NY congresswoman's powerful speech (video)

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How to keep pub customers at a safe distance

A pub in the United Kingdom has a shocking way to enforce social distancing guidelines.

The Star Inn in Cornwall put up an electric fence  - normally used to restrict cattle -  near its bar counter to help keep customers at a safe distance from bartenders.

The pub's owner, Johnny McFadden, who is also a farmer, decided to install the electric fencing to keep his employees safe.

"Before the fence, people were not following social distancing and were doing as they pleased, but now people are following the guidance around social distancing," McFadden said.

McFadden explained the fence is usually switched off, but could be turned on if things get out of hand.

"It's just a deterrent, but hopefully the sight of the electric fence will help keep people away. That's how it works with cattle too, animals see it and often don't want to test it," Joel Carne-Mead, who works at the bar, added.

Pubs in parts of the U.K. are slowly reopening after coronavirus restrictions with new guidelines on how to serve patrons safely. Each nation in the U.K. sets its own rules on reopening bars and restaurants.

From USA Today (edited)

Hagia Sophia - now a mosque (captions)

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And they eventually reunited (audio)

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"I'm not wearing a mask!!!!" (captions)

What did the supermarket employee ask the customer to do?

What did she refuse to do?

What did she tell him to do?

What did the manager offer to do?

What did she threaten to do?

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Google balloon-powered internet service in Kenya

A fleet of balloons is providing internet service to remote areas of Kenya, Google's Project Loon and Telkom Kenya announced.

It is the first balloon-powered internet in Africa, and the first non-emergency commercial deployment in the world. The project was accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic and the global necessity to work online.

One way to think about Loon’s balloons is as floating cell towers which make the service incredibly flexible. This feature enabled Loon to provide emergency service within 48 hours of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Peru last year.

The balloons are made from polyethylene sheets and are about the size of tennis courts.

The project will use a fleet of 35 or more balloons floating 20 kilometers above ground, in constant motion in the stratosphere, to provide 4G LTE service spanning 50,000 square kilometers across central and western Kenya.

The balloons launched from locations in the United States will navigate to Kenya using wind currents. According to Project Loon, more balloons will be released as more experience in flying over Kenya is gained.

The technology will offer connectivity to the many Kenyans who live in remote regions that are underserved or totally unserved, and as such remain disadvantaged.

Only 28% of Africa’s 1.2 billion people have access to the internet, according to a 2019 report by the Alliance for Affordable Internet. Loon and Telkom Kenya are hoping to close this gap.

From CNN (edited) and Quartz (edtied)

An amazing underwater sculpture in Thailand (captions)

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Unexpected criminals in the act (video)

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A street vendor

@miklo_98

Buying all the paletas from the ##PaletaMan so he can go home and relax on Father’s Day 🥺 ##vivalaraza ##MakeSomeoneSmile ##essential

♬ Baraja de Oro - Chalino Sánchez

 

Rosario Del Real, 70 years old, is a former carpenter. Now he makes a living selling $2 Mexican-style ice pops, or paletas, in a variety of flavors, including pineapple, strawberry, watermelon and cinnamon. He usually pushes his bright yellow cart along the streets in Chicago’s Southeast Side.

Last month, Cynthia Gonzalez and Michaelangelo Mosqueda were enjoying a cookout with their family in the 30-degree heat when Del Real came by and asked if anyone wanted to buy a paleta.

Cynthia, Michaelangelo and several other family members, decided they could do better than buy just one pop apiece. They opened their wallets and bought every paleta in Del Real’s cart — 65 of them, at a cost of $130. Then they recorded a video of Del Real’s joyful reaction and posted it on TikTok.

The post quickly racked up more than 5 million views, prompting  the Gonzalez family to set up a GoFundMe  for Del Real in the hope of helping him retire. So far, the effort has raised more than $62,000, and tens of thousands of people have left comments.

“The paleta man was KING to us kids in Chicago!!!!” wrote one woman. “Miss those days. Bless you guys!”

“It’s heartbreaking that he has to work at this age. I’m so glad you did this for him,” wrote another.

“This made my heart fill up with so much happiness! I cried tears of joy to see his humble reaction,” added a woman in her 20s. “So proud of you for doing this.”

The Gonzalez family bought all of Del Real’s paletas so he could go home and relax on a hot day.

“My grandfather retired last year, and to see Don Rosario out there pushing the cart day in and day out, we just felt like we needed to do something to help him,” Michaelangelo said.

“The money raised will hopefully allow him to stop working in the heat,” he said. “I plan to withdraw the money and personally deliver it to him.”

 “Our local paletero is the sweetest, most polite person ever,” Cynthia Gonzalez said. “We didn’t want him to be working on such a hot day anymore.”

As she and the others bought all of the ice pops in his cart, Del Real started crying, she said.

“You could see the relief in his face,” Gonzalez said. “He gave me the warmest hug when he was thanking us. We offered him some food and something to drink, and he left with the biggest smile on his face.”

At a time when Chicago is dealing with the pandemic, Gonzalez said the “coming together” of thousands of strangers to help a neighborhood paleta man is moving.

“I can’t wait to see Rosario’s reaction when we surprise him with the money,” she said. “He deserves this and more.”

 From The Washington Post (edited)

 

Video call fatigue (captions)

 

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A voucher or a partial refund? (video)

 

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An Italian hermit on Budelli island

For more than 30 years, Mauro Morandi has been the sole inhabitant of a beautiful island in the Mediterranean Sea.  

Morandi, a former teacher, arrived on the island of Budelli, off the coast of Sardinia, by accident while sailing from Italy to Polynesia 31 years ago. He fell in love with the crystal-clear waters, coral sands and beautiful sunsets -- and decided to stay.

He took over from the previous caretaker shortly afterward and, at the age of 80, he's still there, having earned himself a reputation as Italy's Robinson Crusoe.

Each night he sleeps in an old stone cottage and wakes up in the morning surrounded by mother nature. He enjoys exploring  cliffs and talking to birds at breakfast as they fly in and out of his little kitchen window.

He keeps up with the news though, learning first of mainland Italy's shutdown against the spread of coronavirus, and then the rest of the world's.

In his solitary world, he says he currently feels like he's in the "safest place on Earth." 

"I am fine, I'm not scared," he tells CNN Travel via the mobile phone that is his link to the outside world. "I feel safe here. This island offers total protection. No risks at all. Nobody lands, not even a single boat can be seen sailing by."

Little has changed for Morandi since Italy's virus outbreak, except that he must now wait longer for people to bring him food from the mainland due to harsh restrictions imposed by Rome's government.

He spends the day admiring the sea, inhaling the pure air, collecting wood, preparing his meals and -- of course -- posting on Instagram. 

"I get bored, so I kill time taking photos of the beaches, the wildlife and scenery, editing shots and then sharing these on social media and Instagram," he says. "I have a lot of followers."

"I read a lot, and think.” This introspection, he says, can be highly rewarding. Morandi recounts his own transformation from a wanderer who traveled across Europe each year to a solitary islander.

"I just didn't feel like traveling anymore -- no interest," he says. "I understood that the most beautiful, dangerous, adventurous and gratifying journey of all is the one inside yourself, whether you're sitting in the living room or here in Budelli."

Budelli is one of the most beautiful islands in the entire Mediterranean. Dating back to prehistoric times when the Earth's crust was still forming, legend says it's a shard of the mythical, lost Atlantis continent swallowed by the ocean.

The island's habitat remains quite untouched. No pollution. Clear fluorescent turquoise waters, wild vegetation, purple rocks resembling natural sculptures and healthy air.

"For now I've got everything I need. There's electricity, and running water, and an extra small stove for heating."

Nothing to complain about.

From CNN (edited)

Sign language made easier (audio)

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