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Prudish or Proper? Etsy, the popular online marketplace for vintage and handmade knick-knacks, is banning the sale of sex toys and erotic items, including vintage pornography and some non-photographic art featuring explicit nudity and sexual acts. Etsy says the policy reflects ‘evolving industry standards,’ creators have called it a betrayal that favours ‘blanket bans’ over content-filtering tools.
Has Britain Overcome Its Voter Apathy? ‘Massive queues’ have been reported at polling stations on Thursday. Meanwhile, Iran sees a record low of 39.9 per cent turnout following the first round of presidential voting. Disappointment and political apathy characterise the mood. One commentator said that regardless of who wins, ‘the president is just a puppet.’
Banksy the Samaritan: The Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has called an inflatable raft artwork that appeared at Glastonbury last week ‘vile.’ Its author, the elusive muralist Banksy, fired back with: ‘The real boat I fund, the MV Louise Michel, rescued 17 unaccompanied children … As punishment the Italian authorities have detained it — which seems vile and unacceptable to me.’
Can Plate Tectonics Answer an Existential Question? A new theory argues that plate tectonics are key to producing advanced lifeforms. Since Earth is the only known planet in the solar system to have them, we may be quite alone in the Universe after all.
Is Biden Best for America? America is contemplating. Last week’s disastrous debate between Biden and Trump has made the President’s cognitive condition hard to dismiss. Popular Democratic replacements include Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.
An Olive a Day Keeps Diabetes and Obesity at Bay: Tests on obese diabetic mice reveal a 10.7 per cent reduction in obesity after they were given elenolic acid — found naturally in olives and extra virgin olive oil — for several weeks. As well as improving overall metabolic health, elenolic acid helped stabilise blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity in the same mice after four to five weeks.