Latest news with #Tinker
Newsweek
2 days ago
- General
- Newsweek
Dog Jumps to Action to Save Kids in Pool—But There's a Twist
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ignoring signs and her own safety, a dog jumped into action to rescue children she thought were in danger, instantly receiving praise from the internet. Owner Amanda Morgan told Newsweek via email that her dog, Tinker, is the sweetest, with an especially "soft heart" for children. She first noticed the dog's protective instincts while taking her nephews and Tinker to the lake and swimming. "She tries to haul them out of the water, so I actually had to stop bringing her to the lake with them because she panics when they're in the water," Morgan said. One day, Morgan took her dog on a walk around the neighborhood, but when Tinker heard her favorite children—whom she visits often for pets—jumping and yelling, she became genuinely worried. Morgan knew they were "just being kids" and enjoying a summer day splashing in the pool, but Tinker went into protective mode. Screenshots from a June 9 TikTok video of a dog looking at her owner after trying to save kids who she thought were drowning in the pool. Screenshots from a June 9 TikTok video of a dog looking at her owner after trying to save kids who she thought were drowning in the pool. @tinker_is_judging_you/TikTok "She pulled me over to the pool and kept slamming her head into the iron fence," Morgan said. "I had to physically pull her away so she wouldn't hurt herself." But without knowing the children were safe, Tinker kept trying. She cried and threw herself on the ground. It took Morgan about 15 minutes to finally drag Tinker away from the pool. A parent of the children even came over, after seeing Tinker's concern, reassuring her everyone was safe. Tinker not only ignored the signs that the children were not drowning, she also put herself out there to protect them despite not knowing how to swim herself. Morgan said Tinker will not swim in deep water even if she wears a life jacket. "Tinker doesn't like everyone, she's scared of a lot of people and dogs, but she will do ANYTHING for people she loves," she said. "She's a very special dog." Her heroic actions, although not necessary in that moment, touched people's hearts, and as of Monday, the TikTok video reached over 516,400 views and 70,800 likes. "Okay but real talk, Tinker is a badass for that. Attempting to sacrifice herself for her kiddos. She is a very good girl," wrote a viewer. Hoping she received appropriate compensation for her work, someone said: "Her medal for bravery must have been off camera." A third person commented: "That's true love and loyalty." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Otago Daily Times
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Wānaka ‘little bit like home' for musician
Sean Tinker arrived in Wānaka ago seven years ago and expected to stay six months. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Irish luck would have it that Sean Tinker was in the right place at the right time when he arrived for his first night in Wānaka seven years ago. Having driven down from the North Island, he arrived in Wānaka the day before St Patrick's Day and decided to celebrate leading into the Irish celebration. At about 2am, a helpful New Zealander offered him a job and the rest is history. "I was in the smoking area in Lalaland, someone offered me a job and sponsorship making aluminum doors. "He said 'are you Irish? Do you want a job? I have worked with Irish people before, you are really good'. "He then asked 'can you do aluminum architecture and joinery?' and I was like 'no', he then says 'can you use a power tool?' and I am like 'yes', and he says, 'you will be fine'." Tinker, who is now a fulltime musician between Wānaka and Queenstown, had planned on staying about six months, but the job in joinery kept him here and gave him stability. "I didn't really get much better at it, but he kept me on." The 33-year-old is a familiar face around Wānaka's nightlife, playing live gigs at Cork Bar or Water Bar and dabbling in comedy too. Having been brought up in Wicklow, Ireland, he said Wānaka reminded him a little of home. "It is a nice seaside town, a lot like Wānaka. With a lot of wealthy people having holiday homes there. We weren't on the rich side of it." Having never dreamed of being a fulltime musician, his musical journey started humbly back home. His father brought him a drum set when he was 12, which he became pretty good at, but it was short lived. "I was in a band at school doing Blink 182 covers and my neighbours had a baby so I couldn't play the drums any more. I think my mum was silently happy about that." She gave him an old Spanish guitar and he became a little addicted. "Like anyone, your music taste is very narrow as a kid. You just like what you hear on the radio and then I branched out. I like Bob Dylan, I like Bruce Springsteen. When I was going out, the bars were always playing electronics so that has had its influence as well." Tinker said his older fans likened him to Ronan Keating. "There was this older Scottish lady who was trying to set me up and in doing so said 'don't you think he looks like Ronan Keating?' The woman didn't see the likeness." As all struggling musicians and artists do, he has worked in some colourful industries — a gym instructor, an English teacher in China, aluminum, and last year he was testing out old PlayStation games. "I met a guy who is selling retro video games through Trade Me. I would look at it and make sure it worked. I would be playing Mario Kart and yeah, for a year." Tinker's sound is upbeat and usually rock, but he does throw in some of his own songs when the mood suits. "If it is a relaxed Sunday afternoon gig I will. But if they are jumping up and down I won't slow down the mood. "I never thought it was anything I could make money from. Sometimes I would play at a bar and they would give me free beers and I thought that's amazing. I never thought I could get actual money out of it. "Playing music wasn't even an idea in my head. I thought that's something other people do, I can't do that." Working between music gigs and trades, he became burnt out. He said something had to give. When he picked up four gigs a week, Tinker took the plunge and began fulltime playing between Queenstown and Wānaka late last year. "Sometimes I would get home at 2-3am from Queenstown and then I'd have to be up at 6am the next day. I just couldn't do it." He said the culture for live music in New Zealand was a lot safer for musicians than back home, because it was not as saturated. "Bars can afford to shortchange people back home because if you don't want to do it, there are 50 guys who will." He plans on getting his citizenship and eventually buying a home somewhere in Central Otago. "It has always kind of felt a little bit like home. "I went to see the Lord Of The Rings with my grandma and so there is all that nostalgia for me. It has always felt a little bit like home."
UPI
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
'Slow Horses' actor Jack Lowden to star in 'Berlin Noir' adaptation
July 17 (UPI) -- Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden has signed on to star in Apple TV+'s adaptation of Philip Kerr's bestselling Berlin Noir book series. Set in the 1920s, the origin story for detective Bernie Gunther will be filmed in Berlin. Writer and executive producer Peter Straughan -- whose credits include Conclave, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Wolf Hall -- will be the show-runner. Oscar-winner Tom Hanks is among the series' producers. "Bernie is a police officer, newly promoted to the intimidating and elite Berlin Murder Squad, and must investigate what seems to be a serial killer targeting victims on the fringes of society," a synopsis said. "Bernie's Berlin is a city of unprecedented freedom and dizzying turbulence, the Nazis just a distant nightmare waiting in the wings. With the political and social world shifting to a new norm, we see Bernie fighting for truth, whatever the cost." No other casting has been announced yet.
Buzz Feed
20-06-2025
- Buzz Feed
12 MI6 Facts You Didn't Know But Definitely Do Now
Think MI6 is all tuxedos, fast cars, and shaken martinis? That's just the movie version. The real British intelligence service has a story that's far more surprising, and a lot less glamorous. From spy gadgets hidden in matchboxes to hacking terrorist magazines with cupcake recipes, these are the MI6 facts you probably never heard about… until now. The whole reason MI6 exists? Britain was paranoid about Germany in 1909. MI6 wasn't born out of slick spy missions or dramatic shootouts—it started with good old-fashioned paranoia. In 1909, Britain was convinced that Germany was plotting against them, so they secretly set up what would become MI6 to keep tabs on enemy activity, and let's just say… they've been watching ever since. The head of MI6 isn't called 'M' in real life, it's 'C', and they always use green ink. In the Bond universe, the boss goes by 'M.' But IRL? It's 'C.' That's short for Sir Mansfield Cumming, the very first chief of MI6, who used to sign all his notes with just the letter 'C' (in green ink, no less). The tradition stuck. Every MI6 head since has kept the title and the signature style—yes, they still write in green ink. Very on-brand for a secret agent, honestly. MI6 was a secret for decades, and wasn't officially acknowledged until 1994. MI6 has been around since 1909, but for most of its life, it was like the Voldemort of government departments—never officially named. Originally set up as the Secret Service Bureau, the agency operated entirely in the shadows. It wasn't until 1994—yes, the same year Friends premiered—that the British government publicly admitted MI6 even existed. Talk about a long game. There wasn't just MI6—at one point, there were 19 different MI departments. MI6 didn't always work alone. Back in the day, there were actually 19 different 'MI' branches doing everything from decoding messages to watching the skies. MI1 dealt with information management, MI2 focused on Russia and Scandinavia, MI4 handled aerial surveillance, and MI11 (weirdly enough) took on codebreaking. Over time, most of these departments either shut down or got folded into MI5 and MI6. So no, MI6 isn't just a spy movie thing—it's what's left after a major intelligence agency merger. MI6 HQ isn't just a building, it's basically a fortress. The MI6 headquarters in London is no ordinary office. With 25 types of glass, bombproof walls, and triple-glazed windows, it's built like a tank. Rumors say it even has a shooting range, rooms where eavesdropping is impossible, and a Faraday cage to block radio signals. James Bond could only dream. Some of the greatest spy novelists were actual spies. Yes, really. Before Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy became a classic Cold War thriller, its author, John le Carré was living the spy life for real. Born David Cornwell, he worked for MI6 but had to use a pen name—real agents weren't allowed to publish under their own identities. And le Carré wasn't alone. The Quiet American author Graham Greene was also with MI6. Meanwhile, Ian Fleming—the man behind James Bond—served in Naval Intelligence, which gave him all the material he needed to invent 007 (minus the gadgets and martinis, probably). The first MI6 chief had a wild way of testing recruits. It involved a knife and a wooden leg. Sir Mansfield Cumming, the original head of MI6, had a pretty unhinged method for screening potential agents. In the middle of an interview, he'd suddenly stab himself in the leg to see how the recruit reacted. Don't worry, it was a wooden leg. But if you flinched? You probably didn't make the cut. In 2011, MI6 swapped b*mb instructions with cupcake recipes, yes that happened. MI6 pulled off one of the sassiest cyber moves in spy history. In 2011, agents hacked into an online Al-Qaeda magazine and replaced its bomb-making instructions with… cupcake recipes. Instead of a step-by-step guide to explosives, readers found details for the best cupcakes in America. It was part sabotage, part bake sale, and 100% genius. Real MI6 gadgets existed, just don't expect exploding pens or laser watches. The spy gear wasn't all Hollywood-level madness, but it was real. While James Bond had grenade pens and magnetic watches, actual MI6 agents worked with gadgets that were a little more low-key (and way more practical). Think cameras hidden inside matchboxes, hollowed-out shaving brushes, and other everyday objects turned into tools for espionage. Less flashy, more sneaky. MI6's top spy almost lost his job because of a Facebook post. Back in 2009, the head of MI6—Sir John Sawers—nearly had his career derailed thanks to his wife's Facebook activity. She casually posted their home address, vacation photos, and even details about their kids' locations… all publicly visible. Not ideal for the UK's most secretive spy. The info was taken down eventually, but not before the headlines started flying. Women in early MI6 weren't exactly given spy gadgets; they were used as 'honey traps' or stuck taking notes. Back in the early days of MI6, women weren't sent on glamorous missions or handed briefcases full of gadgets. Instead, they were often used to seduce and compromise targets—what's known as a 'honey trap'—or assigned to secretarial work behind the scenes. It wasn't until much later that women began taking on actual intelligence roles and field assignments. And now? For the first time ever, MI6 has its female chief. Talk about a full-circle moment. MI6 helped train America's first spies, including the predecessor to the CIA. When the U.S. finally joined World War II, it didn't exactly have a seasoned spy agency ready to go. So MI6 stepped in. Britain's top-secret service helped train America's brand-new Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—aka the baby version of the CIA. That early collab laid the groundwork for one of the most enduring intelligence partnerships in the world. So the next time you watch a Bond movie, just remember, the real MI6 doesn't hand out grenade pens or jetpacks (at least not that we know of). From secret aliases and cupcake hacks to wooden leg interviews and green ink signatures, Britain's top spy agency is full of facts stranger than fiction. And now, with its first-ever female chief at the helm, MI6 is proving it knows how to keep secrets and shake things up.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Can Schools Ban This 'There Are Only Two Genders' Shirt? Supreme Court Declines To Hear Free Speech Case
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a case from a minor whose Massachusetts middle school refused to let him wear a shirt that said "THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENDERS," reinvigorating the debate about how much latitude public schools have to restrict students' speech in the classroom. The plaintiff—a 12-year-old 7th grader at the time of the incident, identified as L.M. in the lawsuit—was booted from class in 2023 and sent home from Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, Massachusetts, after he refused to change clothes. When he came back wearing a shirt that said "THERE ARE CENSORED GENDERS"—the same shirt but with "CENSORED" written across a piece of tape—he was sent to meet with the principal, who said he could keep the shirt in his backpack or in the assistant principal's office. He obliged and returned to class. When L.M. first sued, alleging a First Amendment violation, Judge Indira Talwani of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the school likely acted within its rights and thus denied his request for a preliminary injunction. "School administrators were well within their discretion to conclude that the statement 'THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENDERS' may communicate that only two gender identities—male and female—are valid, and any others are invalid or nonexistent," she wrote, "and to conclude that students who identify differently, whether they do so openly or not, have a right to attend school without being confronted by messages attacking their identities." At the core of the case, and those like it, is Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the 1969 Supreme Court precedent in which the justices ruled 7–2 it was unconstitutional when an Iowa school suspended students who wore black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. "It can hardly be argued," wrote Justice Abe Fortas, "that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Tinker, however, came with a caveat. Schools can seek to stymie expression that causes, or could potentially cause, a "substantial disruption," a test that courts have struggled with for decades. When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit heard L.M.'s case next, this tension was at the center of the opinion. The shirt here was analogous to the Tinker armbands in that its message was expressed "passively, silently, and without mentioning any specific students," the judges wrote. But it diverged, the court said, in that it "assertedly demean[ed] characteristics of personal identity, such as race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation." (Jason Carroll, the assistant principal, said there was concern that L.M.'s shirt "would be disruptive and would cause students in the LGBTQ+ community to feel unsafe.") The court responded with a two-prong test it said was in line with Tinker. A school may censor passive expression if it "is reasonably interpreted to demean one of those characteristics of personal identity, given the common understanding that such characteristics are unalterable or otherwise deeply rooted" and "the demeaning message is reasonably forecasted to poison the educational atmosphere due to its serious negative psychological impact on students." It's ironic that the court would rely on the notion of a "common understanding" to buttress its decision when considering that a hefty majority—65 percent as of 2023—of American adults believe there are only two gender identities. It is not a particularly contentious point, despite it often being portrayed that way. That such a basic statement could be seen as too offensive—regardless of whether someone identifies as gender-nonconforming—is not an encouraging stance for any institution to take, much less one devoted to education. That is especially relevant here, however, as Nichols Middle School allowed students to challenge the idea that there are only two genders. You don't need to agree with the student's shirt to support his right to contribute to that conversation. The First Amendment protects unpopular speech, after all—something school administrators should understand, given that their position is, in reality, the unpopular one in society today. It's for that reason that, in dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said the school had violated the First Amendment's shield against viewpoint discrimination. "If a school sees fit to instruct students of a certain age on a social issue like LGBTQ+ rights or gender identity, then the school must tolerate dissenting student speech on those issues," he wrote. "If anything, viewpoint discrimination in the lower grades is more objectionable because young children are more impressionable and thus more susceptible to indoctrination." The post Can Schools Ban This 'There Are Only Two Genders' Shirt? Supreme Court Declines To Hear Free Speech Case appeared first on
