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Richelieu reforme un groupe de soldats/espions d'élite surnommé les Lames du Cardinal, avec pour mission, dans le cadre de délicates négociations diplomatiques avec l'Espagne, de retrouver un chevalier espagnol réfugié en France avec un compagnon. Les Lames retrouvent puis perdent la trace du compagnon et empêchent l'enlèvement de la maîtresse de celui-ci. En parallèle, la Griffe Noire, une société secrète espagnole composée de decendants à forme humaine de dragons et de leurs fidèles, tente d'ouvrir une loge en France, ce que Richelieu cherche à empêcher. Ils finissent par découvrir le lieu de la cérémonie d'ouverture de la loge, où les âmes des fidèles sont liées à l'esprit d'un dragon ancestral et empêchent la cérémonie de s'accomplir. Ils découvrent aussi que la maîtresse du compagnon est en fait la fille de l'ambassadeur (déguisée en chevalier pour voyager plus discrètement), enfuie avec son amant, et que l'ambassadeur cherche à retrouver, utilisant les négociations pour forcer Richelieu à s'en occuper. On apprend enfin que la jeune femme est en fait la fille naturelle du capitaine des Lames, et que le mari de la mère, actuel ambassadeur d'Espagne, est une ancienne Lame qui avait trahi ses compagnons lors du siège de la Rochellem provoquant la dissolution du groupe.

On the radio the other day, I heard a mathematician warning about too hastily interpreting probability results. Here's the example he gave.

Imagine a population of 100,000 people, 100 of which having a rare disease (but not knowing about it) and therefore 99,900 of which not being sick. Imagine moreover there is a test that can detect this disease with a 99% accuracy: this means that the test will on average give a positive result on 100 × 0.99 = 99 of the 100 sick persons and a negative result on 100 × (1 - 0.99) = 1 of them. It will also give a negative result on 99,900 × 0.99 = 98901 non-sick persons and a (false) positive result on 99,900 × (1 - 0.99) = 999 non-sick persons.

This means that out of the 99 + 999 = 1098 persons (out of the whole population) who got a positive result, only 99 actually have the disease. This means that the test indicates, for a random person taken from the whole population, only a 99 / 1098 ≈ 9% probability of being sick. In other words, even if the test is positive, there is still a 91% chance of not being sick! This new result needs to be put into perspective with the probability of being sick before doing the test (0.1%) and after getting a positive test result (9%, i.e., 90 times higher chance of being sick). But it also means that because of the imbalance between sick and non-sick populations, the 1% failure of the test will yield a lot more false positive results among the non-sick population than correct positive results among the sick population.

“once described as gooseberry pie and cream, this beer has subtle notes of kiwi and apple with a marriage of walnuts and cramy toffee”

Kind of creamy and fruity. Contains malted barley.

Belhaven Brewery Company Ltd., Dunbar, Scotland. 3.9% alcohol.

Christian, Mexique Mokaya bio 66%: doux, biscuit, safran

Christian, Panama 70%: sec, un peu astringeant, noix de coco

Christian, Trinidad 73%: doux et crémeux, fruits secs

Christian, Cuba 77%: légèrement fruité et amer

Wikipedia

In the near future, mutants are exterminated by invulnerable robotic creatures names Sentinels. They have been developed by Trask from the 1970s, and his assassination by Mystique in 1973 has convinced the government of the mutant threat and the need to eradicate them. Thanks to Kitty Pride's ability to send someone's mind back in time into ones own body, Logan wakes up in his 1973 body with the task, set by both Professor X and Magneto, to prevent Trask's death and the development of Sentinels. He manages to convince Charles Xavier of the veracity of his story and knowledge of the future, and thanks to the help of young Evan Peters they free Magneto from his cell in the middle of the Pentagon. The then track Mystique to the Vietnam War peace conference in Paris and prevent her from killing Trask, but she is wounded and thanks to her blood Trask manages to progress with Sentinel. During Traks presentation of Sentinel at the White House, Magneto flies a stadium around the building and uses the Sentinels to fire on the guards. He then extracts the saferoom containing President Nixon, his staff and Trask from the White House's basement and prepares to kill the President. Finally convinced by Xavier's arguments, Mystique prevents Magneto from doing that. Nixon is then convinced that mutants don't need to be exterminated, and Logan wakes up nowdays in his current body but in a new timeline; he and Xavier then exchange their knowledge of history since 1973.

“combination of new world hops deliver citrus and spicy notes”

Citrus all right, with also some flowers. Contains malted barley.

Fuller, Smith & Turner, London, England. 4.5% alcohol.

“three different yeast strain”

Very sweet, very strong, not that interesting. Contains barley malt.

Ridgeway Brewing, South Stoke, Oxfordshire, England. 12.0% alcohol.

Wikipedia

The story takes place in a fictional alpine country in 1932. Gustave H. is the concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel and (among others) the lover of Madame D. After her sudden death, he inherits a valuable painting, but decides to steal it after being threatened by the children of Madame D. Soon after, he is accused of the murder of Madame D. and arrested. The lawyer of Madame D. is murdered after having announced to the family that a document is missing from the numerous amendments to her will. Thanks to his lobby boy and protégé Zero, Gustave escapes prison and try to find Serge X., Madame D.'s butler, who had been forced to testify against Gustave. They find him in a monastery, but he is murdered by a killer working for Madame D.'s son Dmitri. Back at the hotel, now general quarters of the army since the beginning of the war, they recover the painting hidden in the hotel's safe and discover the missing document in the back of the painting, placed there by Serge X. who had helped Gustave stealing it. Gustave is named sole heir of Madame D., and thus becomes owner of the hotel. But Gustave is soon after killed by a grumpy soldier who attacked Zero. Based on a deal Gustave and Zero had made just after stealing the painting, Zero inherits from Gustave and becomes the owner of the hotel.

“Maris Otter malt and… English hops”

Just another ale. Contains barley malt.

The Abbey Brewery, Camden Row, Bath, England. 4.2% alcohol.

“single malt beer made only with pale malt… hoppy aftertaste”

Quite flowery, but otherwise just another ale. Contains barley.

RCH Brewery, Weston-super-Mare, Avon, England. 4.3% alcohol.

Wikipedia

Harris cannot stop the wave of robberies in his precinct; he then gets help from Lassard and his best men. They soon undertand that there is a mole among them, telling the robbers about all their moves. After loosing a priceless diamond, used as bait, they are dismissed and continue investigatin on their own. They find out that the robbers are obeying the orders of a mysterious man, and that all the robberies are taking place along the path of the future tramway. After a long chase, they eventually find out that the mysterious head of the gang is no other than the mayor, who had been buying property along the future tramway line at very good price because of the robberies in the area, planning to resell them once the tramway has caused the prices to increase again. The unwilling mole was Harris, who was reporting his progress to the Mayor.