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High Tide Inc [DD]

I know it has been talked about allot here but I've been doing some DD and thought I might as well share.
High Tide Inc is a vertically integrated retail-focused cannabis corporation that is currently the largest recreational cannabis retail network (when measured by revenue) in Canada. Currently the business maintains 70 retail stores split between several different brands, the two largest e-commerce platforms for consumption accessories in the world, and two manufacturing divisions which distribute to all High Tide Inc’s stores as well as their own network of retail and distribution channels.
The company is run by the original founder Raj Grover, who started the business under the name of “Smoker’s Corner” in 2009, since then he has grown the business through natural growth and the continued acquisition of brands the supplement High Tide Inc’s business. He currently owns 21% of the outstanding shares and has supposedly never sold any (Could not find a source for this).

COMPANY OVERVIEW

The company consist of 8 brands/subsidiaries (soon to be 9) :
Canna Cabana: https://cannacabana.com/
This is High Tide’s flagship brand and is solely focused on the sale of a large range of cannabis strains. They operate 54 stores in the Canadian territories of Alberta (45 stores), Ontario (7 stores), and Saskatchewan (2 stores).
New Leaf: https://www.newleafcannabis.ca/
This brand describes themselves as having “joined the Canna Cabana Family” and appears to have been integrated into Canna Cabana with their stores being included on Canna Cabana’s website.
Meta Cannabis: https://www.metacannabis.com/
Meta Cannabis is one of High Tide’s more recent acquisitions with the completion of the acquisition occurring in November 2020. Meta Cannabis has 15 retail locations and offers both cannabis and cannabis consumption accessories. In the Transaction Highlights they state that they have , “been collaboratively executing on the combined integration plan, which is expected to result in substantial annual cost and operational synergies”, and that ,“the combined entity has gross profit of $56,718,844 and a gross margin of 38%”.
Kushbar: https://mykushbar.com/
The website states they have 3 stores however and they appear to be a more premium brand.
CBDcity: https://hightideinc.com/brands/
Is an online retailer of premium CBD products that was first launched in May 2020.
Grass City: https://www.grasscity.com/
The world’s first and largest online retailer of consumption accessories shipping over 130,000 orders a year to USA, EU, UK and Canadian customers. They do not sell cannabis, just CBD products and cannabis related accessories.
Famous Brandz: https://famousbrandz.com/
Is the in-house manufacturing division of licensed smoking accessories. They focus on selling branded products with high profile partnerships including:
Valiant Distribution:
Founded in 2011, Valiant is a North American manufacturer and wholesaler of premium cannabis accessories. They have facilities in Las Vegas and Calgary. They manufacture 75% of their catalogue in house and distribute to all High Tide retail channels alongside its own network of retail and distribution channel.
I believe this manufacturer subsidiary is a vital reason the company has been able to achieve a 37-40% gross profit margin in 2020.
Smoke Cartel [In the process of being acquired]: https://www.smokecartel.com/
Smoke Cartel is High Tide ‘s latest acquisition at a valuation of $8,000,000 USD. The definitive agreement was announced on the 25th of Jan 2021. Smoke Cartel is another ecommerce platform that focuses on the sale of CBD and smoking accessory products. The PR piece released on the acquisition outlines several key points:
In addition, they announced that Sean Geng, the founder and CTO of Smoke Cartel would be joining high tide as the CTO. I believe he makes the perfect addition to High Tide as he managed to build Smoke Cartel, using his abilities as a programmer, from the ground up according to this reddit post from 4 years ago:
[https://www.reddit.com/Entrepreneucomments/4ym2f3/ama_we_are_two_22_year_olds_who_own_a/]
This post makes for an interesting read as he talks about the technology they incorporated into the business.

FINANCIALS

High Tide boasts a set of impressive financials and has shown impressive YoY growth and their first positive quarterly EBIDTA in the 3rd quarter.
EBIDTA
Quarter EBIDTA (loss)
Q3 2020 $4,268,000
Q2 2020 ($513,000)
Q1 2020 ($756,000)
Q4 2019 ($10,277,000)
Q3 2019 ($3,532,000)
Q2 2019 ($3,979,000)
Q1 2019 ($4,722,000)
REVENUE + PROFIT MARGINS
​
Quarter 2020 Revenue (In CAD) % Change From 2019 Gross Profit (In CAD) % Change From 2019 Gross Profit Margin 2020
Q1 $13,659,000 173% $4,777,000 167% 35%
Q2 $19,572,000 197% $7,338,000 214% 38%
Q3 $23,204,000 180% $9,228,000 202% 40%
Q4 $37,317,000 Estimated $14,180,000 Estimated 38% Estimated
Total $93,752,000 Estimated 199.5% E $35,523,000 Estimated 214.3% Estimated
Effect of Meta Growth Acquisition:
Q3 financial period ended July 31, 2020. Since the ending of this financial period the acquisition of Meta Growth was approved on November 19, 2020. Within the PR release they state that “On an annualized basis, the combined entity has gross profit of $56,718,844 and a gross margin of 38%, based on the most recent interim financial statements of both.
Working backwards from this information we can calculate roughly what the annualized revenue of the company will be after a full year of combined operations.
Revenue = Gross Profit/Gross Margin
Annualized Revenue = 56,000,000/0.38 = $149,267,894
Acquisitions Effect on Q4 Earnings Estimate:
Q4 should be the first earnings quarter that will include the results of Meta Growth into High Tide’s financial results. As a result, we should see significant growth in comparison to Q3. If we distribute the estimated annualized revenue evenly between 4 quarters, we can get a rough estimate for High Tide Inc’s Q4 financial results.
Annualized Revenue / 4 = 149,267,894 / 4 = $37,317,000 = Q4 revenue estimate
Assuming this is correct this would result in a gross profit of roughly $14,180,000
Strong Balance Sheet and Liquidity:
High Tide appear to have a strong balance sheet and have taken recently taken several steps in improving it in recent weeks such as:

FUTURE GROWTH PROSPECTS + LIMITATIONS

[Would be an image here showing growth in non Canadian market but images are not allowed]
LIMITATIONS:

CURRENT VALUATION

Outstanding Shares = 449 million “According to the most recent investors presentation”
Market Cap = 449,000,000 x $0.6149 = $277,931,000 USD
If we assume that High Tide Inc meets my projected 2020 revenue of $93,752,000 CAD ($73,846,640 USD), High Tide Inc is currently trading at a Price to Sales Multiple of 3.76
If we instead we use the Annualized Revenue of the company after the merge with Meta Growth of $149,267,894 ($117,566,184 USD), High Tide Inc is currently trading at a Price to Sales Multiple of 2.36
COMPARISON TO OTHER WEED RELATED STOCKS
​
Cannabis Related Companies Price to Sales Multiple (Using 2020 revenue and ending price as of 12/02/2021) Profitable
High Tide Inc [HITI, HITIF, 2LY] 2.36 (Using more optimistic value) Yes (As of Q3 2020)
Aurora Cannabis [ACB] 8.6 No
Tilray Inc [TLRY] 19.2 TTM No
Canopy Growth Corporation [CGC] 14.08 TTM No
HEXO Corp. [HEXO] 9.4 TTM No
Whilst the business models of each company are not exactly the same, it is clear High Tide Inc. is trading at a significant discount. If we take an average of the 4 other businesses, we attain a value for the average P/S in the cannabis industry of 12.82.
If High Tide were to be correctly valued by the market it would have a Market Cap of $1.5 billion USD.
Therefore, High Tide Inc. at its current price suggest that there is a likely upside of 443.22 % and target price of $3.338 USD. Note: This figure does not consider the further expansion of High Tide Inc. via the projected expansion of its retail stores and E-Commerce subsidiaries and any acquisitions that may occur in the future nor does it consider the dilutive effect of warrants, stock options and debentures so take with a grain of salt.

UPLISTING TO THE NASDAQ

One of the major reasons this company is not receiving the attention it deserves is due to the fact it is not listed on any major US stock exchanges. Currently the company is listed on:
Reasons an up-list would be good for the company:
Note: For the company to up list in the next few months they would have to enact a 4-1 stock split in order to meet the NASDAQ’s minimum requirements for stock price.
PROGRESS ON THE UPLISTING

HIGH TIDE INC’s MOAT

Whilst the company does not have any revolutionary technology (besides Smoke Cartel’s drop shipping technology) that will give it an advantage over its competitors, I believe the companies vertically integrated supply chain will allow them to offer an on average better prices than its competitors whilst still maintaining great profit margins.
THE MANAGEMENT
I believe the companies real competitive advantage come from the company’s ambitious CEO Raj Grover and the rest of the management team. After listening to several interviews and podcasts Raj appears to have no intentions of slowing the company’s growth and expansion into new markets.

NEAR TERM CATALYSTS

​
TLDR: I believe High Tide is well run company in a growing market that offers an attractive value proposition for investors and that the market currently undervalues it in comparison to its competitors. I believe the up list to the NASDAQ would be a massive catalyst for the stock price
My Position: 14,000 shares of HITIF
submitted by no_one_somewhere to pennystocks [link] [comments]

Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis

NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html
NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1.
https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html
NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%)
NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar.
https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866
NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below
https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
!!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should.
In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase.
Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below:
https://www.playboy.com/
https://www.playboytv.com/
https://www.playboyplus.com/
https://www.iplayboy.com/
Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success.
“Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.”
https://www.scientificgames.com/
https://www.microgaming.co.uk/
“This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.”
https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/
As per their SEC filing:
“Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1
They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon.
https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era
Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea
“Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.”
“According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently:
https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae
Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress.
Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait.
https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/
Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video:
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html
Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05
Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing:
“For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.”
“In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.”
They are profitable across all three of their current business segments.
“Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders).
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm
This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world.
"Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.”
Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame:
“As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn.
The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :(
He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :)
Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw.
I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003
Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this:
“Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy.
“Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative.
https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html
Y’all like that China money?
“Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.”
Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose.
I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing
“Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.”
“Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.”
Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong.
Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will.
Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way.
Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains.
TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here:
WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though
https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf
Or here:
https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx
Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.”
STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon.
Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.
submitted by jeromeBDpowell to SPACs [link] [comments]

Wrote a post a while back in which several people likened to Hunter S Thompson

I struggle to concentrate so need the motivation to keep on writing and boost my ego. As the title says, before then i only knew HST through the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Read a few articles since and have fallen in love with his writing style. Seeing as I've also been to a fair few sporting events with varying degrees of success thought I could continue the theme. Please let me know what anyone thinks of this half-finished first draft of a story. There are so many other things I could be doing but writing feels the most comforting. Not looking to quit the day job any time soon but one can dream. Genuinely appreciate any feedback, good or bad.....
For the first time I could remember, there was nothing that had been left to the last minute. All things considered a rather momentous occasion. No agitation, no plans on dismembering the thickly bearded, traditionally dressed, pot-bellied, presumably, Muslim, Uber driver on the side of the motorway and continuing the journey myself in his Shackelton would have been proud of this Prius. Although thinking about it, the last time I was behind a wheel almost resulted in a power shortage in a remote village in North Zambia. Maybe for the better. Horses for courses I reasoned.
A little fidgety, yes, but I'd always been this way. Hopefully, nothing to draw the unwanted glares of the enforcers of the empire that swarmed places like Luton Airport. United had scrambled their way to the Europa Cup final. Not quite the Champions League Final but life felt good. Its all relative they said and they were probably right. Mr Ronald McDonald had fleeced me enough times into buying the supersize milkshake when compared to the price of the small one to agree wholeheartedly. My small angular faced drug dealer used the same tricks as well. What a bunch of exploitative wankers. Albeit smart ones.
For his splendid conversation skills I decided to give the top fella £5. 0.5% of me hoped he didn't spend it on funding terrorism, but 99.5% understood that way of thinking was the Daily Mails fault. Cant brainwash me so easily you bastards. Anyway, we were still in the wake of the Manchester terror attacks so I could be forgiven for the invasive thought.
This was the first mini leg in a marathon to the Friends Arena in Stockholm and currently cruising through at what seemed like a world record pace. Like any good relay sprinter, I needed some help. Finding a little secluded corner in the car park was easy. Sprinkling some super soft Amnesia hash via Morroco into a joint also went without any trouble. It’s always funny to watch smokers when they know it’s going to be their last fag in a while, shit gets emotional. Expertly I chose to pair my lightly spiced zoobie with a bitter Americana from a Cafe Nero truck that was parked adjoining the entrance.
Rolling into the airport, feeling like a fucking top boss, Luton’s very own Don Corleone. The holy trinity of Nicotine, THC, and Caffeine pumping through my veins. Fuck yeah. This is bliss. What should I do? Get a big fat Burger King. Or maybe pick up a book or two. Could even push the boat out and get convinced by a lady to buy an aftershave I didn’t need. My imagination was drifting, the options were fucking limitless. Eat your heart out Bradley Cooper. Casually strolling up to the departure screen to check my gate number, something suddenly clicked "Luton's own Don...". Oh Fuck. Shit. Shit. Cunt. It all abruptly banged me right in the fucking goolies. Only in the wrong fucking place. This is a god damn Easy Jet airport and I'm meant to be flying with Ryanair. Fucked, was an understatement, as probably was a massive bell-end, call the sterilization squad, idiot.
Stansted Airport was an hour away by road and my flight departure time was also just about an hour away. Although I wasn't so well endowed in some areas, Maths couldn't be counted as one of them. My DNA did show as Indian. However, this didn't need much calculation. The short story was the same as the long one. Fucked.
For Hanuman’s sake. Why do I always do this? Why? How? Rhetorical questions but if you want an answer my best guess would be Bill Gates had something to do with it. Nothing to do with the snowballing effect of consuming copious amounts of Mary Jane this morning- over the last 17 years. Pessimistically yet frantically searching for the next flights leaving from both airports seemed an exercise in futility. Which proved right.
Obviously, they all cost more than £700, all the(other) glory hunting London Mancs heading to the game in Sweden. Couldn’t really afford that unless wanting to survive on a nutritious university diet of cornflakes and water for my stay in Scandinavia. Not having many options left, doing as all respectable men have done throughout the history of the world, I resorted to bribing God and said my prayers whilst offering to stop gambling smoking drinking and whatever else he wanted me to give up. Pelting it back into the car park, there were people in the queue but this was an emergency. So I flung myself across the back-seat of the first taxi and screeched at the poor befuddled man my time ticking bomb of a predicament.
The weasely looking man raised an eyebrow, taking an eternity to consider, he thought we could make it. Of course, he fucking does, he’s happy to take my money for a lost cause. What a fucking twat. I was starting to feel the pressure if you couldn’t tell. Whatever at least we were on our way. The next hour consisted of what I was trying to avoid earlier: Mainly looking for easily accessible shallow graves en route. The village didn't really need power anyway. Occasionally I would get distracted from the task in hand and check Google maps which confirmed we were on the tightest of margins.
Is he driving slow on purpose? Why the fuck do I always do this shit? All I had to do was check my boarding pass or the confirmation or anything else? What the fuck is wrong with my brain?
Eventually, we got to Stansted 10 mins before the scheduled flight departure time. Shouting at the driver to say thanks felt insincere as only 20 minutes ago I had wished a terrible fate upon the poor unsuspecting man. Boris had started a chain reaction of insincere promises which 52% of the idiotic nation had swallowed up only to backtrack immediately the day after the referendum. Sprinting top speed into the airport, never really a wise idea for an unshaven brown man, not least the day after the Manchester terror attacks, but what choice did I have? Screeching around the corner and ahh motherfucker. My worst nightmare. The queue to take you through immigration was pretty long and fucking windy. Undeterred, channelling my inner Lewis Hamilton I slalomed past the first bunch of commuters. Less elegantly bundled past a couple more, mumbled a few apologies, under a few barriers, around a pair of others. The promised land was in sight. Only one more row to get through.
When from out of nowhere, well, not exactly out of nowhere because he was a rather large individual. This random fuckface blocks my path. The geezer needed panoramic mode to take selfie.
I step right, he leans right, I go left, he leans left, I try to sell him the dummy but he blocks again. He must have done Karate as well.
‘If I have to wait in the queue so do you’ says the hater.
I try to quickly reason ‘My flights about to depart, please let…’.
He cuts me off mid-sentence ‘I don’t care, I don’t care, mate’.
I quickly realise what kind of party it is. FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER. My blood boiling with rage. There was nothing I could do to get around him and the doubts were now starting to creep in. After waiting for the most excruciating minute of my existence behind this dream sucking moron, an opportunity from the gods miraculously presented itself. As if he was listening to my earlier mentioned prayers. I dart for freedom under a newly opened barrier, by the time he turns around to see me and roars his disgust, it’s too late, I’m already putting my bag through the scanner.
So long sucker, I hope you choke on some of this curry flavoured dust pal.
Checking my pockets whilst walking up to the security guard, I feel something squidgy in my back pocket. Fuck. I immediately know that’s my fucking 1/8th of hash, can’t believe I forget to stuff it down my trousers in all my haste. It’s too late to throw it on the floor or turn around as the security guard already had his beady eyes locked on me. Mortified by my stupidity, I jitter forward with a little poop in my pants. He seems suspicious, I blame the panic on being late, he looks me up and down and to my suprise nods to move on. The relief is fucking immense, but suddenly the realisation that Stansted is the stupidest airport in the galaxy hits like Tyson in his prime. Commercial shops combined with fucking slow-walking imbeciles everywhere. That’s how they control the masses, fuck your capitalism. I hate you all.
Glance up at a screen and it’s 4 minutes to departure time. Put my head down and rotate my legs as fast as they can go, but my saggy jeans start to ride around my thighs restricting movement to an awkward looking limp. I’d sacrificed putting my belt back on for more running time. Another poor life gamble lost. Unrelenting, one hand clutching my waistband, one hand in my pocket to stop everything falling out, I charge like Chucky on a chase. I try to dodge a young family in the incoming traffic but my bag smashes into some poor kid’s head. He'll live. I hear some dads background abuse and if I had time I would have loved to stop to have a coffee, but nothing was going to stop me, not even this bloody stitch.
Okay, fuck, I underestimated you. Bastard stitch. Actually, have to stop and peel over, only 3 fucking gates away from the promised land. After catching my breath I muster whatever energy I have left to claw myself to the gate just as they are shutting the barrier exactly on departure time.
Aside from the extorianate price of hops, wheat and yeast, the flight encountered no major trouble. Wooooohooooooo. Whose the granddaddy of leaving things to the last minute. I must be a bloody genius.
Walking up to the immigration counter on the other side, one thing was abundantly clear. The women in this land were fucking stunning. A westernised version of beauty but nonetheless extremely attractive. Id met my fair share of Scandinavian's in East Africa to know this stereotype to be true beforehand. As was the liberal tag they had been emblazoned with, this was primarily based on the multiple women I'd seen with the local beach boys or Masais in Zanzibar. They definitely weren't in it for the money.
"Have a great day' the dark-haired lady behind the desk wished me with a smile.
​
Thanks for reading!
submitted by Spiltcoconutmilk to huntersthompson [link] [comments]

The USA PATRIOT Act: The Story of an Impulsive Bill that Eviscerated America's Civil Liberties

The USA PATRIOT Act provides a textbook example of how the United States federal government expands its power. An emergency happens, legitimate or otherwise. The media, playing its dutiful role as goad for greater government oversight, demands "something must be done." Government power is massively expanded, with little regard for whether or not what is being done is efficacious, to say nothing of the overall impact on our nation's civil liberties.
No goals are posted, because if targets are hit, this would necessitate the ending or scaling back of the program. Instead, the program becomes normalized. There are no questions asked about whether the program is accomplishing what it set out to do. It is now simply a part of American life and there is no going back.
The American public largely accepts the USA PATRIOT Act as a part of civic life as immutable, perhaps even more so than the Bill of Rights. However, this act – passed in the dead of night, with little to no oversight, in a panic after the biggest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor – is not only novel, it is also fundamentally opposed to virtually every principle on which the United States of America was founded. It might not be going anywhere anytime soon, but patriots, liberty lovers and defenders of Constitutional government should nonetheless familiarize themselves with the onerous provisions of this law, which is nothing short of a full-throttle attack on the American republic.

What’s Even in the USA PATRIOT Act?

What is in the USA PATRIOT Act? In the Michael Moore film Fahrenheit 9/11, then Rep. John Conyers cracked wise about how no one had actually read the Act and how this was in fact par for the course with America's laws. Thus, before delving into the deeper issues surrounding the PATRIOT Act, it is worth discussing what the Act actually says. Here’s a brief look at the 10 Titles in the PATRIOT Act:
Most of the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act were set to sunset four years after the bill was passed into law. However, the law was extended first by President George W. Bush and then by President Barack H. Obama. The latter is particularly scandalous given that, at least in part, a rejection of the surveillance culture that permeated the Bush Administration was responsible for the election of Obama in 2008.

Passing the USA PATRIOT Act

Next, it’s important to remember the environment in which the USA PATRIOT Act was passed: Post-9/11. It is not the slightest bit of exaggeration to label the environment in which the PATRIOT Act was passed as “hysterical,” nor is “compliant” a misnomer for the Congress of the time. Opposition to the Act was slim and intensive review of one of the most sweeping Acts of Congress in American history was nonexistent.
All told, Congress took a whopping six weeks drafting, revising, reviewing and passing the PATRIOT Act. That’s less time than Congress typically spends on totally uncontroversial and routine bills that don’t gut the Fourth Amendment. The final vote found only 66 opponents in the House and one (Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold) in the Senate. The entire passage of the PATRIOT Act, from start to finish, took place behind closed doors. There were no committee reports or hearings for opponents to testify, nor did anyone bother to read the bill.
“Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” is the bloated and overwrought full name of the bill, crafted by a 23-year-old Congressional staffer named Chris Cylke. This ridiculous name puts the focus not on the surveillance aspects or the erosion of basic civil liberties enshrined in Western society since the Magna Carta, but on patriotism. At the time of its creation, the messaging was very clear: Real patriots support massive intrusions on civil rights. As President George W. Bush said at the time, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” This sentiment very much seemed to apply to American citizens.
While the argument that if you have nothing to hide you shouldn’t fear investigation is anathema in a Constitutional republic with regard to citizens, it should be standard operating procedure when it comes to our organs of government. If we cannot expect transparency from the United States Congress – elected officials charged with representing the will of the people and protecting the Constitution – then we certainly can’t expect it anywhere else.

The Unfortunate Growth of the USA PATRIOT Act

It’s no surprise to those in the liberty movement that given an inch, the government (in particular the military-intelligence community) took a mile. Even the nebulous definition of “terrorism,” largely centered around a long litany of acts rather than the motivation behind them, has expanded to include receiving military training from a proscribed organization (without actually committing any terrorist acts or even acts of violence of any stripe) as well as “narcoterrorism” – the latter particularly convenient, as the United States government continues its losing “War on Drugs.”
Indeed, in many ways, the War on (Some) Drugs was the template for the War on Terror. Both wars have no defined enemy, no defined terms of victory. Instead, they are waged against a nebulous concept, while enjoying bipartisan support for their ever-expanding budgets. What’s more, it didn’t take long for the Feds to start using the USA PATRIOT Act for things it was never intended for, including prosecuting the War on Drugs.
Perhaps the silliest application of the USA PATRIOT Act is the prosecution of Adam McGaughey. McGaughey maintained a fansite for the television series Stargate SG-1. The Feds charged him with copyright infringement and computer fraud. In the course of their investigation, the FBI leveraged the PATRIOT Act to get financial records from his website’s ISP. This was made possible by the USA PATRIOT Act amending the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, allowing for search and seizure of ISP records.
The New York Times discovered in September 2003, that the USA PATRIOT Act was being used to investigate alleged drug traffickers without what would otherwise be sufficient probable cause. These were investigations into non-terrorist acts using a law ostensibly designed to investigate terrorism. There was some suspicion that the Act was being used to investigate crimes occurring before the Act was passed, violating the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution.
In one of the biggest power grabs (excluding virtually everything we know from Edward Snowden – more on that below), the FBI sent tens of thousands of “national security letters” and procured over one million financial records from targeted businesses in Las Vegas. These businesses were primarily casinos, car rental bureaus and storage spaces. The data obtained included financial records, credit histories, employment records and even people’s personal health records.
The FBI maintains and databases this – and, indeed, all information collected through the USA PATRIOT Act – indefinitely. In the good old days before the PATRIOT Act, the Feds were compelled to destroy any evidence they collected on someone later found not guilty of a crime. Note that the aforementioned data collection brought to public attention by Edward Snowden (which, again – we’re getting to that) falls under this provision. Not only is the government collecting obscene amounts of private and personal information about you, they’re also storing it indefinitely with no plans to stop.
What’s more, the FBI has approached public libraries to turn over the records for specific terminals, collecting information not about specific users who might be under investigation, but about anyone who has ever used the computer at the public library. Libraries, to their credit, have been very much at the forefront of resistance against the PATRIOT Act, with some litigating compliance despite operating on small budgets and others posting “canary letters,” which effectively say “The FBI Hasn’t Been Here Yet.” The removal of such a letter would warn patrons that the FBI has been sniffing around in their records.
Indeed, the greatest criticism of the PATRIOT Act is the simplest and perhaps most obvious: Why does an Act ostensibly passed to fight terrorism so drastically expand the government’s power to investigate virtually everyone else? The PATRIOT Act is not merely unconstitutional, it is an unprecedented expansion of state power in the Anglosphere, a culture based on restricted government and the primacy of individual rights.
An excellent example of this is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expansion. Most people are familiar with the term “FISA court,” but very few people actually know what it is – a special federal court created under the Carter Administration that grants approval of electronic surveillance of both citizens and resident aliens in the event that they are accused of acting in the service of a foreign power. The last part of this sentence is very important: The FISA courts are not simply for allowing surveillance of anyone that it might be expedient to collect information about. The scope of their powers is very, very limited.
Or was.
The PATRIOT Act lowered the burden of evidence required to obtain a FISA warrant for electronic surveillance and expanded the overall scope of the FISA courts. Any savvy federal agent can now drape his charges in the garb of (what else?) “national security” and obtain electronic surveillance privileges hitherto only dreamed of by investigators. FISA courts have become pliant tools in the hands of the Feds, gladly approving their requests to monitor phone and internet surveillance, as well as access to medical, financial and educational records.

The Future of the USA PATRIOT Act

Do we still need the PATRIOT Act? Did we ever? All laws are certainly a product of their times. But this seems much more acutely true of the USA PATRIOT Act, which was passed in a rush and under duress without due consideration.
Particularly in light of the revelations from Edward Snowden – that the government is spying on everything they possibly can – it’s worth asking if there’s any walking back. He points out that the police state apparatus was originally for drug dealers, then for terrorists, but ultimately ended up being applied to anyone and everyone.
What’s more, Bob Bullard notes another frightful aspect of the USA PATRIOT Act: Terrorism-related cases are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. This means that there is little or no oversight. There is no surer hallmark of a police state than an all-powerful domestic surveillance agency with no transparency or oversight. While the USA PATRIOT Act might not create an American Stasi as such, it certainly paves the way for one.
Continue reading The USA PATRIOT Act: The Story of an Impulsive Bill that Eviscerated America's Civil Liberties at Ammo.com.
submitted by ammodotcom to Libertarian [link] [comments]

Iko- The Book of John: How John Wall got his body, mind and swagger back

As the Washington Wizards were finalizing plans to go finish the 2019-20 NBA season in the Orlando bubble, then-Wizards guard John Wall had plans of his own — but needed to make a phone call and a request first.
Technically, Wall says he could have joined the Wizards in the bubble — and even played — but wanted to make sure his body was better than ever before stepping back on the basketball court.
“Well, I was already ready to come back on the court before the pandemic,” Wall told The Athletic in an exclusive interview. “I could have played last season around the All-Star break or even in the bubble. But I wanted to wait until I felt I was 110 percent to be back where I wanted to be. That’s what I did and that’s why I’m getting off to a good start this season.”
Wall had been sidelined since January 2019, getting surgery on his left heel on Jan. 8 before rupturing his left Achilles tendon three weeks later after a fall at home. As part of his rehab process, Wall worked closely with Wizards assistant coach Alex McClean, with the point guard opting to continue his recovery process in Miami, where he spends his offseasons away from his Potomac home. Although Wall and McClean were part of the same organization, the two have a longstanding close relationship dating to McClean’s playing days at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
Beginning during the Las Vegas Summer League in July 2019 and continuing for the next three months, Wall and McClean worked out, starting with some light activities before slowly ramping up their schedule. At first, Wall could only walk. When McClean first got down to Miami, Wall couldn’t run or jump. Doing anything involving putting weight on his toes was painful, so a lot of emphasis was put on his set shot, essentially the only thing he could do. Wall had to tweak his muscle memory just to get the familiar feeling back. Some months later, Wall could jog again. When training camp and the season rolled around and Wall could do more with his legs, he would workout either at the team facility in D.C. when the Wizards were at home or would find gyms when the team went on the road.
Like Wall, McClean had torn his Achilles before — both, in fact. While he didn’t have the sort of career that Wall had, he still knew the pain and process rehabbing that sort of injury entailed.
Right before the world was hit with the coronavirus pandemic, Wall had actually been working out with some of the Wizards players. A rusty Wall wasn’t in game shape but still shone as the best player on the floor — he just needed fine-tuning. So in the summer of 2020, as the Wizards coaching staff was getting ready to make the trip from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Wall asked the organization if McClean could join him in Miami instead — to which they happily obliged.
“I had been living there before I got injured,” Wall said of Miami. “The year before, I had built a house there, so that’s why I rehabbed there. I had another guy that I trusted with the PT work and weightlifting process. And then I brought a guy, Alex McClean, who works for the Wizards to come and do my basketball workouts (with me). So bringing that all together, that’s a few that were part of my team and helped me put in the work that I did.”
With the duo in South Beach, it was now time to strategize and come up with the best plan to get Wall back to his best, if not better. For Wall, taking a page out of the LeBron James/Russell Wilson playbook was necessary — cultivating the perfect offseason environment with the right blend of people and programs necessary to keep his body in peak physical condition. There would be monthly benchmarks to reach, seeking a steady increase in all facets of gameplay.
“My primary goal was just to stay healthy but get back as strong as possible,” Wall said. I knew that all the hard work that I put in would pay off when I had the opportunity to step back on the court. I took my time and didn’t rush back.
Wall’s plan to perfection was a six-month, carefully-mapped out course involving a number of individuals and locations:
• There was McClean, the Wizards assistant coach who worked side-by-side with Wall on a daily basis, overseeing all operations.
• There was Dr. Zach Colls, his physical therapist, who joined Wall in Miami and was there to support him during the mental journey that rehab takes you on.
• Andy Luaces, the owner and founder of Core Fitness Miami, a strength and conditioning gym.
• And Stanley Remy, the owner of The Miami Perimeter, a sports performance facility and host of Remy Runs.
“I’ve known John since he first got out of college,” Remy said. “One of my main clients, Brandon Knight — obviously he went to Kentucky — they were good friends.
“When I first connected with him in the offseason, he had a teammate, Jeff Green, who was in Washington with him at one point. They connected and we all worked out together for about a week or two. We became super cool after that. This summer we reconnected. He had his Washington Wizards coach Alex (McClean), who was down also working with him all summer. Obviously not knowing that he was going to get traded from the Wizards, they wanted to keep eyes on him, make sure he was doing what he was supposed to do because this was a big year for him.”
A typical day in Miami would see Wall wake up around 6 or 7 in the morning. Depending on what Wall wanted to do first, his cardio consisted of either running on the Alter-G machine, an anti-gravity treadmill designed for rehab, or he would opt for a bike ride. The latter was more of the competitive side of him, stemming from a bet he and McClean made in February on who would lose more weight. Because the pandemic had closed most things in the nation’s capital, the two had purchased mountain bikes in D.C. and rode them around the city, tracking their distance.
One time, Wall and McClean actually ended up racing for 30 miles before realizing they still had to go back. “That’s 60 miles, fuck,” Wall said.
Down in South Beach, although restrictions were a bit looser, the bike rides had become a big part of their routine so they purchased two more.
After cardio, Wall would head to CoreFit to work with Luaces. Over the years, CoreFit has become one of Miami’s go-to spots for pros across all sports during their various offseasons. Conditioning-wise, Wall was a long way off from his desired shape but he wanted to focus on his agility, lower leg strength and explosiveness. Luaces coordinated those sessions and McClean would join in on the daily workouts to keep Wall motivated. Wall also started lifting weights and at his peak, he was deadlifting 525 pounds.
“Everything,” Wall said of the areas of his body he wanted to work on. “The most important thing for me was my legs. I had just torn my Achilles so I had to get my calf muscle back stronger and do other things that I probably never worked on before in my career. My main focus was getting my legs back stronger and I think it’s paid off.”
Right after, Wall would grab a shake and head to Remy’s gym for on-court drills and to participate in Remy’s infamous NBA pickup runs. In the evening, Wall would wind down with Peloton classes and massages. A full day’s work, from eight in the morning until eight at night, for weeks.
For someone like Wall, a high-level NBA player with a superior IQ, keeping him engaged during on-court drills was of the utmost importance. McClean had to get creative and came up with games to keep Wall’s mind and reflexes sharp.
For example, in one drill, Wall would have to keep his hands on his waist the entire time. He would lose points if his hands came up, even slightly. Players like Rodney Purvis, Alonzo Gee and Angel Rodriguez were brought in to assist, giving Wall more bodies to work with and preventing him from feeling isolated working out alone.
In a lot of these exercises, Wall wanted to work on his shooting, a part of his game that has been maligned for his entire 11-year career.
“Alex trained him every day and also core fitness, but I watched every day,” Remy said. “You can tell he was working on his ability to shoot the ball. Just getting his explosiveness back, which he did, and he’s gotten better at shooting the basketball. Just being in the best shape possible. Those two things, it looks like they were trying to highlight for sure. “
Of course, the main attraction of the day were those Remy Runs. NBA players playing in some organized form of offseason basketball has become a must-watch staple since the 2011 lockout, and the beauty of it is the ability of high-level games to sprout all over the country.
To mentally prepare himself for these games, Wall would watch his old film. Specifically, he watched footage from two playoff series: the 2017 first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks and the 2017 conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics. In those two series, Wall played at a high level, averaging 29.5 points, 10.3 assists and 1.7 steals against the Hawks and 25.1 points, 10.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks against the Celtics.
“Just working on it man,” Wall said. “Working on it and watching basketball. I watch all types of basketball no matter what it is — women’s, men’s, kids — I just love to watch the game.”
It would be unusual for an NBA player to watch film before an offseason pickup game, but because of his competitive drive Wall couldn’t help himself. He wants to win at all times and is a basketball junkie at heart.
“He always participated in my runs,” Remy said. “He was someone who actually made me take those runs seriously because he’s someone that likes to play in the summertime. I think it’s important to play and train, I think they’re equivalent. You don’t want to just lock someone in a gym just do a bunch of drills every single day. Eventually, mentally, they need to see bodies go against people and they need to compete. That’s a big part of their development.”
“We use these runs as a point of development. Being able to utilize a lot of stuff that we’ve been working on, trying to get better at during the summertime. And also the level of competition — we want guys to compete against other NBA guys because it gives you a sense of realness. You get to see yourself against guys that you play against throughout the year. Obviously, guys aren’t going super 100 percent but then James Harden comes in for a week or two, it intensifies everything — everyone’s playing at a high level. They see another superstar in the building and others keep coming. It just creates mentally that competitiveness that you need during the summer. Makes it more serious instead of guys just going through the motions, brings them in and they compete at a high level. It intensifies what they need to be working on. It’s a measuring stick.
During these games, Wall showed out. Names like Andre Drummond, Iman Shumpert, Harden made appearances at the gym, but Wall met every challenge and steadily raised his game.
With every night, the bounce and lift in his legs slowly returned. One of the memorable moments from those runs was the night Wall recreated his signature slam, the exact same dunk he and McClean had watched in their daily highlights sessions. As the entire gym oohed and aahed, Wall looked at McClean and started laughing.
“He was coming down in transition on the left side and he slowed down and went from fast to slow, and back to fast, and just dunked it so hard,” Remy said, recalling the dunk. “I was like, ‘Okay, he’s back’ and the emotion and the whole gym felt it. Everything, he does it with emotion, but he has so much different motivation, different people writing him off. You could tell every day there’s a chip on his shoulder. Practice, workouts, games, it doesn’t matter what it is.
“We had over 50 NBA players coming to these runs in the summer. Wall was our MVP, absolutely,” Remy added. “This is my second year of giving that award. The first thing I look for in giving this award is consistency and attendance. Every week we’re playing two to three times a week and he’s there. First one there, last to leave. I just watched him continue to get better every single week. Once I saw the athleticism and quickness back, I knew it was over. Just working to make shots, becoming a better shooter. I watched him night in and night out work on it after the runs, staying another hour and a half perfecting it. I saw a level of focus that I haven’t seen and it was tremendous. I knew he would have a great year just because of how locked in he was. This was a different type of locked in.”
For Wall’s 30th birthday in September, he spent the week doing charity work. Wall traveled back to the D.C. area and New York with his foundation, helping children out with over 400 back-to-school packages, his seventh annual program.
Because the gym at the Player’s Association was closed, Wall played at Basketball City in Chelsea Piers. That week, Wall played at any and every gym he could find in the area, desperate to get some sort of work done.
After New York, Wall went down to his hometown in Raleigh, N.C., to visit his old high school, Word of God Christian Academy. Wall was accompanied by Carter Whitt, a collegiate player at Wake Forest who’s also from Raleigh.
In October, with the Lakers crowned as champions and the rest of the NBA world in offseason mode, Wall’s rehab circuit took him to Los Angeles — another popular spot for pickup games.
Wall trained every day at the late Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy, an unofficial training camp for him before linking back up with his Wizards teammates. The Brooklyn Nets were also in Los Angeles at the time and worked out at the same gym.
Wall wanted to scrimmage against the Nets conglomerate, which featured Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris Levert and DeAndre Jordan. He put his team together, playing with Isaac Bonga, Shelvin Mack and free agents Isaiah Thomas and De’Andre Bembry.
Games took place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The runs were set in playoff-like fashion, a best-of-seven series. It was during these games where those around the gym saw Wall look like the five-time All-Star that he is. In the first series, Wall’s team swept the Nets. It was a pleasurable experience for Durant and Irving seeing a good friend get back to his best.
“For sure,” Wall said. “It’s been a lot of moments. Even before the bubble and the pandemic, I felt like I was back. I think just having an opportunity to play against guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out in L.A. and seeing me play at a high level, knowing how special those two are. They were letting me know I still have a lot of time left in the league and the ability to do what I do.”
Wall’s eyes were watching De’Aaron Fox the entire possession and he had a point to prove.
It was Jan. 2, just the second game of Wall’s new career with the Rockets since a December trade, but he didn’t need any longer to show the Sacramento Kings and the world that he was back.
Wall drove on Kings guard Buddy Hield and put him in the post, backing him down before a quick turn and one-handed hook shot. Swish. Coming down the floor, Wall motioned to the ground, indicating that Hield was too small to guard him. The old, fiery Wall was coming back.
On the next defensive possession, Fox’s pump fake had sent Danuel House flying out of the picture and he was met with his old friend Wall defending him on the left wing. Fox attempted a crossover but Wall’s quick hands beat him to the spot, knocking the ball away from Fox momentarily. Both players immediately dove for the ball on the ground, but Wall’s quickness saw him win the battle, knocking the ball off of Fox and out of bounds.
As the sideline official signaled Rockets ball, Wall jumped up, flexed his arms and screamed to the heavens. It was a moment that would have truly resonated with Houston fans had there been the normal 20,000 instead of a few thousand scattered around Toyota Center, but Wall didn’t care.
Never mind the fact that Wall finished the game with an impressive line of 28 points, six assists, four rebounds, two blocks and three steals. It was a message to the doubters and naysayers. Wall never doubted his ability to return to a high level of play for a second.
“No. Hell no,” Wall said when asked if he’s surprised at his start to the season, which has seen him average 17.1 points, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds per game along with a career best 82.1 percent from the free throw line. “No I’m not surprised. I know how much work I’ve put in and I’ll say the NBA is a lot easier than what it was before. It’s a lot of switching one through four, one through five. And it’s a lot of spacing, all shooters out there and guys that can make one-on-one plays. That’s what I pride myself on being able to make, one-on-one plays, create shots for myself and for my teammates. I knew it would be a lot easier at least compared to when I came in the league where the paint used to be packed and you might have one shooter out there.”
It was the culmination of a journey that has been filled with its triumphs and tragedies. The birth of his sons and the loss of his mother are two things he constantly refers to because those are situations that drive and push him.
“Just my two sons, the passing of my mother, that was more motivation for me,” Wall said. “All the doubters saying I couldn’t be back to my old self and that I was done. That’s all I really need. I don’t need too much, man. I motivate myself because I love to play this game at a high level. Doesn’t matter if we get paid for this or not, I’m just happy to be able to play the game I love. You see me even without fans in the crowd, I play with a lot of passion.”
Wall was put in an awkward situation as soon as he arrived in Houston, forced to become a part of the Harden saga that consumed the franchise for months. However, he wasn’t going to let that serve as a distraction from what he was sent to Houston to do — win basketball games.
“Just sticking to it,” Wall said. “Even though we knew the bubble was going on and we didn’t know when this (next) season would start. I was like, ‘I hope it’s not gonna be another year until I get to play in front of fans or even see me on TV!’ I’m glad we came to an agreement where I have the opportunity to play and fans get to see me and see all the hard work I’ve put into this. A lot of people said it’s only pickup I’m playing against and can’t do it in the NBA anymore, and I’m still finding myself. It’s good to see real pros every time you step on the floor.”
Wall isn’t the only new face in town, as Stephen Silas was hired in late October to be the next Rockets head coach. It’s a relationship that has become incredibly strong from Day 1. The bond between a head coach and point guard is important, but Silas speaks to Wall more than anyone on the team. Whether it’s bouncing ideas off of one another, working through the offense, or taking the lead on defense, those two are in constant communication.
Wall has also become the leader of this team as it heads into a new era. During film sessions, Wall speaks up and points out things that the team is doing on the floor, both positive and what teammates need to improve on. In the games Wall wasn’t playing, he could still be seen on the bench walking around the sidelines having talks with players and coaches.
“I’m a big leader,” Wall said. “I’m very vocal. I like to talk. When I first came in the league, I used to lead by example but now I have years in and I like to speak up on certain things.”
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NBA GPP Picks – Saturday, January 30

NBA GPP Picks 1/30

Welcome back to another edition of NBA GPP Picks 1/30 for tonight’s eight games slate. Another 7 PM CST lock time should allow us to gather all the injury news we need. This evening’s main players to watch are Lebron, Anthony Davis, Tyler Herro, and Jimmy Butler as they all come into today with a questionable tag. I would guess that both Lakers superstars play tonight.
A game to have exposure to will be Portland at Chicago due to the huge total of 232 in Vegas. In this article today I will be referring to DraftKings pricing where Giannis is the highest salary at $10,800. Based upon my research I will select two players from each position that intrigue me the most. Anything can happen with NBA slates now days so be sure to keep a close eye on news throughout the day. With that said let’s break down tonight’s juicy eight game NBA slate

Point Guard

Ja Morant – ($7,100)
With Valanciunas out I wanted to run the numbers and see if it affected Morant much. With JVAL off the floor Morant has averaged 1.42 fantasy points per minute and a 31% usage rate to add to it. It is a small sample size but It shows upside. The Spurs play at the ninth fastest pace and has given up the ninth most fantasy points to point guards this season. An average matchup here but Morant has played in four full games and scored at least 41.5 fantasy points in three of those. I think this price is too cheap and you can definitely do worse than this matchup.
John Wall – ($6,800)
Houston has been slowly working Wall back and last game he received 30 minutes on the court. His restriction should be light if not lifted here. Wall comes into tonight the cheapest he has been on DraftKings all season. As Wall has gotten more minutes his usage has increased as he sported a near 30% usage rate last game which led the team. He draws a good positional matchup as well with the Pelicans allowing the fourth most fantasy points to point guards this season. Wall has scored 35 fantasy points in his previous two games in which he was limited. With another minute’s increase expected over 40 fantasy points is a good bet here for Wall.
Anfernee Simons – ($4,400)
Simons is a sneaky little value here I think with McCollum, Jones Jr, and Nurkic already ruled out. Robert Covington is still questionable with a concussion as well so plenty of minutes possibly up for grabs here. With the three above off the floor Simons sees an impressive usage bump of 3.7% bringing his usage to 25.7%. He is recording .98 fantasy points per minute with them off the floor this season as well. Simons minutes are trending in the right direction and its possible we lose another Blazer in this spot. This matchup is fantastic as Chicago ranks second fastest and has given up the second most fantasy points to point guards. I put a third point guard because I don’t love small forward today and I could use this to mention Gary Trent. He is intriguing as well but Simons had better numbers in my opinion and is cheaper.
📷

Shooting Guard

Zach Lavine – ($8,800)
Portland has been struggling defensively especially without several starters including defensive player Derrick Jones Jr. Portland has given up the sixth most fantasy points to shooting guards and have dropped to third worst in the league in defensive rating. When Markkanen came back it initially hurt Lavine’s usage, but had back-to-back games with 33% usage or more now. This is going to be a fast-paced game with minimal defense that I want to get pieces of. Grabbing Chicago’s usage leader in a good positional matchup looks to be a fine play.
Tyler Herro – ($7,200)
He comes into tonight questionable but I do think he plays. He returned from injury his previous game to play 32 minutes and accumulate 41.5 fantasy points. Goran Dragic has already been ruled out for Miami. If Butler is out again Herro is intriguing as his usage increases by 3.7%, which brings him to the team lead at 28.5%. He draws a great matchup against Sacramento who ranks dead last in defensive rating and play at the tenth fastest pace. If Herro plays his minutes shouldn’t be limited unless we hear otherwise as he did just play 32 minutes in his return.

Small Forward

Gordon Hayward – ($7,300)
In six straight games Hayward has seen at least 37 minutes of playing time which is almost as safe as it comes. His usage leads the team and so do his minutes. Milwaukee is a solid matchup as they have given up the third most fantasy points to power forwards and has been the seventh fastest team this season. This price is around the lowest that Hayward has been this season. Two straight subpar performances should keep Haywards ownership low for this slate.

Power Forward

LaMarcus Aldridge – ($5,400)
Due to a tough defensive task in Jokic the Spurs had to look elsewhere than Aldridge. Poeltl saw a big chunk of minutes to defend Jokic last night and that led to Aldridge to see just 22 minutes. This is strictly a GPP play because LMA does have fluciating minutes as we saw last night. I like that Valanciunas will be out allowing Aldridge to face lesser defensive opponents in my opinion. We have another cheapest price of the year alert here and that’s a big reason I feel safe with LMA. At this price he has a 7X to 8X ceiling and his ownership should be driven down some due to the terrible performance last night.
📷
Carmelo Anthony – ($5,500)
When McCollum, Joner Jr, and Nurkic are off the floor Anthony sees a usage increase of 6.2%. That brings his usage rate to 27% second to only Lillard without the listed players. His fantasy points per minute during that time is good for this price at .92 points. The minutes have been great recently as he seen 35 minutes or more in two straight games. Melo draws an amazing matchup with Chicago who is second fastest in pace and has surrendered the fourth most fantasy points to power forwards this year.

Center

Mason Plumlee – ($5,400)
This isn’t a flashy usage play but Plumlee is looking in the eyes of an amazing spot. Golden state has been third fastest in the league and has surrendered the fourth most fantasy points to centers this season. Another positive for Plumlee is that Golden State has the lowest rebound percentage this season. That looks good for a man coming in with three straight double-doubles coming into this game. A great matchup awaits Plumlee and he has all the potential to capitalize here.
Xavier Tillman – ($3,500)
Tillman has been a very solid value play before Valanciunas went out and now he is still low priced. In his last five games Tillman has recorded at least 18 fantasy points in all five games. His last two games seen him accumulate 28 and 29 minutes which I expect to remain the same with Valanciunas out. In both of those games Tillman gathered 25 fantasy points as he has eclipsed that number in three straight games now. His price should be higher than this but we have a solid value play as a result. Gorgui Dieng is an option as well as his minutes could increase as will but Tillman was over $1,000 cheaper.
Monkey Knife Fight
Trail Blazers vs Bulls
📷
Zach Lavine – 25.5 points – More – This game should be a track meet with little defense played at all. It wouldn’t surprise me if the total of this game got near 250. Even with the return of Markkanen Lavine has still carried the heavy lifting for Chicago with the highest usage. Portland struggles against shooting guards which is another positive for Lavine.
Damian Lillard – 30.5 points – More – Lillard is going to take as many shots as he feels necessary to keep his team in games. As I mentioned in the Anfernee Simons piece Chicago has really struggled to defend point guards and the big usage without McCollum should continue to benefit Lillard. I don’t think we have seen the ceiling of Lillard when McCollum is off the floor but I do think we see it here against the Bulls.
Closing NBA GPP Picks 1/30
Join myself and the Win Daily staff in Discord Chat, where we keep you updated on all injury news and help you adjust to it accordingly. Slates with around half the teams playing are typically my favorite nights. Making it even more intriguing is we could have the injury news we need early enough to build lineups. Majority of tonight’s spreads are tight which should lead to a fun night of basketball. As usual news can break at any time of day with this COVID era so always be watching. Today is my birthday so I will enjoy tonight and have tomorrow off. Enjoy your weekend and tonight’s NBA slate. Thank you for reading my article NBA GPP Picks 1/30 and good luck on this eight-game slate!
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My journey to 50% retirement - COASTFIRE @ 33

TLDR: 33M, 800k NW, negotiated a half time job (6 months on, 6 months off) to allow for traveling. I'm stoked!
Wanted to share my tale, as I love reading success stories and my journey has some twist and turns. Some details are obfuscated to protect my innocence :)

Some Background

2004 - Start in internship (during transition between High School and College) with a large defense contractor. My salary for an intern is great ($18/hr) and I'm given retirement benefits. Immediately start sinking 25% into my 401k.
2008 - Graduate college with a degree in Engineering. The job market sucks, and I take a few months off to backpack around Europe and Africa.
2009 - Come back to my HCOL city and start working as a government contractor. Salary is $55k. I'm fortunate to have the option to live with my folks so I can save up.
2010 - Switch job/company for a new salary of $63k.
2011 - Internal job change to $68k.
2012 - Switch job/company to $80k.
2013 - Buy a 1 BR cooperative in in the downtown area. The building is old, and the coop fees are high, but I love the location and the neighborhood. $229k purchase price with 20% down @ 3.75% interest nets me a mortgage at roughly $850/mo. All cooperative fees + additional costs add roughly the same, for a total monthly payment of $1700.
2014 - Internal job switch. Base salary stays the same, but I get ~$20k in commission, bringing my total to ~$110k. Get married. Luckily decide to keep our finances completely separate, which was a great idea, because...
2015 - Get divorced. I decide to take a sabbatical in Q4; what was intended as 1 year off balloons into 2 years. I spend a year camping through Africa, 6 months in the Indian subcontinent, and 6 months thru-hiking the Appalachian trail. These were the best 2 years of my life. Total cost abroad for the 2 years was around 40k. When I return, I find that my NW is about the same as when I left.
2018 - Find a new job with a salary of $132k. My two year sabbatical, surprisingly, does not seem to be an issue at all.
2019 - Find a new job with an F500 company. Lower base salary, but new company allows me to do mega backdoor roth, and there are stock incentives. Total cash comp ~135k. Over the next ~18 months, my company 401k is over 100k.
2020 - Get fired; with COVID happening decide to join a family member for a ~3 month camping road trip out west. Think a lot about what I want my life to look like, and how I can build that life.

Where I'm at now

My Living Expenses

I don't do a super good job tracking living expenses, but I live a fairly simple life. My main hobbies are weightlifting, bike riding, and reading. My total household costs are roughly:
At my current salary, I'm able to comfortably save between $5k-6k a month.

Back to the story...

While on the road with my brother (this is over the summer, Jul - Sep 2020), I find two candidate companies and take interviews from hotel rooms in between camping under the stars. I'm trying to figure out how to best balance my love for the outdoors with "professional" jobs that allow a couple weeks off, at best. I know I don't want to go back to working full time, but I don't really know how to go about navigating the situation.
I take one final round interview, which goes really well. This is how the conversation goes:
Boss: OK, cool, the interview is over. That went well. We want to hire you.
Me: ...Huh, what? You've decided already?
Boss: Yeah, let's talk about what that looks like, if you want to work here.
Me: ....Uh...yeah, sure. I mean, the company sounds awesome, but I'm not sure it would work out...
Boss: Oh, why not?
Me: Well....I don't think I want to work 12 months a year.
Boss: OK. Not everyone here works full time. What do you mean, you don't want to work 12 months a year? How often do you want to work?
Me: Uhh....I'm not sure? Maybe 6 months on, 6 months off? (I could feel my sphincter tighten up as I asked for this. I was totally unprepared for this conversation!)
Boss: ......We can accommodate that. Any other big issues?
I was shocked how easy it was! There was almost no push back, and no negotiations on my desire to work only 6 months a year. Luckily, I work as a consultant where projects are typically 6-9 months long, so this ask isn't as crazy as it sounds. We spent some time negotiating what the offer looked like, considering the unusual circumstances, and we settled at $75/hr 1099.

What the Future Looks Like

I'm super excited to have the flexibility to travel six months a year, and I know intellectually I shouldn't need to save any additional money to retire at ~60. I'm also extremely fortunate to work in a field where I love going into work every day. I plan on doing a lot more "long hikes" - the Pacific Crest Trail, the Te Aroroa, some hikes in Europe - as well as more backpacking/camping trips.
In terms of finances, I should bring in 12.5k a month * 6 months = $75k. I haven't run all the numbers, but as a 1099 I should be able to shelter a ton of money from the IRS:
So self employment tax notwithstanding, my federal and state taxes should be quite low.

The Elephant in the Room - My Apartment

Every time I run the numbers, paying nearly 2 grand a month for my apartment seems crazy, especially if I only plan in living in it 6 months a year. Unfortunately my HOA rules do not allow renters for terms under one year.
Another option I've considered is selling my apartment, and using the proceeds to either pay all cash for a place in a lower COL (Las Vegas? Charlotte?) and never worry about a mortgage again, or possibly try the digital nomad life for a year or two.
In the short term, I think I'm OK holding it. When I travel overseas, I usually travel quite cheaply - either camping or staying in hostels, eating street food, walking around a lot, things like that. Even if my annual expenses balloon a bit, I would feel very comfortable pulling ~10k/year (5%) from my Betterment account to cover the delta. The other option, of course, is to work 8 or 9 months a year for a couple years if I'm drawing down my Betterment account too fast.

Wrap Up

I've been super fortunate with my life, and I'm really excited to see how the next phase unfolds. Please let me know what you think!

EDIT - FOLLOW-UP Q+A

Q: You had help!
A: Yes, I thought it was so blindingly obvious that I didn't get here alone that I wasn't super explicit about that. I thought the most interesting part about this post was my desire to go half time, and how that unfolded, but I see in retrospect adding in numbers makes everyone wants to run their own calculation.
Q: What help did you get?
A: My grandmother died in early 2019 and left me ~$70k. This absolutely impacted my decision and probably moved my decision up 12-15 months. College was paid for. Leveraging family connections to get my first internship. I also kept about ~10k in cash wedding gifts even after the divorce, but that was mainly out of spite, so let's not dwell on it :)
Q: The numbers still don't make sense!
A: Technically that's not a question, but yes, they do. I'm not sure where some of the commenters were getting an "estimated NW of 300k running the numbers", but here's a more granular breakdown. These are estimates, I don't have everything tracked super well.
Years Yearly Cash Savings Total Cash Savings S&P Index Then Equivalent $ Now How?
2004 - 2007 $4k $16k ~1300 ~40k Interns were eligible for 401 (+match). I took advantage of this, heavily. I also worked during winter break, so it was more than just 3 months/year.
2009 - 2012 $25k $100k ~1300 ~250k I was living at home, with my folks. Expenses were close to zero. My savings rate some years was probably over 80%. $25k/year is lower than I saved, I excluded the ~12.5k/year * 4 years that went towards my down payment.
2013 - 2015 $40k $120k ~2000 ~200k By 2014 I cross into 6 figures, these savings rates are not that impressive
2018 - 2019 $60k $120k ~2800 ~140k Megabackdoor Roth, primarily.
Total "stock equivalent" savings = 40k + 250k + 200k + 140k + 70k (from grandma) = $700k in stocks. My actual holdings are less. The lion's share of this delta is when I pulled out $40k between 2015 - 2017 to fund my sabbatical, which has a total "cost", with gains, of closer to $65. (I also pulled out smaller amounts throughout the years for other trips.)
Q: There's an error in your math!
A: Yeah, probably. It's not intentional.
Q: It's impossible to buy a house for $230k in a HCOL!"
A: I agree that it's probably impossible to buy an apartment in 2020 in a HCOL for $230k. I bought in 2013, and I technically didn't buy an apartment, I bought a cooperative. These are similar, but coops are typically more depressed in value than apartments because of restrictions. I also bought in what was a lower income, more racially diverse area, so gentrification (and therefore house prices) hadn't quite caught up. But yeah, I got an absolute steal of a deal, if I do say so myself.
Q: So you took 2 years off, spent about $40k, and when you came back, your net worth was about the same? Please, explain the magic of compound interest!
A: For sure, my dude! I think I had about $350k invested in the market about that time. I pulled out about $40k, leaving me $310k. My sabbatical was almost exactly 2 years, Nov 2015 - Nov 2017. In Nov 2015, the S&P index was at ~2020. When I came back in Nov 2017, the S&P was ~2600. That's about a 30% gain. (350 - 40) + 30% > 350. Go, compound interest! (This excludes the ~8k I gained in NW by renters paying down my mortgage for me.)
[Edit #2] Q: You don't understand what "compound interest" is, you noob!
A: lol
submitted by Zwillium to financialindependence [link] [comments]

True Story Time

Ok, forgive the formatting. This was originally a greentext post for all the /b/tards at 4chan. It's also a long read but if you can get past that then it is actually a quite interesting story that happened to me years ago.
be 22 active duty air force assigned to Nellis in Las Vegas not disclosing job, but no stranger to weapons and tactics get pulled in to supervisor's office one day told I've just been "voluntold" to participate in a training exercise with DOD no other information given other than reporting instructions pretty much any question I asked was answered with "I have no fucking idea " report to conference room at base hotel next morning per instruction see about 12 other guys from my unit also voluntold to be there five guys enter room in civilian clothes introduce themselves as the "WHITEBOX" Group Assume it's an acronym for something, but never explained told we will be upgrading our security clearances hours of paperwork, only told we are participating in a force on force exercise released back to our unit crack jokes about how the exercise is a lie and we will be experimented on return to regular job and time passes eventually assume that it was canceled and forget the whole thing
about 2 months later supervisor pulls me aside and tells me that I need to report to a briefing the next day says it’s about "some WHITEBOX exercise" has no idea what it is and doesn't seem to care. once again report to base hotel with the other 12 guys WHITEBOX guys show up and pick us up in a van driven off base to some random office building and escorted into the offices of the Department of Energy, WTF? mystery only deepens, what the fuck is happening? what if this actually is some evil experimental shit more hours of paperwork and security/safety briefings by random suits had to fill out and sign a non-disclosure agreement and that threatened arrest if violated required to turn in cell phones and any other electronic devices in our possession our cell phones get locked in a cabinet while the office phone in the room gets unplugged WHITEBOX guys finally return and fire up a power point briefing first slide just titled WHITBOX Exercise 0X slide also labeled in bold red letters "CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET / NOFORN / ORCON this is really starting to feel serious
WHITEBOX Exercise finally explained told that for the next two weeks we will be role playing as OPFOR (opposing forces) we will try to attack and penetrate a DOD facility and carry out a simulated act of sabotage facility is protected by a contracted privately owned security force security group is required by the DOD to carry out this exercise in order to audit their protection every couple of years if we succeed, security company fails the audit and looses the contract the exercise is the conclusion of a two week inspection of the security contractors and their procedures every exercise a random military unit is chosen as OPFOR "reminded that we are silent professionals and that this isn’t something we should be advertising shaving wavers granted and civilian attire only FUCKYEAH.jpg power point scrolls to a page with a google earth screenshot on it instantly recognize the picture it's Area 51 holyfuckingshit.exe are we are being told to break into Area 51? can't be real random unit bro pipes up out of nowhere "Is that fucking Area 51?" we are all fucking stoked later told not to call it Area 51 as that just makes you a total chode Groom Lake, Paradise Ranch, or Homey Airbase are the acceptable names many insiders simply refer to it as “The Base” also reminded of the possible legal action via UCMJ if we go around telling everyone about it One of the WHITEBOX guys is now our designated "insider threat" exercise is designed to simulate that someone inside has been comprised by a foreign government he will provide any information that we ask for that he has knowledge of or access to other WHITEBOX guys handle will handle exercise logistics they will provide any weapons or equipment that we request to carry out mission "within reason" told this is not a COD loadout screen
ground rules established... will only be provided with weapons that we are certified to carry weapons will be armed with blank rounds or completely empty also no vehicles will be utilized by us within the DOD property landmarkers simulating road chases are not authorized our insertion is simulated so we will already be escorted/processed through various checkpoints and dropped off near the base no impractical equipment requests, so no tanks, helos, surveillance drones, or scud missiles, lol any explosives we intend to simulate will be assessed by WHITEBOX so if we want to blow the perimeter fences we will tell them before hand, they will calculate the weight of the bang we would need, it would be simulated by rocks, and then someone would need to hump the weight number 1 rule established and stressed with a very serious tone we will be escorted by WHITEBOX evaluators at all times within the DOD landmarkers at no point are any of us authorized to be alone in the facility actual security is not laxed because of the exercise, nor is this a free pass to roam security personnel can still use real force in the event that we deviate from the established protocols shown various pictures within the airbase that most will never get to see a specific hangar is designated as our target building. we will need to gain access to that hangar and carry out an act of sabotage for our sabotage we will need to ///REDACTED/// obviously we won't be doing it for real so we will actually need complete a random task inside the hangar task will be designed to be as complex and time consuming as the real thing all while being hunted by the security force insider threat briefing continues, various elements of the base security procedures and day to day operations explained however, get the impression that the chosen source is someone with a generic admin position and is not actually involved with security we are also encouraged to do our own research and scour the interwebz for info about the base told to supply the URLs to WHITEBOX if we find anything of interest. sorry if we got your Alex Jones or Art Bell conspiracy blogs taken offline briefing finally concludes, we are reminded of our non-disclosure policy and taken back to Nellis and dismissed for the day
next day we all meet at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada we will be using this location to build our plan of attack and do rehearsals/dry runs it's actually pretty cool because it's on us to plan our op, just a bunch of random Airmen periodically grill our insider with questions and start asking our other WHITEBOX guys for gear we tried to have our insider take pictures of the interior of our target hangar, but he got caught IRL he would be arrested and interrogated by the feds, and the whole op would be dead instead though the guys that caught him received kudos from the inspectors, and he just tells us nope have to rely on a whiteboard sketch of the inside decide to keep it simple, M4 riffles only however I am certified on the Barret M82 .50 cal. we decide that I will carry that heavy mother fucker as well as an M4 and provide overwatch from the distance kind of bummed out because im not going inside it will be on me to neutralize certain security positions that we have previous identified we remind our WHITEBOX guys that the M82 is an anti-material weapon with the ability to disable vehicles they tell us that I will just need to call my shots to the evaluator that I will be partnered with he will radio to the vehicles that they are destroyed and will need to stop driving guess I should mention that is also part of the disadvantage we have we will all be paired with WHITEBOX evaluators who will sort of act as referees during this simulated battle however they will all be wearing bright orange reflective vest identifying them as exercise officials that really fucks our ability to stay hidden and stealthy, but it is what it is also should mention that this is a daytime raid despite our objections sounds like they are setting us up for failure, but they remind us not to think of it like that this is all being done just so the evaluators can get a good look at the security's incident response procedures it's not an unannounced drill, the military doesn't really like to do that kind of thing especially with large scale exercises such as this everyone on the base know we are coming, there's no element of surprise here except with what kind of attack we prep it would be a real hot clusterfuck if the security contractors failed the audit heads would roll, people would get fired, and numerous officers would be relieved of command I still get to attack Area 51 so don't care as this is the coolest thing I've done in the military
our plan is starting to come together over the days decide to sacrifice one of us in a suicide bomb attack figure out which of us is the most "FNG" or lowest ranking and make him do it he will approach one of the ECPs (entry points to the base) on foot wearing a rucksack loaded with rocks (make-believe explosives) he will be wearing a uniform and will identify himself as Air Force and will franticly yell that he needs help we don't anticipate that he will make it that far or that the security will actually swallow this ruse however his goal is to get as close as he can to the ECP and yell allah ackbar and release his dead man's switch and try to take out what he can his evaluatoescort will drop a GBS (ground burst simulator) when he detonates GBS is a little miniature explosive device that just makes a really loud boom anyone who’s been through any type of military training is familiar with them, they are used to add stress and create excitement we are hoping this will be a distraction and will get as much security as possible to converge on that location the rest of us will assault from the other side of the base and try to breach the perimeter several of us will also be rucking explosive rocks for the breach chose a breach point that will have us crossing only a minimal portion of the flightline (place where aircraft operate) if we successfully simulate breaching the perimeter the exercise will be paused and we will be inprocessed through the ECP and brought into the base exercise will resume and we will continue to assault towards the target hangar I will stay outside in my sniper position and try to smoke what I can inside the hangar the team will cover the doors with simulated claymores and take up cover two guys will carry out the simulated sabotage act while the rest cover the doors WHITEBOX doesn't have any inert claymores to provide so the will be simulated with small weighted ammo cans the weight is really starting to become problematic so we abandon the claymores and decide to just cover the doors with firepower would really help if we had a vehicle, but not happening to be fair, vehicles wouldn't make it that close to the base if they tried to attack IRL armored or not
week one down, plan looking solid considering how much of our attack is simulated two weeks of planning is actually excessive not complaining though cause two weeks of hanging out and smoking and joking compared to normal work at Nellis only downside is the hour drive back and forth each day to Creech AFB casino right outside that base with awesome steak and eggs so not too bad though one of the WHITEBOX guys tells us he's actually employed by the Department of Energy he doesn't actually work at Groom Lake, he works at the Nevada Test Range the massive amount of Nevada landscape that is restricted and owned by the feds is actually impressive contrary to popular myth there is road access to Groom Lake via the adjacent test range, but not too many people actually make that drive. the 737 shuttle from McCarran Airport is how everyone gets there since the drive is long as fuck the main paved road through Rachel Nevada that all the tourist flock to doesn't really have any operational use anymore allegedly we will be driving there through the test range via a convoluted series of paved and dirt roads route is CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET, not kidding
DOE dude gives us a tour of the test range one day load cases of water in back of van drive to Mercury Nevada and stop at checkpoint inprocessed inside, get pictures taken and issued escorted visitor passes also required to wear radiation badges once inside get to see all that shit from The Hills Have Eyes, fake towns that were blown up with atomic bombs not as intact as they are portrayed in films though, they are pretty rekt or deconstructed show us a massive crater called the Sedan Crater in the 50's they experimented with using atomic bombs for mass excavation projects hoping they could just nuke the ground and build shit instead of fucking around with bulldozers pretty stupid and impractical but they didn't know any better back then they buried an atomic bomb a half a mile underground and blew it up Sedan Crater left behind as a result and the fucking thing is huge. they allegedly herded cattle down to the bottom of the crater afterwards to test the post fallout effects pretty fuckin savage, and it was actually stunning to look at two hour drive to Groom Lake though endless desert roads now see why we loaded the water, we’d be pretty fucked if the van broke down or got stuck get first distant look at the base without having to enter their checkpoints holyshit.mp4 very few people get to actually see what we are seeing to be honest though, looks like any other air force base I've ever seen except smaller besides the obvious fact that it is in the middle of bum fuck nowhere and its main runway is long as fuck also realize one of the reasons they didn't want us operating vehicles most roads are dirt and the entire lake bed is surrounded by "moon dust" everywhere moon dust is the ultra-fine sand found in certain parts of the desert with the consistency of flour it's also a total bitch to drive in and the security patrols getting stuck is a somewhat frequent occurrence told that they even have some of the AAFES fast food joints there that you find on any other base imagine working at a Burger King that you need a Top Secret security clearance for, how the fuck does that work??? noticed that despite being authorized to be here, we are still being watched by distant security patrols wonder if they know we are the bad guys that are going to be attacking the joint make some minor adjustments to the plan since the google earth pictures lack some detail conclude tour and take the 3 to 4 hour drive back home, most of us slept in the van
arrive at Creech next day and see that more WHITEBOX guys have been added to the mix, now there's like 20 of them for the past two weeks they have been inspecting the security contractors and its procedures you can tell a lot of them are ex-military based off of language and the people that are dipping and spiting in empty water bottles the mood is light, all of the exercise planning is finished, nothing to do the last two days we managed to borrow an empty hangar at Creech and used it as a mockup of our target hangar to run rehearsals no longer asking our insider questions about security, instead start asking completely ridiculous questions about conspiracies for lulz accuse some of them of being reptilians to see how they react, some of them get legit uncomfortable before you go sounding off, doubt they are hiding anything, some folks just don’t get military humor one does, however, and shows us a velcro patch that he wears on his rucksack it's one of those standard patches you spot on a pilot’s flight suit that has the name, rank, branch, and blood type his blood type seriously says reptilian it's obvious that they embrace and poke fun at the reputation this base has, in fact they thrive off of it
the day finally fucking arrives, time to attack this bitch wake up at 0400 and drive an hour to Creech dressed to kill decide to wear DCU "desert combat uniform" pants and a sand t shirt with my personally owned Blackhawk tactical vest to carry spare M4 mags sometimes the military issues some real shitty gear so our unit is somewhat lax and allows us to personally buy our own better equipment if it has command approved use and doesn't break SOPs also wear my empty gas mask pouch attached to my hip and use it to carry spare M82 .50 cal mags also wear a black turban for lulz that I bought off an ANA (Afghani Northern Alliance) dude downrange used to have a guile suite but it got lost on a deployment so that's a no go unfortunately arm up with an M4 with M68 red dot sight and attach a BFA "blank firing adapter" to the muzzle, and load six mags of .556 blanks also provided with my trusty Barret .50 M82 and five mags there is no BFA for the Barret that I'm familiar with so carry that with empty mags, guess I get to cheat with the weight load up in the vans with WHITEBOX team and drive another hour to Mercury get inprosscessed through security checkpoint and receive visitor badges for the test range drive another 2 hour on random roads passing more checkpoints /// REDACTED /// forced to surrender cell phones, personally owned electronic devices and CAC cards (military ID cards) again receive our escorted visitor passes for Groom Lake and now continue down some of the most forbidden roads in American history start unloading as close to our start point as the terrain allows and hump the rest of the distance on foot with our escorts suicide attack bro hangs back in the van with other escorts and is driven to his start point the terrain is favorable and allows us to set up out of sight hence why we chose the spot I break off and try to set up my nest at my chosen OP "observation point" as discreetly as possible not really stealthy cause I'm being followed by a guy wearing an orange reflective vest that says STAN EVAL and he's just casually walking he tells me to set up the Barret, but just simulate your shots by firing the M4 blanks now in a spot where I can observe base activity and provide cover fire for the breach, but I am also the most easy to spot sniper ever now wait for confirmation that our distraction on the other side has happened, taking a real long fucking time
my escort's radio chimes to life and starts talking "attention all WHITEBOX, we now have proper authentication via CASTLE ROCK for initiation of a detachment level exercise" voice on radio proceeds to spit out a long winded exercise safety briefing realize it's been about 40 minutes and we are just now fucking starting another 10 minutes and finally get word that suicide bro is approaching his target escorts all inform us that the security force is responding to reports of an explosion outside of the ECP later find out that suicide bro was stopped and challenged at gun point about 50 meters outside of ECP by a mounted patrol he then just fuck it and started sprinting towards the ECP until they opened fire with blanks and his escort set off the GBS he actually managed to take out the vehicle that stopped him and create several casualties (we gave him the heaviest explosive rocks loadout) overall our distraction was pretty fucking successful give it a another minute or two and finally start shooting and calling my shots to my escort/evaluator he's talking on his radio and relaying my simulated violence, "inform Merc-17 that they are dead from sniper fire" etc... I have predetermined targets to engage based off of what poses the biggest threat to the breach team I actually do some damage and get confirmation of casualties from my escort it's about a 600 meter run to the base perimeter in the open desert so it's on me to try and clear their path as much as I can the plan is to try to lure some security vehicles to our position then eliminate them with the Barret while they are en route the dead vehicles can then serve as points of cover for the breach team as they assault towards the base breach team was also aiming to see if they could snag any security radios from the dead patrols so we can monitor their comms didn't really work out that way however, in the end we simply didn't have all the info about the anticipated security response without giving away too many sensitive details, we all got ambushed by the security from unexpected locations forced to abandon my nest and the Barret to start moving towards another location to back up the breach team that was under fire trade some shots with security until my escort finally announces "ok dude, you're dead. go ahead and lay down" that's it, game over
play dead for about 20 minutes while security cleans up the area breach team gets rekt, we managed to get within 100 meters of the perimeter couple of security dudes approach me and perform a dead combatant body search on me it's a specific type of search designed to search a dead body while also checking for possible explosive booby traps pretend to be dead and let security dudes run my pockets finally one of the evaluators shouts "PauseEx" (pause exercise) we got fucking annihilated, no chance this attack was going to be successful our evaluators tell us that everyone did a great job, HOWEVER.... we are going to continue the exercise because they didn't get the chance to observe much of the internal security components we are going to resume the exercise assuming that we were actually able to get inside that target hangar this will give the evaluators the opportunity to observe the security's recap and recov procedures (re-capture and recovery) we all get magically resurrected from the dead I realize that I am actually going inside Groom Lake! Fucking Awesome...
spend about 15 minutes policing up the area for brass which means wandering around and picking up spent cartridges board vans and get driven around to ECP. realize that only half of the security force is playing in this exercise the rest are still armed with live weapons and are still performing regular protection duties forced to show our visitor passes, names and badge numbers are compared against a master list that the security has /// REDACTED /// /// REDACTED /// notice a homemade sign hanging on the wall at the security center it’s got a picture of an alien with a red X through it that says "no extraterrestrial entities or relics beyond this point" like I said earlier, everyone enjoys the reputation this base has drive to our target hangar, holy fuck! I am now inside Area 51 use of blanks not authorized indoors, everyone is told to clear out weapons rest of the exercise will use simulated firing, the equivalent of pointing your empty weapon at someone and yelling bang sadly not the first time I trained like this, military does it all the time it’s ridiculous and awkward every time, looks like a bunch of kids playing backyard soldiers with sticks security has already reset its posture, they know we are attacking but doesn't know the building we are hitting we all enter the hangar, get the impression that it doesn't actually get used IRL anymore reeks of mildew and no power inside, dust everywhere in the center there is a pickup truck covered with a tarp and roped off with red rope and stanchions, signs posted identifying it as a controlled area told that this is a simulated military asset and this is what we are sabotaging WHITEBOX evaluator pulls a box out of the bed of the truck remember when I said we will have to do a complex and time consuming task to simulate our act of sabotage? it’s a fucking Star Wars Lego kit! I shit you not! evaluators tell us we will need start building it and reach page 12 in the instructions without errors or mistakes kind of wish we went with our earlier plan and brought claymores cause I spotted some sweet chokepoints outside the building to set them up also wish we had the idea of bringing padlocks and chains so we could lock down the hangar and make life more difficult for the security force set up our spots to cover the doors, we are well versed with building clearing tactics so we know what spots to cover to make it hard
WHITEBOX evaluator authenticates over the radio with someone by passing letters and numbers back and forth, process known as sign/countersign voice on radio announces that the detachment level WHITEBOX exercise has resumed showtime! Two unit bros start opening the Lego kit and sorting parts me and the suicide bro weren't supposed to be in this hangar or even on the base to begin with so we don't have points to cover inside come up with idea and ask one of the escorts if we can go out the back on to the flightline plan to walk to two separate buildings in opposite directions and see if we can create distractions evaluators approve the plan, but tell us we can't approach or enter other buildings, nor approach any parked aircraft decide to leave firearms and my tac vest behind for clever reasons if we are unarmed the security will most likely apprehend us, and search us this is more time consuming than just shooting us and will keep them away from the hangar longer exit the back of the hangar on to the flightline and just start casually walking down the tarmac with my escort eventually hear the sound of police sirens in the distance getting louder, hear they come! get the urge to start sprinting but decide not to since it would most likely result in me being tackled on the pavement, fuck that later realize distant sirens are actually responding to hangar after reports of a silent alarm being received so much for the distraction plan
decide not to return to hangar since there is not much I can do unarmed, and continue walking down flightline all the parked aircraft I see are just normal military aircraft, although some do seem to have “enhancements” or cosmetic features that I haven’t seen before ask my escort where they keep all the flying saucers, he smirks and just replies "underground" wonder if there are actually any subterranean levels to this base, suppose a lot of these buildings could support that ask my escort if there are really underground levels, he facetiously says “who knows” white pickup truck with police lights approaching fast pretend not to notice and keep walking voice starts barking at me over a loudspeaker "stop right there! do not move! get your hands up! security mercs climbing out of vehicle with rifles drawn, don't see magazines in the riffles, they are part of the drill they actually try to challenge both of us, escort has to remind them that he is out of play security goons bark at me, "face away from me NOW! keep your hands up!" they are actually pretty intimidating, I comply proceed to have me lay on the ground face down with my arms and legs stretched out yell at me to put my hands in the small of my back, palms together, fingers up big black guy approaches me and actually puts his knee on my neck George Floyd style "don't fight me, don't resist me, or you are gonna get hurt" he says puts me in zip ties and picks me up, see other guards still have weapons drawn on me overall whole thing similar to a gangbanger getting rolled up by the cops black guy puts me in some weird and uncomfortable arm hold tells me to start walking while he steers my body with the arm hold and walks me off the flightline taken to a grassy area, get put back on the ground and searched and questioned /// REDACTED /// I try to bluff and say that the hangar will blow if anyone goes inside, see if that stalls them he tries to question me about it, but I can tell he’s not biting, I decide to tone it down and stay quiet cause the dude really looks like he’s going to fuck me up actually overhear his partner talking on the radio, he’s telling others to exercise caution and beware of possible explosive booby traps lights out, realize that someone put a bag over my head evaluator calls out "EndEX" (end exercise) all portions of the exercise are terminated, it's all over
black security guy cuts my zip ties, takes off the hood and sets me loose later find out that security retook the hangar with no problems my guys inside struggled with the Legos since it was so dark and hard to see instead of immediately going in, security tossed inert CS gas canisters inside none of us brought gas mask since it was something our insider failed to mention evaluator let us build legos for another 30 seconds then yelled “GAS, GAS, GAS” unit bros in the hangar were told to lay on the ground and pretend to be incapacitated security swarmed the place with gas mask and guns, kicked away weapons they got a similar treatment to what I received on the flightline and got hauled out of there we all regroup at the base's main visitor center for the AAR (after action review) overall security responded quite well, only some points were critiqued, nothing failing smoke cigarettes and crack jokes back and forth with the security dudes, finally get to see the human side of the guy who snagged me on the flightline tell him he’s one scary mofo, he smiles and we shake hands security dudes leave, head to base theater for full debrief WHITEBOX guys thank us for our participation, time to head home wait a sec, let’s see some fucking aliens WHITEBOX guy smirks and says he’ll give us the dollar tour another day drive back to Mercury knowing full well that we are not going to hear back from them, especially about a tour return radiation badges to the Mercury office told that if we never hear back from them that it’s a good sign told that if they do call us then our Tricare (military health coverage) will get put to good use whole experience was cool as fuck one of the evaluators hands out business cards for ///REDACTED/// and tells us to look them up when we separate from the military starting pay for the security force is pretty fucking dope and only certain military backgrounds are considered for it return to Indian Springs and hit up the casino for drinks with the original 5 WHITEBOX guys ask if any of the prior OPFOR units actually pulled it off and broke in told that a group of CCT guys from the 24th STS was the closest anyone’s ever gotten but even they still failed makes sense, I’ve heard that those dudes are legit operators tell war stories and get drunk actually receive a letter of appreciation from the Air Force Test Center Detachment 3 from Edwards Air Force Base, California about a month later it thanks me for my participation in an exercise but makes no mention of Groom Lake my participation in a vaguely worded “DOD exercise” actually gets mentioned as a bullet in my annual performance report mfw I attacked Area 51
tldr - me and my coworkers "broke" into Area 51 with automatic weapons so we could put together an X-wing starfighter out of Legos
Thanks for reading. I should mention that I have intentionally withheld a lot of details and even altered a few. I'm not trying to blow up anyone’s spot and compromise shit. Just wanted to share a true story about some cool shit I got to do in my youth. For example WHITEBOX is a completely fabricated name while the whole operation actually went under another random weird name. It still ranks as some of the most cloak and dagger shit I got to do in the military. I actually don’t really tell too many people because it is no one’s business and no one would believe me anyways. I finally figured that enough time has passed and like I said, I have specially tailored this story to avoid leaking any sensitive shit. Overall the base was actually kind of underwhelming. I didn’t really see any earth shattering secrets there. All of the alien and reptilian conspiracy theories were openly mocked and made fun of there. It’s really just a base that gets an extra layer of discreetness and physical security for more sensitive assets and projects to be kept there. The CIA, JSOC and other intel gangs from Washington even have offices out there because it’s just a quiet tucked away place to do business. I will say that their security is no joke and that they have some truly fascinating techniques to detect and deny intruders. Hope you enjoyed.
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does las vegas have restrictions video

Some states requiring 14-day quarantine for visitors - YouTube

LAS VEGAS – The surge of COVID-19 in Nevada is now at "wildfire levels," and new statewide restrictions that start Tuesday will impact travelers visiting this gambling and entertainment destination. Las Vegas Advisor: New restrictions limit capacity at casinos, restaurants. By Anthony Curtis; Nov. 29, 2020 ; In response to escalating COVID-19 infection rates in Nevada, ... The new Nevada restrictions may have you wondering whether Las Vegas is open. Las Vegas will be impacted by the new restrictions, mostly in terms of the capacity limits at bars and gaming... When Las Vegas’ nonessential businesses closed their doors in mid-March to help curb the spread of coronavirus, it was the first time the world-famous, neon-lit Strip was shut down since President John F. Kennedy's funeral in 1963. The usual 24/7 tide of tourists and traffic jams was replaced by a smattering of pedestrians and local families on bicycles, and LED marquees offered well-wishes ... Are There Travel Restrictions to Come to Las Vegas? Currently, there are no travel restrictions on travel within the domestic U.S. The White House announced that starting March 13, travel is restricted to the U.S. from most of Europe for 30 days. Get the most up-to-date information on Las Vegas reopening, current travel advisories, guidelines and restrictions for Las Vegas, Nevada. Find out how COVID-19/Coronavirus may affect your travel plans and what our Las Vegas travel partners are doing to ensure your health and safety during your stay. Major Las Vegas attractions like casinos, racetracks, and arcades can now only operate at a 25% capacity limit, down from 50%. Visitors will also notice precautions like plexiglass barriers and ... In 2019, Las Vegas saw 42.5 million visitors, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimates the city hosted around three million visitors in February 2020. Yet, in the middle of March 2020, most businesses on the Vegas Strip and Fremont Street shut down after the state’s governor ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses as part of Covid-19 restrictions. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman criticized Gov. Sisolak’s restrictions. Mayor Goodman called him “a dictator with whom we have complied every step of the way... Elevated restrictions related to coronavirus precautions in Nevada could have been lifted this week, but instead have been extended until Jan. 15.

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Some states requiring 14-day quarantine for visitors - YouTube

A warning if you're planning on traveling to a different state soon. Starting today, some east coast states are being added to the list of states asking peop...

does las vegas have restrictions

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