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theliterateape · 4 years

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I Can't Drive 55 | Lessons Learned in the 55th Year

By Don Hall

In my thirty-second year I felt incredibly sorry for myself. I was getting my first divorce, was living in a one-room studio in Uptown, my theater company was imploding over ego-driven bullshit. I drank myself into a state of suicidal yearning. It was a rough year.

I called my mom. Mom is that voice of reason in good and bad times.

"This has been a really shitty year. Maybe I should move back to Kansas."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-two."

"And in thirty-two years you've lived on the planet, how many of those years were bad?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Really bad? Two. No three. Three years. Why?"

"Well, three out of thirty-two is a pretty solid track record. Seems to me that you weathered those other bad years and had good years to spare. Maybe you decide to quit wallowing in how bad this year has been and get to work on next year because based on your experience you probably have another cluster of good years in store."

Some have the Dali Lama. Others have a priest or a shelf of self-help books. I have my mom.

My fifty-fifth year (or the specter of 2020) was a rough year for so many people in the world it's almost a joke. The whole year has been covered in shit—from the campaign to unseat the least capable and most destructive president in my lifetime to three months in a pandemic shutting down the planet and economic hardship most of us have only read about in Steinbeck novels—2020 looks like the toilet bowl moments after a morning constitutional from a night of White Castle and rum.

Sure, the act of comparing one's life with those around is a narcissistic self-loathing experiment best suited for recently jilted lesbians and Instagram junkies, but while the entire world has been burning down in both literal and figurative ways, fifty-five has been a damn good year for me.

In January, I was well into my year and a half managing a casino on the corner of I-15 and Tropicana. I had done my due diligence in training and had hit the sweet spot of knowing enough about the business to be an effective leader on the floor. I knew my high rollers and had figured out the best approach to dealing with the meth-addicts and prostitutes. I could fix 90 percent of the machines and could process a jackpot inside of four minutes consistently.

Then came the pandemic and the economic shutdown of Las Vegas in March. Most were laid off and in free fall but I had stumbled into working for one of two gambling corporations in Nevada that committed to keeping the payroll rolling despite losing millions per day.

The three months of closure saw me coming in to work every day, cleaning the bar and the machines, and hanging out to make sure no one ransacked the place while it was closed. I did a lot of writing in my office during that time.

In terms of personal tragedy, my nineteen year old nephew overdosed in a parking lot in April and, virus be damned, Dana and I flew out the next day to help my sister.

We re-opened the casino in June.

Seven months of balancing life in a pandemic with idiots motivated to gamble, arguing with people about the necessity to wear masks, and submitting essays to everyone. Getting paid to write (even in small increments) was a genuine drug.

Over the summer both Dana and I were asked to write for an anthology of essays. Las Vegas writers writing about Las Vegas. It was a boost, man. Don't get me wrong, the casino gig was solid and, for the most part, enjoyable. Getting paid to write words and sentences was fucking delicious.

The book came out in October launched with a Zoomesque gathering.

The casino gig, while solid and simple, was becoming dull. Rote. Combining the fact that my best (and meager) talents were not usable during a pandemic in a struggling casino, I told my General Manager that I needed more money for such routine grind and that I’d start looking aggressively for something more in tune with my skills that also paid a bit more on my year-and-a-half mark.

Six days after I started the search, I was hired by a Denver-based firm as a Senior Copywriter.

Turns out I’m pretty good at it. Getting a salary for writing words and sentences is sweet and working from home as the pandemic continues to rage on is smart and comfortable. No longer a slave to the swings shift, my schedule is my own.

I can, for the first time in my life when asked what I do for a living, answer “I am a writer.” In a career path marked by ten year gigs followed by "gotta pay the bills" gigs, it looks like Casino Manager is the latter and "Writer" is the former. Now it’s time to write some books, yeah?

It’s been a year, my friends.

Here are the lessons that landed in my 55th annum.

Always Leave ‘Em Wanting More

Over the course of my bizarre career as a “Writer. Teacher. Storyteller. Consultant.” to refer to my donhall.vegas website, I’ve had a tendency to overstay my welcome.

Instead of leaving circumstances on good terms, by the time I was ready to go, I was all Fuck these people! What a bunch of dickseeds! and at least a few of the people were Fuck him! What a dickseed!

I stayed one year longer than I should have as a public school teacher. I stayed at least a year too long in my second marriage and, despite some incredible shows toward the end of the WNEP Theater years, I stayed too long with that company. I should’ve left WBEZ at least a year earlier and I waited until things got weird in the storytelling scene before leaving Chicago.

With the casino, I left long before things become too rote or sour. I found the new gig, jumped on it, and was told if it didn’t work out, I always had a place to land. That I was a part of the Station Casinos “family.” My staff bought me booze and when I swung by just to see them, they are happy to be seen.

Hell, the GM even gave me one of the chairs from the Craps Table for my home office!

As I get older, recognizing the signs that perhaps it’s time to go is an essential skill. At fifty-five, maybe I’m finally into that.

Family is Always More Important Than Work

Last year, working the first 24/7/365 job in my life, I was told I had to work on Christmas. It was the first Christmas in decades I hadn’t spent with my family in Kansas. It wasn’t bad—Joe flew in from Chicago, he took Dana and I to see Penn Gillette at Rio, Kelli joined Dana and Joe on the casino floor while I worked.

This year, especially after the death of my nephew, it became obvious that family had to come first. Months before I landed the writing gig, I let my GM know I was taking the week of Christmas off, COVID be damned. I was clear that if the company couldn’t pay me for the time off I understood and if I was to be let go because of it, then that was fine, too.

The casino was incredibly cool about the request that wasn’t really a request. In fact, even though I gave my two week’s notice before the Christmas vacation pay would kick in, my GM allowed me to be paid for it anyway (see that first lesson again).

It was in every possible way the correct call. My sister needed me. I needed my mom and dad. We got to reconnect with a cousin I hadn’t seen in years. Turns out she’s a professional copywriter in Austin, TX. It was a soul-filling holiday and I’ll never miss Christmas in Kansas again.

It’s Pointless to Argue with Zealots

Maybe it’s in part due to my new-found desert surroundings or my distance from the increasingly Woke Chicago Arts scene but this last year of Trump and the ridiculous nature of angrier social media has pushed me closer to Left Center than Full-On Progressive.

As a younger man I decided that religion was simply not for me. Too emotionally charged without a sense of rationality. At the distance Nevada gives me I can see how irrational both the Extreme Right—the overtly white nationalist taint with the individualism bordering on sociopathy—and the Progressive Left—the quasi-religious circular logic of white privilege, erasure of women as a category, and focus on tribalism over all—have become. Or maybe they were always this way and it took some time away from a major urban center to see it.

Whichever the case, arguing with either side has become synonymous with filing my teeth with a dremel. Besides being as productive as screaming into an Amazon Box, taping it up, and shipping it to Congress, it’s fucking annoying.

If there is a resolution I’m attempting to adopt in the latter half of my fifties, it is this: find common ground with everyone and if I encounter someone so far into conspiracy territory that I cannot, walk away and don’t look back.

Social Media Enables the Very Worst in Us (and Me)

I can’t remember if I shed myself of Faceborg, Twitter, Instagram, and the host of social media this or last year but I’ve spent most (if not all) of my fifty-fifth year absent the noise and it was an excellent decision.

Mobs of imbeciles canceling professors, trolling J.K. Rowling, threatening violence to strangers, and organizing a breach of the Capitol all using tools for communication that should be extraordinary made me hate people I had never met. This cannot be a good ‘chicken soup for the soul’ arena to spend time in.

I’ll admit that I do feel left out of the mix some yet I’m happier for it. I jumped back recently with a new LinkedIn account (which is sortof like social media but with jobs) and the only good thing about that has been being able to message with Rob Kozlowski.

I’m a Social Distancing Jedi

Five years ago, Dana threw me a birthday party and there was a room full of friends in attendance. This year, I’ll be lucky if even Dana remembers my birthday.

The culling effect of both getting rid of social media and the pandemic has been like a hoarder finally ridding himself of boxes of empty Altoid tins and those square plastic bread ties. Always a bit of a misanthrope, this year has cleared out so much noise and my new gig at home has me isolated from the wash of the unwashed.

Turns out I’m good with this. My interactions with people are more intentional rather than surface level and while life has made me more cautious when it comes to whom I genuinely trust, those whom I do choose teach me things I wouldn’t know and enrich my dwindling time on the planet.

Your Reality is Dictated by Your Optimism

Optimism isn’t merely hope. It isn’t happiness or a cheery disposition.

Optimism is an act of resilience against the brutal harshness of living the existential crisis.

It’s darkest just before the dawn implies that there will be a dawn. What if there won’t be? What if it’s just more darkness? If the implacable timpani of human greed, a self correcting planetary environment, and the algorithm that defines our modern interaction has no end, should that result in giving in to the despair?

As optimism is a breeze when things are going your way, despair is the path of least resistance when things turn to shit. Seeing through the mist at a better future takes effort and commitment like a solid marriage or a massive novel you’ve committed to writing. It’s a project to be managed not a feeling to languish within.

One cannot truly call himself an optimist who refuses to see the horror. Pretending that people are essentially kind and generous is stuffing the ostrich head in the sand. People are apes with higher brain functions and follow the rules of the jungle. Tribalism, essentialism, war for resources, the history of brutality of all humanity goes far beyond Hannah Jones 1619 Project. Taken in whole, we aren’t a very enlightened and forgiving species.

Further, optimism is an individual choice. It’s not something that can be enforced but it is something that can be inspired. The American Experiment, despite its many missteps and flaws, is grounded in a belief that humans can govern themselves justly and effectively. Given the larger picture, belief in democracy is only slightly more delusional than the guy playing slots so he can pay his rent. The odds are astronomically against success and yet the choice to persevere is made.

When you see someone who has one of those death camp tattoos on their arm you are witnessing a genuine, tried and true, bona fide optimist.

Optimism is hardest when things turn to shit but it is then when it is most necessary.

Becoming Antique is a Journey

For the first time I see that more of my life has been lived than I have left to live.

I recognize that I wish I could give the years I have left to my nephew because I have done a lot in my five and a half decades and he didn't get the chance. I wonder, absent the obsessive drive to achieve I had in my younger days, what I have to offer in the next ten years? What value does my existence provide to others and how do I manifest that value in pragmatic terms?

Like an old car or a pair of worn-out shoes, we all must acknowledge a certain sense of obsolescence. The pandemic has up-ended so many of the fictions we lived with up until this point and finding North on the compass is a challenge these days. Becoming irrelevant is like that boiling frog—slowly and without even recognizing the boil—we all find ourselves as vintage.

Perhaps that's what I've become. Not the rusted Coca Cola sign in the corner but the "like new" vinyl Def Leppard album with slightly tattered and stained liner notes.

In my next ten years (if I have that much time in store or more) I'd like to read more. Write a lot more. Listen to more live music. Be a better husband. Become that cool old man on the block with good advise and a snort of rye in case it's a little chilly. Christ, I already smoke a pipe.

There is so much more to learn that, in order to avoid feeling useless, I need to learn more.

In a Pandemic, Look For the Simple Things to Keep You Sane

A really well-made sandwich

A cold beer in 115˚ weather

A road trip with your Soul Mate

A book by a new author

A slideshow of you and your Soul Mate doing things together

A long walk

Recognizing that you have a Soul Mate

Sometimes I wonder if there’s anything else. I wonder if I’d miss anything important if I simply ceased to breathe on the couch I bought back in Chicago as it sits in Nevada.

In those moments of melodramatic existentialism, I remind myself that the experience of living is this annual letter to you. A summation of the things I’ve learned and the life I’ve lived.

If I had finished this race last year, my mettle wouldn’t have been tested by a pandemic. I wouldn't have found my sister again. I wouldn’t have seen Trump slink away to Florida. I wouldn’t be sitting in a Craps Chair in a home office of my design.

I wouldn’t have learned anything at all (you know, because dead people stop moving forward).

Here’s to another year and what adventures I will have!

#Fifty-Fifth Birthday #Birthday Lessons

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teachmoments · 7 years

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I almost let this tradition lapse! Year End Survey 2017, y’all!

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before? I’ve quit jobs before... but never because I HAD to. I’ve quit jobs because I wanted to. This year, I hit a wall where I knew I had to choose between continuing to be the type of teacher I’ve always aspired to be... or a well-paid button-pusher. I had the stones to say no to the latter and I’ve never done that before.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s Resolutions, and will you make more for next year? My biggest, stupidest NY resolution was to stop eating my favorite junk food - peanut butter pretzels... and despite having LOTS of opportunities, I made it 365 days. I was given a HUGE jar of them for Christmas and although we’re now safely ensconced in January, I’ve found I have lost my taste for them a bit. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Nope! We made it through another year.

5. What countries did you visit?  ZERO COUNTRIES! This answer has remained unaltered for the better part of the last ten years! Full disclosure, there is some talk about going up to Canada in ‘18. We’ll see.

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017? Focus.

7. What date from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 10th, 2017. That was the day I definitively decided to leave the teaching position I had been working at for two years and go back to my old district.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? This will sound very small to most... but being able to go back to Middletown was an achievement. Some might say that’s a low bar, but I had all sorts of stupid feelings tied up in whether or not the decision was the right one.

9. What was your biggest failure? Although I work hard when I can, I have completely failed at drawing comics... which for a long time was the passion which sustained me through hard times. Honestly... I spent the lion’s share of ‘17 in a fairly depressed state. That spilled over to my artistic output.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing too serious. I wrenched my back out a little bit back in October but I’m OK now.

11. What was the best thing you bought? 2017 was the year of wireless headphones... which I thought were stupid but now can’t live without. No cords! Who knew? What’s that? EVERYONE knew? Ok. My bad.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My wife Ellen always deserves lauding but she’s become a real force to be reckoned with lately in the work she’s doing selling clothes on Poshmark. She’s made up a nice portion of the income we’ve lost with me moving back to a district where I’m paid a bit less. I should also say something nice about the team I work with, which welcomed me with open arms and made the transition back to Middletown a lot easier.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Trump. I feel like I’m in a low-level depression all the time when it comes to the state of our country.

14. Where did most of your money go? There’s not much extra money these days and that’s fine!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My sister got married in July, which was like a great big party. Cartoon Crossroads Columbus 2017.

16. What song will always remind you of 2017?  Meet Me in the Woods :: Lord Huron

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: 

Happier or Sadder: Happier! Thinner or Fatter: Fatter. Richer or Poorer: Momentarily richer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I will always wish more more unstructured down time, sitting in the backyard with everyone, listening to music.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Being frustrated.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?  Christmas began all in a rush with the late end of school. My sister and her husband came down from New York. We spent most of our time here at the house. It was nice.

22. Did you fall in love in 2017? Sure.

23. How many one-night stands? Sure.

24. What was your favorite TV program?  There was a lot of good television in M*A*S*H remained a strong contender for my time in ‘17 but this year will always be the year I discovered Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was pretty desperate to get away from the cacophony of insanity that’s been America lately and it was nice to plug into a show that preached someday, we conquer our petty human squabbles and get to go explore the stars.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Not really. I feel sorry for folks.

26. What was the best book you read? The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. Wish I had broadened out from my sphere of interests more, but The Eyes of the Dragon is fantastic and an underrated part of King’s oeuvre.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?  

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

28. What did you want and get?

A new job.

29. What did you want and not get? Nothing springs to mind.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Again, firmly in my wheelhouse: IT. What an adaptation.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 35 and I have no memory of what we did. Whatever it was, it was low key.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? More time to draw comics.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017? At work, I have branched out into being a lot more professional - four days a week, I wear a sports coat with a button-up shirt and slacks. I accessorize with lapel pins, which has become a small hobby of mine lately.

34. What kept you sane?  Friday nights hanging out with my friends at Tolliver’s... Saturday nights hanging out with Ellen in my basement.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? EASY. Alison Brie.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

37. Who did you miss? (in no particular order)  I’m trying not to miss people. If I love you, I work to keep you in my life.

38. Who was the best new person you met? Oh, I work with a lady who absolutely cracks me up. We do “bets” at work all the time and that’s been a very fun and funny part of going back to my district.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016: Money isn’t everything.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: As with the last few years, I don’t have one, but I thought I’d leave the question up for anyone who would like to copy and paste this for their own. I always hate it when someone edits these things and then I’m left with a misnumbered and confusing survey.

For example, this survey is missing many questions. The person I copied it from probably didn’t take them out, but somewhere down the line there is some schmuck doing exactly that. I don’t want to be like him/her.

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josiewe · 4 years

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When we are born in the beginning our journey in life. We start off with innocence. As we grow up we all make mistakes some smaller or bigger than others. I have made my share of mistakes. There are no hand books to have a perfect life. But I have learned to keep my integrity close to me. Never to compromise my integrity for no one or anything. See the truth is the truth. You don't have to remember what you said because it's the truth. When you lie you have to try and remember which keeps adding to the lie. But the reality is that the only person you're lying to is yourself. No matter how bad it is the truth is always the best Avenue to go. The truth will always set you free. Having said that I'm setting the record straight I did not vote for Trump nor did I vote for Hilary. I voted for Gary Johnson. So in all the decades I have voted whom ever won the election i respected the President even though they were not the one i voted for. So let's reflect President Trump campaign promises he built the wall, the economy was booming, the unemployment was a record low, and came through with everything he was doing for the virus. Which let's not forget where the virus came from, China. But what's worst about all of this, the virus came from wuhan. And China did not allow any flights from wuhan to any part of China. But they allowed flights from wuhan around the world including USA. Who does that ? Getting back to the President of the United States of America. While President Trump was working with his campaign promises he was being attack by the media, congress, and others. He still kept striving. So almost his whole four years of his presidency he was being impeached, and attack by the media. So imagine if he was treated with respect and corporation of congress there is no telling what else he could of accomplished. At the beginning of my story I talked about integrity. So a lot of information has finally come out. President Trump spoke the truth. He never did what they said he did. It's sad to see that the federal government did what they did. Where was their integrity? They took an oath to stand and uphold the constitution. The sad part about all this that they took a 3 star general and destroyed his life. And for what? Because a man won a presidential election? And because he knew all the things some people did that was wrong? Also being a woman and seeing Nancy Pelosi do the things she does is just horrible. Is like she doesn't care who she hurts. But for her to say she is s Christian and conduct the way she does is horrible. The hatred she has is so obvious. Why can't we all get along? I can only imagine what so more President Trump could of accomplished. But impeachment, attack's from the media who can work that way? I live my life positive, stress free, drama free. I live my life happy no matter what. I take care of my mom 24/7 everyday no matter what. She is bed ridden of no fault of her own. Guess what we're behind 3 month's of mortgage, utilities. Due to the fact I cannot work due to my mom. I also don't get paid to take care of my mom. But I'm not complaining because my mom and I laugh and spend so much time talking and sharing everything together. Whatever time I have with my mom I will treasure. I have always been proud to be an American very patriotic. I fly our American flag 365 days because I'm an American 365 days and every day of the rest of my life. We now need to open all of states.

One more thing governor Cuomo why????? Was in the medical field for 39 years. Why would you give the order to send elderly back into the nursing home that were covid-19 positive? So many innocent elderly died for no reason. When you had the comfort ship, and the javet center fully staffed! Also one more thing who were all those souls in body bags being forklift into a ditch??? Who does that. And to think you don't think it was wrong? They were all human beings. Also how could you change the guidelines on resuscitation? If someone codes let them die? How could you? You're not God! These were human beings. Thank God the paramedics, firefighters, EMT'S stated they took an oath to save lives! It wasn't these people fault due to the virus! God bless all the health care workers, police, first responders. Sanitation, food workers and all that braved the virus and chose to do something. To all the companies that made a difference. To our President Trump. To all! Please stay healthy and safe. Love your neighbors, friends, and families. It doesn't matter what country you're from. This is worldwide. Thank you China for doing this. Remember one thing the United States have brilliant individuals, visionaries. Made in America buy in America. To all those companies and drug companies come back to America. Bring back the work to the American workers!

One more thing to the media that has no respect. Also start reporting the truth. Recognize all that the President Trump has done. Maybe you all should admit you were all wrong! It takes courage to stand up and say you was wrong.

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itsfinancethings · 4 years

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A U.S. P-8A reconnaissance plane was soaring above the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday when a Russian SU-35 fighter jet appeared on its tail. For 42 minutes, U.S. Navy officials say, the Russian pilot flew in an “unsafe” manner—at one-point flying upside down and sweeping within 25 feet of the plane’s nose.

The high-stakes intercept, which U.S. officials say put the American aircrew at risk, was just one in a string of incidents that took place over a 24-hour period in which American military resolve was tested across the globe. No Americans killed or injured during any of these events, but the timing was no coincidence. With novel coronavirus cases among U.S. service members now at 2,486 and climbing, America’s adversaries are emboldened to test U.S. military dominance, current and former Defense Department officials tell TIME.

Earlier in the day, U.S. Space Command reported the Russian military had tested a missile capable of “destroying” U.S. satellites in low Earth orbit. Not long afterward, 11 Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) gun boats “conducted dangerous and harassing” actions against six American warships operating in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said. The motorboats repeatedly ran alongside and crisscrossed in front of the much larger American ships at high speeds and close range – at one point buzzing within 10 yards of a cutter’s bow. All three incidents came after North Korea launched a barrage of short-range missiles from ground batteries and fighter jets off their east coast.

The cluster of adversary action poses no existential threat to the U.S. military. But the crosswinds produced by COVID-19 are strong. As Washington is preoccupied with its fight against the world’s largest number of coronavirus cases, restrictions have been slapped on U.S. military operations and movements out of health concerns in almost every part of the world. Routine troop rotations and military family relocations have been paused due to a “stop movement” order that restricts all military travel. U.S. aircraft carriers, floating symbols of American might, are sidelined. While it remains unclear how long the pandemic will loom over missions abroad, U.S. rivals are seeking to exploit the gaps COVID has created.

“When the world and America are off-balance, it presents opportunities for our adversaries,” said Chuck Hagel, a former U.S. Defense Secretary and Republican Senator from Nebraska. “They will continue to make every effort to assert themselves in this time. I don’t believe we are ever adequately prepared for events like we are living through now, especially a global health pandemic.”

Keep up to date on the growing threat to global health by signing up for our daily coronavirus newsletter.

The U.S. military’s playbook for deterring adversaries since World War II is to project power by promptly deploying thousands of troops, flying in nuclear-capable bombers, or dispatching aircraft carrier battle groups to problematic regions. It’s a practice that’s taken on increased importance under President Donald Trump, who relishes the military hardware paid for by his Administration’s $700 billion Pentagon budget.

Amid today’s COVID pandemic, the options to demonstrate a show of force are severely limited. The Pentagon has thus far responded to the spate of threats rhetorically, repeatedly publicly warning enemies not to confuse the current moment of national crisis as a weakness. “We will continue to carry out our mission assignments around the world in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, et cetera,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon. “Our readiness is still high. Our readiness is still strong. We are able to deter and defeat any challenges that may seek to take advantage of these opportunities at this point of crisis.”

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, the anchor of a deterrent force against China’s advances in the South China Sea, has been docked in Guam indefinitely. A COVID outbreak swept through the ship’s 4,865-person crew last month, and has since infected at least 615 sailors, killed one and sent five others into a Guam hospital. The only other American carrier deployed in the Pacific, the USS Ronald Reagan, is receiving maintenance for four months in Yokosuka, Japan, available only for “Selected Restricted Availability,” and in Bremerton, Washington, the Navy has quarantined the crew of the next carrier strike group scheduled for duty in the Pacific, led by the USS Nimitz.

With these ships sidelined, China now has the sole carrier operating in the region. Over the weekend, China sent a Liaoning-class aircraft carrier and a five-ship battle group near the territorial waters of U.S. allies Japan and Taiwan. It was China’s latest attempt to flex its muscles in the region after sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat in the contested waters of the South China Sea; announcing new “research stations” at military bases in the area; and landing “special military aircraft” on one them, Fiery Cross Reef, according to an April 6 statement by State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.

Ortagus warned China “to stop exploiting the distraction or vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea.” The Air Force, for its part, attempted to project power this week by parading 14 aircraft on a runway in Guam. The military publicized the so-called “elephant walk,” which included B-52 bombers and KC-135 refueling tankers more than a half-century old.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, China’s ally, has been carrying out his own military exercises. After voluntarily pausing missile launches last year, Pyongyang has blasted off a wide range of missiles in recent weeks. The launches are seen as “an attempt to demonstrate strength and deterrence, both internally and externally,” amid the COVID pandemic, according to analysts with the United States Institute of Peace.

In many ways, that’s nothing new. The Chinese and North Korean actions are “business as usual” by America’s two adversaries in the region, says Zack Cooper, an Asia expert at the American Enterprise Institute. The sentiment is shared by Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons analyst with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, who says North Korea is pursuing a backlog of tests now that diplomacy with the U.S. has floundered. “We’re in the post-diplomacy period now,” he said. “We’re just waiting for them to test what’s next. The big stuff is yet to come.”

Iran, another longtime adversary, has also been ramping up its efforts to strengthen its influence in the region and attempt to drive U.S. troops out. Despite fighting a widespread COVID outbreak at home, Iran has not relented on backing armed attacks on American forces on Iraqi bases through its proxy militias. “The Iranians are keen on demonstrating to the U.S. that the COVID crisis has neither debilitated them nor has altered their strategic calculus,” says Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group. “In fact, the less the Iranians have to lose, the less risk-averse they are likely to become.”

Russia, America’s longest running adversary, has pursued bold military moves that have crept beyond the continent of Europe. The aerobatic intercept over the Mediterranean and satellite-killing missile follows a flight off the Alaskan coast. On April 8, the U.S. Air Force scrambled F-22 fighter jets to intercept two Russian IL-38 submarine-hunting above the Bering Sea just 50 miles off Alaska. North American Aerospace Defense Command General Terrence O’Shaughnessy said: “COVID-19 or not, NORAD continues actively watching for threats and defending the homelands 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.”

The Pentagon also has its own personnel health to worry about. To guard against outbreaks, the Pentagon is developing “safety bubbles” by ramping up its internal COVID testing and isolating healthy troops. After a negative test, service members have to do a 14-day quarantine before going back to the business of being a soldier, sailor or Marine. Military laboratories are now processing about 9,000 tests a day. “Our desire, our aspiration, is to expand testing, especially for groups that are going to be in tighter quarters, such as sub crews, bomber crews, basic trainees and things like that,” Milley said. “We’ve got an objective here of ramping that up to about 60,000 tests here in about 45 days or so.”

Even when the military’s battle against COVID is physically over, there will be a lingering battle ahead, says AEI’s Cooper. “COVID will have a short-term impact on the U.S. military’s readiness, but the longer-term impact will be greater: defense cuts,” he says. “Having just spent $2 trillion to address the economic damage done by COVID, U.S. officials and taxpayers will be looking for cost savings. And they will look to the Defense Department, particularly after November.”

Please send tips, leads, and stories from the frontlines to [email protected].

#IFTTT #Blogger

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viralnewstime · 4 years

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Keep up to date on the growing threat to global health by signing up for our daily coronavirus newsletter.

Please send tips, leads, and stories from the frontlines to [email protected].

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doubletyforce-blog · 5 years

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THE ONLIFE

How many minutes have you spent on the internet today?

For a growing proportion of the world, our lives are increasingly lived online. Our ‘onlives’ make us gloriously connected, grant us myriad opportunities to reinvent ourselves, to learn, to innovate, to access life-saving advice and assistance, and to teleport an endless cornucopia of goods to our front doors.

But there are signs that living perpetually plugged-in is bringing unintended consequences. The dark side is expressing itself in our politics, our mental health, our screen addictions and our social cohesion. As we are gamed at every turn to keep scrolling, keep watching, keep tapping, our valuable attention is diffused between the promise of endless dopamine hits, buzzing notifications and tides of information.

How can we ensure the internet is a force for good in the disruptive years to come?

TODAY’S PICTURE

Social media platforms have become hotbeds for extreme views.

In 2018 Mark Zuckerberg was hauled in front of Congress over mishandling of data and privacy, and we became starkly aware of just how unregulated a space the online world has become. Social media platforms have become hotbeds for extreme views, terrorism, witch-hunts, and trolls; the domain of deep-fakes, data breaches, swarms of bots, and fake news.

Many of these are the surface-level expression of the ‘attention economy’ business model of internet platforms that seek to stimulate a user’s emotional response by perpetuating polarisation, shock and novelty, where the product is your attention span.20 Indeed, many internet companies employ specialist Attention Engineers programming us with manipulative design tactics in an arms race towards addiction.

Hooked, our onlives have become canvases onto which we paint meticulously curated, and often misleading identities. We have a 24/7/365 window into the self-promoted lives of those more successful, more wealthy, more beautiful and more popular than we are - a global consciousness our brains just aren’t wired for.

Business models built on ad revenue and attention, surveillance, centralisation of power, lack of tech-giant accountability, and a paucity of regulation – these are all systemic, structural problems that form the foundation of our onlives. It is from here that the patterns and events emerge and multiply. Beyond the malign political influence, studies show strong causal links between burgeoning internet use and reductions in analytical and problem-solving skills, memory creation, critical thinking and empathy, as well as spikes in anxiety.

In short, our onlives are rewiring our brains, our politics, our social interaction, and even the climate - the gargantuan amount of energy and materials required are set to exceed 14% of global emissions by 2040.22 Is it time to step back?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS?

There are many implications for sustainability, but here are three which stand out.

Firstly, with half the world coming online in 2019, we’re going to have to accelerate the energy revolution to keep those chargers plugged in without destroying the planet. Secondly, amid information overload, the sustainability community must learn the tricks of the trade in raising awareness and getting the most pressing challenges the attention they deserve in a distracted world. Thirdly, we need to look at our own ability to create change. Shifting entire systems and tackling global challenges is thorough, focused work. If every waking hour is spent in a state of fragmented attention, we weaken our capabilities for creating system change. If society is increasingly herded into ghettos of political persuasion and identity, our ability to cooperate is undermined. As more of the world logs on, we should also view it as a growing percentage of the world vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation.

So what can be done? As with all these dynamic areas, there are multiple possible futures open to us. The internet we have now isn’t the only one possible.

Internet, or internets? It’s perhaps outdated to talk about the internet when there are already at least four: China’s firewall-enclosed version, the GDPR internet, the Wild-West Web outside that, and the shadowy Dark Web.23 Advocates for a repurposed internet include its own founding-father Tim Berners-Lee, and professor of internet-law Jonathan Zittrain. They are calling for the a wholesale reinvention of the internet to create a regulated, equitable space, promising to protect users from hate and prejudice, fake news and data exploitation.

Governments and regulators are likely to regularly and heavily scrutinise tech giants from 2019 onwards.

There have even been calls for an age restriction on social media use, to protect the most vulnerable, and for Facebook and Google and the like to become public utilities regulated by governments.24 For future generations, as well as current internet users, education on how to navigate the onlife should be de rigueur. Learning to detect real from fake, how to maintain an on/offline balance, how to use, and not be used by, social media are critical skills for maintaining both mental health and social cohesion.

In the face of the disruption to come we can, and must, step back and reconfigure our relationship with living online, for our own resilience and that of our communities; digging deep to assess what it really means to be connected and what it means to be human.

SIGNALS OF CHANGE

Earlier this year WhatsApp added labels to indicate when a message has been forwarded, partly in response to fake news about rumoured child kidnappings disseminated via WhatsApp, which led to a spate of lynchings in India. The company is now imposing limits on how many groups a single message can be sent to. India is currently WhatsApp’s largest market with over 200 million users.

The NHS is due to launch its first ever clinic for internet and gaming addictions following growing concern over the problem and the World Health Organisation (WHO) classifying it as a mental health condition

In 2018, Donald Trump repealed net neutrality, quashing hopes for a more regulated internet to make it for the many not the few. This opens the door for internet providers to censor or charge for access to certain content and could unfairly penalise small business owners.

A wide range of services including credit scoring, policy making, social media and job recruitment are increasingly mediated by AI, some of which has taken on biases. Trained on historical data and built by humans, a large number of these algorithms threaten to perpetuate existing biases and discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation or race.

An Indian start-up called Metafact is drawing on artificial intelligence to try and combat the fake news crisis. The Delhi-based company founded in 2017 hopes to use AI to empower journalists to identify fake news stories.

You can read this report online at thefuturescentre.org/fos2019

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chieffirecheesecake-blog · 6 years

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Princess Cleopatra in one of her many oufits . See ROSS PARRY story RPYPUP; Britains most pampered pooch has had a staggering £40,000 spent on her over her short lifetime – and even owns three cars and BOAT. Lucky Princess Cleopatra in one of her many outfits bought for her by her owner Anthony Welsh. See ROSS PARRY story RPYPUP; Britains most pampered pooch has had a staggering £40,000 spent on her over her short lifetime – and even owns three cars and BOAT. Lucky Princess Cleopatra Superchill the Staffordshire Bull Terrier has had a life of luxury that includes so she doesn’t get her paws dirty. The spoiled staffie has just celebrated her seventh birthday where her owner Anthony Welsh spent a further £1,000 on lavish gifts for the pooch he describes as his “daughter”. Cleopatra was treated to the finest tennis balls, a posh feeding station and her very own custom-made mountain bike in honour of her special day.

Final 9

Image ©Licensed to i-Images Picture Agency. 12/07/2018. Blenheim Palace, United Kingdom. Theresa May Host President Trump. Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May host the President of the United States of America Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump for a formal dinner at Blenheim Palace, with members of the Government and leaders from business sectors including representatives from financial services, the travel industry, creative industries, the food and drink sector, engineering, tech, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and defence, celebrating the business links between the UK and US. Picture by Andrew Parsons / i-Images

49th Annual World Series of Poker

May 29 – July 17, 2018

78 Official Gold Bracelet Events

Main Event July 2-14, 2018

WSOP Main Event – July 2-14. Starting flights: July 2, July 3 & July 4.

In 2017, a whopping 7,221 individuals plopped down the $10,000 entry fee to participate in poker’s richest annual poker tournament, creating the third-largest field in the event’s 48-year history. Nearly $68 million was up for grabs and the winner, Scott Blumstein, walked away with $8,150,000 and the title of poker’s world champion.

In 2018, another huge field is expected. Our partners at ESPN and PokerGO have promised daily live video coverage of the Main Event, giving players not just a chance at fortunes, but fame as well.

The event will begin earlier this year. Starting flights will be held on Monday, July 2 and Tuesday, July 3, with the very final day to enter the WSOP Main Event scheduled for Wednesday, July 4. These are officially flights A, B & C of Event #65. On Thursday, July 5, flights A&B return to play their Day 2, while Flight C players have the day off. Any Flight A or B players that survive Day 2, will have Friday, July 6 off, while Flight C players play out their Day 2 on this day. The fields combine for the first time on Saturday, July 7 and play every single day until we reach the final table on July 11 and crown the champion on Saturday, July 14.

Need Room Reservations? Click HERE to see special rates for WSOP players at all Caesars Entertainment properties.

78 official gold bracelet events. Huge weekend events planned.

The modern-day World Series of Poker really offers something for every type of player. This year, there will be a record 13 events that begin AFTER the Main Event starts. Here are some of the schedule highlights:

Event # Description Event #6 $365 GIANT No-Limit Hold’em – (lowest buy-in available). Starting flights every Friday at 7pm in June. Event #7 $565 COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold’em – $1 million guaranteed to first place. 6 starting flights. June 2-6. Event #9 $365 – WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em – Online only. From start to a bracelet in one day. Event #11 $365 PLO Giant – Pot-Limit Omaha. Flights every Sunday night starting June 3. Day 2 on July 2. Event #21 $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em – Flights June 9 & 10. $1 million to winner. Event #24 $2,620 MARATHON No-Limit Hold’em – Monday, June 11. 26,200 starting chips, 100-minute levels. Event #32 $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em – Friday, June 15. Must be age 50+. 10am start. Event #34 $1,000 “DOUBLE STACK” No-Limit Hold’em. Flights June 16 & 17. 10,000 starting chips. Event #36 $1,000 SUPER SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em – Sunday, June 17. Must be age 60+. 10am start. Event #47 $565 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha. Friday, June 22 @3:30pm. Online only. One day. Event #48 $1,500 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold’em. Flights June 23 & 24. 15,000 chips. NO re-entry. Event #51 $1,500 BOUNTY No-Limit Hold’em. June 25. Every player is a $500 bounty. Event #55 $1,000 TAG TEAM No-Limit Hold’em. June 27. 2-4 person teams. Teams must register together. Event #57 $10,000/$1,000 LADIES No-Limit Hold’em Championship. June 28. Ladies discount price is $1,000. Event #59 $1,000 SUPER TURBO BOUNTY No-Limit Hold’em June 29. 20-minute levels/1 day/$300 bounty Event #61 $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em. Friday, June 29, 3:30pm. Played online. One day. Event #62 $888 CRAZY EIGHT’S No-Limit Hold’em. Flights June 30 & July 1. $888,888 to winner. Event #63 $3,200 WSOP.com ONLINE High Roller No-Limit Hold’em. June 30, 3:30pm. Played online. 1 day. Event #65 $10,000 WSOP MAIN EVENT. Flights July 2, July 3, July 4. 50,000 starting chips. Two-hour levels. Event #68 $1,000 LITTLE ONE for ONE DROP. Flights July 7, 8 & 9. $111 add-on for 5,000 more chips. Event #73 $1,000 DOUBLE-STACK No-Limit Hold’em. July 11. 10,000 starting chips. 30-minute levels. 2 day. Event #75 $1,500 THE CLOSER No-Limit Hold’em. Flights July 12, 13 & 14. 15,000 chips. 30-minute levels.

To view the entire 2018 WSOP tournament schedule, click HERE.

2018 Bracelet Winners

Event #1

Jordan Hufty

Won: $61,909 Entries: 566

Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em

Las Vegas poker dealer and supervisor wins $61,909 and first bracelet in the first event on the 2018 schedule The Michigan native fulfilled a 15-year poker dream by winning his first bracelet. His two roommates, who he credits for a lot of the improvements in his game, were on the rail for his victory.

Event #2

Elio Fox

Won: $393,693 Entries: 243

Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty

2011 WSOP Europe Main Event Champion wins second bracelet in first open event of the summer. New York poker pro defeats 243 entries to win $393,693 in first-ever super turbo bounty format in WSOP history. Fox defeats Adam Adler heads-up and defeats a star-studded final table that featured Paul Volpe, Danny Wong, Alex Foxen and 2009 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Cada.

Event #3

Joe Cada

Won: $226,218 Entries: 363

Event #3: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout

2009 Main Event champ wins third career bracelet in popular shootout Event #3. Cada moves over $10.3 million in career WSOP earnings with win. Cad collects $226,218 with late surge to Event #3 title.

Event #4

Julien Martini

Won: $239,771 Entries: 911

Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Martini becomes first French player to win a bracelet in Las Vegas since 2014. Martini earns $239,711 and his first WSOP bracelet.

Event #5

Nick Petrangelo

Won: $2,910,227 Entries: 105

Event #5: $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller

High-stakes tournament pro wins second bracelet in one of the biggest buy-ins of the summer. Petrangelo defeats 105 entries and Elio Fox heads-up to win $2,910,227. With his second-place finish, Fox finishes just shy of second bracelet of the summer, while taking an early lead in the WSOP POY race.

Event #6

Jeremy Perrin

Won: $250,966 Entries: 8,920

Event #6: GIANT – $365 No-Limit Hold’em

North Carolina’s Perrin wins Event #6, $365 GIANT No-Limit Hold’em, for first WSOP bracelet. Perrin claims gold while playing in first-ever WSOP bracelet event. Greensboro’s Perrin tops massive 8,920-entrant ‘GIANT’ tourney.

Event #7

Roberly Felicio

Won: $1,000,000 Entries: 13,070

Event #7: COLOSSUS – $565 No-Limit Hold’em

Brazilian restaurant owner takes down 13,070 to earn first bracelet and $1,000,000 in Colossus win. Before Thursday’s final table, Felicio only had three WSOP cashes, two of which were Circuit events in Brazil, totaling just $4,682. Felicio defeated Sang Liu heads-up in a back-and-forth heads-up battle, bested a final table that featured John Racener, TK Miles and Scott Margereson.

Event #8

Johannes Becker

Won: $180,455 Entries: 321

Event #8: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball

Becker staves off elimination to come back to triumph over runner-up Scott Seiver. Becker is an online lowball-games specialist who loves deuce-to-seven and badugi. Becker took second place in the 2017 WSOP Poker Players Championship.

Event #9

William Reymond

Won: $154,996 Entries: 2,972

Event #10: $365 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em

Journalist from France wins $154,995 and first bracelet in the first of four online bracelets this year. Reymond defeats 2,972 entries, making it the largest online field in WSOP history. Along with his first WSOP title, Reymond earns his first career WSOP cash.

Event #10

Paul Volpe

Won: $417,921 Entries: 169

Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship

Pennsylvania’s Volpe collects third gold bracelet in Omaha 8-or-Better event. West Chester, PA pro outlasts 169-player field to earn $417,921. Volpe adds win to 3rd-place finish in $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty event.

Event #11

Timothy Andrew

Won: $117,024 Entries: 3,250

Event #11: PLO GIANT – $365 Pot-Limit Omaha

British Columbia’s Andrew triumphs in Event #11, wins first gold WSOP bracelet. PLO enthusiast Tim Andrew wins first WSOP bracelet event he’s ever entered. Cash-game PLO player and former student Andrew wins debut edition of PLO GIANT event.

Event #12

Jeremy Harkin

Won: $129,882 Entries: 406

Event #12: $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed

Oregon cash-gamer Harkin tops tourney pros to claim first WSOP gold bracelet. Denver native and former loan officer Harkin has been a “most time” player since 2003. Omaha specialist Harkin earns $129,882 in victory.

Event #13

Benjamin Moon

Won: $315,346 Entries: 1,306

Event #13: Big Blind Antes $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em

Moon earns $315,346 in first-ever WSOP cash. San Diego cash-gamer Moon celebrates return to poker following hiatus. Moon wins first bracelet awarded in “big blind antes” WSOP event.

Event #14

Daniel Ospina

Won: $87,678 Entries: 260

Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw

Colombian poker pro wins first bracelet and $87,678, defeating 260 entries in the first lowball tournament of the summer. Ospina becomes the first Colombian bracelet winner in WSOP history. Won his first bracelet after taking two years away from the game to get in a more positive state of mind.

Event #15

Andrey Zhigalov

Won: $202,787 Entries: 731

Event #15: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

Russian mixed games specialist wins first bracelet and $202,787 in first HORSE event of the summer. The 29-year-old achieved his 13-year dream of winning a WSOP gold bracelet. Zhigalov came back on an unscheduled fourth day to defeat Timothy Frazin heads-up and become this year’s first Russian winner.

Event #16

Justin Bonomo

Won: $185,965 Entries: 114

Event #16: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Poker pro wins second bracelet and $185,965 to continue his epic heater over the last several weeks. Bonomo won seven separate heads-up matches en route to his second gold bracelet win, defeating British online pro Jason McConnon in the finals. The Colorado native was only one of two Americans to cash the event and the only one to make the final day of action.

Event #17

Ognyan Dimov

Won: $378,743 Entries: 1,663

Event #17: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed

Dimov routs final table to claim $378,743 and first WSOP bracelet. Former EPT main event winner tops 6-Max final featuring four former bracelet winners. Dimov logs second-largest cash of his global poker career with Event #17 triumph.

Event #18

Adam Friedman

Won: $293,275 Entries: 111

Event #18: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed

Poker pro defeats 111-entry field, earning second bracelet and $292,375. Friedman displays well-rounded poker talent in a tournament that has more poker variants than any other event on the schedule. Ohio native defeats Stuart Rutter heads-up on an unscheduled fourth day of play to top a final table that featured bracelet winners David ‘ODB’ Baker, Chris Klodnicki and Marco Johnson.

Event #19

Craig Varnell

Won: $181,790 Entries: 2,419

Event #19: $565 Pot-Limit Omaha

Former Circuit ring winner Varnell adds first bracelet to WSOP jewelry collection. Varnell earns $181,790 in career-best cash. Colorado native has played full time since 2014, credits poker with saving his life.

Event #20

Jeremy Wien

Won: $537,710 Entries: 518

Event #20: Big Blind Antes $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em

New York derivatives trader wins first bracelet and $537,710 after besting 518 entries. George town grad extends his trip to Vegas and takes time off work to fit in a bracelet victory. Wien mounts a massive comeback over a nearly five-hour heads-up battle with David Laka, denying the 21-year-old pro his first bracelet.

Event #21

Arne Kern

Won: $1,173,223 Entries: 7,361

Event #21: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONAIRE MAKER

26-year-old German student takes down $1,173,223 in giant win. Kern’s first bracelet and million-plus payday comes in only his third WSOP cash. Huge cash is more than 20 times Kern’s prior global lifetime poker-tournament earnings.

Event #22

Philip Long

Won: $147,348 Entries: 481

Event #22: $1,500 Eight Game Mix

England’s Long wins $147,348 and first WSOP bracelet in Event #22 triumph. Long dominates final table, helps deny Daniel Negreanu a seventh WSOP bracelet. Birmingham native and current London resident also operates a poker-related business.

Event #23

Brian Rast

Won: $259,670 Entries: 95

Event #23: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship

Long-time pro wins fourth bracelet and $259,670 in Doyle Brunson’s last WSOP event. Rast adds to his perfect record in heads-up matches with a bracelet on the line, defeating Mike Wattel heads-up. Brunson finishes sixth in his final hurrah at the World Series of Poker.

Event #24

Michael Addamo

Won: $653,581 Entries: 1,637

Event #24: THE MARATHON – $2,620 No-Limit Hold’em

Australian pro claims first WSOP gold bracelet in five-day Event #22, $2,620 NLHE. 23-year old Addamo has already logged 17 career WSOP cashes, over $1M in earnings. Former Aussie online player has relocated to Thailand while also playing live global events.

Event #25

Benjamin Dobson

Won: $173,528 Entries: 596

Event #25: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

British pro wins first bracelet, tops 596 entries and wins $173,528. 29-year-old plays mostly no-limit hold’em but won his first bracelet in one of his favorite poker variants. Dobson defeated Jesse Martin and Timothy Finne on an unscheduled fourth day of play.

Event #26

Filippos Stavrakis

Won: $169,842 Entries: 986

Event #26: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha

Maryland’s Stavrakis collects $169,842 and first gold bracelet in Event #26 triumph. Stavrakis dedicates win to late younger brother, Jimmy. Big payday more than doubles Stavrakis’s lifetime WSOP earnings.

Event #27

John Hennigan

Won: $414,692 Entries: 166

Event #27: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.

Pennsylvania’s John Hennigan earns fifth career WSOP bracelet in Event #27 victory. Hennigan moves into tie for 16th on WSOP all-time bracelet wins list. $414,692 payday boosts Hennigan’s lifetime WSOP earnings to nearly $4.7 million.

Event #28

Gal Yifrach

Won: $461,798 Entries: 868

Event #28: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed

Los Angeles entrepreneur wins first bracelet and $461,798. 31-year-old’s first bracelet comes just over a year after taking down his first live tournament, a WSOP Circuit high roller event at the Bicycle Hotel and Casino. Yifrach defeats James Mackey heads-up on an unscheduled fourth day of play, denying Mackey his second career bracelet.

Event #29

Hanh Tran

Won: $117,282 Entries: 356

Event #29: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw

Cash-gamer Tran wins fixed-limit lowball gold in rare tourney appearance. Austria’s Tran earns $117,282 and first WSOP bracelet in Event #29 triumph. Tran claims lowball title while on annual WSOP poker “vacation”.

Event #30

Ryan Bambrick

Won: $217,123 Entries: 799

Event #30: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

New Jersey native scores fourth cash of series, first bracelet and $217,123. 30-year-old day trader takes leave of absence from his job to play a full schedule at the 2018 World Series of Poker. Had a very successful five-month stretch online before the WSOP, took that profit and parlayed it into a full summer’s worth of events.

Event #31

Steven Albini

Won: $105,629 Entries: 310

Event #31: $1,500 Seven Card Stud

Albini wins first career bracelet in Event #31, topping four prior bracelet winners in final. Chicago recording-studio owner and “poker” hobbyist claims largest cash of WSOP career. Shellac of North America bandmember claims WSOP gold on brief WSOP visit.

Event #32

Matthew Davis

Won: $662,676 Entries: 5,918

Event #32: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em

Chabot College (CA) statistics teacher tops 5,918-player field for first gold bracelet. Davis wins $662,676 in first year of eligibility in Event #32, $1,000 Seniors NLHE win. California’s Davis comes from behind in heads-up duel to take Seniors gold.

Event #33

Michael Mizrachi

Won: $1,239,126 Entries: 87

Event #33: $50,000 Poker Players Championship

South Florida pro has his name etched on the Chip Reese Memorial trophy for record-setting third time. Mizrachi defeats 87 entries and takes home $1,239,126 to earn his fourth career bracelet. Mizrachi’s fourth bracelet gives both him and his brother, Robert, four WSOP titles.

Event #34

Robert Peacock

Won: $644,224 Entries: 5,700

Event #34: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No-Limit Hold’em

Las Vegas cash game pro earns first bracelet and $644,224. High-stakes grinder defeats massive field of 5,700 entries in inaugural double stack event. One of the loudest rails of the summer with several top pros in attendance for a final table that spanned two days on the sidelines supporting Peacock.

Event #35

Yueqi Zhu

Won: $211,781 Entries: 773

Event #35: Mixed $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Big O (5-Card PLO/8)

Long time Chinese grinder earns first bracelet and $211,781. Engineer breaks more than two-decade long draught, wins first bracelet with 72nd career WSOP cash. Poker ambassador in China tops last year’s sixth-place finish in this event.

Event #36

Farhintaj Bonyadi

Won: $311,451 Entries: 2,191

Event #36: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em

Mother of three-time bracelet winner, Farzad, scores a bracelet of her own and $311,451. Becomes the first mother-son duo in poker history to win WSOP bracelets. Bonyadi erased a 4.5-to-1 chip disadvantage heads-up to defeat Robert Beach heads-up and top a massive, 2,191-entry field.

Event #37

Eric Baldwin

Won: $319,580 Entries: 1,330

Event #37: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em

Former top online pro takes down second bracelet and $319,580. Dedicates second bracelet to his late father. Defeats 2016 WSOP.com Nevada Online Player of the Year, Ian Steinman, heads-up.

Event #38

Yaniv Birman

Won: $236,238 Entries: 83

Event #38: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship

Westwood’s Birman collects $236,238 and first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #38 win. Cash-game player Birman makes rare tourney appearance, claims win in fourth-ever WSOP cash. Full-time business owner plays stud poker games as a “hobby”.

Event #39

Preston Lee

Won: $236,498 Entries: 908

Event #39: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout

Bay-area player Lee earns first WSOP gold bracelet and $236,498 in Event #39 triumph. 32-year-old online and cash-game player wins title in third-ever WSOP cash. Millbrae, CA’s Lee survives 131-hand heads-up duel for win.

Event #40

Scott Bohlman

Won: $122,138 Entries: 205

Event #40: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet

Bohlman earns $122,138 and first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #40 victory. Bohlman dominates final day’s action on way to largest payday of WSOP career. First bracelet for Chicago-area investor comes in 52nd bracelet-event cash.

Event #41

Robert Nehorayan

Won: $173,568 Entries: 596

Event #41: $1,500 Limit Hold’em

Los Angeles real estate consultant wins first bracelet and $173,568 in first limit hold’em event of the summer. Nicknamed ‘Rec Rob’ by his fellow poker players in L.A., tops a final table full of professionals. Kevin Song finishes runner-up, just shy of his second bracelet, after winning the 1997 $2,000 limit hold’em event.

Event #42

Shaun Deeb

Won: $1,402,683 Entries: 230

Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller

Deeb wins third career WSOP gold bracelet and $1,402,603 in Event #42 victory. Career best payday pushes Deeb over $3.3 million in lifetime WSOP earnings. Deeb’s previous bracelet wins came in 2015 and 2016.

Event #43

Timur Margolin

Won: $507,274 Entries: 1,248

Event #43: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em

Israel’s Margolin collects $507,274 and first WSOP gold bracelet in victory. Ukraine-born Margolin wins same event in which he finished as runner-up in 2015. Margolin boosts WSOP lifetime earnings to nearly $950,000 with huge payday.

Event #44

Nicholas Seiken

Won: $287,987 Entries: 109

Event #44: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship

Texas real estate investor bests 109 entries to earn $287,987 and his first bracelet. This was Seiken’s first standalone triple draw tournament he ever entered. Seiken was the lone amateur at the final table and defeated Randy Ohel heads-up, who fell short of his second bracelet, both of which would have come in triple draw.

Event #45

Mario Prats Garcia

Won: $258,255 Entries: 1,712

Event #45: Big Blind Antes $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em (30 minute levels)

Spanish pro scores first bracelet and $258,255 in two-day event. Garcia goes on tear to end the tournaments, eliminating the final five players in just 13 hands. 31-year-old poker pro gets redemption after last year’s runner-up finish in a $1,500 no-limit hold’em.

Event #46

David Brookshire

Won: $214,291 Entries: 402

Event #46 $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Brookshire mounts comeback to win $214,291 and first WSOP gold bracelet. Maryland pro and prior Circuit ring winner makes stunning comeback during heads-up play. Brookshire’s big payday more than 10 times his previous lifetime WSOP earnings.

Event #47

Matthew Mendez

Won: $135,078 Entries: 1,223

Event #47: $565 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed

New Jersey pro wins second of four online bracelets of the summer, defeating 1,223 entries for $135,077. Mendez makes WSOP history – with shared liquidity in Nevada and New Jersey, Mendez becomes the first player in WSOP history to win an open North American bracelet event from outside Las Vegas. 29-year-old comes back from 5-to-1 chip deficit heads-up to win first bracelet.

Event #48

Tommy Nguyen

Won: $1,037,451 Entries: 6,260

Event #48: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MONSTER STACK

28-year-old Canadian defeats 6,260 entries and earned $1,037,451 along with first bracelet. Nguyen was one class away from obtaining his undergraduate degree in accounting. He put it off to take a two-year shot at a professional poker career. Parlayed a small bankroll into a six-figure score in Montreal and used that money to play a full scheduled at the Rio.

Event #49

Loren Klein

Won: $1,018,336 Entries: 476

Event #49: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship

Poker pro from Reno defeats biggest field in the history of the event, besting 476 entries and earning $1,018,336. Klein wins his third bracelet in as many summers, joining Allen Cunningham and Matt Matros as the only players to do that post-Moneymaker. All three of Klein’s bracelets involve PLO, with titles in the $1,500 PLO, the $1,500 no-limit hold’em/PLO and now the PLO Championship event.

Event #50

Jay Kwon

Won: $125,431 Entries: 389

Event #50: $1,500 Razz

‘Razz specialist’ takes first down first of two razz events of the summer. Kwon defeats 389 entries and nets $125,431. Came back from just a few bets during four-handed play to take the chip lead three-handed en route to his win, defeating Dzmitry Urbanovich heads-up.

Event #51

Ryan Leng

Won: $272,765 Entries: 1,983

Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty

Leng earns his first WSOP bracelet and $272,765. After a runner-up finish last year, Leng now earns his first bracelet. Ranno Sootla finishes in 2nd place, just barely missing out on becoming Estonia’s first bracelet winner.

Event #52

Scott Seiver

Won: $296,222 Entries: 114

Event #52: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship

Seiver earns $296,222 and second career WSOP gold bracelet in win. New York’s Seiver pushes career WSOP winnings to nearly $4.6 million. Seiver’s increasing fondness for mixed games pays off with bracelet win.

Event #53

Joseph Couden

Won: $244,370 Entries: 935

Event #53: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Couden earns $244,370 in his eighth WSOP cash of 2018. Couden defeats stacked final table to claim victory. Bruno Fitoussi finishes runner up, just barely misses out on third French bracelet of the year.

Event #54

Diogo Veiga

Won: $522,715 Entries: 1,020

Event #54: Big Blind Antes $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em

Poker pro from Portugal bests 1,020 entries to earn $522,715 and his first gold bracelet. Veiga becomes the third ever Portuguese bracelet winner and first to win one in Las Vegas. Fifth place finisher Tom McCormick records 74th career WSOP cash and has third most cashes without a bracelet.

Event #55

Giuseppe Pantaleo

Won: $87,902 Entries: 1,032

Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em

German and Indian pro team up to take down a 1,032-team field, earning their first bracelets and $87,902 each. The two teamed up after Luther reached out on social media. They played against one another in a $3,000 no-limit event at the 2017 WSOP. Luther becomes the second consecutive Indian winner in the tag team event, following in the footsteps of Nipun Java and Aditya Sushant, last year’s winner.

Event #55

Nikita Luther

Won: $87,903 Entries: 1,032

Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em

Event #56

Calvin Anderson

Won: $309,220 Entries: 119

Event #56: $10,000 Razz Championship

Las Vegas pro Anderson earns second career WSOP gold bracelet in Event #56 triumph. Oklahoma native Anderson collects $309,220 in lowball championship win. Anderson boosts career WSOP earnings to $1,320,827 with 37th lifetime cash.

Event #57

Jessica Dawley

Won: $130,230 Entries: 696

Event #57: $1,000/$10,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Florida poker pro Dawley tops 696-player field to win first career WSOP bracelet. Dawley more than doubles her career WSOP earnings with $130,230 winner’s payday. Indiana native and armed-forces veteran Dawley wins gold in 25th lifetime WSOP cash.

Event #58

Jean-Robert Bellande

Won: $616,302 Entries: 621

Event #58: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed

Las Vegas pro Bellande claims long-sought first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #58 win. Bellande earns second-largest payday of WSOP career, $616,302. Bellande dominates most of Day 3 finale before needing late comeback for victory.

Event #59

Mike Takayama

Won: $198,568 Entries: 2,065

Event #59: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty

Takayama collects Philippines’ first-ever WSOP gold bracelet. 29-year-old poker pro from Mandaluyong City, earns $198,568 in Event #59 triumph. Takayama rolls over final table in one-day “super turbo” event, eliminating 7 of 8 final-table opponents.

Event #60

Phil Galfond

Won: $567,788 Entries: 237

Event #60: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship

Owner of Run It Once Poker tops 237-player field, earning $567,788 and adding a third gold bracelet to his collection. Galfond, a professional poker player out of Maryland, boosts his total WSOP earnings to right around 2.8 million dollars,

Event #61

Ryan Tosoc

Won: $238,779 Entries: 1,635

Event #61: $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Poker pro from Chicago defeats 1,635 entries to earn first bracelet and $238,779. 27-year-old tops biggest online event in WSOP history. Defeats Anthony Maio in back-and-forth heads-up battle that lasted two hours and saw five lead changes.

Event #62

Galen Hall

Won: $888,888 Entries: 8,598

Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed – $888,888 Guaranteed 1st Place

New York City’s Hall claims first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #62’s extra Day 4 play. Full-time hedge-fund manager and part-time high-stakes poker pro collects $888,888 cash. Stanford grad and California native earns second-largest cash of pro career.

Event #63

Chance Kornuth

Won: $341,599 Entries: 480

Event #63: $3,200 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em High Roller

Kornuth defeats 480 entries to win second bracelet and $341,598. Denver native joins Nipun Java as only players to have a bracelet live and online. With the win, the founder of Chip Leader Coaching crosses the $1.4 million mark in WSOP earnings.

Event #64

Dan Matsuzuki

Won: $364,387 Entries: 141

Event #64: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship

Arizona pro wins first bracelet and $364,387 after defeating 141 entries and WSOP Player of the Year contender Scott Bohlman heads-up. 28-year-old didn’t plan on playing the event until his friend bought a small piece and said ‘Come on, just gamble.’ Denies Bohlman his second bracelet of the summer in Chicago grinder’s 10th cash of the summer.

Event #66

Longsheng Tan

Won: $323,472 Entries: 1,351

Event #66: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em

Tan, a native of Nanning, China, earns first WSOP gold bracelet and $323,472 payday. Former LA-based real-estate agent Tan recently moved to Las Vegas to play more poker. Tan’s big Event #66 payday is nearly 10 times his previous WSOP lifetime winnings.

Event #67

Anderson Ireland

Won: $141,161 Entries: 833

Event #67: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty

27-year-old from New Orleans defeats 833 entries, wins $141,161 and first bracelet. Manager for brass band ‘The Soul Rebels’ scores WSOP cash in just second WSOP event after busting out of Main Event on Day 2. At his first-ever WSOP, Ireland defeats Matt O’Donnell heads-up, denying O’Donnell his second career bracelet.

Event #68

Guoliang Wei

Won: $559,332 Entries: 4,732

Event #68: The Little One for One Drop – $1,000 +111 No-Limit Hold’em

Shanghai, China’s Wei earns first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #68 victory. Wei earns $559,332 in just the second cash of his WSOP career. Wei makes a king-high straight flush on the river in the event’s final hand to seal the title.

Event #69

Ronald Keijzer

Won: $433,075 Entries: 901

Event #69: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed

26-year-old Dutch pro wins first bracelet and $433,075. Cash game pro wins first bracelet in just his third career WSOP cash. Scott Bohlman continues monster 2018 WSOP with a third-place finish.

Event #70

Yaser Al-Keliddar

Won: $154,338 Entries: 221

Event #70: $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Handed

Al-Keliddar defeats 221 entries, wins $154,338 and first bracelet. The high-powered businessman, attorney, real estate investor and former stand-up comedian makes a triumphant return to the WSOP, cashing for the first time since 2004. Longtime Finnish pro, Juha Helppi finishes second for another near-miss at his first bracelet.

Event #71

Phil Hellmuth

Won: $485,082 Entries: 452

Event #71: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em (30 minute levels)

Hellmuth comes from behind to claim gold in Event #71, $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Wisconsin native and Palo Alto, California resident Hellmuth earns $485,082 in victory. Hellmuth extends his own WSOP cashes record with 134th in-the-money finish.

Event #72

Jordan Polk

Won: $197,461 Entries: 707

Event #72: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed

Local player from Las Vegas defeats 707 entries, wins first bracelet and $197,461. The mostly cash game player secures first win at first career WSOP in his seventh cash of the summer. Maryland native marked the event on his calendar and skipped other events to take his shot at this specific mix.

Event #73

Denis Timofeev

Won: $199,586 Entries: 1,221

Event #73: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No-Limit Hold’em (30 minute levels)

Russian Federation’s Timofeev collects $199,586 in winning two-day Event #73 title. Online turbo grinder Timofeev claims first WSOP gold bracelet in just second-ever WSOP cash. Timofeev prevails in see-saw heads-up duel for win against Spanish pro Leo Margets.

Event #74

Shaun Deeb

Won: $814,179 Entries: 355

Event #74: Big Blind Antes $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship

Poker pro wins second bracelet of the summer and fourth of career, defeating 355 entries and earning $814,179. 32-year-old New York native pulls away from John Hennigan in WSOP Player of the Year race. Deeb comes back from massive chip deficit against Paul Volpe in a rematch from their heads-up battle in the 2015 pot-limit hold’em championship.

Event #75

Joe Cada

Won: $612,886 Entries: 3,120

Event #75: The Closer – $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em (30 minute levels) – $1 Million Guarantee

Cada wins Event #75 just two days after fifth-place finish in 2018 WSOP Main Event. Cada collects second gold bracelet of career summer and fourth of career in triumph. 2009 Main Event champ Cada moves over $13 million in lifetime WSOP earnings with victory.

Event #76

Brian Hastings

Won: $233,202 Entries: 354

Event #76: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.

Hastings earns fourth career WSOP gold bracelet in Event #76 victory. $233,202 payday boosts Hastings’ lifetime WSOP earnings to $2,271,508. Hastings mounts big comeback during heads-up play to secure bracelet win.

Event #77

Ben Yu

Won: $1,650,773 Entries: 128

Event #77: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller (Big Blind Antes)

Las Vegas based poker pro defeats 128 entries to earn third bracelet and $1,650,773. In one of the summer’s final events, the 32-year-old puts up a career-best WSOP score, defeating one of the toughest final tables of the summer. Primarily a mixed games player, Yu began taking shots at high rollers thanks to advice from Justin Bonomo.

Event #78

Justin Bonomo

Won: $10,000,000 Entries: 27

Event #78: The Big One for One Drop – $1,000,000 No-Limit Hold’em

Bonomo wins $10,000,000 and moves to the top of the all-time money list.

2018 WSOP Main Event Finalists

Nicolas Manion | 112,775,000

AGE 35 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 1 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $5,769

To say that 35-year old Nicolas Manion is having the best tournament of his life would be an understatement. Manion, hailing from Muskegon, Michigan, has only one previous WSOP cash, for $5,769, and $16,739 in total recorded earnings. Now the proud dog-dad (he has an English bulldog, an French bulldog, and a Boston terrier), is guaranteed to increase that total nearly 60-fold, and potentially much more than that.

Michael Dyer | 109,175,000

AGE 32 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 3 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $71,515

Michael Dyer, a 32-year old from Houston, held the lead most of Day 7, and enters the final table second in chips. Dyer has only three previous WSOP cashes, the biggest of which came in 2009 – he finished eighth in a $2,000 no-limit hold’em event for $65,905. That score accounts for over 2/3 of his total recorded career live tournament earnings ($95,020). But with his final-table performance in this event, he will add at least $1,000,000 to that total.

Tony Miles | 42,750,000

AGE 32 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 2 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $17,539

Tony Miles is a professional poker player and adrenaline junkie. His final-table run in the Main Event hits big for both vocations. The 32-year-old attended the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. He was born in Ogden, Utah and now resides in Lake Mary, Florida. Miles had not cashed at the annual World Series of Poker until this summer where he has cashed in the Colossus (438th), Millionaire Maker (442nd), and of course the Main Event. The momentous payout coming his way will greatly surpass his best live cash of $18,000 from a 3rd place finish at a WPT Jacksonville Summer Series. When Miles is not on the felt he enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding, rock climbing, among other activities.

John Cynn | 37,075,000

AGE 33 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 12 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $713,071

Two years ago, John Cynn came within a breath of the Main Event final table. But he just barely missed out, finishing in 11th place ($650,000). It was the best live tournament performance of his career – until now. The 33-year old from Indiana bested his own performance from 2016, and now finds himself at the final table.

Alex Lynskey | 25,925,000

AGE 28 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 13 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $556,389

There hasn’t been an Australian at the Main Event final table since Joe Hachem won it in 2005. That changes this year, as 28-year old Alex Lynskey of Brisbane attempts to recreate Hachem’s success. Lynskey’s biggest WSOP cash to date came last year in the Marathon event, when he finished runner up for $426,663. In total, he has 13 previous WSOP cashes for $556,389.

Joe Cada | 23,675,000

AGE 28 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 33 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 3 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $10,779,041

Joe Cada has done something no one else at this final table can claim: he’s been here before. Not only did Cada make the Main Event final table in 2009, he won the bracelet, the most prestigious prize in poker. He’s now the first previous Main Event champion to return to the final table since Dan Harrington. (Harrington, the 1995 champion, made the final table again in 2003 and 2004.) Not surprisingly, Cada is the most accomplished player at the 2018 final table. He has three previous bracelets and $10,779,041 in total tournament earnings. Most of that amount ($8,546,435) came from his 2009 victory, and he has the chance to win even more than that this year if he takes home the $8,800,000 first-place prize. That impressive feat would make him the first player to repeat as Main Event champion since the legendary Stu Ungar won his third title in 1997.

Aram Zobian | 18,875,000

AGE 23 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 3 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $9,735

The youngest player remaining at this table is 23-year-old Aram Zobian, originally from Cranston, Rhode Island, now living in North Providence. Zobian plays poker for a living and has just over $100,000 in tournament earnings. His largest live tournament cash came from a 2nd place finish in the No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the MegaStack Challenge, Mashantucket, good for $47,000. This will be Zobian’s fourth cash at the annual World Series of Poker and he has guaranteed himself a monster payday.

Artem Metalidi | 15,475,000

AGE 29 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 25 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $728,254

A 29-year-old hailing from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, Artem Metalidi has been playing in the annual World Series of Poker since he was of age. Metalidi made a huge statement early on in his career as a professional poker player by placing 2nd in the $3k Six Max of 2012. The score of $350,806 is still his largest live tournament cash to date. In total, Metalidi lays claim to $728,254 in WSOP earnings, stemming from 25 separate cashes.

Antoine Labat | 8,050,000

AGE 29 PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 2 PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0 PREVIOUS EARNINGS $6,857

The 29-year old Antoine Labat is the only French player at this year’s Main Event final table. He continues a recent tradition of French success that included two final tablists last year (Antoine Saout and Benjamin Pollak). Labat has two prior WSOP cashes, totaling under $7,000. He has $194,789 in recorded tournament earnings. He is an experienced games player, listing board games and chess among his hobbies.

2018 ESPN Schedule

DATE DAY START NETWORK 13-JUL-18 FRI 6:00P $10,000 MAIN EVENT No-Limit Hold’em World Championship – Final Table 6 to 3 14-JUL-18 SAT 6:00P $10,000 MAIN EVENT No-Limit Hold’em World Championship – Final Table 3 to winner 17-JUL-18 TUE 6:00P $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop – Final Table winner crowned

Welcome to the 2018 World Series Of Poker 49th Annual World Series of Poker May 29 – July 17, 2018 78 Official Gold Bracelet Events…

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robertkstone · 7 years

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Business and Pleasure for Our Four Seasons 2017 BMW M2

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — It wasn’t quite the way I expected to take delivery of the Automobile Four Seasons 2017 BMW M2. As Road Test Editor Eric Wiener noted in the last update, the German two-door made the trip to me from Gingerman Raceway via BMW roadside assistance and a flatbed. All’s well that ends well, though, and the Long Beach Blue Metallic coupe is now happily running on a fresh Michelin Pilot Super Sport rear tire. Well, that rubber isn’t exactly fresh now, as I’ve been having far too much fun with BMW’s cheapest M car.

Not that cheapest should remotely be considering a negative. The M2 continues to be my favorite current M model. It’s also an Automobile Magazine 2017 All Star. I’ve spent significant time behind the wheel of a manual M2, but this is my first stint with the dual-clutch (DCT) version. Being a hardcore fan of three pedals, I assumed I wouldn’t jive with the high-tech setup. Well, you know what they say about assumptions.

The DCT works brilliantly with the torque-rich engine, swapping ratios quickly and adding even more pace to the evocative package. I love that BMW gives you the choice to shift via paddles or the gearbox selector in the center console. I’d still buy the six-speed manual because that’s who I am, but I honestly feel the M2 is a better car with the seven-speed DCT. The M2’s inline 6 makes gobs of power but it’s not the most exciting engine around. It’s more of a tool to get the job done than an emotional, visceral powerplant—focused on the destination rather than the journey. Luckily, the destination is impressive performance.

Speaking of journeys, I pressed the M2 into family adventure duties and it worked surprisingly well. You’d think a smallish coupe wouldn’t be practical but that’s certainly not the case. The seats are mega-comfortable with plenty of adjustment, only let down by a flawed, crooked driving position. My 10- and 12-year old children had plenty of room in back and the trunk fit all our stuff. Access to those rear seats is quick and easy, helped by handy auxiliary power seat switches on the top of the front seats. And the back seats fold, helping with Saturday errands to Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond for flooring and the like. Blue, you’re my boy!

Ride quality is quite good considering the short wheelbase and overall performance on offer, and body control is exemplary. Yes, the M2 is stiff at low speeds, a substantial amount of road noise from the wide tires permeates into the cabin, and the suspension gets crashy on Michigan’s horrible roads, but it’s by no means horrible. The BMW is far more compliant and refined than my old Ford Focus RS.

The iDrive infotainment system adds to the M2’s trusty-companion status on road trips. Efficient arrival at your destination is sorted by the clear, concise satellite navigation and excellent 4G cellular-based traffic data—free for four years. The large dash-mounted screen advises on the amount of time any traffic snarls will delay your journey and then makes recommendations to either stay on the current road or change your route. Very slick.

Additionally, there’s wireless smartphone app integration for music options such as Pandora and Amazon Music. Our early-build 2017 M2 isn’t compatible with BMW’s impressive wireless Apple CarPlay integration, but cars built from August 2017 can be factory equipped (or upgraded by owners over-the-air).

I do wish the M2 carried a larger fuel tank as 13.7 gallons simply isn’t enough. An 80-mph highway cruise results in around a 26-mpg average, allowing you to travel around 325 miles before stopping, but it’s around town where the thirst of the powerful turbocharged engine finds you visiting the fuel station far too often. This isn’t helped by the fact that the M2 is so much fun to thrash.

But any adolescent thrashing must wait until you get your head around the confusing drive modes. BMW’s M3/M4 carry dedicated buttons for adjusting the steering, throttle, DCT shift speed, etc. You’re then able to easily store your preferred setup in one of two preset buttons on the steering wheel. Not so with the M2. Its setup is adapted from the 230i/M240i and is not as intuitive.

If you turn off stability control (DSC), you’re forced into an ultra-aggressive DCT shift setup and, far worse, the electric power steering switches to an artificially heavy configuration. It’s a similar situation with the more laidback—but not nearly relaxed enough—MDM (M Dynamic Mode) setting for the DSC. Come on, BMW. You’ve given us one of your best M cars in years yet we can’t properly configure the settings to enjoy the car to the full potential.

The lack of configurability was particularly frustrating when I visited Grattan Raceway. My focus for the day was to test and work on the chassis setup for two dedicated race cars and an M4 GTS, but I had to at least try the M2 around the 2.0-mile track. Wouldn’t you? The BMW was great fun, but the overly-nanny MDM continued to frustrate and I quickly fully disengaged the DSC. Unfortunately, that brought along the diluted, hefty steering.

At least the general balance of the M2 was impressive and it’s huge fun to smoke the rear tires. You just must mind the way the twin-scroll turbo hits in the low-speed corners as throttle modulation while trying to maximize lap times—versus drifting fun—isn’t particularly easy. Again, the engine is more about making power than being a crescendoing sweetheart. The weight of the M2 also reared its ugly head Grattan. A car this small simply shouldn’t weigh over 3,500 pounds.

My drive home from the track reminded me why the M2 is still a hugely entertaining car. Once you get past the niggling details and understand that the entry-level M is all about hooligan fun, you fully appreciate it once again. It’s wicked fast, comfortable, decent on fuel when respected, and surprisingly practical. The rear-drive coupe is something of a nearly half price Porsche 911. It can play the role of a selfish, fun toy but also easily serves as both a trusty day-to-day companion and a 2nd family vehicle. And the BMW trumps the rear-engined 2+2 by having more room for bigger kids—and even adults—in the back seat.

The next stop for our Four Seasons M2 is California, where it will live out its days until BMW steals it back. I picture the west coast crew of Automobile Magazine kicking and screaming as the keys are pried from their hands at the end of the one-year stay. I’m sure sad to see the M2 leave Michigan.

Our 2017 BMW M2

MILES TO DATE TK PRICE $57,545 ENGINE 3.0L DOHC turbocharged 24-valve I-6/365 hp @ 6,500 rpm, 343 lb-ft @ 1,400-5,560 rpm TRANSMISSION 7-speed dual-clutch automatic LAYOUT 2-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, RWD coupe EPA MILEAGE 20/26 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 176.2 x 73.0 x 55.5 in WHEELBASE 106.0 in WEIGHT 3,505 lb 0-60 MPH 4.2 sec TOP SPEED 155 mph

The post Business and Pleasure for Our Four Seasons 2017 BMW M2 appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

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jesusvasser · 7 years

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Business and Pleasure for Our Four Seasons 2017 BMW M2

Our 2017 BMW M2

The post Business and Pleasure for Our Four Seasons 2017 BMW M2 appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

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jonathanbelloblog · 7 years

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Business and Pleasure for Our Four Seasons 2017 BMW M2

Our 2017 BMW M2

MILES TO DATETKPRICE$57,545ENGINE3.0L DOHC turbocharged 24-valve I-6/365 hp @ 6,500 rpm, 343 lb-ft @ 1,400-5,560 rpmTRANSMISSION7-speed dual-clutch automaticLAYOUT2-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, RWD coupeEPA MILEAGE20/26 mpg (city/hwy)L x W x H176.2 x 73.0 x 55.5 inWHEELBASE106.0 inWEIGHT3,505 lb0-60 MPH4.2 secTOP SPEED155 mph

The post Business and Pleasure for Our Four Seasons 2017 BMW M2 appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

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chanadevis8180-blog · 7 years

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Family Articles.

Handlebar is a huge draft beer for a major guy, Brewed every year by Automatic Developing Co (our home brewery) to celebrate the birthday party from Large Ben Davidson. I'm consistently in the structure for the grace when I reside in one of my pastor's tasks, yet this certain dinner is actually one that I go to as a punter as well as the garce is handed to a basic'. As well as after 20 previous anniversaries, its own not as 'interesting' as it used to become to go somewhere lavish to supper. For those currently developed in the White Residence bunch corps, the dinner may not keep too much body weight past an opportunity to lighten the state of mind in between mainstream media as well as the governing management. As you recognize, our experts have our very own viewpoints on choosy eaters, yet our team additionally understand that supper event is no area to test your visitors' taste, regardless of what their age. I think that having one 850 mg SR after dinner along with 850 milligrams plain after BF, could decrease not eating blood sugar. Which may be tough because travelling watercrafts are certainly not hooked up to the internet 24/7/365. Its greasy flesh as well as skin layer keep this moist, and its own meaningful structure will certainly please also the absolute most predatory supper guest. After the experience whizzed by, our team had enough time before supper to stroll a couple of blocks around the fourth and also enjoy more from the festival and also the regular summer weekend group in the fourth. Trump said last month after possessing supper along with Fla Senator Marco Rubio, a vociferous opponent from detente, that he and also Rubio had comparable sights worrying Cuba. Our team possessed drinks in the pleasant Hotels and resort Yard at that point mosted likely to supper at a brand-new hot dining establishment contacted Bone fragments There were actually as many more residents in comparison to vacationers as that is actually new to Brugge and also the concept is: Ribs. Effective ways to Acquire This: Maine Draft beer Company makes regarding four little sets from Supper a year, and markets all of them exclusively at the brewery in 500 milliliter bottles. The trademark item isn't near an inexpensive eat at $18, but the $10 rolls full of plump, premium shrimp are Lucassportportal.Info an incredibly suitable purchase; therefore is the creamy New England clam chowder for $9. Yes as well as no. If you are actually seeking an air conditioner, sky colders are actually absolutely CERTAINLY NOT the method to go. However if you are trying to find an affordable method to cool down without must pay out the higher rate from energy from an AC device, you must lower your expectations. After the second edge has been actually cooking for about 4 mins, proceed and also include the new tomatoes that you have chopped up. Next, incorporate the clean basil that you have actually chopped in to ribbons, the chilly butter, the minced garlic, and you are going to perhaps intend to add some additional kosher sodium and dark pepper to period the dressing. After cooling that in the refrigerator overnight, I provided that with recently whipped cream after Sunday dinner. I prepared, prepared, and completed supper prior to 9pm, then brought in a travel to mom's for a rapid visit. I start creating dinner (precariously near supper opportunity) through activating the stove to 400F (convection roast) and taking out a sheet pan. We reached the Regal Princess about 1:00 pm. and safety and security was actually uncomplicated. Our company formally celebrated Sarah's birthday celebration this weekend break with a family members dinner at my moms and dad's home and also Auntie Cathy boiled down coming from D.C. to assist celebrate! My business was actually beginning to come to be complicated as well as I was actually seeing close friends lose their tasks. I tried, for the last several full weeks, simply to produce a supper attend my tiny, little house along with just my pet. The dinner was great, I actually like the stir fried vegetables- truly yummy.

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kerriehammonds-blog · 7 years

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FBI Director Comey's Prepared Testimony To Senate Board.

In the end, I discovered myself explaining a complete day, but a time based around the finest terms in the thesaurus. A dark energy roams the cellar, appearing sometimes as a pulsing black mass. Proprietors experiencing the decrease or even incurable sickness of a pet dog for the very first time are going to generally hang around until the exact end to earn that difficult choice. And also vegetarian people might also locate this plan difficult as this includes egg as well as tuna. For those actually set up in the White Residence press corps, the supper could not hold way too much body weight past a chance to reduce the mood between mainstream media as well as the regulating management. As you understand, our experts possess our own viewpoints on fussy eaters, however we additionally know that dinner gathering is no location to challenge your attendees' taste buds, whatever their age. I believe that taking one 850 mg SR after dinner aside from 850 mg plain after BF, may decrease not eating blood sugar. Which could be difficult considering that cruising watercrafts are actually certainly not hooked up to the web 24/7/365. Its oily flesh and also skin keep that damp, and its meaty appearance will definitely satisfy even the absolute most meat-eating dinner attendee. I participated in the White Residence Correspondents' Organization Supper in 2014 along with various other academics. Derrick handled us to scrumptious dinner at a lovely little bit of backyard dining establishment; the French carry out recognize how to prepare! I was suggested to take 2 tablets of metformin 850 milligrams tablets after BF and after dinner. A year before you were actually commenced as president, I became a White House Correspondents' Affiliation intellectual 3 months later on, I went to the White Property Contributors' dinner in Washington. Despite this dish weighing on the charcuterie, I when possessed a shock vegetarian attendee for a Raclette dinner. How you can Get It: Maine Draft beer Business makes concerning four little batches from Supper a year, and sells them only at the brewery in 500 milliliter bottles. The signature thing isn't close to an inexpensive consume at $18, however the $10 rolls filled with plump, top quality shrimp are actually an incredibly good buy; therefore is the velvety New England clam chowder for $9. I possessed a tiny lite supper I was actually thus interested and also is actually why I had more and also I will certainly keeping up as well as consume alcohol more water and also have that once again in about 2 hrs. Yet due to the end from his 15-minute pep talk, the high-society group was actually openly booing as Trump had a descending spiral from economical tries at Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump's child, Ivanka, and also her other half, Jared Kushner, that each working from the White House, additionally were among the supper attendees. Pack a great picnic dinner along with a great container of cooled red or white wine and some iced soft drink for the youngsters as well as devote a delightful summertime night under the superstars as your looks after disappear. Various other dinner suggestions I have actually bookmarked include Caribbean Coconut Collards & Dessert Potatoes, Virtually Instantaneous Ramen (along with veggies and also tofu), Roasted Red Pepper Mac computer & Cheese (along with butternut squash), Spicy Afro-american Bean & Beetroot Burgers, as well as Black-Eyed Pea & Collard Stew along with Spicy Tahini. Hard numbers are hard ahead through, but local folks on the coast estimate that as several as one in 5 single women visiting off abundant nations reside in search of sex. Seales as well as Jenner participated in Vehicle Jones, Margaret Cho, Sally Kohn, Anna Navarro and Yung Skeeter for a Supper as well as Talk" along with Katy Perry, streamed real-time to the Perry's YouTube stations. My service was starting to end up being tough and I was viewing friends shed their jobs. I attempted, for the last numerous full weeks, just click the up coming article to make a supper time in my little, little home with just my pet dog. The dinner was actually great, I actually like the stir deep-fried vegetables- actually scrumptious.

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itsfinancethings · 4 years

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newstfionline · 7 years

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How The Next World War Starts?

By David Wood, Huffington Post, April 4, 2017

Several times a week, a U.S. Air Force pilot takes off from the Royal Air Force base in Mildenhall, England, and heads for the northernmost edge of NATO territory to gather intelligence on Russia. One of these pilots is 40-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Webster, a veteran of many such expeditions and a hard guy to rattle. On a typical flight, his four-engine, silver and white RC-135 jet will rise gracefully over the old World War II bomber bases in East Anglia. It then flies over the North Sea and Denmark, taking care to remain within international airspace. When Webster reaches the Baltic Sea, the surveillance operation begins in earnest. Behind the cockpit, the fuselage of his plane is crammed with electronic equipment manned by some two dozen intelligence officers and analysts. They sit in swivel chairs, monitoring emissions, radar data and military communications harvested from below that appear on their computer screens or stream through their headphones. Inside the plane, it is chilly. The air smells faintly of jet fuel, rubber and warm wiring. The soft blue carpet helps absorb the distant thrum of the engines, and so it is also surprisingly quiet--at least until the Russians show up.

As the Polish coast fades into the distance, Webster may swing left to avoid passing directly over the heavily armed Russian base at Kaliningrad. This is where, without warning, a Russian SU-27 fighter may materialize as if out of nowhere, right outside the cockpit window, flying so close that Webster can make out the tail markings. No matter how often this happens--and lately, it has been happening a lot--these encounters always give Webster a jolt. For one thing, he and his crew can’t see the planes coming. Although his jet is carrying millions of dollars worth of the most sophisticated listening devices available to man, it lacks a simple radar to spot an incoming plane. So the only way Webster can find out what the Russian jet is doing--how close it’s flying, whether it’s making any sudden moves--is to dispatch a junior airman to crouch on the floor and peer through one of the 135’s three fuselage windows, each the size of a cereal box and inconveniently placed just below knee level.

In normal times, being intercepted isn’t a cause for concern. Russian jets routinely shadow American jets over the Baltic Sea and elsewhere. Americans routinely intercept Russian aircraft along the Alaskan and California coasts. The idea is to identify the plane and perhaps to signal, “You keep an eye on us, we keep an eye on you.” These, however, are far from normal times. Every few weeks, a Russian pilot will get aggressive. Instead of closing in on the RC-135 at around 30 miles per hour and skulking off its wing for a while, a fighter jet will careen directly toward the American plane at 150 miles per hour or more before abruptly going nose-up to bleed off airspeed and avoid a collision. Or it might perform the dreaded “barrel roll”--a hair-raising maneuver in which the Russian jet makes a 360-degree orbit around the 135’s midsection while the two aircraft hurtle along at 400 miles per hour.

In international airspace and waters, Russia and the U.S. are brushing up against each other in perilous ways with alarming frequency. This problem, which began not long after Russia’s seizure of the Crimea in 2014, has accelerated rapidly in the past year. In 2015, according to its air command headquarters, NATO scrambled jets more than 400 times to intercept Russian military aircraft that were flying without having broadcast their required identification code or having filed a flight plan. In 2016, that number had leapt to 780--an average of more than two intercepts a day. There has been a similar increase in Russian jets intercepting US or NATO aircraft, as well as a significant uptick in incidents at sea in which Russian jets run mock attacks against American warships.

Russia is hardly the only source of anxiety for the Pentagon. American and Chinese ships and aircraft have clashed in the South China Sea; in early 2016, Iran seized 10 Navy sailors after their boats strayed into its waters. But senior U.S. officials view run-ins with Russia as the most dangerous, because they are part of a deliberate strategy of intimidation and provocation by Russian president Vladimir Putin--and because the stakes are so high. One false move by a hot-dogging Russian pilot could send an American aircraft and its crew spiraling 20,000 feet into the sea. Any nearby U.S. fighter would have to immediately decide whether to shoot down the Russian plane. And if the pilot did retaliate, the U.S. and Russia could quickly find themselves on the brink of open hostility.

With these issues in mind, I traveled to Germany this winter to talk with U.S. Air Force General Tod D. Wolters, who commands American and NATO air operations. We sat in his headquarters at Ramstein Air Base, a gleaming, modern complex where officers in the uniforms of various NATO nations bustle efficiently through polished corridors. “The degree of hair-triggeredness is a concern,” said Wolters, a former fighter pilot who encountered Soviet bloc pilots during the Cold War. “The possibility of an intercept gone wrong,” he added, is “on my mind 24/7/365.” Admiral James G. Stavridis, the commander of NATO from 2009 to 2013, is more blunt. The potential for miscalculation “is probably higher than at any other point since the end of the Cold War,” he told me. “We are now at maximum danger.”

This may sound counter-intuitive, given President Donald Trump’s extravagant professions of admiration for Putin. But the strong consensus inside the U.S. military establishment is that the pattern of Russian provocation will continue--and not just because the various investigations into the Trump campaign’s links with Russia make détente politically unlikely. By constantly pushing the limits with risky intercepts and other tactics, Putin forces NATO to make difficult choices about when and how to respond that can sow dissension among its members.

According to an analysis by the U.S. Army War College, “the top leadership is moving the country onto a war footing” in response to what it sees as “an arc of crisis around Russia and a period of great turbulence in international affairs.” since the departure of Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, his foreign policy team is now dominated by officials who advocate a hard line on Russia.

These include ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and senior National Security Council Russia adviser Fiona Hill. Secretary of Defense James Mattis predicted at his confirmation hearing that “there are an increasing number of areas where we are going to have to confront Russia.” For all these reasons, Philip Breedlove, who retired last summer after three years as supreme allied commander of NATO, isn’t optimistic that Russia will back off anytime soon. “We’re in a bad place and it’s getting worse rather than better,” he told me. “The probability of coming up against that unintended but strategic mess-up is, I think, rising rather than becoming less likely.” When Breedlove’s successor, General Curtis Scaparrotti, took command in May 2016, he grimly warned a gathering of diplomats and officers of a “resurgent Russia” and cautioned that NATO must be ready “to fight tonight if deterrence fails.”

All of this is happening at a time when most of the old Cold War safeguards for resolving tensions with Russia--treaties, gentlemen’s understandings, unofficial back channels--have fallen away. When a Russian jet barrel-rolls a U.S. aircraft, a senior U.S. official hops in a car and is driven to the white marble monolith on Wisconsin Avenue that houses the Russian embassy. There, he sits down with Sergey Kislyak, the ambassador who has recently attained minor fame for his surreptitious meetings with various Trump associates. A typical conversation, the U.S. official told me, goes something like this: “I say, ‘Look here, Sergey, we had this incident on April 11, this is getting out of hand, this is dangerous.’” Kislyak, the official said, benignly denies that any misbehavior has occurred. (When I made my own trip to the embassy late last year, a senior official assured me with a polite smile that Russian pilots do nothing dangerous--and certainly not barrel-rolls.)

Among the many senior officers I spoke to in Washington and Europe who are worried about Russia, there was one more factor fueling their anxiety: their new commander-in-chief, and how he might react in a crisis. After a Russian fighter barrel-rolled an RC-135 over the Baltic Sea last April, Trump fumed that the Obama administration had only lodged a diplomatic protest. He considered this to be a weak response. “It just shows how low we’ve gone, where they can toy with us like that,” he complained on a radio talk show. “It shows a lack of respect.” If he were president, Trump went on, he would do things differently. “You wanna at least make a phone call or two,” he conceded. “[But] at a certain point, when that sucker comes by you, you gotta shoot. You gotta shoot. I mean, you gotta shoot.”

One day in the mid-1980s, I stood with a cluster of American troopers on a hillside observation post near the Fulda Gap, on the border between East and West Germany. If there was going to be a war, it would come here. The Red Army would pour across the border and attempt to bludgeon the smaller U.S. and NATO forces into surrender. Each side had deployed nuclear weapons close at hand.

The soldiers at the border post were tense, serious. A few nights earlier, a man had tried to escape from the East, sprinting jaggedly across a stretch of plowed ground, somehow avoiding snipers, landmines and teams of killer dogs. The East German police shot him as he scaled a chain-link fence mere yards from the safety of West Germany. Impaled on the barbed wire, he bled slowly to death as the Americans watched in horror, his fading cries cutting through the night.

From my vantage point on top of an old concrete bunker, I looked across the misty farmland. A mile or two away were the emplacements of the Soviet Red Army. “See ‘em? Right there!” a sergeant told me. Not sure whether I was looking in the right place, I raised my hand to point. The sergeant swiftly knocked it down. “We don’t point!” he exclaimed, almost panicked. Russian and American commanders had banned such gestures, since they could so easily be mistaken for someone raising a weapon. Among troops on the front line, there was an unmistakable sense that catastrophic war was more likely to be set off by an accident than by an intentional invasion.

Looking back, it seems nothing short of miraculous that the Cold War actually remained cold. On so many occasions, misunderstandings and confusion could have erupted into mutual annihilation. One of the most frightening near-misses came in 1983, when the aging Soviet leadership in the Kremlin was convinced that an attack by the U.S. was imminent. They had been badly rattled by President Ronald Reagan’s declaration that the Soviet superpower was an “evil empire” destined for “the ash-heap of history,” and by his talk of developing a so-called Star Wars defense system capable of zapping any target from space. And so when Soviet spies began reporting on a large-scale US-NATO military exercise, code-named Able Archer, the Kremlin concluded that they were witnessing preparations for a massive conventional and nuclear offensive.

It did look like the real thing. The Pentagon sent tanks, artillery and 19,000 troops into Germany for weeks of mock combat operations. Bombers were loaded with dummy nuclear warheads in a rehearsal of procedures for transitioning from conventional to nuclear war. In Moscow, the General Staff began calling up military reserves and canceling troop leaves. Factories conducted air raid drills. Fighter and bomber squadrons were put on heightened alert. And inside the Kremlin, senior leaders considered a preemptive nuclear strike to avoid defeat, according to a top-secret U.S. intelligence report produced six years later. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency picked up some of this, but officials simply didn’t believe the Soviets thought the U.S. intended to launch a nuclear attack. After all, they reasoned, these rehearsals were an annual event and the U.S. and NATO had even issued press releases describing Able Archer as a training exercise. They didn’t realize that in Moscow, these assurances were waved aside as lies.

The Soviets decided not to act, for reasons that remain unclear--but misunderstandings like these alarmed both sides. The U.S. and Russia together had more than 61,000 nuclear warheads, many mounted on missiles targeted at each other and on hair-trigger alert. And so, beginning in the late 1980s, the United States, Russia and their allies started developing a set of formal mechanisms for preventing accidental war. These treaties and agreements limited the size of deployed forces, required both sides to exchange detailed information about weapon types and locations and allowed for observers to attend field exercises. Regular meetings were held to iron out complaints. Russian and American tank commanders even chatted during military exercises. The aim, ultimately, was to make military activities more transparent and predictable. “They worked--we didn’t go to war!” said Franklin C. Miller, who oversaw crises and nuclear negotiations during a long Pentagon career.

And yet few of these agreements have survived the brewing animosity between Moscow and Washington.

An agreement between the U.S. and USSR on the “Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas” set rules for safe navigation for ships and aircraft, with violations discussed at annual conferences. For some years, there was continuous communication between Russian and American officers between conferences, but that has stopped.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty eliminated all short- and medium-range nuclear and conventional missiles and launchers from Europe (nearly 2,700 were destroyed). Today, Russia charges that the U.S. deployment of a missile defense system in Romania is a violation of the treaty; Russia’s recent deployment of nuclear-capable cruise missiles appears to violate the agreement. No resolution is in sight.

The Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Military Activities was signed by the U.S. and the USSR. It established rules and crisis communications between their respective military forces in Europe. The agreement became null after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 and was never replaced.

The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe mandated reductions of armed forces to agreed-upon limits, verified by site inspections. Russia suspended cooperation in 2007. In 2011, the U.S. announced it would no longer abide by certain provisions pertaining to Russia. In March 2015, Russia formally ended participation.

The Vienna Document currently has 56 signatories, including the U.S. and Russia. It limits the size of exercises and mandates notification of military activities and of hazardous incidents. The agreement failed during the Ukraine crisis when Russia refused to admit monitors and ignored violations cited by inspectors in Ukraine. The U.S. has proposed updating the agreement; Russia has declined. According to NATO officials, it is now routinely observed by NATO and routinely ignored by Russia.

The Open Skies Treaty, which went into effect in 2002, provides for unarmed aerial observation flights over NATO territory, Eastern Europe, Russia and elsewhere. For the past two years, Russia has restricted U.S. military flights over Kaliningrad, its fortress on the Baltic Sea.

The result is that the U.S and Russia are now more outwardly antagonistic than they have been in years. Since the Cold War ended in 1991, NATO has accepted 10 European countries formerly allied with the Soviet Union. In response, Russia has expanded its military; engaged in powerful cyberwar attacks against Estonia, Germany, Finland, Lithuania and other countries; seized parts of Georgia; forcibly annexed Crimea; sent its troops into Ukraine; and staged multiple no-notice exercises with the ground and air power it would use to invade its Baltic neighbors. In one such maneuver last year, Russia mobilized some 12,500 combat troops in territory near Poland and the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. According to a technical analysis by the RAND Corp., a lightning Russia strike could carry its troops into NATO capitals in the Baltics in less than 60 hours.

Last year, NATO shifted its official strategy from “assurance”--a passive declaration to stand by its allies--to “deterrence,” which requires sufficient combat power to repel armed aggression. The alliance also approved a new multinational response force, some 40,000 troops in all. In January, under a separate Obama administration initiative, the United States rushed a 4,000-strong armored brigade combat team to Poland and the Baltic states. (Lieutenant General Tim Ray, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Europe, explained that its objective is to “to deter Russian aggression” by stationing “battle-ready” forces in forward positions.) Army engineers have started strengthening eastern European runways to accept heavier air shipments and are reconfiguring some eastern European railroads to handle rail cars carrying tanks and heavy armor. This March, a U.S. combat aviation brigade arrived in Germany with attack gunships, transport and medevac helicopters and drones, and is deploying its units to Latvia, Romania and Poland.

So far, these efforts to shore up NATO have proceeded despite the Trump administration’s occasional shows of disdain for the military alliance.

Trump has called NATO “obsolete” and repeatedly chastised members for not paying their fair share of defense costs. In a March meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump pointedly did not shake her hand. In late March, Scaparrotti acknowledged that he had not yet briefed the president about NATO-Russia relations. However, Trump’s secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, recently made a point of affirming that NATO is the “fundamental bedrock” of American security. Any change to that policy would be met with fierce opposition in Congress from defense stalwarts like Senator John McCain of Arizona, who is demanding that the United States use “all elements of American power” against Russia.

This February, the two top commanders of the United States and Russia met in Azerbaijan, in a rare effort to bring some stability to U.S.-Russia relations. A month later, they met again in Turkey to review a procedure to prevent accidents involving aircraft operating over Syria. But that’s a narrow issue. A broader restoration of the Cold War-era constraints on military activity seems unlikely. Increasingly, each side sees the other as an adversary. A senior Russian diplomat put the blame squarely on the United States. “We are being seen as an object to deter--as the enemy,” he told me. “In that case, how are we going to talk?”

What this means is that there are few remaining mechanisms to defuse unexpected emergencies. In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee in late March, Scaparrotti acknowledged that he has virtually no contact with Russian military leaders. (“Don’t you think that would be a good idea?” Independent Senator Angus King of Maine queried. “If you could say, ‘Wait a minute, that missile was launched by accident, don’t get alarmed’?”) In 2014, in response to Russia’s intervention in Crimea, Congress passed a law halting almost all military-to-military communications. Even the spontaneous and informal exchanges that used to occur among Russian and American officers have largely ended.

Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who commands U.S. Army forces in Europe, told me last year that he knew his Russian counterpart--at the time, Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov--but had no direct contact with him. If a problem arose--say, a U.S. Special Forces sergeant serving as a trainer in Ukraine suddenly encountered a Russian commando and gunfire broke out--Hodges couldn’t have called Kartapolov to cool things off. There are no other direct lines of communication. Once, Hodges told me, he sat next to the general at a conference. He filled Kartapolov’s water glass and gave him a business card, but the gestures were not reciprocated and they never spoke.

In December 2015, a Turkish F-16 jet shot down a Russian SU-24 fighter on the Turkish-Syrian border. The Russian fighter plummeted in flames and its co-pilot was killed by ground fire. The surviving pilot, Captain Konstantin Murakhtin, said he’d been attacked without warning; Turkey insisted that the Russian plane had violated its airspace. Within days Putin had deftly turned the incident to his advantage. Instead of seeking to punish Turkey, he accused the U.S. of having a hand in the incident, without any evidence. Then he coaxed Turkey, a NATO member, into participating in joint combat operations over Syria. He also engineered Syrian peace talks in which the United States was pointedly not invited to participate. It was a bravura performance. Russia, says Breedlove, the retired NATO commander, “is playing three-dimensional chess while we are playing checkers.”

Putin’s favored tactic, intelligence officials say, is known as “escalation dominance.” The idea is to push the other side until you win, a senior officer based in Europe explained--to “escalate to the point where the adversary stops, won’t go farther. It’s a very destabilizing strategy.” Stavridis cast it in the terms of an old Russian proverb: “Probe with a bayonet; when you hit steel withdraw, when you hit mush, proceed.” Right now, he added, “the Russians keep pushing out and hitting mush.”

This mindset is basically the opposite of how both American and Soviet leaders approached each other during the Cold War, even during periods of exceptional stress such as the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Having endured the devastation of World War II, they understood the horror that lurked on the far side of a crisis. “When things started to get too close, they would back off,” said Miller, the retired Pentagon official.

The term of art for this constant recalibration of risk is “crisis management”--the “most demanding form of diplomacy,” writes Sir Lawrence Freedman, an emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London. Leaders had to make delicate judgments about when to push their opponent and when to create face-saving off-ramps. Perhaps most critically, they had to possess the confidence to de-escalate when necessary. Skilled crisis management, Freedman writes, requires “an ability to match deeds with words, to convey threats without appearing reckless, and to offer concessions without appearing soft, often while under intense media scrutiny and facing severe time pressures.”

A recent textbook example came in January 2016, when Iran seized those 10 U.S. Navy sailors, claiming that they had been spying in Iranian waters in the eastern Persian Gulf. President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, John Kerry, immediately opened communications with his counterpart in Tehran, using channels established for negotiating the nuclear deal with Iran. By the next morning, the sailors had been released. The U.S. acknowledged the sailors had strayed into Iranian waters but did not apologize, asserting that the transgression had been an innocent error. Iran, meanwhile, acknowledged that the sailors had not been spying.

Neither Putin nor Trump, it’s safe to say, are crisis managers by nature. Both are notoriously thin-skinned, operate on instinct, and have a tendency to shun expert advice. Stavridis, who has studied both Putin and Trump and who met with Trump in December, concluded that the two leaders “are not risk-averse. They are risk-affectionate.” Aron, the Russia expert, said, “I think there is a much more cavalier attitude by Putin toward war in general and the threat of nuclear weapons. He continued, “He is not a madman, but he is much more inclined to use the threat of nuclear weapons in conventional [military] and political confrontation with the West.” Perhaps the most significant difference between the two is that Putin is far more calculating than Trump. In direct negotiations, he is said to rely on videotaped analysis of the facial expressions of foreign leaders that signal when the person is bluffing, confused or lying.

At times, Trump has been surprisingly quick to lash out at a perceived slight from Putin, although these moments have been overshadowed by his effusive praise for the Russian leader. On December 22, Putin promised to strengthen Russia’s strategic nuclear forces in his traditional year-end speech to his officer corps. Hours later, Trump vowed, via Twitter, to “greatly strengthen and expand” the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. On Morning Joe the following day, host Mika Brzezinski said that Trump had told her on a phone call, “Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.” And in late March, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was becoming increasingly frustrated with Russia, throwing up his hands in exasperation when informed that Russia may have violated an arms treaty.

Some in national security circles see Trump’s impulsiveness as a cause for concern but not for panic. “He can always overreact,” said Anthony Cordesman, senior strategic analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a veteran of many national security posts throughout the U.S. government. “[But] there are a lot of people [around the president] to prevent an overreaction with serious consequences.” Let’s say that Trump acted upon his impulse to tell a fighter pilot to shoot a jet that barrel-rolled an American plane. Such a response would still have to be carried out by the Pentagon, Cordesman said--a process with lots of room for senior officers to say, “Look, boss, this is a great idea but can we talk about the repercussions?”

And yet that process is no longer as robust as it once was. Many senior policymaking positions at the Pentagon and State Department remain unfilled. A small cabal in the White House, including Bannon, Jared Kushner and a few others, has asserted a role in foreign policy decisions outside the normal NSC process. It’s not yet clear how much influence is wielded by Trump’s widely respected national security adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster. When lines of authority and influence are so murky, it increases the risk that a minor incident could boil up into an unintended clash, said retired Marine Corps General John Allen, who has served in senior military and diplomatic posts.

To complicate matters further, the relentless pace of information in the social media age has destroyed the one precious factor that helped former leaders safely navigate perilous situations: time. It’s hard to believe now, but during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, for instance, President Kennedy and his advisers deliberated for a full 10 weeks before announcing a naval quarantine of the island. In 1969, a U.S. spy plane was shot down by North Korean jets over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 Americans on board. It took 26 hours for the Pentagon and State Department to recommend courses of action to President Richard Nixon, according to a declassified secret assessment. (Nixon eventually decided not to respond.) Today, thanks to real-time video and data streaming, the men in the Kremlin and White House can know--or think they know--as much as the guy in the cockpit of a plane or on the bridge of a warship. The president no longer needs to rely on reports from military leaders that have been filtered through their expertise and deeper knowledge of the situation on the ground. Instead, he can watch a crisis unfold on a screen and react in real time. Once news of an incident hits the internet, the pressure to respond becomes even harder to withstand. “The ability to recover from early missteps is greatly reduced,” Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has written. “The speed of war has changed, and the nature of these changes makes the global security environment even more unpredictable, dangerous, and unforgiving.”

And so in the end, no matter how cool and unflappable the instincts of military men and women like Kevin Webster, what will smother the inevitable spark is steady, thoughtful leadership from within the White House and the Kremlin. A recognition that first reports may be wrong; a willingness to absorb new and perhaps unwelcome information; a thick skin to ward off insults and accusations; an acknowledgment of the limited value of threats and bluffs; and a willingness to recognize the core interests of the other side and a willingness to accept a face-saving solution. These qualities are not notably on display in either capital.

#surveillance flights #US-Russia relations #crisis management

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