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Unstoppable orders for LNG ships
The choice of LNG for the maritime sector does not seem to be affected by the strong growth in world prices of liquid methane and raw materials. Last October there were 31 orders for new LNG ships.
13 Dec 2021 - ConferenzaGNL
Costa Toscana and AIDACosma will soon be in service
The Costa Cruises group boasts four units of LNG ships: Costa Toscana, Costa Smeralda, AIDANova and AIDACosma.
19 Nov 2021 - ConferenzaGNL
In the water the Moby Fantasy, the first LNG ferry of the Onorato Group
Last November 6, at the GSI shipyard in Guangzhou, China, the Moby Fantasy was launched, the first of the two new-generation units of the Onorato Shipping Group ready for LNG. The ships, Moby Legacy the name of the twin, will enter service from 2023 on the Livorno-Olbia (Sardinia) line.
9 Nov 2021 - ConferenzaGNL
LNG "Elio" ship rise to four for the italian Caronte Group
Caronte & Tourist, the italian ship owner which also includes the Siremar company for ferries to Aeolian, Ustica, Egadi, Pantelleria and Pelagie around Sicily island, also from Naples, has announced the order for two more "Elio", the LNG ferry active since November 2019 in the Strait of Messina forced to use diesel fuel, which is much more polluting, due to the absence of refueling points.
29 Sep 2021 - ConferenzaGNL
Carnival and Siem Car Carriers' LNG fleets grow with Mardi Gras and Aristotle
Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku has delivered the 180,000-tonne LNG-fuelled cruise ship Mardi Gras to Carnival Cruise Line in a live virtual signing ceremony. Siem Car Carriers' (SCC) Aristotle, the second of two LNG-powered pure car truck carriers (PCTCs) in the SCC fleet, also began its maiden voyage from Emden, Germany, to North America.
17 Mar 2021 - ConferenzaGNL
LNG tankers on their way to Alcegiras and Barcelona
The initiative is part of the Spanish LNGHIVE2 strategy coordinated by Enagás as part of the European CEF mechanism, which will provide funding equal to 20% of the construction cost for approximately 11 million euros. A similar initiative is being finalized for a second bunker vessel which will be dedicated to the port of Barcelona.
New LNG bunkering barge at Antwerp Port
The Belgian gas group Fluxys and the LNG supplier Titan LNG have taken delivery of the FlexFueler 002, the LNG internal refuelling barge that will serve the Port and the Antwerp region from February 2021.
27 Feb 2021 - ConferenzaGNL
Shell orders 40 LNG tanker barges for river transport
The Dutch Concordia Damen shipyard has signed a contract with Shell to build 40 tanker barges for the transport of petroleum products on European inland waterways, which equipped with a dual-fuel engine, will run on LNG for most of their voyages.
New MAN LNG engines for TT-Line and Tallink ferries
After a first order concluded at the beginning of the year of the new MAN 51/60DF engines for a LNG RoPax ferry from the Jiangsu Jingling shipyard for the German TT-Line (Volkswagen group), MAN Energy Solutions has been awarded another order from the shipyard Finnish Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) for a similar supply in favor of Estonian Tallink Grupp.
"Hypatia de Alexandria", Balearia LNG-powered ferry, into service between Barcelona and Maiorca
Hypatia de Alexandria,Baleària's first ferry wholly powered by LNG, has recently started sailing regularly between Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca after its arrival on 27 January at the port of Barcelona, coming from the Visentini shipyard of Porto Viro, near Venice. The arrival of the ferry was greeted with a ceremony attended by the President […]
6 Feb 2019 - ConferenzaGNL
Nordlaks orders second LNG-fueled wellboat
In last December, Norwegian aquaculture group Nordlaks has ordered a second live fish carrier equipped with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and battery hybrid propulsion at the Turkish Tersan shipyard, whose delivery is scheduled for 2021. The new unit will be identical to the former dual-fuel ordered ship, based on a project developed by the Norwegian NSK Ship […]
Donsötank orders two LNG vessels at Wuhu Shipyard
Swedish shipowner Rederi AB Donsötank has ordered two new oil products and chemical tankers fuelled with LNG (dual fuel) at the Wuhu Shipyard Co. Ltd., in China Designed by FKAB Marin Design, the two class 1A icebreakers of 22,000 gross tons, 167.7 meters in length and 26.5 meters in width, will have a load capacity […]
Thun Tankers and Preem name new LNG-powered tanker
Sweden's Thun Tankers on Saturday held a naming ceremony for its new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered tanker in Groningen, Holland, named Thun Evolve. The tanker – built at the Dutch Ferus Smit shipyard in Westerbroek – will be long-term leased by Swedish refinery company Preem for deliveries to the company's depots and customers in Sweden, Norway […]
Destination Gotland LNG ferry christened in China
Swedish maritime operator Destination Gotland has recently christened its first LNG-powered RoPax ferry – named Visborg – during a recent ceremony held at China's Nasha-Guangzhou Shipyard International, at the mouth of Pearl River. Two hundred meters long, with a max capacity of 1,730 passengers and 350 cars (or 110 lorries), the ship has also a twin […]
Edison-Knutsen long-term contract for a mid-sized LNG carrier
Edison and the Norwegian company Knutsen OAS Shipping have entered into a long-term rental contract (12 years, renewable for another 8) of a LNG transport vessel of 30,000 cubic meters of capacity which from 2021 will provide the supply the first small scale deposit of LNG in mainland Italy that will be built in the […]
4 Dec 2018 - ConferenzaGNL
First LNG bunkering at Port of Gothenburg's new facility
Swedish shipping company Terntank has been the first operator to take on LNG at a new bunkering facility at the Port of Gothenburg. The facility is the only one of its kind in Sweden, being capable of bunkering not only LNG, but also LBG, which in terms of chemical composition are largely identical. The new […]
LNG Bunker to be completed before the summer of 2019
The Port of Marseille will have a LNG bunkering solution which would refuel LNG propelled ships directly from the dock as well as ship to ship bunker vessels. The facility will be ready before the summer of 2019.The news has been reported by Corriere Marittimo after the conclusion of a round table which gathered operators […]
South Korean Financial Plan for LNG powered ships
According to a recent announcement, the South Korean government plans to support the orders of environmental friendly ships and liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered vessels , as part of a package of measures to help small and midsized shipbuilders. The effort could see a total of 140 LNG powered ships ordered, including two next year, […]
Spain: small scale Sagunto and Huelva and LNG railway with Seville
In Spain, the 'LNGHIVE2: Infrastructure and Logistics Solutions' project, coordinated by Enagás, has been positively rated and selected by the European Commission 'Connecting Europe Facility' (CEF) for funding. The initiative aims to boost the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for maritime and rail transport. The total investment in the project will […]
The first italian LNG ferry (Caronte&Tourist Group) in Messina
On Monday November 12th, the first Italian ferry to supply liquefied liquefied natural gas (dual fuel) arrived in Messina, as we learn from the local press. The ship, whose delivery ceremony will take place on 17 November, will be the new flagship of the Caronte & Tourist Group and will soon enter service on the […]
Rolls-Royce engines for four Havila Kystruten's LNG ferries
Rolls-Royce said it won a contract to provide power and propulsion for four Havila Kystruten's liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled Ro-Pax vessels. Rolls-Royce will provide a fully integrated LNG power and propulsion solution to all four ships. This includes two LNG fuel tanks with process system, and control and safety systems, four Bergen gas engines, main […]
30 Oct 2018 - ConferenzaGNL
Tallink Grupp and Rauma Marine Constructions signs LOI for a new LNG shuttle ferry
AS Tallink Grupp has announced that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) for the construction of a new LNG-powered shuttle ferry for the Tallinn-Helsinki route. The vessel will be constructed at the Rauma shipyard in Finland, with completion expected by the end of 2021. The project is estimated to cost €250 million, and […]
AET names two LNG dual fuel Aframaxes
The malaysian tank owner and operator AET has named and welcomed its first LNG dual-fuelled aframax vessels, Eagle Brasilia and Eagle Bintulu at a ceremony held at the Samsung Heavy Industry Co Ltd's (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea. Both vessels have been taken on long-term charter by Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (Shell), primarily for […]
EU grant to retrofit five Baleària ferries to LNG
The Spanish ferry operator Baleària obtained an economic support of about 11.8 million euros from the European Union for the planned conversion to liquefied natural gas (LNG) of five of its ferries. The European Union has declared the company's project as "excellent" and will grant up to a maximum contribution of 11.797 million euros, compared […]
SENER Marine LNG-powered unit for Rimorchiatori Panfido
As part of a project co-funded by the European Union through the Poseidon MED II program, Spanish engineering and technology group SENER has signed a contract with the Venetian maritime company Rimorchiatori Riuniti Panfido & C. srl to provide basic engineering and technical assistance for the construction of a dual fuel tugboat powered by liquefied […]
Exhibitors' List
High patronage of
Adda passà 'a nuttata… 23 December 2021
Synthetic LNG too in the collaboration of CMA CGM and ENGIE 16 December 2021
Unstoppable orders for LNG ships 13 December 2021


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Florida State continues focus on season ticket sales as football around the corner
College football media days start next week; FSU coach Willie Taggart looks to rebound
Florida State continues focus on season ticket sales as football around the corner College football media days start next week; FSU coach Willie Taggart looks to rebound Check out this story on tallahassee.com: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/2019/07/12/florida-state-continues-focus-season-ticket-sales/1712835001/
Jim Henry, Tallahassee Democrat Published 12:57 p.m. ET July 12, 2019
FSU's Dalvin Cook breaks away from Ole Miss' Issac Gross on a run during their game at Camping World Stadium on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)
College football is around the corner. Fans know that to be true with the start of the Power Five Conference's media days next week.
SEC Media Days start Monday in Hoover, Alabama, while the ACC follows Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Second-year Florida State coach Willie Taggart will be the first of the ACC's 14 coaches to meet with the media over the two-day event.
Taggart, of course, is looking to rebound from last season's 5-7 season that saw the program miss a bowl for the first time since 1981. FSU lost five games by 21 or more points.
PHOTOS: Willie Taggart All-Position Camp | June 14-16, 2019
Travis Maloy of Alexander High School in Douglasville, Georgia goes skyward for a catch while playing Nole Ball at the Willie Taggart All-Positions Camp on Saturday, June 15, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Omilio Savage of Plantation High School lines up for warm-up exercises during the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Isaac Martin of Plantation High School runs through drills during the All-Positions Camp on Friday, June 14, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
FSU assistant offensive line coach Jake Reed teaches players core strength during the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Ja'quan Coasey (28) of Jefferson County High School in Monticello goes one-on-one with Simeal Burke (27) of Coconut Creek High School in Coconut Creek at the Willie Taggart All-Positions Camp. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Defensive end Chris Jones gets down in a four-point stance to rush the passer during a drill at FSU's All-Position Camp on Friday, June 14, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Top recruit Chris Jones of Coconut Creek High School in Pompano Beach works out during FSU's All-Position Camp on Friday, June 14, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Florida State recruiting coordinator David Kelly addresses the student-athletes of the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp at the conclusion of workouts on Friday, June 15, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Luke Blasczyk of Alexander High School in Douglasville, Georgia registers with Julie Reed at the Willie Taggart All-Positions Camp on Saturday, June 15, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
FSU defensive lineman Joshua Kaindoh shows Jacob Towner of Choctawhatchee High School how to attack during the Willie Taggart All-Positions Camp on Saturday, June 15, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Florida State defensive lineman Quashon Fuller (left) and assistant coach Mark Snyder observe as players hit the blocking sled. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Defensive lineman Dequaveon Fuller hits the blocking sled during the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp on Saturday, June 15, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Florida State commit Dequaveon Fuller works on his speed during the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp on Saturday, June 15, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Byron Jenkins of Booker T. Washington in Pensacola makes a catch during a drill at the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp on Sunday, June 16, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Zacchaeus Byrd of American Heritage School in Plantation catches the ball over Will Robbins of Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Georgia at the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
FSU wide receivers Jordan Young (left) and Keyshawn Helton observe as high school players run through drills at the Willie Taggart All-Position Camp on Sunday, June 16, 2019. Rory Sharrock/Democrat
Coaching changes and renewed focus on culture have been offseason themes for the program.
The Seminoles open Saturday, Aug. 31, in Jacksonville against Boise State, a program noted for pulling off upsets. FSU has been tabbed a 4-point favorite by oddsmakers.
The game is expected to help set the tone for the Seminoles' fan base, which has been slow to renew season tickets.
As first reported by the Democrat last February, FSU expects to sell less than 30,000 season tickets in the stadium bowl this year this year for six home games. That's well off the sold-out mark of 45,000 season tickets sold in 2014, when the Seminoles came off the program's third national championship and home attendance averaged 82,211.
Naturally, the dip will hurt FSU's fiscally strapped athletics budget. The Seminoles are projecting a decrease of around $8 million in overall football ticket revenue.
FSU currently has sold 24,500 tickets in the main bowl. That does not include 2,800 in the Dunlap Champions Club and 3,000 in the Varsity Club and stadium suites.
FSU, however, is working hard to reverse the trend, focusing on flexible options to make tickets more attractive.
Last May, the Seminoles introduced three new purchasing options to supplement traditional season ticket packages, including an all-mobile ticket plan that is gaining popularity nationally at college and professional events.
FSU is also renewing its focus on local fans with an 850 Package that features four season tickets and entry level Booster membership for $850.
"Ticket packages and single game sales are moving along well," said Jack Chatham, assistant athletics director of Ticket Operations and Service. "We feel we have a ticket offering for everyone regardless of budget or schedule."
FSU is hoping to make a profit on its neutral-site season opener, which was initially scheduled to be played in Doak Campell Stadium. FSU has sold 30,000 tickets in 67,174-seat TIAA Stadium in Jacksonville against Boise State. Boise State has requested 2,500 tickets for the game.
Winning football and an attractive home schedule are keys to the FSU athletic department's financial success.
In a recent interview with the Democrat, FSU Athletics Director David Coburn said the school is taking steps to improve the fan experience at Doak Campbell Stadium. He also is working to improve the Seminoles' non-conference schedule, with future games against Notre Dame (2021) and Georgia (2027-28, home-and-home) on the books.
"In the short term, we have to sell tickets," Coburn said. "That means we have to move the football and stop the other team. We are working on it."
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FSU football ticket packages.
Lowest price for single games are displayed.
Single Games: All Available Online at www.seminoles.com
ULM - $25
Louisville - $40
NC State - $40
Syracuse - $40
Miami - $90
Alabama State - $25
Youth and group rates are also available. Please call 888-FSU-NOLE to inquire about prices and availability.
3 Game Package (Includes Miami) - $190
3 Game Package (Does not include Miami) - $135
Tribe Flex Package (vouchers for any game/s) – 6 Vouchers - $345
Tribe Flex Package (vouchers for any game/s) – 12 vouchers - $570
850 Package – Only available to Leon County residents – Includes 4 season tickets and a $70 Seminole Booster donation - $850
3 Game Package in the Dunlap Champions Club – Choose any 3 games - $699
Reach Jim Henry at jjhenry@tallahassee.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Is it possible to change script running clientside on a webpage? So I'm playing a game online on my laptop and it is a pretty simple html5 game but the optimization is nonexistant. The game with a few circles on my screen is using 85% of my cpu.
Logically, I started profiling the game and was trying to figure out if I could optimize it for my laptop. Now, what I'm wondering is how could I run the game but with a tweaked version of the JS script that is running.
If I try to save the page and run it from my laptop it of course has CORS issues so I can not access the server.
Can I somehow change the script a bit which is executing in my browser but while still staying "inside the webpage" which is running so that I may normally make XHR requests to the server?
Also, although this is not in the title of the question, can I somehow proxy the XHR request to my script but while not breaking the CORS rule?
Why is it so different if I run the same thing from my browser and from a saved HTML on my desktop? I have the same IP and am doing the same thing but from the url it "feels like" I'm running it from somewhere else. Can I somehow imitate that I'm running "from the webpage" but instead run it from a modified saved html?

A: You could proxy, given there isn't a cross domain protection mechanism or some sort of logging in (which complicates stuff).
What you could very well do is use a browser extension which allows you to add CSS, HTML and JavaScript.
I'm not entirely savvy on extensions so I'm not sure you can modify existing code but I'm guessing that if you can add arbitrary JS code you may very well replace the script tag containing the game for a similar personally modified script based on it. It's worth a try...
Link to getting started with chrome extensions
Update:
If you're set on doing it, proxying ammounts to requesting an URL with your application and do something with the page (html) instead of the original source. I assume you want to change the page and serve it to your browser.
With this in mind you will need the following, I dont know C# so you'll have to google around for libraries and utilities:

*

*a way to request URLs (see link at bottom)

*a way to modify the page, you need a DOM crawler

*a way to start said process and serve it to your browser by hitting your own URL, meaning you need some sort of web server
I found the following question specifically on proxying with C#

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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STARZ Releases First Look Teaser Trailer And Art For "ASH VS EVIL DEAD"
STILL RAISING HELL!
STARZ RELEASES FIRST LOOK TEASER TRAILER AND ART FOR
Original filmmakers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell Serve as Executive Producers on the Series starring Campbell and Lucy Lawless among others
Beverly Hills, Calif., April 2, 2015 – The STARZ Original series "Ash vs Evil Dead" released a first look motion graphic and teaser art for the 10-episode first season of the half-hour series executive produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Bruce Campbell, the original filmmakers of the franchise, and Craig DiGregorio who will serve as executive producer and showrunner. The teaser will premiere on-air during the "Outlander" premiere on Saturday, April 4 at 9 PM ET/PT. "Ash vs Evil Dead," which will film in New Zealand, is the long-awaited follow-up to the classic horror film franchise The Evil Dead and is set to premiere on STARZ in late 2015.
Campbell will be reprising his role as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its "Evil" grip.
The cast is led by Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, "Burn Notice") in the role of Ash Williams, Lucy Lawless ("Salem," "Spartacus") as Ruby a mysterious figure who believes Ash is the cause of the Evil outbreaks, Jill Marie Jones ("Sleepy Hollow") as Amanda Fisher, a disgraced Michigan State Trooper set to find our anti-hero Ash and prove his responsibility in the grisly murder of her partner, Ray Santiago ("Touch," Meet the Fockers) as Pablo Simon Bolivar, an idealistic immigrant who becomes Ash's loyal sidekick and Dana DeLorenzo (A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas) as Kelly Maxwell, a moody wild child trying to outrun her past.
Raimi is directing the first episode of "Ash vs Evil Dead" that he wrote with Ivan Raimi (Darkman, Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell), Craig DiGregorio ("Workaholics," "Chuck") and Tom Spezialy ("Chuck," "Reaper," "Desperate Housewives"). Raimi will also serve as executive producer, along with Rob Tapert (Evil Dead, "Spartacus," Xena: Warrior Princess") and Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, "Burn Notice") along with Craig DiGregorio ("Workaholics," "Chuck") who will serve as executive producer/showrunner. Ivan Raimi will co-executive produce and Aaron Lam ("Spartacus") will serve as producer.
Join the conversation with #AshvsEvilDead and #STARZ.
"Ash vs Evil Dead" Teaser
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of December 31, 2014, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 57.3 million subscribers, including 23.3 million at STARZ, and 34.0 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.
Labels: Ash Vs. Evil Dead Bruce Campbell Dana DeLorenzo Jill Marie Jones Lucy Lawless Ray Santiago Rob Tapert Sam Raimi
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Our Leader & MLAs
Caucus News
Home / Find your BC Liberal MLA / Marvin Hunt
Marvin Hunt
Critic for Social Development and Poverty Reduction
Surrey-Cloverdale
Facebook Twitter Email Marvin
Surrey-Cloverdale Constituency Office
105-5738 175th Street Surrey, BC V3S 4T7
About Marvin
Marvin Hunt was first elected to the Legislature in 2013 and re-elected in 2017.
Marvin has previously served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. Currently, Marvin serves as the Official Opposition's critic on Social Development and Poverty Reduction. Prior to entering provincial politics, Marvin was first elected to Surrey City Council in 1987.
Marvin served in many roles in local politics, including chair of Metro Vancouver's Board, chair of the International Committee of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and president of the Union of BC Municipalities. Marvin also initiated the development of Metro Vancouver's Sustainable Region Initiative in 2002. He has devoted countless hours to charitable and non-profit organizations in a wide variety of endeavors, often serving on the boards of directors.
Marvin and his wife Ruth are long-time Surrey residents and share six children and sixteen grandchildren.
Follow Marvin on social media channels for the latest updates
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Several weeks back, I was presented with a group of snapshots from an active BlackHole Exploit Kit 1.2 Control Panel.
As with other toolkits I've seen in the wild, this one has all the makings of some real bad medicine. The authors have yet again gone to the trouble of making this toolkit incredibly easy to use and widely available for a price. Just a little unsavory web hosting in a country with few or no diplomatic relations and off to the races they go.
It appears this toolkit is configurable in both Russian and English, making one wonder its true origins.
Another more popular rootkit we're seeing very widely on the Webroot realtime watch is: vSirefef.B/Zero-Access.
Here are some of the known exploits the kit can execute on a victim's machines.
The basic view the bot controller has is of the statistics page, which should indicate why I listed some of the expoits this toolkit is using. Not surprisingly, for as young as the kit is, you can see that both the Java and Adobe softwares are exploited far more than any others.
I'm sure some think they are safe using a browser other than Internet Explorer but it appears from this image there isn't alot of difference in how this toolkit has behaved between the three browsers it's touched.
As the authors have made this toolkit easy to use, they have also made it easy to maintain a low detection rate on the binaries by using an antivirus scanning service which does not share any binaries collected with the AV industry.
The easy-to-read statistics page make it simple for the controller to view and monitor how well or poor the current bot is doing — how many operating systems it's infected, what type of operating systems were infected, and in which countries they're located.
Image 2 is the preference page where the user of the control panel can make quick changes to the toolkit's delivery methods or the binary state via virus scan.
The below images show how easy it is to see that the authors had some form of longevity in mind by giving the controller to ability to set any type of rule to avoid quick detections on the delivery points, along with quick means to replace any file at any given time.
Blackhole uses custom file encryptions to assist in avoiding detections but oddly enough, they have chose to use some static file naming for the actual files, as they would exist on a victims machine.
This glance at the Blackhole Toolkit confirms the dependence on outdated operating systems and outdated software in general, in order for it to exist efficiently.
so does Webroot stop this, just asking.
We do protect against the Trojans we've seen this kit dish out. However, there are always new variants being discovered so as soon as we find them we add them to our threat intelligence network and you are protected.
I've been subscribed to the RSS feed for a couple of months now, and I'm impressed by the level of content you guys put out.


Airsoft Innovations Duster Adaptor. Computer duster gas (compressed gas) can be used to fill Japanese guns (e.g., Tokyo Marui, Maruzen, Tanaka). Duster gas is not intended for use with non-Japanese gas guns which use a higher pressure gas (propane). However, this adaptor can be used as a replacement tip for the adaptor that comes with the Airsoft Innovations Gun Gas Kit or an earlier version of their propane adaptors that did not include a duster adaptor. It can also be used as an extension for those mags that require an extra long fill tip.
To use this adaptor, just place two drops of silicone oil (not included) in the tip of the can of duster gas before attaching the adaptor. Flip the can upside down and use it like you would a can of green gas! Its that easy! You are good to go for that mags next ten refills before you need to add more silicone oil. The silicone oil is used to combat the drying effect that the compressed air will have on the rubber componentsnamely, the valves o-rings and hop-up.


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One of the best ways to refresh yourself after time outside is with coconut water. Once relegated to hot yoga studios, coconut water is now the "go to" choice for smart, natural hydration. It's filled with natural sugars and electrolytes that curb sugar cravings naturally, and give you energy after sweating, time in the sun, or time in the studio.
...but there are many reasons to love coconut and here are 5 of them….
1) It's high in Lauric Acid.
Lauric Acid is a medium-chain that converts to monolaurin in the body, which is known for its anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-protozoa properties.
2) It contributes to weight loss.
Even though coconut oil contains saturated fat, 48% of its saturated fat is made up of a medium-chain fatty acid. Medium-chain fatty acids stimulate your body's metabolism, which can lead to weight loss.
3) It acts like a carbohydrate—without messing with your blood sugar.
4) It stands up to higher heat cooking.
Unlike other liquid oils that turn rancid and become oxidized when cooked at high temperatures, coconut oil remains stable, making it the ideal oil for baking and cooking.
5) It conditions your skin.
When applied topically, coconut oil can help protect your skin from the elements that speed up aging and heal conditions such as psoriasis and eczema due to its anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. For the same reason, when it comes to oral hygiene, a spoonful of coconut oil can clean your mouth more thoroughly than brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash.
The whole "avoid coconut because it's saturated" is so yesterday. Whether you use the oil, cream, milk, or pulp…it's time to get more coconut into your life. (note: Almond Joys don't count!) Sprinkle my favorite shredded coconut on your morning cereal, carry coconut water with you to the gym, and add coconut milk to your favorite smoothie recipe.
Curb sugar cravings naturally, heal hormone imbalance, and look and feel great with one ingredient!
Sunita is a functional nutritionist and women's health expert. She strives to be a "science guide in a sea of health fluff" to help people navigate the overwhelm of online advice to find real solutions for their specific biology, lifestyle, and health goals. She blends fact-based science with Ayurveda principles, life hacking, and mind-body wellness. For more tips on how to live a nourished life without driving yourself crazy check out www.nourishnutrition.com. You can also get free access to Sunita's guide: 7 Steps to Naturally Balance Hormones and Boost Energy Here.


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Kulm Hotel St. Moritz unveils £1.5 million suite renovation
The historic Kulm Hotel St. Moritz updates its largest guestroom to become resorts cosiest and arguably most modern
The sunny Engadine Valley is dotted with the ultimate luxury, blending the best of Swiss hospitality's rich tradition. The time has finally come for the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz, the resort's original hotel founded in 1856, to unveil the revamped Corvatsch Suite by internationally renowned French hotel designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. The new Corvatsch Suite is icing on the cake following designer Rochon's elegant work at the Kulm's sister property, the nearby Grand Hotel Kronenhof, where guests could already experience the comfort and attention to detail in the property's newly refurbished rooms and suites, as we wrote in our Royal issue.
Kulm Hotel St. Moritz, Piz Nair Mountain view, all images courtesy of www.kulm.com
Using tranquil elegant colours, premium materials and comfortable furnishings, while discreetly incorporating the latest technology, Pierre-Yves Rochon now updates the former Presidential Suite, featuring views out over Lake St. Moritz towards the Corvatsch mountain, which is owned by the same company that owns the hotel.
Main Lobby Kulm Hotel
While the overall style of the Corvatsch Suite can be described as contemporary Alpine chic, it is definitely the ancient Alps themselves that give the room its real wow factor. Located on the top floor of the hotel, the Suite's wrap-around windows and two balconies simultaneously invite the stunning natural backdrop into the room and offer the most magnificent vistas out over the Engadine valley.
Kulm Hotel St. Moritz, the 176 square metre Corvatsch Suite by Pierre-Yves Rochon
A reason for choosing regional suppliers was to minimise the travel miles of the re-design, but when furniture had to be brought in from further afield, sustainability was an important consideration. This resulted in the inclusion of the 1970s inspired dining chairs by Patricia Urquiola for Cassina, which have been engineered to be completely disassembled for ease of disposal and recycling of the organic premium materials, starting with the metal core.
Kulm Hotel St. Moritz, the Corvatsch Suite
Similarly, the Little Petra sheepskin armchairs by Viggo Boesen in front of the fireplace are made from wood sourced from sustainable woods, adding to the luxury experience of staying in a £1.5 million (CHF 1.75 million) refurbished Suite.
These sheepskin armchairs are the best place to sit, in front of a roaring log fire, on a crisp winter's day with a glass of Champagne in hand, while the cosy corner seat beneath the window is the perfect spot to witness "blue hour", when the mountains change colour from glistening white to icy blue as the sun sets after another fabulous day on the slopes.
Master Bathroom, the Corvatsch Suite
While the Corvatsch Suite has one bedroom, it can be connected to an adjacent Junior Suite, 43 square metres in size, that has been renovated in a very similar style, thereby creating one large apartment of 219 square metres, suitable for families. Winter rates for the Corvatsch Suite start from CHF6,100 (approx. £5,400) for two people on a half-board basis; while winter rates for the Corvatsch Suite and adjoining Junior Suite start from CHF8,800 (approx. £7,700) for four people on a half-board basis. To book, call +41 81 836 8000, email info@kulm.com or visit www.kulm.com
When renovating the Suite, Rochon focused heavily on using materials, manufacturers and craftsmen from Graubünden in order to give the room an authentic Alpine feel. For example, the bathroom has massive Valser granite basins, while Swiss stone pine wood has been used in the bathroom cladding and in the creation of a bench beneath the large corner window that is very typical of the Engadine region. Additionally, the artworks include a series of monochrome images taken by local photographer Gian Giovanoli of the valley, further strengthening the local connection.
Master Bathroom of the Corvatsch Suite features massive Valser granite basins
The Corvatsch Suite connectsto an adjacent Junior Suite, 43 square metres in size
Lobby Kulm Hotel
Since the 19th century, the Kulm Hotel has changed considerably through expansion and renovation, but the fabulous location at the heart of St. Moritz with views over the Lake remains the same. A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Kulm Hotel St. Moritz has 164 rooms, six restaurants (including formal dining in the Grand Restaurant, the Italian Pizzeria with 14 Gault Millau points and local Engadine specialities at Chesa al Parc); the extensive Kulm Spa St. Moritz (with a 20m indoor pool with underwater music, various saunas and steam room, a Jacuzzi, a fullyequipped gym and treatment rooms, all with stunning views over Lake St. Moritz); and six conference rooms, with capacities ranging from 50 to 500 people.
Kulm Hotel St. Moritz as the first hotel to be built in St. Moritz, became popular for summer spa and painting holidays, particularly among the British who comprised around 75% of the hotel guests. The then owner of the Kulm Hotel, Johannes Badrutt, initiated winter holidays to St. Moritz from 1864 and, as a result, the hotel, resort and Switzerland itself celebrated 150 years of winter tourism in the 2014/15 season.
Wellness Private Spa at Kulm Hotel
Wellness Spa Treatment room with Lake St. Moritz panoramic views
Popular Kulm Country Club has outdoor and indoor areas
Kulm Hotel's Grand Restaurant
Kulm Hotel Outdoor Pool
Kulm Hotel
Pierre-Yves Rochon
Kronenhof
LHW
Gstaad Palace reopens for its 110th winter season
ETIHAD Airways obtains two SUSTAINABILITY Awards
Copenhagen has been designated UNESCO's World Capital of Architecture for 2023,


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Grant Williams puts up monster game in No. 1 Tennessee's overtime win over Vanderbilt
By Scott PhillipsJan 23, 2019, 10:05 PM EST
Tennessee needed everything they could get from junior forward Grant Williams on Wednesday night as the No. 1 Volunteers outlasted in-state rival Vanderbilt with an 88-83 overtime SEC road win.
Williams, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, played as if the National Player of the Year was more suitable to his needs this season as his dominant 43-point performance had the basketball world buzzing. Finishing 23-for-23 from the free-throw line, Williams essentially gutted Tennessee through a night in which a natural second scorer didn't easily step up while Vanderbilt repeatedly made big shots with the shot clock winding down.
Not only did Williams lead Tennessee to victory on Wednesday night, it was the surgical way in which he went about torching Vanderbilt's defense. Once Commodore junior big man Yanni Wetzell fouled out with a little over five minutes left, Williams went to work with a number of quick and decisive scoring moves. Spins into jumpers and runners balanced with post touches through contact that were all seamlessly converted.
And once Williams got to the line, he finished nearly every attempt completely clean — announcers marveling when he even drew iron. It's only the second time in the history of college basketball that a player was at least 23-for-23 from the foul line.
Grant Williams' 23-23 free throw performance is the best the NCAA has seen in 60 years (Arlen Clark 24-24 in 1959). Only the second player in college basketball history to accomplish that feat. The projected first rounder finished with 43 points in an overtime win vs Vanderbilt.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) January 24, 2019
Although many have placed Duke freshman Zion Williamson as the leader for Player of the Year at this point in the season, Williams is putting up huge numbers for the current No. 1 team in America. On a night when normal running mate Admiral Schofield struggled to only six points, Tennessee was still able to win because Williams got them there.
This is the type of signature performance that people are going to associate with Williams for a long time as his huge junior season continues.


text:
Japanese Tar Heel, Inc.
Yes, I'm a Japanese Tar Heel!
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Gate.io is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in China in 2013.
Gate.io is currently headquartered in the Cayman Islands (a British overseas territory and three islands west of the Caribbean Sea), with offices in United States, Japan, and South Korea.
The advantage of Gate.io is that it can handle more than 1,400 cryptocurrencies including altcoins.
In particular, there are minor altcoins that are not handled by major exchanges.
The disadvantage of Gate.io is the China risk.
In September 2021, China banned cryptocurrency altogether, making it illegal.
Gate.io is headquartered in the Cayman Islands, but it is originally a Chinese company, so the possibility of being affected cannot be denied.
Also, the fact that there are minor altcoins that are not handled by major exchanges means that there are many suspicious cryptocurrencies.
Consider these risks when deciding whether or not to use Gate.io!
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The following video learns how to use Gate.io.
This article introduced Gate.io, which is a cryptocurrency exchange trading minor altcoins.
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-cryptocurrency, exchange, Gate.io
What is MEXC? Cryptocurrency Exchange with Many Giveaway Projects
What is Oasys? Blockchain for Games by Japanese Companies [How to Buy]
© 2023 Japanese Tar Heel, Inc.


text:
By Will Jones / 10 September 2020 10 September 2020 / 1,633 Comments
"I will be voting to curtail the Government's powers in this area" – MP backlash begins
MPs are beginning to suspect they know what ministers have replaced Parliament with
Sir Charles Walker, the Vice Chairman of the influential Conservative 1922 committee of MPs, slammed the new restrictions on social gatherings saying he would vote to "curtail" the Government's powers. The Telegraph has the story.
The changes will impose a legal limit on gatherings in private homes, parks, pubs and restaurants and will come into force in England on Monday.
Sir Charles argued that ministers needed to come to the Commons and "win the argument" on policies, admitting he was "increasingly uncomfortable" about the way the Government was running.
He said: "I am incredibly exercised about the continued use by the Government of powers that we granted it six months ago admittedly, to basically restrict people's civil liberties without any recourse back to Parliament.
"Now these powers are due to be reviewed at the end of September, or the beginning of October, and hopefully there will be another vote on them.
"And I will be voting – if given the chance to vote in this rather strange Parliament – to curtail the Government's powers in his area."
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was visibly livid that Matt Hancock had failed to make the announcement in the chamber first:
It is really not good enough for the Government to make decisions of this kind in the way which show insufficient regard to the importance of major policy announcements being made first in this House. I've already sent a letter to the Secretary of State. I think the total disregard for this Chamber is not acceptable. I know the Prime Minister is a Member of Parliament as well and he will ensure that statements should be made here first.
The Government has clarified that – for now – the restrictions apply specifically to private gatherings in homes, restaurants, parks and so on (see here and here). They do not affect workplaces, schools, churches, etc. But for how long? The Prime Minister seems to be abandoning his earlier hope of getting back to normal by Christmas, with chief medical officer Chris Whitty warning that "people shouldn't see this as a very short term thing" and it is "very unlikely to be just over in two or three weeks".
The reason? Because "cases" (actually positive PCR tests – almost none of these people are unwell) have been approaching 3,000 in recent days. But even the BBC has pointed out that this spike is a result of the massive increase in testing (Toby wrote about this in the Telegraph here). There is no corresponding rise in hospital admissions and deaths. Here's today's graph:
COVID-19 patients in hospital, UK
As the three eminent scientists, Paul Kirkham, Mike Yeadon and Barry Thomas wrote on Lockdown Sceptics yesterday: "Daily deaths from and with COVID-19 have almost ceased, having fallen over 99% from peak. All the numbers monitored carefully fall like this, too: the numbers being hospitalised, numbers in hospital, number in intensive care – all are falling in synchrony from the April peak… The evidence we've presented leads us to believe there is unlikely to be a second wave."
Global daily COVID-19 deaths in sustained decline (Worldometer)
The COVID-19 epidemic is over in the UK. Any further local outbreaks are very likely to be well within health service capacity. COVID-19 was never a peculiarly deadly disease and we have anyway become much better at treating its more serious forms. Now is not the time to increase restrictions. It is time to declare the epidemic at an end and return to normality. Happily, more and more MPs appear to agree.
That Damned Elusive RNA
The Covid Pimpernel: They seek it here, they seek it there, those testers seek it everywhere. Is it in Leicester, or in Torbay, that damned elusive RNA.
We've published an original piece today by Dr Clare Craig about the guidance issued by the Government on September 7th that introduced a new PCR testing paradigm designed to reduce the number of false positives. Understanding the change requires some mastery of cutting edge molecular genetics, but the short version is that the more amplification cycles a lab runs when searching for Covid RNA in a swab sample, the more likely the virus is to be detected, regardless of whether it's present in a sufficiently concentrated form to indicate the person is infectious or even, in some cases, if they've had the disease at all. So the more cycles a lab runs, the greater the risk of false positives – and if the number climbs as high as 34 cycles, the result will always be positive, irrespective of whether the sample contains microscopic fragments of Covid RNA or none at all. The Government hasn't ordered its testing labs to keep the cycles below a certain number, but it has said that if the virus is only detected after 30 amplification cycles the lab has to retest to confirm that the subject in question is actually positive.
This guidance was almost certainly issued in response to this paper by Carl Heneghan and his colleagues at Oxford's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine that was published on Friday drawing attention to the over-sensitivity of the test, whereby someone who's had COVID-19 and recovered could still have fragments of the virus in their system, causing them to test positive. Heneghan et al also point to the wide variation in the number of cycles the labs typically run, meaning the same subject could test positive in one location but negative in another. (It's also possible the change was partly prompted by the paper that Lockdown Sceptics published on September 7th by three eminent scientists, highlighting the same problem).
Clare is a Consultant Pathologist who's been writing about the pandemic on her blog called "Logic in the Time of Covid". She's written some excellent pieces, including this one in which she makes the point that a 'zero-Covid' strategy is fatally flawed because the PCR test will always throw up some false positives. Carl Heneghan linked to that post on Twitter on Monday, saying it was "worth a read".
Clare thinks the new guidance is a step in the right direction, but doesn't completely solve the problem.
The causes of false positives are myriad. From other viruses, to contaminant human DNA as well as cross contamination between cases and residual RNA fragments in patients who have cleared the virus. The risk of these can never be completely mitigated. Changing the cycle threshold does not fully address the potential for contamination or sub-optimal test performance in general. So more work needs to be done than just setting an albeit sensible number of amplification cycles.
By addressing the cycle threshold, PHE will eliminate some false positives. The cases that needed more than 30 cycles will be examined further to decide which are real. This ought to include input from the doctors caring for those patients and a repeat PCR test is likely to be carried out too. The numbers will rise again once this additional data is available. We will have to wait and see how low the new baseline is.
That is not the end of the problem with false positives. Other false positive test results look like true positive test results. If this were not the case we would not mistake them for true positive results. And for some false positives the cause will still be there when a second confirmatory PCR is attempted. We desperately need a robust definition of a 'COVID-19 case' with criteria beyond a single positive PCR result.
This is an excellent post by a top scientist. Clare worked for Imperial College Healthcare Trust as a cytopathologist and then became the day-to-day pathology lead for the cancer arm of the 100,000 Genomes Project.
Neil Ferguson Defends his Model, Sue Denim Responds
Ferguson consults his "model" to see how many people will die from Covid if we don't do exactly what he says
A couple of days ago, Neil Ferguson posted a comment on the GitHub thread that started when someone asked Imperial College to publish the original source code used to power the epidemiological model in Report 9. (Ooh, the cheek!) As readers will recall, this was Imperial's March 16th paper warning the Government that if it didn't replace its mitigation strategy with a suppression strategy, 250,000 people would die. Many people have raised doubts about that code, including the ex-Google software engineer known as "Sue Denim" who has posted several critiques on Lockdown Sceptics. (See the first six posts under "How Reliable is Imperial College's Modelling?" on the right-hand menu). Rather unexpectedly, Ferguson jumped into the thread on Tuesday to defend his work.
Another academic group has independently exactly replicated the Report 9 results using the original code and input files as part of the Royal Society RAMP initiative. They are preparing a paper on their analysis which should be out in the next month or two.
For those who believe that discovering a fatal flaw in this code might bring the the scientific support for lockdown tumbling down, I'm sorry break it to you to that other (notably LSHTM) academic groups informing SAGE in March used completely different models to reach nearly identical conclusions to our Report 9 in March. The relevant documents are online in the SAGE archive. The key conclusion that severe social distancing measures were required to prevent health systems being overwhelmed hinged only on estimates of R0/doubling time, hospitalisation rates and IFR (mortality risk). Given those estimates, any epidemic model would give basically the same conclusions we reached.
We asked Sue Denim to respond.
Well. This comment by Ferguson demonstrates how epidemiology has become so corrupted.
As we've seen before in this paper, at some point epidemiologists started to define success for their predictions as "matches what other epidemiologists predict" instead of "matches reality". This probably occurred because their theories are incomplete and produce predictions that deviate significantly from what really happens (see: BSE, Foot and Mouth Disease, Zika and COVID). But it seems nobody knows how to improve them. Dangerous virus outbreaks are rare and experiments can't be conducted, so there are few opportunities to refine the theories. Rather than admit defeat and switch to doing something else until new ideas emerge, epidemiologists have developed a series of highly evolved (but wrong) arguments as to why they are doing useful work.
Ferguson states: "For those who believe that discovering a fatal flaw in this code might bring the the scientific support for lockdown tumbling down, I'm sorry break it to you to that other (notably LSHTM) academic groups informing SAGE in March used completely different models to reach nearly identical conclusions to our Report 9 in March."
He's probably referring to this paper. It says: "Interpretation: The characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 mean that extreme measures are likely required to bring the epidemic under control and to prevent very large numbers of deaths and an excess of demand on hospital beds, especially those in ICUs."
That is indeed a nearly identical conclusion. Yet we know from counter-examples where "extreme measures" weren't used that ICU capacity was never exceeded at all, and there was no "very large number of deaths". So this paper is just as scientifically invalid as Ferguson's was. It actually reinforces the point that there is no scientific support for lockdown, only pseudo-scientific support using non-validated models and theories – theories that were disproven over the summer. Actual scientists compare their predictions against the real world, and if the predictions are wrong they refine their theories. (As Richard Feynman said: "If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science.") This last step is missing in epidemiology, where for decades academics have been declaring success regardless of observed outcomes, even though their theories/models are general and hardly altered for new viruses.
What of his claim that the LSHTM model is "completely different"? The code is different, and of somewhat higher quality. The assumptions it makes are not really different. It's another minor elaboration of an age-stratified SEIR model. For example, it assumes a totally susceptible population, which appears not to be true. Indeed the idea that SARS-CoV-2 is "novel" seems to be at the root of many of the incorrect decisions to lockdown.
He finishes by saying, "The key conclusion… hinged only on estimates of R0/doubling time, hospitalisation rates and IFR (mortality risk). Given those estimates, any epidemic model would give basically the same conclusions we reached."
This is a surprising assertion. Rephrased, his conclusions could have been worked out on the back of a napkin, as "any" model would give the same conclusions given just three variables. Therefore it didn't require 15,000 lines of code or any particular expertise to do his job. Literally "any" model would agree. He also seems to be disclaiming responsibility for the correctness of the data he uses.
Still, the core point he's trying to make is correct – replicability bugs in his code don't change the overall conclusion he reached. But who claimed they did? Certainly not the analyses I've written for this site. The point here is a different one: computational epidemiologists pose as scientists. That means they are meant to follow the scientific method, which means making testable predictions that follow from their theories. If predictions don't reliably follow from theories in a reproducible way, or if they never update theories in response to failed predictions, the work they are doing is not scientific and should not be treated by governments as such.
While it seems unlikely that governments will hold academics to account this year, by blowing off basic methodological failures in such a visible way the scientific community are setting themselves up for a major reckoning in future. Trust in scientists has fallen significantly over the summer. Future generations of politicians will start to ignore the claims of academics across an ever-wider set of fields, as has already occurred for economics and – in the USA – climatology (another field that relies heavily on modelling).
"I've Seen Enough Failure in Corporate Life Through Groupthink to Understand What's Happened to Our Politicos."
We got a message yesterday (and a donation) from an exasperated consultant. Many people will feel the same way.
Since the start of this, the interpretation of the data has been clear to me. It's the job I've done for 30 years, albeit in consumer behavioural insight not virology. And I've seen enough massive failure in corporate life through groupthink to understand what's happened to our politicos. I've spent most of my career trying to get well educated corporate executives to practice fact-based decision making, rather than the other way around. We've had months of evidence now (not bloody models) about the asymmetrical nature of the pathogen's effects, veracity of data, metadata & testing regimes, scientists and medical experts brave enough to speak out. Like many others, I thought that the propaganda wouldn't survive contact with the bright daylight of facts (and the v obvious shifting of Govt 'strategy'). But here we still are, in Sept, threats of lockdowns, maskism, MSM still pumping out fear, claiming asymptomatic (poss. false) positive tests 'cases', no context etc etc. With the democratic process shut down (and/or locked in orthodoxy) and Govt ruling by capricious diktat, backed by the Police and prosecutors, our judiciary silent and anyone who asks reasonable questions about the proportionality of NPIs (let alone wants to protest) closed down, the big question I'd like answered (or at least discussed) by the assembled brains of the Sceptics is: "What can we actually do to stop/change the narrative and pressure the Handy Cocks of this world to switch their critical reasoning back on?" Despite all the evidence and growing numbers, 'we' Sceptics seem to just to be a flea bite on the elephant. I'm tired of feeling angry, frustrated and impotent. I'd love to hear some creative options for those without power or voice! (sorry; tried to avoid the rant but failed).
We're All Corbynistas Now
At times of national crisis, unlikely heroes emerge. But who's the bearded fellow on the right?
No, not an email from a supporter of Piers Corbyn – I think we're all Corbynistas in that respect at least as far as lockdown is concerned – but from a supporter of his brother, Jeremy. Heartening as always to know that there are some on the Left who share our concerns about the collateral damage being done by the lockdowns.
My background is a postdoctoral molecular neuroscientist with 15 years experience looking and recording trends in scientific data. I have experience working with bacteria and viruses in the lab environment (I'd be more than happy for you to review my latest publications). I am a staunch socialist and fervent supporter of Jeremy Corbyn so would normally not share your ideas and values. Many of my colleagues in academia sit on the left and almost all have fallen for this utter nonsense and most all support condemning the Government for not locking down earlier. The very idea we had protocols for dealing with epidemic/pandemics is lost on them. I believe Bari Weiss and Melanie Phillips to be the worst of the worst, both in the cancel culture of anyone outspoken on Israeli apartheid and the continuation of the neoliberal agenda. I'm adamant that global society collapse is inevitable in the next few years (regardless of Covid) due to the Energy Cost of Energy conundrum, and there is no way GDP figures are anything more than a continual debt accumulation (essentially it's impossible to have continued growth in a planet with finite resources, no amount of renewables is able to counter this). All this is aside from SARS-CoV-2.
I started reading your posts in late April, and, like you, I thought this over-reaction would soon self-correct. By summer this will die down as mother nature will have flattened the curve. I agreed lockdown would be catastrophic, but accepted that the Government wanted to be seen to be doing something and would go on to explain that the virus wasn't as dangerous as first feared. Sanity would soon return, maybe with increased alertness about things like personal hygiene and a commitment to look after the vulnerable population, etc. How wrong I was. I too was expecting the Left to have a voice, a message challenging every step the Government had taken. Even my political hero Corbyn has been flagrantly useless. And yet here we are, months later, about to witness the collapse of many Western economies and plunge millions in this country alone into relative poverty and allow hundreds of millions to succumb to starvation and medical abandonment in the developing world. I do wonder why the Left has just allowed this nonsense to grip when this was known to be the inevitable outcome back in April. One didn't have to be a socialist soothsayer to see that. Of course, I had a strong feeling collapse was inevitable very soon, but under the guise of this virus? Never in a million years.
My fear now is the impending authoritarian future and biosecurity state – to 'stay safe' – and I might just take up base jumping. However this plays out, I don't see any answer but a closely monitored population. I'm not sure if my values are outdated and I'm not seeing something obvious? I do hope I'm wrong.
Stop Press: Left-wing advocacy group Liberty are also opposing the lockdown as a violation of human rights and unwarranted stripping away of civil liberties. About bloody time!
Protect the NHS, Go Private?
A reader writes to say that his annual private health premium is up "by an eye-watering 53% this year". Why? Because, he is informed by his insurance provider, "so many people are using private services due to the inaccessibility of the amazing NHS". (Er, why's it so "amazing" then?) Maybe this could inspire a new Government slogan: Protect the NHS, go private.
Did a South Dakota Bike Rally Really Cause 260,000 Cases?
In America, studies show that only Trump supporters spread COVID-19
Toby asked yesterday for a riposte to the story going round that a motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota was responsible for 260,000 cases of COVID-19. A reader in America has looked into it and explains why it's fake news. In short: dodgy modelling again.
A new study estimates that the bike rally increased the case rate in South Dakota by between 3.6 and 3.9 per 1,000 people – or a total of more than 3,000 cases across the state as a whole.
In a press briefing, the South Dakota Department of Health cast doubt on these numbers, noting that just 124 state residents who tested positive for COVID-19 had reported attending the rally. "The results do not align with what we know of the impacts of the rally among attendees in the state of South Dakota," state epidemiologist Joshua Clayton said when asked about the new study.
Friedson said that self-reports like those used by the state's Health Department are unreliable because people may not report accurately. Such reports also don't account for other people attendees may have infected. "You cannot rely on these types of reports to tell you the number of cases," he told BuzzFeed News…
Instead of looking at contact tracing and trying to identify specific people who had the disease and passed it on to others, the San Diego researchers behind the 260,000 figure looked at the areas that sent the most people to the rally and how case trends changed after the event. In other words, one big guesstimate.
The researchers looked at county-level data on new confirmed COVID-19 cases, as well as anonymised cellphone tracking data released by the company SafeGraph. This included the recorded home location for each phone, allowing the researchers to determine how many attendees came from each county across the nation. They then compared the trajectory of cases in counties with many Sturgis attendees, such as Clark County, Nevada, and Maricopa County, Arizona, to those with previously similar case trajectories that had few residents who travelled to Sturgis. This allowed the researchers to estimate the number of new cases resulting from exposure to the coronavirus during the rally – including cases caused by secondary transmission after attendees returned home. Extrapolating to rallygoers nationwide gives the figure of more than 260,000 new coronavirus cases caused by the Sturgis gathering.
460,000 people gathered without masks and without social distancing and they linked it to one death from Covid. Meanwhile, the Trump rally is also being painted as a virus-spreading event in the entire US media, yet all the rioting has yet to produce a single case of infection.
Stop Press: A solid rebuttal has also appeared in Reason. Well worth a read.
What Sort of Person Will Become a Covid Marshal?
The Government has announced that it will recruit an army of snoopers Covid Secure Marshals to enforce the draconian new lockdown rules. The Mail has collected some of the best memes mocking the ludicrous idea that are well worth a perusal.
Postcard From LA
A reader in Los Angeles has written to tell us about the unexpected success he had in introducing friends to lockdown scepticism. Might embolden some of us in bringing the subject up with our own brainwashed pals.
I am a conservative in what is, of course, a liberal city in a very liberal state. Even more of an anomaly for being a gay conservative. Needless to say, I generally keep my opinions to myself when politics come up, even among close friends (90% of whom are liberal and think President Trump is akin to Hitler).
Monday we had friends over for a Labour Day lunch. Three families with whom we have grown close through our son's school. When they arrived, all of them were sporting masks. I wear a mask under mostly-quiet protest, and only when absolutely necessary to go shopping or get on a plane. I immediately told them that they only needed to wear a mask if they felt it necessary for their own safety, and that I would not be wearing one. In an instant masks were off, with a visible sigh of relief from all. We had a lovely lunch, crammed elbow to elbow around the table. For nearly all of them it was their first real social event since the madness began in March.
The subject of the virus reared its head throughout the afternoon and evening, as it will. At a point in the conversation I saw my opening and, perhaps emboldened by a couple glasses of wine, decided to stay silent no more and politely challenge their views of the virus, the use of masks, and the lockdowns. Given the authority of what I do for a living (I'm an attorney at a large healthcare organisation), they began to listen. I walked them through everything – the ineffectiveness of masks, the lack of science behind social distancing, the survival statistics even among the elderly, the falling CFR, etc. At first I got a lot of "yeah, but what about," but I kept going. And to a one, it was the first time any of them had heard anything other than the left-party line (it's sad that it seems mostly a left-right debate, but it is). By the time I was finished there were jaws on the floor and they were asking me to email links so they could read for themselves. As one of them said, "It's hard to change your own mind." But I think I may have begun to change a few. When they arrived, my friends who normally greet each other with hugs stood at arms-length. When they left there were hugs all around. I went to bed happy that night. I feel that if I can help my friends out of Plato's cave – and it appears possible – perhaps there is hope for the madness to end.
'Viral Issue Crucial Update Sept 8th: the Science, Logic and Data Explained!' – Ivor Cummings with a lucid, data-driven explanation of why the pandemic is essentially over
"AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine study put on hold due to suspected adverse reaction in participant in the UK" – The female participant began to suffer with a rare and serious spinal inflammatory disorder. Pausing was a "routine action" apparently, but who knows – this is the second time the trial has been paused due to a participant suffering with neurological symptoms
"If Covid doesn't kill granny, loneliness will" – In a heart-wrenching column Alice Thompson in the Times writes that only 15,415 of the 99,560 care home residents who have died this year have died with COVID-19, yet so many care home residents are being treated like prisoners and dying of loneliness
"The Oscars' woke McCarthyism is a step too far" – Brendan O'Neill in the Spectator takes the Oscars to task for letting identity politics interfere with art and entertainment
"Police in northern Spain arrest surfer who refused to quarantine after positive test" – Have the Spanish been getting tips from Kim-Jong Dan?
"Should countries aim for elimination in the COVID-19 pandemic?" – Head-to-head piece in the BMJ with the UK's Independent SAGE lockdown fanatics arguing for zero Covid against the New Zealand Covid Plan B group who provide the sanity
"Has the world gone mad? More bizarre Covid rules (all in the name of science)" – Oliver Smith's latest in the Telegraph with a rundown of Covid craziness around the world. Costa Rican drivers are banned on different days of the weeks depending on their number plate. Seriously
"COVID-19 could reverse decades of progress toward eliminating preventable child deaths, agencies warn" – As lockdowns and economic collapse severely curtail children's health services around the world, the WHO issues a grim warning
"The UK can't stave off the second wave without a zero-covid strategy" – Diane Abbott comes out for the zero Covid team. A brilliant plan, if only a vaccine wasn't months away if it ever arrives, it had a realistic chance of giving full immunity, we weren't imposing ruinous lockdowns every time we find a bunch of false positives…
"Enough! The Government has gone too far – people want to make their own decisions" – Michael Deacon calls time on lockdown lunacy in the Telegraph and thinks people have reached the limits of their willing compliance. I hope so – but according to YouGov 62% of Brits would support a new curfew. Project Fear on steroids has worked
"Britain's second lockdown will be even more terrible than the first" – With the Government today only warning of worse to come over the winter, Allister Heath sees troubled days ahead
"Government's 'Moonshot' programme aims to increase coronavirus testing to 10 million a day" – Everyone tested every day, with the 0.5% or more who get false positives each day being required to quarantine for weeks – welcome to Boris's idea of new normal
Today, themes for the successive phases of the Government's Covid strategy: "Panic" by The Smiths, "Panic In The Streets" by Praying Mantis, "Panic In Detroit" by David Bowie, "Panic In The World" by Be Bop Deluxe and "Panic, Sheer Bloody Panic" by Hans Zimmer.
Now that non-essential shops have re-opened – or most of them, anyway – we're focusing on pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as other social venues. As of July 4th, many of them have re-opened too, but not all, and some will have to close again on September 14th. Please visit the page and let us know about those brave folk who are doing their bit to get our country back on its feet – particularly if they're not insisting on face masks! If they've made that clear to customers with a sign in the window or similar, so much the better. Don't worry if your entries don't show up immediately – we need to approve them once you've entered the data.
We've created a permanent slot down here for people who want to buy (or make) a "Mask Exempt" lanyard/card. You can print out and laminate a fairly standard one for free here and it has the advantage of not explicitly claiming you have a disability. But if you have no qualms about that (or you are disabled), you can buy a lanyard from Amazon saying you do have a disability/medical exemption here (now showing it will arrive between Oct 12th to Oct 22nd). The Government has instructions on how to download an official "Mask Exempt" notice to put on your phone here. You can get a "Hidden Disability" tag from ebay here and an "exempt" card with lanyard for just £1.99 from Etsy here.
Don't forget to sign the petition on the UK Government's petitions website calling for an end to mandatory face nappies in shops here (now over 31,500).
Stop Press: A video from Spain shows citizens preventing police arresting a woman for not wearing a face mask. The clip shows officers attempting to pull the older woman away from the crowd, but they manage to wrestle her away from the cops, while also removing their own masks in solidarity.
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HM Government's new initiative is the only way to prevent millions dying in a second wave
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science.
— Richard Feynman