Thepaintings of Jackson Pollock are like the idea of having an idea, instead of having an idea, says an art-loving character in Keith Ridgways novel Hawthorn & Child. Its surprisingly popular, that idea of being seen to have an idea, without considering whether its actually a good one worth pursuing.

nd so to the bizarre notion of how to implement jabbed and unjabbed dining arrangements so indoor hospitality can reopen at a time when the Delta variant is ramping up.

Lets just spell it out, shall we? Delta is 2.4 times more transmissible than the previous variant, and now accounts for seven cases in 10, with infections rising sharply.

Consequently, the idea of anyone in the Cabinet giving thought to devising ways for people to congregate and socialise inside buildings is extraordinary.

Covid-19 is a Frankenvirus. Every time we think it has been locked off, it mutates to form a new threat. Professor Philip Nolan said yesterday we are now entering a fourth wave.

To recap (a necessary step in view of the clamour for indoor drinking and dining) to date there have been 5,000 deaths in the Republic from Covid-19.

Forty-five per cent of adults are fully vaccinated, which means more than half are not. Also, vaccines are not an absolute prevention against infection. In other words, caution is essential.

Tearing up the hospitality plan was painful but necessary. Replacing it with a let in some, exclude others admission policy for indoor drinking and dining is not at all necessary and will lead to more problems than solutions.

The decision to delay reopening was hardly much of a surprise: no need to read the runes or offer sacrifices to the gods, because the Delta statistics were only headed one way.

However, the Cabinet made its decision to pause reopening quite rapidly, with no replacement blueprint drawn up, and this is giving rise to misery and uncertainty for the hospitality sector.

That said, we appear to have invented a new vice: complaining about the way Covid-19 is ripping up our reopening plans, without acknowledging that the coronavirus has a knack for shredding any plan.

No doubt some people are intending to go abroad as soon as the vaccine passports, rolled out in the EU from yesterday, become available later this month.

What impact will that have on transmission rates already worrying our public health experts? The Government should strongly urge people to stay in Ireland, citing the danger of leaving the country.

It has been suggested unpredictability over indoor dining is among the reasons people will travel overseas rather than holiday at home, but that seems doubtful. Sunshine and a change of scene are the incentives.

The EU Digital Covid Certificate is recognised in all 27 EU member states, plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. But overseas travel is a calculated risk.

Travellers pack a double disadvantage into their suitcases: quarantine requirements may become more onerous at short notice, and a holidaymaker may face greater exposure to the contagious Delta variant. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

A glance at the spiralling infection numbers in Scotland and England should make all of us cautious about non-essential overseas travel, and the Government needs to warn people of the dangers. If the Delta variant, which is already present, is able to run as free here as in Britain, our hospitals will be under pressure. It would be an error to let down our guard too soon.

Besides, Irish hospitality outlets and holiday resorts need our spending money to get the economy motoring again. Spain and Portugal are wonderful countries, I look forward to visiting them again in future years, but is now really the time to export Irish disposable income?

Outdoor dining is working surprisingly well without moving people indoors causing risk to staff as well as customers.

Granted, the weather has been fine, in general, and its clearly a different scenario when its wet or windy, but compared with last summer the outdoor dining vista is a success.

Local authorities have created space on pavements for seating, and restaurants and cafes have invested in awnings, heaters and other accoutrements and are efficient at serving outdoors. The litter is a problem, but not an insurmountable one.

Is indoor dining so desirable in summer, when an alternative is viable? On the occasions when I tried eating in restaurants last year, I found it stressful. Outdoors felt safer, it still does and a sense of security enhances any social occasion.

I wandered around Dublin city centre earlier this week, and it seemed closer to normal than at any stage since March last year. Not the same as before, but not too far off.

Sunshine wasnt the only reason it was working. The restaurants, cafes, museums and shops have adapted well to service on the street.

Of course, its not ideal, but living with Covid is far from ideal. I also scurried through heavy showers one evening and noticed to my surprise the high numbers of outdoor diners and drinkers, although their pints were diluted by rainwater and their meals were turning soggy.

The answer is to accelerate the vaccination programme rather than find ways for the jabbed to eat and drink indoors with the unjabbed left looking on. Thats an idea that shouldnt fly.

Meanwhile, we can also learn from best practice elsewhere. For example, surge testing is happening in various areas where outbreaks of the Delta variant are suspected, but its a case of people turning up voluntarily.

In the North, a more proactive stance is being taken to encourage testing, with the Public Health Agency sending letters to people in particular postcodes, inviting them to attend their local test centre.

This approach was taken in an area of my hometown of Omagh, for example, as well as in other parts of the North such as Antrim and Down.

Its being characterised as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of infection.

Last week, more than 400 people were tested in one Omagh neighbourhood after receiving one such letter. Of those, 31 had the Delta variant. Other test centres are now being opened in the town as a result, with testing stepped up.

There is no doubt it would be reassuring if there was clarity at government level about plans for reopening in the near future.

However, instead of giving dates, it might be more useful if people were told a full reopening would only happen after a certain number of weeks with infections below a specified figure and no hotspots.

Crowds, such as those witnessed in Dublins Temple Bar and Grafton Street areas, need to be prevented rather than broken up after they have gathered. Publicans have a responsibility here.

Inevitably, mistakes have been made by the coalition. Even Homer nods, as Horace tells us.

But not everything is within the Governments control and the Delta surge tells us they called it right by pausing indoor drinking and dining.

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Letting our guard down must not be on the menu when it comes to hospitality - Independent.ie

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Earlier this year, McCain and Joy Behar lost it over the state of the Republican Party, igniting a feud over what the party stands for.

I think you can call it whatever you want because your influence in the Republican Party is almost zero, McCain said when Behar began tearing into the party. Again, as Ive said on this show, it is for us to figure out amongst ourselves.

After Behar questioned her remark, McCain spiraled into a fit of rage.

What Republican is like, Oh, Joy Behar doesnt like my party? Oh God, I better stop voting for them now,' she asked. I mean really, the same way I have no influence on the left, McCain said as Behar began to talk over her.

The pair continued to yell at each other, and the fight only concluded when Goldberg cut to commercial.

You saying that the Republican party is trash, I dont care. Its not revelatory, McCain said in her final statement. Who cares, you say it every single day. Every single day, you hate Republicans. Oh my God, how revelatory!

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Meghan McCains Most Heated Moments on 'The View' - Decider

By ANTHONY KITIMO

The Kenyan government on Thursday appointed a diplomat to head the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) on an acting capacity as the process of appointing the new Managing Director stalls for more than 13 months.

KPA board of directors announced the appointment of Amb John Mwangemi as the new acting MD to replace Eng. Rashid Salim who has been acting for more than a year and is now proceeding on leave ahead of his retirement in September.

The KPA board wishes to announce the appointment of the new MD takes effect from 1stJuly 2021 as Eng Rashid Salim proceeds on retirement. The new acting MD will hold the position until a substantive managing director is appointed, a statement from the KPA board states.

Amb Mwangemi is Kenyas immediate former ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad). He exited the office last month.

He previously served as Kenyas High Commissioner to Rwanda and he has also held executive leadership positions in the corporate world locally and internationally.

The position of the KPA managing director fell vacant in March last year after then MD Daniel Manduku, who had held the post for less than two years, resigned after battling graft allegations for months. Mr Salim was appointed on an interim basis.

Amb Mwangemi will be key in the managementas the term of KPA chairman, General (Rtd) Joseph Kibwana, and three other board members alsolapsed on June 5 andMr Salim proceeds on three-month terminal leave ahead of his retirement in three months.

Since then, the government has conducted three interview to get a replacement but they have been unsuccessful with the failure of the first two attempts blamed on political interference. Ukur Yatani, Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning, said the third attempt was delayed due to the ongoing restructuring of port management.

In May, Mr Yatani said the ongoing restructuring will ensure that the three main ports in the country are each headed by a managing director to make them autonomous.

The CS said the restructuring has affected the appointment of the MD after hiring deadline expired about a month ago but the government was at the final stage in making a decision.

We are at the final stage and soon we shall announce how each port will have independent management, he said then.

If the new structure is adopted, Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports will each have its own MD.

According to sources, the push by senior government officials to have their own appointed to head the authority has delayed the exercise whereas CS Yatanihad earlier ordered the hiring process to end within 45 days.

On March 2, CS Yatanirejected three names the board had forwarded to him, saying the candidates did not attain the mandatory 70 marks and above in the interviews.

Late April, Mr Yatani reneged on his earlier statement, saying he did not set any fixed timeliness for the hiring process and on Thursday he raised the new issue of restructuring as the reason for the delay.

According to sources privy to the hiring process, already three names have been submitted to the CS but there has been political interference which is delaying the whole process.

The names we submitted on by April 13, the last day which was set by the CS when he revoked the whole process forcing the board to do it for the third time. We understand there is push and pull from senior government officials who want their own to head KPA, said the source.

The board was expected to forward three names to the CS to appoint the MD.

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Kenya appoints Amb Mwangemi as acting head of the ports authority - The East African

The Diet may be out of session but a new battle is already underway at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters.

The power struggle has Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Finance Minister Taro Aso and former trade minister Akira Amari standing in one corner and LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai in the other. Each side has eyes on the partys leadership contest before a Lower House election in the fall.

The fight is manifesting itself in a number of recently formed parliamentary groups, with the two sides vying to install as many of their faction members as possible to LDP executive posts, and the position of secretary-general is the top prize.

At least on the surface, the party is united in backing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga ahead of the partys leadership election in September. Approval ratings for his Cabinet and the LDP still hover around the mid-30% range, whereas support for opposition parties is in the single digits. No rival candidates are exploring runs to replace Suga in the leadership contest. But the intraparty fight could leave Suga, who lacks a solid support base despite being the partys president, in a shaky position and that could destabilize the LDP and affect the general election.

The LDP is starting to think its leadership contest is more important than the general election, said Jun Iio, a professor of Japanese politics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

The trio of Abe, Aso and Amari, along with Suga, then-chief Cabinet secretary, were a key platoon during the early stages of the second Abe administration. When Abe resigned last September, Nikai keen to stay on as secretary-general filled the void and became the first major faction leader to endorse Suga as Abes successor.

Nikais swift, calculated move made Suga a front-runner and demonstrated his appetite to further expand his factions authority and influence within the party.

That has left Nikais 47-member group with an outsized influence in the party and has the two largest factions Hiroyuki Hosodas 96-member faction, of which Abe is a de facto leader, and Asos 53-member faction irritated.

LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai speaks at a parliamentary group on advancing the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, next to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on June 15. | KYODO

The influence held by factions was suppressed when Abe was in charge, with LDP lawmakers almost universally backing him and satisfied that party unity was Abes top priority. After his departure, they have been revived to play their role in deciding key party posts and even Cabinet ministers.

Nikais camp emerged as the fourth largest within the party, as it actively accepted newcomers to the LDP from opposition parties.

He is also flexible in throwing support behind a wide variety of lawmakers, even those considered dark horses. At one point, he praised former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a vocal critic of Abe, as being well-versed in policies and expressed his support for Seiko Noda, who does not belong to a faction, running for the LDP leadership. Nikai appointed her to be a party executive.

The opening bell of the LDP fight was struck on May 21 at a meeting of a parliamentary group focused on semiconductors. The group was set up to advise the Suga administration as it looked to beef up its strategy on economic security.

But the caucuss lineup Abe and Aso as senior advisers and Amari as president promptly raised speculation that they were reuniting in a potential bid to seize leadership of the party. Aso and Amari were close Abe allies during his administration, along with Suga. The tight-knit group was given a nickname stemming from the initials of their family names: 3A + S.

Roughly 60 LDP lawmakers from the factions of Hosoda, Aso, Wataru Takeshita and Fumio Kishida participated in the meeting, but notably absent was a significant contingent from the Nikai faction.

Legislators often form a coalition on specific issues as part of policymaking and submit a proposal to the Prime Ministers Office. But a caucus is also an important ingredient in party politics that helps members build a relationship with lawmakers in other factions. It can also test their loyalty to specific executives.

Aso rattled off a joke about the lineup.

The three of us gathering here signals something is up in terms of a power struggle, so there are lots of newspaper reporters here who seem to have no connection with semiconductors at all, Aso noted, eliciting laughter from lawmakers in the room. You will be disappointed.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso attend a meeting of a parliamentary group on semiconductors at the Diet on May 28. | KYODO

This was not the only time the three heavyweights have gathered in the same place in recent months. They all became advisers to the Japan-Australia Parliamentary Association to facilitate cooperation between the two nations on national security and economic issues amid Chinas rise.

Since the Diet session ended, LDP members interests have turned to a potential shake-up in the partys executive lineup, which is expected sometime after the LDP leadership contest or the general election, depending on whichever comes first.

For many, their greatest concern is whether the 82-year-old Nikai who has been secretary-general since August 2016, the longest run in the post in the partys history will keep his title beyond the fall. The secretary-generals term is one year, but there are no limits on reappointment. The person in the powerful role can decide which candidate to officially endorse in an election and has discretion on party finances and personnel, including the partys division heads and deputy heads.

When Abe decided to step down for health reasons in September last year, Suga, who was considering a run to be the partys next leader, first turned to Nikai for support.

Suga and Nikai, who both started as local assembly members, developed a close bond during the Abe administration. In return for his support, Suga kept Nikai on as secretary-general.

Under the Suga administration, Nikais faction members secured the crucial posts of internal affairs minister as well as another Cabinet position, a satisfactory result for Nikai.

Former trade minister Akira Amari (left) attends a meeting of a parliamentary group on semiconductors, with Motoo Hayashi, an executive acting secretary-general, at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on June 15. | KYODO

Aso, who delayed throwing his support behind Suga last September, is seeking to rally his troops. The finance minister is rumored to be seeking to push Amari, a member of his faction, as Nikais replacement in the next reshuffle.

Wary of being driven into a corner, Nikai has attempted to drive a wedge into the 3A alliance. The secretary-general asked Abe to be a senior adviser of a parliamentary group that he had established aimed at advancing the countrys Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy. Because the strategy was originally pushed by Abe, the former prime minister had no choice but to accept the offer.

In response, Amari openly criticized Nikai for founding the parliamentary group, especially because the secretary-general is known for his close ties to China.

I wonder whether itd be OK for Mr. Nikai to preside over the group on the strategy that touches the sorest spot for China, Amari said during a TBS program aired on June 11.

Nikai and Amari had clashed openly before over a vote-buying scandal involving former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife, former Upper House lawmaker Anri Kawai. While Nikai denied knowledge of or participation in the distribution of 150 million in party funds to Anri Kawai in 2019, Motoo Hayashi, an executive acting secretary-general and Nikais top aide, implied during a news conference on May 17 that Amari was in charge.

Amari, who was an election strategy committee chairman, shot back by saying, I was not involved even a micrometer.

In response, Nikai modified his response and said the partys president and the secretary-general at that time were responsible for party decisions, dragging Abe into the controversy once again.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during a news conference in May in Tokyo | POOL / VIA REUTERS

What is concerning for the LDP is that powerful skirmishes could damage the party as a whole. When Abe was prime minister, he was particularly mindful of party unity, wrote Koji Nakakita, a Japanese politics professor at Hitotsubashi University, in his book on the LDP.

Abe was not hesitant to pick rivals such as Ishiba and former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki to fill the secretary-general role and tap leading figures of individual factions to Cabinet posts, thereby maintaining solidarity and high intraparty support. Election victories and high approval ratings also spurred him on.

The rationale for boosting rivals, Nakakita explained in the book, was rooted in a conviction that disarray within the party in 2009, in which LDP lawmakers had pressed Aso to step down as prime minister, caused the party to lose power.

Learning from that mistake, the LDP is united in backing Suga ahead of the general election. However, unlike Abe, Suga has neither a track record of winning national elections the LDP has lost three by-elections so far this year nor a strong faction that serves as a reliable support base, a crucial component to surviving an uphill battle in party politics.

Ishiba, who ran against Suga last year, cast doubt on whether the power struggle was worth it for anyone but the contestants.

I dont reject the power struggle itself, Ishiba said during a TV Asahi program appearance on Wednesday. What matters is for what purpose does one seek to acquire power? If people are competing for job posts while that objective is not clear, I wonder whether that serves the countrys best interest.

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LDP's infighting tests Suga and party unity ahead of election season - The Japan Times

It "may well be approaching the time" to scrap the problematic Isle of Wight floating bridge and replace it with a new one, the councillor responsible for the vessel has told Isle of Wight Radio.

Cllr Phil Jordan says"there comes a time when the mend and make do approachcomes to an end", and has hinted that the council may be nearing that.

Having been elected to the role of Cabinet member for Infrastructure and Transport around eight weeks ago, Cllr Jordansaysit is too early to say for definite how the local authority will fixthe chain ferry.

However, speaking to Isle of Wight Radio, he said it's clear there are only two viable options. He said:

"I'm looking forward. Every time we look back, this is what preventsus from looking forward.

"What we've got is what we've got. We have to either make that work and I would have to be convinced that we can make that work bymodifications or whatever ittakes or we would have to replaceit. One of the other.

"If we are being confronted with sums of money that are extensive we have to weigh that up against the possibility of putting that expenditure into a new replacement vessel."

WhenFloating Bridge 6 was commissioned, the council paid out around 3.2 million for its design and construction.

It came into service in May 2017, but has beenplagued with problems ever since. Just last year,Isle of Wight Radio reportedhow the chain ferry recorded a loss of more than 400,000.

Asked how the council would fund another multi-million pound vessel, if the current one is scrapped, Cllr Jordan said:

"There are operational revenues from it, if it works efficiently. Secondly, there may be income from an agreement with the designers and builders of the bridge, that may be an income for us.

"And then we would borrow the money over 25 years or maybe even longer over 25, 30 yearsand we would pay for that loan out of the income and revenue that we don't appear to be getting at the moment."

County Hall's previous Conservative administration had started legal action against the manufacturers of the vessel, but Cllr Jordan would not confirm whether that has reached a conclusion.

Going forward, he says the current vessel has a number of issues that need to be addressed, including the prow and rams.

He said:

"The issues that we see of the chain depth is problematic. The shape of the prow is problematicand I think because of the shape of the prow we have failing rams, because of the angle they have to push up and down.

"So I think essentially, operationally, as far as I'm aware that's where the issues are."

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Isle Of Wight Floating Bridge: "If We Have To Scrap It, We Will" Says Councillor - Isle of Wight Radio

Tandens selection to run the OMB was always viewed as a risky one for Biden, given her bare-knuckled approach to dealing with Republicans and particularly inflammatory Twitter account. But after Democrats took control of the Senate, Biden allies believed the president would get her confirmed.

Manchin, a moderate Democrat, likely blew up those plans Friday afternoon.

I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, he said in a statement. For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.

The White House said it had no intention from withdrawing Tandens nomination, with the president telling reporters after a trip to Michigan that, I think were going to find the votes to get her confirmed. Democrats believe its critical the Biden administration does not quickly relent on Tanden after Manchins opposition, if only to demonstrate they will not cower immediately to any opposition, including from within the party.

But with no Republicans signaling they would support Tanden, activists and allies are already scrambling for the potential opening.

Sperling, whose potential bid was mentioned in a Friday night article in The American Prospect, has boosters through the party owing to his service in the Clinton and Obama administrations and the relationships hes built both with Bidens top economic advisers and within progressive intellectual circles.

Bidens orbit believes he would be easily confirmed if nominated. But there are concerns about Sperlings potential ascension because of the presidents stated commitment to build a diverse cabinet. Tanden is an Indian American woman, one of only two women of Asian descent nominated for the cabinet other than Vice President Kamala Harris.

Its difficult for them not to put a woman in the job because of the commitments the president made to having a balanced cabinet, said one former Obama official.

Reached for comment, Sperling praised Tandens nomination to OMB.

I have worked with Neera for over 20 years and have never stopped being impressed by the breadth of her policy expertise, her work ethic and commitment to helping Americans in need, Sperling said. She is supremely qualified to be OMB Director. I have been and remain 100% supportive of her confirmation.

OLeary is a longtime Democratic policymaker with close ties to top Biden aides in particular, White House chief of staff Ron Klain owing to her years of experience in Clintonworld. She worked in the Clinton White House and then joined Hillary Clintons Senate office as legislative director. She later served as a top policy adviser on Clintons 2016 campaign, along with Jake Sullivan, now Bidens national security adviser.

Her policy work has been widely praised by Democrats, but her chances at the slot may be bogged down by her most recent stint in the Newsom administration.

OLeary served for two years as Newsoms chief of staff, and it was well-known in Democratic circles that she was angling for a job in the Biden administration. But she left Newsoms staff before she landed a job. Her departure came around the time the governor began to face a recall effort over criticism of how he has handled the Covid-19 pandemic. People in Newsoms camp felt OLeary was not the right person to lead the governor through the turbulence of a recall.

Does the White House want to have Senate hearings that are going to examine the Gavin Newsom administration in California? Thats the baggage, the Obama alum said. Theres a lot of concern.

OLeary and the White House declined to comment, but after this story published, O'Leary tweeted her support for Tanden's nomination.

"For years, Ive worked side-by-side with my dear friend @neeratanden fighting for more inclusive and equitable economic policies," she wrote. "Yes, shes a tough cookie, but its because shes fighting so hard for the most vulnerable. @POTUS is going to get her confirmed and Ill be cheering!"

Given the concerns surrounding Sperling and OLeary, the White House could decide to elevate Shalanda Young, who has been nominated to serve as deputy OMB director. Young, a Black woman, is widely respected by both parties on the Hill, where she has worked as the staff director for House Democrats on the Appropriations Committee.

Still, the White House is insistent they will continue to push for Tandens confirmation, touting her more than 35 meetings with senators from both parties, her outreach to Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations and the business community and bipartisan support she earned outside the Beltway, including from former OMB Director Mitch Daniels, a Republican.

Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent budget director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement Friday night.

While most Democrats argue its too early to completely desert Tanden, they also worry about waiting too long to fill the top post at OMB, especially as the administration is expected to produce a budget in the coming weeks or months.

I wouldnt want to go another month without an OMB director, the former Obama official said. Its an incredibly important time. Either lets get Neera confirmed, or youre going to have to move quickly.

Kevin Yamamura contributed to this report.

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The jockeying to replace Neera Tanden has begun - POLITICO

Hearthstone's new Year of the Gryphon is about to begin and it will launch with the Forged in the Barrens expansion.

BlizzConline continues on with what's next for Hearthstone. Blizzard's collectible card game is in a unique place for this latest BlizzCon, because a new Standard year is about to begin. That Standard year will be known as the Year of the Gryphon. And it will kick off with the game's latest expansion, Forged in the Barrens.

Forged in the Barrens will feature 135 new cards inspired by the beloved World of Warcraft setting. The latest keyword is Frenzy, but the biggest feature is ten new Legendary Mercenary minions, each representing one of the game's classes. The Mercenary stories will play out throughout the Year of the Gryphon, culminating with a new single-player roguelike game mode called Hearthstone Mercenaries. More information on Hearthstone Mercenaries is expected in the future.

The Year of the Gryphon promises to shake up Hearthstone in ways never imagined. For one thing, the new Core set will replace the Classic set, shaking up the foundation of the game as everyone knows it. This includes taking Classic cards and reimagining some of them entirely. The Core set will be ready for the start of the new Standard year, as will the new expansion.

The Core set will include reimaginings for three of the game's Legendary Dragons, including:

For those who think this is too much change, players will have an option to turn back the clock with a special Hearthstone Classic mode. This features the Basic and Classic sets as they were in 2014, complete with all cards having their nerfs and buffs erased. Classic will be available for play alongside Standard and Wild and will feature its own rewards and rankings.

We'll have a lot more to say about Hearthstone's upcoming year in the days ahead. Stay tuned to Shacknews for the latest on BlizzConline.

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but hes also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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Hearthstone's Year of the Gryphon will start with Forged in the Barrens expansion - Shacknews

Danny Trejo faces down an army in World War I in a hilarious video that replaces Gal Gadot with the Machete star as DC's Wonder Woman.

It seems like everybody and their grandmother is making funny Deepfake videos these days. It's almost gotten to the point where the novelty has worn off due to it basically being the same joke told over and over. But sometimes an idea comes along that impresses due to its sheer absurdity and Wonder Woman is the latest subject of such an unusual concept.

YouTube user Pooj's Variety Hour apparently looked at the dramatic "no man's land" scene from 2017'sWonder Woman and decided to put their own twist on it. Rather than simply replacing the face of Amazonian hero Diana with someone who looks like her, like theDeepfake video of Sebastian Stan as Luke Skywalker, they decided to go several steps further by instead inserting the face of legendary scowler Danny Trejo. The results are somehow both exactly as expected and also still very much worth watching.

RELATED:Star Wars Deepfake Puts A Young Harrison Ford In Solo

While nothing else about the scene is changed, the face replacement alone is enough to draw attention. Seeing Trejo wordlessly deflect bullets and mortar shells is more than worth the effort put in, and based on how technically complicated Deepfakes tend to be, there was likely a good amount of effort behind this video. It perhaps wasn't quite as involved as theStar WarsDeepfake that tried to outdoThe Mandalorian, but it's still impressive in its own right.

This particular scene is notable as the being first time Diana (a.k.a Wonder Woman) truly acts as a hero, walking out into the middle of a battlefield to draw the enemy's fire and give the soldiers a fighting chance. Even though she hadn't exactly lived a sheltered life up until that point, she had lived an isolated one, making her decision to fight for a cause like this all the more significant. It's dramatic, epic, and really takes on a whole new vibe when the face of Machete himself unexpectedly shows up on the screen. Apparently,Wonder Woman is a popular target for spoof videos.

It's almost as if the scene itself was tailor-made for this sort of comedy, as the first few shots refrain from showing Wonder Woman's face. This effectively builds up anticipation and makes it so the video could easily catch someone unaware that it involves a Deepfake, quite possibly resulting in a spectacular double-take when Trejo's face appears for the first time. It's just a flash at first, but that's enough to make any unsuspecting viewer think, "wait, what?"

Videos like this really make this seem like a technological future, and the proficiency will only get more and more precise as time goes on. So look forward to the next few years, when it likely won't be surprising to see something like Trejo, an avid gamer himself, inserted perfectly into something likeGrand Theft Auto.

Wonder Woman 1984 is now playing in select theaters.

MORE:Heath Ledger's Joker & 9 Other Memorable Movie Villains

Source: Pooj's Variety Hour/YouTube

WandaVision Behind-The-Scenes Photos Reveal [Spoiler]'s Corpse

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A new rumor makes the shocking claim that Call of Duty: Warzone could very well be removing its Verdansk battle royale map from the game.

Call of Duty: Warzone first debuted in March of 2020, and it was a massive success right away. A free-to-play battle royale using the popularCall of Duty: Modern Warfare as its foundation,Call of Duty: Warzonehas earned mostly positive reviews from critics and fans alike, even though it has admittedly struggled with balancing issues and technical problems. Over the past year,Call of Duty fans have spent countless hours exploringWarzone's Verdansk map, but a new rumor suggests that Verdansk may actually be leaving the game.

The rumor stems from the Twitter account WarzoneNewz, who claims trusted sources have said that the "end" of Verdansk is coming on March 11. March 11 is a Thursday, and that's whenCall of Duty: Warzone updates come, so the dates line up, though WarzoneNewz did not provide any concrete evidence to back up their claims. It seems unlikely thatCall of Duty: Warzone will be getting rid of Verdansk, but then again, it could be a way to give the game a serious shot in the arm for its one year anniversary.

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SinceCall of Duty: Warzone launched, Verdansk has been the only large-scale map in the game. The much smaller Rebirth Island map was added a couple of months ago, but it is a much different experience than what's found in Verdansk. With the one year anniversary ofCall of Duty: Warzone coming up, maybe the developers will be removing Verdansk to replace it with the long-rumored new map that's supposedly be in the works for some time.

It seems like a safer bet would be to simply add the new map along with Verdansk. Whatever the case may be, there have been rumors for some time now thatCall of Duty: Warzone would be adding a new map. Typically, the claim has been that the new map will be based onCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Fireteam maps, similarly to how Verdansk is based onCall of Duty: Modern Warfare Ground War maps.

While it's certainly possible thatCall of Duty: Warzone could remove Verdansk from the game and replace it with a brand new one (other battle royales have done something similar), it seems highly unlikely. After all,Call of Duty: Warzone is adding a new Cargo Tanker location next week, and it seems strange for the developers to keep adding new content to a map just to remove the entire thing.

If a newCall of Duty: Warzone map is coming, the likelier scenario is that it will be added alongside Verdansk instead of replacing it outright. For now, though, fans should take all of this information with a massive grain of salt and wait for something official from Activision.

Call of Duty: Warzone is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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Dalton Cooper is an editor for Game Rant who has been writing about video games professionally since 2011. Having written thousands of game reviews and articles over the course of his career, Dalton considers himself a video game historian and strives to play as many games as possible. Dalton covers the latest breaking news for Game Rant, as well as writes reviews, guide content, and more.

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Rumor: Call of Duty Warzone Verdansk Map Could Be Coming to an 'End' - GameRant