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"We're giving them weapons": Charlotte O'Brien's parents call for social media ban

<p>The parents of a young girl who took her own life after being bullied have joined a campaign to raise the age limit for social media.</p> <p>Charlotte O'Brien was a student at Santa Sabina College in Sydney’s inner west, where she dealt with relentless bullying which led to the 12-year-old's tragic death. </p> <p>Now, her parents Mat Howard and Kelly O’Brien appeared on <em>60 Minutes </em>to ask “how many more Charlottes do we need to lose” before action was taken to protect kids from harm online. </p> <p>When asked if she believed Charlotte would still be alive if social media was off limits to young children, Ms O’Brien replied: “Absolutely”.</p> <p>“My personal opinion. Giving our kids these phones, we’re giving them weapons, we’re giving them the world at their fingertips,” the grieving mother said.</p> <p>In the days after the young girl's death, it was revealed her parents had pleaded with her school to address “friendship issues” Charlotte was facing.</p> <p>Mr Howard told <em>60 Minutes</em> that despite her “ongoing struggles” the last two weeks of Charlotte’s life were “the best two weeks that I can remember with her”, adding, "We thought we were really turning the corner.”</p> <p>“You know she’d come home from school that day and she’d had a great day. Kelly had made her favourite dinner that night. And that night she skipped off to bed, literally skipped. And we never saw her again.”</p> <p>Her family revealed a “completely distressed” Charlotte spoke to a friend on her phone the night she died, and shared messages she had been sent online.</p> <p>“So we can’t say exactly what we’ve been told, but what I will tell you is what we’ve been told is some of the worst words that anybody should have to read, let alone a 12-year-old girl,” Mr Howard said.</p> <p>Recalling the heart-wrenching moment they found their daughter's body, Ms O'Brien said she pleaded for answers from police on how she would've taken her own life. </p> <p>“I just kept saying to the police that morning, ‘Where did she get the knowledge and the means? Where did she get the knowledge and the means?’,” she said. </p> <p>“I couldn’t wrap my head around it, and he (the police officer) just said to me, ‘This is the age of information. She just needed to Google it’. And for me, I’m so devastated by that because I gave her that phone.”</p> <p>Charlotte’s parents have travelled to Canberra to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, ahead of legislation to raise the age of using social media from 13 to 16.</p> <p>“I intend to say, ‘Please, Mr. Albanese, raise the age of social media to 16, because 36</p> <p>months could change a lifetime’. That’s what I’m going to say,” Ms O’Brien said.</p> <p>Mr Howard said, “Charlotte was not the first and she’s already not the last. And this will continue to happen unless we make the right decisions.”</p> <p>The controversial bill to raise the age on social media platforms is set to go before Australia’s federal parliament this week, with support from both major parties.</p> <p><em><strong>Need to talk to someone? Don't go it alone. </strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>SANE: 1800 187 263; saneforums.org</strong></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: 2GB / Kids Helpline</em></p>

Caring

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“No longer unthinkable”: UK official weighs in on nuclear threat

<p dir="ltr">A senior officer in the British Air Force has warned that nuclear war could be “only a few steps away” from becoming a reality, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17953272/nuclear-war-few-steps-away-ukraine-warns-raf-chief/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">British Air Marshal Edward Stringer appeared on the British talkback radio station <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nick-ferrari/nuclear-war-possible-few-steps-away-raf-chief/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LBC</a> on Tuesday morning local time and spoke about how the possibility of a nuclear war would be a “weight on the minds” of world leaders.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s no longer unthinkable and it clearly be weighing on the minds of those who are making all the political calculations at the moment, hence the very straight and consistent line from Biden and all the other senior heads of state recently,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It is in the realm of possibility, and that is what people have to get their heads around.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Air Marshal Stringer added that it was possible to “sketch a plausible chain of events” that could see the use of nuclear weapons, and that it was “a pretty terrifying prospect for anybody sensible”.</p> <p dir="ltr">He explained that it was also the reason why world leaders have been hesitant to establish no-fly zones over Ukraine.</p> <p dir="ltr">“NATO is not constructed to go onto the offensive, if it did it would be taking on another nuclear power - Russia,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">As for whether nuclear war is likely, US intelligence says Russia has a theory called “escalate to de-escalate” to use if in conflict with NATO where a dramatic action of threat is used to frighten opponents and cause them to back down, according to the <em><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60664169" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">James Acton, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the outlet it may be a tactic to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin gets his way. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I am legitimately worried that in that circumstance Putin might use a nuclear weapon, most likely on the ground in Ukraine to terrify everyone and get his way,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are not at that point yet.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-25d0971b-7fff-2233-c394-2220ae2115ba"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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West responds to Putin placing nuclear arsenal on high alert

<p>As tensions and fighting continue to escalate between Russia and Ukraine, the US and NATO have slammed Putin's decision to put Russia's nuclear forces on high alert.</p> <p>Speaking at a meeting with his top officials, Putin directed the Russian defence minister and the chief of the military's General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a "special regime of combat duty."</p> <p>The Russian president also discussed the hard-hitting sanctions that have been placed on Russia, and Putin himself.</p> <p>"Western countries aren't only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country," Putin said in televised comment.</p> <p>White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the dangerous move was part of a wider pattern of unprovoked escalation and "manufactured threats" from the Kremlin.</p> <p>"This is really a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression — and the global community and the American people should look at it through that prism," Psaki told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on '<em>This Week</em>'.</p> <p>She added, "This is all a pattern from President Putin and we're going to stand up for it, we have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we're seeing here from President Putin."</p> <p>In reaction to the nuclear alert, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN, "This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behaviour which is irresponsible."</p> <p>Given that Russia, as well as the US, typically have both land and submarine-based nuclear forces on alert for combat at all times, the practicality of Putin's order is not yet clear. </p> <p>As the conflict only continues to grow with Moscow troops drawing closer to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that a delegation would meet in an undisclosed location on the Belarusian border to discuss peace talks. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Aussie babysitter charged with 194 sex offences

<p>Jareth Harries-Markham, a 23-year-old man from Western Australia, has been charged with 194 sex offences involving a dozen children he molested when he was working as a childminder.</p> <p>Police say Harries-Markham advertised his services online on a site and then allegedly sexually assaulted his victims while babysitting them.</p> <p>The alleged victims are aged between eight months and nine years old, and are said to have happened between July last year and August this year.</p> <p>Harries-Markham was arrested in August and initially charged with 14 offences, but in a Perth Magistrate’s Court on Monday, it was revealed he is now facing a total of 194 charges relating to nine separate alleged victims.</p> <p><strong>Charges include possessing prohibited weapons</strong></p> <p>These charges include the sexual penetration of a child under 13, indecently dealing with a child under 13, possessing and producing child exploitation material, and possessing prohibited and controlled weapons.</p> <p>The 23-year-old appeared in court via video link but only spoke to confirm his name.</p> <p>Harries-Markham advertised his services on WeNeedANanny.com, describing himself as someone who loved “helping bring up kids to be the best they can be”.</p> <p>He said he had four years’ experience in babysitting, a ‘Working With Children’ check, a police check and a certificate in first aid.</p> <p>‘I’m a pretty easy-going guy who is open to care for any age any hours,’ he wrote on the website.</p> <p>‘Open to handling things anyway the family wants,’ he added.</p> <p>Harries-Markham will be back in court again on October 18.</p> <p><em>Image: 7News</em></p> <p><em> </em></p> <p><em> </em></p>

Legal

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Aspirin could be our next weapon against aggressive breast cancer

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aspirin may be used in future treatments of breast cancer, with doctors saying it can make hard-to-treat tumours more responsive to anti-cancer drugs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new trial is starting in Manchester, England, with triple-negative breast-cancer patients, run by a team at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team suspects aspirin’s anti-inflammatory properties may be what boost the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs, rather than its analgesic effect.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though animal studies have shown encouraging results and there is some evidence aspirin may help prevent other cancers, more research is needed before it is recommended as a treatment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Around 15 percent of breast cancers are triple negative, which is a more aggressive type of breast cancer and frequently affects younger women and black women.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Triple negative cancer tumours lack some of the receptors that other breast cancers have, which means they can’t be treated with drugs such as herceptin.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But other treatments could work.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the Manchester trial, some patients will be given aspirin and immunotherapy drug avelumab before they undergo surgery and chemotherapy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If the trial is successful, further clinical trials could start to test the effectiveness of aspirin and avelumab on incurable secondary triple-negative breast cancer - the stage where cancer cells start to spread to other parts of the body.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Not all breast cancers respond well to immunotherapy,” trial lead Dr Anne Armstrong said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Trialling the use of a drug like aspirin is exciting because it is so widely available and inexpensive to produce.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We hope our trial will show that, when combined with immunotherapy, aspirin can enhance its effects and may ultimately provide a safe new way to treat breast cancer.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Co-researcher Dr Rebecca Lee said their findings suggest that aspirin may be preventing the cancer from making substances that weaken the body’s immune response, in turn increasing the effectiveness of certain types of immunotherapy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We hope aspirin can dampen down bad inflammation so the immune system can get on with the job of killing cancer cells,” she said.</span></p>

Body

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Unlikely new weapon in the war on COVID

<p>A new study in the UK has shown that mouthwash has been shown to kill coronavirus in just 30 seconds.</p> <p>Scientists at Cardiff University found that there were "promising signs" that over-the-counter mouthwashes may help to destroy the virus.</p> <p>Dr Nick Claydon said the study could lead to mouthwash becoming an important part of people's routines.</p> <p>Dr Claydon, a specialist periodontologist, said: "If these positive results are reflected in Cardiff University's clinical trial, CPC-based mouthwashes... could become an important addition to people's routine, together with hand washing, physical distancing and wearing masks, both now and in the future."</p> <p>Dr Richard Stanton, lead author on the study, said: "This study adds to the emerging literature that several commonly-available mouthwashes designed to fight gum disease can also inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (and other related coronaviruses) when tested in the laboratory under conditions that are designed to mimic the oral/nasal cavity in a test tube.</p> <p>"This study is not yet peer reviewed and published which means it has not yet been scrutinised by other scientists as is the usual process with academic research. It has now been submitted for publication in a journal.</p> <p>"People should continue to follow the preventive measures issued by the UK government, including washing hands frequently and maintaining social distance."</p> <p>Prof David Thomas, from the university, said the initial results were encouraging, but the clinical trial would not produce evidence of how to prevent transmission between patients.</p> <p>"Whilst these mouthwashes very effectively eradicate the virus in the laboratory, we need to see if they work in patients and this is the point of our ongoing clinical study," he said to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-54971650" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink"><em>BBC</em></a>.</p> <p>"The ongoing clinical study will, however, show us how long any effects last, following a single administration of the mouthwash in patients with Covid-19."We need to understand if the effect of over-the-counter mouthwashes on the Covid-19 virus achieved in the laboratory can be reproduced in patients."</p>

Caring

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“I still cannot get over it”: Nuclear weapons ban comes after 75 years since Japan atomic bombs

<p>The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will finally come into force after the 50th country (Honduras) <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/nuclear-weapons-ban-treaty-to-enter-into-force-united-nations-says-20201025-p568du.html">ratified it</a> over the weekend. The treaty will make the development, testing, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons illegal for those countries that have signed it.</p> <p>This is an extraordinary achievement for those who have suffered the most from these weapons — including the <em>hibakusha</em> (survivors) of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the islanders who lived through nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific.</p> <p>Since 1956, the <em>hibakusha</em> in Japan, South Korea, Brazil and elsewhere have been some of the most strident campaigners against the use of these weapons. Among them is a group of Japanese Catholics from Nagasaki whom I interviewed as part of my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Memory-Nagasaki-Narratives-Transformations/dp/0367217759">research</a> collecting the oral histories of atomic bomb survivors.</p> <p>A 92-year-old <em>hibakusha</em> of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 and a brother in a Catholic order, Ozaki Tōmei, explained the significance of the treaty to survivors like him. He was orphaned from the bombing at 17 and never found his mother’s body.</p> <p>“The Germans made tools for war including poisonous gas, which was [eventually] banned […] However, when the USA made an atomic weapon, then they … wanted to try it out. It was a war […] they were human.</p> <p>“And so this is why we say we have to eliminate nuclear weapons […] They said they did it to end the war, but for the people who were struck, it was horrific […] there was no need to use it.”</p> <p><strong>Treaty does not have support of nuclear powers</strong></p> <p>The treaty was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/treaty-banning-nuclear-weapons-approved-un">adopted</a> at the United Nations in 2017 by a vote of 122 nations in favour, one against and one abstention.</p> <p>Sixty-nine nations, however, have not signed it, including all of the nuclear powers such as the US, UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan and North Korea, as well as NATO member states (apart from the Netherlands who voted against), Japan and Australia.</p> <p>Since the treaty was adopted, it needed ratification by 50 countries to come into force. This will now happen in 90 days.</p> <p>The campaign for the treaty has relied heavily on civil society and organisations such as the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).</p> <p>And from the beginning, it has exposed political fault lines. The United States has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/us-urges-countries-to-withdraw-from-un-nuke-ban-treaty/2020/10/21/21918918-13ce-11eb-a258-614acf2b906d_story.html">particularly outspoken</a> in its opposition to the treaty, warning last week the treaty “turns back the clock on verification and disarmament and is dangerous” to the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/">NPT</a> sought to prevent the spread of nuclear arms beyond the five original weapons powers (the US, Russia, China, UK and France). It has been signed by 190 countries, including those five nations.</p> <p>The head of ICAN, Beatrice Fihn, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/us-urges-countries-to-withdraw-from-un-nuke-ban-treaty/2020/10/21/21918918-13ce-11eb-a258-614acf2b906d_story.html">says</a> the new treaty banning nuclear weapons merely builds on the nonproliferation treaty.</p> <p>“There’s no way you can undermine the nonproliferation treaty by banning nuclear weapons. It’s the end goal of the nonproliferation treaty.”</p> <p>States like Japan and Australia have opposed the treaty on the grounds their security is boosted by the US stockpile of nuclear weapons. Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2018/08/japan-holds-firm-against-nuclear-ban-treaty-on-anniversary-of-nuclear-bombings/">has said</a> the treaty “was created without taking into account the realities of security.”</p> <p><strong>The efforts of <em>hibakusha</em> in advocating for a treaty</strong></p> <p>Making the bomb illegal turns an old US justification for the weapon on its head. Harry Stimson, the former US war secretary, <a href="https://www.atomicheritage.org/key-documents/stimson-bomb">argued</a> in 1947 the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary to compel the Japanese to surrender at the end of the second world war.</p> <p>“The atomic bomb was more than a weapon of terrible destruction; it was a psychological weapon.”</p> <p>The damage from the bombings was colossal. It is unknown how many people were killed, but <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2020/08/counting-the-dead-at-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/">estimates</a> range from 110,000 (the US army’s toll) to <a href="https://www.icanw.org/hiroshima_and_nagasaki_7_things_you_should_know">210,000</a> (the figure accepted by ICAN and others).</p> <p>At the forefront of the campaign to support the nuclear weapons ban treaty have been the voices of <em>hibakusha</em> who experienced the carnage firsthand.</p> <p>Another Catholic <em>hibakusha</em>, Nakamura Kazutoshi, told me the stockpiling of nuclear weapons enables states to carry out genocide.</p> <p>“In war, we are at a level below animals. Among monkeys, or chimpanzees, there are no animals who would carry out a genocide.”</p> <p>A third <em>hibakusha</em>, 90-year-old Jōji Fukahori, told me about how he lost his mother and three younger siblings in the Nagasaki bombing.</p> <p>His younger brother, Kōji, died an excruciating death around a week after the bombing, walking in the hot ash with no shoes and complaining to his brother, “I’m so hot!”</p> <p>At the site where Fukahori’s brother was exposed, the temperature was about 1,000 degrees Celsius. Fukahori said, “You would have thought everyone would have turned into charcoal.”</p> <p>For Fukahori, the lasting effects of radiation exposure is a major reason why nuclear weapons must be banned. He continued: “the terror of radiation has to be fully communicated … The atomic bomb is unacceptable. I still cannot get over it.”</p> <p>Since 2009, Fukahori has been speaking out at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and on the <a href="https://peaceboat.org/english/project/hibakusha#:%7E:text=Peace%20Boat%20has%20long%20worked,%3A%20Peace%20Boat%20Hibakusha%20Project%E2%80%9D.">Peace Boat</a>, a non-governmental organisation that organises cruises where passengers learn about the consequences of using nuclear weapons from <em>hibakusha</em>.</p> <p><strong>Pressure building on Japan</strong></p> <p>The Japanese government is now under <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13522651">mounting pressure</a> to ratify the treaty. Major Japanese financial institutions and companies have said they will no longer fund the production of nuclear weapons and nearly a third of all local assemblies have adopted proposals calling on the government to act.</p> <p>The government, however, has been unmoved. In August, Abe <a href="https://twitter.com/AbeShinzo/status/1292325885849137157?s=20">gave a speech</a> at a memorial service in Nagasaki, in which he suggested the effects of the bombings had been overcome.</p> <p>“Seventy-five years ago today, Nagasaki was reduced to ashes, with not a single tree or blade of grass remaining. Yet through the efforts of its citizens, it achieved reconstruction beautifully as we see today. Mindful of this, we again feel strongly that there is no trial that cannot be overcome and feel acutely how precious peace is.”</p> <p>A Japanese atomic researcher, who knows how Fukahori and other <em>hibakusha</em> have not been able to move on, told me Abe’s words don’t go far enough:</p> <p>“Rather than placing a ‘full-stop’ at the end of damages such as this, we have a necessity to make our claim that the damages are not finished.”</p> <p>The nuclear weapons ban treaty offers a moment of hope for all the <em>hibakusha</em> of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still with us after 75 years. It is certainly their hope the ratification of the treaty now moves us one step closer to a world free of nuclear war.</p> <p><em>Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gwyn-mcclelland-305943">Gwyn McClelland</a>, University of New England. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-still-cannot-get-over-it-75-years-after-japan-atomic-bombs-a-nuclear-weapons-ban-treaty-is-finally-realised-147851">The Conversation.</a> </em></p> <p> </p>

Beauty & Style

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“Dancing was my secret weapon in managing diabetes!”

<p>Dubbed the ‘Silent Pandemic’ of our times, type 2 diabetes is a huge health issue in our country – and around the world. So many have it, but don’t realise it. Currently, 1 in 4 adults are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes – with the largest proportion of Australians with type 2 diabetes in the 50-79 age bracket according to the National Diabetes Service Scheme.</p> <p>The good news is, diabetes can be managed – if you educate yourself, take steps to change your diet and shoehorn more activity into your day. Here’s how Yvonne Appleby, ambassador for Diabetes NSW / ACT, changed her life after being diagnosed with type 2 in 2011.</p> <p>“I was ill on and off for a long time before I discovered I had type 2 diabetes. I kept getting sore throats, and earaches, and I gained 20 kilos over 4 years, which was significant as I’d been a size 8-10 most of my life. I was getting really bad headaches and migraines and I felt something wasn’t right.</p> <p>“One early blood test showed my blood glucose levels were a bit high, but my GP just said if I dieted and exercised it would go down. I know now that I was pre-diabetic then, but I trusted my doctor. She did ask if I was peeing a lot or thirsty all the time and I wasn’t, so she told me ‘it couldn’t be diabetes’. It didn’t occur to me to get a second opinion. I just assumed she knew what she was talking about.</p> <p> “Finally I couldn’t handle being so unwell anymore and asked for another blood test. It then showed up that I had type 2 diabetes and at that point I had been sick on and off for 6 or 7 years. I know now that not everyone gets typical symptoms. Some people have zero symptoms. If I had my time again, I wouldn’t have left it so long. I would’ve gotten a second opinion, or changed doctors (I have now). I know you can take steps to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.</p> <p>“When I was diagnosed, I didn’t know much about diabetes. I’d heard the horror stories, but I didn’t know it was common in the older age group – like 50 and over. And my doctor wasn’t a lot of help. She just said, ‘You’ve got diabetes, go to the chemist and get a blood glucose monitor’. I also went on Metformin and as soon as I was on that, I started feeling better within three days.</p> <p>“At first, I had no idea what I was doing. I was testing my glucose levels for about a week thinking, ‘I’m writing all these numbers down but what do they mean? Are they low? High? Normal?’ I remember one time my sugar dropped to 4.3mmol and I panicked and started eating nuts and it just went lower. I rang the Diabetes NSW customer care line and they said, ‘Oh no. Nuts will just lower your glucose levels – you need a bit of orange juice or some lollies to bring it back up’. It was all very trial and error getting to know what worked for me. I was lucky to know a lady who works at Diabetes NSW and I rang her and told her I’d just been diagnosed. She asked me to come in and talk to someone.</p> <p>“I did an 8-week education course there, which was hugely helpful. We had an exercise physiologist, a dietitian and a diabetes educator talk to us. They taught us how to read nutritional panels, which is something I never did before. We had to put cereal boxes in a line according to how much sugar they had in them and Nutrigrain was something like 46 per cent sugar! That’s really stuck with me.</p> <p>“My diet before was bad. Lots of sugar. Now, I make much more sensible choices. Lots of vegies and swaps to low-GI foods. I’ve totally changed how I think about food. I no longer skip meals either, which I’d had a tendency to do.</p> <p>“I also took up dancing and at one stage I was dancing 9-10 hours a week, doing rock’n’roll and Latin dance. I became an assistant dance teacher and I lost 15kg just from dancing and eating well. I even got to dance with Robbie Kmetoni, former winner of <em>So You Think You Can Dance Australia</em>, for the Move4Diabetes campaign. Two years after being diagnosed, my sugars were stable, I was the fittest I’d ever been and I was even off my meds. My doctor was very pleased.</p> <p> “I’ve had some health problems since including a serious respiratory infection and some knee issues. As a result I’ve been on steroids and haven’t been able to exercise as much, but my HbA1c levels were still that of a non-diabetic person – around 5.5mmol when I was last tested. When I was diagnosed they were 9mmol! I’m back on the meds to keep my glucose levels stable, but when I’m better I’ll be getting back into dancing and getting back on track.</p> <p>“My advice to anyone who’s newly diagnosed is to go to the Diabetes NSW and ACT webpage. Ring the customer care line. They saved my skin a lot of times because I had no idea where to turn. They also have amazing recipes and advice. You can ask questions and talk to an expert. I also think it’s important for everyone to get routinely tested because there are so many people out there with diabetes who don’t know they have it. If you have prediabetes, losing just 10 percent of your body weight can stop you developing type 2 diabetes. So early diagnosis is really important.”</p> <p><em>Written by Rachel Smith. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/health/secret-weapon-in-managing-diabetes.aspx">Wyza.com.au.</a></em></p>

Retirement Life

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Airline “prohibits” passengers from taking photos onboard flight

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Garuda Airlines has found itself in some hot water recently after an internal memo circulated saying that passengers were “prohibited” from taking photos or videos whilst being on board their flight.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The memo circulated around July 14, saying that, “It is not permissible to document activities on the plane, either in the form of photos or videos, by the cabin crew or passengers.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The letter was quickly shared online and went viral according to Indonesian news site </span><a href="https://kumparan.com/@kumparanbisnis/penumpang-garuda-indonesia-dilarang-foto-di-dalam-pesawat-1rTeLeiiZFI"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kumparan</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The tone of the memo has since been softened, with another internal memo going around on July 16 saying that travellers are being “urged” instead of “prohibited”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The initial notice also said that passengers could be “sanctioned” by the airline for breaking the rules, but it is currently unclear as to whether this is still the case.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The amended statement was signed by operational director of Garuda Indonesia, Captain Bambang Adisurya Angkasa, who said that the measures are being introduced as a part of the airline’s commitment to protecting the privacy of all passengers and crew.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This appeal is based on reports, suggestions and input from passengers who feel uncomfortable and disturbed by shooting and documentation activities without prior permission from the concerned person,” said Angkasa, according to </span><a href="https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20190716115331-4-85257/garuda-larang-foto-selfie-di-pesawat-ini-penjelasannya"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CNBC Indonesia</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He added that passengers are still able to take photos for personal use, such as selfies, as long as they’re not disturbing other travellers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This appeal is intended so that all Garuda Indonesia flight operations comply with applicable rules and regulations including the aviation law, ITE Law, and other related laws."</span></p>

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The Queen's secret weapon for getting out of conversations

<p><span>The Queen has a schedule that is jampacked with social engagements that even the best chatterbox could feel a little tired sometimes.</span></p> <p><span>To help her out when the conversation gets awkward when she is hosting guests, the Queen has a trick that she is reported to use time and time again.</span></p> <p><span>According to </span><em><span>The Express</span></em><span>, the Queen’s method is known as the “dog mechanism” to members of her family and involves Her Majesty ducking her head under the table to feed her dogs.</span></p> <p><span>If the Queen needs an escape from the dinner conversation, she ducks her head under the table and no one thinks anything of it because she is known to love her corgis.</span></p> <p><span>The Queen’s corgis are known to be treated to a very lavish life at Buckingham Palace and they are reportedly served fish, steak, rabbit or chicken for dinner.</span></p> <p><span>In an interview with </span><em><span>Town &amp; Country</span></em><span> magazine, Dr Roger Mugford revealed how dinner is served to the Queen’s dogs.</span></p> <p><span>“At feeding times, each dog had an individually designed menu, including an array of homeopathic and herbal remedies.</span></p> <p><span>“Their food was served by a butler in an eclectic collection of battered silver and porcelain dishes.</span></p> <p><span>“As I watched, the Queen got the corgis to sit in a semi-circle around her, and then fed them one by one, in order of seniority. The others just sat and patiently waited their turn.”</span></p>

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