What better way to start the week than with some positive news?
Human Rights Honour
The European parliament has awarded its top human rights honour, the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought, to Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González for “representing the people of Venezuela fighting to restore freedom and democracy”. Both ran in Venezuela’s contested 2024 election, but she was disqualified by the government, so went into hiding and González took her place. He had never run for office before the presidential election, but a Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for González, who claimed political asylum in Spain. “In their quest for a fair, free and peaceful transition of power, they have fearlessly upheld values that millions of Venezuelans and the European parliament hold so dear: justice, democracy and the rule of law,” Roberta Metsola, president of the European parliament, told EU lawmakers.
UK Customs Experience
Paddington Bear has finally gotten a real UK passport! Rob Silva, co-producer of the upcoming film Paddington in Peru, revealed the exciting news in a recent interview. “We wrote to the Home Office, asking if we could get a replica, and they actually issued Paddington with an official passport," he said. Paddington is, of course, Peruvian. He's a spectacled bear, which is the only bear species native to South America. “You wouldn’t think the Home Office would have a sense of humor," Silva added. "But under official observations, they’ve just listed him as Bear." Fair enough!
Paddington in Peru: In good news for fans of marmalade and an accident prone little bear, the third film in the franchise is on its way and will hit cinemas in November. Here's a bit about the movie and the first official trailer.
Remarkably Intact
The ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and others spent vast amounts of time planning for their entombment and memorialization. The tombstones and stele of the ancients are a huge part of the archeological record, particularly in lands once ruled by the Roman Empire. Among these lands is modern Bulgaria, and among those who crafted their own legacy was a man who lived in the ancient city of Odessos. The statue of himself he had erected 1,700 years ago, has recently been discovered, an astonishingly well-preserved example of a Roman citizen. The statue was unearthed in Varna, Bulgaria. It is slightly larger than life, carved from white marble. Researchers believe it was carved in the late second or early third century CE. Shockingly intact for its age, only its right arm and nose have been lost to time.
New Monument
During the Civil War, Robert Smalls famously donned Confederate clothes in order to steal a slaveholder’s ship and sail his family and a dozen others to freedom. But South Carolina is honoring him with the state’s first-ever monument to an African American for another reason - Smalls helped rewrite the state’s constitution to give Black men equality post-Civil War. The idea to honor Smalls with a monument has been in the works for years, until this year, when a proposal was unanimously passed in both the state House and Senate.
India's Renewables
After years of effort to build solar parks, wind farms, and hydroelectric projects, renewable energy capacity in India now accounts for 46 percent of the country’s total power.
Floppy Disks
It may amaze you to discover that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) still runs on floppy disks. However, the board has now agreed to spend $212 million to get its Muni Metro light rail off this antiquated tech which has been running on 5¼-inch floppy disks since 1998. Like with other entities, the SFMTA’s slow move off floppy disks can be attributed to complacency, budget restrictions, and complications in overhauling critical technology systems. Various other organizations have also been slow to ditch the dated storage format, including in Japan, which only stopped using floppy disks in governmental systems in June, and the German navy, which is still trying to figure out a replacement for 8-inch floppies.
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
On This Day
28 October 1886: U.S. President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the Statue of Liberty - a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States - on Bedloe's (later Liberty) Island in Upper New York Bay.
Today's Articles
Calling Time: In good news for the environment and public health, the end is nigh for disposable vapes on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Hello Philly!” New virtual ‘portal’ opens in Philadelphia, connecting with Lithuania, Poland and Ireland.
November: As a new month is almost upon us, here's a collection of inspiring, poetic quotes about November.
Mood Boosting Video
Stayin' Alive: North Korean forces marching to the Bee Gees.