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Shortly after the telephone was patented in the late 19th century, the early technology required every phone to have its own dedicated connection to the grid. In Sweden, Stockholm’s main telephone exchange – the Telefontornet, built in 1890, was a huge tower in the centre of the city with 5,000 individual lines radiating out across the rooftops.

The typically harsh Swedish winters caused havoc with the system, which was prone to fire and collapse under the weight of hanging ice, but the rapid advance of technology allowed the tower to  be decommissioned in 1913. 40 years later, it caught fire and was demolished.

Hundreds more images at the Tekniska Museet (Museum of Technology) website.

colossal/retronaut

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Abortion rights campaigners use rape alarms and the “format of the Catholic Rosary” to recall the treatment of women by the Irish State and the Catholic Church outside the London Irish Embassy.

Including:

Ann Lovett; the women who received symphysiotomies; Miss X from 1992; the women incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries; the women who gave birth in Mother and Baby Homes and who had their children taken from them, or sold into adoption to raise money for the Catholic church; Miss A, B, C, D; the 12 women a day who travel from Ireland to Britain for abortions; Savita Halappanavar; the women who risk 14 years in jail in Ireland for taking abortion pills; and raped asylum seeker Miss Y, who was denied an abortion and went on hunger strike before being made to have a Caesarean section.

The demonstration was co-organized by Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A., London Irish Feminist Network, My Belly is Mine and Abortion Rights (UK).

Thanks Imelda

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European Central Bank president Mario Draghi

The Telegraph reports:

As the euro area suffers from low inflation, the currency bloc’s central bank has elected to make cuts to interest rates. The European Central Bank (ECB) has cut its headline rate to 0.05pc, while taking it deposit rate to -0.2pc. Annual eurozone inflation stood at just 0.3pc in August, well below the ECB’s target of just below 2pc. The majority of economists polled by Bloomberg – 51 out of 57 – expected the ECB’s governing council to maintain its key rate at 0.15pc and its deposit rate at -0.1pc.

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi will hold a press conference at 1.30pm.

Lizards be lizarding.

European Central Bank slashes interest rates as eurozone suffers ‘lowflation’ crisis (The Telegraph)

Pic: Telegraph

Tiger Dublin Fringe-2

A Tiger Dublin Theatre Festival special cover.

By Waterford-born Kilkenny-based pixel-friendly artist illustrator Shane Gavin.

Michael Le Cool writes:

Shane is “well up” for doing artwork for a retro-themed computer game, if any of you have one of those in the making, and you can check his work out on his site or on his Facebook or tweet him here…

This Week’s Le Cool Dublin issue

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RTÉ presenter Keelin Shanley and model Darragh Hayes pictured in today’s Irish Times in a promo for the Irish Cancer Society’s Paint It Pink campaign.

Paint It Pink

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Irish designer and typographer Meg Hyland (she of the Movie Alphabet series) writes:

This Friday, Gallery 1988 [Los Angeles] opens its Joss Whedon tribute show featuing art based on his works including; Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, Much Ado About Nothing, Cabin in the Woods etc. My print is based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s resident werewolf Oz and his band Dingoes ate my Baby. Prints available for purchase online this weekend.

gercaro

On last night’s Tonight with Ger Colleran, Ger was joined by Caroline Simons (Pro Life Campaign), Dr Máire Nesta Nic Ghearailt (Every Life Counts), Dr Peter Boylan (National Maternity Hospital Holles St) and Ruth Bowie (TFMR)  to discuss abortion in cases of rape, incest and terminations for medical reasons (TFMR).

Ger Colleran: “You’re advocating that the medical or the legal prohibition on termination of such pregnancies [fatal foetal abnormalities] continue?”

Caroline Simons: “I’m advocating that the best position in the interests of women and in the interests of unborn babies is that there be a right to life for both and that the mother inevitably comes first because you cannot fail to look after a mother, without losing a baby as well.”

Hmmmm.

Watch in full here.

Broadsheet.ie