UPDATE:

China’s Largest Dam on the Brink of Collapse as Flooding Ravages Country: Expert

Updated: June 24, 2020

China’s controversial Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydropower project in the world, has drawn scrutiny for its structural flaws and environmental damage ever since its construction was first proposed in the 1950s.

As torrential rainstorms are currently sweeping through half of China, a hydrology expert warns that the dam could collapse under the added pressure, endangering the lives of millions who reside nearby.

Widespread flooding has affected at least 11.2 million people in 26 Chinese provinces and municipalities across central and southern China since heavy rainfall began wreaking havoc in early June. More than 9,300 houses have tumbled and 171,000 others have sustained damage. The financial damage has surpassed 24.1 billion yuan ($3.4 billion), according to local authorities.

The record rainfall is forecasted to continue for another 10 days.

In Guizhou, a mountainous province in China’s southwest, the stormwater at one point rose to 16 feet higher than acceptable thresholds.

The flooding in Yanhe County caused water to cascade over a bridge and wash away houses underneath.

Moar

https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinas-largest-dam-on-the-brink-of-collapse-as-flooding-ravages-country-expert_3401097.html#comment_open

>>9737209

Thank you Baker

Canceling Disney +

Why Disney Plus’ July 4 streaming of ‘Hamilton’ is historic

The film version of the Broadway musical could change both the service and the larger world of streaming

June 24, 2020 at 5:00 a.m. MDT

When Lin-Manuel Miranda posted the trailer for the new “Hamilfilm” on Twitter on Sunday night, it quickly blew up bigger than a Hamilton-Jefferson rap battle. By the next afternoon, more than 220,000 people had liked the tweet from the “Hamilton” creator, with the trailer generating 4.2 million views.

It would be hard to imagine that any more cultural or economic meaning could be wrung out of “Hamilton.” The rap-driven Broadway musical about the Founding Fathers and Mothers that opened in 2015 swept the Tonys, sold out soundtracks and world tours, grossed more than half a billion dollars in New York alone and ignited a full-blown renaissance for Broadway musicals among teenagers.

If the “Hamilfilm” succeeds, he and others say, it could accelerate the trend, spurring streamers to change their longstanding strategy.

This is true in part because producing new binge-worthy shows can be expensive and a large ask for customers in a world of content overload. Also important: the payoff for the streamer comes much more slowly.

HBO Max executives recently went beyond series to sign up the “Friends” reunion special, a unique stand-alone event they hope people can’t say no to. The move sits in sharp contrast to more traditional material like an “Insecure” or a “Search Party,” which aim to build an audience slowly and then immerse it in dozens of episodes over years of viewing.

“Streaming is reinventing the wheel,” said Forrester’s Nail, borrowing “the concept of ‘tentpole’ events like the Super Bowl and awards programs,” even though it deviates from its own usual devotion to repeat engagement.

Basically, executives hope consumers take note of a service when a spectacle debuts, then come back when they remember it served them well.

But analysts wonder whether the streaming world is wide enough for the experiment. The attention, they say, may not justify the cost.

And the stand-alone nature of a show could make viewers drop the service after they watch it.

“The question I have is what long-term effect ‘Hamilton’ will have on a Disney Plus — not on whether people come but whether they stay,” said Rayburn, the streaming expert.

Some believe that’s what’s likely to happen with “Hamilton.”

“In the absence of original programming because of the production shutdown and the absence of the movie pipeline because of the theater shutdown, Disney didn’t have a lot of alternatives to keep people interested and subscribed,” Greenfield said.

He said the airing is less about a fresh recruitment approach than a need to survive in desperate times.

“This isn’t about new people. This is about feeding the beast. The beast is starving."

MOAR

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/24/hamilton-july4-disneyplus-streaming/

Re-read the last part again. Let that sink in.

“This isn’t about new people. This is about feeding the beast. The beast is starving."