Ubisoft is also working on another free-to-play Tom Clancy game that is set in The Division universe, The Division Heartlands. One of the elements that help set Ubisofts XDefiant apart from other FPS games is the various factions players can choose from. They are planning a second year for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and have already announced Assassin's Creed Infinity, which Ubisoft plans to support for years after launch. Ubisoft's worlds collide in a free-to-play, first-person arena shooter where you compete to be the best in fast-paced online matches Join an always-evolving experience with regular updates bringing new playable factions and a growing collection of maps, weapons, and game modes. Ubisoft has already doubled down on the previous philosophy of ‘providing longer post-launch support’ for their existing IPs and games. Ubisoft aims to diversify its portfolio as much as possible and wants to rely less on paid games. Including these characters has created what’s being called the Ubiverse. These agents or characters hail from different games made by Ubisoft. However, if stealth is more your route, going for the Echelon Faction is your best option. XDefiant’s classes are based on characters from popular game series in the Ubisoft catalog. What are factions in XDefiant Factions in XDefiant are basically groups of three agents. You can pick Libertad, Echelon, Phantoms, Cleaners, or DedSec. In total, there are five playable Factions to choose from when you play a match. Tom Clancy's XDefiant is a part of Ubisoft's new business model which focuses on both premium and free-to-play games. Published Apr 13, 2023, 04:18 PM PDT XDefiant throws several Ubisoft franchises together for the arena shooter. The game is essentially a free trip to the vibrant and action-packed Tom Clancy's universe. These characters are capable of sustaining injuries. Watch on The Libertads first appeared in Far Cry 5 and brought healing abilities to the table. The game will feature many maps, and if you've been playing plenty of Tom Clancy's games, you'll see many familiar places. 4) Libertad XDefiant Gameplay and Impressions. The game will feature many military-grade weapons and all of which are highly customizable with many attachments. Everything from the movement, the gun sounds, and the recoil are built with the intent of realism. The heart of the shooter is gunplay, and Ubisoft claims to have created tighter, natural, and realistic gunplay. RELATED: Ubisoft Announces ‘Tom Clancy’s The Division: Heartland’ Free-to-Play Game
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The good news is that if you make a down payment of 10% or more, the premium will automatically end after 11 years. You’ll have to pay both an upfront MIP and an annual MIP when you take out an FHA loan. Otherwise known as MIPs, these are the most significant downside of an FHA loan. Loans may be available regardless of whether you own the land where the home will be located or plan to live in a mobile home park or manufactured housing community.įHA loans aren’t ideal for everyone, though. The FHA will insure loans for factory-built homes including mobile homes and manufactured homes. To be approved for a conventional loan, you typically need a credit score of at least 620, but you can qualify for an FHA loan with a score as low as 500. Lenders require documentation of your income and employment, but many will accept credit scores far below those required for conventional loans. If your credit score is below 580, you’ll need to put down at least 10%. However, with an FHA loan, your down payment could be as little as 3.5%. With a conventional loan, you may be required to make a 20% down payment. Here are some of the reasons you might want to take out an FHA loan: Like all financial products, there are benefits and drawbacks to FHA loans. There are also higher limits for properties in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands. or San Francisco-you can borrow up to the ceiling. Much of the nation falls at the lower end of that range, but if you’re buying a home in a high cost-of-living area-such as New York City, Washington D.C. In 2023, the FHA loan limit ranges from $472,030 to $1,089,300 for one-unit properties. This amount depends on where you live in the country. There’s also a cap-or limit-on the amount you can borrow with an FHA mortgage. To be eligible for an FHA-backed mortgage, your home must: For instance, some lenders may only approve your application if your credit score is at least 600.įHA loans also have property requirements, and not every house will qualify. These guidelines are FHA minimums, but lenders are free to overlay their requirements for applicants. Applicants can have credit scores as low as 500, although you’ll need a larger down payment if your score is below 580. Down payments can be as little as 3.5% of the purchase price of a property. If you have trouble qualifying for a conventional mortgage, you might find success applying for an FHA loan, which typically have less stringent requirements like: Rather, the government is insuring the lender and promising they won’t be out the money if you default on your payments. It’s worth noting that when we say the FHA insures the loan, that insurance isn’t for you. Instead, lenders who participate in the FHA program are the ones who provide funds to homebuyers with government backing. This government agency guarantees the loan, but it doesn’t actually lend money. What Is an FHA Loan?Īn FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The 52-week high rate for a 30-year FHA loan was 6.64% and the 52-week low was 5.74%. The current average rate for a 30-year FHA loan today is 6.36% compared to the 6.48% average rate a week earlier. It was scary… animal rights groups were greatly concerned.Pets in labor will no longer attempt to stand upright, causing them to distort in their portrait images.We fixed an issue that could cause pets placed from the Gallery to have missing textures once in game.We fixed a crash that could occur if a yard sale was started after the Sim chose to initiate a vacation.Sims will now be more likely to purchase items from the craft sales table during a yard sale.The yfBottom_EP03SkinnyJeans are now sorted in the Skin Tight category.And the player clicks on the criminal in order to release them.The player clicks on a cell and chooses the criminal to lock away.Detectives will no longer route to and open the wrong cell after choosing to lock a criminal in their cell.Baking recipes that called for Blueberries, have been updated to now ask for Blackberries… since there aren’t any blueberries….Basically, they were always choosing a tent regardless of what other sleeping options were present.Sims will be less likely to auto-choose a tent to nap within when their energy is low.We fixed an issue with cfHair_BraidedPonyTail that was causing seam lines to appear on the face and neck of female children.The Over-Achiever achievement will now complete with any 5 Aspirations.Vegetable Casserole will now be referred to as Vegetable Casserole, and not Tofu Casserole.We addressed an issue with some of the roof patterns appearing stretched when placed on the newer roof types.Solid doors will no longer let light pass through them.Yep, there was a chance the computer would fade out of existence.Computers will no longer disappear when a Sim attempts to use the “Extract Fossil” interaction.Costume selections for the Incognito Costume Party now include more possible selections.Apologies to the parents that were using that as an excuse to find peace in the woods.Needs No One, Forever Fresh, and Forever Full, are all new and improved versions of their counterparts (Independent, Antiseptic, and Hardly Hungry). Seldom Sleepy is a new trait for Sims that like to sleep, but just don’t want to sleep that often.It now actually provides the full benefit of the word “never”. We’ve also added some new traits and powered an old one. And, for the adventurous Simmer, you can place this bed into your inventory, allowing you to be ready to put your toddler to sleep at a moment’s notice. There is a new toddler bed, The Littlest Big Bed, now available for all in the catalog. Hey Simmers! It’s almost time to pack the bags, grab the bug spray, and journey to the temples in search of adventure! In the meantime, we’ve used a bit of the bug spray ourselves to squash a few… ❗ Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game ❗ Not only does the radar detect the presence of the vehicles, but also their velocities. When the radar is switched into velocity mode, the display shows red and green shades – green representing movement toward the radar and red representing movement away from the radar site: What sets doppler radar apart from first-generation traditional radar tools is that doppler radar can detect velocities that is, it can detect the speed at which droplets are moving toward or away from the radar site. Take, for instance, the case of the National Weather Service doppler radar located just outside of Chicago, Illinois. On Augthe local doppler radar was able to detect traffic flowing on Interstates 55 and 57. When a low-altitude layer of warm air developed over the region, the radar beam was refracted lower to the ground than normal. The result was the radar beam being bounced off of vehicles along the area interstates. (Click each image for a larger view). While doppler weather radar is traditionally used to detect water and ice droplets in the sky – otherwise known as clouds and precipitation – weather radar has also been shown to detect birds, buildings, vehicular traffic, airplanes, and even the smoke from the collapsing World Trade Center towers and the disintegration of the Space Shuttle following the 2003 Shuttle Columbia disaster. Since hail can cause the rainfall estimates to be higher than what is actually occurring, steps are taken to prevent these high dBZ values from being converted to rainfall.Doppler weather radar has become ubiquitous in today’s American culture as people seek to stay updated on weather conditions from home, from their cell phone, and while on the road. But on calm weather days, meteorologists have time to examine some of their tools and instruments with a different eye. Hail is a good reflector of energy and will return very high dBZ values. These values are estimates of the rainfall per hour, updated each volume scan, with rainfall accumulated over time. Depending on the type of weather occurring and the area of the U.S., forecasters use a set of rainrates which are associated to the dBZ values. The higher the dBZ, the stronger the rainrate. Typically, light rain is occurring when the dBZ value reaches 20. The scale of dBZ values is also related to the intensity of rainfall. The value of the dBZ depends upon the mode the radar is in at the time the image was created. Notice the color on each scale remains the same in both operational modes, only the values change. The other scale (near left) represents dBZ values when the radar is in precipitation mode (dBZ values from 5 to 75). One scale (far left) represents dBZ values when the radar is in clear air mode (dBZ values from -28 to +28). Each reflectivity image you see includes one of two color scales. The dBZ values increase as the strength of the signal returned to the radar increases. So, a more convenient number for calculations and comparison, a decibel (or logarithmic) scale (dBZ), is used. Reflectivity (designated by the letter Z) covers a wide range of signals (from very weak to very strong). "Reflectivity" is the amount of transmitted power returned to the radar receiver. The colors are the different echo intensities (reflectivity) measured in dBZ (decibels of Z) during each elevation scan. Bieker specializes in working with children ten years and younger and their families. Bieker worked as a therapist at High Plains Mental Health Center, working with both children and adults, as well as Turning Point Professional Counseling Services, working primarily with children and their families. She then attended Fort Hays State University, where she received both a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology and an Educational Specialist degree in School Psychology. Bieker attended Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Colby is also an adjunct faculty member in the social work and sociology departments at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, where she teaches a variety of undergraduate social work and sociology courses both on campus and for the Virtual College.īrandie Bieker is a Kansas native having grown up in the Northwest Kansas town of Hays. She has also worked extensively with individuals who experience severe mental illness, dual diagnosis issues, anger management, loss and grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, family issues, and relationship issues. Colby specializes in working with women’s issues in particular, domestic violence and sexual assault. Colby joined the team at High Plains Mental Health Center as an outpatient therapist working primarily with the substance use treatment program. Colby was a substance use therapist at Pawnee Mental Health in Manhattan, Kansas from 2009 until 2013. She then attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where she received a Master of Social Work degree in 2009. Colby attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1997. Jennifer Colby is a Kansas native having grown up in the Northwest Kansas town of WaKeeney. Yates is also an adjunct faculty member in the psychology department at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, where he teaches a variety of undergraduate psychology courses for the Virtual College, as well as an adjunct professor at Purdue Global University teaching online courses in the graduate psychology and addictions counseling programs. Yates then served as the senior clinical supervisor of the outpatient substance use treatment program at High Plains Mental Health Center in Hays, Kansas, before starting Serenity Psychological Services and Consulting LLC. Yates completed a one-year post-doctoral fellowship at High Plains Mental Health Center. Yates completed a one-year pre-doctoral internship at Pennsylvania Counseling Services in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he specialized in general mental health and substance use treatment. He then attended the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, where he received both a master of science degree in general psychology and a doctor of philosophy degree in clinical psychology in 2013. Yates attended Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, where he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in psychology in 2006. Yates is a Kansas native having grown up in the Northwest Kansas town of Phillipsburg. We are focused on providing services in a caring, compassionate, and confidential manner to individuals throughout the lifespan. Serenity Psychological Services and Consulting LLC offers therapy services, psychological evaluation services, and consultation services. Yates is a licensed clinical psychologist and a licensed clinical addictions counselor in the state of Kansas. Serenity Psychological Services and Consulting LLC is a private mental health practice founded by Robert Yates III, Ph.D. txt format.ĭictation.io Voice to Text Software Features You can then export your transcriptions in. It checks the document for punctuation errors and typos once you are done dictating.
iA Writer provides the crisp, uncluttered environment you need to write well, supported by discrete, powerful features, from Content Blocks, to Syntax Highlighting. Available for Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android. Used by half a million people worldwide, its powerful interface is crafted to cut out noise, let you focus on what you want to say, and help you structure and trim your text. iA Writer offers a unique writing experience that lets you concentrate and clarify your message. Everything is just a click away, with on-the-fly switching of styles and a live preview built right in. Let Your Words ShineĪfter you’re done writing, Ulysses can turn your texts into beautiful PDFs, Word documents, ebooks and even blog posts. Available for over 20 languages, it offers suggestions for capitalization, punctuation, semantics, redundancy, style and more. Write with confidence: Ulysses’ built-in grammar and style check helps you avoid mistakes and meet the right tone. Built-In Proofreader and Editing Assistant Projects Cannot Get Too Bigīe it college essays, blog posts, or the next Great American Novel: No matter what you’re working on, Ulysses is equipped for managing writing projects of all sizes and ambitions. Ulysses’ well thought-out features boost your productivity through the entire writing process its distraction-free interface keeps you in the flow so you can get things done. Some things simply work better when you’ve got the right tool. Powerful features and a pleasant, focused writing experience combined in one tool, made for people who love to write and write a lot - this is Ulysses. The Ultimate Writing App for Mac, iPad and iPhone. We don't have access to your data, it is synced directly using Cloudkit, which also powers native Apple apps like iMessage, Reminders etc. All your data is synced using Apple Cloudkit. Spaces is built by a truly independant team of passionate people. At your fingertipsĪll your options, spaces & filters available at a swipe with the gesture perfected to milliseconds after 100+ tests so that you get a flawless experience. Sort your content into spaces using hashtags and/or add them into custom filters. Pin, archive, add to favorites or simply mark your notes as unread to visit them one more time. Thousands of people already in love, and we couldn't be happier! Just getting started. It's practically magic! People loveeeee Spaces Spaces blissfully integrates Markdown & hides all your syntax, as soon as you move your cursor away. While most apps have a toolbar that makes you choose different options & rest of them support markdown with a syntax that is visible all the time. Unable to write freely, that flow is disturbed. The pure joy of bringing words & thoughts to life is what makes writing magical. A distraction free writing app built with an intelligent editor, smart organization & a design brought to perfection after years of iterations. With Bear's custom markup shortcuts, you can add style and links with just a tap or keystroke. Edit and exportīear's simple tools take the effort out of writing, whether you need to hit specific word counts and reading times, or you need to convert your writing into PDF and Word docs. Set a unique password that only you know, use Face/Touch ID to open your notes, and know that your Bear is safe from everyone. With Bear Pro, you can encrypt individual notes to keep them safe and lock Bear to keep away nosy friends, family, and coworkers. Packed with beautiful themes and typography and Dark Mode, Bear makes your writing look great before and after publishing. Full in-line image support brings your writing to life. A focus mode helps you concentrate, and advanced markup options are an online writer's best friend. Write your wayīear is perfect for everything from quick notes to in-depth essays. Use Face/Touch ID to protect sensitive notes. Add hashtags to organize the way you think. Link notes to each other to build a body of work. Use todos to stay on task across every device. Ready when you need itīear works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so you can write wherever inspiration strikes. Bear is a beautiful, flexible writing app for crafting notes and prose. Markdown Notes for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Works seamlessly across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.Exports to PDF, HTML, RTF, DOCX, image, or clipboard.Publishes drafts to Medium, WordPress, or Ghost.Super-clean writing space with a lot of configurability that stays out of sight when you don’t need it. PATH environment variable, the full path should be given here. If the executable is not located in one of the paths listed in the If the subprocess isn’t running, this method will do nothing. Terminate the exiftool process of this instance. n as common arguments, which are automatically included This method will issue a UserWarning if the subprocess isĪlready running. Start an exiftool process in batch mode for this instance. The format of the return value is the same as for Include group names, as usual in the format. The first argument is an iterable of tags. Return only specified tags for the given files. Return only specified tags for a single file.ĭocumentation of execute_json(). Non-existent tags, in the same order as filenames. The return value is a list of tag values or None for The second argument is an iterable of file names. The first argument is a single tag name, as usual in the get_tag_batch ( tag, filenames ) ¶Įxtract a single tag from the given files. None if this tag was not found in the file. The return value is the value of the specified tag, or The return value will have the format described in theĭocumentation of execute_json(). Return all meta-data for the given files. The returned dictionary has the format described in theĭocumentation of execute_json(). Respective Python version – as raw strings in Python 2.x andĪs Unicode strings in Python 3.x. Pass in filenames according to the convention of the Unicode strings (type unicode in Python 2.x, type str (type str in Python 2.x, type bytes in Python 3.x) or The parameters to this function must be either raw strings Including the ExifTool group name in the format. All keys are Unicode strings with the tag names, The return value isĪ list of dictionaries, mapping tag names to the corresponding execute_json ( *params ) ¶Įxecute the given batch of parameters and parse the JSON output.Īutomatically adds the parameter -j to request JSON outputįrom exiftool and parses the output. Rarely be needed by application developers. This is considered a low-level method, and should The parameters must also be raw bytes, in whateverĮncoding exiftool accepts. The exiftool output is read up to theĮnd-of-output sentinel and returned as a raw bytes object, execute necessary to actually run the batch is appendedĪutomatically see the documentation of start() for This method accepts any number of parameters and sends them to execute ( *params ) ¶Įxecute the given batch of parameters with exiftool. Non-existent files to any of the methods, since this will leadĪ Boolean value indicating whether this instance is currentlyĪssociated with a running subprocess. Options will be silently ignored by exiftool, so there’s not To use the ExifTool instance as a context manager: The parent process exits, so a leaked subprocess will stay aroundĪ convenient way to make sure that the subprocess is terminated is Subprocesses won’t be automatically terminated if Happen, so you should not rely on the implicit process Garbage collected, but there are circumstance when this won’t ever This method will also be implicitly called when the instance is Terminate() method when finished using the instance. ToĪvoid leaving the subprocess running, make sure to call Start(), which will actually launch the subprocess. Most methods of this class are only available after calling Only work if the executable is in your PATH. You can pass the file name of the exiftool executable as anĪrgument to the constructor. Run the exiftool command-line tool and communicate to it. get_metadata_batch ( files ) for d in metadata : print ( "". Please request a returns number BEFORE you return your item by either logging into your account online and requesting under "My Order History" or e-mail within 14 days of receiving your purchase. Please Note: We are unable to ship any items to a 'Freight Forwarding' company. We use a combination of UPS and Parcelforce for International shipping. We have currently turned off shipping orders to outside of the UK, due to the infuriating Paperwork, VAT and Duties payable since Brexit! If you are not based in the UK but have seen an item(s) on our website that you'd like to purchase then please get in contact with us and will try arrange a shipment over to you.īrexit - Shipments from the UK to EU countries will now attract VAT charges and potentially duties & customs fees payable upon entering the EU. (Northern Ireland and UK Highlands & Islands have their own shipping drop-down when you check out). Please call us or email us if the shipping costs are not clear. We can still ship to you if you UK Non-Mainland (i.e. We offer FREE Standard UK Mainland delivery on all orders (£50 and over), and then the option to upgrade to Express Delivery (1-2 Days) if required. Once the item(s) have been dispatched you will receive a tracking number through Royal Mail, Parcelforce or UPS. Express deliveries will be sent with APC, Parcelforce or UPS. Items will be sent via the Royal Mail on a 'Signed For' service (Standard Delivery). Express Delivery (1-2 Working Days) - £7.95įor all purchases totalling over £50 standard UK Mainland delivery is FREE and you'll be given the option to upgrade to Express if you'd rather when you checkout.Standard Delivery (3-5 Working Days) - FREE.We do charge slightly more for deliveries including a Snowboard, SUP or Electric Skateboard due to the costs of shipping parcels of this size. Express Delivery (1-2 Working Days) - £5.95.Standard Delivery (3-5 Working Days) - FREE (over £50).We use Royal Mail or a Courier (Parcelforce / APC) depending on which delivery option you choose: I would recommend these boots from beginners till advanced riders.All items ordered online with us here at The Snowboard Shop are dispatched within 24 hours (except for orders placed on a Saturday which will be dispatched on the Monday).ĭelivery options are as follows to the UK Mainland: But they are still stiff enough to hold a nice carved turn. These boots are perfect for cruising in the park or just some jibbing on the slopes. I used this boots with my nitro bindings and the alibi muse (154cm) board and I feel like this is a very nice combination. In my opinion boots with laces look stylish, but yeah it's definitely some extra work putting them on compared to a boa or speed lacing system. I tested these boots on the slopes and in the park for a week. My heel feels locked in but i'm still able to move my toes when i'm snowboarding. This shoe feels like a normal sneaker and is just super comfortable. Normally I have size 41 sneakers and my feet are average shaped. They fit nicely around my feet and I can adjust them very specifically with the lace system. I started to ride boxed and rails therefore some more flexible boots would fit me better. I'm an all mountain orientated rider but recently progressing more in the park. My old boots needed replacement and I was looking for an all-round boot but nothing too stiff. I was looking for some new boots to use in the park. Many riders continue to trust the classic lacing and appreciate the easy swap-out when the lacing breaks. The traditional lacing system is and remains simply one of the best and most reliable lacings on snowboard boots. The heat moldable Silver-Level liner is made of Ultralon foam and adapts to the contours of your foot for a comfortable, reactive wear The rubberised backstay provides non-slip contact between the boot and the highback of your binding. The robust Continental™ rubber outsole provides optimal grip on snow and ice. Inspired by the iconic Copa Mundial football boots, the Samba offers a winter performance level with cushioned comfort, as well as a perfect fit with exceptional heel hold.Ī 3D molded tongue snuggles to match the shape of your foot in three dimensions, giving you a better fit and longer lasting flex than traditional stitched tongues. The Samba AVD 2021 by adidas Snowboarding is an all mountain/freestyle boot and comes with a medium flex which is perfect for different riding styles: stiff enough for back country and flexible enough for jibbing in the park. Versatility for the whole mountain - with the Samba ADV 2021 by adidas Snowboarding A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook. This documentary is an invigorating, disturbing portrait of the arrogance and sinister self-importance of rich people, bullying politicians and their battalions of lawyers.Peter Andreas Thiel ( / t iː l/ born 11 October 1967) is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. Now Trump wants to loosen the libel rules for wealthy plaintiffs (who of course have always found the UK a more congenial place to launch lawsuits). His contempt for the press, aside from what may be revealed about Russia, is an almost hysterical expression of his hatred of criticism – a lèse-majesté he always resented as both boardroom blowhard and TV star. Most of the paper’s talent quit, but it was an extraordinary putsch.Īs for Trump, it is notable that he considers himself something of a one-man press baron, by virtue of his millions of Twitter followers – a situation he compares to owning a newspaper without the losses. The new management promptly declared that star columnist John L Smith could no longer write about Adelson, who had in fact already sued him. The paper’s reporters themselves had to ferret out the truth. In 2015, the Las Vegas Review-Journal was bought by the aggressively litigious casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who incredibly tried to keep his identity as buyer a secret. This film sets the case alongside a more conventional attempt to control the press, that is simply to own it – also what the super-rich plutocrats love to do. But Thiel succeeded.ĭonald Trump and Peter Thiel. Goldsmith’s bullying legal attack failed. He was, of course, also enraged by its many other criticisms and jokes. Sir James Goldsmith attempted to crush Private Eye in 1976 in a style very similar to Thiel, avowedly for suggesting he might have protected fugitive murder suspect Lord Lucan. The movie doesn’t mention it, but Britain has experience of this kind of thing. He is also the co-founder of the ambitious big data company Palantir, whose shady political influences have been investigated by Carole Cadwalldr in the Observer. Thiel, as a star supporter, speaks at Trump events and has appeared at media conferences with him. Donald Trump is the incarnation of that attitude, recklessly and dangerously encouraging the crowd at his rallies to turn on reporters, declaiming about dishonest media and fake news. The Hulk Hogan case was a brilliantly chosen strategic sortie: a precedent-setting attack on a news site which couldn’t count on much instant sympathy. The point was that Thiel is part of an arrogant breed of plutocrat who, having reached the sunlit uplands of extreme wealth and status, is irritated beyond endurance at the existence of press types who still dare to look too carefully into his business dealings. Thiel and Hogan won a staggering $140m in damages, enough to knock over first amendment issues and put Gawker out of business. As for Thiel he was already furious at Gawker’s ValleyWag column and its continual, irreverent criticism of him and his financial performance, and had, in any case, a highly authoritarian contempt for the democratic impulses of the press. But this film shows that there is ample evidence that Hogan knew that the tape was being made and was ready to let it accidentally-on-purpose emerge to promote his reality-TV career, panicking only when he thought that a longer version would become public, revealing his racist language. There are many who feel that both Hulk and Thiel were entitled to privacy and had no great sympathy for Gawker and its trashy, bitchy stories. Much later, it was revealed that the suit was secretly bankrolled by the Silicon Valley billionaire, Ayn Rand-ist libertarian and Trump supporter Peter Thiel – apparently in revenge for Gawker outing him as gay. The wrestler sued Gawker for posting a sex tape of him with his best friend’s wife – the video was allegedly made and distributed without his knowledge. The Hogan attack was a vanguard operation in the aggressive new reactionary philistinism and hatred of press freedom being nurtured by some of America’s super-rich which is encouraged as a political diversionary tactic by the US president. Certainly, I didn’t realise that, until I saw this punchy documentary which sites it in a new context. T he extraordinary case of Hulk Hogan’s 2015 legal action against the gossip website Gawker is far shadier, far creepier than many appreciate. |