Daily Archives: September 3, 2022

Ukraine war and the long tradition of deception – DW (English)

Posted: September 3, 2022 at 5:03 pm

There have been numerous reports that the Ukrainian military is outfoxing the Russians on the battlefield in a modern adaptation of deception tactics that go back to ancient times. Videos posted on social media platforms seem to show Ukrainian forces using US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, against Russian forces with a devastating effect.

Strikes with the long-range rocket artillery system have indeed destroyed large ammunition and fuel dumps deep behind Russian lines in southern Ukraine in recent weeks, wreaking havoc on Russian logistics. So targeting HIMARS is a high priority for Russia.

But now media reports indicate Ukrainian has a fleet of wooden HIMARS replicas set up to draw Russian fire, which reveals the location of Russian weapon placements and leads the Russian military to squander its finite supply of precision missiles. Though made of wood, the HIMARS reproductions bear a strong enough resemblance to their real counterparts, which may well help even the odds Ukraine faces against a larger, better-equipped Russian army.

Though the Ukrainian subterfuge replicates some of the most modern American equipment on the battlefield today, their imitation game is hardly new.

The Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun Tzu recommended this tactic in his military treatise The Art of War, written in the 5th century BCE. There, he called on military commanders to "set up decoys and feign confusion"and cause an enemy to miscalculate the opposing force. "All warfare is based on deception,"Sun Tzu wrote.

While at camp during Rome's Gallic Wars in what is today France and Belgium in the 50s BCE, Julius Caesar stationed some of his legionaries in such a way that they appeared to be a much larger force than they actually were and thereby exaggerated Roman strength. Caesar's accounts of his wars in Europe describe approaching and destroying Gaulish forces that had been distracted by his deceptively large forces at camp.

For centuries, military commandersalso sought to dupe enemy forces with fake equipment. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Confederate troops employed "Quaker guns large wooden logs painted black to look like cannons and named after the pacifist Quaker religious group to trick Union generals. At Centreville, in Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee built extensive fortifications with many rows of Quaker guns, appearing from a distance to be a heavily fortified defensive line.

Wooden so-called Quaker Guns were used in the American Civil War

After the advent of the internal combustion engine and its more widespread application in war, battlefield decoys gained new importance. The tank made its combat debut during World War I(1914-1918). With it, the British Army attempted to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Quickly, both the British and Germans employed dummy tanks, made of wood and painted burlap cloth, to deceive the other side and lead the opponents to overestimate the adversaries' strength.

Although motorized military machines made their widespread operational debut during World War I, Europe's armies were not yet fully motorized but still relied partly on horses to move material across the battlefield. So the armies erected dummy horses made of wooden, blanket-covered frames to deceive enemy reconnaissance pilots' observations from the air.

During World War II (1939 - 1945), Nazi Germany and its allies, as well as the alliance of their opponents practiced deception on a much grander scale. Before the Western Allies crossed the channel and landed in Normandy, France, in 1944, troops in England had already made extensive use of inflatable tanks.

These dummies inflated German estimates of Allied strength, and in combination with false intelligence, this served to convince the Germans that the Allied invasion would take place elsewhere, which helped draw German forces away from the Normandy beaches.

So great was the importance placed on tactical trickery that the United States Army created the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops also known as the Ghost Army which was described as a "traveling road show of deception. Armed with inflatable tanks, trucks, and airplanes, and audio recordings of troop and vehicle movements which blasted out via powerful speaker systems, the American Ghost Army staged large deception operations in Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxembourg and is credited with saving the lives of thousands of US soldiers through their reception.

Both parties to World War Two used dummy tanks made of wood to dupe their enemies

Wartime trickery extends to nonstate actors as well. In 2016, the Iraqi Army captured wooden replicas of Humvees and tanks built by the terrorist Islamic State militia, intended to draw fire from the US-led air campaign. Though they were made primarily of wood, the imitation vehicles appeared genuine from a distance some even had bearded mannequins in the driver seats to complete the deception.

Lacking any airpower, the Islamic State hoped to distract coalition warplanes, negate the allied coalition's advantage in the air, and preserve the Islamic States' fleet of captured trucks, tanks, and personnel carriers.

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

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What are the Wests strategic goals in the Ukraine war? – Brookings Institution

Posted: at 5:03 pm

The Ukraine war and the worlds reaction to it will be a decisive factor in shaping the global political and economic order in the decade ahead. In particular, the Western allies actions, narratives, and planning regarding both Russia and the role of the Global South in Ukraines postwar reconstruction will indicate what their long-term strategic goals are. Does the West simply want to see Russia defeated and NATO enlarged and strengthened, or can it envisage a victory in Ukraine that lays the foundations for a world in which democracy is more secure and global governance more inclusive and effective?

While the outcome of the fighting remains uncertain, the Wests strategic aims, particularly how it intends to treat Russia in the event that Ukraine prevails, will have huge consequences. The big question is whether the allies will seek to punish Russia as a whole by imposing severe reparations or instead target President Vladimir Putins autocratic regime in a way that limits the burdens imposed on the Russian people.

At the beginning of the war, the Western allies emphasized that defending the United Nations Charter and democracy were their primary objectives. In late spring, some U.S. strategists and officials advocated permanently weakening Russiaas a strategic goal, although it is not clear whether this would still be an objective in the event of regime change in Russia.

While any overall settlement of the Ukraine conflict must require Russia to bear some part of the reconstruction burden resulting from a war that it started, the severity of the terms imposed on the Russian people will have political ramifications. The harsher the terms, the more likely it will be that Russia embraces China even more closely, so that a tight Sino-Russian bloc becomes part of the postwar geopolitical order.

The effect of such an alliance should not be underestimated. While China would be the blocs center of gravity, Russias relatively small GDP (which isless than that of Italy) should not lead one to dismiss the countrys scientific capabilities, the size of its nuclear arsenal, its natural-resource wealth, and the strategic importance of its vast territory.

By pursuing measures that treat the Russian people differently than Putin and his autocracy, the worlds democracies might hope to prevent a long-term outcome in which Russia would be lost to them. Banning all Russians from entering the European Union, as some policymakersnow propose, is the type of measure that will push the country toward China. And misleadingly dividing the world into democracies and autocracies comes from the same ineffective, polarizing playbook. When dealing with dictatorships like Putins, a key element of any successful diplomatic strategy is to distinguish between political leaders and ordinary citizens.

True, Russias veto power in the U.N. Security Council made it impossible for the U.N. to play a coordinating role in countering Russias aggression in Ukraine. But the Western allies that assumed that task made little effort to consult the Global South in their decisionmaking, or to involve it in the postwar planning process.

It is of course also true that much of the Global South abstained from voting on thetwo major U.N. General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia in March. But the West should have recognized that developing countries response to the war reflected old and deep-seated reflexesnamely, the bitter collective memory of European colonialism and recollections of the Soviet Unions support for many of these countries during the struggle for independence.

Moreover, theLugano conferenceorganized by the Western allies in early July to launch aplatformfor Ukraines reconstruction did not include any countries from the Global South. One could argue that this was primarily a donors meeting, but it excluded rich Gulf states and included countries such as Albania and North Macedonia, neither of which is likely to be able to contribute.

Rebuilding Ukraine will requirehundreds of billions of dollars. This effort thus risks diverting substantial aid from the Global South, which is still trying to get rich countries to fulfill their longstandingpledgeto provide $100 billion per year to support climate-change mitigation and adaptation in poorer countries. It will also be interesting to see the extent to which the procurement rules for reconstruction projects in Ukraine will allow non-donor developing countries to bid effectively.

But it may not be too late for the West to involve the Global Southparticularly countries like India and South Africa, which have good technical capacities in certain sectorsin Ukraines reconstruction. The West should also include developing countries in setting the rules regarding possible remaining sanctions against Russia after the first phase of a settlement, as well as the regulations governing frozen Russian assets.

In the event that Ukraine prevails, the Wests treatment of Russia and its stance toward the Global South during Ukraines reconstruction will determine whether the wars outcome serves as the launchpad for global progress toward a more inclusive and equitable multilateralism. In the worst case, the West will have a achieved a pyrrhic victory that ends up strengthening autocracy and further deepening global divisions.

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Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk refuses to shake hands with Victoria Azarenka over perceived silence regarding war – ESPN

Posted: at 5:03 pm

Sep 1, 2022

Aishwarya KumarESPN.com

NEW YORK -- After her straight-set loss to former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands with her Belarusian opponent. Instead, she raised her racket for a quick tap.

Kostyuk, who has been vocal about her unhappiness about Russian and Belarusian players' silence on the tour, said it was not appropriate to shake hands with Azarenka at the news conference after the match.

"It was my choice -- I don't feel like I don't know any single person who condemned the war publicly, and the actions of their government, so I don't feel like I can support this," she told ESPN.

"Don't get me wrong, she's a great competitor. But, it has nothing to do with her being a human being," Kostyuk added.

After the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., Ukrainian player Dayana Yastremska also refused to shake hands with Azarenka after the match. Yastremska fled Ukraine with her younger sister days after the Russian invasion began in February.

Belarus has been sanctioned by the United States for its "support" and "facilitation" of the invasion.

Kostyuk said that Azarenka has not reached out to her to have a conversation since the beginning of the war. Kostyuk said given Azarenka's reach both in Belarus and as a part of the WTA's Players' Council, she should use her voice to condemn the war.

Kostyuk also said she had texted Azarenka Wednesday after her practice session to "warn her" that she will not shake hands with her after the match today. Kostyuk also said she wanted to have a broader conversation with Azarenka on the war and hear her thoughts on where the Belarusian stood. Kostyuk said Azarenka responded that she was not on-site, and so they did not have the conversation.

Azarenka was removed from last week's USTA's Peace for Ukraine event -- a humanitarian event to raise funds for Ukraine -- after Kostyuk expressed her discomfort with Azarenka's participation in an interview with Ukrainian outlet BTU. Kostyuk said she refused to participate in the event as a result.

"Imagine there is World War II and there is a fundraiser for Jewish people and a German player wants to play," Kostyuk said of her decision following Thursday's match.

Immediately following Kostyuk's news conference, Azarenka told reporters that she had reached out via the WTA to have conversations with Ukrainian athletes in the past few months.

"I've been told it's not a good time," she said.

Azarenka added that she didn't have a close relationship with Kostyuk, and has never had a conversation with her, but has reached out to other Ukrainian players to listen and build relationships with them and would be willing to have a face-to-face with Kostyuk.

"I'm open to any time to listen, to try to understand, to sympathize. I believe that empathy in the moment like this is really important, which has, again, been my clear message in the beginning," she said.

Regarding the Peace for Ukraine fundraiser event, Azarenka said she was asked to participate in it and immediately agreed to do it, as "it's a no-brainer for me. Like, why wouldn't I participate in a humanitarian aid for people who are really struggling right now," she said.

"I thought that this was a gesture that really shows commitment," Azarenka said. "I'm not sure why it wasn't taken it that way."

Azarenka also said that she has had a clear message from the beginning of the war.

"I'm here to try to help, which I have done a lot. Maybe not something that people see. And that's not what I do it for. I do it for people who [are] in need, juniors who need clothes, other people who need money or other people who needed transportation or whatever. That's what is important to me, to help people are in need."

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Ukraine rallies in the end, tops Estonia 74-73 at EuroBasket – USA TODAY

Posted: at 5:03 pm

MILAN (AP) Ukraine held the lead for all of 55 seconds in its EuroBasket game against Estonia on Saturday.

They were the final 55 seconds.

Illya Sydorovs layup gave Ukraine its first lead of the game, and the war-torn nations team moved to 2-0 in the European championship tournament by topping Estonia 74-73 in a Group C matchup.

Its a super important game for us, Sydorov said. The main goal, why we get this win, is because we fight until the end and we stayed together for all four quarters.

It was a massive victory for Ukraine, which has its three toughest games of Group C play against Croatia, Italy and Greece still looming.

But its likely that Ukraine already has done enough to earn a spot in the second round, regardless of what happens in those three remaining contests.

And that is an enormous lift for a team carrying the weight of representing a country that has been devastated by the war that Russia started by invading nearly seven months ago.

Our main goal was to beat Great Britain and Estonia, Sydorov said. We all understand the main part was to win both games, and we did, and were very happy about it.

Svi Mykhailiuk led Ukraine with 18 points. Volodymyr Herun scored 12 and Sydorov added 11.

Maik-Kalev Kotsar led Estonia (0-2) with 17 points.

GROUP C

CROATIA 86, GREAT BRITAIN 65

Croatia outscored Great Britain 35-9 in the third quarter, building a 35-point lead, and cruised to a win.

Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric and Ivica Zubac each scored 15 for Croatia (1-1), while Mario Hezonja finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Myles Hesson scored 18 and Patrick Whelan finished with 14 for Great Britain (0-2).

GROUP B

FRANCE 77, LITHUANIA 73

At Cologne, Germany, France rallied from a 13-point deficit and took the lead for good on Evan Fournier's 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining.

Fournier led all scorers with 27 points for France (1-1).

Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 for Lithuania (0-2), which got 14 from Rokas Jokubaitis, 13 from Marius Grigonis, 12 from Ignas Brazdeikis and nine rebounds from Domantas Sabonis.

GERMANY 92, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 82

Germany used an 18-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to erase what was an 11-point deficit and take the lead for good.

Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder each scored 18 for Germany (2-0), which got 14 points from Johannes Thiemann and 13 from Andreas Obst.

Dzanan Musa scored 30 and Jusuf Nurkic added 21 for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-1).

GROUP A

MONTENEGRO 76, BELGIUM 70

Bojan Dubljevic scored 21 points and Montenegro (1-1) led nearly the entire way against Belgium (1-1).

Kendrick Perry scored 19 and Vladimir Mihailovic added 14 for Montenegro, which survived getting outscored 20-8 in the fourth quarter.

Retin Obasohan led all scorers with 25 for Belgium, and Manu Lecomte scored 10.

TURKEY 101, BULGARIA 87

Cedi Osman scored 25 points, Alperen Sengun added 20 and Turkey (2-0) used an 18-6 run in the fourth quarter to pull away.

Shane Larkin had 13 points and nine assists for Turkey. Aleksandar Vezenkov led Bulgaria (0-2) with 28 points, while Chavdar Kostov scored 15 and Dee Bost finished with 12 points and 13 assists.

SPAIN 90, GEORGIA 64

Willy Hernangomez scored 14 points, Jaime Pradilla added 12 and Spain (2-0) used a balanced attack on the way past Georgia (0-2).

Spain used 12 players; nine of them had at least seven points.

Rati Andronikashvili led Georgia with 13 points.

GROUP D

FINLAND 89, POLAND 59

At Prague, Sasu Salin scored 18 points, Lauri Markkanen added 17 and Finland (1-1) had no problem with Poland (1-1).

Elias Valtonen scored 12 for Finland. Mateusz Ponitka and Michal Sokolowski each had eight points for Poland.

SERBIA 81, CZECH REPUBLIC 68

Two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Serbia (2-0) led by as many as 23 in its win over the Czech Republic (0-2).

Vasilije Micic scored 13 for Serbia, Vanja Marinkovic had 11 and Nikola Kalinic added 10.

Vit Kerjci and Vojtech Hruban had 13 points apiece for the Czech Republic.

SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE

Group A and Group B are in action, while Group C and Group D get the day off.

In Group A, Bulgaria meets Montenegro, Spain faces Belgium and Turkey plays Georgia. In Group B, Lithuania squares off with Germany, Slovenia plays Bosnia and Herzegovina, and France meets Hungary.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Operational Update: Medicines Arrive in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Resilient Power for Lebanon, and More – Ukraine – ReliefWeb

Posted: at 5:03 pm

More than 1.8 million pounds of medical aid have been shipped to Ukraine since February. Shipments continued this week to Ukraine, as well as 11 other countries.

ver the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 307 shipments of requested medical aid to 39 US states and territories and 12 countries worldwide.

The shipments contained 5.4 million defined daily doses of medication, including antibiotics, insulin, antihistamines, cardiovascular medications, and more.

This week Direct Relief and Anera, a local NGO in Lebanon, announced an effort to establish reliable energy at medical clinics in the country. With solar panels, inverters, and batteries donated by Direct Relief, Anera will support four medical centers throughout Lebanon with solar power systems that will increase access to quality health services for refugees.

Since February 24, Direct Relief has provided medical aid to Ukraine weighing more than 1.8 million pounds, or 900 tons, with more on the way.

Over the past seven days, shipments including wound care supplies, PPE, nutritional supplements, and more departed Direct Reliefs warehouse in California bound for Ukraine.

Pakistan has endured an extreme and unprecedented monsoon season, leading to more than 1,000 deaths and causing widespread destruction of homes and public infrastructure.

Direct Relief is preparing a shipment of insulin, in coordination with Life for a Child, for distribution to 10 hospitals and healthcare facilities in Pakistan.

The shipment from Direct Relief contains enough long-acting insulin for 3,773 children and young adults under the age of 25 living with Type 1 Diabetes.

Direct Relief is also helping to inform response efforts by working with the World Food Program to analyze population movements and assess where evacuations have taken place and where aid may be needed.

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Chernyshov discusses reconstruction of Ukraine with American NGOs – Ukrinform

Posted: at 5:03 pm

Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov has discussed the reconstruction of Ukraine with American non-governmental organizations and analytical centers.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development

"As part of the visit to the United States of the government delegation led by Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov, a meeting was held with American non-governmental structures and analytical centers. The further reconstruction of Ukraine was discussed and the Ukrainian government program Rapid Recovery for Survival was represented, the report reads.

It is noted that Chernyshov named ensuring the stable passage of the heating season as main current challenge. Ukraine will also work on restoring infrastructure: housing, healthcare and educational institutions, kindergartens, utility facilities, roads, and bridges.

The minister emphasized that the government is getting ready for all possible crisis situations and has a developed work plan, quality and cost control tools, but needs financial assistance from partners to confront the enemy and survive in difficult conditions.

As reported, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will cooperate in restoring Ukrainian communities. Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko has already held more than 20 meetings with ambassadors of various countries regarding the restoration of Ukraine.

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JWST takes a peek at the first ever galaxies – Astrobites

Posted: at 4:59 pm

Title: Panic! At the Disks: First Rest-frame Optical Observations of Galaxy Structure at z>3 with JWST in the SMACS 0723 Field

Authors: Leonardo Ferreira, Nathan Adams, Christopher J. Conselice, Elizaveta Sazonova, Duncan Austin, Joseph Caruana, Fabricio Ferrari, Aprajita Verma, James Trussler, Tom Broadhurst, Jose Diego, Brenda L. Frye, Massimo Pascale, Stephen M. Wilkins, Rogier A. Windhorst, Adi Zitrin

First Authors Institution: University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

Status: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters, available on arXiv

Ever since the first data release of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in July, it has become clear that this telescope is going to completely transform our view of the distant Universe. Galaxies that looked like featureless blobs when viewed through the Hubble Space Telescope can now be resolved in incredible detail (see Figure 1), despite the fact that Hubble has been one of the worlds leading telescopes for the past 30 years.

Figure 1: Four galaxies from the SMACS 0723 field (the focus of todays paper), as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope (right). Each one displays features that were undetected with Hubble, but can easily be seen with JWST. Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI.

Being able to measure the shapes of galaxies (known as their morphology) is vital if we want to understand how galaxies, including our own, were formed. Galaxies typically come in two shapes: thin, delicate disk-shaped galaxies, and spheroid-shaped elliptical galaxies, but it is still not really clear how and when these different galactic structures emerged. Todays paper uses early JWST observations of a large galaxy cluster, called SMACS 0723, to measure the shapes of very distant galaxies. With this exciting new data, the authors hope to expand our knowledge of galaxy evolution all the way to the very dawn of our Universe.

This photo of SMACS 0723 is one of the first images to be released from JWST. The cluster is located about four billion light years away at a redshift of 0.4, but todays paper actually looks at even more distant galaxies, in the background of this image many of these have been magnified by the gravitational lensing of the cluster. Specifically, it looks at 280 background galaxies at redshifts between 1.5 and 8, meaning we are seeing them just 1-4 billion years after the beginning of the Universe.

The authors firstly measure galaxy shapes using quantitative properties of galaxies, such as their concentration and asymmetry. Their really exciting findings, however, come from classifying these galaxies by eye, splitting them into three categories: disks, spheroids, and peculiars.

Galaxies in this third class have an irregular shape, which can be caused by processes such as starbursts or tidal interactions. Alternatively, collisions between galaxies (known as galaxy mergers) that are currently in-progress can lead to these peculiar galaxies. These violent events are thought to play a major role in galaxy evolution: in the early Universe mergers allow large amounts of mass to clump together, which can later form a galactic disk. Later on, they can destroy these fragile disk structures, turning disk galaxies into featureless ellipticals.

It turns out that at high redshifts (between 3 and 6), about half of galaxies have a disk shape (Figure 2). This is much higher than we previously thought the data from the Hubble telescope shows that it found a disk fraction of less than 10% at similar redshifts! Interestingly, according to JWST, the disk fraction also stays roughly constant across the whole range of redshifts.

Figure 2: Fraction of spheroid, disk, and peculiar galaxies at different redshifts, measured with JWST in todays paper, and with Hubble (HST) in previous work. The trends found by Hubble had predicted the number of disks would decrease at redshifts greater than three, and that most galaxies would be peculiar. JWST shows that this is not the case. Figure 4 in todays paper.

Our current idea that mergers assemble galaxies in the early Universe means that we would expect to find lots of peculiar galaxies and few disks at high redshift, as these disks are still in the process of forming. However, the near-constant disk fraction found in this study indicates that disk galaxies (like the Milky Way) have existed in a fairly stable state for more than 10 billion years, seemingly contradicting our old ideas.

So whats going on? There are several ways to interpret these results. It could be that almost all mergers occur extremely early in the Universe, quickly forming disk galaxies, and that these disks survive until the present day because recent mergers are far less common than our current theories suggest. Alternatively, it could be that only some classes of galaxies are built up by mergers, or even that mergers are simply far less likely to destroy disk structures than we previously thought.

Whatever the case, it indicates that we may need to refine current theoretical ideas about how galaxies assemble and evolve through mergers, which is one of the key predictions of our widely-accepted model of the Universe (the Lambda cold dark matter, or CDM, model). Some articles based on this work have gone a step further, stating that this research disproves CDM, or even the Big Bang. However, despite the homage to noughties emo-pop in the title of this paper, theres really no reason to panic. Tuning and re-tuning theories to fit new data is a normal part of the scientific process. In fact, this paper is exciting: it tells us that we still do not truly know where galactic structure came from, but that new science carried out using this new telescope will finally give us a chance to understand the origins and lives of galaxies.

Astrobite edited by Aldo Panfichi

Featured image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

About Roan HaggarI'm a PhD student at the University of Nottingham, working with hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters to study the evolution of infalling galaxies. I also co-manage a portable planetarium that we take round to schools in the local area. My more terrestrial hobbies include rock climbing and going to music venues that I've not been to before.

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This Is How to Sign Up for the Caesars Kansas Sportsbook Bonus – Saturday Tradition

Posted: at 4:59 pm

Start the weekend off right with this Caesars Kansas Sportsbook bonus and grab a $1,250 first bet for college football. Sports betting is off and running in Kansas.

Caesars Kansas Sportsbook bonus code SATURDAYFULL is the key to unlocking the Full Caesar for this weekends action. Grab a $1,250 first bet in addition to long-term membership benefits with Tier Credits and Reward Credits.

Its almost impossible for a state to launch sports betting at a better time. September is one of the busiest months of the sports calendar and it leads to a busy fall. Caesars Kansas is starting off hot with a trio of bonuses for players who get in on the action today.

New players who sign up with promo code SATURDAYFULL will qualify for this Caesars Kansas Sportsbook bonus. Click here to get started.

Before we dive into all the benefits that come with this Caesars Kansas Sportsbook bonus, lets take a minute to break down this $1,250 first bet. For new players in Kansas, the Full Caesar is covering this first wager.

Any losses up to $1,250 will be covered with a free bet. In effect, this promo is providing new players with a second chance should that first wager fall flat. It almost goes without saying, but second chances rarely come around in sports betting.

With a full slate of college football games this weekend, there are tons of options for bettors on Caesars Kansas Sportsbook. Snag this first-bet insurance to help yourself get off on the right foot.

Now, heres a look into the other benefits that come with the Full Caesar in addition to this $1,250 first bet. New members will begin to rack up Tier Credits and Reward Credits that can be used towards unique experiences at physical Caesars locations. This includes hotel benefits, dining perks, entertainment packages, free bets, and more.

Tier Credits are built up over time and stacking these up can unlock the best offers. Meanwhile, Reward Credits are redeemable. Players will use Reward Credits to unlock perks that are offered based on each members Tier.

With Kansas officially launching sports betting today, sports fans can finally start placing bets on college football, NFL, and MLB. Get a head start on September by following these simple steps:

For anyone who already downloaded the app, dont worry about missing out on the Full Caesar. If you downloaded the app, but havent signed up, just use promo code SATURDAYFULL to lock in this offer.

New players who sign up with promo code SATURDAYFULL will qualify for this Caesars Kansas Sportsbook bonus. Click here to get started.

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Uplatform sees "huge success" at G2E Asia showcase with its sportsbook as the main attraction – Yogonet International

Posted: at 4:59 pm

On Friday, sports betting and iGaming platform providerUplatform shared its balance of the G2E Asia showcase, held August 24-26 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore. The company described it as "one of the continent's most significant gaming and entertainment business hubs, and one of Asia's largest events," and deemed its participation a hit.

Uplatform's presence at G2E proved "very successful" for their team, the company said. The company's sportsbook offering became the center of attraction as visitors were "eager to find out more about Uplatform's diverse lineup," which includes worldwide and local sports like Muai Thai, Ping Pong, Kabbaddi, and basketball.

The company's team confirmed that they have seen a rise in interest in their esports portfolio as well, given that in the last few years Asia has grown to account for 54% of all esports revenue.

All in all, the event seems to have been a hit for the brand. "Not only was our outstanding sports betting and casino platform a huge hit at our stand, but so was the cool photo zone and our awesome merchandise giveaways," the company noted in a press statement.

Maria Bashkevich, Head of Marketing, commented: "It was an amazing 3 days at G2E Asia! We were impressed with the turn out of visitors and the level of interest in our products. This goes to show that the sports betting industry is gaining more attention, especially in Asia."

"Our team was delighted to provide our insights on how our offering benefits operators looking to capitalize on the rapidly evolving iGaming and sports betting industry, in Asia and globally," she further noted.

Attending industry gatherings is "a crucial component of shaping Uplatform's platform and the industry's future," according to the company. "Not only by learning more about the latest products and innovations but gaining a better understanding of what the customer and markets need."

The Uplatform team will now be off to Europe for the SBC Barcelona showcase on September 21-22.

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Best sportsbook promotions and odds boosts for today 9/3: MLB and College Football – Pickswise

Posted: at 4:59 pm

Here at Pickswise, we have put together a list of all of the days best odds boosts, which are available from FanDuel Sportsbook and PointsBet Sportsbook. We will also discuss whether or not they are worth playing. Lets dive in.

This prop needs Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees to hit a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays. We have covered this prop plenty of times recently including this week, but will continue to cover it as the sportsbooks continue to offer it! Judge is batting .294 on the season and now has 51 home runs just 3 days into September.

Judge and the Yankees will now face Tampa Bays Clarke Schmidt on Saturday night. He has allowed just 2 home runs in limited action this season, so backing this prop may be best avoided tonight.

Be sure to check out our New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rayspredictions

For this prop, we will need Dylan Cease to record at least 8 strikeouts and the Chicago White Sox to beat the Minnesota Twins. Cease is 12-6 on the season and has an ERA of 2.27. He has recorded 190 strikeouts, the 4th most in the league. In 26 starts this season, Cease has recorded at least 8 strikeouts in 16 of these starts. Also, in his lone start against the Twins, he was able to record 8 strikeouts in what ended up being a 11-0 win. Our experts also like the White Sox to win tonight, so expecting another dominant performance from Cease seems likely, therefore backing this prop looks to be well worth a play.

Be sure to check out our Minnesota Twins vs Chicago White Sox predictions

This prop needs the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes to both win by at least 14 points. The Bulldogs will open their National Championship title defense against the Oregon Ducks, while Ohio State will take on Notre Dame. Georgia lost a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball to the NFL draft. They also lost defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, who is now the head coach at Oregon. Regardless, the Bulldogs are still a legitimate title contender and should be able to make a statement in Week 1.

The same goes for Ohio State, as they return plenty of talent, including quarterback, CJ Stroud. Our experts would lean towards the Buckeyes on the spread, so backing them to win by a couple of touchdowns looks to be worth a play as they are the superior team. Our experts would also look to the Ducks to cover a 3-score spread against the Bulldogs, however; this prop still looks to be worth a play given how much talent Georgia still has returning to the field.

Be sure to check out all of our college football picks for todays action.

Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, MLB Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.

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Best sportsbook promotions and odds boosts for today 9/3: MLB and College Football - Pickswise

Posted in Sportsbook | Comments Off on Best sportsbook promotions and odds boosts for today 9/3: MLB and College Football – Pickswise