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Published by AFP This image published by the art collective MSCHF shows a drawing by Andy Warhol of which it has made 999 copies in which to slip the original New York (AFP) – The New York art collective that brought us “Satan Shoes” with an apparent drop of human blood in the midsole is at it again, this time selling 1,000 copies of an Andy Warhol drawing at the same price, only one of which is the original. On a website called the Museum of Forgeries, the group known as MSCHF says it bought a 1954 ballpoint pen sketch by the pop art master called “Fairies”, which it says is worth $20,000, made 999 exact copies of it and mixed the original in with them. They were all put on sale Monday for $250 and sold out. MSCHF says the copies are an art work called “Possibly Real Copy Of ‘Fairies’ by Andy Warhol.” MSCHF has posted a video showing how the copies are made: a robotic arm with a pen makes the drawings, which are then put through an accelerated artificial aging process with light, heat, pressure and moisture. Then the Warhol Foundation seal and annotations in pencil are manually replicated, MSCHF member Kevin Wiesner said in an email to AFP. “I think if an art conservator were able to inspect every drawing side-by-side, they would eventually discover the original. However, this scenario is unlikely to occur,” he said. MSCHF says that in doing this it seeks to criticize the concepts of “authenticity” and “exclusivity” that dominate the art market. “Our goal is to ‘destroy’ the drawing by breaking down the chain of trust,” Wiesner said. The Warhol Foundation did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. MSCHF, a collective created in 2016 and based in Brooklyn, specializes in reappropriating works of art or commercial objects. Last spring it made the “Satan Shoe” in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X. They released 666 pairs of black Nike Air Max 97s customized to feature a bronze pentagram, a Bible verse referring to Satan’s fall, and a drop of human blood mixed with red ink in the midsole. Nike sued on grounds of trademark infringement. MSCHF reached a deal with Nike under which it issued a voluntary recall for the sneakers. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Elizabeth Holmes is accused of giving false and misleading information to former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in an effort to dupe her into investing $100 million into the now-defunct company, Theranos. Holmes is currently facing trial for allegedly scamming investors and patients about her company’s blood-testing technology. According to DeVos’ family representative Lisa Peterson, who took the stand in Holmes ongoing criminal trial, the family initially planned to invest $50 million into Holmes’ company but decided to double the amount after meeting her. “She was inviting us to participate in this opportunity,” Peterson testified on Tuesday. “They were telling us that it worked. We re-lied on what they told us.” Peterson said she was first directed to look into Theranos after receiving an email from one of her bosses who included a cover story of Holmes. “This morning, I had one of the most interesting meetings I can recall with the woman profiled in the attached Fortune magazine article,” the email read. MEGA Peterson also claimed that Holmes convinced the family with the project, saying, “This was going to be a game-changer for health care.” Holmes also reportedly told the family that the blood-testing device produced by her company could be used in places such as military helicopters and refugee camps. She also reportedly said that they could run between 200 to 300 tests through the company’s machines using only a tiny amount of blood. Peterson was intrigued by the presentation and of what it could potentially bring to the health care industry. MEGA Jurors selected in Holmes’ trial were shown for the first time clips of the alleged criminal, who was trying to defend her company during interviews on television from 2015 and 2016. “This is what happens when you work to change things,” she told the interviewer on CNBC Mad Money in 2015. “First they think you’re crazy, then they fight you, and then all of a sudden you change the world.” During her appearance on theTODAY show in 2016, Holmes claimed, “anything that happens in this company is my responsibility.” As Radar previously reported, the alleged scammer and her former COO Sunny Balwani are currently being charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. Both are facing 20 years in prison if found guilty. Prosecutors accuse the two of being aware of Theranos’ inability to produce “accurate and reliable results for certain blood tests.” “Holmes and Balwani used advertisements and solicitations to encourage and induce doctors and patients to use Theranos’ blood testing laboratory services, even though, according to the government, the defendants knew Theranos was not capable of consistently producing accurate and reliable results for certain blood tests.” MEGA View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday it had issued the first American passport with an “X” gender marker, designed to give non-binary, intersex and gender nonconforming people a marker other than male or female on their travel document, according to a statement. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in June that the X marker would be offered as an option on passports, following other countries including Canada, Germany, Australia and India, which already offer a third gender on documents. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that the United States was moving toward adding the “X” gender marker as an option for those applying for U.S. passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad. Price did not say who the first “X” gender passport was issued to, but civil rights organization Lambda Legal said its client Dana Zzyym was the recipient. “I almost burst into tears when I opened the envelope, pulled out my new passport, and saw the ‘X’ stamped boldly under ‘sex,'” Zzyym, an intersex and non-binary U.S. Navy veteran, said in a statement on Wednesday. “It took six years, but to have an accurate passport, one that doesn’t force me to identify as male or female but recognizes I am neither, is liberating.” (Reporting by Simon Lewis; Additional reporting by Maria Caspani in New York; Editing by Mark Porter and Steve Orlofsky) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) -Lawyers for the United States launched a fresh attempt on Wednesday to have Julian Assange extradited from Britain, arguing that concerns about the WikiLeaks founder’s mental health should not prevent him from facing U.S. justice. The 50-year-old Australian is wanted in the United States on 18 criminal charges, including breaking a spying law, after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. files and diplomatic cables in 2010. The United States is appealing against a Jan. 4 ruling by a London District Judge that Assange should not be extradited because he would likely commit suicide in a U.S. prison. Lawyer James Lewis told the court the United States had addressed the District Judge’s concerns by making assurances to Britain regarding how Assange would be treated if extradited. These included that he would not be subject to a set of strict detention conditions known as Special Administrative Measures and would not be detained at a maximum security penitentiary in Florence, Colorado, known as ADX. The U.S. authorities had also assured Britain that they would consent to Assange serving in Australia any custodial sentence imposed by a U.S. court, Lewis said. Assange, who denies any wrongdoing, is being held at Belmarsh Prison. In the morning, the court was told he felt too unwell to appear via video link, but later in the day he did appear on the screen. Wearing a shirt, tie and mask, he was sitting at a table, holding his head in his hand. In a court document circulated to media, Assange’s lawyers rejected the U.S. assurances, saying he could be held in another maximum security facility under oppressive conditions that would drive him to suicide. They said Australia had given no indication it would consent to Assange being transferred there to serve a U.S. sentence, and he would be at high risk while awaiting a transfer. “On the evidence, Mr Assange will most likely be dead before it (the proposed transfer) can have any purchase,” they wrote. The appeal hearing is scheduled to last two days, with the judges expected to give their ruling at a later date. ‘FREE JULIAN ASSANGE’ Supporters of Assange gathered outside the court building from early on Wednesday, chanting “free Julian Assange”, before his father and Stella Moris, his partner and mother of his two children, arrived. Another subject of dispute in the appeal is whether the evidence of a psychiatric expert called by Assange’s defence team in the original extradition hearing was reliable. The U.S. lawyers argue the evidence should be dismissed because the expert initially failed to disclose that Moris was Assange’s partner and that the pair had children — information they said was highly relevant to the issue of his suicide risk. Assange’s lawyers said the District Judge had been right to take into account the expert’s evidence. WikiLeaks came to prominence when it published vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables which the United States says put lives in danger. Soon afterwards Sweden sought Assange’s extradition from Britain over allegations of sex crimes. He was ordered to be sent to Sweden in 2012, but instead fled to the Ecuadorean embassy in London and lived there for seven years. He was dragged out in April 2019 and jailed for breaching his British bail conditions, although the Swedish case against him had been dropped. The U.S. authorities then sought his extradition. Supporters see Assange as an anti-establishment hero victimised for exposing U.S. wrongdoing in Afghanistan and Iraq. U.S. prosecutors regard him as a reckless enemy of the state whose actions threatened the lives of agents named in the leaked material. (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Christina Fincher and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Alec Baldwin’s daughter Ireland is coming for Candace Owens after she made light of the tragic on-set shooting where the actor accidentally killed a crew member. The 26-year-old model tore into the 32-year-old conservative mouthpiece for her comments as Alec tries to recover from the incident that left Halyna Hutchins dead. “You are the most disgusting, hateful cancerous human being I’ve ever come across. Regardless of your foul opinions most of the time, the fact that you would disrespect the life of a woman who was accidentally and tragically killed… shame on you,” Ireland said. Her fiery response came after Owens’ tweet, “Alec Baldwin spent 4 years dedicated to painting Donald Trump and his supporters as evil murderers. What has happened for Alec would be an example of poetic justice if it weren’t for the actual innocent people that were murdered by him.” Ireland screenshotted the tweet and posted it on her Instagram Story. “Yup …I’m going to go ahead and take that Instagram break. I am ashamed to breathe the same air as this woman,” Alec’s daughter wrote. Earlier today, Ireland told her followers she’d be taking a break from social media following the tragic incident where her father accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. @halynahutchins/Instagram “Be a republican. Be unvaccinated. I don’t give a fu-k. There are plenty of republican values that I support and plenty of liberal ones that I support as well … But one fu-king thing I find myself doing is being respectful. But we aren’t debating masks and vaccines and abortions and trans rights here.” “A woman’s life was lost. Your tweets, lack of information, and ignorance are hurting people. You … don’t have a clue what you’re even talking about and you usually never do.” Ireland then urged anyone who disagreed with her to unfollow her. “Hit that unfollow button if you’re trying to defame my father and tweet such horrific statements about this tragic situation. It breaks my heart that people are so hatefully ignorant. As Radar previously reported, sources say Baldwin fled from New Mexico to the Hamptons. He is currently holed up inside his vacation home with his wife and children. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours,” he said in his first statement following the incident. Alec Baldwin: Previously on Towleroad Alec Baldwin’s Daughter Ireland Rips ‘Cancerous’ Candace Owens As ‘Disgusting, Hateful’ Human Being After Shooting Remarks Towleroad October 27, 2021 Read More Alec Baldwin’s Prop Gun That Killed A Cinematographer Allegedly Used For ‘Target Practice’ With Real Bullets By Crew Members Off Set Towleroad October 24, 2021 Read More Factbox-Five facts about Alec Baldwin: More Background On This Story Towleroad October 22, 2021 Read More Alec Baldwin shoots prop gun on movie set, killing cinematographer Towleroad October 22, 2021 Read More SNL Calls the Election for Biden and Harris, Sends ‘Macho Man’ Trump Packing: WATCH Andy Towle November 8, 2020 Read More Alec Baldwin’s Trump and Jim Carey’s Biden Face Off In Second ‘And Praise Jesus Final’ Debate on SNL: WATCH Kyler Geoffroy October 25, 2020 Read More View the full article

Patrick Lynch Published by Reuters New York City’s police union filed a lawsuit on Monday against a vaccine mandate for municipal workers ordered last week by Mayor Bill de Blasio. The mayor on Wednesday ordered all city employees to show proof of inoculation against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, drawing the union’s ire. The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York said on Twitter that it had filed a suit in the state Supreme Court. It asked the court for a temporary restraining order to halt the mandate while the suit remains pending. The union added on Twitter that there was “still no written, NYPD-specific policy guidance on how the mandate will be implemented.” The mayor set a deadline of 5 p.m. this coming Friday for employees to show proof of inoculation to a supervisor. Over 70% of all 160,000 New York City workers, including a similar percentage in the police department, have already received at least one dose, the mayor said. Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association representing the city’s 50,000 active and retired officers, said they should have the opportunity to choose whether to get the vaccine. De Blasio cited overtime and redeployments as contingency plans should a large contingent of those officers and other unvaccinated city workers refuse to comply with the mandate. Municipalities, school districts and other jurisdictions throughout the country are grappling with masking and vaccination requirements. The number of new COVID-19 cases has steadily declined in the United States since a surge caused by the Delta variant of the virus during the summer. De Blasio had said employees will no longer have the option to be regularly tested instead of getting the vaccine, but added the city will still grant medical and religious exemptions. New York City Police Union: Previously on Towleroad Vaccine requirements raised COVID-19 vaccination rates by 20 percentage points -White House Towleroad October 13, 2021 Read More Republican Govs Shell Game Pushes Regeneron Treatments, Maintains Fog Of Fear for Powerful COVID Vaccine Prevention JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News August 26, 2021 Read More Possible HIV Treatment OK’d To expand Phase 1 Human Trials After Stopping HIV in Lab; Brian Bell August 18, 2021 Read More Moderna HIV Vaccine Phase 1 Human Trials to Start as Early as Next Week. Hope to Build on mRNA Learnings Brian Bell August 13, 2021 Read More San Francisco, New Orleans Put Bar and Gym Vaccine Mandates In Place to fight COVID Towleroad August 13, 2021 Read More FDA Authorizes Vaccine Boosters For 3% Organ Transplant (or Similar Weak Immune System; Moderna, Pfizer Only. J&J Fine Without Towleroad August 13, 2021 Read More View the full article

Texas Gov. Greg AbbottTexas Anti-Trans Sports Bill Signed Into Law Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 25, a heavily criticized bill, Monday prohibiting Texas trans students in K-12 schools from competing in school sports as their gender identity. Abbott’s signature will rewrite current policies held by the state’s school sports governing body, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) when the law goes into effect on Jan. 18, 2022. The UIL’s policy requires students to participate on teams that align with the gender designated on students’ birth certificates, but it also recognized birth certificates of students who legally changed their gender marker, giving trans students a path to gender-affirming athletic participation. HB 25 removes that path. The bill’s author, state Rep. Valoree Swanson, heralded the measure as a necessity to protect female participation in sports despite there being no evidence correlating trans athletic participation and diminished cisgender female achievement. It took three separate special sessions of state Congress, all called by Abbott, and circumventing the House Public Education Committee to bring the bill to a vote on the House floor. According to the Chicago Tribune, Rittenhouse faces two first-degree homicide charges and one charge of attempted first-degree reckless homicide after illegally open carrying an AR-15 and shooting three men during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defense. The term “victim” is usually prohibited in cases where defendants claim self-defense for its, as Schroeder put it, “loaded” connotation. But prosecutors argue that the terms Schroeder is allowing the defense team to use carry just as much weight. “The terms that I’m identifying here such as rioter, looter and arsonist are as loaded, if not more loaded, than the term victim,” said Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger. Despite allowing the terms use, Schroeder warned against Rittenhouse’s defense team using them outside of closing arguments and advised them that they could only be used then if evidence suggested the victims were involved in criminal activity during the protest. Texas Trans Previously on Towleroad Texas Trans Ban Is Law; Isiah Brown Sues for $24 Million; Twitter Suspends And Liz Cheney Busts Rep Jim Banks For Different Violations Brian Bell October 26, 2021 Read More Biden Recognizes National Coming Out Day, Condemns Against Anti-LGBTQ Bills and Again Calls For Passing Equality Act Brian Bell October 11, 2021 Read More First Transgender History Month Established in San Francisco; Compton’s Cafeteria Riots Memorialized Brian Bell September 1, 2021 Read More Virginia Transgender Man Sues Department of Corrections for Denial of Health Care; Top Surgery Denial Causing ‘Substantial Risk of Serious Harm’ Brian Bell August 27, 2021 Read More Tennessee Trans Bathroom Bill Alleged to Violate Title IX. Human Rights Campaign Sues on behalf of the the affected children. Brian Bell August 4, 2021 Read More West Virginia, Arkansas Laws That Restrict Trans Rights are Unconstitutional; and Courts Should Strike Down, says Justice Dept. Michael Goff June 19, 2021 Read More Photo courtesy of World Travel & Tourism Council/Creative Commons View the full article

Don Jr Goes Low. =Buck SlipDon Jr Goes Low Published by Radar Online Donald Trump Jr. is selling shirts mocking Alec Baldwin for accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust. According to Don Jr.’s Instagram and website, he is selling shirts that read “Guns don’t kill people, Alec Baldwin kills people” for $27.99. This is an insensitive reference to the tragedy that took place Thursday in which Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun on the set of his newest movie and ended up killing his crew member. MEGA The movie’s director, Joel Souza, was also hit when the weapon fired, and he is still receiving emergency care at a Santa Fe hospital, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. This is just the latest stunt by Don Jr. regarding Baldwin and the tragedy that took place last week. Prior to making and selling shirts mocking the actor, Don Jr. started posting memes about the incident. In one that he posted to his social media, Homer Simpson is shown with a sign that reads: “Let’s all watch Alec Baldwin blame the gun.” In another, a picture of his father Donald Trump – who lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden – is standing behind a podium making finger guns with the caption: “Donald Trump, rehearsing for SNL skit where he plays Alec Baldwin.” This particular post is also accompanied by a comment from Don Jr. MEGA “For those who are out there doing the fake sanctimony about leaving Alec Baldwin alone let’s all remember that Alec Baldwin would be the first person pissing on everyone’s grave if the shoes were on the other foot,” Don Jr. said in the comments of his own post. “Screw him!” If you could not already tell, Don Jr. is still a bit upset at Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of his father on SNLleading up to and during the older Trump’s presidency. As Radar has been reporting, this is all happening only a few days after the tragedy took place in New Mexico last week. Baldwin is not only distraught over the accidental tragedy, but that he is even thinking about putting a pause to all of his current acting projects until he is able to properly grieve and process the incident. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin said in an official statement regarding the matter. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family.” MEGA Don Jr. Goes Low on Towleroad Julianna Margulies Plays Lesbian On ‘Morning Show’; ‘Can Understand Criticism’. Assures She Won’t Cross Race Line For Role. More Anne Heche Claims Her Brief Time Dating Ellen Made Her Cancel Culture ‘Patient Zero’. Um… Uh… More Sir Elton John still owns ‘most’ of his crazy spectacles More Wonder Woman’s 1st Trans Amazon; ‘Battlefield’s 1st Non-Binary Specialist; ‘Superman’ Colorist Quits Offended By New Motto. More Bitcoin becomes world’s 13th biggest currency More Rupert Everett sets cast for Lost and Found in Paris More U.N. warns world set for 2.7C rise on today’s emissions pledges More Sir Elton John is eager to spend more time with his family More Rising tide of leaks threatens to inundate with Facebook whistleblowers. More Tesla pulls its new Full Self-Driving beta due to software ‘issues’ More Climate scientists fear tipping points (maybe you should too) More Load More View the full article

=Buck SlipIt Felt Sort of OK Until She Brought Up RaceJuliannna Margulies plays lesbian on the Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and it sure seems like she has played or read ‘lesbian” in the past, but it’s like a shared memory of the amazing Kalista on that show on ‘Good Wife’. — ed Published by BANG Showbiz English Julianna Margulies “can understand” the criticism she’s received for playing a gay character in ‘The Morning Show’. The 55-year-old actress plays Laura, a gay reporter, in the hit TV series – and she understands why her casting has annoyed some people, when she herself is not gay. Julianna – who has a 13-year-old son called Kieran with her husband Keith Lieberthal – explained: “I understand 100 percent that I can’t play a different race, but I am an actress and I am supposed to embody another character. Whatever their sexuality is doesn’t matter to me, the same way watching a gay person play a straight person [wouldn’t]. “Are you telling me that because I’m a mother, I can never play a woman who has never had a child? Or if you’ve never been married that you can never play a married woman?” Julianna acknowledged that it’s a difficult issue to resolve to everyone’s satisfaction. She told ‘CBS Mornings’: “You have to be careful on where you’re drawing the line there. We’re actors. We’re supposed to embody a character, regardless of their sexuality. “When it comes to race and gender, that’s a whole different story and I 100 percent agree with that. That’s my stance on it.” The actress also revealed that she can relate to her on-screen character in certain ways. She said: “It could be my age now, maybe, but you get to a place in your life, and I think the same thing happened with Laura, where you go, ‘This is who I am. Take it or leave it. I am not interested in pretending. I have no skeletons in my closet. I’m not hiding. I’m telling the truth, and if you don’t like it, then you’re not in my orbit.'” Julianna Margulies Plays Lesbian on Towleroad Anne Heche Claims Her Brief Time Dating Ellen Made Her Cancel Culture ‘Patient Zero’. Um… Uh… More Sir Elton John still owns ‘most’ of his crazy spectacles More Wonder Woman’s 1st Trans Amazon; ‘Battlefield’s 1st Non-Binary Specialist; ‘Superman’ Colorist Quits Offended By New Motto. More Bitcoin becomes world’s 13th biggest currency More Rupert Everett sets cast for Lost and Found in Paris More U.N. warns world set for 2.7C rise on today’s emissions pledges More Sir Elton John is eager to spend more time with his family More Rising tide of leaks threatens to inundate with Facebook whistleblowers. More Tesla pulls its new Full Self-Driving beta due to software ‘issues’ More Climate scientists fear tipping points (maybe you should too) More Harry Styles Helps Fan Come Out; ‘When I Raise This Flag, You’re Officially Out;’ Star Did A Gender Reveal, Texting Advice At Previous Shows More Load More View the full article

=Buck SlipUhh, Speechless. There were a few other things going on — ed Published by BANG Showbiz English Anne Heche claims she was “patient zero in cancel culture”. The 52-year-old actress insisted she was “blacklisted” by Hollywood after going public with her romance with Ellen DeGeneres in 1997 and as a result she feels she was the first person to lose her career as a result of her public statements. She told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column: “This wasn’t a long-term love affair. This was a moment in my life when I was given the glory of being able to stand up for what I believe in and have since I was a kid.” Anne previously admitted she was advised not to take Ellen – who she split from in 2000 – to the premiere of her movie ‘Volcano’, and she’s reflected on the tough repercussions of her decision to defy the advice for the sake of “living in loving-kindness”. She claimed: “I didn’t do a studio picture for 10 years. I was fired from a $10 million picture deal and did not see the light of day in a studio picture.” The ’13 minutes’ actress – who has son Homer, 19, with ex-husband Coleman Laffoon and Atlas, 12, with former partner James Tupper – hailed Harrison Ford her “hero” for standing by her when it seemed her proposed role ‘Six Day, Seven Nights’ was about to be axed as a result of her relationship with Ellen. Recalling how the 79-year-old star called her at home one morning, she remembered: “He said, ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn who you’re sleeping with. We have a romantic comedy to make. Let’s make it the best one that’s ever happened.’ “That is why Harrison Ford is my hero. To stand behind me at such a time when the force of what I was standing up for could have been toppled.” But despite claiming her relationship derailed her career, Anne is “proud” she helped to instigate change. She said: “Those repercussions that happened, are to me what has created a part of the change. I’m a part of it. It is a badge of honor.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John still owns “most” of his crazy spectacles. The 74-year-old music legend is known for his extensive hoard of rock-star shades, having amassed thousands of bonkers glasses in all shapes and sizes over the past five decades, and he still has many of the ones he’s worn on stage, including his famous oversized star-shaped lenses. However, he finds it impossible to pick a favourite. Asked if he could name his most-loved pair, the ‘I’m Still Standing’ hitmaker told LADbible: “Not really because I’ve got so many I can choose whatever mood I’m in. I’m you know I’m very lucky to have so much to choose from.” Asked: “How many do you have?”, Elton replied: “Oh god I’m not sure I mean it’s in the thousands. It has to be yeah but I’ve been collecting them ever since 1970 when I started wearing the stars and all the crazy glasses I still have most of them.” As well as his impressive glasses collection, Elton also owns more than 100,000 CDs. The ‘Rocket Man’ star is an avid record collector and though his collection is huge, none of it has been placed into storage so he can always access whatever it is he wants to listen to. He admitted previously: “I have over 120,000 CDs and 15,000 pieces of vinyl. They are stored in my home shelves so I can access whatever I want, whenever I want… I definitely prefer LPs.” Meanwhile, Elton revealed he is health-conscious these days after abusing drugs and alcohol in the past – and his post-gig feast is less rock and roll than you’d expect. The rock icon – who recently underwent hip replacement surgery – tends to opt for “a handful of almonds and a glass of water” instead of a calorific slice of pizza, which he’d really like to chow down on. He said: “It’s very hard to eat after gigs because it’s very bad to eat that late at night so I might have a handful of almonds and a glass of water which is really boring where I’d love to have a pizza.” Check out the full interview on LADbible’s YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs4yTNfOrho. View the full article

=Buck SlipAnd that new Superman motto is: Truth, Justice, and A Better WorldWonder Woman wisely skips the motto thing. BiaBia, DC Comics’ First Trans Amazon DC Comics’ push for LGBTQ visibility in its comic book universe continued with the debut of Bia, the first out trans woman to join Wonder Woman’s community of Amazons. Making her debut in this week’s first issue of “Nubia & The Amazons,” Bia is among five women who join the denizens of Themiscyra, the homeland of Wonder Woman and her fellow Amazons, after passing through the Well of Souls. The emotional introduction sees Bia choosing her name, as is custom, while crying and remarking on her struggles to live open without difficulty in her pre-Amazon life. Superman Colorist Quits When Motto Changes from the long-used, “Truth, Justice and the American Way,” to “Truth, Justice and a Better World” DC Comics Colorist Gabe Eltaeb quit their job after hearing company is changing the the iconic Superman motto to “Truth, Justice and a Better World”, possibly carrying a slightly less xenophobic message, and signaling we’re no longer in a Cold War with USSR with from the long-used “Truth, Justice and the American Way.” As Gayming Magazine reports, Eltaeb, who was working on the upcoming “Superman” comic where Jon Kent comes out as bisexual, let loose a tirade against the comics giant and the industry during a livestream with prominent names in the Comicsgate movement. Note: Comicsgate is a movement, not an isolated scandal, a real force in the comic book world that predates Pizzagate. The participants in both do share a similar love for conspiracies and paranoia, as well as fighting to cancel the folks they claim are cancelling them for… Well…They think you’ll call them racist for suggesting that making superheroes trans or of color makes the stories boring. “I’m tired of this shit. I’m tired of them ruining these characters – they don’t have a right to do this,” Eltaeb began. Going on to say “fuck that”, referring to the motto change, calling it a “a bunch of fucking nonsense.” Eltaeb did note that he didn’t quit DC over Jon Kent’s bisexuality, though that’s something of a silly effort to split hairs while speaking from Comicsgate movement hat has been homophobic and transphobic for years. And in fact during that same livestream other participants told homophobic jokes about the Jon Kent character and other LGBTQ characters. Among those lovelies, “Graveyard Shift” creator Jon Malin equating LGBTQ people to pedophiles. A Bitter World in deed. Wonder Woman: Previously on Towleroad Wonder Woman’s 1st Trans Amazon; ‘Battlefield’s 1st Non-Binary Specialist; ‘Superman’ Colorist Quits Offended By New Motto. Brian Bell October 26, 2021 Read More Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No, It’s The First Bisexual Superman Towleroad October 11, 2021 Read More World of Batman Now Even More Queer; Longtime Robin Comes Out as Questioning in DC Comics Anthology Series Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More Pride Month Gay Comics Roundup: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Many Others Celebrate Their LGBTQ Characters, Creators Brian Bell June 16, 2021 Read More Brazil’s Largest Newspaper Publishes Massive ‘Avengers’ Gay Kiss in Defiance of Rio Mayor Andy Towle September 9, 2019 Read More Rio De Janeiro Authorities Ban ‘Avengers’ Comic Book Series Over Gay Kiss Andy Towle September 7, 2019 Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Bitcoin is now the 13th biggest country in the world after overtaking the Swiss Franc The digital cryptocurrency – which can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer network without the need of a central bank – experienced a surge this week, shooting up to $66,000 and according to experts, it shows no signs of stopping. Some analysts have predicted that with several more bitcoin ETFs expected to be approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the latter months of 2021 could be “parabolic” for the market of cryptocurrency. David Wachsman, CEO of emerging tech consultancy firm Wachsman, told The Independent newspaper: “The market cap of bitcoin has surpassed the trillion dollar mark, an element that indicates that the parabolic rise of bitcoin is continuing. “This could suggest a further consolidation over the next months with a number of additional bitcoin futures ETFs in the US due to be approved over the coming weeks.” He went on to claim that the concept of cryptocurrency is no longer the niche market it once was. He added: “While futures ETFs can be complex financial products for retail investors to leverage, there can be no doubt that the launches are a significant sign of how the asset class has gone mainstream. It is clear that crypto assets are no longer a niche market, with a broad range of participants including retail, institutions and corporates accelerating their involvement in the market.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Rupert Everett has cast Kit Clarke, John Malkovich and Kristin Scott Thomas in the autobiographical film ‘Lost and Found in Paris’. The 62-year-old star will explore the hedonism, seduction and intrigue of the French capital in the 1970s and is set to direct from his self-penned screenplay based on his own real-life experiences. Kit will star as Rupert’s younger self – an unruly teenager sent by his exasperated parents to live with a Parisian socialite family to learn French and grow up. The ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ star will also have a supporting role in his own movie. The flick follows Rupert as a 17-year-old art student in Paris in 1977. He is seduced into the hedonistic world of rival fashion designers Gary Saint Lazare (Everett) and Wim Waldemar (Malkovich) in the dying days of disco. Lost in an unforgettable era, Rupert has a sexual awakening and experiences a dark first love. Only when tragedy strikes does he realise that some loyalties don’t last forever. The film is being produced by Jeremy Thomas at Recorded Picture Company and is set to start production in spring 2022. The movie will also feature a soundtrack filled with some of the greatest hits from the disco and punk era. Everett said: “‘Lost and Found in Paris’ is a film about the rollercoaster of life, the exuberance and glamour of youth, seen through the lens of a life well-lived. “I went to Paris on an exchange trip in 1977. I was supposed to learn French. Instead I discovered fashion, disco, drugs, rent boys and finally – right at the edge of the abyss – myself.” Kristin added: “I’ve known Rupert since his incredible screen debut in ‘Another Country’, and his multifaceted talents and personal story makes ‘Lost and Found in Paris’ an unusual blend of comedy with true-life adventure.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) – Current commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on track for an average 2.7 degrees Celsius temperature rise this century, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, in another stark warning ahead of crunch climate talks https://www.reuters.com/business/cop. Governments will be in the spotlight at the COP26 conference next week to meet a deadline of this year to commit to more ambitious cut pledges, in what could be the last chance to put the world on track to limiting warming to below 2C above pre-industrial levels and ideally to 1.5C. As extreme weather events ranging from wildfires to floods have hit countries around the world, a U.N. report in August warned that global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions could breach 1.5C in the next two decades. But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday it was “touch and go” whether the most important round of U.N. talks since the Paris Agreement in 2015 will secure the agreements needed to tackle climate change. And the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said ahead of the two-week event which begins in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday that greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record last year and the world is “way off track” in capping rising temperatures. The annual “emissions gap” report by the United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP), which measures the gap between anticipated emissions and those consistent with limiting the temperature rise this century as agreed in the Paris accord, said updated pledges only reduce forecast 2030 emissions by an additional 7.5%, compared to the previous commitments. If continued throughout this century, this would lead to warming of 2.7C, slightly less than the 3C UNEP forecast in its last report. A 30% cut is needed to limit warming to 2C and a 55% cut is needed to limit to 1.5C. It said current commitments to net zero could limit warming to around 2.2C by the end of the century, but 2030 pledges so far do not put major emitters on a clear path to this. WAKE-UP CALL Latest U.N. data shows 143 countries, accounting for around 57% of global emissions, have submitted new or updated emissions cut plans ahead of COP26 and their total emissions are estimated to be around 9% of 2010 levels by 2030 if implemented fully. But if all pledges by 192 countries under the Paris Agreement are taken together, an increase of around 16% in global emissions is expected by 2030 compared to 2010, which would lead to warming of around 2.7C. “This report is another thundering wake-up call. How many do we need? The emissions gap is the result of a leadership gap,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres told a press briefing. China and India, which are together responsible for around 30% of global emissions, have not yet made enhanced pledges. “The era of half measures and hollow promises must end. The time for closing the leadership gap must begin in Glasgow.” By 2030, to reach the 1.5C limit, annual greenhouse gas emissions need to fall by an extra 28 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 equivalent, or be halved from current levels of nearly 60 Gt, over and above what is promised in updated pledges and other 2030 commitments, the report said. For the 2C limit, an additional 13 Gt cut in annual emissions is needed by 2030. “We have eight years to make the plans, put in place the policies, implement them and ultimately deliver the cuts,” UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said. “The clock is ticking loudly.” (Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Alexander Smith) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John is looking forward to spending time with his family after his farewell tour. The 74-year-old singer is poised to hit the road for one last time for his Yellow Brick Road tour, and he’ll then focus his attention on spending quality time with his family. Elton – who has Elijah, eight, and Zachary, 10, with his husband David Furnish – said: “They’re going to be teenagers soon. I need to be with them.” Elton will be 76 when the farewell tour ends and he’s determined to spend more time at home. He told the ‘Today’ show: “I don’t know how much time I have left on this earth after that. You know, I’ve had enough applause. I don’t want to keep travelling. I don’t want to be away from my family.” Meanwhile, Elton recently joked that he “played Ernie Wise” to Stevie Wonder’s Eric Morecambe on their new collaboration. The music icon joined forces with Stevie, 71, for the track ‘Finish Line’, and Elton admits that the song reminded him of the TV comedy double act Morecambe and Wise. He explained: “I kind of played Ernie Wise to his Eric Morecambe. “My vocal is pretty straight, but there he is singing like [he does on] ‘Superstition’. I haven’t heard him sing like that for a long, long time, and that was magical, to hear him stretch out.” Elton has worked with a host of younger artists in recent months, including The Weeknd and Dua Lipa. However, by comparison, he has an “old-fashioned” approach to songwriting. He said: “I went in the studio and wrote something with The Weeknd when I was [in Los Angeles]. “Whether he’ll release it or not, I don’t know, but it was fascinating to see the way he works. I write songs from start to finish, I’m old-fashioned; these people take bits of melodies and make a collage. Songwriting doesn’t have to be the same old form of songwriting.” View the full article

Published by AFP In this file illustration photo taken in August 2021, the Facebook logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a computer screen in Los Angeles San Francisco (AFP) – Facebook held back from doing all it could to stop users from being radicalized and US election misinformation from flooding the social network, according to media reports Friday. An array of US news outlets cited documents from former Facebook worker Frances Haugen, adding to a series of critical revelations already published based on information she provided. Articles in the New York Times, Washington Post and elsewhere on Friday focused on how Facebook apparently intensified political division. Examples included an internal finding that 10 percent of political content viewed by US users in the days after the election perpetuated the falsehood that the vote had been rigged. What has come to be known as the “Big Lie” has been repeated relentlessly by former President Donald Trump and enraged his supporters, who stormed the US Capital in a deadly attack on January 6. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms banned Trump from their platforms for encouraging the violent effort to thwart the democratic process. Revelations published Friday indicated that Facebook could have anticipated such trouble. ‘Carol’s journey’ The information was reportedly found in the thousands of internal documents Haugen provided to regulators at the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Haugen told US lawmakers early this month that the social media giant fuels division, harms children and urgently needs to be regulated, drawing pledges Congress would take up long-delayed action. The testimony by Haugen has fueled one of Facebook’s most serious crises yet, and prompted a denial from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who said in a post on his account that her claim the company prioritizes profit over safety was “just not true.” A common theme in revelations is that Facebook knew about problems hurting users and society but chose, in large part, to ignore them. Articles Friday referred to a report compiled by Facebook’s own internal researchers titled “Carol’s Journey to QAnon.” Facebook’s security team in 2019 reportedly created a fake account for a “conservative mother from North Carolina” given the profile name Carol Smith. The social network software quickly offered Smith a “barrage of extreme, conspiratorial and graphic content” including from the QAnon movement known for unfounded conspiracy theories, according to the researchers. Defense Faced with the mounting criticism, Facebook on Friday detailed anew steps it has taken to protect the election and keep the social network safe. “Our comprehensive strategy to protect the US 2020 elections began years before the election cycle even began and was designed to last through the inauguration,” Facebook vice president of integrity Guy Rosen said in a blog post. “Responsibility for the insurrection itself falls squarely on the insurrectionists who broke the law and those who incited them.” Facebook’s tenacious efforts to fend off critics is not likely to appease elected officials openly calling for action against the tech giant. More revelations from leaked documents appear in store, and a former member of Facebook’s integrity team emerged Friday as another whistleblower. The former employee reportedly told US regulators that Facebook dismissed controversy over Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election as a “flash in the pan” and that managers undermined efforts to fight disinformation for fear of angering Trump or his fans. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Marcelo Teixeira and Hyunjoo Jin NEW YORK/ SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc on Sunday rolled back the latest version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software, less than a day after its release, after users complained of false collision warnings and other issues. The setback comes as Tesla is under regulatory scrutiny over the safety of its semi-autonomous driving technology, which it calls “FSD.” “Seeing some issues with 10.3, so rolling back to 10.2 temporarily,” Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a Twitter post on Sunday. “Please note, this is to be expected with beta software. It is impossible to test all hardware configs in all conditions with internal QA (quality assurance), hence public beta,” he said. Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. The release of the new driving assist system to some owners of Tesla models, which the company said featured several improvements, had been announced for Friday, Oct 22. On Saturday, Musk said the release would probably be delayed by a day. “Regression in some left turns at traffic lights found by internal QA in 10.3. Fix in work, probably releasing tomorrow,” he tweeted on Saturday. The Tesla vehicles with the latest 10.3 software repeatedly provided Forward Collision Warnings when there was no immediate danger, according to video postings of beta users. Some vehicles also automatically applied brakes without reason, users said on social media posts. Some users said they lost the FSD beta software entirely after having problems with the latest iteration. There was no information on Sunday about a possible new date for the release, either from Musk on social media or from Tesla. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in August opened a formal safety probe into Tesla’s Autopilot system in 765,000 U.S. vehicles after a series of crashes involving Tesla models and emergency vehicles. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Diane Craft and Lincoln Feast.) View the full article

Published by AFP Scientists fear the triggering of invisible climate tripwires known at tipping points Paris (AFP) – Leaders may be going into the UN climate summit in Glasgow with the do-or-die goal of limiting global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, but breaching that cap is not what keeps scientists awake at night. The real disaster scenario begins with the triggering of invisible climate tripwires known as tipping points. “Climate tipping points are a game-changing risk — an existential threat — and we need to do everything within our power to avoid them,” said Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter. What’s a tipping point? Anyone who has leaned back in a chair balancing on two legs knows there is a threshold beyond which you irrevocably crash to the floor. That portal between two stable states — in this case, an upright versus a fallen-over chair — is a tipping point, and Earth’s complex, interlocking climate system is full of them. These temperature thresholds have potentially widespread impacts. If temperatures rise enough to melt the ice sheets atop Greenland and West Antarctica, it could lift oceans more than a dozen metres (40 feet). The Amazon tropical forest, upon which we depend to soak up carbon pollution, could turn into savannah. Or shallow subsoil known as permafrost — mostly in Siberia — tenuously holding twice the amount of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere could see those harmful emissions seep into the air. “We have seen a number of tipping points already in coral reefs and polar systems, and more are likely in the near term,” the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a draft report on climate impacts, due out in February, obtained by AFP. In most cases, reversing the changes set in motion would be beyond the grasp of humanity for many generations, if not millennia. Why so scary? One of the first scientists to unlock the secret of tipping points recalled suddenly understanding some 15 years ago why they were so ominous. “It was an ‘Oh Shit!’ moment,” Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founding director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), told AFP in an interview. “Planetary machinery — the monsoon system, ocean circulation, the jet stream, the big ecosystems — abounds with non-linear systems,” he said, referring to the potential for abrupt, dramatic change. “That means you have so many points of no return.” In Antarctica, more than half the ice shelves that prevent glaciers — some larger in area than England and Scotland combined — from sliding into the ocean and lifting sea levels are at risk of crumbling due to climate change. “It is like uncorking a bottle, and we are uncorking them one by one,” said Schellnhuber. Earth-altering tipping points have different temperature thresholds. Scientists know these tripwires are there, but not exactly where they lie. Even more unsettling is how easily our already belaboured efforts to eliminate carbon pollution could be overwhelmed by the changes we are setting in motion. If thawing permafrost surrenders as much CO2 as humanity stops emitting, we find ourselves fighting a war on two fronts: on top of the struggle to slash our own emissions we’d have to cope with those generated by the planet itself. How many are there? Scientists count about 15 significant tipping points in the planet’s climate system. Some are regional, others are global, all are interconnected. Those least resistant to global warming and closest to a point of no return are tropical coral reefs, the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, alpine glaciers, Arctic summer sea ice and the Amazon forest. Parts of the climate system more resistant to rising temperatures include the global currents that redistribute heat through the oceans, the Arctic jet stream, the Indian monsoon, El Ninos in the Pacific, and desertification in the Sahel. While permafrost probably doesn’t have a single temperature tripwire, the IPCC estimates it will release tens of billions of tonnes of CO2 for every extra degree of global warming. The last holdout would be East Antarctica’s ice sheet, which holds 56 metres worth of sea-level rise. Why are we hearing about them now? – The IPCC’s most recent mega-report is the first to give tipping points more than a cursory mention. “Abrupt responses and tipping points of the climate system… cannot be ruled out,” the UN’s climate science advisory body now warns. While scientists have long been aware of the danger that tipping points pose, part of the problem has been the inability of climate models — which are built to track gradual, linear change — to anticipate the timing or impact of abrupt shocks. “Just because tipping points are challenging to predict doesn’t mean they can be ignored,” Lenton said. What is the ripple effect? A new wave of research is focusing on how sudden shifts triggered by tipping points ripple across the climate system, leading to possible chain reactions. Accelerating melt-off from the Greenland ice sheet, for example, is almost certainly slowing down the conveyor belt of ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This, in turn, could push Earth’s tropical rain belt southward and weaken the African and Asian monsoons, upon which hundreds of millions depend for rain-fed crops. Scientists cannot rule out the possibility that the AMOC will stall altogether, as it has in the past. If this happened, European winters would become much harsher and sea levels in the North Atlantic basin could rise substantially. There are dozens of other ways in which facets of the climate system are intertwined. What is a ‘hothouse Earth’? Earth’s past tells us that continuing greenhouse gas emissions “could tip the global climate into a permanent hot state,” according to the recent IPCC report. Think of it as the ultimate tipping point: “hothouse Earth”. The last time atmospheric concentrations of CO2 matched today’s levels, some three million years ago, temperatures were at least 3C more and sea levels five-to-25 metres higher. A combination of more carbon pollution and emissions from permafrost and dying forests “might set us on such a trajectory in little more than a century,” said Jan Zalasiewicz, a palaeo-biology professor at the University of Leicester. Johan Rockstrom, PIK director, said a 2C cap on warming was “not a social or economic choice, it is actually a planetary boundary”. “The moment that the Earth system flips over from being self-cooling — which it still is — to self-warming, that is the moment that we lose control,” he told AFP. What are economic risks? Tipping points are not currently taken into account when assessing the economic risks associated with climate change — but experts argue that they should be. New York University economist Gernot Wagner earlier this year calculated the potential cost to society of major planetary tipping points. Once Earth’s potential for nasty surprises is taken into account, the dollar damage to health and the environment caused by each ton of CO2 emitted today — known as the social cost of carbon — would increase by at least a quarter, he found. In other words, the greater the risk, the higher the cost. Any silver linings? But there is potential for positive change too. Just like social momentum helped to spur rapid transitions — the ending of slavery, the dismantling apartheid in South Africa, or the push to legalise gay marriage in the US, for example — so it might be with climate change. From electric vehicles and green investments, to a global youth movement led by Greta Thunberg, a crescendo of change has experts wondering whether the world is turning the corner on climate. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Harry Styles helped a fan come out at his concert in Connecticut at the weekend. The One Direction star – who has a strong LGBTQ+ following – was performing a solo gig at the Mohegan Sun Arena inside the casino in Uncasville on Saturday (23.10.21) night when he assisted a gig-goer in their request to publicly declare their sexuality. After he spotted a girl holding a sign with “Help me come out” emblazoned across it in the packed-out crowd, the 27-year-old pop star threw up a rainbow pride flag and said: “Anyone particular you’d like to come out to? “Is it for yourself? When I raise this flag you’re officially out, heard that’s how it works! She’s oooout!” The ‘Watermelon Sugar’ singer has made a thing of taking requests from fans via signs at his shows. Last month, Harry did a gender reveal for a pregnant fan midway through his show. The ‘Golden’ hitmaker was performing at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville when he spotted the woman in the audience urging him to help her. The fan held a sign which played on the lyrics to Harry’s song ‘Kiwi’ and read: “I’m having a baby. Please make it your business…” Another poster urged him to “open the results”, which he agreed to do. After being given the piece of paper containing the results, Harry – who was on the phone with the woman’s partner, Mike – laughed and said: “I revel in these moments because I know everything… and you don’t.” And he then joked he planned to keep the couple in suspense as he said: “Okay we’re going to do another song! “Oh you’re still there Mike!” He then organised the audience into a countdown before dropping to his knees and declaring: “It’s a little baby girl.” He quipped: “That’s what I wanted – is that what you wanted?” The music star then pretended to cry with joy as the arena erupted in cheers at the news. And the week before, Harry – who is dating Olivia Wilde – offered some dating advice to one woman in the audience after she used a placard to ask him a question. At the show in Minnesota, the fan was holding up a sign which read, “Should I text him?”, and the ‘Adore You’ singer addressed the question on stage. He said: “In my opinion, if you should, then this isn’t even a question. “If we’re playing games … If you’re wondering, ‘Should I text him? Can’t text him too soon … And now I’m thinking about double texting and that’s whole other risky business …’ “My personal opinion is that if there’s any sort of games: Trash, trash, trash, not for you.” View the full article

Published by DPA A meme a day keeps the therapist away. This could be the lesson of fresh research into the impact of humorous content from social media during the pandemic. Fabian Sommer/dpa A few funny memes every day can be enough to help people better cope with the everyday stresses of life during the pandemic, according to a US study on the effect of the humorous online content, published in the Psychology of Popular Media journal. Such comical photos shared on social media can also increase people’s confidence in their ability to deal with the pandemic – but only if they are not too cutesy, according to the researchers. The idea that memes, of all things, could be a key weapon in the mental health battle during the pandemic is not as far-fetched as it might sound at first. Last year a study published in the journal Scientific Reports had reported that memes about depression can help lift the mood of those with mental health problems. “As the pandemic kept dragging on, it became more and more interesting to me how people were using social media and memes in particular, as a way to think about the pandemic,” says Jessica Myrick, lead author of the new study. For the Penn State University professor, it is not the first time she has dealt with a pop-cultural internet phenomenon. One of her previous studies had looked at the effects of cat videos on happiness. For her new study, Myrick and her team surveyed 748 people online last December to find out whether viewing different memes influences emotions, anxiety, information processing and generally coping during the pandemic. To do this, the researchers collected hundreds of popular memes on relevant platforms and divided them into different categories, such as whether the caption referred to Covid-19 or not. For the study, those memes were selected that were rated as equally funny and cute by a group of participants. For some memes, the researchers wrote new Covid- or non-Covid-related captions. For example, one meme featured a picture of an angry cat with the caption, “New study confirms: Cats can’t spread Covid-19 but would if given option.” The non-Covid-related version of the meme had the caption: “New study confirms: Cats can’t sabotage your car but would if given option.” The next step was to randomly assign subjects to see different memes or, as a control, different types of imageless text. The researchers then examined how cute and funny the study participants found the media they saw, what emotions they reported and how equipped to deal with the pandemic they felt. They found that people who viewed memes showed higher levels of humour and more positive emotions than others, which was indirectly associated with a reduction in stress related to the pandemic. Subjects who viewed memes with captions about Covid-19 were even more likely to feel less stress about the pandemic than those who viewed memes without coronavirus-related captions. At the same time, those who viewed Covid-related memes thought more intensely about the content and felt more confident about coping with the pandemic. However cute memes had a different effect, and participants who saw particularly cute memes featuring human or animal babies were less likely to think about the pandemic and its impact on their own lives – even if the captions referred to the coronavirus. “Cuteness responses, generally, were associated with decreased coping efficacy,” the authors write in the study. The study comes in contrast to much previous research on the psychological impact of social media platforms such as Instagram, where the emphasis on beauty and success have been shown to have negative mental health impacts. At the same time, a recent study showed that “doomscrolling” through pandemic news headlines can also sour a person’s mood. However lead author Myrick stresses that things are different for memes. “While the World Health Organization recommended that people avoid too much Covid-related media for the benefit of their mental health, our research reveals that memes about Covid-19 could help people feel more confident in their ability to deal with the pandemic.” Officials could use such memes as a cheap and accessible way to communicate with the public about stressful situations. Myrick concludes: “The positive emotions associated with this type of content may make people feel psychologically safer and therefore better able to pay attention to the underlying messages related to health threats.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Paul Sandle and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) – Facebook will fuel more violent unrest around the world because of the way its algorithms are designed to promote divisive content, whistleblower Frances Haugen told the British parliament on Monday. Haugen, a former product manager on Facebook’s civic misinformation team who has turned whistleblower, appeared before a parliamentary select committee in Britain that is examining plans to regulate social media companies. She said the social network saw safety as a cost centre, lionised a start-up culture where cutting corners was good, and said it was “unquestionably” making hate worse. “The events we’re seeing around the world, things like Myanmar and Ethiopia, those are the opening chapters because engagement-based ranking does two things: one, it prioritises and amplifies divisive and polarising extreme content and two it concentrates it,” she said. Facebook declined to provide any immediate comment in response to Haugen’s appearance at the parliamentary committee. Haugen in October told a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing that Facebook had devised ways to keep users scrolling even if it was detrimental to their wellbeing, putting profit before people. She also said she provided the documents used in a Wall Street Journal investigation and a Senate hearing on Instagram’s harm to teenage girls. She compared the platform to addictive substances such as tobacco and opioids. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hit back against Haugen’s accusations, saying earlier this month: “The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical.” BRITISH INTERIOR MINISTER SEEKS TOUGHER LAWS Before Monday’s hearing, Haugen met the country’s interior minister, Priti Patel, who advocates tougher legislation for tech platforms that fail to keep users safe. Haugen is scheduled to speak at a major tech conference, the Web Summit, next week and in Brussels to European policymakers. “Facebook has been unwilling to accept even little slivers of profit being sacrificed for safety, and that’s not acceptable,” she said on Monday, singling out Instagram’s impact on the mental health of some young users. Britain is bringing forward laws that could fine social media companies up to 10% of their turnover if they fail to remove or limit the spread of illegal content, such as child sexual abuse. Platforms such as Facebook will also need to do more to protect children from exposure to grooming, bullying and pornography, the government has said. Reuters, along with other news organisations, viewed documents released to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress by Haugen. They showed Facebook had known that it hadn’t hired enough workers who possessed both the language skills and knowledge of local events needed to identify objectionable posts from users in a number of developing countries. (Editing by Keith Weir and Barbara Lewis) View the full article