Light Up The Sabre

The Force is with sword fighting fans! Jedi Knights have been chasing acceptance of the order as a religion since Luke Skywalker and Han Solo buccaneered their way across the galaxy in the late 1970s but success may not be as far, far away as it once was.

There may still be some light years to go before the Jedi Order is legally recognized as a religion but if fighting with a sabre is what one likes doing, in France officials from the country’s national fencing organisation have now approved the Knight’s weapon of choice and Jedi Duelling is now a sport.

LED replicas of the Star Wars sword, which duellers use in three-minute bouts, are now to be ranked on a par with the more traditional epee, foil and sabre. The French Fencing Federation will equip its clubs with lightsabres and train specialist instructors in how to use them. The federation’s Serge Aubailly said that the move would encourage young people to exercise more.

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County Lines Pre-Teens

Recent commentary on KJM Today has highlighted parental responsibility and this has again been in the news recently as ‘County Lines’ drug gangs are reported to have been recruiting children as young as just six years of age as ‘mules’ to carry drugs.

Cleveland Police have been investigating a case in which a six-year-old is involved and Detective Chief Inspector Wendy Tinkler is quoted as saying: ‘Why are these organised crime groups targeting young children? The unfortunate thing is it is so easy to find the next child’.

Which does beg the question of what parents are doing.

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Zombie Deer at Large

Hunters in the US and Canada have been warned to be on the lookout for zombie deer when they are out shooting.

A serious infection known as Chronic Wasting has struck free-range deer, elk and moose in 24 US states and two Canadian provinces. Experts are warning that it could spread to humans through infected venison.

The disease is similar to Mad Cow Disease which struck British farming in the 1980s and 1990s. Symptoms include lack of coordination, weight loss, listlessness, drooling, aggression and is always fatal. It spreads through contaminated bodily fluids, tissue, drinking water and food, affecting an animals brain and spinal cord.

Michael Osterholm, from the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said: ‘It’s possible the number of human cases will be substantial.’

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