Category Archives: News

News

In Midst Of War, Ukraine President Zelensky and Wife Pose For US Vogue Cover has divided the internet

The Ukrainian leader was blasted online for posing for the magazine with his wife amid the ongoing military conflict. In the midst of the military war with Russia, the most recent issue of Vogue, which featured a glossy photoshoot with Ukrainian President Zelensky and his wife Olena, had a mixed response online.

Despite the fact that the story mostly focused on Zelenska, the couple was photographed together for the article by renowned photographer Annie Leibowitz.

It’s titled: ‘Portrait of Bravery: Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska.’

Following the article’s release, conservative lawmakers and commentators used the picture session as justification for why the US should not have given Ukraine $40 billion in aid to support its war against Russia.

Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted: ‘While we send Ukraine $60 billion in aid Zelensky is doing photoshoots for Vogue Magazine. These people think we are nothing but a bunch of suckers.’

The article was written by Paris-based journalist Rachel Donadio. On Twitter, Donadio referred to the piece as: ‘One of the most moving and memorable assignments of my career.’ 

Zelenska told Vogue: ‘These have been the most horrible months of my life, and the lives of every Ukrainian.’

She went on: ‘Frankly I don’t think anyone is aware of how we have managed emotionally. We’re looking forward to victory. We have no doubt we will prevail. And this is what keeps us going.’

The former comedy writer added: ‘I like being backstage—it suited me. Moving into the limelight was quite difficult for me.’

Conservative activist Scott Presler tweeted: ‘Why did we send $54 billion to Ukraine, so Zelensky & his wife could pose for Vogue? You’re at war & you’ve got time for photo shoots?’

Texas Congresswoman Mayra Flores tweeted: ‘Biden: Let’s continue to send billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine, they need it!’ She added: ‘Reality: The Zelensky family graces us with a photo shoot to be on the cover of Vogue magazine.’

Erwin said: ‘An outstanding profile. Olena Zelenska has done an incredible job representing her people, ensuring the world knows the story of women and children of Ukraine – and continuing to give voice to the many in need.’

Pro Ukrainian activist Val Voschevska posted an analysis of the photoshoot on an Instagram Post writing in part: ‘She is who she is and I love it. She looks like any of us after a long day at the office – the only difference is that her job is protecting her country from war.’

A Ukrainian citizen wrote in the comments section on Vogue’s official Instagram: ‘Thank you Vogue for bringing awareness about Ukraine from the voices of actual Ukrainians.’

Zelensky has also appeared on the cover of Wired magazine for their September/October release.

Zelensky said: ‘We are all in a social network. It is no longer about whether it is good or not; most of our lives are already online. People study online, get information; people read, and people use it. This is our world now. It is divided.

Amid the row, Zelensky has also appeared on the cover of Wired magazine for their September/October issue

‘The internet is a reality. It is not another world, but rather a modern reality. So if you want people to perceive you as you are, you must use what people use.’

‘The value of life has changed. So let’s say that my attitude has changed, as I do not pay attention to trivialities anymore, and there are clear aspects on which I am focused. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert was among those who was severely critical of the piece
One Twitter user went viral when she advised Zelensky and his wife to 'Read the room'There is no evidence to suggest that the aid sent by the Biden administration to Ukraine has anything to do with the Vogue pieceThe publication of the piece has also led to support from some quarters of social mediaMany users have pointed to the idea that Zelensky and Zelenska are using Vogue to keep reminding people about the plight in UkraineOne of the most prominent proponents of the piece was Verizon executive Tami Erwin

‘The question of the price of freedom, which we learned from books in school, has now become a reality. You know this price. You have seen the number of people who died.’ 

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 12,000 people have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion. Millions more have been displaced. 

Just last week, Zelenska flew to Washington DC to meet with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. 

President Zelensky has been separated from his two children for security reasons since the war in Ukraine began early this year. Pictured here before war broke out in their home country

When asked what it was like to know that her family’s movement is being watched by Russia, Zelenska said: ‘I can’t think about it too seriously, because otherwise, I would become paranoid.’

She said of the dystopian novel ‘1984’ by George Orwell: ‘It’s a horrible coincidence. It’s a picture of what is happening in Russia these days.’ 

Speaking about his wife in the interview, the Ukrainian president said: ‘Of course, she is my love. But she is my greatest friend. She is also a patriot and she deeply loves Ukraine. It’s true. And she is an excellent mother.’

Zelensky and his wife First Lady Olena Zelenska have been married for 20 years. Pictured attending a wedding in 2019

The couple also recently appeared for an interview with Piers Morgan. 

The Ukrainian president told his wife: ‘When you are talking, your opinion has priority. What I would say is I don’t have any other experience. I’ve got only one wife and I am happy. I have one wife, one love and one family. I never got any feeling there was anything wrong with us in or in our relationship. Or maybe do you feel unhappy with me sometimes?,’ according to the Daily Telegraph. 

Zelensky continued: ‘The war is making our relationship stronger, that’s for sure.’ 

Source: dailymail.co.uk

News

Lia Thomas competitor Riley Gaines reveals she felt ‘extreme discomfort’ sharing locker room

Having a locker room with the transgender athlete she competed against caused “extreme discomfort,” according to a former collegiate swimmer, Riley Gaines Barker who has been open in her criticism of Lia Thomas.

Riley Gaines, a competitive swimmer for the University of Kentucky, complained to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that it bothered her to change in a locker room with someone who had “different parts” and that Thomas’ usage of the women’s restrooms had not been made clear by the organizers at that time.

Riley Gaines, who swam competitively for the University of Kentucky, told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that she was uncomfortable changing in the same locker room as Lia Thomas.

“That’s not something we were forewarned about, which I don’t think is right in any means, changing in a locker room with someone who has different parts,” Gaines said in an interview with the conservative talk show host.

The college athlete who graduated this year has repeatedly knocked Thomas for her participation in women’s swimming — saying Thomas, who was born male, has an unfair biological advantage.

“So not only were we forced to race against a male, we were forced to change in the locker room with one,” Gaines said on Wednesday’s episode of “Tucker Carlson Today.”

Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas holds a trophy after finishing fifth in the 200 free at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships as Kentucky Wildcats swimmer Riley Gaines looks on.

“Then we’re sitting there not even knowing who to talk to, who to complain to because this kind of all happened behind the scenes and very discreetly.”

Gaines claimed that the National Collegiate Athletic Association had not done enough to preserve the integrity of women’s sports.

Gaines and Thomas tied for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle NCAA finals in March, and even then, Gaines has been vocal in her criticism of Thomas.

Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines swims the 200 Butterfly prelims at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 19th, 2022.

Gaines criticized the University of Pennsylvania for putting Thomas forward for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s “Woman of the Year” award in 2022 earlier this month.

“This is yet another slap in the face to women,” Gaines, who was also nominated for the award, tweeted. “First a female national title and now nominated for the pinnacle award in collegiate athletics. The @NCAA has made this award worthless.” 

In April, Gaines first spoke with Carlson on Thomas’ participation in women’s swimming.

Gaines stated at the time that she believed it was unjust to be compelled to compete against Thomas and that the majority of female athletes she knew felt the same way.

“We’re dealing with something that’s completely out of our control when we’re racing, biological males,” she said in the April interview. “Whether they have different lung capacities, their height, testosterone levels whether they’ve used testosterone blockers or not — it doesn’t suppress going through puberty as a male. Especially Lia, who swam for three years as a male.”

“It’s completely unfair and it’s a matter of equity, really,” Gaines added.

The world swimming governing organization, FINA, effectively banned transgender women from competing in elite women’s competitions last month as a result of the issue surrounding transgender women in sports.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Entertainment, News

Euphoria Star Sydney Sweeney Says She Barely Earns Enough To Survive

Sydney Sweeney, star of “Euphoria,” admitted that her bank account does not yet afford a break to indulge in the good life. The 24-year-old woman pointed out that while she is undoubtedly not indigent—hello, Miu Miu, Laneige, and Armani cosmetics commercial deals—she just doesn’t make as much money from her day job as some might assume.

“If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have the income to cover that,” the rising sex symbol recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help.”

“They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals,” Sweeney explained.

"Euphoria" star Sydney Sweeney says she isn't able to take a long break and has to continuously work.

“The established stars still get paid, but I have to give five percent to my lawyer, 10 percent to my agents, three percent or something like that to my business manager.”

The Euphoria star added: “I have to pay my publicist every month, and that’s more than my mortgage.

“If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in LA. I take deals because I have to.”

She is not paying a mortgage on a humble two-up two-down, as the New York Post notes, but rather a $3 million Los Angeles mansion with a view of a golf course from the front porch.

However, it isn’t in a gated neighborhood like other houses in the region, so admirers can easily drive by and take pictures.

“I couldn’t believe I was even able to buy a house,” she said. “I want to be able to stay there.”

In fairness to the star, she came from a frugal upbringing and explained the tough choices her parents had to make when they moved to LA to pursue her acting career at 13 years old.

“We lived in one room. My mom and I shared a bed and my dad and little brother shared a couch,” she recalled.

Source: unilad.co

News

Gender Activists ask not to Give Skeletons A Gender Or Categorize Their Race as it leads to white supremacy

It’s unclear how the deceased defined themselves when they were living, gender campaigners demand scientists stop classifying ancient human remains as either male or female. Additionally, woke warriors have asked that archaeologists stop classifying the racial composition of remains because doing so “contributes to white supremacy.”

Last night, critics claimed that such demands would force the current ideology “where it doesn’t belong” and result in a rewriting of history.

Traditionally, archaeologists use established scientific techniques like bone structure and DNA analysis to identify features like age, gender, and race when human remains are excavated.

This broadens the scope of academic inquiry and enables anthropologists and historians to understand more about the subject.

However, modern academics are increasingly classifying ancient skeletons as “non-binary” or “gender-neutral.”

Archaeologists “must center the flexibility of gender in their archaeological activity,” according to the Black Trowel Collective of American “anarchist archaeologists.”

Ancient Skeletons Found Holding Hands in England - ABC News

It is obvious from archaeological, historical, and ethnographic sources that human gender is highly variable and that people have historically been at ease with a spectrum of genders beyond modern “masculine” and “feminine” binaries, according to the group’s declaration on “trans liberation.”

Emeritus professor of history at the University of Exeter, Jeremy Black said: ‘It is an absurd proposition, as the difference between genders, just as the difference between religious, social and national groups, are key motors in history.’

Ancient skeletons are increasingly being labelled as ¿non-binary¿ or ¿gender-neutral¿ by trendy academics. Pictured, a skeleton in Hertfordshire was found under a planned football pitch

He further added: ‘This very ideological approach to knowledge means that we’re in danger of making knowledge itself simply a matter of political preference.’ European researchers suggested last year that 1,000-year-old remains found in Finland belonged to a non-binary person because items around the bones, such as a sword, suggested the person was male, while jewelry suggested the remains were female.

Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent said: ‘If you look at history, one of the foundations of civilization is the distinction between man and woman, whether it be in the Bible or yin and yang in Chinese philosophy, so when you distort that you get a completely different version of what has happened.

‘Should this dangerous dogma be accepted, it means that when children learn about Greek, Roman, or other ancient civilizations they get a falsified picture. 

(File Photo) Woke campaigners argued human remains found by archaeologists should not be given a gender because it could not be known how the person identified in life

‘You have to fight back against this because if it is accepted then the whole academic enterprise turns into an empty pursuit of ideological objectives.’

Earlier this year, a US study encouraged scientists to avoid classifying human remains by race, calling it “hazardous.” The authors claimed that because of ingrained racial biases, “ancestry estimation adds to white supremacy” and “may actually hinder identification efforts.”

Source: dailymail.co.uk

News

Tourists slam rule which requires Brits to have £85 to spend per day in Spain

Tourists are outraged at new measures to deny entry to Brits to Spain if they cannot demonstrate that they can spend at least £85 each day of their vacation.

After the UK exited the European Union, the preparations were put in place at the beginning of the year. Travelers must demonstrate that they can afford to spend at least €100 per day and have a minimum of €900 accessible for the entire trip.

Brits travelling to Spain must prove they have £85 to spend each day

They accept a variety of kinds of identification, including cash, credit cards, payment letters, foreign money, and traveler’s checks, however, anyone unable to meet the standards may have their entry barred.

Tourists who intend to travel to Spain may be asked by border officials to present a number of documents, such as evidence of hotel reservations and tickets for further travel.

A “letter of invitation” may be required by border officers if British citizens are traveling to stay with family or friends.

British tourists have reacted furiously after discovering they may be required to prove they are able to spend £85-per-day in order to enter Spain - after the United Kingdom left the European Union. Pictured: Tourists arrive in Barcelona, Spain in July

Vacationers are outraged at the new regulations that the Spanish Interior Ministry has implemented now that the UK is considered a “third country” after exiting the EU.

One furious Brit reacted to the news on social media writing: “Well this is stupid Spain is now requiring everyone to be able to prove that have £85 for each day to spend what a stupid, stupid idea what’s the need what about students and people are trying to have a cheap holiday it’s completely and utter idiotic.”

Another commented: “Looks like Spain is making it too difficult and too elitist for many families. Bit of a kick in the teeth to all those who have been going for years. Families and pensioners will be most affected.”

The rule, which has taken some Brits by surprise, has been in force since the beginning of the year after the UK became a 'third country' outside the EU. It remains to see whether it will be enforced in practice by the Spanish authorities

A third added: “I’m old enough to remember being told that the Spanish tourism industry would collapse without us Brits and they’d bend over backward to welcome us. And yet here were are.”

The UK Foreign Office outlined the rules in a statement explaining: “At Spanish border control, you may need to show a return or onward ticket; show you have enough money for your stay; show proof of accommodation for your stay, for example, a hotel booking confirmation, proof of address if visiting your own property (eg second home), or an invitation from your host or proof of their address if staying with a third party, friends or family,’ its guidance states.

In addition to threatening to deny entry to Brits who cannot prove they can support themselves financially, Spanish border agents may also begin to ask tourists to prove they have an onward ticket and accommodation booked for their stay. Pictured: Tourists in Gran Canaria

“The Spanish government has clarified that the ‘carta de invitation’ is one of the options available to prove that you have accommodation if staying with friends or family.”

The Spanish Government rules state: “Currently, the minimum amount to be credited is 100 euros per person per day, with a minimum of 900 euros or its legal equivalent in foreign currency (with effect from January 1, 2022).”

travellers are feeling the heat like never before as they look to enjoy a holiday abroad this summer. Dover is seen above on Sunday

It adds: “In the event that, when carrying out the entry control of people in Spanish territory, it is verified that a foreigner lacks sufficient economic resources for the time he wishes to remain in Spain and to continue his trip to the country of destination or to return to the country of origin, or does not have the nominative, non-transferable and closed ticket or tickets, in the means of transport that they intend to use, their entry into Spanish territory will be denied as established by law.”

Source: dailymail.co.uk

News

Scientists Are Turning Dead Spiders Into ‘Necrobots’ And We Are So Freaked Out

When graduate student in mechanical engineering Faye Yap noticed a dead spider curled up in the corridor, she had the strange idea that it would be used as a robotics component.

Some people’s worst scenario may involve turning dead spiders into mechanical grippers, yet it might have real advantages. Spider legs are able to gently and securely grasp huge, delicate, and asymmetrically shaped objects without damaging them.

The mechanical engineers at Rice University were inspired after coming across curled up spiders while moving things about in their laboratory. Lead author Faye Yap (pictured) wanted to find out why it was that the arachnids' legs curl inwards after they die

Therefore, Yap and her colleagues at Rice University developed a method to make a dead wolf spider’s legs unfold and grab onto objects in partnership with mechanical engineer Daniel Preston.

They gave this new branch of robotics the name “necrobotics.”

Jodie Louise WitchinnReadin's review of City of Fae

Strangely, spider legs are not extended by muscles but rather by hydraulic pressure. When the prosoma chamber, also known as the cephalothorax, contracts, inner body fluid is forced into the legs, causing them to lengthen.

So, using a glob of superglue, the scientists sealed the needle’s tip after inserting it into the spider’s prosoma chamber. The spider’s legs could be made to go through their whole range of motion in less than a second by just inflating the syringe with a tiny puff of air.

“We took the spider, we placed the needle in it not knowing what was going to happen,” says Yap in a video on the Rice University website.

“We had an estimate of where we wanted to place the needle. And when we did, it worked, the first time, right off the bat. I don’t even know how to describe it, that moment.”

spiderrobot 2

The scientists succeeded in getting the dead spider to grasp a tiny ball, and they utilized that experiment to calculate the highest grip force, which was 0.35 millinewtons.

They then performed a demonstration in which a dead spider was used to pick up fragile items and electronics, removing a jumper wire from an electric breadboard and moving a block of polyurethane foam afterward.

Additionally, they demonstrated that the spider could support the weight of another spider of a similar size.

Scientists transform dead spiders into 'necrobots' that can serve as mechanical grippers | UK Times

When a spider dies, the hydraulic system ceases to function because it extends its legs by applying hydraulic pressure from its cephalothorax. The spider curls up when the flexor muscles in its legs develop into rigor Mortis because they can only move in one direction.

While manufacturing the majority of man-made robotics components is highly sophisticated, spiders are already quite complex and, sadly for arachnophobes, are readily available.

“The concept of necrobotics proposed in this work takes advantage of unique designs created by nature that can be complicated or even impossible to replicate artificially,” the researchers say in their paper.

Since spiders can be biodegraded, utilizing them as robot parts would reduce waste in the robotics industry.

Engineers first tapped into the spider's prosoma chamber with a needle, attaching it with a dab of superglue. The other end of the needle was connected to one of the lab's test rigs or a handheld syringe, which delivered a minute amount of air to activate the legs almost instantly
Left: A scanning electron microscope image of the articular membrane of a spider's patellofemoral joint, that has inspired the design of many soft flexible joints. Right: A hypodermic needle is inserted into the prosoma of the spider and sealed with glue

“One of the applications we could see this being used for is micro-manipulation, and that could include things like micro-electronic devices,” says Preston in the video. 

“We think that’s related to issues with dehydration of the joints. We think we can overcome that by applying polymeric coatings,” explains Preston. 

Researchers Turn Dead Spiders Into 'Necrobotic' Grippers - CNET

When the wolf spiders were coated in beeswax, the researchers found that over the course of 10 days, their mass decreased 17 times less than the uncoated spider, indicating that the beeswax increased water retention and prolonged hydraulic system function.

Source: dailymail.co.uk