GKI Barry's exit from I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here caused no end of controversy on Friday night, with the social media icon and podcast host caught up in a huge result row, as fans argued she was 'robbed' of a place in the final. And there have also been plenty of complaints about Oti Mabuse being given immunity from two separate vote-offs. One of the lesser known contestants in the new series of the ITV show, GK does however have a huge following on platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, thanks to her hit podcast Saving Grace, which she has taken on two sell out tours, with a third announced while she'd been in the jungle. Within the first few days of I'm A Celebrity beginning on November 18, GK closed in on favourite Danny in the odds on who will win this year and, just hours before she went as one of two stars in another I'm A Celebrity double elimination , the 25-year-old was still being viewed by both experts and plenty of viewers as a strong contender for the final. However, with Oti immune from both Thursday and Friday's evictions and Danny, Rev Richard Coles and Coleen Rooney also well liked by viewers and well fancied by bookies, GK ended up being kicked out in 5th place, with Alan Halsall also going home in 6th. And many fans were furious about GK being given the boot, as she told Ant and Dec she was 'fuming' to miss out on doing the Celebrity Cyclone. Reacting to Friday's result, one fan took to X to post: "The twist & immunity really let this series down.. GK Barry should be top 4. I love Oti, but she would have gone tonight" as another wrote: "Guaranteed if Oti wasn't immune to eviction she'd have been gone tonight instead of GK Barry"
India News | Markets Decline in Early Trade Amid Unabated Foreign Fund Outflows, Weak Global Trends
Authored by Joshua Stylman via substack, Author's Note : For years, I understood advertising was designed to manipulate behavior. As someone who studied the mechanics of marketing, I considered myself an educated consumer who could navigate rational market choices. What I didn't grasp was how this same psychological architecture shaped every aspect of our cultural landscape . This investigation began as curiosity about the music industry's ties to intelligence agencies. It evolved into a comprehensive examination of how power structures systematically mold public consciousness. What I discovered showed me that even my most cynical assumptions about manufactured culture barely scratched the surface. This revelation has fundamentally altered not just my worldview, but my relationships with those who either cannot or choose not to examine these mechanisms of control. This piece aims to make visible what many sense but cannot fully articulate - to help others see these hidden systems of influence. Because recognizing manipulation is the first step toward resisting it. This investigation unfolds in three parts: First, we'll examine the foundational systems of control established in the early 20th century. Next, we'll explore how these methods evolved through popular culture and counterculture movements. Finally, we'll see how these techniques have been automated and perfected through digital systems. In 2012, Facebook conducted a secret experiment on 689,000 users , manipulating their news feeds to study how changes in content affected their emotions. This crude test was just a glimpse of what was coming. By 2024, algorithms would not be used to simply shape what we feel, but what we believe it is even possible to think. Social media platforms are now able to predict and modify behavior in real-time, while streaming services automatically and continuously curate our cultural consumption, and digital payment systems track every single transaction. What began as simple emotional manipulation has become comprehensive consciousness control. This power to mold human perception didn't emerge overnight. The mechanisms of cultural control we see today were built over more than a century, evolving from Edison's physical monopolies to today's invisible digital chains. To understand how we arrived at this point of algorithmic consciousness control - and more importantly, how to resist it - we must first trace the historical foundations of these systems and the deliberate architecture of control that shaped them. The psychological manipulation revealed by the Facebook experiment may seem like a modern phenomenon, but its roots stretch back to the earliest days of mass communication. One of the first architects of cultural control was Thomas Edison, whose establishment of the Motion Picture Patents Company in 1908 laid the groundwork for a century of systematic influence. When Thomas Edison established the Motion Picture Patents Company in 1908, he created more than a monopoly – he demonstrated how five key mechanisms could systematically control information and shape consciousness: infrastructure control (film production equipment), distribution control (theaters), legal framework (patents), financial pressure (blacklisting), and legitimacy definition ("authorized" vs "unauthorized" content). These same mechanisms would evolve and reappear across industries and eras, becoming increasingly sophisticated tools for engineering public consciousness and controlling the boundaries of possible thought and expression. While Edison was establishing control over visual media, a broader system of institutional power was rapidly taking shape. The early 20th century would witness an unprecedented convergence of concentrated control across multiple domains. When antitrust action broke up the Edison Trust in 1915, control simply shifted from Edison's patent monopoly to a small group of studios. While presented as creating competition, this "breakup" actually consolidated power in an oligarchy of studios that could more effectively and subversively coordinate content control and messaging - a pattern that would repeat in future antitrust actions. While the Trust's breakup appeared to create competition, new forms of control quickly emerged. The Motion Picture Production Code ( Hays Code ) established in 1934 demonstrated how moral panic could justify systematic content control. Just as Edison had controlled film distribution, the Hays Code controlled what could be depicted on screen, establishing templates for narrative manipulation that would persist into the digital age. Edison's template for controlling visual media would soon be replicated across other domains. As I detailed in ‘The Information Factory ’, Rockefeller deployed an identical template in medicine: infrastructure control (medical schools), distribution control (hospitals and clinics), legal framework (licensing), financial pressure (strategic funding), and legitimacy definition ("scientific" vs "alternative" medicine). This wasn't just about eliminating competition – it was about controlling what constituted legitimate knowledge itself. This wasn't a coincidence. The early 20th century witnessed unprecedented bureaucratic convergence, as formerly separate domains - medicine, media, education, finance, entertainment, and scientific research - began operating with remarkable coordination. The walls between public institutions, private industry, and government agencies became increasingly permeable. Major foundations played a crucial role in this convergence. The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations , while presenting themselves as philanthropic organizations, effectively shaped academic research priorities and social science methodologies . Through strategic grant-making and institutional support, they helped establish and maintain approved frameworks for understanding society itself . By determining what research got funded and which ideas received institutional backing, these foundations became powerful gatekeepers of acceptable knowledge—extending Rockefeller's medical model into the broader intellectual sphere. This unprecedented administrative alignment represented more than coordination - it established interlocking systems for controlling both physical reality and public consciousness. From Edison's control of visual media to Rockefeller's definition of medical knowledge to the Federal Reserve's monetary control, each piece contributed to a comprehensive architecture of social control. What made this system so subtly pervasive was its masterful packaging - each erosion of autonomy was presented as progress, each restriction as protection, each form of control as convenience. The public not only accepted but eagerly embraced these changes, never recognizing that their choices, beliefs, and very understanding of reality were being carefully engineered through institutions they trusted. The power of this converged system was first demonstrated at scale in profoundly reshaping America's global role. The narrative of American 'isolationism' emerged as one of the most influential shapers of public consciousness. While America had long projected power through banking networks, corporate expansion, and gunboat diplomacy, this reality was gradually reframed and cunningly marketed to an unsuspecting public By establishing a story of American withdrawal from world affairs, advocates for military intervention could position themselves as reluctant modernizers guiding a hesitant nation toward global responsibility. J.P. Morgan's simultaneous acquisition of major newspapers , controlling 25% of American papers by 1917, helped establish this narrative framework. It wasn't just about profit – it was about establishing the machinery of public consciousness management in preparation for coming conflicts desired by the ruling class. By the 1950s, Operation Mockingbird formalized this influence as the CIA systematically infiltrated major media organizations . The program demonstrated how thoroughly intelligence agencies understood the need to shape public perception through seemingly independent channels. Building on methods refined during wartime propaganda efforts, Mockingbird's techniques would influence everything from news coverage to entertainment programming, establishing templates for information manipulation that continue to evolve today. What Operation Mockingbird achieved through human editors and planted stories, today's platforms accomplish automatically through content moderation algorithms and recommendation systems. The same principles of narrative control persist, but the human intermediaries have been replaced by automated systems operating at breathtaking speed on a global scale. This media-intelligence nexus was exemplified by William S. Paley, who transformed CBS from a small radio network into a broadcasting empire. During World War II, Paley served as supervisor of the Office of War Information (OWI) in the Mediterranean theater before becoming chief of radio in the OWI's Psychological Warfare Division. His wartime experience in psychological operations directly informed CBS's postwar programming strategy, where entertainment began to serve as an effective vehicle for social engineering. Under Paley's leadership, CBS became known as the 'Tiffany Network,' masterfully blending entertainment with subtle manipulation techniques refined during his psychological warfare service. This fusion of entertainment and social control would become the template for modern media operations. This machinery of mass influence would adapt to emerging technologies. By the 1950s, the payola scandal revealed how record companies shaped public consciousness through controlled exposure. Presented as a controversy about DJ bribes, payola actually represented an evolved system for shaping popular taste. The companies controlling these cultural channels maintained deep institutional ties - Paley's CBS Records continued its military contractor relationships, while RCA's role in shaping mass culture traced back to its 1919 formation as a Navy-coordinated communications monopoly . Created to maintain domestic control of strategic communications, RCA's expansion into broadcasting, records and consumer electronics preserved these foundational connections to military and intelligence networks. These methods of cultural control didn't develop in isolation - they were part of a broader system of social engineering that expanded dramatically during periods of global conflict. While historians typically treat the World Wars as discrete conflicts, they are better understood as phases in a continuous expansion of social control mechanisms. The infrastructure and methods developed between these conflicts reveals this continuity - the wars provided both the justification and testing grounds for increasingly sophisticated systems of mass psychological manipulation. Military installations like Lookout Mountain Air Force Station in Laurel Canyon weren't just bases – they were centers for psychological warfare operations, perfectly positioned near the heart of the entertainment industry. Lookout Mountain alone produced over 19,000 classified films, while maintaining high-level connections to Hollywood production By 1943, this system was so well established that the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) explicitly outlined its strategy in a now-declassified document . Their assessment was unequivocal: motion pictures represented 'an unparalleled instructional medium' and 'a patent force in attitude formation' that could 'stimulate or inhibit action.' The document further stated that the US must 'exploit the potentialities of the motion picture as a weapon of psychological warfare.' This wasn't just about controlling information—it was about fundamentally altering how people understood and experienced reality itself. While Edison and Rockefeller were establishing physical control systems in America, the entertainment industry was already being integrated into intelligence operations. This pattern stretched back to the industry's earliest days - Harry Houdini is rumored to have collaborated with British intelligence during World War I, using his performances as cover to gather information in German enclaves. From Charlie Chaplin's films being analyzed for propaganda potential to Mary Pickford's war bond drives setting the precedent for celebrity messaging, World War I marked the birth of systematic coordination between Hollywood and intelligence agencies. During World War II, these connections were formalized through the OSS, evolving into today's Entertainment Liaison Office , through which agencies like the Department of Defense actively shape desired military-themed film narratives. While American industries were perfecting control of physical infrastructure and entertainment, British intelligence was developing something even more fundamental - methods to control consciousness itself. Understanding that territorial control was temporary but the power to shape beliefs, desires, and worldviews could be permanent, their innovations would transform social engineering forever. In 1914, they established what began as an innocuous sounding entity called ' Wellington House ,' which would evolve into increasingly bold bureaucratic iterations - the 'Department of Information,' and finally the explicitly Orwellian sounding ' Ministry of Information .' Through this organization, they systematized mass psychological manipulation based on new principles - that indirect influence through trusted voices works better than direct propaganda, that emotional resonance matters more than facts, that people trust peer sharing over authority. These psychological principles would become the foundational algorithms of social media platforms a century later. These insights didn't fade with time - they evolved. When Facebook conducts A/B testing on emotional contagion or social media algorithms promote peer-to-peer sharing over institutional sources, they're deploying Tavistock's psychological principles in real-time. This work evolved through the treatment of shell-shocked soldiers at the Tavistock Clinic (later the Tavistock Institute), where Dr. John Rawlings Rees and his colleagues discovered how psychological trauma could be used to reshape not just individual consciousness, but entire social systems. Through systematic study of trauma and group psychology, they developed methods to shape not just what people could see, but how they would interpret reality itself. The Institute's work revealed how psychological vulnerability could be used to reshape both individual and group behavior - insights that would prove invaluable as mechanisms of influence evolved from overt censorship to subtle manipulation of perception. Though largely unknown to the public, Tavistock would become one of the most influential organizations in shaping modern social control methods. While most people today know Tavistock only through recent controversies over gender-affirming care , the institute's influence extends back generations, shaping cultural narratives and social transformation since its inception. Their current work represents not an anomaly but a continuation of its long-standing mission to reshape human consciousness. Former MI6 intelligence officer John Coleman's seminal work The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations provided an insider's view of its operations. More recently, researchers like Daniel Estulin , Courtenay Turner and Jay Dyer have further examined its profound impact. The Institute's most refined achievement was transforming psychological theories into practical tools for cultural engineering, particularly through popular music and youth culture. By embedding their principles into seemingly spontaneous cultural trends, they created a template for social programming invisible to its subjects. These methods would first be tested through music. The State Department's jazz diplomacy program of the 1950s-60s revealed how power centers understood music's potential for cultural design. While Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie toured as 'jazz ambassadors,' another powerful influence was shaping the jazz scene from within. The Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter - born into the Rothschild banking dynasty - became a crucial patron of bebop artists like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, both of whom would die in her homes years apart . While her passion for jazz may have been genuine, her deep involvement in the scene coincided with the era when the U.S. State Department and CIA were actively using jazz as a tool of cultural diplomacy. This patronage, whether intentional or not, foreshadowed a pattern of European banking aristocracy's involvement in supposedly revolutionary musical movements. In Part Two, we'll explore the next phase of consciousness control which operated through culture itself. The early experiments in jazz would evolve into an invisible and systematic program of cultural engineering. Institutions would design and ignite cultural movements that appeared organic and by doing so, governing bodies would shape not just what people thought, but their entire framework for understanding anything and everything.Commanders keep playing wild and wacky games. They've gotten better at winning them
Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing charged with murder in New York, court records showGDIN CEO Jongkap Kim: "By matching technology needs with local markets, we create long-lasting joint ventures with multiple exit opportunities." SEOUL, South Korea , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital Innovation Network (GDIN), led by CEO Jongkap Kim, proudly announced the major achievements of its 2024 Joint Venture Program. This program, which supports the establishment of joint ventures between South Korean companies and international partners, is designed to lower market entry barriers and create sustainable growth opportunities through local collaborations. Since the launch of the program in 2021, GDIN has supported the establishment of 44 joint ventures across various regions. This year alone, 10 joint ventures were successfully launched in 8 countries including the United States , Canada , Japan , India , Singapore , Vietnam , UAE, and Uganda . The Joint Venture Program was created to address a common challenge faced by early-stage tech companies: while they may have products and services that meet market demand, they often lack the resources and workforce to enter international markets. Through this program, GDIN helps companies increase their chances of success by facilitating strategic market entry via local partnerships. In addition to the 44 joint ventures established so far, 47 partnership agreements are in the pipeline for future joint ventures. The program's success is largely attributed to GDIN's extensive global network of partners, which includes government organizations, multinational corporations, and international agencies such as the World Bank, Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Investment Turkey etc. GDIN has organized multiple technology matching and investor relations events to introduce Korean companies and their innovative technologies to potential international partners. At the year-end performance report event, held on December 19 , GDIN recognized companies that successfully established joint ventures. Changsoft I&I, a digital construction management system company, was highlighted for its success in establishing joint ventures in Japan and Vietnam . CFO Jongeun Park of Changsoft I&I shared, "We were facing stagnating revenue growth, and expanding into new markets was critical. With GDIN's support, we were able to establish joint ventures in Japan and Vietnam , allowing us to tailor our products to local market needs." Other companies that successfully established joint ventures in 2024 include Medicos Biotech, Bloomsbury Lab, Arbaim, Eucast, Pixelro, Hansol root one, Eco-Peace, and IESG. GDIN CEO Jongkap Kim commented, "Unlike simple joint investments or distribution networks, these technology-driven joint ventures are based on market demand, ensuring their long-term sustainability. If these joint ventures achieve success in the local markets and even go public, they could offer multiple exit opportunities, creating a strong growth model for all involved." About GDIN Global Digital Innovation Network (formerly known as Born2Global Centre), registered under the Ministry of Science & ICT, is an independent foundation that promotes and fosters collaboration between next-level innovative companies from South Korea and the world. Since 2013, we have established over 160 international partnerships, supported over 3,000 tech companies, conducted over 20,000 consulting services, and helped companies raise $3.6 billion USD in investments. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gdin-successfully-supports-establishment-of-10-new-joint-ventures-in-2024-alone-302337060.html SOURCE GDINHere’s What’s in the $895 Billion Defense Authorization Bill
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NoneNo. 25 Illinois rebounds in big way, blasts UMES 87-40Neal Maupay: Whenever I’m having a bad day I check Everton score and smile
Will Riley scored a game-high 19 points off the bench as No. 25 Illinois shrugged off a slow start to earn an 87-40 nonconference victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. Morez Johnson Jr. recorded his first double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, Kylan Boswell posted 13 points and Tomislav Ivisic contributed 11 for Illinois (4-1). Coming off a 100-87 loss to No. 8 Alabama on Wednesday, the Illini led by as much as 52 despite hitting just 10-of-40 3-point attempts. Jalen Ware paced Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6) with 10 points before fouling out. Ketron "KC" Shaw, who entered Saturday in the top 20 of Division I scorers at 22.3 points per game, went scoreless in the first half and finished with seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. The Hawks canned just 22.1 percent of their shots from the floor. Illinois broke out to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:06, then missed its next six shots. That gave the Hawks time to pull into an 8-8 tie on Evan Johnson's 17-foot pullup at the 12:21 mark. That marked Maryland Eastern Shore's last points for more than seven minutes as the Illini reeled off 17 straight points to remove any suspense. Johnson opened the spree with a basket and two free throws, Ben Humrichous swished a 3-pointer and Tre White sank a layup before Kasparas Jakucionis fed Ivisic for a 3-pointer and an alley-oop layup. Jakucionis set up Johnson for a free throw, then drove for an unchallenged layup to make it 25-8 with 5:15 left in the first. Evan Johnson snapped the visitors' dry spell with a driving layup at the 4:56 mark, but Illinois went on to establish a 35-15 halftime lead on the stretch of 11 offensive rebounds that turned into 12 second-chance points and 13 points off UMES' 10 turnovers. Maryland Eastern Shore needed nearly four minutes to get its first points in the second half as Illinois pushed its lead to 42-15. The Illini margin ballooned all the way to 70-24 on Boswell's driving layup with 8:11 to go. --Field Level Media
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jimmy Carter was honored with a moment of silence before the Atlanta Falcons’ game at the Washington Commanders on Sunday night, hours after the 39th president of the United States died at the age of 100 in Plains, Georgia. Beyond being a Georgia native who led the country from the White House less than 8 miles (12 kilometers) away during his time in office from 1977-81, Carter was the first president to host the NFL's Super Bowl champions there when he welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1980. Falcons owner Arthur Blank in a statement released by the team before kickoff said he was deeply saddened by the loss of his dear friend and mentor, calling Carter “a great American, a proud Georgian and an inspirational global humanitarian.” “He lived his life with great civic responsibility and took it upon himself to be the change he wished to see amongst other,” Blank said, recalling meeting Carter at The Home Depot. “President Carter’s kind and uniting spirit touched so many lives. He was a man of deep faith, and did everything with principal and grace, doing things the right way for the right reasons." AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 dev apologizes for 'what can only be described as an awful launch experience'GDIN CEO Jongkap Kim: "By matching technology needs with local markets, we create long-lasting joint ventures with multiple exit opportunities." SEOUL, South Korea , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital Innovation Network (GDIN), led by CEO Jongkap Kim, proudly announced the major achievements of its 2024 Joint Venture Program. This program, which supports the establishment of joint ventures between South Korean companies and international partners, is designed to lower market entry barriers and create sustainable growth opportunities through local collaborations. Since the launch of the program in 2021, GDIN has supported the establishment of 44 joint ventures across various regions. This year alone, 10 joint ventures were successfully launched in 8 countries including the United States , Canada , Japan , India , Singapore , Vietnam , UAE, and Uganda . The Joint Venture Program was created to address a common challenge faced by early-stage tech companies: while they may have products and services that meet market demand, they often lack the resources and workforce to enter international markets. Through this program, GDIN helps companies increase their chances of success by facilitating strategic market entry via local partnerships. In addition to the 44 joint ventures established so far, 47 partnership agreements are in the pipeline for future joint ventures. The program's success is largely attributed to GDIN's extensive global network of partners, which includes government organizations, multinational corporations, and international agencies such as the World Bank, Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Investment Turkey etc. GDIN has organized multiple technology matching and investor relations events to introduce Korean companies and their innovative technologies to potential international partners. At the year-end performance report event, held on December 19 , GDIN recognized companies that successfully established joint ventures. Changsoft I&I, a digital construction management system company, was highlighted for its success in establishing joint ventures in Japan and Vietnam . CFO Jongeun Park of Changsoft I&I shared, "We were facing stagnating revenue growth, and expanding into new markets was critical. With GDIN's support, we were able to establish joint ventures in Japan and Vietnam , allowing us to tailor our products to local market needs." Other companies that successfully established joint ventures in 2024 include Medicos Biotech, Bloomsbury Lab, Arbaim, Eucast, Pixelro, Hansol root one, Eco-Peace, and IESG. GDIN CEO Jongkap Kim commented, "Unlike simple joint investments or distribution networks, these technology-driven joint ventures are based on market demand, ensuring their long-term sustainability. If these joint ventures achieve success in the local markets and even go public, they could offer multiple exit opportunities, creating a strong growth model for all involved." About GDIN Global Digital Innovation Network (formerly known as Born2Global Centre), registered under the Ministry of Science & ICT, is an independent foundation that promotes and fosters collaboration between next-level innovative companies from South Korea and the world. Since 2013, we have established over 160 international partnerships, supported over 3,000 tech companies, conducted over 20,000 consulting services, and helped companies raise $3.6 billion USD in investments. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2585877/JV.jpg View original content: https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gdin-successfully-supports-establishment-of-10-new-joint-ventures-in-2024-alone-302337605.html