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onisionhurtspeople · 6 years

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The Spiral of Narcissistic Abuse: Onision Edition

I originally wrote this post in April 2017, but in the year and a half since it’s been published, there have been literally dozens of new victims targeted by Greg (Onision) and his wife Lainey (Laineybot) that I felt were severe enough to warrant inclusion; and so here I am to re-write this post to include this new information.

1. “Love Bombing”: Display of excessive attention and professions of deep love. “Soul mate.”

Love bombing is the practice of overwhelming a person in a new relationship with signs of adoration and attraction in the form of gifts, compliments, meaningful gestures, discussions revolving around long-term future plans (marriage, children, vacations, etc), and professions of true love. The difference between love bombing and genuine love is that real love is earned over time through intimacy, trust, and consistency, whereas love bombing creates artificial feelings of intimacy that have not yet been earned.

Greg routinely engages in love-bombing when it comes to either a) trying to lure in new victims, or b) making attempts to reel in previous victims (such as exes), or current victims who are becoming disillusioned with him and beginning to pull away. In 2015, after Greg had convinced his wife Lainey to “explore her bisexuality” by getting a girlfriend, she had settled on an 18-year-old YouTube personality and makeup guru named Billie, and flew her down to their house for a visit. What Greg neglected to tell Lainey was that he had ulterior motives for pushing her to get a girlfriend, and this was because he wanted to convince Lainey and whoever her girlfriend was to enter a three-way, polyamorous triad with him. While Billie was there, in an attempt to draw her in, Greg showered her with gifts, compliments, and an excessive amount of attention and admiration; according to him, he paid her $1800 a month to manage his social media accounts, spent thousands of dollars buying her gifts of makeup and clothing, and his videos were full of glowing compliments towards Billie.

He tweeted this at Billie after she managed to “fix” a broken camera lens by throwing it on the ground. He screams at his own children just for losing at Mario Kart, could you imagine Onision having this reaction to anybody else treating his expensive equipment that way?

Every time he and Lainey broke up with Billie (usually because she refused to go along with their bizarrely strict and controlling expectations for her behavioral conduct, such as having to ask their permission before smoking weed - and yes, you read that correctly; the problem was not that she was smoking weed because it was illegal (as Greg and Lainey had originally claimed), the problem was that she didn’t ask their permission before doing it), Greg would begin to reel Lainey back in by trying to love bomb her again. This comment was made just two days after he’d cheated on Lainey with Billie, while she was pregnant with their second child:

…and every time they get back together, he begins love bombing Billie again, and ignoring Lainey. He is careful not to do this overtly on Twitter or Instagram like he does with Lainey, but during this time, he expends much more effort into communicating with Billie over Twitter and in videos than he does with Lainey. He is also very clearly more physically affectionate towards Billie in videos where the three of them appear together than he is with his own wife.

(And maybe this is just my unprofessional opinion, but the manner in which he compliments Lainey rings much more hollow and inauthentic to me than the compliments he used to give to Billie. It comes off as very rote and robotic, not genuine or sincere.)

2. Over-protection and isolation in the name of love. “We only need each other.”

One of the most common tactics that abusers use to control their victims is by isolating them from friends and family. They do this so that it’s harder for them to escape or see the truth of what’s happening to them. This behavior is manifested in ways such as convincing the victim to stay at home and not have a job, by controlling all of the money that flows through the household (including the victim’s money, if they DO have a job), and by slowly convincing the victim to stop talking to their friends and family members, because the narcissist “doesn’t think they’re good for [them]”. Without a sense of perspective or anybody from whom to gain a third-party point of view, it’s extremely difficult for the victim to objectively analyze the severity of the situation.

Throughout the history of his relationships, Greg follows this pattern with all of his partners to the tee. He makes repeated attempts to convince Billie to stop flying home to spend time with her friends and family members, who she is extremely close with.

Unbelievably, he attempts to manipulate her by bragging about how he’d already managed to successfully convince Lainey to not visit her own family more than once a year. In a livestream, Lainey once admitted that earlier this month (October 2018) was the first time she’s attended a family funeral in over five years, because Greg wouldn’t give her permission to go to any of the other ones. He also frequently attacks Lainey’s family on social media, as well as diminishing them in Lainey’s eyes by making his disapproval of them quite clear:

This is what he said about Lainey’s sister:

He especially does this to Lainey’s father, who saw through Greg from the very beginning, and desperately tried to stop his 17-year-old daughter from marrying him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sAjnkASwOo

He also did this with Skye while they were still married, restricting her from seeing anybody but members of his own family, and members of her family that he approved of (which was basically just her younger sister, a 15-year-old girl who Greg admitted to fantasizing about having sex with, including (more than once) accidentally moaning her name while being intimate with Skye). A quote from his website at the time:

January 24th, 2007

Alright, so it has been a few days since Skye and I hung out with another couple… judging from the fact that these people were the only ones we knew that had a lifestyle that wasn’t drugged out, beered out (also known as drugged out), smoked out, ethically lacking, rude etc. and we can’t even enjoy ourselves around them as much as we do each other… I just really don’t see myself and Skye spending time with anyone in the future other than family…

It seems that everyone who isn’t blood related has something extremely wrong with them… it may not be apparent at first, like a used car, but when you get on the road with them, and get to know them, the clanks and pings begin to show, maybe not after the first few miles, but definitely after the second or third ride.

(Source)

This isolation of Skye got so bad that eventually, two of their friends actually tried to convince her to leave Greg:

January 27th, 2007

I was going to post something extremely long about how upset I am with two people I know, within my personal life - who are continuously trying to break my wife and I apart psychically and vocally… but I’m not going to as I believe it can only cause a greater level of drama, which is exactly what they feed on.

In fact, they probably know I’m talking about them right now, and are dialing my number just to tell me/others how wrong I am for my wife, and somehow by saying I love her every hour of the day, feeding her full of yummy food, trying to make her happy emotionally/other ways, putting a roof over her head, that in result of that I’m a bad husband.

(Source)

A former classmate of Greg, who had gone to high school with both he and Skye, also gave an interview with someguy827, in which he detailed his observations of Greg slowly but surely isolating Skye from all of her friends and family members:

You can read the interview here. (Source)

And read the comment that he made on lolcow here. (Source)

3. Power gained by social isolation and artificially inflated self-esteem. “I feel like a better person with I am with them.”

Greg has claimed this about every single one of his exes. I can’t track down photographic examples of him claiming this about all of them never mind, I managed to find examples of him saying this to at least three different women. Here’s an example of when he said it to ex-girlfriend Adrienne:

Keep in mind that they had been dating for a grand total of two weeks when he made the claim to her that she had helped him grow into a better person in the short amount of time they’d been together.

He made the same claim about a high school girlfriend, Tanya, whom - again - he had known for only a couple of weeks; and they were not even officially dating when he said this to her:

Here is another example of him saying this about his first wife, Skye - again, only weeks into their relationship. The journal entry this screenshot was lifted from is much longer and I was having trouble pasting it into the body of this text in a way that was readable, so here’s a very short, cropped version of what he said. You can find the source for this quote here. (Source)

At the end of his relationship with Adrienne - while they were in the process of breaking up - he called her repeatedly while she was at work, leaving her over a dozen voicemails in less than a day. During this time, Adrienne managed to get in touch with Shiloh, another of Greg’s exes, to compare notes about the similarities in their relationship. When Shiloh listened to the voicemails that Greg had sent to Adrienne, she posted this comment on Facebook:

He had been telling the two women, only hours apart from each other, about how special and meaningful they were to him. The saddest thing about this is that at the same time, he was also calling Skye; and this exchange between himself, Shiloh, and Adrienne occurred only days before he started talking to Lainey.

4. Creation of a feeling of dependency; induction of fear of the loss of relationship.

One of the ways that Greg likes to induce feelings of psychological dependence on him is through a tactic called “manipulation break-ups”. The phenomenon is explained here by dwayners13:

One of the most common tactics used by manipulative & emotionally abusive individuals is the ‘manipulation breakup’. This is simply when a person repeatedly breaks up with their partner, not because they truly want to end their relationship, but rather to gain power & control over their partner & the relationship in general. There are a variety of issues & events that can cause a manipulation breakup (far too many to list here), but it can range from their partner doing something they don’t like/approve of to the emotionally abusive person being confronted on their abusive/manipulative behavior (by their partner &/or their partner’s family/friends). [...] Instead of taking the time to discuss or even arguing about the issue in an attempt to resolve it, the person will just break up with them, knowing that their partner doesn’t want to break up. They will then refuse to speak with them about the issue (& the relationship in general), essentially shunning or ignoring their attempts. This can include ignoring phone calls, text messages, VMs etc.., If the couple live together, they will simply refuse to speak with their partner (aka the silent treatment). Their intention is to make it seem like the relationship is over, so that the person will practically beg & plead with their partner & be willing to agree to anything in order to get back together.

(Source)

Greg and Lainey both admitted to him doing this multiple times throughout their relationship; and still, to this day, they admit that he attempts to break up with her every single time they argue, even though they’re married and have been for over seven years. It is extremely abnormal for a 34-year-old father of two who has been married for seven years to threaten to “break up” with his wife every time they get into an argument. These attempts at manipulation on Greg’s part terrify Lainey so much that she readily complies with whatever he wants in order to convince him not to leave her. This pattern could not be more apparent than how this manipulation tactic played out in their relationship with Billie.

During the time when Greg and Lainey were in a polyamorous relationship with Billie, Lainey expressed repeated discomfort about Greg and Billie spending so much time together while she was excluded by having to spend so much time cooking, cleaning, looking after their their son (she was pregnant with their daughter at the time), and managing their household (which we now know, thanks to Maya, that Greg does not help out with at all, meaning that Lainey spent the vast majority of her day doing these things while Greg and Billie were in another room playing games, making videos, and hanging out). She felt that Billie was only there for Greg, and was not comfortable with them being sexually intimate together, even when it was all three of them together. After a while of this - despite Lainey’s continued discomfort, disapproval, and lack of consent (which is vital for any healthy, functioning polyamorous triad) - Greg told Lainey that there would be more more boundaries, no more jealousy, and that he and Billie were going to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted; and that if Lainey didn’t like it, then he was going to divorce her.

Naturally, terrified of losing her husband, her family, her home, her source of income, and the only lifestyle that she’d ever known - with a three-year-old in tow, and pregnant with their second child - Lainey felt forced to remain in the three-way relationship that she didn’t even want to begin with.

A quote from his video, “Onision’s Break Up Story”:

“I told my wife that there would be no more rules in the relationship. That there would be no more boundaries, no more jealousy, and that I would do what I want.”

(Source)

After this quote, Greg goes on to explain that he reassured his wife that he had no intention of leaving her; however, how could Lainey believe this, when just a few months before he had attempted to leave her for Billie, which only didn’t end up happening because Billie told him that she didn’t feel right about it? When he had threatened to leave her so many times before over much smaller and less significant things? He goes on to say this:

“Regardless, it is important to note that Billie did tell me that she thought Lainey might be upset if she and I slept together, but every time she indicated she was worried, I would remind her of the conversation I had with Lainey where I repeatedly told her there would be no more boundaries, we would all have balanced relationships, and that there would be no jealousy.”

This is an ultimatum. The reason why Lainey went to Billie to ask her not to sleep with Greg is because she already knew that he would shut her down if she tried. Ask yourself this question: for what reason would a woman feel more comfortable asking other women not to sleep with her husband, instead of just going straight to the source and simply asking her husband not to sleep with other women instead? The answer is that it’s because she already knew that he would say no and try to divorce her if she kept bringing it up. It is not unreasonable for Lainey to believe Greg capable of doing this, considering that he has admitted in the past to leaving one woman for another (when he left Skye for Shiloh in 2011):

Greg doesn’t just do this to Lainey, however; he has done this, to my knowledge, with every other woman he’s ever dated. The following is a screenshot of a portion of the letter written by Adrienne - the 26-year-old that Greg dated for three weeks just before he met Lainey - describing how Greg attempted to manipulate her through making her fear the loss of the relationship:

Later on in the same letter:

The entirety of the letter written by Adrienne can be read here. If you’re interested in understanding how Greg’s mind works, I highly recommend reading it - it is extremely insightful, analytical, and well-written.

5. Restrictive control of resources and activities enforced by induction of guilt, or fear of anger.

It’s no secret that Greg attempts to restrict the activities that his girlfriends are allowed to participate in. This ranges from the aforementioned control over how often they’re allowed to visit their families, to whether or not they’re allowed to have a job (a tactic reported by several of his exes and by Greg himself), to how often they’re allowed to go out with their friends, and even to what they are and are not allowed to eat.

In the following screenshot, a blog post by Shiloh months after they’d broken up, she details how he not only manipulated her into cutting off contact with her friends and family back home, but also convinced her to put her music career on hold so that they could be together all the time:

(You can read the full post here.)

He also talked Skye into quitting her job once he began making enough money off YouTube, with the reasoning that couples should be spending at least 50% of their time together. (I’m having trouble finding the screenshot for this, but it’s out there somewhere - I’ve seen it before.) Here is a similar screenshot, however:

He would also become extremely angry with Adrienne when she wanted to go out with her friends…

...and tried to manipulate her into quitting her job, moving in with him, and depending entirely on him as her source of income, all within three weeks of meeting her.

6. Gaslighting causes victim to doubt what they see or hear. Inability to trust own thoughts and reasoning.

When Lainey first broke up with Greg and was considering divorce after he cheated on her with Billie, she admitted that she had never even wanted a girlfriend to begin with, and that it had been Greg who was pressuring her into it…

…but later, when Lainey recounted her side of the story in a response video to the one that Billie released, she adamantly maintained that it was she who had wanted to experiment with her bisexuality - evidence that Greg had been gaslighting her into believing that he was not at fault, yet again, and that it was Lainey who had desired to keep bringing back Billie over and over again. The tweet posted in first part of this screenshot was taken only six months after the tweet in the second part:

In addition - despite having told Lainey that it was his decision to sleep with Billie, and despite having literally admitted in a video that he published on YouTube to Billie having repeatedly brought up her discomfort with going behind Lainey’s back in order to be intimate with Greg - he still managed to convince Lainey to doubt her own perceptions enough to the point where she now, to this day - over two years later - still considers Billie to be the homewrecker, and that it was Billie who cheated on her with Greg, not Greg who cheated on her with Billie. That is how manipulative he is.

During one of the periods in time when Greg and Lainey had broken up with Billie yet again, Lainey began talking to a new girl named Hailey (known online as Luxymoo). At first, Hailey believed that her relationship with Lainey would be exclusive; but after Greg informed her that the relationship would actually be an open polyamorous one, she realized that she was uncomfortable with the arrangement and decided to pull out. Despite the fact that she had every right to choose not to go through with it, Greg then attempted to gaslight her and invalidate her feelings:

After that I started doing research on what it meant to be in a three way relationship, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t for me. Which killed me, because all I wanted to do was be with Lainey. I wanted to try for them, but at the end of the day, I had to consider my personal feelings on the matter. I knew I couldn’t be what they wanted, because I wanted Lainey.

I told Lainey as soon as I came to that conclusion. I wanted to be honest. I didn’t want to drag it out. Lainey didn’t respond to me.. but Greg did. He said that if he were in my position, he would do whatever it takes to be with Lainey. He said that I didn’t really care about Lainey, that all I was looking for was friendship. He said that he thought my mind was broken. He said he thought I may be sexually dormant. He then would say that he thinks i’m a good person and that i’m the safer alternative. He called me a good distraction.

He wanted me to still come up. But that was a fleeting thought. He said friendship would be hard, and that I was doing everything I could to avoid a relationship with Lainey. Then he pitched the idea of me being with Lainey exclusively, while he’s with Lainey exclusively. Like we wouldn’t be doing sexual things together. I still declined because 1. he had spent so much time invalidating MY feelings on the matter, attacking my personality, pressuring me, etc. and 2. I also knew that that wasn’t what they wanted, and I told him that we would still hit that road block of me wanting exclusiveness. He had said in a previous conversation that it was like him and Lainey were on an island and I had a boat, but I wouldn’t throw them a life line because I wasn’t the right boat.

(The full conversation and screenshot can be seen here.)

He also tried to use this tactic on Maya - a girl who dated Lainey very briefly in late 2017 - in an attempt to preemptively gaslight her and discredit her, should she choose to come forward with her story about what he did to her:

Which he did, in fact, try to do later on, by attempting to accuse Maya of being a “homewrecker” for “wiggling while she was sitting on his lap” (despite not mentioning that he was the one who had placed her there, which she did not consent to, and only went along with because she felt so uncomfortable). The posts detailing her full account can be found here and here.

7. Increased emotional and psychological dependence of victim on abuser.

Greg has already succeeded in doing this with Lainey and many other girlfriends in the past, and has attempted to do this to several more. When married to Skye, Greg insisted that she not have a job outside of the home because he believes that a couple should spend most of their time together (despite later claiming that spouses who do not have a job outside the home, or at least have children, are useless). After meeting Shiloh, despite the fact that she was a celebrity in Canada at the time they met, he forced her to quit her singing career and move in with him to work for and with him full-time; to this day, over seven years later, her singing career still has not recovered. Upon breaking up with Shiloh, he dated a woman named Adrienne, who he attempted to manipulate into moving in with him within three weeks of the start of their relationship - and she almost did. And likewise, when he began dating Lainey, within a month of meeting her, he had proposed to her, rented a house in the state where she lived so that she could finish high school, and then married and impregnated her within the year, so that he could groom her and keep tabs on her until she was old enough to marry.

Lainey does not have a job, and is completely financially and psychologically dependent upon Greg for not just survival, but her very sense of identity and self-worth as a person. In fact, she is so dependent on Greg as a source of ego regulation that I wrote an entire post breaking down and analyzing my impression of Lainey’s personality matrix because I was so baffled by the extent of her psychological dependency on him. You can read it here, if you’re curious (and have a lot of spare time).

8. Punishment through anger, verbal abuse, forced isolation, character assassination, etc.

When angry with ex-girlfriend Shiloh, he pushed her into a door frame, causing her to miscarry (although some people do not believe that she was pregnant, since she and Greg had once faked a pregnancy and stillbirth):

He also forced her to shave her head bald, calling her a “whore”, “his property”, and “a good bitch”:

When Billie lied to him about smoking weed, he attempted to punish her by forcing her to dye her eyebrows green, shave off her hair (the third time he has attempted to, or succeeded in, manipulating a girlfriend to shave her hair off), get an ugly tan, be chained to his basement wall for a week wearing a sign saying “I’m sorry for lying Lainey” around her neck, and tattoo “I’m a liar” in the small of her back:

When he breaks up with exes, he also slanders and demeans their character on social media. He even does this with friends, other YouTubers, and sometimes just with people - usually women - that he doesn’t like. Including myself, by the way:

Proud moment. :’)

He made a video criticizing his ex (Adrienne) for the number of sexual partners she’s had, as well as implying that her vaginal hygiene was poor, and even made a series of videos in which he went and got himself tested for various STDs in order to imply that she was so promiscuous that she could have given him one (a video which later got deleted off YouTube when he realized how many downvotes it was getting); however, you can see her reference the video in her letter here:

When he and Skye divorced, he slandered her by calling her a thief and a liar, and continued to milk sympathy from his fans by implying that he was unfairly being forced to pay alimony, even though he agreed to the amount in the settlement, and she was rightly owed that money for her part in producing his early Onision videos.

When he broke up with Billie, he said and did several things to demean her character, including calling her a drug addict, imply that she’s “less than” for being a high school dropout who lives with her parents still, and also revealed to his entire fan base that she has an eating disorder, accused her family of being drugs addicts, and that she had been sexually assaulted and had an abortion, a secret which she had previously revealed to only a handful of close friends and family:

After Blaire White called him out for his actions, he made a video calling her so many different vile names, with such vitriolic hatred in his voice, that I actually have trouble watching it all the way through. You can really see his narcissistic rage coming out in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEVHT6No5Xc

He has exhibited this cycle over and over again with YouTuber Cyr, who he has been friends with off and on for years:

Most recently - meaning since I first wrote this post (about a year and a half ago) - he has continued in this pattern of slandering ex-girlfriends and ex-friends a further three or four times at least; and so this is the part of this sub-heading that will provide new information that was not included in my old post.

After Jaclyn Glenn began dating Richie of SocialRepose, Greg flew off the handle, making a series of insulting comments about Jaclyn’s physical appearance on Twitter and YouTube, including remarking that tall women are gross, and that had she been dating him, he never would have allowed her to get breast implants, because they’re disgusting (and she’s disgusting for having them):

Since she has broken up with Richie, Greg has now reverted to his attempts at love-bombing Jaclyn (and her friend Jessie Paege) on Twitter, hoping to reignite their friendship (and the possibility of bringing her into a new trinity with Lainey, or at least hoping that she’ll be able to give a boost to his YouTube career).

A few months ago, a close friend of both Greg and Lainey - model, actress, and member of the BDSM community Madison DeCambra - made a video with Greg about the DDlg (Daddy Dom/little girl) kink, which was received very poorly by the DDlg community. Feeling responsible for having hurt and contributed to the misrepresentation of the community that she loves so much, Madison posted a video on YouTube apologizing for any pain that her involvement in Greg’s video may have caused. Greg reacted to this by terminating their six-year-long friendship, as well as - predictably - going on a tirade of character assassinations against her on Twitter, including bringing her two-year-old daughter into it despite having previously accused anyone willing to bring a person’s children up during an argument of being trash.

These were the texts he sent to Madison, which he then posted publicly on Twitter in order to discard and defame her:

(Source)

Here is a screenshot of Madison arguing with TomatoBisquette (another former friend of Greg’s whom he has discarded, in his case for being friendly towards MrRepzion, a YouTuber who Greg hates for having called him out in the past), who had tried to make light of how upset she was when Greg posted on Twitter telling her that he was disgusted by her and never considered her a friend:

He also used the opportunity to take another pot-shot at Beck - a former fan of Greg and Lainey before she, too, was ousted from their lives - for defending Madi:

However, the worst part of this interaction is that he chose to bring Madison’s two-year-old daughter into the argument, just because he was angry with her mother. Here was Madison’s (understandably angry and hurt) response:

A recent addition to the roster of the Avaroe’s stable of ex-friends, Maya - a 19-year-old bartender who briefly dated Lainey, and who visited them for about a week over the Christmas holidays in 2017 - described Greg’s behavior towards her as being bizarrely, uncomfortably interested in probing her about her past. She felt that he was pressing her for information to use against her in the future, and described the odd, inappropriate expression of pleasure that would come across his face while he was listening to a person describe some misfortune that had befallen them:

It would take me ages to compile a list of all of the exes, friends, YouTubers, and other randoms that he’s demeaned on social media or in his videos, so instead I’m just going to provide a (probably incomplete, and still-growing) list of people whose characters he has assassinated on Twitter or YouTube:

Exes: Skye, Shiloh, Adrienne, Billie

Friends: Cyr, Andy Biersack (and his father), TomatoBisquette, Maya, Madison DeCambra, Beck, Jaclyn Glenn

YouTubers: Social Repose, Blaire White, Eugenia Cooney, Dan Howell, Keemstar, LeafyIsHere

Other: Ayallah (best friend of Billie, ex-girlfriend of Social Repose), Lainey’s family (father and sister), his own father, Luxymoo (Hailey)

9. Scouting new supply.

Before he had even divorced Skye, he moved on to Shiloh. When Shiloh left him and went back to Canada, he met Adrienne. When he broke up with Adrienne and she refused to take him back, he was texting Shiloh and Skye within 24 hours. When Skye, Shiloh, and Adrienne all refused to take him back, he then moved on to Lainey, who he had met and proposed marriage to within just a few short weeks of meeting. When he got bored of the ultimate power that he exerted over Lainey, he used her as queerbait to pull in Billie. When he and Lainey broke up with Billie - still bored with Lainey - he began auditioning new girls for a spot in his harem (Hailey/Luxymoo, Eryn, Maya, Sam, Beck). Here is a timeline of Greg’s known romantic relationships over the past fifteen years:

If Greg’s high school classmate is to be believed, however, then there are many, many women that Greg has been with that did not make this list.

And finally, here’s a funny, tongue-in-cheek chart chronicling the pattern of what happens when Greg and Lainey bring a new girl into the house:

Lainey doesn’t know it yet, but this entire cycle is going to begin repeating itself sooner or later. It’s just a matter of time. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were lowkey auditioning girls as I write this.

10. Acting as though nothing happened.

Need I say more?

#onision #laineybot #narcissism #npd #abuse #anti onision #anti o

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toldnews-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/business/can-video-consultations-combat-global-doctor-shortages/

Can video consultations combat global doctor shortages?

Image copyright Lydia Campbell-Hill

Image caption Dr Lydia Campbell-Hill says offering online consultations gave her more family time at home

Would you be happy to see your doctor online? Growing numbers of patients seem to be attracted by the convenience. And doctors are also finding it useful as health services come under pressure from growing and ageing populations.

Lydia Campbell-Hill, a 35-year-old doctor from Cornwall, England, says switching to online consultations has transformed her life.

“As a ‘part-time’ GP [general practitioner] working three days a week, I was doing 39 hours or more,” she says.

“I was solo parenting, paying vast amounts on childcare, and not seeing my child much.”

After leaving her clinic-based job and working mainly online from her lounge or kitchen, she says: “My stress levels dropped and I can fit my hours around school, even working a couple of hours in the evening after my son has gone to bed.”

Doug Sweeny, from US primary care provider One Medical, says giving doctors the flexibility to work remotely greatly improves their quality of life.

“The virtual team, they may have kids at home, they may be in places like Hawaii,” he says.

“It works brilliantly, it actually helps if you need a flexible schedule or are in an area [where] we don’t have bricks and mortar.”

Quality of life is one thing, but telemedicine is also about hard-headed economics.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption A growing number of patients enjoy the convenience of online consultations at home

“A significant portion of the patients doctors see daily are quick follow-ups of well-managed, long-term conditions, lab results, or script renewals,” says Oyuka Byambasuren, a Mongolian GP researching technology and healthcare delivery, “and these can be addressed through teleconsultations.”

It is a point echoed by Luke Buhl-Nielsen, from Swedish telemedicine app KRY (which uses the name LIVI outside Scandinavia).

“In Sweden, up to 45% of the volume that comes into general practice can be dealt with digitally,” he says.

And virtual visits are roughly two-thirds cheaper to provide than in-person visits, research suggests.

Doctor shortages is a growing problem around the world.

The US could have up to 50,000 fewer than it needs by 2030, research firm IHS Markit believes. In Asia, the doctor shortage is fuelling the rapid rise of telehealth apps such as Halodoc, Doctor Anywhere, and Ping An Good Doctor.

Private equity firms and venture capitalists are piling in to the sector, investing billions, as healthcare providers respond to the app-savvy, more consumer-focused generations.

Nearly two-fifths of Americans aged 22-38 now seek routine medical services virtually these days, says a digital health survey from consultancy firm Accenture.

And this generation demands more convenient appointment times and a better service than that enjoyed by their elders.

“People are wanting to receive healthcare with the simplicity and convenience they receive in other services in their life,” says Brian Kalis, Accenture’s head of digital health services.

The number of virtual visits to the doctor in the US will reach 105 million by 2022, up from 23 million in 2017, says IHS Markit.

Image copyright Celina Schocken

Image caption Celina Schocken is a fan of online consultations with her doctor

Celina Schocken has gone to the doctor virtually for a year.

“You go to the app and request a consult, and then it assigns you to a nurse or doctor, they open your electronic chart, and it feels like a FaceTime session,” she says.

Ms Schocken, a 46-year-old consultant in Washington DC who works on women’s health in developing countries, says she enjoys not having to waste time in waiting rooms running the risk of catching flu from other patients.

The service costs $200 (£154; €176) a year to join and online consultations are free. But in-person visits and other services are extra.

“It is really clean and efficient, and I love it,” she says.

Telemedicine has particularly taken off in Nordic countries, and is popular with women in Turkey, where birth control is coming under attack, according to analytics firm App Annie.

Image caption In-person visits to the doctor cost clinics about three times as much as online visits

Employers are also cottoning on to the benefits of telemedicine as a workplace perk. In the US, retail chain Walmart is offering employees doctor’s appointments for $4 if they use a telemedicine service.

“Employers are very sensibly appreciating that booking a meeting room for a 15-minute Skype consult is more productive than missing maybe an entire day to attend a GP appointment,” says Dr Campbell-Hill.

But there are challenges integrating telemedicine into healthcare systems, like Britain’s or Canada’s, that are paid for primarily from taxation.

In the UK, for example, National Health Service GP surgeries receive a fixed amount of money for each patient on their books.

The patients with easily treatable conditions effectively subsidise those with more complex conditions who require more care and attention.

So the concern is that telemedicine services could simply “cherry pick” the younger, healthier patients, leaving bricks-and-mortar surgeries with less money to treat those patients who are more expensive to treat, warns Dr Campbell-Hill.

More Technology of Business

And while chatbot-based health apps, such as Babylon, are also proving useful for initial triage or assessment of simple patient conditions, there are some concerns about how accurate the artificial intelligence (AI) underlying such chatbots really is.

Dr Annette Neary, a former NHS consultant now based in Galway, Ireland, says: “Chatbot algorithms frequently ask overly broad questions and often come up with bizarre diagnosis options.”

For example, she recently input symptoms of a man having a heart attack, and the AI came up with “panic attack” as a diagnosis.

“Another one for sepsis came up with gonorrhoea,” she says.

So while many doctors think you can’t beat a face-to-face consultation, there are plenty of benefits if that face is on a smartphone or computer screen.

Follow Technology of Business editor Matthew Wall on Twitter and Facebook

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signalfanclub · 4 years

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Locking down Signal Concerned about the privacy and security of your communications? Follow our guide to locking down Signal.

The encrypted messaging app, Signal, is quickly becoming a newsroom staple for communicating with sources, accepting tips, talking to colleagues, and for regular old voice calls and messages. While it’s a practical tool for anyone concerned with the security and privacy of their conversations, people working in newsrooms are particularly interesting targets, and should benefit from locking down Signal.

(If you’re not yet using it, learn how to get started here.)

Signal makes it easy to have a secure conversation without thinking about it. On its face, it looks and feels identical to your default text messaging app, but security experts so often recommend it because of what it does in the background.

First, Signal offers end-to-end encryption, meaning only conversational participants can read the messages. While regular phone calls or text messages allow your phone company to unscramble your conversations, even the team behind Signal can’t listen to them. You don’t need to take their word for it. Signal is open source, meaning the code is available for anyone to review. This also makes security audits simpler for independent specialists, who have torn apart the code and published findings that everything works as intended. Finally, Signal retains nearly no metadata — information about who spoke to whom, and when. (The developers proved as much in court.)

These are some of the advantages you want in an encrypted messaging app.

Because newsrooms can attract a lot of attention, journalists who already use Signal should consider hardening it against physical access, as well as unwanted remote access and network-based eavesdropping. So let’s talk about how.

Remote access and network eavesdropping

Confirm your connection security with safety numbers

Most messaging apps will not allow you to ensure the security of your connection with your conversational partners. But Signal allows you to verify that your session is encrypted to the right person (and not an eavesdropping third party).

First, open up a conversation with someone you want to talk to. Next, look for their “safety numbers.” These numbers represent the connection between your device and your conversational partner’s device.

iPhone users: Click your partner’s name (at the top of the screen) > View Safety Number Android users: Click Settings (the “three-dot” menu) > Conversation settings > Verify safety numbers

You’ll see a your safety numbers and a QR code, representing the numbers.

If you and your conversational partner see the same numbers, your session is secure. You should verify your safety numbers over a different channel where you feel confident you’re talking to the right person, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Google Hangouts. If possible, exchange safety numbers in person.

If you and your contact are together in person, one of you can click “Scan code” on the safety number screen. Now, scan the other person’s QR code with your camera.

If you see a mismatch, something is definitely wrong and you shouldn’t talk over this channel. But chances are, your safety numbers will match. If everything looks good, mark your partner as “Verified.”

You won’t need to verify safety numbers again until someone resets the session. For example, when you begin using Signal from a new phone, you will get new safety numbers.

You’ll receive a notification if your safety numbers with a partner have changed. If this happens, use another channel to verify that the session is secured before you continue communicating sensitive information.

Using secondary Signal numbers

Signal treats your phone number like a “username.” But what if you don’t want to share your phone number? Journalists often want to use Signal to chat with sources, but may not want to use a personal phone number.

The good news: as long as no one else has registered it, we can register Signal with any phone number we have access to.

For those in the United States, the easiest way to set up a secondary number is with Google Voice. (Your Signal messages go over Signal servers, not Google servers.) First, go to voice.google.com and log in with a Google account.

Signal registration message received in Google Voice. Source: OpenNews

From here, add a phone number you can use for verification. You’ll receive a text message with a verification code. Enter your verification code into Google Voice to complete your registration.

Now, register on Signal using this new phone number. You will receive a Signal registration code in your new Google Voice inbox.

In most countries you can use a secondary SIM card to create another number. Read this post by Jillian York of the Electronic Frontier Foundation to learn more. You can also use an online service called Twilio to create a number for as little as $1 each month. Learn how here.

Registration lock

Whether it’s your regular phone number or a secondary number, you’ll need to maintain access to this number. Why? If you lose access to the number and someone else re-registers it, now they own the Signal number.

You can lock in the registration for you Signal number, using Registration Lock.

iPhone users: Click Settings > Privacy > Registration Lock > Enabled Android users: Click Settings > Privacy > Registration Lock > Enabled

Enter your preferred PIN. This PIN will prevent your number from being re-registered from a different device, so write it down or keep it somewhere safe. This might be a physically hidden notebook, or password management software. Signal will occasionally nudge you with a prompt to re-enter your PIN to ensure you still remember it.

iOS users: Keep your Signal history off iCloud

Signal allows you to see your call history from your regular phone app. This might be convenient, but will also allow your iPhone to sync this call history with iCloud, including who spoke to whom, when, and the call length.

If you use iCloud and you don’t want to share call history on Signal, confirm it’s turned off here: Settings > Privacy > Show Calls in Recents > Disabled.

Why you want disappearing messages

While Signal lets you delete individual messages, these messages will only be deleted on your device, and are still accessible by anyone else in your conversation. Instead, using Signal’s “disappearing messages” feature allows us to remove messages from a conversation automatically, after whatever amount of time we choose. This is particularly important for journalists concerned about messages on a source’s phone.

To turn on disappearing messages, first open a conversation.

iPhone users: Click on your partner's name at the top of the screen to open the settings menu for this conversation. Click "Disappearing Messages."

Android users: Click the settings (three-dot) icon in the top right corner. Click "Disappearing Messages."

Move the slider to set the amount of time you'd like to keep the messages, between five seconds to one week. This works both for one-on-one conversations and group chats.

Device security

The weak points in end-to-end encrypted conversations are the “ends”— the physical devices where the messages arrive in human-readable text.

There are a few things we can do to lock down our devices.

Password protect your device

Encryption won’t help with someone who gets access to your unlocked phone, so you’ll want to password protect your device. Exit Signal and turn on a passcode.

iPhone users: Settings app > Touch ID & Passcode Android users: Settings app > Security > Screen lock

Consider turning on screen security

Unlocking your phone also means decrypting your messages. You can require one additional step to re-enter your password (or method of choice) before unlocking Signal.

Why might you want to do this?

It doesn’t happen every day, but unlocked phones are stolen in plain sight — while walking down the street, or on the train. Likewise, maybe you allow your son or daughter to entertain themselves on your phone, but you don’t want them to see the bizarre photos from your source.

iPhone users: Click Settings > Privacy > Screen Lock Android users: Click Settings > Privacy > Screen Lock

Note that this wouldn’t be very helpful in a situation where someone compelled you to unlock your device once (e.g., at an airport). If they can have you enter your password at the operating system lock screen, there’s nothing to stop them from asking for it a second time at the Signal lock screen.

Turn on disk encryption

If your phone is ever lost, stolen, or seized, it’s possible to copy and read any data on the device, including your encrypted messages. The good news: You can easily protect your device with disk encryption.

If you use a modern iPhone, congratulations! Your device is already encrypted.

Many modern Android devices are encrypted by default (e.g., Pixel devices, some phones in the Nexus and Samsung Galaxy lines). Check your Android system settings for disk encryption to make sure disk encryption is enabled. If not, setting up disk encryption is easy.

Screen security

Seeing a preview of an app in your app switcher is convenient, but if someone were standing over your shoulder, they’d be able to see your messages just fine. Signal gives you options to prevent a preview from being shown, unless you explicitly open the app.

iPhone users: Click Settings > Privacy > Screen Security Android users: Click Settings > Privacy > Screen Security

Notification privacy

Even when your phone is locked with a password, anyone who picks it up can still read the message and sender name from your lock screen.

iPhone users: Settings > Notifications > Show. To receive notifications with no information about the sender or the content of your messages, turn on “No Name or Content.”

Android users: Settings > Device > Sound & notification > When device is locked. To receive notifications with no information about the sender or content, click “Hide sensitive information content.”

Updates and defending against malware

We can’t be sure our messages are safe if your device or your partner’s device has malware. For example, many types of malware are designed to send screenshots of your messages, or recordings of conversations to a remote hacker. The single best thing you can do is stay on top of your software updates. Software updates usually include security patches for holes in your software, both for your operating system, Signal, and any other apps you have on your phone.

The temptation to delay security updates is real, but updates are among the most powerful defenses we have. We can make it much harder for an attacker to break in by simply updating as soon as possible.

Safest choice: Only use your mobile device

As we think about how to defend against malware and keep our devices updated, it’s important to understand where we choose to put our Signal messages. Signal offers a desktop application, but it’s safer to keep your messages only on your mobile device.

While your desktop device typically allows applications to talk to one another, ordinary Android or iOS devices deliberately isolate apps. These mobile operating systems require strict permissions for the data apps can access, and when. Compared to a desktop machine, this means malicious apps have a significantly more difficult time compromising your data on an updated mobile device.

Know the limits of end-to-end encryption

Now that you’ve locked down your device, it’s important to know that Signal is closely tied to your device and no one else’s. This is generally a good thing; you don’t want other people to be able to easily recover your Signal number or messages. But if you lose your device or purchase a new one, this might create short-term problems.

For example, only using Signal on your mobile device is a security win, but means you really need to avoid losing the phone. Likewise, the “registration lock” feature prevents others from taking your Signal number, but it would also prevent you from being able to re-register your number.

One reason we like Signal is that it does not hold onto metadata—information about who spoke to whom, when, and for how long. But it’s also not designed to protect against live metadata surveillance, so it doesn’t protect your identity. Likewise, it can’t protect the identity of anyone else you talk to.

We’ve spoken about the many ways our messages can be compromised, and what you can do to be safer. But even if you’re practicing great security hygiene, if your conversational partner isn’t also being careful, they can put your messages at greater risk. Encourage others in need to lock down their Signal as well.

For news organizations looking for more hands-on assistance with encrypted messaging tools and practices, please contact us about our training options. If Signal is a service you value, consider donating to support their work.

#Signal #Signal Private Messenger #Signal Best App

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newssplashy · 6 years

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Finance: Every bizarre thing that has happened since Elon Musk sent his 'funding secured' tweet about taking Tesla private (TSLA)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has attracted controversy for his statements about taking the company private. Questions have persisted about the amount of funding Musk had secured when he first suggested he had the backing necessary to convert Tesla into a private company, barring a shareholder vote.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has attracted controversy for his statements about taking Tesla private.

Questions have persisted about the amount of funding Musk had secured when he first suggested he had the backing necessary to convert Tesla into a private company, barring a shareholder vote.

The SEC has reportedly asked Tesla about statements made by Musk and the company.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shocked observers when he said on August 7 that he was thinking about taking the company private. Since then, Musk's comments have captivated Wall Street, drawn the attention of regulators, and raised questions about how close the company is to locking down the financing necessary to leave the public markets.

Here's what you need to know to get caught up:

November 15, 2017: Elon Musk says in a Rolling Stones interview that he wishes Tesla was a private company.

"I wish we could be private with Tesla," Musk said in the interview. "It actually makes us less efficient to be a public company."

July 31, 2018: Musk claims he met with the managing director of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Musk claimed in a statement published on Tesla's website on Monday that he had a meeting with the managing director of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund on July 31.

During this meeting, Musk claimed the director "expressed regret that I had not moved forward previously on a going private transaction with them, and he strongly expressed his support for funding a going private transaction for Tesla at this time. I understood from him that no other decision makers were needed and that they were eager to proceed."

"I left the July 31st meeting with no question that a deal with the Saudi sovereign fund could be closed, and that it was just a matter of getting the process moving," Musk said.

The Saudi sovereign fund did not respond to a request for comment.

August 1, 2018: Tesla reports second-quarter earnings amid fear the company is running out of cash.

Tesla reported an adjusted loss per share of $3.06 for the second quarter, which was larger than what analysts had predicted, and revenue of $4 billion, which beat analyst projections. Its cash burn, $739.5 million, was lower than analysts expected. The company said it expected to be profitable during the second half of 2018.

"Going forward, we believe Tesla can achieve sustained quarterly profits, absent a severe force majeure or economic downturn, while continuing to grow at a rapid pace," the company said.

During the company's earnings call, Musk apologized to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Antonio Sacconaghi. During Tesla's first-quarter earnings call in May, Musk had referred to Sacconaghi's questions as "boring" and "boneheaded."

"I'd like to apologize for being impolite on the prior call. Honestly, I really think there's no excuse for bad manners, and I was kind of violating my own rule in that regard. There are reasons for it in that I had gotten no sleep, had been working 110-hour, 120-hour weeks, but nonetheless, there's still no excuse," Musk said during the second-quarter earnings call.

August 2, 2018: Musk claims he told Tesla's board he wanted to take the company private at $420 per share.

In his August 13 statement, Musk said that after first telling the board about his desire to take Tesla private, the board's outside directors met without him. Musk said he later met with them again to talk about the discussions he'd had about financing a go-private deal.

August 7, 2018: Elon Musk sends "funding secured" tweet.

"Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured," Musk first said via Twitter before issuing a formal statement on the company's website.

Musk said in the statement that a shareholder vote must be held before a final decision is made. But he said in a tweet that investor support was confirmed.

Taking the company private is "the best path forward," Musk said in the statement. He said the pressures of being a public company create distractions and promote short-term thinking that may not produce the best decisions in the long term.

Musk's statements raised questions about the certainty of funding he referenced and where exactly that funding would come from.

August 7, 2018: Stock jumps as high as 12%, closing at $379.57.

Tesla's share price surged after Musk's "funding secured" tweet, rising by as much as 12%, to over $381, before settling at $379.57 when trading closed on August 7.

August 8, 2018: Tesla's board posts a brief statement about Musk's desire to take Tesla private.

Tesla board members Brad Buss, Robyn Denholm, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Linda Johnson Rice, and James Murdoch said in a statement on August 8 that Musk had begun a discussion with them about going private the week prior. They said they had met multiple times since.

August 8, 2018: SEC reportedly makes inquiries into Tesla regarding Elon Musk's "funding secured" tweet.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC had made an inquiry into Tesla about whether one of Musk's tweets regarding the possibility of taking the company private was truthful.

According to the publication, the SEC was also looking into why Musk's first statement about the potential of taking Tesla private was made on Twitter instead of in a regulatory filing. The agency also asked the company whether it believed Musk's tweet followed SEC rules about protecting investors, The Journal reported.

August 9, 2018: News breaks of the board reportedly asking Musk to recuse himself as it explores the possibility of going private.

CNBC reported that the board planned to meet with financial advisors to determine how it would explore the idea of converting Tesla into a private company and had told Musk that he must consult a separate, personal set of advisors.

August 10, 2018: Reports emerge that Tesla is in early discussions about funding to go private.

On August 10, Bloomberg reported that Tesla had begun discussions with some potential investors and was talking with banks about whether it would be able to make a deal and what that deal would look like, but it hadn't yet hired a bank to formally assist in the process.

August 10, 2018: Two lawsuits filed against Musk and Tesla allege securities fraud.

Two Tesla investors filed separate lawsuits accusing Musk of misleading investors and manipulating the company's stock price with his statements about taking the company private.

August 13, 2018: On Monday morning, Musk reveals new details about why he sent "funding secured" tweet.

In a blog post on Monday, Musk said he used the phrase "funding secured" because he believed after a July 31 meeting with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund's managing director that there was "no question" the fund would provide backing for a deal to convert Tesla into a private company.

He made the announcement via Twitter, he said, because he wanted all Tesla investors to know about the possibility of Tesla going private at the same time.

August 13, 2018: Azealia Banks says she was at Musk's house during the prior weekend and that he was "scrounging for investors."

Banks told Business Insider that Musk seemed concerned about getting financing for a potential go-private deal while she was at one of his homes in Los Angeles.

A representative for Musk said he had never met or communicated with Banks, but did not deny that Banks had stayed at one of his homes during the time period Banks specified.

Tesla declined a request for comment on Banks' claims regarding Musk's efforts to find investors.

August 13, 2018: Musk tweets in the evening that he is working with Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake as financial advisors on a proposal to take Take private.

"I'm excited to work with Silver Lake and Goldman Sachs as financial advisors, plus Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Munger, Tolles & Olson as legal advisors, on the proposal to take Tesla private," he said.

August 13, 2018: The New York Times reports that some members of the board were blindsided by his 'funding secured' tweet.

The New York Times reported on Monday that Musk's "funding secured" tweet surprised the board, which it said had not approved the tweet. According to The Times, Musk told an informal adviser he sent the tweet because he had difficulty keeping information to himself and was frustrated with the company's critics.

August 13, 2018: Tesla hit with another securities fraud lawsuit.

A complaint filed on Monday in US District Court in California alleges that some investors purchased Tesla stock "at artificially inflated prices and suffered significant losses and damages once the truth emerged" that Musk had not secured the funding necessary to convert Tesla into a private company for $420 per share when he sent his "funding secured" tweet.

August 14, 2018: Tesla board forms a special committee to review a plan to take Tesla private.

Three independent board members — Brad Buss, Robyn Denholm, and Linda Johnson Rice — will sit on the special committee. Musk will need the committee's approval before a deal to take Tesla private can be approved.

August 14, 2018: A fourth lawsuit is filed against Tesla.

Jalopnik reported on Wednesday that a fourth lawsuit had been filed against Tesla, alleging securities fraud.

According to the US District Court in California's website, the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday.

August 15, 2018: SEC reportedly subpoenas Tesla.

Fox Business reported on Wednesday that the SEC had sent subpoenas to Tesla concerning the company's plans to explore going private and Musk's statements about the process.

Fox Business reporter Charles Gasparino said on Twitter that sources suggested the agency was moving into a formal investigation of Tesla. Gasparino also said that SEC officials had concerns about how the agency's investigation could affect Tesla's ability to go private.

August 15, 2018: Goldman Sachs officially signs on to advise Musk on his plans to take Tesla private.

Goldman Sachs said it would be "acting as a financial advisor in connection with a matter that is fundamental to the reasonable analysis of the rating and price target for the stock."

The firm also said it was suspending research coverage of Tesla.

August 16, 2018: The Wall Street Journal reports that the SEC is investigating whether Musk was trying to hurt short sellers with his "funding secured" tweet.

The Wall Street Journal reported the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk was attempting to hurt the company's short-sellers when he tweeted about taking the company private.

According to the report, the agency was asking Tesla's board of directors what Musk told them before he tweeted that he had secured the funding to convert Tesla into a private company, were the proposal to pass a shareholder vote.

August 17, 2018: The New York Times publishes a revealing Elon Musk interview. He told the Times he does not regret his "funding secured" tweet and said that he planned to stay on as CEO of the company.

Musk said in the New York Times interview that this has been "the most difficult and painful year" of his career.

He also said he had no plans as stepping down as chairman and CEO, but that if someone thinks they can do the job better, they "can have the reins right now."

And despite the fact that Musk's "funding secured" tweet could end up costing both him and the company, he said he did not regret it.

August 17, 2018: Tesla short-sellers reportedly make around $1 billion.

Following Musk's New York Times interview, Tesla's share price dropped almost 9% when trading closed on August 17, and it fell nearly 1% more during after-hours trading. Tesla short-sellers made around $1 billion that day, The Times reported, citing data from the analytics firm S3 partners.

August 19, 2018: Musk defends his work habits.

In response to Musk's comments to The New York Times about working up to 120 hours per week, Arianna Huffington wrote that Musk's work habits were unhealthy and unproductive in a post on Thrive Global that was published on August 17.

"You've come up against incredible challenges, and you've met them by being ever more rigorous and determined about applying the latest science. But at the same time, you're demonstrating a wildly outdated, anti-scientific and horribly inefficient way of using human energy. It's like trying to launch us into our clean energy future (or into space) with a coal-fired steam engine. It just won't work," she wrote.

Musk responded to her via Twitter early in the morning on August 19, suggesting that he had no choice but to work long hours.

"Ford & Tesla are the only 2 American car companies to avoid bankruptcy. I just got home from the factory. You think this is an option. It is not," he said.

August 21, 2018: Morgan Stanley halts coverage of Tesla.

Morgan Stanley halted its research coverage of Tesla on August 21, a move that indicates it may be working with Tesla in some capacity as the company explores the possibility of going private. Last week, Goldman Sachs stopped covering Tesla, saying it was "acting as a financial advisor in connection with a matter that is fundamental to the reasonable analysis of the rating and price target for the stock."

August 24, 2018: Elon Musk announces Tesla will remain a public company.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced August 24 that Tesla will remain a public company.

This concludes what had been weeks of speculation and hand-wringing around the go-private proposal Musk first revealed in a tweet on August 7.

In a blog post published on Tesla's website, Musk said discussions with existing shareholders and financial advisors revealed there was little appetite for such a move.

"After considering all of these factors, I met with Tesla’s Board of Directors yesterday and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree," Musk wrote.

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/finance-every-bizarre-thing-that-has.html

#News

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lindyhunt · 6 years

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Was It Wrong for a Movie-Goer to Live Tweet Greta Gerwig’s I Feel Pretty Reaction?

Despite stirring some early-onset outrage, since its release, Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty has mostly been met with positive reviews. Oprah adored the movie, saying she walked out of the theatre “feeling the definition of empowered.” Jessica Chastain endorsed the film with an Instagram post, encouraging her followers to check it out. Even Bill Maher publicly praised it! (Or rather, he slams on the “idiots” who hated on it. Same thing, right?)

But not every industry celeb is a fan of the self-love romcom. How do we know this? Because when Greta Gerwig attended an afternoon screening of I Feel Pretty on Wednesday, a fellow movie goer took it upon herself to live-tweet the Lady Bird director’s reaction—and it wasn’t all laughs. In a now viral thread, Twitter user Jaye Hunt narrates the experience of sitting behind the Oscar-nominated filmmaker and her friends in a New York theatre. It all starts with an extra-large fountain pop, and the oh-so-entertaining commentary only picks up from there. Here are a few of the highlights:

um I’m in a movie theater about to see I feel pretty alone and greta gerwig just walked in and sat down in front of me

— i just wanted to see aidy bryant’s new movie (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

full gasp from greta when emily ratajowski appeared. she’s a fan!

— i just wanted to see aidy bryant’s new movie (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

JDDNALJDSLSOXNSLSOSJSLDODJALAOS SHE JUST LOUDLY POINTED OUT A PLOT HOLE AND SOMEONE SHUSHED HER

— i just wanted to see aidy bryant’s new movie (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

“I hate this” – full volume during a heterosexual love scene. honestly greta? same

— i just wanted to see aidy bryant’s new movie (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

FULL VOLUME AT THE QUIETEST MOMENT OF THE CLIMAX OF THE MOVIE: “THIS MOVIE IS IN. COMP. RE. HENSIBLE.”

— i just wanted to see aidy bryant’s new movie (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

the movie ended and she said “aidy bryant was wasted in that!” HARD AGREE

— i just wanted to see aidy bryant’s new movie (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

Is it an epic thread? Yes. Are there people upset over it? Of course. No one really cares that Gerwig hates the film—but A LOT of people seem to care that she, a filmmaker, loudly bashed another film in a public space.

Greta Gerwig allegedly bashed I FEEL PRETTY loudly in a theater. I would expect a director to have more respect for audience and filmmakers. https://t.co/bEP0p82QQK

— David Lawrance (@davidlawrance) May 10, 2018

No one likes a Tommy Talker! And apparently, no one likes the person who exposes the Tommy Talker on Twitter either. Because even when a public person shouts her opinions in a public place, the Internet gets upset that these opinions are publicly shared. The big debate here isn’t Gerwig’s behaviour; it’s the amount of privacy famous people deserve.

This… really sucks? People, even public figures, deserve to exist without their actions being liveblogged. https://t.co/MeOrSEhI2O

— Daniel D'Addario (@DPD_) May 10, 2018

So who’s in the wrong? Is it Gerwig, the acclaimed filmmaker who allegedly disrupted and disrespected the film going experience? Is it Hunt, the live-tweeter, who came across a celeb in the wild and shared the shocking encounter with her followers? Speaking loudly in a movie isn’t cool—but neither is typing on your phone throughout the entire thing.

Busy Philipps, I Feel Pretty star, weighed in on the case in her Instagram story Thursday.

“Guys did you see this woman that like live-tweeted Greta watching I Feel Pretty?” Philipps asks the Internet. “I mean she’s pretty f–king mean about the movie, but that’s not my issue necessarily…I mean that does suck especially because Greta’s our friend.”

The thing that “struck” her the most is that we might be at this point where “we’re just like everybody exists for my own personal LOLs.”

“It just bummed me out on such a deeply personal level for a few reasons,” she spoke into her phone to her social media following. “It’s just the idea that if you are in the public eye in whatever capacity that you just sort of are giving up your autonomy and your privacy, anywhere, that you can’t go to a movie theatre.”

Philips ended by calling the entire situation “complicated”—which it definitely is. One one hand, this Tweeter probably didn’t think that the star spotting messages she sent out to her 2,000 followers would attract mass media attention. She fan girled over a celeb she admires, and she got carried away sharing the experience with her social circle. (Who among us wouldn’t humble brag online about this bizarre encounter?! Heck, I post an Instagram story every time I come within meters of a C-List celeb.)

And on the other hand, how do we even know this story is real? In our click-bait culture, perhaps we’re too quick to take these unverified interpretations of Gerwig’s reaction to I Feel Pretty as truth—simply because they make for a great story. Maybe Gerwig loved the movie, or maybe, she hasn’t even seen it yet.

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repwincostl4m0a2 · 7 years

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Alex Jones Shows A Sensitive Side On The Witness Stand

AUSTIN, Texas ― Critics deride Infowars provocateur Alex Jones as a vitriolic conspiracy theorist with an odd penchant for disrobing when he’s on air. But when he took the witness stand here on Wednesday, he was a calm, concerned parent with his shirt tightly buttoned.

The jury heard the cult radio star’s gravely voice for the first time in a child custody trial that attracted national media attention after his lawyers described his angry on-air persona as little more than “political satire.”

That argument, repeated multiple times in the courtroom, appeared to undermine his image as a bombastic flamethrower known for loudly peddling baseless conspiracies that sometimes make their way onto the Twitter feed of President Donald Trump. But it helps defend him against accusations from attorneys for his ex-wife Kelly that his venom-fueled tirades discredit him as a father.

It remains unclear whether the antics he’s known for on the radio will impact the jury’s view of his parenting. In questioning from Randall Wilhite, one of his lawyers, Jones recited all his children’s hobbies and described their performance in school and family life while joyful pictures of him and his children flashed from a projector. The images featured them rambling along the city’s hike-and-bike trail, making Christmas decorations and trekking atop Enchanted Rock, a nearby state park.

He described his son as more handsome and talented than himself, his daughters more intelligent and artistic. “All three of my children are the next level,” Jones said. “It’s a real blessing from God.”

Lawyers for his ex-wife have argued that bringing his teenage son on air for Infowars segments amounts to indoctrination into what they describe as an offensive and spiteful ideology that has already led to death threats against the son.

But Jones said his son pitched his own stories focusing on “PG-style topics,” like whether private space exploration is superior to government-run efforts, or the importance of not littering on the Greenbelt, a public hiking space that runs through the city of Austin, Texas. The young man only participates out of his own interest, Jones said.

“He’s done some great reports for us,” Jones said of his son. “That’s what he wants. He’s always saying it’s what he wants to do professionally.”

Jones confirmed the death threats and said he’s reported them to police, who he said told him he didn’t have a reason to fear for his kids. The children are protected by some of the same the security personnel who have defended former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former President George W. Bush, Jones said. He has held primary custody of the three children for the last 30 months.

Opposing lawyers lobbed accusations at Jones Wednesday ranging from attacks on his parenting to bizarre episodes that perhaps cast more doubt on his character and composure than his fathering skills.

The case manager who handled the custody issues during his divorce, Dr. Alissa Sherry, said a therapist diagnosed him with narcissistic personality disorder, a difficult condition to treat that can impact his sense of empathy. He initially declined treatment, but eventually sought therapy, she said.

Bobby Newman, an attorney for Kelly Jones, insinuated that an episode in which Alex Jones allegedly yelled at his daughter to remove a boot to protect her foot after a fracture amounted to negligence. Alex Jones’ aggressive insistence that the fracture was small enough to walk on with regular shoes contradicted the doctor’s orders, but Sherry denied that it amounted to negligence.

Sherry confirmed that in one instance during a therapy session with his children present, Alex Jones took his shirt off for unexplained reasons. Newman asked how many times she’d seen that happen in her professional career.

“I suppose just once,” Sherry said. “I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session.”

Sherry appeared to offer a much harsher assessment of Kelly Jones. The Austin psychologist described the children’s mother as suffering instances of “emotional dysregulation” ― an inability to control the intensity of her emotions. Sherry said that ailment had led her to recommend less frequent contact with the children until she had brought herself under control through therapy.

I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session. Psychologist Alissa Sherry, describing the time radio host Alex Jones took his shirt off during a family therapy session

Lawyers for Alex Jones rolled a roughly 40-minute video of an interview with her personal therapist in depositions that reflected her assessment. The therapist said Kelly Jones distrusted the case manager, and eventually went on to view him with suspicion and threatened to challenge his professional license. Robert Hoffman, an attorney for Kelly Jones, said they may call her former therapist as a witness in the trial.

While Alex Jones’ initial appearance as a witness Wednesday seemed to bode well for his trial, he’s struggled to reconcile his new public image as a sensitive family man with his professional persona as an enraged conservative who does things such as flippantly and baselessly questioning the paternity of former President Barack Obama’s children.

In seeming disregard of a gag order preventing him from discussing the trial outside the courtroom, he posted a video on Infowars Tuesday accusing the media of maligning him as a disingenuous performance artist ― a characterization based on the description provided in court by own his legal team.

“What? I didn’t say that,” Jones says in the video. “And they show an image like I’m being arrested like they always do.”

“This is the type of deception that’s going on,” he added. “They play these semantical lawyer games, ladies and gentlemen. It’s ridiculous. We’re defending the Republic. We’re defending the border. We’re defending the Second Amendment. They don’t like us because we are able to get a talking point out that’s true, and the system wants a monopoly of control over news and the information. That’s why they lie and say we’re fake news.”

Attorneys for Kelly Jones attempted to raise the issue of the gag order in the courtroom Tuesday morning, but the judge cut them short, asking lawyers for both sides to approach the bench. They spoke in hushed tones, but one of Kelly Jones’ lawyers spoke loudly enough to make it clear that he intended to censure the radio show host for Tuesday’s video segment.

A gag order is perhaps a cruel fate for a man who’s made a profession out of shouting outrageous things at inappropriate times. But even without uttering a word, Alex Jones managed to get under the skin of his ex-wife’s lawyers. While conferring with the judge and opposing counsel, Hoffman pointed a finger at Jones, suddenly raising his voice to say: “He shakes his head and glares at me!” Hoffman repeated the outburst a moment later. “And again he’s shaking his head and smirking at me!” he said, once again pointing a finger at Jones.

Travis County Judge Orlinda Naranjo had told Jones twice on Tuesday to refrain from gesturing or risk getting tossed out of the courtroom. He was admonished a third time after Hoffman’s remarks.

Naranjo declined to discuss the gag order issue in open court. But during the jury’s lunch break, she invited the lawyers into her chambers, away from the ears of the press. When she returned, she told members of the media to shut off all electronic devices and stop live-tweeting the court’s proceedings, which she had tolerated until then but is unusual in many courts.

“You’re not to use the social media,” Naranjo told the court again, as the day’s proceedings ended.

On Thursday, Alex Jones faces cross-examination.

Igor Bobic contributed reporting.

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grgedoors02142 · 7 years

Text

Alex Jones Shows A Sensitive Side On The Witness Stand

“He’s done some great reports for us,” Jones said of his son. “That’s what he wants. He’s always saying it’s what he wants to do professionally.”

Opposing lawyers lobbed accusations at Jones Wednesday ranging from attacks on his parenting to bizarre episodes that perhaps cast more doubt on his character and composure than his fathering skills.

“I suppose just once,” Sherry said. “I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session.”

“What? I didn’t say that,” Jones says in the video. “And they show an image like I’m being arrested like they always do.”

Travis County Judge Orlinda Naranjo had told Jones twice on Tuesday to refrain from gesturing or risk getting tossed out of the courtroom. He was admonished a third time after Hoffman’s remarks.

“You’re not to use the social media,” Naranjo told the court again, as the day’s proceedings ended.

On Thursday, Alex Jones faces cross-examination.

Igor Bobic contributed reporting.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pEEZji

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exfrenchdorsl4p0a1 · 7 years

Text

Alex Jones Shows A Sensitive Side On The Witness Stand

“He’s done some great reports for us,” Jones said of his son. “That’s what he wants. He’s always saying it’s what he wants to do professionally.”

Opposing lawyers lobbed accusations at Jones Wednesday ranging from attacks on his parenting to bizarre episodes that perhaps cast more doubt on his character and composure than his fathering skills.

“I suppose just once,” Sherry said. “I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session.”

“What? I didn’t say that,” Jones says in the video. “And they show an image like I’m being arrested like they always do.”

Travis County Judge Orlinda Naranjo had told Jones twice on Tuesday to refrain from gesturing or risk getting tossed out of the courtroom. He was admonished a third time after Hoffman’s remarks.

“You’re not to use the social media,” Naranjo told the court again, as the day’s proceedings ended.

On Thursday, Alex Jones faces cross-examination.

Igor Bobic contributed reporting.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pEEZji

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repwinpril9y0a1 · 7 years

Text

Alex Jones Shows A Sensitive Side On The Witness Stand

“He’s done some great reports for us,” Jones said of his son. “That’s what he wants. He’s always saying it’s what he wants to do professionally.”

Opposing lawyers lobbed accusations at Jones Wednesday ranging from attacks on his parenting to bizarre episodes that perhaps cast more doubt on his character and composure than his fathering skills.

“I suppose just once,” Sherry said. “I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session.”

“What? I didn’t say that,” Jones says in the video. “And they show an image like I’m being arrested like they always do.”

Travis County Judge Orlinda Naranjo had told Jones twice on Tuesday to refrain from gesturing or risk getting tossed out of the courtroom. He was admonished a third time after Hoffman’s remarks.

“You’re not to use the social media,” Naranjo told the court again, as the day’s proceedings ended.

On Thursday, Alex Jones faces cross-examination.

Igor Bobic contributed reporting.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pEEZji

#DIYS

0 notes

porchenclose10019 · 7 years

Text

Alex Jones Shows A Sensitive Side On The Witness Stand

“He’s done some great reports for us,” Jones said of his son. “That’s what he wants. He’s always saying it’s what he wants to do professionally.”

Opposing lawyers lobbed accusations at Jones Wednesday ranging from attacks on his parenting to bizarre episodes that perhaps cast more doubt on his character and composure than his fathering skills.

“I suppose just once,” Sherry said. “I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session.”

“What? I didn’t say that,” Jones says in the video. “And they show an image like I’m being arrested like they always do.”

Travis County Judge Orlinda Naranjo had told Jones twice on Tuesday to refrain from gesturing or risk getting tossed out of the courtroom. He was admonished a third time after Hoffman’s remarks.

“You’re not to use the social media,” Naranjo told the court again, as the day’s proceedings ended.

On Thursday, Alex Jones faces cross-examination.

Igor Bobic contributed reporting.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pEEZji

#DIYS

0 notes

pat78701 · 7 years

Text

Alex Jones Shows A Sensitive Side On The Witness Stand

“He’s done some great reports for us,” Jones said of his son. “That’s what he wants. He’s always saying it’s what he wants to do professionally.”

Opposing lawyers lobbed accusations at Jones Wednesday ranging from attacks on his parenting to bizarre episodes that perhaps cast more doubt on his character and composure than his fathering skills.

“I suppose just once,” Sherry said. “I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session.”

“What? I didn’t say that,” Jones says in the video. “And they show an image like I’m being arrested like they always do.”

Travis County Judge Orlinda Naranjo had told Jones twice on Tuesday to refrain from gesturing or risk getting tossed out of the courtroom. He was admonished a third time after Hoffman’s remarks.

“You’re not to use the social media,” Naranjo told the court again, as the day’s proceedings ended.

On Thursday, Alex Jones faces cross-examination.

Igor Bobic contributed reporting.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pEEZji

#DIYS

0 notes

chpatdoorsl3z0a1 · 7 years

Text

Alex Jones Shows A Sensitive Side On The Witness Stand

“He’s done some great reports for us,” Jones said of his son. “That’s what he wants. He’s always saying it’s what he wants to do professionally.”

Opposing lawyers lobbed accusations at Jones Wednesday ranging from attacks on his parenting to bizarre episodes that perhaps cast more doubt on his character and composure than his fathering skills.

“I suppose just once,” Sherry said. “I don’t remember the context of it, but it’s a rare thing to happen in a therapy session.”

“What? I didn’t say that,” Jones says in the video. “And they show an image like I’m being arrested like they always do.”

Travis County Judge Orlinda Naranjo had told Jones twice on Tuesday to refrain from gesturing or risk getting tossed out of the courtroom. He was admonished a third time after Hoffman’s remarks.

“You’re not to use the social media,” Naranjo told the court again, as the day’s proceedings ended.

On Thursday, Alex Jones faces cross-examination.

Igor Bobic contributed reporting.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pEEZji

#DIYS

0 notes