Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Why Ireland’s politicians believe they can influence Washington
Getty Images President Donald Trump will receive a bowl of shamrock again this year St Patrick’s Day is associated with its fair share of traditions, from wearing a sprig of shamrock, to attending a church service to sipping one (or several) pints of stout. For politicians from the island of Ireland there’s one other annual…
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The woman championing disability rights on an island where inequity is rife
Gemma Handy Reporter, St John’s, Antigua Courtesy of Good Humans 268 Joshuanette Francis was diagnosed with osteoarthritis Subscribers to Joshuanette Francis’s YouTube channel – set up to document her journey after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis at just 24 – did not see the tears. Neither were they privy to the days when she tackled the…
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Dolly Parton releases new song honouring late husband Carl Thomas Dean
Dolly Parton offered an emotional tribute to her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who died earlier this week. The legendary country artist released a new song titled, If You Hadn’t Been There, in an Instagram post on Friday. “I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” Parton wrote. “We have…
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Double murderer is first US inmate executed by firing squad in 15 years
Watch: ‘Everybody in the room flinched’, says witness to Brad Sigmon’s execution by firing squad A South Carolina man convicted of bludgeoning his ex-girlfriend’s parents to death has become the first US death row inmate to be executed by firing squad in the last 15 years. Brad Sigmon was shot to death just after 18:00…
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Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa died of natural causes about a week apart
Samantha Granville BBC News, Los Angeles Watch: Officials reveal causes of death for Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes about a week after his wife Betsy Arakawa, who died after contracting a rare virus, says a New Mexico medical investigator. The Oscar-winning actor, 95, died at his Santa…
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MDMA may have protected Nova attack survivors from trauma, study suggests
Lucy Williamson Middle East correspondent Oren Rosenfeld / BBC Michal is one of the festival-goers who believes MDMA helped her during the attack As dawn approached on the morning of 7 October 2023, many of the partygoers at the Nova music festival near Gaza’s border took illegal recreational drugs like MDMA or LSD. Hundreds of…
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Ros Atkins on… the week after the Oval Office row
It has been another week of intense diplomacy around the war in Ukraine, especially after last week’s tense exchanges between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. While the US, the UK and the EU all set out their positions, Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine continued. The BBC’s Analysis Editor Ros Atkins takes…
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Syrian government still faces insurgent threat from Assad loyalists
Hugh Bachega BBC Middle East correspondent•Beirut Getty Images In January, days after the first-month anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime in a lightning Islamist-led rebel offensive in Syria, a group of young men – some of them armed – were gathered, checking their phones in the nearly empty interior ministry headquarters in Damascus.…
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Mother ‘gutted’ after Make-A-Wish trip cancelled
A mother has been left “gutted” after a Make-A-Wish trip to Disneyland Paris for her terminally ill daughter Daisy, five, was cancelled due to disruption to Eurostar services following the discovery of an unexploded bomb. Toni Mannion, 38, said she had been “looking forward to making some special memories”, but was unable to take alternative…
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UN evacuation attempt disrupted by deadly shooting
Several people have died in South Sudan after an attempt by the UN to evacuate members of the national army came under fire, the UN has said. One crew member died when a UN helicopter was shot at, a statement from its mission in South Sudan, Unmiss, said. It added that an injured South Sudanese…
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