Category Archives: New Utopia

ABC 4s own movie critic Patrick Beatty made his biweekly appearance to the GTU set to share his picks of the week for Friday Flicks. This weekend has many new films in theaters and also some new releases on streaming you can watch from the comfort of your home. Kick off the fall season with a cozy night in or a crisp night out at the cinema.

Beatty started the segment informing viewers that the 2009 blockbuster hit Avatar film directed by James Cameron is being re-released with new 3D features. The sequel is scheduled to be released in December 2022. You can catch the original this weekend at theaters all over the state. The film is rated PG-13.

The ever talked about Dont Worry Darling was released today which is directed by Olivia Wilde. Wilde stars in the film alongside her beau Harry Styles as well as Chris Pine, Florence Pugh, Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan, and KiKi Lane. While the spit seen round the world will not be in the film,we do see a suburban Los Angeles 1950s utopia. This is the second film Wilde has directed. This film has beloved casts from both the US and UK. Beatty believes Pugh and Pine have Oscar worthy performances while Styles is good but pales in comparison to the others. Beatty suggests viewers see this film. It is rated R and in theaters.

The Andor series premieres today on Disney+ and is part of the Star Wars series. Beatty has positive comments overall but confesses it does not feel like a traditional Star Wars franchise production. Beatty says this is also very character driven. Beatty believes Diego Luna, lead of the series, does a great job and suggests viewers to see it. Andor is rated TV-14 and is available for streaming for Disney+ subscribers.

Beatty continued the segment talking about Pearl, which is the sequel to horror film X released earlier this year. [This] is the film that Martin Scorsese said that he could not go to sleep after watching. said Beatty. This horror film come at the perfect time, just before spooky season. Beatty recommends this film for those who can stomach slasher films. The film is rated R and is now playing in theaters.

The segment concluded with a commentary on the newest Jeffrey Dahmer series released on Netflix, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Beatty begs the question is we really need another documentary about Jeffrey Dahmer? It can seem a little distasteful to the victims of Dahmer. Molly Ringwald does an amazing performance which is why Beatty says to see it. The series is TV-MA and available for streaming to Netflix subscribers.

For more of Patricks reviews, visit his website and follow him on Instagram or Facebook.

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New movie releases this weekend - ABC4.com

Newly renovated, the oasis of Arizona's Castle Hot Springs has transformed into a luxurious wellness hot spot.

"This is where it all begins," said our driver as we began the 15-mile drive up a windy and rocky dirt road that was more suggestive of an off-roading trail than the entrance to a wellness resort. We were enveloped by jagged mountains and a sea of funny-looking cacti that peered out from the Sonoran Desert in Morristown, Arizona, about an hour north of the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. There was no sign of civilization. Every few miles, a grim 4x4 would drive past us causing a cloud of dust that flung small rocks against the side of the SUV, so it seemed unlikely that a luxury resort would be tucked away anywhere close.

It seemed like the middle of nowhere. We drove past a private mine, and I caught a few glimpses of the 10,000-acre Lake Pleasant Regional Park an outdoor playground for watersports enthusiasts but I couldn't help wondering where these legendary hot springs were going to appear from.

About 20 minutes and several bumps later, we turned a corner and Shangri La finally emerged. A row of towering palm trees stood tall against the rugged 1,100 acres of lush, verdant grounds, a tranquil pond, and 30 stand-alone bungalows. The gates swung open, and we drove down the palm-tree-lined citrus drive. I rolled down my window and stuck my head out to get a whiff of the perfumed air of fresh lemons and orange blossoms. I could hear the relaxing sound of birds chirping as I gazed at butterflies fluttering and ally my senses were starting to slowly awaken.

This was the moment I learned that Castle Hot Springs was more than just a wellness resort. It was utopia. The closer we got to the resort, the farther my daily worries felt. The only thing I was thinking about was what time they'd serve dinner.

I was welcomed with a refreshing fuchsia-colored tea, made with fresh hibiscus grown on the farm. The organic farm spreads across three acres in front of the Lodge, the resort's main building, which houses the check-in desk, Bar 1896, and Harvest, the resort's only restaurant. Before I checked in to my room, I was whisked away for a farm tour with resident Agronomist Ian Beger. A fifth-generation Arizonan, Beger studied agriculture at the University of Arizona and is now the mastermind behind the resort's farm. He also has a personal connection to Castle Hot Springs: His great-great-grandfather, Richard E. Sloan, was the last territorial governor of Arizona and the resort figured into the social milieu way back during his tenure.

"Castle Hot Springs was a big deal in the territory days," Beger said. "It was the wintertime territorial capital of Arizona for a bit. It was pretty big during that time, so my great-great-grandfather frequented here, and they used to spend Christmas here. My great-grandma, we have her on video talking about playing in the spring. My family definitely has a longstanding history her."

The farm is a new addition to the resort. Irrigated from the property's well and event the hot springs water, the lush farm might be unexpected in this remote desert spot, but the dedicated "Flavor Farmers" cultivate and harvest seasonally more than 1,000 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and florals, including their own tomato varieties. From juicy Cara Cara navel oranges to Badger Flame beets, this fresh bounty would make its way into my freshly squeezed carrot and ginger juice in the morning, the comforting tom ka gai soup at lunch, and every farm-to-fork five-course tasting menu I would have during my stay.

During the tour, Beger plucked a small green leaf from the garden and handed it to me. He took a bite, implying that it was my turn to try, and asked me to guess what it was. To my surprise, the sweet-tasting leaf is what we know as stevia or what I like to call Mother Nature's candy. Beger had an acute awareness of the garden as he paced up and down the beds, pointing out edible succulents and eagerly sharing random gardening tidbits like the fact that coriander seeds originated from cilantro flowers.

It made perfect sense for any quest to begin their wellness journey at the farm, the heart and soul of the resort. "It's grounding to see how things are done on the farm, see where the food you're eating comes from, and taste things in the field," Beger said. "We provide the best quality fruits, vegetables, and herbs to the kitchen, the bar, and ultimately our guests. But on a larger scale, we're a central point in the resort and set the standard for sustainability. We really are trying to drive it to a more grounded place. It's the root of the resort in some ways. Obviously, the springs are why we're all here, but we're trying to elevate everything."

The springs have been the main attraction since the resort originally opened in 1896. Castle Hot Springs was a hideaway for presidents and tycoons, including the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts, who frequented the resort for its hot springs, which range from 106 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit and are said to have medicinal properties. But in 1976, a fire broke out and destroyed the main Administration building (now called the Lodge) and caused the iconic resort to fall dormant for about 40 years. In 2014, a husband and wife acquired the resort and spent nearly five years rebuilding and preserving the original infrastructure as much as possible. Like a phoenix, Castle Hot Springs rose from the ashes in 2019 as the remote retreat that's making all the impressive travel hot lists.

Credit not just the setting and the redo but also the all-inclusive, adults-only experience with its slew of wellness classes and outdoor adventures. You can hide yourself away in this exclusive and intimate enclave, or you can be going and going throughout the day. Yoga, meditation, sound baths, hiking, bike riding, mixology, archery, e-bikes, and a custom-built via ferrata with a 200-foot aerial walkway (not for the faint of heart) are just a few of the many adventure-driven and mindfulness activities on offer, many of which are led by Wellness Curator and guru Colleen Inman.

I had spent nearly 24 hours on the property but hadn't yet discovered the historic geothermal waters that I had heard so much about. I decided to wake up early the next day and spend the morning desert soaking. A five-minute walk toward the back of the resort led me to the first and largest of the three springs. A stunning emerald green pool of water with reflections of the soaring palm trees appeared almost like a fortuitous tropical jungle hidden amid an arid desert. Further up, I came across a set of lockers, bathrooms, and other guest amenities. Walking up a few stairs, I passed the second cascading spring. Finally, the third, the most extraordinary, natural spring appeared. It was enclosed with rocks covered in vivid green moss, beautiful striations of black and green hues caused by the minerals over time and the calming sounds of water running.

I was lucky enough to have the hot springs to myself (even though I was told the resort was nearly sold out). I spent the next hour soaking in the warm water surrounded by nothing but nature's beauty. As I took turns dipping in the adjacent springs, it was hard to ignore the history and legends that have passed through and soaked in this same very hot spring. If only these rocks could tell stories...

The healing properties of the mineral-rich springs and the contagious stillness of the mountains were enough to make me overlook the fact that the wellness resort didn't actually have spa facilities. Mother Nature was the restorative space I didn't know I needed. On my last day, I had a Castle Hot Springs signature massage booked in one of the outdoor private cabanas set up alongside the creek where the sounds of nature and flowing water were the soundtrack that instantly made me fall in and out of a deep meditative sleep.

During my stay at Castle Hot Springs, it seemed like time had frozen. For a few lovely days, I was transported into a desert oasis where my mind was as clear as the blue skies and my heart was open to receiving whatever this magical place would teach me. "We aim to find tranquility," Colleen had said during our meditation. And tranquil is exactly how I left Castle Hot Springs.

For more on Castle Hot Springs resort, visit castlehotsprings.com.

From our October 2022 issue.

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Utopia In The Desert - Cowboys and Indians Magazine - Cowboys & Indians Magazine

In 2018, I traveled 4,000 miles to interview a man named Victor Befera about our shared hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. Vic was 92 then. Hes still kicking at 96. Though he spent most of his life as a successful newspaper and marketing man in northern California, Vic grew up on the Mesabi Iron Range in the 1930s. His father, Delmo Befera, fled the poverty of his native Italy at the dawn of the 20th century, eventually arriving in Hibbing.

Delmo told Vic once that facing starvation in the 1890s he had eaten a cat. Though his dad was sheepish about the matter, Vic was in awe of his fathers mysterious journey to America and blabbed the cat story to all his friends.

In school, Vic disturbed his art teacher with his choice of subject. As other children molded busts of Franklin D. Roosevelt or Joe DiMaggio, young Vic sculpted a likeness of Benito Mussolini. His father loved Mussolini. Indeed, in those days, the large Italian-American population of the Iron Range mostly shared Delmos reverence for the Italian founder of the Fascist movement.

In 1926, the year Vic was born, Herman Antonelli, a prominent Italian leader on the Iron Range, spent seven months back in Italy after 34 years in America. He returned with a Fascist party button on his lapel and glowing reviews of the order and industry he saw in the new Italy.

The people are permanently converted to the spirit of Fascism, Antonelli told the Hibbing Daily News in a 1926 story. Probably 70 percent of the Italian population [follows] that belief. People are almost fanatical over it. Mussolini has built the machinery of Fascism and it will remain as powerful when he is gone.

Notably, Antonellis description of early Fascism centered on how the movement made Italians feel, not how it solved problems.

One of the things that appealed to [Antonelli], paraphrased the Daily News in a May 17, 1926 editorial, is that Mussolini keeps everybody at work and he has a line of talk that tends to make them satisfied with their condition. The wages are not to be compared to those of the United States, of course, but your Italian is a homemaker, prudent, careful and always wants to be busy with something of a constructive nature, and that is what the Italian dictator is doing for them.

American wages were nothing special in the 1920s, providing only a fraction of the buying power of modern wages. Italians of the time, like many in Europe, were barely surviving. Thats why hungry people hungry enough to eat a cat turned to Mussolinis Fascism, an incendiary force that pitted powerless groups against one another, inspired the Nazis in Germany and even threatened to take hold in the United States.

For early 20th century Italians, the appeal of Fascism far outweighed its violent warning signs. When rumors of assassination attempts against Mussolini abounded in the mid-1920s, his Fascist supporters rioted in the streets. To preserve order, Mussolini stationed guards around opposition party headquarters and pro-democracy newspapers. This was to protect them. When someone did attempt to kill Mussolini, all hell broke loose. The Fascists became stronger and more brazen each time efforts to oust them failed.

Italian-American labor organizer Carlo Tresca, who had once organized unions in Minnesota, wrote a satirical play about one of the attempts on Mussolinis life. He alleged that the would-be assassin was actually working for Mussolini, a widespread theory at the time. In 1943, a New York mafioso killed Tresca, on Fifth Avenue no less, as a favor to Mussolini.

In authoritarian societies, citizens face the obvious constraints of police and military patrols, but also the mob justice of political fanatics who never face legal consequences for criminal behavior. And then, of course, there are the whispers of spies who might number among your acquaintances. Better, then, to keep your head down. Lo and behold, such caution keeps any community quiet at night. Such was the original brand of Fascism in the 1920s, and so it would be replicated elsewhere ever since.

Victor Beferas dad died in 1941, months before Pearl Harbor. Vic told me he wondered how his father would have squared his admiration for Mussolini with the events of World War II and revelations about the atrocities of the Nazis and their allies. As it was, Vic and his older brother enlisted to fight for the United States against the forces of international fascism.

But defeating fascist armies isnt the same as eradicating fascist ideology. The notion of strong men providing order and protection against the outside world lingers within the deep tissue of society, like chicken pox or syphilis. Whenever there is tumult, it comes back stronger than before.

And we have seen quite some tumult.

In his new book, Slouching Toward Utopia, economist Brad DeLong argues that the 140 years from 1870 to 2010 of the long twentieth century were, I strongly believe, the most consequential years of all humanitys centuries. Dylan Matthews reviewed the book in a Sept. 7, 2022 Vox piece.

We can be skeptical of the claim, given how few detailed accounts from 22,345 B.C. survived to the present. But DeLong makes the point that the technological advances of this period were unparalleled in human history. On the bright side, these advances made it much easier to afford food and survive disease. Such rapid change also puts enormous pressure on old systems, however stress that troubles our slow-to-adapt human bodies and minds.

The gap between rich and poor became more pronounced during this century, creating and then reinforcing class structure among both the poor and the privileged.

Along the way, the corporation has only grown bigger, stronger and less beneficial to humanity. Todays largest companies, like Google, Meta and Amazon, dont even produce tangible products. They spy on us, and then sell troves of the data they collect to advertisers, who then use that data to sell us things we usually dont need.

We see the effects on the environment. Globally, ecosystems are changing faster than can be explained by nature. Here in my northern Minnesota we celebrate the reclaimed iron ore mine dumps, lined with lush, green trees and bike trails. Its an accomplishment, to be sure, but we seldom mention that they cover the beds of rivers that no longer flow and the bones of animals who live elsewhere now, if at all.

We may not be eating cats or breathing coal-choked air, but economic and environmental fears grip us, and we lay our heads on pillows of anxiety each night.

Perhaps this is why a poor Italian born in the 19th century might become a fascist in 1922, and why that worldview holds just as much sway today. The perception of scarce resources, whether true or not, suggests that some chosen category of winners must defeat and destroy losers in order to survive. When people see power as the means and the ends, then the logical outcome is fascism. Its sad conclusion is that there isnt enough for everyone; that some must die and that their fate is deserved.

Last month, I said goodbye to my sister as she flew back to Italy where she and her partner live. Our unwieldy U.S. immigration system prevents them from both finding work here. We discussed the fact that shes flying into a country poised to elect a far-right government led by the Brothers of Italy. On Sunday, Giorgia Melonis coalition won big, electing the most far-right government in Italy since Mussolini.

Indeed, Melonis Fratalia dItalia party occupies the same part of the political spectrum as Mussolinis black-shirted Facisisti. European journalists use the term post-fascist to describe this movement, which leaves me post-confused about the post-meaning of post-words.

The burning torch at the center of the partys logo is the same one from the party formed by Mussolinis surviving allies after his death. Meloni herself praised Mussolini and other strongmen like Russias Vladimir Putin before walking those comments back during the campaign. Her policy priorities might sound familiar: Scaling back rights for the LGBT community; stopping immigration; and banning reproductive choice for women.

Its more than symbolic that what began in Italy has now returned. In a fast-changing world, far-right politics become a bastion for the change-weary. We see this around the globe right now in Brazil, India, Hungary and among the increasingly fanatical views of former President Trumps most zealous supporters. Sometimes the politics swing back to the center or left, but other times those who see the opportunity to create autocracy cannot resist.

Bear in mind, this isnt about lionizing President Biden or the left. The Democratic Party cant solve all our problems. But neither party can advance democratic solutions if one party refuses to participate in democracy. What began as political gamesmanship has evolved into something far more dangerous, replete with warning signs of grassroots authoritarianism.

Much has already been written about the militarization of local police and sheriffs departments. As officers increasingly prepare for war we should not be surprised to see warlike casualties and collateral damage. Thats not to dismiss rising concerns over crime. Drugs and stolen goods represent an enormous, highly consequential part of our economy, and these issues require action.

So lets be clear. Being tough on crime is not fascist, even if it involves more police officers patrolling the streets.

But a militarized police department that operates independently of its citizenry in service of an ideology? That could become fascist quickly, if it isnt already. Many American police and sheriffs departments, including some here in Minnesota, seem perilously close to crossing this line.

Investigations into the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have revealed a network of affiliations between organizations like the Oath Keepers and both leaders and officers in law enforcement agencies. Thats not criminal; but its deeply concerning.

As local sheriff elections take place this fall, note the rise of the term constitutional sheriff. The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies this concept as part of a larger antigovernment, county supremacy movement that recently picked up steam in response to gun control and COVID-19 restrictions. (To be clear: Theres no historical or constitutional scholarship to support the notion that sheriffs can dispense with laws they dont like.)

I live in Itasca County in north central Minnesota, a place that includes the western Mesabi Iron Range. Our outgoing sheriff Vic Williams publicly identified himself as a constitutional sheriff in 2013, refusing to enforce laws or orders that he perceives as in violation of the Second Amendment. He was re-elected twice.

Now hes retiring, and the two candidates who seek to replace him, though supportive of Second Amendment rights, very carefully acknowledged the statutory limits of the office they seek in a Sept. 1 story in the (Nashwauk, Minn.) Scenic Range News Forum.

But that wasnt true of one sheriff candidate in neighboring St. Louis County, which includes most of the Iron Range and Duluth. Though former Duluth police chief Gordon Ramsay and undersheriff Jason Lukovsky won the primary, third-place finisher Chad Walsh is now mounting a write-in campaign. Walsh, a police officer and gun range owner, campaigned openly as a constitutional candidate.

This philosophy that a local sheriff has more power than the state or federal government is extremely radical, and can be used to justify almost anything. The fact that its bubbling so close to the surface is evidence of a perilous political situation.

Look at the imagery of right-wing iconography you see on t-shirts and bumper stickers and hats: tattered flags, skulls, winking nods to violence. Its the imagery of dystopia, fear and, to a lesser extent, pirates. This is what you see at small town ballgames and gas stations.

No, such images are not displayed by all. But such movements need only nibble around the edges of a majority until they have the ability to take everything. Neither the Fascismo in Italy nor the Nazis in Germany won a majority of the votes when they took power. That came later, after they used state authority to weaken their opposition and the infrastructure of democracy and civil society.

Here we have to look at the behaviors of historic fascism: Widespread dissemination of propaganda; destroying faith in elections, weakening the rule of law; vilifying minority groups as threats to the majority; tolerating violence and threats by civilians who support the regime; and, purging the public service of citizens who do not support the movements ideology.

Listen, I get that both sides can reach for examples of these things, but todays Republican Party still under the control of former President Trump demonstrates this pattern with far more regularity and strategic intent. Of course not all conservatives are fascists. But the Republican Party hasnt prioritized conservative policy solutions for more than a decade. Instead it has like Italians 100 years ago embraced the appeal of cultural authoritarianism in the face of widespread social change.

Republicans freed from the constraints of keeping power see this. Outgoing Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers warned recently that some Republican election proposals would devastate American political norms. One bill that would have allowed state legislatures to appoint presidential electors regardless of the election outcome particularly troubled Bowers. He didnt mince words when he told CNN, Welcome to fascism, if the bill had become law.

Unfortunately, only Republicans comfortable with losing primaries or planning to retire seem able to say this.

Former GOP operative Tim Miller talks about this phenomenon in his book Why We Did It: A travelogue from the Republican road to Hell. He spoke to Michelle Griffith for a Sept. 16 interview in the Reformer.

He watched friends stick with Trump and the Republican Party even when they privately admitted that things were getting out of hand. Why? It became the only way to keep enough power to keep their jobs and achieve other goals.

For his part, Miller suggests trying to welcome people back into the fold of basic democracy.

If were ever going to stop this continuing complicity with evil things, we need to figure out how to get people to walk away from the darkness, said Miller. You cant get people to walk away until you figure out why theyre there in the first place.

Like the renewed fascist symbolism of Italys new government, politicians in America rekindle fascist images like the iron fist. President Trump hailed Chinese dictator Xi Jinping for ruling with an iron fist, and celebrated a Massachusetts candidate for governor who promised to do the same. Historian Michael Beschloss draws a straight line between these comments and the original fascist philosophy of Mussolini.

This spirit of the iron fist remains a powerful force across the globe, including here in the U.S. and even in our fair state of Minnesota. We may call it by its name not semi-fascism, but the real thing.

And like a century ago, the most insidious thing about fascism is the ease with which it drapes over the shoulders of people all around us friends, family, and neighbors a manic zeal that promises to fill a collective hole in our civic heart.

Thus it is to us, not just our leaders, to resist appeals to violence and the dangerous cult of personality that saturates our politics. The restoration of independent regional news would go a long way, as would rebuilding trust between communities and police. Our nation is too big, too diverse, and too powerful for anything but wise, inclusive stewardship of our shared interests and resources.

A theocratic, fascist America would become one of the most dangerous and short-lived empires on the planet, rivaled perhaps only by the ugly forces that would follow its destruction.

When I sat across Vic Beferas kitchen table in 2018, I listened to him recall life on the Iron Range at the dawn of World War II. Men and women worked around the clock in the iron mines to defeat fanatics, liberate occupied nations, and free innocent people from the horrors of concentration camps.

With each frantic turn of the pick and shovel, and each son who enlisted to fight, this place provided meaningful heft to American rhetoric on liberty and freedom. An entire generation returned from Europe transformed. Facism didnt disappear on its own; the sons and daughters of fascists had to embrace democracy and then fight for it.

You may call the MAGA brand what you like. Populism, semi-fascism, post-fascism or the Big F itself: fascism. Fascism is on the ballot this November and every election that follows. Each time, no matter our political beliefs, we must consciously choose to relegate fascism to the history books so that it may not frighten and kill as it has before and would again.

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Fascism from Italy to Hibbing and back again - Minnesota Reformer

Political leaders responsible for crimes against humanity should be brought to justice no matter how many years have passed.

By setting an example of justice being meted out to such leaders, the international court set up in Cambodia to judge the brutalities of the Khmer Rouge regime has done a great service to the international community.

A United Nations-backed special tribunal charged with prosecuting the crimes of the Khmer Rouge regime, which was led by Pol Pot and ruled Cambodia in the late 1970s, recently held its final hearing after 16 years of work.

Driven by an extreme communist credo, the Pol Pot regime forced urban residents to migrate to rural areas and engage in farming. In the process, the Khmer Rouge allegedly caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians, about a quarter of the countrys population at that time, from disease and executions.

In its brutal pursuit of a self-righteous vision of an agrarian utopia, the regime killed numerous intellectuals including teachers and technocrats. Clearly, the killings of many members of the intelligentsia eroded the foundation of society and hampered the efforts to rebuild the nation. This is a dark, tragic chapter of world history.

Even after the Khmer Rouge was ousted from power in 1979, the Southeast Asian nation was long plagued by civil war. The special tribunal was established more than a quarter-century after the end of the Pol Pot era.

As a result, only five former Khmer Rouge leaders, all advanced in age, were prosecuted. Four of them have died during their lengthy trials.

There is no denying that there were limits to the efforts to uncover the truth. Even so, some of the people responsible for the genocide were tried and sentenced to life in prison or given other harsh penalties.

The tribunal has provided a good example of the rule of law for the international community at a time when we are witnessing situations that can be characterized as crimes of state, such as the civil war in Syria and Russias invasion of Ukraine.

There have been many cases where an international tribunal was created in a third country to try people charged with war crimes. In the case of crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge regime, however, a United Nations-assisted tribunal was set up at home.

The hundreds of witnesses who testified for the trials included victims and their families, former soldiers of the Pol Pot government and former guards at detention camps. Hundreds of thousands of people observed the hearings, which were televised live.

In Cambodian society, discussing what occurred during the Pol Pot era was long a taboo. But the legal proceedings offered opportunities for the people to confront this dark chapter of their countrys history. The process must have played a certain role for national reconciliation after the end of the conflict.

Despite the end of the trials, we hope Cambodian people will keep their collective memories of the era alive and use them for building a new future for their country.

From this point of view, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sens increasingly autocratic behavior is worrisome. A former soldier for the Khmer Rouge, Hun Sen once opposed the establishment of the tribunal, saying uncovering the past would cause confusion.

Having been in power for more than 35 years, Hun Sen has recently taken such authoritarian steps as dismantling the largest opposition party and suppressing media and nongovernmental organizations.

Hun Sen and all other national leaders should learn from the Khmer Rouge trials how a rule that brutally crushed opposition led to gruesome horrors so that they will not repeat such tragedies.

Japan, which was involved in the peace-building process in Cambodia, also cooperated with the work of the special tribunal. It has provided some 30 percent of the international aid to support the process as well as a judge for the trials.

For a developing country such as Cambodia that has suffered years of armed conflict, the establishment of the legal and judicial systems is vital for its modernization. Japans contribution to helping the tribunals efforts has added a value that goes beyond the economic benefit.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 27

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EDITORIAL: Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal a proper model of justice | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis -

Nexi and Global Blue sign a strategic partnership to provide frictionless

omnichannel payment experience for the hospitality, restaurants,

and retail on Oracle platforms

Milan, September 26, 2022 Nexi, the leading PayTech in Europe, and Global Blue, the leading technology company in taxfree shopping and addedvalue payments, enter into a strategic partnership aimed at integrating Nexi's payment solutions directly into existing Property Management Systems (PMS) and Point Of Sale (POS) software platforms. This agreement further strengthens a longterm relationship on DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion service), now enabling merchants in 25 countries where Nexi operates, to accept payments across Oracle suite of products, thanks to Global Blue's certified gold level payment integration partner status with Oracle.

This integration brings significant benefits for hotels, restaurants, and retailers, using Oracle OPERA Cloud Property Management, Simphony Point of Sale, and Oracle Retail XStore PointofService by streamlining operating procedures, and reducing time and effort for Front Desk and Back Office staff. For Merchants, it is unleashing an authentic omnichannel and seamless experience, while taking advantage of Nexi unique combination of European scale and deep local expertise.

The customer experience becomes simpler, faster, and more secure: it complies with the highest security standards of PCI DSS and endtoend Tokenisation for card data secure storage.

"The strategic partnership with Global Blue further reinforces our capabilities to offer merchants and corporates the best combination of European scale and customer proximity" says Roberto Catanzaro, Group Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer at Nexi. "We will extend our omnichannel acceptance solutions and continue to provide propositions that enable new user experiences for consumers and new business opportunities for merchants, with specific focus on the hotellerie, hospitality and retail verticals."

"Through this cooperation, Global Blue confirms itself as a leading partner in the technology and payments sector, enabling its customer base operating in the hospitality and retail sectors to have an integrated, omnichannel management tool for a frictionless experience", said Damian Cecchi, SVP Added Value Payment Solutions. "As a provider of this innovative solution, we can and will continue to be the point of reference for all our acquirers and partners, who recognize our expertise as necessary to increase their market performance".

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Nexi

Nexi is Europe's PayTech company operating in highgrowth, attractive European markets and technologically advanced countries. Listed on Euronext Milan, Nexi has the scale, geographic reach and abilities to drive the transition to a cashless Europe. With its portfolio of innovative products, ecommerce expertise and industryspecific solutions, Nexi provides flexible support for the digital economy and the entire payment ecosystem globally, across a broad range of different payment channels and methods. Nexi's technological platform and the bestinclass professional skills in the sector enable the company to operate at its best in three market segments: Merchant Services & Solutions, Cards & Digital Payments and Digital Banking & Corporate Solutions. Nexi constantly invests in technology and innovation, focusing on two fundamental principles: meeting, together with its partner banks, customer needs and creating new business opportunities for them. Nexi is committed to supporting people and businesses of all sizes, transforming the way people pay and businesses accept payments. It offers companies the most innovative and reliable solutions to better serve their customers and expand. By simplifying payments and enabling people and businesses to build closer relationships and grow together, Nexi promotes progress to benefit everyone. http://www.nexi.it http://www.nexigroup.com

Global Blue

Global Blue pioneered the concept of Tax Free Shopping 40 years ago. Through continuous innovation, we have become the leading strategic technology and payments partner, empowering retailers to improve their performance and shoppers to enhance their experience.

Global Blue offers innovative solutions in three different fields:

both instore and online

In addition, our data and advisory services offer a strategic advisory to help retailers identify opportunities for growth, while our shopper experience and engagement solutions provide datadriven solutions to increase footfall, convert footfall to revenue and enhance performance.

For more information, visit http://www.globalblue.com/corporate/

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Nexi External Communication & Media Relations

Daniele de Sanctis

Sren Winge

daniele.desanctis@nexigroup.com

soeren.winge@nexigroup.com

Mobile: +39 346/015.1000

Mobile: +45 29 48 26 35

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Valentina Piana

matteo.abbondanza@nexigroup.com

valentina.piana@nexigroup.com

Mobile: +39.348/406.8858

Mobile: +39.342/046.7761

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Nexi Investor Relations

Stefania Mantegazza stefania.mantegazza@nexigroup.com Mobile: +39.335/580.5703

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Nexi S.p.A. published this content on 26 September 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 27 September 2022 05:20:02 UTC.

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It's been 11 years since Horacio Pagani unveiled a new car model, and boy has the world changed. Pagani, on the other hand, has not. The all-new Utopia eschews the electric in favor of V12 theatrics, light weight, and a typically steampunk interior.

This is only the third car Pagani has built, after the Zonda in 1999 and the Huayra in 2011. Not that you'd know it these small-run supercar factories sure know how to squeeze a lemon. Wikipedia lists no fewer than 12 model variants of the Zonda, as well as 34 different special editions. The Huayra gets away with just seven variants and a much less jubilant 14 special editions. So the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking these guys release new cars like they change their underpants.

Not so. The pace is hand-built and glacial. So to dyed-in-the-wool Paganisti, today is a big day, even if the rest of us might have to squint to make sure we're not looking at another tarted-up Huayra. The positive way to spin this would be to say that Pagani has settled on a strong design language, and that the Utopia is "unmistakably Pagani." Which it certainly is.

Pagani

"The alchemy of pleasure, the equation of beauty ... What would be important for the next Pagani hypercar," asks a florid press release. "Horacio Pagani certainly had his own ideas, but he asked his closest clients, those who eagerly await each of his creations, to express their wishes. They already had exceptionally fast and beautiful cars, what were they still missing?"

Cup holders, that would've been my guess. Either those, or simpler times when supercar makers weren't always trying to get them on the phone asking how best to bilk more millions out of them for additional garage jewelry. But no! While some might imagine their only lack is of lack itself, these fabulously rich survey respondents made their heady desires crystal clear: "simplicity, lightness and the pleasure of driving."

Really? That's all? Pagani could've offered these people an Ariel Atom, smashed this brief out of the park and knocked off for a ciggy. But he didn't. That's why he's Horacio Pagani, and I'm just Loz Blain, and you, dear reader, are (hopefully) neither of those things. No, Pagani knew what he had to to. He had to go against the grain. With the world zigging toward electrification, the truly brave would have to zag. Batteries? Those aren't simple, or lightweight, or pleasurable well, depending on what you put them in, I suppose.

Pagani

No, the new car was going to need the simplicity and lightweightness of a 5.9-liter, twin-turbo, 60-degree Mercedes-AMG V12 engine, its thousands of delicately synchronized, but assuredly very simplistic, moving parts capable of spinning its crank some 6,000 times per minute. This motor makes 864 horsepower (635 kW) and at least 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft) from 2,800 rpm upwards. And none of your fancy dual-clutch transmissions, either. Pagani would have none of this witchcraft. Pure manual, or a 7-speed "automated manual," that's what you'll get, and by gum you'll like it.

It's got electronic suspension. It's got a "carbo-titanium" and "carbo-triax" monocoque chassis. It's got big Brembos and big forged rims, 21s at the front and 22s at the rear. It's got a cabin as aggressively complicated as a Roland Iten belt buckle, featuring an aesthetic that's just a few copper tubes and valves shy of steampunk. It's got a four-port exhaust that would've been edited out of the theatrical release of Cats.

Pagani

Let's be serious for a moment. Naturally, you can't have one. Heavens no. Pagani's only making 99, and they're all already sold, at prices somewhere north of US$2.5 million, to people who were informed about this trinket long before you were. Instead, you'll have to wait for the inevitable gaggle of special editions to drop, at which point you can't have those either. So all the lofty lyricism of Pagani's press release can probably be distilled into the phrase "nerny nerny ner ner," or the Italian equivalent.

Still, much like the proprietor of a gentleman's club, Pagani is happy to allow you to look at Utopia, as long as you don't touch it, via the photo gallery and the video below. Very sporting of him.

Source: Pagani

See the original post here:

Pagani thumbs its nose at electrification, unveiling all-new V12 Utopia

Paganis peers may be moving towards electrification, but the Italian marque has no intention of changing lanes anytime soon.

The automaker unveiled its latest hypercar, the Utopia, on Monday. The companys third distinct model isnt equipped with an electrified powertrain. Instead, it features the same kind of internal combustion engine thats been in all the brands vehiclesa monstrously powerful V-12.

Paganis latest shares a name with Thomas Mores 1516 book Utopia. The slim tome was the philosopher and statesmans attempt to imagine an ideal world, where people lived together in peace and harmony. The automotive Utopia is theboutique automakers founder Horacio Paganis attempt to design and build the ideal hypercar. To that end, he surveyed some of his most valued customers to find out what they felt was missing from their vehicles. Three things kept coming up: simplicity, lightness and pleasure of driving.

Pagani

And based on what weve seen so far, it seems like the brand was listening. The Utopia doesnt look wildly dissimilar from its predecessors, the Zonda and Huayra, but its easily the brands most streamlined effort yet. It still looks like a futuristic racecar, with its bubble cockpit and giant fenders, but theres a smoothnessand an attendant lack of ornamentationthat sets it apart. These subtle changes result in a car thats more elegant and aerodynamic than the brands past offerings.

Butterfly doors open to reveal a cabin that is as bold as its lightweight carbon-fiber exterior. Theres a nice retro-futuristic feel to the space, with the brand opting for individual analog gauges and dials rather than a massive touchscreen infotainment display atop the center stackthough there is a digital display in the drivers cockpit next to the speedometer. The steering wheel has also been fashioned from a single aluminum block.

Pagani

Powering the Utopia is an AMG-sourced 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-12. The beastly mill can be mated to either a 7-speed manual or 7-speed automated manual transmission. Whichever gearbox you opt for, itll deliver 852 horses and 811 ft lbs of twist to the rear wheels. All that grunt rides on a set of striking alloy wheels21 inches on the front axles, 22 inches on the rearthat have turbine vanes that help cool the brakes. We dont know what kind of numbers youll be able to put up in the car just yet, but the automaker says its powerplant is clean enough to meet even Californias stringent emission standards.

The hypercar also features a monocoque chassis made from Carbo-Titanium, a unique mixture of composite and high-strength metal that was developed by Pagani, as well as front and rear subframes made from chrome alloy. Its also equipped with a quad exhaust, a double-wishbone suspension and carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the back. Pagani has done everything it can to reduce excess weight wherever possible, resulting in a car that tips the scales at just 2,822 pounds.

Pagani plans to build just 99 examples of the Utopia. The automaker hasnt announced a price or timetable for the vehicle, but Car and Driver reports that the entire production run is already spoken for. We imagine at least a couple of those vehicles will end up on the auction block at some point in the not-so-distant future. Just be prepared to spend well into six figures for one.

Clickhereto see all of the photos of the Pagani Utopia.

Here is the original post:

Paganis New Utopia Is an Ode to Old-School Hypercars With a V-12 and Manual Transmission - Robb Report

First Gyi and Conrad dig through the giant heap of legal marketing news that somebody left here since the last episode. Then, the guys help you avoid over-investing in every cool new thing right before they encourage you to invest in Googles cool new thing.

Second Life! Pokemon Go! Clubhouse! (gasp) Whatever other nonsense you think might work to market your firm. Yes, theres always cool new tech to play with, and maybe you feel like you can be early to this new thing, but sometimes its important to step back and make sure youre not over-investing in the next nothingburger. DO: keep up with the latest trends and tech. DONT: be a sucker for the next shiny thing.

And, weve all seen it in the movies; a delightful future of humanity where everywhere you walk there is a personalized hologram trying to sell you the latest, hottest new thing or turkey dinner in a cup. Well, good news! Google is taking the first steps to that utopia with their new offerings with Out of Home ads. The gents share their takes on our bright future, brought to you by Google, and how (and why) youd use Out of Home to promote your law firm.

A Giant Pile of News:

Special thanks to oursponsors , , , and .

Gyi Tsakalakis: Wed love to hear from you so we can make our show better.

Conrad Saam: Please share five minutes with us at legaltalknetwork.com/survey.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Be sure to tell them you love LHLM most of all.

Conrad Saam: Well choose five respondents wholl get selected among three great prizes: air pods, Beats and the solo stove firepot. That would be awesome. From our survey sponsor Nota by M&T Bank.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Before we get started, we want to thank our sponsors: Clio, Lawyaw, Posh Virtual Receptionist and Nota. Conrad, I made some ribs this last weekend and I understand maybe you also made ribs.

Conrad Saam: I made ribs. I think you have to end out the summer season with ribs. Right? Or some barbecue just to pretend the kids are back in school but youre just elongating the summer just a little bit better. You know the other cool thing I did is my favorite, not that this is a parenting show, but I also bought which is shockingly inexpensive a blow-up projector screen to do movies outside. So as the days have gotten shorter, were now showing movies outside for the neighborhood kids and so we have a bunch of kids coming over every Saturday night to watch movies with ribs.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Are you charging admission?

Conrad Saam: As far as you know, the admission is just a love and adoration of their parents for me taking kids off your hand on a Saturday night.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Very nice.

Conrad Saam: No. But its a really fun way to so I wanted something COVID safe that we could do outside with a bunch of friends back to school and so, its been a good little community gathering that weve been able to create.

Gyi Tsakalakis: What movie did you play?

Conrad Saam: We are going to play Napoleon Dynamite next weekend which might none of my kids know about so Im excited about that. But we watch Spider-Man into the spider-verse which bluntly I was never a comics guy and Im guessing I didnt get 90% of the movie. I was also cooking ribs.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Not a raving review from Conrad.

Conrad Saam: No, no. Everyone loved it except I. Everyone loved it but I was busy cooking ribs.

Gyi Tsakalakis: So what else were going to talk about today besides Spiderman and ribs?

Conrad Saam: Oh boy. This is actually going to be pretty jam-packed. We typically try and jump through the news quickly. Theres a lot of news coming out of the holiday weekend so theres a lot to catch up and then were going to dig a little bit deeper into some of those news items. And the next thing for our first segment, Im really excited to talk about this. This is the dangers of chasing the shiny new toys for your marketing, right? And the importance of actually experimenting with a shiny new toys. And then speaking of shiny new things, were going to end up talking about Googles poorly named out-of-home advertising product that they just talked about this week. Before that, were going to listen to some tunes.

[Music]

Male: Welcome to Lunch Hour Legal Marketing teaching you how to promote market and make fat stacks for your legal practice here on Legal Talk Network.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Welcome everyone to another episode of Lunch Hour Legal Marketing. We hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend as were recording just after Labor Day. Its great to be back here with you. Conrad, lets dive in to this giant pile of news.

Conrad Saam: I wasnt trying to end that sentence, giant pile of news. So the big thing that we were talking about last time that I still think is interesting is the Google helpful content algorithm. My experience with our clients, I suspect you are seeing the same, is a bit of a yawner in terms of any changes. Is that accurate for you?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yes. Its a big to-do about nothing, you know. I dont want to turn this into a negative rant but this is what the no SEO industry does. This is what the SEO industry does. By the way, Googles doing this too. They know exactly what theyre doing as well.

So, Google has this fancy algorithm, all this stuff going on to try to sort through the mess that the web is. And Google, you know, the actual search engineers, they make updates to the algorithm to make the results better you know. What better is, well let the search engineers decide or now the AI decide. But I digress Google announces, Hey, we made an update. If you have unhelpful content on your site, this classifier might make it not rank as well.

And of course, the SEO industry, because this is how they make their money. It goes out and says, Oh, new update from Google. You better hire us to fix it. Your contents, everythings broken, everythings bad. Your sites going to disappear from search results. You better hire us. And then with some exceptions, with some notable exceptions. And guess what? The stuff that when it does happen, it happens on ginormous websites, not small law firm websites, not the local pack, it might be like your old blog post or your keyword stuff, this or the million plurals like thats unhelpful. Maybe some of that gets filtered.

(00:05:10)

But to your point Conrad, we havent seen a ton. Most major people who spend their days staring at search console and Google Analytics havent seen a ton. They did some I think Barry Schwartz at Roundtable did a survey and said about 20% of people saw something happen and its still rolling out so you know, its still too early to even talking about this. But what is the helpful content update Conrad?

Conrad Saam: Well so, very quickly it is a site-wide adjustment based on how much, what Google considers helpful content. Theyre calling it helpful content to make it sound innocuous and theyre not calling it a penalty specifically to make it sound innocuous. The interesting thing for me is that they talked about this so much, they named it ahead of time and Im going to give a counterpoint to the nothing happening, a counterpoint perspective on this because I actually all of the signals suggest that this will be a big deal.

The last time when Panda rolled out, it hits something like 22% of the web if you have a massive site. And because its site-wide, this is important. If you have a very large volume of pages on your website and a lot of them are garbage, it will actually have a negative impact on your good content, right? And thats what it means by site-wide algo update.

There is a great post. Joy Hawkins brought this to my attention this morning. Its a great post by Marie Haynes and what she writes about is her expectation that this, even though nothing really big is going on right now, she says the last time there was a major rollout, the changes happened at the end of the rollout. So the variability in search results didnt happen until the very end of the rollout and her hypothesis is that its going to happen again. I think that is highly possible but well see, right? Like she could be wrong. This is just a kind of her theoretical perspective. I tend to agree with her because Google has made such a big deal of it which is out of the ordinary for how they typically operate.

Gyi Tsakalakis: So lets say you and Dr. Haynes are right, then what would you do? What do you do? What do you tell a small law firm website clients to do to their websites to prepare to have a great helpful content update?

Conrad Saam: Dont do anything. Henny Penny. The sky is not falling and we dont know if its falling until youve got at least two weeks of data posts update. So you need to sit tight and strap in and watch the data, right? So none of this meant like Gyi and Conrad prognosticating and disagreeing over this. Who cares? None of it matters. What really matters is how your traffic changes, how you are converting traffic changes if your traffic changes and so you need to sit and wait until youve got enough data to actually make that assessments.

Gyi Tsakalakis: And by the way, even with that data, there are hundreds of other updates going out of Google that they dont even talk about and so try to distinguish between helpful content update and the hundreds of other algorithm updates that might be causing the same problem.

Conrad Saam: And finally, we will move on from global content. The smaller your website traffic is, the less scientific this is just basic statistics but the smaller your website traffic is, the less scientific any study is going to be because you simply lack the sample size to ascertain whether or not your site is getting hit or if its just natural variability in behavior.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Statistical significance, such a pain.

Conrad Saam: You know, my .

Gyi Tsakalakis: Data scarcity.

Conrad Saam: I try not to talk about my kids too much but my oldest kid is taking AP stats in high school and that makes me very happy. Its one of I think the best classes you could take in high school to prepare you for real life. Okay, moving on.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Best tip.

Conrad Saam: My case, document automation and accounting. Whats going on with my case Gyi?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well, the race to be the platform operating system universe, whatever metaverse, who want to go there, whatever you want to call it, for legal is on and my case is definitely in that fight. And so, theyve integrated their document automation and accounting similar to what Clio is doing and some of these other major platforms but you know they want to be one stop shop, right? Like run your firm so its your whole firm. Payments accounting intake, whole consumer journey right there in that app.

Conrad Saam: And not a surprise, right? Like people look at the complexity of all these different systems its difficult.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Who wants to open two different systems?

Conrad Saam: Yeah, zero, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Not me.

Conrad Saam: Speaking of the my cases of the world, Clio conference is coming up in October. Weve got the Crisp Summit November 2 and 3. I also noted like theres some crazy people showing up at conferences. Obama is going to HubSpot inbound. Hes the keynote at HubSpot. I will confess, I did actually apply to speak at HubSpots in town conference, probably 90% for the slight opportunity to actually meet Barack. That would be super cool.

(00:10:05)

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well, they got to bring Obama and because no one wants to go to conferences anymore and so .

Conrad Saam: Well thats an interesting thing. Were seeing a really interesting shift in the conferences. Its those in-person conferences, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah.

Conrad Saam: Also Gyi, you are the kiss of death for Amazon medicine. It was canceled before our episode. We talked about it last session, Amazon medicine. We talked about whether or not that is a hint that Amazon might be prognosticating or thinking about or toying with the legal industry. Before the episode went live, they had canceled it. So theres an article in the Washington post about Amazon. A kiss of death Gyi for Amazon medicine.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well, you know, Bezos is a big LHLM guy and so, when hes sitting there, hes just cant help himself. But interestingly, the Washington Post article that I will cite is actually talking about how they are still very keen on doing health. Anyway, take a look, decide for yourself. I still think and we know this. I mean you worked at the company that I was thinking like this many years ago.

Conrad Saam: Yeah.

Gyi Tsakalakis: But a site where you go for lawyers, right? And Amazons the site where you go for everything so, look, theyre not there yet, theres a lot to do. But even if its not Amazon, someones going to be that.

Conrad Saam: Someones there. Its already happening, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah.

Conrad Saam: The different models. And thats why we bring it up because I think its really important to think well outside our typical construct of what practicing law means in order to think about what the future looks like. Speaking of what the future looks like, youll be able to delete your racist tweets in Twitter now by editing them. Twitters opened up an editing feature so you can erase your stupidity from the past. Good or bad Gyi.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Do you have the other functionality on your app? Do you even have Twitter? Are you on Twitter?

Conrad Saam: I used to be such a heavy Twitter operator. Twitter. And I have found honestly that the you will find me nowhere on TikTok yet although and were going to talk about the importance of this. The lurking on these things is really, really important, right? Because there are so much to learn just by lurking. You dont have to engage but lurking and were going to get into the shiny object thing but lurking on these different platforms is important. Yeah, I do not have the Twitter edit functionality on my Twitter account.

Gyi Tsakalakis: I dont either and I dont know if maybe .

Conrad Saam: I think they may be rolling it out to people who say stupid things all the time.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah, they dont care. I cant get a blue check so they dont care about me.

Conrad Saam: All right. You said TikTok.

Gyi Tsakalakis: I did.

Conrad Saam: TikTok is really changing the way Google is thinking about how the next generation is finding information. There is a great TechCrunch article on this. Well put this in the show notes but Gyi, can you talk about how the success of TikTok and Instagram is shaping and Googles response to the successive TikTok and Instagram but shaping the way younger generation is actually looking for information?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah. The short version is that people are actually going to TikTok and Amazon to find like places to eat. I think thats like the big example. But the point is, is that the users are now using social platforms more in the context of search, right and discovery.

And you know its funny. I dont know if you and I talked about it. I remember this conversation long ago and Facebook was originally pushing like their search functionality. It never really was a thing because no one went there to do that. But now, these users are. So theyre going and they want to see, theyd much rather see like somebody, one of their influencers or a friend or somebody talking about with a video about the place, the food, all that kind of stuff, the ambience. And so, Googles like while were losing searchers to social platforms, we need to start thinking about how we can learn from TikTok and Instagram to make search results more visual and image-driven, video-driven. I think thats the gist.

Conrad Saam: And Im going to come back to this lurking concept. You will not get this unless you start lurking and playing in some of these different platforms because you will see. Its so real when youre there and its reading it on TechCrunch is nice but actually experiencing it is really important. Theyre going to talk about the new thing and how to approach that.

Gyi Tsakalakis: You know I got to this is a show about bashing the legal profession. Usually, we say about lawyers, theyre so slow to adopt this stuff. Somethings changed. I dont know. Something lawyers need to dance or something but there are lawyers all over TikTok and all over Instagram like its going out of style. And Ill tell you, its not just agency idiots like us that are pushing them there because a lot .

Conrad Saam: Its not agencies like us. The agencies will get it.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah. Theyre taking this on themselves. I dont know. Maybe its the performance aspect of it but someone has convinced the legal profession to be on (00:14:53) and Instagram.

(00:15:05)

Conrad Saam: And theyre all over. This is to me, this is a pure supply and demand thing. Dean Blachford of Ottawa, hes a tax lawyer out of Ottawa. I did a great session with him the other day and he said he was talking about the amount of time that he puts into his charity event and how that is kind of leveraging online to make that really, really successful. And he literally said, I dont spend money on Google ads. I do this instead and its so much more effective. And whats happened is, pure supply and demand, Google ads so expensive, everyones playing in that game. Youve got to find blue ocean strategies for that. SEO, god help you if you are starting out, right?

And so people are looking for different resources that are going to drive business and you and I both started as SEOs but theres so much out there that is not SEO and Google ads. And so, people are finding that. Its just economics. All right, lets take a break. Were going to pay some bills and when we come back, weve got the Legal Trends Report minute as well as talking more and more about the new, new thing. This is thematically coming across quite well in the session.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Its almost like we planned it.

Conrad Saam: Its almost like its in the show notes.

[Music]

Male: Seventy-six percent of lawyers say they are overworked and part of the problem is tedious tasks like manually retyping information when drafting. Lawyaws document automation enables law firms to fill sets of word-based documents in court forms cutting legal drafting time by 80%. Use intuitive features like conditional logic and e-sign to simplify drafting and improve client experience. Learn more at lawyaw.com. Thats L-A-W-Y-A-W.com.

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Gyi Tsakalakis: And now for the Legal Trends Report minute brought to you by Clio.

So many legal professionals see practice management software is a key area for investment. And in fact, according to the Legal Trends Report, it accounted for a moderate or large expense and 67% of survey respondents, more than any other category. You all cant see this because youre just listening to me and Im not hearing the scream. But in the Legal Trends Report, there is a chart that talks about expenses among lawyers who are very involved in finances.

And the reason that I wanted to really zero on this is that if you look at the number one category, practice management software, its viewed as a large expense. It doesnt mean it actually is, its just the perception of. And then you come down and you see marketing website and domain which is an odd way of saying it but it is what it is. And thats a much lower perceived expense and I dont know what to make of it. I was kind of thinking about this and in preparation, it just strikes me. I think about practice management software and you know may be excused for different sized firms but like thats the significant expense? Thats the major expenses practice management software, not marketing? In fairness staff was up there. Associate lawyers were up there.

Conrad Saam: No but I mean, not in fairness. Im looking at the graph that youre talking through right now just so I can describe it for everyone. Practice management software is considered a large or moderate expense by more people, the non-lawyer staff and associate lawyer staff, right? So youre spending, and this is again perception.

Gyi Tsakalakis: You think? You think. Yeah. You think youre setting more on practice management.

Conrad Saam: So youre pretty annoyed about your practice management. So I would much rather spend money. I would rather see, this is inverted, right?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Right. I mean, staff and staff, I get that one but I dont know. I dont know. A part of me thinks that maybe it just skews for this particular service runs. But draw your own conclusions. Go download the Clio Trends Report to learn more about these opportunities and much more for free. Download Clios Legal Trends Report at clio.com/trends. Thats Clio spelled C-L-I-O.

Conrad Saam: Now Gyi, we started this session off talking about the new new thing and chasing the new, new thing and you and I are both technology people.

(00:20:00)

Theres always a new, new thing coming out, right? So we were talking about TikTok and Instagram and the effectiveness of that which seems surprising. Theres lots of other new, new things that kind of crash and burn, right? And so, I know how I handle this for the agency, its probably very similar to how you handle it for your agency. But how do you think lawyers should be thinking about the new, new thing and how do you balance staying abreast of changes with technology with not going bananas on things that are never really going to take off?

Gyi Tsakalakis: Well thats part of our job, right? Its our job as the agency experts to stay on top of this. I think thats part of the value we bring to the table thats self-fulfilling. When we started planning for this segment, it was funny because it was really bash chasing shiny objects. Like thats really how we started. But as we started talking, I think you made the point of how important it is as to balance the shiny object syndrome with keeping informed about what is new.

Conrad Saam: Yeah.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Anyway, I think that its a much more of I think balanced construct than just like, its so easy to be like oh, youre silly for chasing shiny objects?

Conrad Saam: I think the problem that we get to is that some of the shiny objects actually hang around, right, not most of them, right? Not most of them. Those of you who are really big on meerkat a long time ago, those of you who were just all over Clubhouse and the mindset

Gyi Tsakalakis: Oh, no. Now I know youve made somebody angry thats listening. Youre about to bash Clubhouse. Oh, boy.

Conrad Saam: Well, by the way, and I genuinely mean this because I would love to have the conversation if you have found Clubhouse, if you still find Clubhouse effective for you from a business perspective, we would love to talk to you. In preparation for this pod today, Gyi and I looked up lawyers on Clubhouse and I sat in on a Lawyer Clubhouse session last night. That was all of the reasons why shiny objects that why we were making fun of shiny objects like A, I couldnt believe it that seven people were actually spending half an hour a week with the same group of inane conversations. B, maybe its just a really bad data point that I had here, but if Clubhouse is still working for you, we would love to know about it and where Im going with this is I played with Clubhouse heavily when it came out. My gut was it was going nowhere because of the way it was set up and I think I was right. Im happy to be wrong. Im happy to have someone walk in and tell me how it is driving their immigration law firm practice and I just dont understand that would be amazing. Wed love to have that conversation.

But my point is not that like hey I called Clubhouse for being that flash in the pan, it was Im happy to be wrong about that and you have to play in the game to understand whether or not this works, right? And you have to play in the TikTok game to understand whether or not it works. You have to play in the Instagram game to understand whether or not it worked. It doesnt mean you have to pick the right tech and I think thats often the case. Oh, you know youre a great tech person because you saw Clubhouse coming and you thought it was amazing and you got everyone on involved. Its knowing whats going to work or whats not going to work. I think thats the deal.

Gyi Tsakalakis: Yeah, I guess my thing about all this stuff is what works for some people doesnt work for everybody and what doesnt work for a lot of people does work for a few because I think about this and Im sure there are people that are using Clubhouse to have conversations and build connections and maybe theres look bottom line is this, forget about the example, you are in, if seven of my closest business advisors, referral sources, professional contacts. We are getting together on Clubhouse once a week and we were referred business to each other and talking shop. I would find that tremendously valuable now. Does it have to be our own Clubhouse? I think thats part of the question too is, its like its not about the technology, right? Its about like where the people are that you want to connect with. Ill tell you, Im on Facebook for that very reason. I dont want to be on Facebook, and I, we all have our personal preferences of like the different social media that we like, but a lot of people I know both personally and professionally are there. Theyre not on Twitter which I guess I tend to prefer despite all these problems. I dont know, so.

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Whats That Shiny New Marketing Toy Youve Got There? || Googles Out Of Home Ads - Legal Talk Network

MIXED SIGNALS New Englands final primaries were as much a test of former President Donald Trumps hold over the GOP as they were a barometer for whether a dying breed of more moderate, less partisan Republicans could keep their way of politicking alive.

The results were mixed.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is through to a general election fight against Democrat Tom Sherman that forecasters say the incumbent is likely to win. Moderates also have hope in Rhode Island, where centrist former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung will take on Democratic state Treasurer Seth Magaziner in the 2nd Congressional District.

But Massachusetts Republicans handed Trump-endorsed conservative former state Rep. Geoff Diehl the partys gubernatorial nomination last week over a more moderate businessman backed by Sununu. Moderate Gov. Charlie Baker, who declined to seek a third term, is refusing to weigh in on the race in which the Democrat, Attorney General Maura Healey, is the overwhelming favorite. And while Diehl has parted ways with adviser Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign manager, since the primary, he continues to face questions from the press and attacks from Healey over the former president.

Trump didn't endorse in New Hampshire. But the GOP race to take on Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas ended in a face-off between two Trump administration alums who divided party leaders. Karoline Leavitt won, beating out Matt Mowers and Gail Huff Brown, a former WCVB reporter and wife of former Massachusetts senator and Trump-nominated U.S. ambassador Scott Brown. Leavitt, who could become one of the youngest people ever elected to Congress, champions the former president's false claims that the 2020 election was "rigged." The former assistant in the Trump White House press office has also embraced his brash style.

And in the Granite State's closely-watched Republican Senate primary, retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc, who's also echoed Trump's election conspiracies, holds a slim lead over Sununu-backed state Senate President Chuck Morse. Morse appeared to concede the race in a post-2 a.m. tweet, though The Associated Press had not called the contest as of 7 a.m. Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan is already blasting Bolduc's "radical, backward-looking agenda."

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. We're not the only ones with petty primaries.

The Democratic contest for Rhode Island governor ended with Gov. Dan McKee telling an adviser to hang up on rival Helena Buonanno Foulkes on live television. Foulkes, who was trying to concede, said she was unhappy with that development and declined to tell WPRI whether shell support McKee in the general election.

McKee stood by his decision to publicly decline Foulkes call, telling WPRI: Would you take a call as youre celebrating a victory like this? They knew I was on stage. We'll see if they can bury the hatchet by this Sunday's "Unity Dinner" Democratic Party fundraiser in Warwick.

TODAY Baker attends the Pavilion Field at the Riverwalk opening in Lawrence at 10 a.m. and the opening of BMCs Brockton Behavioral Health Facility at 4:30 p.m. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito chairs a Governors Council meeting at noon. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu participates in the Boston Globe Summit kickoff at 9:30 a.m. at WBURs CitySpace and speaks at the WorldBoston 13th Annual Consuls Reception at 6:15 p.m. in Roxbury.

Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: [emailprotected].

Advocates raise concerns about sports betting, by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: On Tuesday, the state Gaming Commission heard from academics and advocates for responsible gambling groups who cautioned that the state's foray into betting on professional sports comes with the risk of increasing problem gambling.

Wu voted for Arroyo in DA primary, by Gia Orsino, GBH News: In an appearance on Boston Public Radio on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu revealed that she voted for Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo in the Suffolk County District Attorney primary, despite withdrawing her endorsement after the Boston Globe published an interview with a woman who alleged sexual assault. Politics and policy, Wu said, were the most important consideration in the messy election with conflicting evidence of assault presented in redacted police files. According to released police reports, Arroyo was never charged with a crime.

Boston challenging 2020 Census count, by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: Boston might end up in the 700,000 club yet. Mayor Michelle Wu formalized what the citys been making noise about for the past year or so: challenging the 2020 Census count for Boston and claiming that the 675,647 official count misses significant numbers of college kids, prisoners and immigrants.

Most Mass. primary voters voted early, by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: Of the more than 1 million voters who cast ballots in the Massachusetts state primary last week, fewer than half actually voted on election day. According to Secretary of State William F. Galvin, 50.2 percent of ballots were cast before Sept. 6, with 45.6 percent cast by mail and 4.6 percent cast in person during the early voting period. The only other time most voters cast ballots before a primary election day was the 2020 state primary, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when 60 percent of ballots were cast outside of polling places. In terms of total ballots cast, the 2022 primary election also saw the second-highest turnout for a state primary since 1990, surpassed only by the 2020 state primary. The percent of registered voters who cast primary ballots this year was 21.8 percent, matching the 2018 state primary election, elections officials said.

There were stark differences in how voters cast their ballots between the Democratic and Republican primaries:

Of 777,819 ballots cast in the Democratic primary: 52 percent were by mail, 4.7 percent were through early in-person voting and 43.2 percent were cast on primary day.

Of 276,158 ballots cast in the GOP primary: 27.4 percent were by mail, 4.2 percent were through early in-person voting and 68.3 percent were cast on primary day.

Springfield sees lowest voter turnout in Massachusetts 2022 primary, new state election data show, by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: Only 10.4% of registered voters cast their ballots in Springfield, though the overall statewide turnout notched nearly 22%, according to official election data released Tuesday by Secretary of State Bill Galvins office and shared with MassLive. Sturbridge, meanwhile, logged the highest voter turnout of 43.3%, according to Galvins office. Boston saw a voter turnout of 19.2%.

DEBATING DEBATES, GENERAL ELECTION EDITION: Geoff Diehl wants to debate Maura Healey three times in the governors race. Anthony Amore wants to debate auditor rival state Sen. Diana DiZoglio five times, in a mix of TV, radio and digital debates across the state. And Jay McMahon wants to debate attorney general rival Andrea Campbell a whopping seven times.

Democrats hold the upper hand here, so how are they reacting? Healey agreed to one debate in October and will consider others. DiZoglio looks forward to participating in multiple debates as she did for the Democratic primary, a campaign spokesperson said. Campbell told GBH earlier this week: Well see.

POST-NEAL PREP: A group of primarily Democratic activists in Rep. Richard Neals district has launched a website critiquing his record on health care, national defense, trade and more. Its not an attempt to aid Neals Republican opponent, Dean Martilli, in November. Instead, its an effort to highlight issues of concern for when the race to succeed [Neal] happens, Matt Barron, a former Chesterfield Democratic Town Committee chair involved with the website and its associated MA-1 PAC, told Playbook. Some western Massachusetts political observers and operatives speculate that Neals eventual departure from the House could come sooner rather than later should Democrats lose the chamber this fall and the powerful House Ways and Means chair loses his perch.

Federal judge wont intervene in Tran prosecution, by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: A federal judge has declined to intervene to stop Attorney General Maura Healeys prosecution of congressional candidate Dean Tran. Tran, a Republican former state senator who is challenging Democratic US Rep. Lori Trahan in the 3rd District, was indicted on six counts related to his alleged attempt to steal guns that had belonged to an elderly constituents late husband. Tran pleaded not guilty and challenged the prosecution in federal court. He argued that the prosecution by Healey, a Democrat running for governor, was politically motivated and asked a judge to pause court proceedings in Worcester Superior Court until after the November election and prohibit Healey from participating. On Tuesday, US District Court Judge Leo Sorokin dismissed Trans complaint and let the state criminal case proceed.

DPU trying to double size of its MBTA oversight staff, by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: The state Department of Public Utilities, which is coming under fire for its poor oversight of the MBTAs safety practices, appears to be trying to double in size. In a statement, the agency said it currently has eight positions, three of which are vacant. It also appears to be recruiting seven additional staffers, including new postings for a director and assistant director of rail oversight. The staffing issue is likely to be a major topic at a legislative oversight hearing scheduled for Wednesday that is expected to focus on the safety practices of the MBTA and the safety oversight of the T provided by the DPU.

More: Feds decline invite to testify at MBTA oversight hearing, by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: Joint Committee on Transportation Chairs state Rep. William Straus and state Sen. Brendan Crighton said the Federal Transit Administration informed the committee Monday that it would not participate in the Wednesday hearing, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. In a statement, Straus and Crighton said they are disappointed, but expect the feds will reconsider the committees request for help in assessing the context and recommendations of the FTA safety report in time for the future oversight hearings.

Orange Line shutdown: MBTA reports 82% of work completed with days to go before scheduled reopening, by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: MBTA officials on Tuesday said 82% of work on the Orange Line is complete days before it is slated to reopen to the public after a monthlong shutdown for major repair work.

Partial Green Line closure planned days after Orange Line reopens, by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: The D Branch of the Green Line, from Riverside to Kenmore, will be closed for a total of 27 days, between Sept. 24 and Oct. 30, to allow for track upgrades and the implementation of train-collision prevention equipment.

SJC Could Cut in to Rule on Dismissal of Holyoke Soldiers Home Prosecution, by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass. Politics & Insight: The legal drama around the criminal indictments arising from the Holyoke Soldiers Home COVID-19 outbreak has flown under the radar since the appeal began. Last December Attorney General Maura Healey filed notice that her office intended to appeal the dismissal of charges against the facilitys former leaders. That appeal arrived at the Appeals Court in April. The arguments on appeal have been under seal, ostensibly because they contain info from grand jury proceedings. The case, however, jolted a bit in public view again as Healeys office sought direct review from the Supreme Judicial Court.

Holyoke police call on councilor to apologize for gang comments, by Brian Steele, Daily Hampshire Gazette: The citys police officers and supervisors unions on Tuesday called for At-Large City Councilor Jose Maldonado Velez to publicly apologize for referring to the department as a gang or recuse himself from any vote involving the citys police.

Lavar Click-Bruce selected as the next Ward 5 City Councilor, by Jonah Snowden and Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: Lavar Click-Bruce defeated Edward Collins by 44 votes in yesterdays special election to claim the vacant Ward 5 seat on the Springfield City Council.

Pam Laliberte-Lebeau steps down as Council president amid criminal charges and scandal, by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: Just a few hours before she was to convene a City Council meeting on Tuesday, fourth term Councilor Pam Laliberte-Lebeau resigned from her position as City Council president as she faces pending criminal charges of harassment and obstruction of justice in a case unrelated to city matters.

"Analysis: McKee comes out on top as Foulkes surge develops too late," by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "As the results of this years gubernatorial primary rolled in Tuesday night, it briefly looked as if [Gov. Dan] McKees luck might have run out. Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes took a small lead in the initial results, confirming she had received a burst of late momentum following her well-received performance in last weeks televised WPRI 12 debate. But McKee clawed back ground as the night wore on, and he moved firmly into first place when mail ballots were added to the totals."

For this New Hampshire family, Live Free or Die is more than a motto, by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe: Tyler and Sara Brown are proud members of the Free State movement, transplants from New Yorks Hudson Valley who moved here with three young children, joining thousands of other people from around the country who want to create a libertarian utopia in the Granite State. The Browns, who relocated in November, are part of the most recent influx of Free Staters to arrive in New Hampshire, and their embrace of the movement offers a glimpse into its appeal for people who believe that liberty and modern government are incompatible.

Brandeis names former Boston Globe, Washington Post editor Martin Baron as 2023 Richman Fellow, by Katie Mogg, Boston Globe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Roger Lau, Ted Gup, Julia Murray and Alex Pratt.

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Pinocchio is this years first live-action remake from Disney. The company has continued the trend of transforming its wonderful catalog of animated classics into star lead live-action features directed by noteworthy directors. This film in particular was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who has spent the last two decades incorporating ambitious computer-generated imaging, or CGI, effects into his filmmaking.

Toy maker Geppetto (Tom Hanks) creates a puppet boy named Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) to help fill the void in his lonely heart. After Geppetto makes a wish on a shining star, a fairy comes to grant his desire and give life to the puppet boy. Pinocchio wants to become a real boy to please his father and his newfound conscience, Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Pinocchio embarks on an adventure and meets multiple colorful characters along the way as he learns the values of an honest boy.

Disneys newest version of Pinocchio struggled to give the audience anything of value for the entirety of its run time. It told the exact same story as the original film while making everything worse. Half of the cast is portrayed through CGI, so its difficult to even call this a live-action film.

Zemeckis was once a master of storytelling with classics like Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but now he makes lifeless films that lack any sort of soul. There is nothing visually interesting or innovative with his filmmaking craft in this movie. It highlights the sad trajectory of this mans career ever since he began dabbling in computer-generated visual effects starting with The Polar Express in 2004.

Tom Hanks, who has collaborated with Zemeckis in previous films played Geppetto for this remake. I would love to say that he was a highlight of the film, but his performance comes off as stale and lazy. Hanks did nothing new or interesting, which only solidifies how empty this film is as a whole.

Pinocchio himself looks like a toy you would find at a Disney store. No effort was made to make the design feel new or more realistic. He looks like an uncanny cartoon character that doesnt belong in the world this film is set in.

The journey of this puppet boy feels more underwhelming and tragic than ever before. He is an optimistic lad that gets beaten down by the world time and time again. Pinocchio encounters villains who wish to use him for their own benefit, and its difficult not to associate that behavior with the Disney executives who keep remaking these beloved classics.

Halfway through this film, Pinocchio and a bunch of rowdy kids are taken by the Coachman (Luke Evans) to a place called Pleasure Island. Its an amusement park utopia that allows the kids to do all the things that their parents and elders disallowed. Like the original film, the kids are horrifically transformed into donkeys for acting on their impulses. The Coachman sells off these donkeys as slaves and then proceeds to round up more kids.

Just like the brats on Pleasure Island, we have become slaves of the stories we once loved. Disney+ continues to pump out content almost exclusively based on pre-established franchises. Much of this content feels half-baked and mediocre, but since we are already attached to these characters and stories, we feel obliged to watch them even if they are consistently bland and uninspired.

Pinocchio is just another remake that falls short in bringing anything new or substantial to a timeless tale. It proves that not every classic needs to be remade, especially when it comes to beautiful animation being sacrificed for ugly CGI. Pinocchio is a pure waste of time and talent, and deserves nothing more than a two out of 10.

Disney is continuing their downward spiral by reusing their old successes to get more eyes on these products, with little to offer the viewer as a result. They parade around these film properties like puppets on a string, with no regard to the artistry or worth that was once present long ago. Disney isnt trying to sell you their movies anymore, they only need to sell you their brand.

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Disney continues to botch their animated classics with Pinocchio - Shield