhardt) and Paul (Zachary Booth) are not types but imperfect humans, fumbling around in circumstances informed by their gayness but also separate from it. Of particular note is the films haunting soundtrack, assembled from tracks by Arthur Russell.

Stream it on Amazon Prime and Sundance Now; buy or rent it from iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

2015

I promise, no drama, says Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez). Her best friend, Alexandra (Mya Taylor), can only roll her eyes: Sin-Dee runs on drama, as if it were a source of renewable energy. The pair, both transgender sex workers, spend a day zigzagging across Los Angeles by foot, bus, subway and cab in Sean Bakers high-octane, brilliantly directed Tangerine. The movie is built like an escalating farce, rich in visual gags and sustained by machine-gun dialogue worthy of the best screwball comedies albeit a lot blunter. And there is so much heart. The outsiders who people the movie are too often mocked, or worse; here, they are allowed to forge complicated bonds that dont minimize harsh realities but allow for warmth and mutual support.

Stream it on Hulu; buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

In a strange land out of time and place, Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and Evelyn (Chiara DAnna) lead a cozy domestic life punctuated by elaborate dominance-and-submission scenarios. Evelyns kinky demands, however, are starting to get on Cynthias nerves. That is the entire plot of the British filmmaker Peter Stricklands mesmerizing third feature, which occupies a niche of one: the fetishistic lesbian lepidopterist fairy tale. Combining detached precision and a dreamy haze the neo-psychedelic score feels like a third major character the film scrutinizes the fine changes in the power dynamics between the women with surprisingly effective touches of deadpan humor.

Stream it on Hulu; buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, iTunes and YouTube.

2015

There are two May-December pairings in Paul Weitzs comedy about getting old and getting on with life. The first is between the blunt, quick-witted poet Elle (Lily Tomlin) and the gentle Olivia (Judy Greer). The second, more fully developed one, is actually more February-December and connects Elle and her teenage granddaughter, Sage (Julia Garner), who needs $600 for an abortion. So much could go wrong in Elle and Sages daylong odyssey to raise the cash, but Weitz never gives in to facile drama and continually stymies our expectations the film is always funny, but you may also find yourself choking back a few tears.

Buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

2017

Marinas partner, Orlando, dies of an aneurysm right after her birthday. As if this werent shattering enough, she isnt afforded the luxury of grieving properly: His family is determined to negate her very identity and the police even try to criminalize her. You see, Marina (Daniela Vega) is transgender. Add a certain age difference with Orlando, and their relationship automatically becomes suspect to judgmental eyes. The film is never tearjerky while being extremely moving, and, refreshingly, the Chilean director Sebastin Lelio and his star do not turn Marina into a heroic activist. A Fantastic Woman is a portrait of an individual quietly, stubbornly fighting for her humanity.

Buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

For their one-year anniversary, Jackie (Hannah Emily Anderson) has brought her wife, Jules (Brittany Allen), to her lakeside childhood home. Viewers, of course, know better than to relax: the movies theme song includes the recurring lyric Theres a demon inside. Written and directed by Colin Minihan, What Keeps You Alive is an efficient, economical thriller in which a celebration of love descends into a gory nightmare. Psychopathy, it turns out, is an equal-opportunity affliction that does not care about sexual orientation though having the main relationship in a horror movie be a lesbian one niftily twists the genres reliance on the often fraught interplay between men and women.

Stream it on Showtime; buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

2018

Drawing from the memoir by the forger Lee Israel, Marielle Hellers lovely film has much going for it, including the way it tartly revisits the pairing of a supportive gay best friend and a charismatic female lead. Here, Richard E. Grants Jack Hock is the gadfly, often unreliable confidante of Melissa McCarthys Lee, a frumpy lesbian saddled with a cat, frustrated longings and thwarted literary ambitions. This description of Lee is only partially accurate, though, because as in the best movies, Can You Ever Forgive Me? has compassion for its flawed protagonist. Lee is a complicated character who is not traditionally likable but is ceaselessly compelling she is witty and smart, and makes bad choices for good reasons. You never not root for her.

Buy it on Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

2019

Vanessa Paradiss Anne is obsessed with Los (Kate Moran), the woman who has left her. Love me! Love me!, Anne wails in a pouring rain. If the scene feels a tad dramatic, rest assured that it barely scratches the surface of Yann Gonzalezs bananas movie. We are in a fantasmatic version of late-1970s hedonism, and Anne directs gay porn flicks while a masked serial killer lays grisly waste to her actors his weapons include a switchblade dildo. Gonzalez was clearly influenced by Mario Bava and Dario Argentos highly stylized, operatic violence, but his queering of horror feels very now rather than fetishistically retro.

Stream it on Shudder; buy or rent it on Amazon Prime, Mubi and iTunes.

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The Price of Peace by Zachary D Carter review how liberals betrayed Keynes – The Guardian

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John Maynard Keynes lived through two world wars as well as the great depression between them, and as an economic adviser to British and American governments did his best to fend off political disaster. But Zachary Carters solid, sombre intellectual biography begins at a moment when Keynes himself, in his private capacity, seemed to be causing a seismic upset. The Universe totters, Lytton Strachey informed his cronies in the Bloomsbury set in 1922: the cataclysm had happened because Keynes whose previous lovers, conscientiously indexed in his archives, were a troupe of nameless men, among them the shoemaker of the Hague and the clergyman had taken up with a woman, the Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova.

By starting with this salacious titbit, Carter enticingly sexes up a book that soon settles down, as Keynes did, to be grimly serious. When he married Lopokova, Keynes gave up the sportive pursuit known in Bloomsbury as buggery and, as he saltily put it, relished being foxed and gobbled by his wife. Cultivating what he called a disgusting and financial state of mind, he became a public man so loftily impersonal that in an obituary in 1946 his former adversary Lionel Robbins called him God-like.

But conservatives have never stopped alluding to his libertine youth as a means of disparaging his assault on balanced budgets and penny-pinching austerity. Joseph Schumpeter, an Austrian toff who wore riding gloves when he lectured at Harvard, sniffed that because Keynes was childless, his principles of economic management were short-run indifferent to future outcomes. The slur was recently repeated by Niall Ferguson. In 1983 William Rees-Mogg the proud begetter of jiving Jake, choreographer of the Westminster conga diagnosed Keyness hostility to the gold standard as a symptom of the amoralism for which homosexuals were in his view notorious.

Carter wastes no time on such odious aspersions, and instead interprets the hedonism of Bloomsbury as a positive influence on Keynes, whose ideal aim was the democratisation of fine living. Economy began as a miserly, parsimonious business: the Greek word refers to the virtuous practice of making do with less. Keynes, however, saw it as a doctrine that preached joy through statistics.

Im dubious about Carters claim that KeynessEconomic Consequences of the Peacedeserves to be ranked with StracheysEminent Victoriansand EliotsThe Waste Landas a modernist masterpiece; he does a better job of presenting the economist as an artist manqu when he suggests that Keynes saw money as something illusory a fiction, or what linguists call a floating signifier. Keynes daringly acknowledged his reliance on artifice by describing economic policy as a meaningless ritual, a trick to ensure that we continue spending the abstract, notional contents of our wallets.

The price of peace in 1918 was a grand scheme devised by Keynes that proposed sending money round in a circle, paid out to Germany as funds for rehabilitation and then paid back as reparations. Carter admiringly likens this arrangement to the mad machines in Rube Goldbergs cartoons; it might have held the squabbling world together for a while if President Woodrow Wilson hadnt bluntly rejected the elaborate, deceptive rules of the game.

Economics, for Keynes a form of play, was underpinned by aesthetics. An off-hand metaphor revealed his partiality: in Britains imperial heyday, he said the Bank of England was the conductor of the international orchestra. He reminded governments of their duty to subsidise entertainers, whose divine gift brightened our lives. His utopia was the Covent Garden theatre which is now the Royal Opera House, where he first saw Lopokova dance with Diaghilevs company. When it reopened in 1946, under the auspices of the newly established Arts Council, money ran out before the auditoriums lampshades had been paid for. Women hired as usherettes therefore donated their rationed clothing coupons to buy the fabric. This small sacrifice moved Keynes to tears.

Keynes dies two-thirds of the way through Carters book, which goes on to follow the contested afterlife of his ideas in America. Although Republicans denounced the welfare state as a socialist conspiracy, what John Kenneth Galbraith called reactionary Keynesianism seized on war as the highest form of deficit spending and, rather than diverting funds into something like the NHS, kept the country permanently militarised, poised for campaigns of mass death in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile Keyness dream of making great art and beautiful evenings available to all citizens dwindled into the tacky abundance of the affluent society. Consumption, Keynes declared in 1936, is the sole end and object of all economic activity. What would he have thought of consumerism and the mile-long queues of famished shoppers in car parks when Ikea reopened earlier this month?

In Carters persuasive account, the slippery triangulations of Clinton and Blair are the final betrayal of Keynes: neoliberalism set markets free, unleashed speculators, and opened the way to a globalisation that treated people as disembodied profit maximisers and crammed them into Hillary Clintons basket of deplorables. Finally Carter admits that the Keynesian recipe for peace and prosperity has proved tragically incapable of sustaining democracy. Why did economic losers in the red states allow a demagogue like Trump to rip them off? Why do Tories crave a no-deal Brexit that will impoverish us all?

I do not have satisfying answers, says Carter with a morose shrug, after which he worries that we are blundering back into the moral quagmire that Keynes hoped to avoid. The book ends with an alarming reminder that victories for democracy and equality the end of slavery in the 19th century and the defeat of fascism in the 20th came at the end of a gun.

Keynes rebuffed criticism of his short-run solutions by pointing out: In the long run, we are all dead. True enough, but in the immediate future, as economies stall and societies fray, we may face a fate worse than death. The universe is tottering all over again.

The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynesby Zachary D Carter is published by Random House($35)

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The Price of Peace by Zachary D Carter review how liberals betrayed Keynes - The Guardian

Neocortex Will Be First-of-Its-Kind 800,000-Core AI Supercomputer – HPCwire

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Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC a joint research organization of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh) has won a $5 million award from the National Science Foundation to build an AI supercomputer designed to accelerate AI research in pursuit of science, discovery and societal good. The new machine, called Neocortex, couples two Cerebras CS-1 AI servers with a shared-memory HPE Superdome Flex server. PSC will make Neocortex available to researchers across the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) later this year.

Each Cerebras CS-1 is powered by one Cerebras Wafer Scale Engine (WSE) processor, which contains 400,000 AI-optimized cores implemented on a 46,225 square millimeter wafer with 1.2 trillion transistors. A front-end HPE Superdome Flex server will handle pre- and post-processing of data flowing in and out of the WSE processors. The HPE Superdome Flex is provisioned with 32 Intel Xeon CPUs, 24 terabytes of memory, 205 terabytes of flash storage, and 24 network interface cards.

The Superdome Flex connects to each CS-1 server via 12 100 gigabit Ethernet links, providing 1.2 terabits per second of bandwidth between the machines. Thats enough bandwidth to transfer 37 HD movies every second, said Nick Nystrom, chief scientist, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. The Neocortex team is considering implementing the network on a single switch to explore allowing the two CS-1s to interface directly at 1.2 terabits per second.

The WSE processor inside the CS-1 provides 9 petabytes per second of on-die memory bandwidth, equivalent to about a million HD movies per second, by Nystroms math.

Neocortex (named after the region of the brain responsible for higher-order brain functions, including language processing) is the first CS-1 installation funded by the NSF and the first publicly announced CS-1 cluster. Cerebras debuted its Wafer Scale Engine last August at Hot Chips and the CS-1 system unveiling followed at SC19 in November. The Department of Energy was the flagship customer; single-node CS-1 systems are deployed at Argonne National Lab and Lawrence Livermore National Lab.

Describing the impetus for the technology partnering, Nystrom said that PSC saw the opportunity to bring together the best of two worlds the extreme deep learning capability of the server CS-1, and the extreme shared memory of the Superdome Flex with HPE.

With shared memory, you dont have to break your problem across many nodes. You dont have to write MPI, and you dont have to distribute your data structures. Its just all there at high speed, he added.

Both Cerebras and PSC expressed their expectation that the system will be able to take on a new class of problems, beyond what is available with traditional GPUs.

Were just scratching the surface of sort of a new class of AI models; we know of additional models that have been difficult to get running on graphics processing units and we are extremely eager to be partnering with pioneering researchers to show the world what these models might be able to do, said Andrew Feldman, Cerebras cofounder and CEO. His list of target examples includes models with separable convolutions or models with native and induced sparsity, both coarse and fine grained, graph neural networks with irregular sparse connections, complex sequential models, and very large models where parallelism is desirable.

Even with current best-in-class PSC machines, like the GPU-based Bridges and Bridges-AI, research is constrained, said Paola Buitrago, principal investigator and PSC director of artificial intelligence and big data, noting there is clearly a need for more compute, and fast interconnect and storage.

Artificial intelligence in 2012 started this kind of renaissance, thanks to neural networks being implemented on GPUs, Buitrago shared in an interview with HPCwire. GPUs absolutely do well with matrix operations, which is one of the main operations in our neural networks, but they werent designed for AI. Now with the Cerebras technology, we see a machine that is specifically designed for AI and for the potential optimizations in deep learning. We are excited to explore how it can speed up and transform what is currently happening in deep learning, allowing us to explore more and more ambitious science and reducing the time to curiosity.

Buitrago expects Neocortex to be more powerful than the PSC Bridges-AI system by a few orders of magnitude. Providing further characterization of the systems potential, Cerebras Feldman said the tuned system cluster with Cerebras wafer-scale cores and the pre-processing machine from HPE will have the power of 800-1,500 traditional GPUs, or or about 20 racks worth of graphics processing with a single rack of Cerebras.

Naturally, PSC will be putting Neocortex through its paces to see if this claim bears out. The Neocortex group at PSC has identified a number of benchmarks as being important to the community. These were selected to demonstrate the capability of the system when it hits the ground, and the system will, of course, continue to mature over time, said Nystrom, adding they will be evaluating the system with all the big complex networks that are very challenging right now, including LSTM.

In addition to LSTM, we expect Neocortex will be very good at graph convolutional networks, important in all kinds of science, said Nystrom. And then over time across CNNs. So well be using those initially, and well be engaging early users to demonstrate scientific impact. Thats very important to the National Science Foundation.

Buitrago said that their users who are bounded by current hardware are in large part working on natural language processing and working with transformer type networks, including BERT and Megatron-LM, where the models are quite big with hundreds of millions and billions of parameters, adding, thats a specific use case that we will be enabling with the Neocortex system.

The number of applications that need AI is growing, encompassing virtually all fields of science, many drawing on computer vision, text processing, and natural language processing. We want to explore use cases that come specifically from science streaming needs, said Buitrago. So we are working with cosmology researchers, people doing image analysis for healthcare where they need to [handle] the high resolution images and also images in more than two dimensions and seeing how to address what are the best solutions for those specific use cases.

The project partners are particularly enthused about harnessing AI for social good. Drug discovery, more accurate weather prediction, improved materials for increased solar energy generation and understanding large plant genomes to boost crop yields are just a few of the areas PSC expects will benefit from Neocortex as well as the upcoming Bridges-2 system (see slide below right for system details).

Both Neocortex and Bridges-2 also built with HPE will be deployed in the fall. Were launching two supercomputers in the same season, Nystrom declared. PSC has never done that before.

As with Bridges-2, 90 percent of time on Neocortex will be allocated through XSEDE. Well have a long early user period, but theres also discretionary capacity for industry to work with us too, to use the worlds most advanced AI capability to develop their capacity for industrial competitiveness and for translational research, said Nystrom.

Theres also a concerted focus, via the NSF-funded OpenCompass program, to collect and document best practices for running artificial intelligence at scale and communicate those to the open science community. This dovetails with a mission of PSC to support non-traditional users (from history, philosophy, etc.) and users who are just getting started with AI.

Neocortex will support the most popular deep learning frameworks and will be federated with PSCs new Bridges-2 supercomputer, creating a singularly powerful and flexible ecosystem for high performance AI, data analytics, modeling and simulation.

Both Neocortex and Bridges-2 will be available at no cost for research and education, and at cost-recovery rates for industry users.

PSC will present a tutorial on AI hardware at PEARC (July 26-30) and will be talking more about the Neocortex system and what to expect. More details will be forthcoming at https://pearc.acm.org/pearc20/.

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