The ’90s were a great decade for many reasons, the sheer number of boybands being just one of them.
It was also the decade where we first got into Pokémon, long before they became interactive characters to be caught all over town with your phone in augmented reality.
A video has now resurfaced combining these two ’90s phenomena, and it’s truly the perfect dose of ’90s nostalgia.
On Twitter, podcaster @DinosaurDracula shared a video that features *NSYNC doing a cover version of the “Pokérap,” a rap song that pretty much just consists of a list of Pokémon names.
That’s right; Justin Timberlake himself actually participated in this gloriously, gloriously awkward rap, presented to the audience as “*NSYNC’s Pokémon rap!”
Would you just look at those matching leather jackets and those poorly executed graphics. It truly was a simpler time.
Lagos, Nigeria – When Fela Anikulapo Kuti died, so too did the flavour of Nigeria’s music scene.
At the time, music in Nigeria was more than a lyrical lush, it was also about people power and activism. Fela’s Afrobeat from the 1970s to ’90s helped those to flourish.
There was always entertainment though, but far more vitality went into social commentary and the promotion of human rights.
The music of those days was a reaction to reality. The military that ruled Nigeria for a better part of its 58 years’ independence had created so many problems. The urge to fight back was there but always suppressed. Fela stood out because he stepped in aggressively with his music.
Music academics say Fela’s death in 1997 was far costlier than the country would later realise. He had kept the government restless, he was a driving voice against military dictators – all done with a music that dispelled larger frustrations bottled up against corrupt politicians and military hardliners, with a rich mix of instruments, dance steps, and styles to even-up boredom.
Yet, there is not much change between the era of the military and the return of civilian democracy in 1999.
There has been rampant allegations of corrupt practices by top politicians. Hunger and poverty have also worsened. But unlike the past where musicians stepped in, this time the response has been muted. Or rather, few have had as much impact as those of the past.
Nigerian musician and composer Fela Anikulapo Kuti performs on September 13, 1986 with his band in Paris, France [File: Laurent Rebours/AP]
That was until Nigerian Folarin Falani, stage named Falz, entered the scene in the 2000s. He was only seven when Fela died.
Understandably, there was a content shift after Fela’s death – noticeably marking a huge departure from the expectations of local music lovers.
“There is a total deviation from the moral and social relevance of Nigeria music. We left music that tackled problems,” professor Onyeji Christian, of the Music department, University of Nigeria, said of the era.
Still, the line between that era of socially and politically conscious music seem to intersect with Falz, a young Nigerian lawyer turned rapper, who reminded millions of Nigerians of the legendary figure.
Far more, however, this nostalgia comes with the optimism that beyond filling the fame of Fela, Falz can recast the Nigeria music industry – bringing back a far-fading tradition with a sprinkle of modernity.
“They are very different artists operating at separate levels with perhaps the thread of socio-political resistance binding them. I prefer to think of Falz as the inevitable evolution of Fela’s activism,” says Nigerian-based music journalist Wilfred Okiche.
This is Nigeria
It started when in 2018 Falz released a controversial song This Is Nigeria, a cover version of American Rapper Childish Gambino’s This Is America.
It became a hit with more than 10 million views on YouTube in a matter of weeks and was globally praised. In the United States, hip-hop star and entrepreneur P Diddy shared the video on his Instagram account, celebrating “artists changing the game”.
The song – critical of corrupt politicians, places of worship, and the security forces – soon drew the anger of some institutions such as Nigeria’s Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
A few weeks later, the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, banned the song saying it had “vulgar lyrics”. Many believed it was the government that executed vengeance through the NBC.
Starting off with troubles was not a setback. It was rather a trademark for which Fela, who was arrested more than 200 times, which sharpened the comparison from content to torment.
Music journalist Joey Akan was quick to compare Falz to Fela Kuti, saying his song “embodies the revolutionary and rebel spirit of Fela Anikulapo Kuti”, in an opinion piece online.
Falz’ This is Nigeria garnered more than 10 million views on YouTube in a matter of weeks[Photo via Twitter]
Falz returned with his singles Talk and Moral Instruction on his fourth album comprising nine tracks. The songs criticised politicians, corruption, police brutality, prostitution, social injustice, and internet fraud.
There was remarkable semblance, experts observed, between his return and that of Fela in the 1977. After nearly dying of torture for his song Zombie – a scathing attack on the Nigeria military, Fela returned stronger with two songs Coffin for Head of State and Unknown Soldier, which was a direct attack on the military president Olusegun Obasanjo.
More narrowly, in his new album, Falz mocked the president’s constant ailing health, using the sarcastic phrase, “four years’ tenure, three years’ holiday” to describe his constant absence as a result of medical trips abroad.
His “we buy your story but you no give us change” line attacked the many failed promises of the present government. The traces of his revolting lines was wrapped thus “and the cup don full, we done tire for all this rubbish”.
Revolutionsing industry
Prior to the album release, Falz held a school-themed listening party to explain the purpose and concept behind the album.
“I feel like a lot of artists stay away from making content like this,” said Falz, 28. “But I have decided that if we have to change the mentality then we need to be bold, we need to be brave. The album is movement, a re-education and a re-orientation. Quite obviously, we have lost a plot as a people, as a country.”
But the connection between both artists or what music critic Dami Ajayi described as Fela’s influence, is not narrowed to music alone. For instance, it was Falz’ father, Femi Falana, a renowned human right lawyer, who became Fela’s lead lawyer.
It was President Muhammadu Buhari, then a military head of state, who jailed Fela in 1983. It was Lemi Ghariokwu, most renowned for providing cover images for the recordings of the late Afrobeat Legend, Fela Kuti, who designed the cover art of Moral Instruction.
If we have to change the mentality, then we need to be bold, we need to be brave
Falz, Nigerian singer
Does this mean Falz can revolutionise the Nigeria music industry as Fela did?
Local artist, Amarachi Amachukwu says it’s a hasty verdict to make. But if anything, he has the potential to reach that height especially if he can endure the pressure from the government and the music market. Falz first fight, Amachukwu says, would be to recognise he is taking an “odd path” in an industry flushed with romance, sex, money and greed.
“A lot of musicians are afraid. The government has shown in the past that they can be mean in dealing with critics. Nobody wants to be the Nigerian kind of hero again. But if Falz prevails, greater courage would return to the music industry,” says the 21-year-old Afro-hip-pop singer.
This year Falz released singles Talk and Moral Instruction on his fourth album [Photo via Twitter]
There would be the pressure to remain relevant in a music market titling towards sex, wealth and romantic patronage. He is risking moral and financial support as did others like Chinagorom Onuoha, aka African China, Eedris Abdulkareem who came so close to Fela but faded away.
He also risks losing his fans who followed him for the genre of music he brought into the industry: the comical, romantic flavour of afro-hip hop.
Falz would have been the new Fela easily if only for the content of his music alone. But it takes more than making socially conscious music to be Fela. After all, being Fela is strange, controversial, and radical.
“Among his peers, he has assumed a leadership position,” Okiche says. “If there is as little as a slight increase in political or socially conscious messaging by Nigerian artists, it would be because Falz has led the charge for a new generation. He is certainly one to watch.”
In his 10 years’ journey through professional music, Falz keeps evolving. Prior to his song Marry Me he was relatively unknown. With four albums, several awards and nomination to his name, he has established himself as one of Nigeria’s finest hip-hop talents.
In Binged, Mashable breaks down why we binge-watch, how we binge-watch, and what it does to us. Because binge-watching is the new normal.
Pretty much everyone knows the pain of a breakup. For a while, this person was your whole world. You’d spend hours and days in their company, think about them when you weren’t together, smile at the thought of seeing them at the end of the day.
And then, as quickly as it began, it’s over. The relationship has run its course, and it’s time to thank u, next into the future. So it is with love, and so it is with television. In the age of the binge, our time with a show can feel like a whirlwind romance that ends in a flash and leaves us empty with longing.
So why is it so hard to get over a binge?
The mental and emotional attachment we feel to a show we just immersed ourselves in is completely normal — scientific, even. In a 2017 interview, Dr. Renee Carr explained how binge-watching releases dopamine in the brain, a chemical associated with pleasure.
Binge-watching releases dopamine in the brain
“It is the brain’s signal that communicates to the body, ‘This feels good. You should keep doing this!’” she said.
Other things that produce dopamine: dark chocolate, exercise, drugs, sex.
“The neuronal pathways that cause heroin and sex addictions are the same as an addiction to binge watching,” Dr. Carr said. And the end of a binge is a minor withdrawal.
It can also be difficult to separate fiction from reality, not only because TV is getting better and better, but because when we’re steeped in a binge we end up spending more time with these characters than with our own friends and family. The brain interprets this a lot like experiencing the show’s events and emotions in real life, which makes it harder to leave those things behind.
I started Lovesick on Jan. 1, 2018 (a day after watching the entirety of Search Party Season 2 in one sitting, but that is for another time). I flew through its 22 episodes in days. The show was such a pure comfort against my own stumbles through love and lust, and a balm against one the coldest weeks of the winter. It also genuinely felt like I was making and spending time with new friends: The characters were all in their mid- to late 20s, with the reliable history, traditions, and seminal memories that I share with my own friends in real life.
When I finished Lovesick, I didn’t know what to do.
When I finished Lovesick, I didn’t know what to do. I have an endless list of shows to watch, from recent Netflix releases right up to The Sopranos, but I didn’t want to say goodbye to Luke, Evie, Dylan, and Angus. I didn’t want to make new friends when the ones I now felt close to were right there, just a click away. I made my first executive self-care decision of the year when I decided, in the same week I started and finished Lovesick, to start it again.
Dopamine analogies aside, binge-watching TV is decidedly different from imbibing illegal drugs. It’s easier to phase out a binged show or to return to it in moderation (random Lovesick episodes are still a reliable safety blanket when I’m too overwhelmed to choose something new to watch). We’re lucky to have quality TV that stimulates and connects us, so next time you binge a show, savor your time with it. Think of it as moving house — you’ll always treasure that chapter of your life, but you’re somewhere else now. You can always come back for a visit.
IS THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT IN A STATE OF CRISIS? … There’s no doubt we have gotten accustomed to lurching from standoff to standoff, diplomatic row to global skirmish. But over the past few days, it feels as if the crisis in our government has hit a new inflection point.
— WE ARE NOW ON DAY 27 of a government shutdown centered on whether the U.S. should build a new barrier on the southern border with Mexico. Hundreds of miles of barriers already exist. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have been willing to blink, and both sides appear to be growing increasingly dug in. The shutdown is continuing ad infinitum. Ratings agencies and economic forecasters have warned Congress to shape up, or face huge consequences. Ben White on the growing number of recession warnings
— AT THE SAME TIME, the Trump administration is forcing some workers to come back to work with no pay. The agents whom the government has hired to ensure people don’t board our airliners with bombs and weapons — TSA employees — are working without pay. So are the people protecting the president of the United States.NYT’s Katie Rogers and Alan Rappeport on people coming back to work without pay
— SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI is in open war with PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, and has essentially rescinded her invitation for the president to speak to the nation from the Capitol in the annual State of the Union. The situation she lays out is quite dire: She expressed concern that the government cannot protect the building, which will be filled with almost the entire government. It also had the additional political benefit of being a kick to the groin to the president.
DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN said publicly DHS and the Secret Service are ready to protect the Capitol for this event. HOUSE MINORITY WHIP STEVE SCALISE (R-LA.) indicated if Trump shows up at the Capitol anyway, they’ll find a place for him to speak.
— MEANWHILE … A SENIOR HOUSE REPUBLICAN, Steve King of Iowa, was admonished by his leadership, and in some cases asked to leave Congress, because he voiced support for white supremacy. He has been stripped of his committee assignments. This comes after years of racist statements.
LOOK AT ALL OF THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE, and ask yourself a simple question: Do you believe the government is poised to function over these next two years? Do you believe that these two parties are poised to pass the USMCA — the new trade deal with Canada and Mexico? Do you believe a big infrastructure package is right around the corner? How about the debt limit — will that be lifted easily?
Good Thursday morning. JOHN KASICH, who recently signed up as a CNN contributor, is raising money off of it. His email solicitation
NEW PBS NEWSHOUR/NPR/MARIS POLL: “With the 2020 presidential election already underway, 57 percent of registered voters said they would definitely vote against President Donald Trump, according to the latest poll from the PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist. Another 30 percent of voters said they would cast their ballot to support Trump, and an additional 13 percent said they had no idea who would get their vote.” PBS
THE PELOSI-VS.-TRUMP STORIES …
— JOHN BRESNAHAN, HEATHER CAYGLE and RACHAEL BADE: “‘She’s satin and steel’: Pelosi wages war on Trump”: “Donald Trump may have finally met his match in Nancy Pelosi. As the partial government shutdown grinds on with no end in sight, the struggle between the president and the speaker is becoming an unprecedented political fight — with the fallout likely to extend far beyond this episode.
“Pelosi privately refers to Trump as the ‘whiner in chief.’ She’s questioned his manhood. She calls out Trump’s lies to his face and openly wonders whether he’s fit for the job. She mocks Trump for his privileged upbringing and his lack of empathy for the less fortunate. She jokes with other senior Democrats that if the American public saw how Trump acts in private, they’d ‘want to make a citizen’s arrest.’” POLITICO
INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE — NYT’S MAGGIE HABERMAN and ANNIE KARNI, “In a West Wing in Transition, Trump Tries to Stand Firm on the Shutdown”: “President Trump has insisted that he is not going to compromise with Democrats to end the government shutdown, and that he is comfortable in his unbendable position. But privately, it’s sometimes a different story. ‘We are getting crushed!’ Mr. Trump told his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, after watching some recent coverage of the shutdown, according to one person familiar with the conversation. ‘Why can’t we get a deal?’ …
“Mr. Trump has told [his senior staffers] he believes over time the country will not remember the shutdown, but it will remember that he staged a fight over his insistence that the southern border be protected. … Unlike his predecessors, according to White House officials, Mr. Mulvaney is not interested in challenging what has revealed itself to be the one constant in the Trump White House: the special status reserved for Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the president’s family members and senior advisers, in the West Wing.
“Mr. Mulvaney’s more hands-off approach to the family members has allowed Mr. Kushner to position himself among lawmakers on Capitol Hill as the person who can deliver to Mr. Trump what he wants. The dynamic, according to multiple White House officials, is similar to the opening days of the administration, when the staff to the new president was just beginning to meet with Washington officials and Mr. Kushner often told people that ‘everything runs through me.’” NYT
SEXUAL HARASSMENT WATCH — HOLLY OTTERBEIN and ALEX THOMPSON: “Sanders faces former staffers about sexual harassment on 2016 campaign”: “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) met Wednesday with a group of former staffers who have raised concerns about allegations of sexual harassment and violence during his 2016 presidential campaign and have urged him to make reforms if he runs again next year.
“Sanders did not respond to a reporter’s questions as he entered the meeting through a private door at a hotel in Washington. The former aides sought a meeting with Sanders to ‘discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment on the 2016 campaign, for the purpose of planning to mitigate the issue in the upcoming presidential cycle,’ according to a copy of a letter first reported by POLITICO.” POLITICO
— BUZZFEED’S ZOE TILLMAN: “A Lawsuit Claims Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Retaliated Against A Staffer Who Planned To Sue The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Over An Alleged Rape”: “A former staffer for Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee claims in a new lawsuit that the lawmaker retaliated against her and fired her because she was planning to pursue legal action over an alleged rape by a former employee of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. The woman, identified in court papers by the pseudonym Jane Doe, alleges she was raped in October 2015, when she was a 19-year-old intern for the CBCF, by the foundation’s intern coordinator at the time, Damien Jones.” BuzzFeed
AOC UPDATE — “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a social media star, to school House Democrats on Twitter use,” by USA Today’s Eliza Collins: “The House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee is hosting a session Thursday morning with Ocasio-Cortez of New York (@AOC – 2.42 million followers) and Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut (@jahimes – 76,500 followers) ‘on the most effective ways to engage constituents on Twitter and the importance of digital storytelling.’” USA Today
THE INVESTIGATIONS … “Rudy Giuliani says Trump didn’t collude with Russia but can’t say if campaign aides did,” by CNN’s Caroline Kelly: “In an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo on ‘Cuomo Prime Time,’ Giuliani, a former New York mayor and Trump’s attorney, said he doesn’t know if other people in the campaign, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, were working with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential race.
“‘I never said there was no collusion between the campaign, or people in the campaign,’ Giuliani said. He added, ‘I said the President of the United States. There is not a single bit of evidence the President of the United States committed the only crime you can commit here, conspiring with the Russians to hack the DNC.’” CNN
— “GOP wants Mueller transparency — with caveats,” by Darren Samuelsohn: “Senate Republicans are sending signals they want it both ways on special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report: They are calling for transparency while still giving themselves an out if crucial parts are withheld. It’s a talking point that echoes the line William Barr, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, used in his confirmation hearing this week. Barr vowed to publicly release as much of Mueller’s findings as he can, ‘consistent with the regulations and the law.’” POLITICO
— ABC’S ELIANA LARRAMENDIA and JAMES HILL: “Michael Cohen fears Trump rhetoric could put his family at risk: Sources”: “Michael Cohen is having reservations about his highly anticipated public appearance before Congress next month, fearing that President Donald Trump’s frequent diatribes against him could put his family in danger, according to sources close to Cohen.” ABC
CNN’S MANU RAJU and JEREMY HERB: “Effort to ease Russian sanctions boosted by former Louisiana senator”: “Former Republican Sen. David Vitter is lobbying on behalf of companies linked to a Russian oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin, aligning himself with Trump administration efforts to ease sanctions on his clients, according to documents filed with the Justice Department.”
“Vitter, who has registered as a foreign agent, lobbied with several countries’ ambassadors and the Treasury Department to ease punishing sanctions imposed on major aluminum firms tied to oligarch Oleg Deripaska. After the Treasury Department agreed last month and eased the sanctions, Vitter was spotted in the Senate ahead of critical votes taking aim at the Trump administration move.” CNN
TRUMP’S THURSDAY — The president will leave the White House at 10:45 a.m. to go to the Pentagon. At 11 a.m., Trump will participate in the missile defense review announcement. He will then return to the White House.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — “Top HUD official’s departure follows disagreements over housing policy and Puerto Rico disaster funds,” by WaPo’s Tracy Jan, Arelis Hernández, Josh Dawsey and Damian Paletta: “Deputy Secretary Pam Patenaude, second-in-command at the agency helmed by Ben Carson and widely regarded as HUD’s most capable political leader, is said to have grown frustrated by what a former HUD employee described as a ‘Sisyphean undertaking.’ …
“Trump told then-White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and then-Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney that he did not want a single dollar going to Puerto Rico, because he thought the island was misusing the money and taking advantage of the government … Patenaude told White House budget officials during an early December meeting in the Situation Room that the money had been appropriated by Congress and must be sent.” WaPo
— “Pentagon seeks to expand scope and sophistication of U.S. missile defenses,” by WaPo’s Paul Sonne: “The Trump administration is seeking to expand the scope and sophistication of American missile defenses on a scale not seen since President Ronald Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ initiative in a new strategy that President Trump plans to roll out personally on Thursday alongside military leaders at the Pentagon.” WaPo
BANNON WATCH — STEVE BANNON predicted Tuesday night that Trump will appoint four justices to the Supreme Court as president and that Clarence Thomas may retire so that the president could pick someone to replace him, according to two people at his speech at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.
He also said in front of the 250 people gathered at the Loews Hotel that Trump will run in 2020; but if he doesn’t, a Nikki Haley/Mike Pompeo slate would be a winning ticket. Bannon’s a fan of Ocasio-Cortez and said he admires her “grit.” He also said that the U.S. economic war with China is just starting (and that he believes the U.S. is winning) and will grow to encompass more than just trade disputes. Pic
TRUMP INC. — “Federal agency ‘improperly’ ignored constitutional concerns before allowing Trump to keep lease to his hotel, internal watchdog says,” by WaPo’s Jonathan O’Connell and David Fahrenthold: “The General Services Administration ‘ignored’ concerns that President Trump’s lease on a government-owned building — the one that houses his Trump International Hotel in Washington — might violate the Constitution when it allowed Trump to keep the lease after he took office, according to a new report from the agency’s inspector general. Trump’s company won the lease several years before he became president.
“After Trump was elected, the agency had to decide whether his company would be allowed to keep its lease. At that time, the inspector general found, the agency should have determined whether the lease violates the Constitution’s emoluments clauses, which bar presidents from taking payments from foreign governments or individual U.S. states. But it did not, according to the report issued Wednesday.” WaPo
CHINA WATCH — “Huawei Targeted in U.S. Criminal Probe for Alleged Theft of Trade Secrets,” by WSJ’s Dan Strumpf, Nicole Hong and Aruna Viswanatha: “Federal prosecutors are pursuing a criminal investigation of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. for allegedly stealing trade secrets from U.S. business partners, including technology used by T-Mobile US Inc. to test smartphones, according to people familiar with the matter.
“The investigation grew in part out of civil lawsuits against Huawei, including one in which a Seattle jury found Huawei liable for misappropriating robotic technology from T-Mobile’s Bellevue, Wash., lab … The probe is at an advanced stage and could lead to an indictment soon.” WSJ
MEDIAWATCH — NYT’s Michael Grynbaum: “David Haskell, a longtime deputy editor at New York magazine, will become its editor in chief on April 1, inheriting a glossy biweekly and a suite of websites devoted to pursuits like fashion, food, shopping and politics.” NYT
SPOTTED: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton eating dinner with Bret Baier and his wife Amy at Prime Rib last night … Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) at Brothers and Sisters in Adams Morgan … Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) having dinner at the Monocle with a few other people.
HARVARD INSTITUTE OF POLITICS has named its spring 2019 fellows. Resident fellows include: former Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) and Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Andrew Gillum, Aisha Moodie-Mills, Catherine Russell and Michael Zeldin. The spring visiting fellows include: Gary Cohn, former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mitch Landrieu and Michael Nutter.
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Jim Durette, deputy COS for Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) (hat tip: Hank)
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Steve Rabinowitz, president and co-founder of Bluelight Strategies. How he got his start in politics: “Moved to Washington to volunteer, then work for my local congressman Mo Udall when he ran for president and I was but 18. Then worked, also nationally, for Presidents Jerry Brown, John Anderson, Gary Hart, Walter Mondale, Paul Simon, Mike Dukakis and Bob Kerrey’s presidential campaigns before finally working for that Bill Clinton guy. My non-political friends used to call me ‘the kiss of death.’ But I was the first among my political cohort to truly learn how a mult box worked and what the color temperature of light was.” Playbook Plus Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: former first lady Michelle Obama is 55 … Rebecca Buck, CNN political reporter (hubby tip: Brendan) … Maury Povich is 8-0 … former FCC Chairman Newton Minow is 93 … Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is 65 … POLITICO’s Steve Shepard and Joanne Kenen … John Wagner, WaPo national political reporter, is 5-0 … Alyssa Franke of EMILY’s List … Al Shofe … Nikki Schwab, Washington reporter at The Daily Mail … NBC News’ Alex Moe … POLITICO Europe’s Alba Pregja … Jim Free is 72 … David Avella, chairman of GOPAC … Chris Jones, SVP/senior director of U.S. talent acquisition at BCW Global … Cynthia Kroet … Stephen Gilmore … Bill Galston is 73 … Jeremy Pelofsky of Finsbury … Julie Alderman of Planned Parenthood (h/t Londyn Marshall) …
… Tommy Joyce (h/ts Lauren Ehrsam and Ed Cash) … Kousha Navidar … Robert E. Lewis Jr. is 4-0 … photographer Steven Purcell is 56 … Elizabeth Hays Bradley (h/t Jon Haber) … Dan Gilbert is 57 … Charlotte Rediker … Becca Sobel … Julie Barko Germany … John Seabrook is 6-0 … Mary Clare Rigali, analyst at Albright Stonebridge … Edelman’s Katherine Wiet and Kurt Hauptman … Haris Alic … Karlygash Faillace … Doug Wilder is 87 … Alyssa Roberts … Barbara Riley … YouTube alum Vadim Lavrusik … Taylor Barden … Warren Cathedral is 58 … Robbie Hughes is 37 … Amit Jani … John M. Gillespie … Noelani Bonifacio … Tegan Millspaw Gelfand … Mark Pieschel … John Hoyt (h/t Teresa Vilmain) … Mike Spahn, COS to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), is 4-0 (h/t Maureen Knightly)
The part about “queuing for donated commodities” refers to the 800,000 federal workers in the U.S. who have spent the shutdown either working for free, or who have been granted a leave of absence, per CNBC.
On Wednesday, Trump signed legislation which guarantees workers affected by the shutdown will receive back pay.
Programmers, night owls and dark lords have been asking for a system-wide dark theme on Android since forever, and it seems Google has finally listened.
Android Q, which is currently in the very early stages, has a built-in dark theme — and several other interesting new features — according to XDA Developers.
According to the report, the early Android Q variant that XDA managed to run on the Google Pixel 3 XL has a “fully functional system-wide dark mode,” which can be enabled in the Display Settings by choosing “Set Dark Mode.” Once enabled, it turns all the menus in Android to a pleasant white-text-on-dark-grey-surface color scheme.
This includes Settings, Launcher, Files, the volume panel and third-party notifications (note that some of Google’s apps, such as YouTube, already have a dark theme). There also seems to be an option that appears to enable dark mode for apps that don’t have this option, turning pretty much everything dark (even Facebook, though that particular app does not respond too well to this and looks wonky in certain places).
This is what the “dark theme” looks like on Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro. Android Q’s idea of dark theme is a bit lighter, though.
Image: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Some Android makers have their own version of this — for example, Huawei’s Mate 20 pro has a similar feature, and I love it. And even if you don’t care about the visuals, note that dark mode saves your battery, as it takes a lot less light to show dark grey than white on an LCD screen.
Other new features spotted in Android Q include restricting certain permissions, such as location, to work only when the app is in use, as well as a desktop mode, perhaps similar to Samsung’s DeX.
Android Q is still in its early stages and it’s quite possible that some (or all) of these features won’t make it to the final version, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they do.
For a detailed overview of the new features in Android Q, check out XDA’s post over here.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is reaching out to opposition parties and other lawmakers in a battle to keep Brexit on track after surviving a no-confidence vote.
European Union countries are also debating on how to move forward now that the UK Parliament has rejected May’s Brexit deal with the bloc and with the March 29 exit date looming.
Parliament overwhelmingly rejected the deal on Tuesday night, in a crushing defeat for May. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn immediately called for a no-confidence vote, but May’s government narrowly survived it on Wednesday night.
May invited opposition leaders for talks about how best to avoid leaving the EU without an agreement. But Corbyn has so far declined to meet with May unless she takes the “no-deal” possibility off the table.
EU countries have generally reacted to the Brexit political crisis unfolding in the UK by putting the onus on the British government and its lawmakers to decide what they want to do.
Some British lawmakers want May to call for an extension of negotiations with the EU and postpone the March 29 deadline to leave the bloc, while others are lobbying for a second Brexit referendum. The prime minister has so far rejected those options.
Europe is closely watching the outcome of Theresa May’s Brexit plan [File: Michael Probst/AP]
France’s prime minister is a holding a special government meeting on Thursday on how his country will cope with a possible “no-deal” Brexit.
The French parliament adopted a law on Wednesday allowing emergency measures after March 30 in the event Britain leaves without a deal.
Such measures could aim to reduce problems in cross-border trade and transport, notably through the Eurotunnel beneath the English Channel, and allow British workers and retirees based in France temporary permission to stay until a longer-term deal is worked out.
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier was expected in Lisbon, Portugal, where he was due to meet with local officials and give a news conference on Thursday. Barnier said Wednesday in Strasbourg he was more concerned than ever about the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without an agreement.
If May fails to forge consensus, the world’s fifth largest economy will drop out of the European Union on March 29 without a deal or will be forced to halt Brexit, possibly holding a national election or even another referendum.
May has repeatedly refused to countenance another election and has warned that another referendum would be corrosive as it would undermine faith in democracy among the 17.4 million people who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.
“I believe it is my duty to deliver on the British people’s instruction to leave the European Union. And I intend to do so,” May said outside Downing Street in an attempt to address voters directly.
“I am inviting MPs from all parties to come together to find a way forward,” May said. “This is now the time to put self-interest aside.”
As the United Kingdom tumbles towards its biggest political and economic move since World War Two, other members of the European Union have offered to talk though they can do little until London decides what it wants out of Brexit.
Yet ever since the UK voted by 52-48 percent to leave the EU in June 2016, British politicians have failed to find agreement on how or even whether to leave the European Union.
Brexit crisis
In a sign of just how hard May’s task may be, the main opposition leader, Corbyn, refused to hold talks unless a no-deal Brexit was ruled out.
“Before there can be any positive discussions about the way forward, the government must remove clearly, once and for all, the prospect of the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit from the EU and all the chaos that would come as a result of that,” he said.
But the further May moves towards softening Brexit, the more she alienates dedicated Brexiteers in her own party who think the threat of a no-deal Brexit is a crucial bargaining chip.
Without a deal, trade with the EU would then default to basic World Trade Organization rules.
Company chiefs are aghast at the political crisis over Brexit and say it has already damaged Britain’s reputation as Europe’s preeminent destination for foreign investment.
From Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel to Scottish whisky distillers, firms have called for urgent and decisive government action and warned of the consequences of a no-deal Brexit.
“If anybody believes that you can just go ahead without some sort of an agreement here, I think that that is reckless,” said John Bason, finance chief of Associated British Foods, the food and retail group which has sales of over $20bn.
“The UK’s food supply generally is dependent on the free flowing border,” Bason said.
Labour wants a permanent customs union with the EU, a close relationship with its single market and greater protections for workers and consumers.
But the chairman of May’s Conservative party, Brandon Lewis, said on Thursday that Britain should not stay in the current customs union because striking international trade deals after Brexit is a priority.
He said senior ministers would meet colleagues from across the House of Commons, Britain’s lower house of parliament, on Thursday.
The Times newspaper said both remaining in a full customs union with the EU and delaying Brexit through an extension of Article 50 would be discussed at meetings between the government and lawmakers.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair said on Thursday a delay to Brexit was now inevitable, adding that leaving the EU without a deal would inflict profound economic damage on the UK.
LG is joining the “foldable” phone craze, but the company’s approaching the concept in a novel way.
According to a report from CNET, LG will launch a smartphone that will allow users to attach a second screen, potentially doubling the total screen size.
The details are vague, but it seems that the attachment carrying the second screen might in fact be a case. It’s likely that the phone — alongside other devices — will be launched at the Mobile World Congress trade show, which kicks off on Feb 25 in Barcelona.
The concept of a second screen on a case is not entirely new; Alcatel did something similar in 2014, and we’ve seen phone cases with an additional E Ink screen, but the idea never really caught on.
Alcatel’s MagicFlip cover had a sort of a second screen back in 2014.
Image: Jennifer Osborne/Mashable
This might be a smart play for LG, whose smartphone division isn’t afraid to experiment, albeit sometimes with disastrous results (remember the modular LG G5 and its “friends”?). Yes, foldable phones are a definite trend coming into 2019, but it’s still early days for them and the concept is thoroughly untested in the real world. My guess is that developing the second-screen-case-thingy was cheaper than developing a foldable phone, so it might be a cost-effective way of riding with the trend. And, if foldable phones turn out to be a dud, LG won’t be as much in the red as, say, Samsung.
It’s also worth noting that LG publicly said it’s experimenting with “many” form factors for smartphones, including foldable and rollable designs.
LG is known to “leak” details about its own upcoming devices ahead of a big show, so expect more news about the company’s new phones in the weeks ahead.
You probably shouldn’t feel sorry for Nicholas Truglia. It’s just that his story is so pathetic.
The 21-year old Manhattan resident was arrested last November and extradited to California in December. There, he’d face 21 felony counts relating to accusations of SIM swapping his way to a million dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrency. While Truglia’s fate remains unclear, details of his life leading up to the arrest have begun to emerge thanks to a lawsuit filled by a separate alleged victim, and oh man is it a wild ride.
As Krebs on Security reports, a lawsuit filed by Michael Terpin — a cryptocurrency investor and self-described “thought leader” — against Truglia claims he lost over $23 million after Truglia SIM swapped him and drained his crypto accounts in January of 2018. That document, and a supporting affidavit by one of Truglia’s former friends, tells the story of a cash-flush young man who saw himself as untouchable.
And, perhaps unsurprisingly, they also paint Truglia as kind of an asshole.
The now-deleted Twitter profile pic of @erupts, the account allegedly once belonging to Truglia.
Image: twitter / waybackmachine
“Nick likened himself to Robin Hood who robs from the rich but did not give to the poor,” explained Chris David, former associate of Truglia’s, in the aforementioned affidavit.
Instead, the documents paint a picture of someone who delighted in giving to himself — in the form of a Rolex, a $6,000-a-month apartment, and a $100,000 stack of cash he kept on his credenza. But that clearly wasn’t enough for him.
According to David, Truglia operated the now-suspended Twitter account @erupts, where he lamented that his wealth didn’t bring him friends, and even bragged about SIM swapping his dad.
Image: screenshot / superior court of california
“Stole 24 million but still can’t keep a friend,” reads one alleged Truglia tweet saved by David and included in his supporting affidavit.
Image: twitter / waybackmachine
David’s affidavit is filled with some other gems, as well.
“Nick arrogantly proclaims that he will never [be] caught hacking/stealing because he is so good at it—literally, ‘how are they going to prove that my story [his defense] wrong?,’” he wrote. “Nick also boasted: ‘Nobody can get me in trouble. Nobody can put me in jail. I would bet my life on it, actually.’”
Image: twitter / waybackmachine
In addition to supposedly boasting about how he would never be caught, David says Truglia took pleasure in life’s small things: Like, for example, skipping out on a restaurant check and repeatedly beating his dog.
Image: screenshot / SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
Obviously, Truglia was eventually arrested. According to Krebs On Security, his court date is set for April 10.
Terpin, for his part, wants his money back. “I have brought this lawsuit as part my ongoing effort to recover my losses caused by the perpetrators of the January 7, 2018 theft,” he explained to the court.
Which, hey, why not. As this lawsuit makes clear, stranger things have happened.
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By Laura Byager
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