Char(lotte) Day 🇪🇺☀️

'About yourself in fewer than 160 chars.' Well I am one char so that's fine I should think.

[Sam @SamCKx]

If Keir Starmer does resign, history will look back on his reign and scratch its head as to why the hell he was so hated.

On paper, he's probably delivered more to working British people in such a short time than any PM for decades.

After inheriting an absolute mess: NHS waiting lists fallen. Worker's rights improved. Rail operators nationalised. Improved relations with EU and improved UK's global reputation. Removed non-dom tax status. Halved childcare costs. Boosted state pensions. Lowest homicide rate in 50 years. Lifted 550k children out of poverty. Immigration vastly reduced.

We are in the age of billionaire funded misinformation, whose sole purpose is to topple democratically elected leaders, and insert leadership that favours the wealthy elites over the working people. Looks like the game plan is working...

[Dr. AK 🇮🇳 @docakx]

Greek physician George Papanicolaou invented the Pap smear technique for cervical cancer screening. After his PhD, he immigrated to the US in 1913 with wife, for research opportunities.

In U.S he couldn't recruit subjects for vaginal smears. His wife stepped in, providing daily samples from 1914 for over 21 years—about 7,600 tests—collecting and preparing them herself since George lacked a U.S. medical license. While working at Cornell University Medical College, New York, these samples allowed George to track cellular changes from her reproductive years through menopause, establishing baseline patterns for normal and abnormal cells, which was foundational for identifying cancer indicators.

All the work of George was possible only because of his wife, Andromachi Mavrogeni Papanicolaou (known as Mary, born in 1890 in Greece), who decided to step in as a volunteer human subject. George was poor in English and had communication problems, which made the hurdle of obtaining a medical license even greater when he landed in the U.S. It would be impossible for George to advance his research without his wife stepping in. The couple chose not to have children to dedicate themselves to science.

In the early 1940s, George Nicholas Papanicolaou’s work got international recognition. The couple later in 1961 moved to Miami and founded the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute at the University of Miami. George died on February 19, 1962, from a myocardial infarction. His Pap smear method revolutionized cervical cancer screening, saving millions of lives globally. After George's death, Mary continued his work at the institute.

In 1969 ( seven years after the death of George), the American Cancer Society honored her for her contributions.The citation highlighted her "unselfish contributions," including her role as the primary human subject for over 21 years, her unpaid work as a lab technician and manager at Cornell, and her recruitment of other volunteers, all while handling household duties to allow her husband to focus on research.

On this Women's Day, let us celebrate not only the ladies who are frontline achievers but also those who contribute to the betterment of the world in the background, through the strong resilience which encompasses womanhood.

Glory to Andromachi Mavrogeni Papanicolaou and her husband. Happy Women's Day!

[Sukey Deutschkron 💚🤍💜 @e1duchess]

**IMPORTANT**

People, I need your help.

Last night I discovered that if you are physically unable to have a mammogram the NHS will offer you nothing. No ultrasound, no scan, no anything. This is the rule apparently.

I don’t think this is even the tiniest bit acceptable but if an MP can’t intervene on someone’s behalf what chance do disabled women have to get their voices heard?

So what I need from you all is ideas on who to contact. I immediately thought of Dame Tanni Grey Thompson but is there any one individual or organisation that can step in and make sure that reasonable adjustments have to be made.? It may be the rule in the NHS but I doubt this is lawful.

Disabled women should not be left to rot just because they physically cannot be screened for breast cancer.

Please share widely!

[haley @mockingjaays]

I HAVE THE HUNGER GAMES ZOOMIES

[ashley liao (lee-ow) @ashleyjliao]

every time a new hunger games trailer comes out i am 13 years old again in the best way

[Janet Murray @jan_murray]

I went for a smear test recently - and it hurt like hell.

TMI perhaps? But I'm 51 - and this never happened before.

The nurse said: “Oh, your cervix popped right out there. Did you know you have a prolapse?”

No, I didn’t. And in a year when I’ve already been urgently referred for two potential cancers (one confirmed, the other still being investigated), my brain went straight to: “Sh**t it’s everywhere!”*

Irrational maybe. But understandable, right?

I told her I had breast cancer. And mentioned the abnormal bleeding I had investigated last year. Plus my long and messy gynae history - premature birth, retained placenta (surgically removed), ectopic pregnancy, D&Cs, uterine scarring … the works.

A bit of waffle about things being common at 'my age' ... and that was it.

Afterwards, I felt a bit shaken, so I stopped by my mum’s. She asked me three questions:

1. Did she call the doctor in?
2. Did she make you an appointment to see the doctor?
3. Did she even advise you to see the doctor?

Nope. None of the above.

For context, my mum’s a retired nurse - 35+ years’ experience, prescribing rights, last role at matron level overseeing community nursing for the local PCT (so roughly equivalent to an Advanced Care Practitioner).

She said Number 1 would have been her go-to for any woman presenting with a new suspected prolapse. Especially someone with my medical history.

And that’s what really stuck with me later. Not the prolapse itself - but the fact that no one thought it needed follow-up. Not a word about seeing my GP.

I'm lucky. My mum is a former nurse - and told me to book an appointment to get it checked out.

But women shouldn’t have to rely on luck or family connections to get joined-up care.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Radio host Charlamagne Tha God enrages MAGA world by telling the blunt truth about the Charlie Kirk assassination, condemning it as horrific while also pointing out that the right-winger "understood the price" of his beliefs.

Before grabbing pitchforks, people need to listen to Kirk in his own words...

"Everybody is just assuming this is political violence and it quite possibly it is, matter fact I'm sure it is, but you know what else it is? Gun violence," Charlamagne said on "The Breakfast Club."

"Okay, these nutjobs who don't believe in freedom of speech clearly believe in their right to bear arms and because of the lax gun laws in America they are able to get firearms to carry out these violent acts," he continued.

"Now, let the record show that when I heard what happened to Charlie Kirk yesterday, I immediately felt fear. Okay? I was afraid. I'm a Black man in America, I think about getting shot every day," he went on. "But guess what? Every American should think about getting shot every day when you're out and about in a public place simply because it's been zero days since a mass shooting happened in this country."

Kirk, a hardcore pro-gun demagogue who made a living stoking racial and gender divisions, was shot and killed at a speaking even at Utah Valley University, seemingly with a high-powered long range rifle. The shooter is still at large thanks to the deeply incompetent MAGA hacks that now run the FBI.

"But my personal fear was also because I'm a media personality," Charlamagne said. "I don’t want to live in a country where media personalities are being shot and killed for their opinions or what they believe, but I also know that as much as we like to point to the First Amendment and say we all have freedom of speech, we are not free from the consequences of said speech."

“That’s why mindfulness of what we say is very important, because there is a cost to everything that comes out of our mouth. And unfortunately, we don’t get to set the price," he continued.

"And I must say, Charlie Kirk understood the price of our freedoms more than most,” said Charlamagne before playing a clip of Kirk that has gone viral in the wake of the tragic killing.

"You will never lived in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's drivel," said Kirk. "But I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe."

If Republicans did not habitually block every attempt at sane gun violence out of a need to pander to gun nut voters and firearm manufacturers, Kirk might still be alive. His ideology has created an America that is awash in guns.

"I just wonder when people say things like that, do they think they may be one of those deaths?" said Charlamagne. "Is worth it when one of those casualties is you or someone you love to protect the rights given to us by the Constitution?”

“If they believe they too could be one of those deaths, and they’re cool with that, I respect it so I guess you honor Charlie Kirk by buying more guns — based on that logic yeah — but I don't know about y'all but that sounds kind of ridiculous to me," he added.

“See, even if Charlie Kirk had a gun yesterday, it wouldn’t have protected him,” he continued. "When somebody got the drop on you, they got you. Only thing that could have saved Charlie Kirk yesterday was keeping guns out of the hands of violent extremists like the person who killed him.”

"And the only way to do that is with common sense gun reform," the host concluded.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you support common sense gun reform.

[Mothin Ali @MothinAli]

This is now everyday reality for many of us. A family day out to the beach results in a torrent of racist abuse followed by indecent exposure at my family. My youngest is 6.
Before I started recording, they started with 'get out of our country' the same kind of line that the likes of Reform and Lowe push.
I haven't experienced this kind of ramdon racism on the streets since I was a child in the 80's, I was hoping my own children wouldn't have to go through the same thing.
How far this country has fallen.

That's why we need to work even harder, bring back a message of hope, and offer real change. We need to bring to life my vision of an #IslandOfBelonging

[Patient geronimo @gerothebolter]

well they both ended jake gyllenhaal on a bridge

[Gaz Drinkwater @GazDrinkwater]

Bet his Dad, The Greatest, is buzzing

[Nate Bear @NateB_Panic]

She posted on Instagram how for four months she was in agonising pain, went repeatedly to hospitals in Newcastle and Durham, begged for blood tests and scans, was told it was all in her head. It was cancer. Dead at 25 six months later. I swear medicine attracts sociopaths

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

To illustrate just how nonsensically these tariffs were calculated, take the example of Lesotho, one of the poorest countries in Africa with just $2.4 billion in annual GDP, which is being struck with a 50% tariff rate under the Trump plan, the highest rate among all countries on the list.

Why? Does Lesotho apply extortionate tariffs on U.S. products and the U.S. is merely being "reciprocal" here? Not at all, despite what Trump is saying, it's NOT the way these tariffs are defined.

As a matter of fact Lesotho, as a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), applies the common external tariff structure established by this regional trade bloc.

Which means it applies the same tariffs on U.S. products as South Africa does, as well as the 3 other members of the bloc: Namibia, Eswatini and Botswana.

So since the tariffs charged by these 5 countries on U.S. products are exactly the same, they must all be struck with a 50% tariff rate by the U.S., right? Not at all: South Africa is getting 30%, Namibia 21%, Botswana 37% and Eswatini just 10%, the lowest rate possible among all countries.

So what gives? Again, the way these tariffs are calculated has absolutely zero relationship with actual tariffs imposed by these countries on U.S. products. Instead, they appear to be simply derived from trade deficit calculations.

Looking at Lesotho specifically, every year the U.S. imports approximately $236 million in goods from Lesotho (primarily diamonds, textiles and apparel) while exporting only about $7 million worth of goods to Lesotho (https://t.co/uHvem6nH2o).

Why do they export so little? Again this is an extremely poor country where 56.2% of the population lives with less than $3.65 a day (https://t.co/GEho8xFjAp), i.e. $1,300 a year. They simply can't afford U.S. products, no-one is going to buy an iPhone or a Tesla on that sort of income...

The way the tariffs are ACTUALLY calculated appears to be based on a simplistic and economically senseless formula: you take the trade deficit the U.S. has with a country, divide it by that country's exports to the U.S and declare this - falsely - "the tariff they charge on the U.S."

And then as Trump did in his speech last night, you magnanimously declare that you'll only "reciprocate" by charging half that "tariff" on them.

As such, for Lesotho, the calculation goes like this: ($236M - $7M)/$235M = 97%. That's the "tariff" Lesotho is deemed to charge this U.S. and half of that, i.e. roughly 50% is what the U.S. "reciprocates" with.

It's extremely easy to see why this makes no sense at all.

First of all, there's nothing Lesotho can do about it: they can't change tariffs they allegedly charge the U.S. to reduce the tariff rate the U.S. "reciprocates" with because, again, it's NOT based on any tariff that they charge.

Similarly they can't do much about reducing the trade deficit they have with the U.S. because, again, they simply don't have enough money to buy U.S. products.

Also the main rational Trump gave for the tariffs is to get production back to the U.S., to "bring manufacturing back". 47.3% of Lesotho's exports are diamonds: how do you bring the "manufacturing" of that "back to the U.S."? Anyone can see it makes just about zero sense.

The Lesotho example exposes the fundamental economic incoherence of these tariffs. Rather than addressing actual trade barriers, they punish countries based on trade deficits that arise from structural economic realities. All the more countries like Lesotho which pose zero competitive threat to American industry.

Worse yet, these tariffs will likely make these structural realities even worse: the U.S. is Lesotho's second most important export destination so it's a fair bet that applying 50% tariffs on their products will make people in Lesotho even poorer, and therefore even LESS able to afford U.S. products.

But perhaps the most unfair and detrimental aspect of all this is that these tariffs represent a complete reversal of longstanding U.S. development policy, and therefore a betrayal of countries - like Lesotho - who chose to follow U.S. advice in the past.

For decades the U.S. has used preferential trade access to encourage economic development in the world's poorest nations, recognizing that trade, not just aid, could get them out of poverty and ultimately put them in a position where they too could afford iPhones or Tesla.

They're now effectively penalizing countries for following previous U.S. policy, a lesson which I bet they won't forget anytime soon.

So all in all the irony is painful: in the name of fighting unfair trade, America has just demonstrated what truly unfair trade looks like.

This isn't something designed to address genuine trade issues, but simply a mechanism based on arbitrary math to punish countries for the affront of selling more to the United States than they buy.

[Edinburgh Zoo @EdinburghZoo]

We are calling for tighter restrictions on fireworks following the death of Roxie, our endangered red panda kit, on bonfire night.

Our expert vet team believe it's likely that three-month-old Roxie died due to stress caused by fireworks in the local area.

[Lucía Lobosvilla @LuciaLobosvilla]

Someone else said:

“Art Nouveau is when it looks made by elves.

Art Deco is when it looks made by dwarves.”

And after looking into it, I think they’re a genius and 100% correct.

[Red Sky At Night @redskyatnight]

Does everyone else hear the voice of Len Goodman saying ‘There was too much messin’ abaaaaht’ every time a number begins with them using lots of props? #strictly #scd

[Sardaran Carol Ahmed @SardaranCarol]

When you've got Strictly at 8pm but a meeting with the Rebel Alliance at 9

#Strictly #scd #StrictlyComeDancing

[Politics For You @PoliticoForYou]

🚨🚨🚨

[Time Capsule Tales @timecaptales]

A thread of ancient wonders of the world virtually reconstructed

1. The Colossus of Rhodes, Greece, destroyed in 226 BC

[Ceri 🐦 @le_petit_cochon]

Off to Tesco for my repechage shop as I didn't manage to get everything on Thursday