Ex-British Gurkha hopes Everest climb will change disability perceptions
Reuters
23-05-21 03:53
Hari Budha Magar, a double amputee, has become the first above-the-knee amputee to conquer Mount Everest. The ex-Gurkha climbed the 8,848 metre mountain on prosthetic legs. Magar, who lost both legs when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2010, said his ascent had raised awareness about disability. “I hope my climb will help change the perception of persons with disabilities. I would like to encourage all people to take to climbing any mountain of their choice,” he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling for a federal judge to be disqualified from Disney’s First Amendment lawsuit against his team, citing the jurist's statements in other cases raised questions about his impartiality on Florida’s takeover of Disney World’s governing body. The Republican governor’s motion was filed a day after Disney announced it was scrapping plans to build a new campus in central Florida due to ongoing issues with DeSantis. Disney filed the First Amendment lawsuit against DeSantis and the board appointed by him last month.
The popularity of Barnard Castle, where Dominic Cummings famously tested his eyesight, has surged, according to English Heritage. Visitor numbers in 2021 rose 20% compared to 2019, and owner Lord Bernard is planning to capitalise further by opening a restaurant, events space and market overlooking walled gardens in the Raby Castle grounds in 2024. In the meantime, strollers and dog walkers can explore the castle fringes for free and visitors can enter the castle for a fee, along with a forest adventure playground and temporary café in the grounds.
The UK’s largest girls-only organisation, Girlguiding, dissolved its international operating arm, British Girlguides (BGO),of just under 2,600 members almost exclusively from English-speaking homes in 36 countries. Girlguiding has been hit by several noteworthy controversies in the past three years, including complaints from a guide leader over a policy allowing boys claiming to be girls to join the charity. Trans Girl Guide commissioner Monica Sulley was featured in photographs with a fake assault rifle and wearing inappropriate clothing and followers of the charity generally found it to be too focused on politics. In the UK, Girlguiding is now facing increasing competition from similar programmes that have taken on a “cachet of cool”. On the website, it states that Girlguiding offers adventures galore: “We do anything from abseiling to zooming around on a zipline. We explore new places and meet people from different cultures. We speak out on issues that matter to us and make a difference in our communities.”
Women are hesitant to voice their sexual desires due to being told throughout their lives to be sexy rather than sexual, according to The Guardian’s Midult advice column. Women are often told that they are in some way unnatural for having a higher sex drive than their male partner, while male sexual desire is celebrated, the article said. The author advised a woman struggling to communicate with her husband regarding her marital frustrations that she should not feel shame or embarrassment for wanting to engage in more regular and experimental intercourse with her partner.
Battery technology is advancing with silicon anode materials potentially transforming the EV market within a few years. Silicon anodes have been experimented with since the 1970s but lithium-silicon batteries have made huge leaps in the last few years, becoming known for their high performance and energy density. Silicon anodes are known for their high volume expansion when heated during charging but a 3D carbon structure in the battery can contain the expansion. Israel-based company StoreDot is at the pinnacle of silicon anode development and is expected to bring this new silicon battery technology to the premium EV market within the next couple of years.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been accused of causing significant harm to the world by Sam Altman, the creator of a chatbot. Altman told a US Senate hearing that the worst fears about AI were that it could go wrong significantly, which was why there was a need for stricter regulation. With the use of AI, particularly on social media, shaping beauty ideals at present, an eating disorders organisation last week created images of the ideal man and woman according to social media usage. AI generally displayed big hair, big muscles, olive skin, perfect teeth and big breasts and was mostly blonde for women and dark and handsome for men.
An initiative called “champing” is allowing the public to stay overnight in England’s empty churches in an attempt to raise money for the Churches Conservation Trust, which manages church sites. 1,500 people spent the night in churches last year alone: increasing revenue for an underfunded organisation. Champing allows visitors to book a stay in one of 18 churches listed either as “unused” or “still hosting regular services”. Champers receive a collection of essentials upon arrival including a kettle, bottled water, biscuits and a bottle opener. Visitors are also permitted to bring their own bedding and can order a breakfast hamper to be left at the church doors. Whilst the initiative offers a unique look at some of England’s most ancient buildings, it also serves to provide an alternative solution to maintaining the historic sites that would otherwise be left empty. An X factor finalist hopes to boost the sport of “mourn-along” singing by leading champing-inspired church visits which include the singing of popular tunes.
Billionaire Joe Lewis has had a padel court installed on his superyacht as the sport skies in popularity. Padel is the fastest-growing sport in the world with the Bamford Club in the Cotswolds, UK seeing members opting for 'back-to-back padel sessions' rather than work. The club alone can command annual membership fees starting at £2,250 and among the club's benefits are a biomass-heated pool, an ice barrel outside to 'pep circulation', a restaurant serving organic eggs, as well as the two outdoor padel courts in the car park. Tennis courts have become a thing of the past, as padel courts continue to open up all over the world, hotels and resorts are getting in on the action and even estate agents have recognised the value of a padel court at home; helping to replace the traditional swimming pool.
Climate change and the desire to return to individualised winemaking highlight changes to France’s white wines from the Sancerre region as well as Pouilly-Fumé, Quincy, Coteaux du Giennois, Reuilly and Menetou-Salon. White wine in the region previously was made from gamay and pinot noir but recovered from the devastation of phylloxera using sauvignon blanc grapes. A surge of interest in organic and sustainable farming recently has been visible, with a renewed focus on individualised wines, which has seen Sancerre receive its first wine shop, Vignerons la Cave. Climate change, however, has disrupted production for some wines.
Mothers of the bride and groom are starting to move away from the traditional styles and creating their unique looks for their children's big day. Events and weddings have changed in recent years, which has resulted in styles of clothing becoming more varied. With wedding dress codes becoming less formal, the set menu look from Carole Middleton is no longer the default wardrobe for mothers. People are becoming more conscious of what events will be held at a wedding and the type of outfits that need to be worn for comfort. With new styles being created, it includes bold colours, fabrics and silhouettes that can help a mother stand out while keeping in mind the surrounding theme. The clothes should make the individuals feel comfortable to set the mood for the big day.
The "micro age gap" is an age difference of between seven and 12 years, and a recent piece in The Telegraph argues that it is an optimal range for a successful relationship. Those in micro age gap relationships benefit from knowledge sharing and are able to learn from their partner's lived experiences, while still circling the same life stages and reference points, the author said. The piece cited examples of celebrity couples such as Jay-Z and Beyoncé and Davina McCall and Michael Douglas, with both pairs enjoying successful relationships. Couples with more significant age gaps can face issues when the older partner's health declines earlier, but life expectancy is increasing, a psychotherapist quoted in the article said.
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Lily Gladstone, star of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has said that the director was a powerful ally in telling the world what communities like hers had always known. The film, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is a study of white society’s treachery; Gladstone plays Mollie Burkhart, a member of the Osage Nation whose family members die under suspicious conditions in 1920s Oklahoma. Scorsese, she argues, was well positioned to dispel the myths that have prevailed and to challenge people's complicity in white supremacy. “We need these allies,” Gladstone said.
The Associated Press recently looked at how Florida has changed since Governor Ron DeSantis came into office, reflecting on the state's political and cultural landscape. Concerns over the cost of living, rising rents, insurance, and inflation remain unresolved. A surge in hate-related incidents has been noted, and there have been anti-LGBTQ+ moves, including the passing of laws limiting sexual education in schools. However, since DeSantis' election, the Republican party dominates Florida politics, and critics argue that no power can stop the passage of legislation in the Republican-controlled Legislature, leaving Democrats mostly relegated to messaging.
Meanwhile, DeSantis, who has been widely discussed as a potential presidential candidate for the Republican Party, has become more emboldened and has a powerful mandate that the Florida public supports his policies and ideology, and he has passed an agenda that suits a GOP presidential primary. His name recognition has skyrocketed as he campaigns, and he has faced criticism from fellow Republicans for attacking businesses, including Disney. Tension has risen across the state surrounding the rights of LGBTQ+ community members and discussions of race.
Schools are being cautious around vague language, such as that surrounding the classification of LGBTQ+ characters in books, and backlash has come from teachers who cannot express who they are in the classroom, forcing many to hide their LGBTQ+ lifestyles. Many residents feel more endangered, and hate attacks have been on the rise. DeSantis may be focusing on issues dividing people of different ideologies, but new gun laws allowing people to carry concealed firearms without a permit and a focus on abortion, however, is causing a real discussion about Florida’s future.
Northern Canada's food businesses are making use of local ingredients such as fish, caribou, berries, and wild boar lardo, to create unique dishes as a way to build food security and increase environmental sustainability in the area which have often been impacted by limited transportation networks, environmental contamination, and colonial policies. There are only eight farms in the Northwest Territories; in Nunavut there are none, though many Inuit hunt and fish. Regardless, local businesses are using these challenges to create unique products and increase food sovereignty in the North.
New Mexican Spanish is a regional dialect that is increasingly endangered, but experts say its best chance of survival might be through devotional practices and prayer. It has evolved through the mixing of medieval Spanish and indigenous forms and is different to all other varieties of the language. Spanish explorers first arrived in isolated valleys, now rural communities, at the end of the 16th century, but removed from the centre of political and economic power for centuries, these villages preserved the dialect orally and today continue to use it in devotional prayer.
The frenzied speculation and gossip surrounding the alleged recent breakdown of the TV friendship between "This Morning" presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby has sparked PTSD in Emma Beddington who lived through a similar experience with suspended "Good Morning Britain" presenter Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. Emma questions why audiences become so invested in the relationships between TV couples, with many people rushing to declare their allegiances and even speak about the "real" and "true" machinations of their on-screen couple. Emma suggests that TV couples mirror our own domestic frustrations and that viewers are projecting or seeking drama in their own lives.
In late 2012, Philip Schofield interviewed then-prime minister David Cameron on a live broadcast of This Morning and handed him a list of names of alleged Westminster paedophiles taken from the internet - a spectacularly reckless thing to do. The presenter was not sacked despite calls for him to be, but this article suggests that his departure after 18 years from ITV's flagship daytime programme may have finally come due to the incident. The author of the Times piece suggests that Schofield should have been sacked when the paedophile incident happened.
5 takeaways from AP’s series on health disparities impacting Black Americans
The Toronto Star
23-05-23 04:45
New data from the Associated Press reveals the extensive and far-reaching impact of racial health disparities on Black Americans. The report details how inequities in healthcare access, air pollution, education, housing and poverty have led to a range of adverse health outcomes across the Black population in the US. This includes significant disparities in maternal and infant mortality, a higher prevalence of asthma, a mental health crisis disproportionately impacting Black youth and high rates of high blood pressure and Alzheimer’s disease in adulthood. Structural racism, alongside historical trauma and a lack of trust in the healthcare system, is understood to have played a significant role in shaping these disparities. In all areas, the report highlights how geographic location, with Black Americans more likely to live in areas with substandard housing and higher levels of pollution, exacerbates already existing health conditions. The report demonstrates that comprehensive action will need to be taken to address the complex infrastructure of disparities, biases and inequities that have shaped the health outcomes of generations of Black Americans.
