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| Millennial sex and Trump meltdown? Join our readers' space for a live look at the week | Millennial sex and Trump meltdown? Join our readers' space for a live look at the week |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.24pm BST | |
| 14:24 | |
| Readers respond: Why is Rio de Janeiro finding it so hard to clear up its waste? | |
| Guardian readers | |
| Our community team looked through the comments this week, and enjoyed the debate underneath this article, written by Guardian’s environment editor John Vidal, about pollution off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. | |
| “Parts of Guanabara Bay, which will host aquatic events, are teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, threatening the athletes as well as the 350,000 spectators who may want a dip in the sea,” he wrote. The comments underneath were really interesting and as of Friday the discussion remains open to comments. Here’s a selection: | |
| The Olympics bidding process is complete nonsense. No city bid should be accepted if the city has not already achieved sustainable, operating solutions for various basic issues including air cleanliness, water quality, safety and infrastructure. Instead, bids are accepted from places with massive problems in these areas, containing promises to 'fix everything in time'. Why would anyone think a city like Rio would fix in the 8 years since the bid all the problems never adequately addressed in the previous 300 years? | |
| Its simple. Once profit becomes the one and only guiding principle then everything else slides into a trough of 'just barely livable'. The well off can isolate their living conditions, the rest do the best they can with what they have. There's no mystery or magic to this -- look at the evolution of clean water and sanitation in Victorian London, from polluted wells and ad-hoc sanitation to piped water and organized sewerage. By the turn of the 20th century access to potable water was regarded as a right, not a commodity. | |
| Societies are actually going backwards. Privatization is retrogressive, a necessary step only for societies who have run out of options to make profits from productive labor. Its ultimately self-defeating as the health and welfare of the population as a whole is compromised. | |
| Brazil has a vast coastline of pristine beaches, so why do the events have to be held in Rio at all? I will never understand this rigid, inflexible focus on coming out parties for Olympic cities. It was unrealistic to expect any cleanup when you factor in the "squatter" slums of some four million people that surround the city, built without water or sanitation. Cities should already be clean when that corrupt bidding process begins. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.25pm BST | |
| 2.04pm BST | |
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| Let the Games begin! | |
| Paul Campbell | |
| The week before the Olympics is always a drag. It dawdles along with all the urgency of a slug in summer, only stopping to spit out bad news. So far week we’ve had word from Rio that the judges and referees might be corrupt, the water is dangerous, the infrastructure is collapsing, and that Great Britain might not even exist by the time the next Olympics come along. | |
| But we’ve been here before. In the week before London 2012 we worried about athletes not going to the opening ceremony, transport confusion and the exorbitant cost of the whole thing. | |
| Related: 'It completely changed my life': your memories from London 2012 | |
| The day before the opening ceremony in 2012, Mitt Romney reported “disconcerting signs” in London and suggested that the city was not ready for such a big undertaking. By the time the summer was out, everyone was asking a different question: had we just enjoyed the greatest Games in history? | |
| The turnaround might not be so spectacular this time around – and it is clear that the Brazilian government and the Olympic movement have serious, long-term problems that need to be addressed – but it’s worth remembering that, once the sport begins, little can touch the Olympics for magic. This is no ordinary sporting competition. The Games as we know them began in 776BC, when a Greek baker by the name of Koroibos stripped off his clothes and ran across a stadium in Olympia quicker than any of his fellow athletes. | |
| The stories have kept coming in the last 2,792 years. At the first modern Games, in 1986, Edwin Flack won the 800m and 1,500m events despite suffering a hefty bout of travel sickness during his six-day journey from London to Athens. The trainee accountant was so buoyed by his success that he entered the marathon event – even though he had never run more than 10 miles before in his life. He finished second, not bad for a man who had snuck off to Athens without telling colleagues as he worried he might be fired. | |
| Four years later, at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, a young art student by the name of Margaret Abbott decided to enter the golf competition as she was in the city. She beat all comers – including her mother, who also entered – to win a porcelain bowl (gold medals weren’t used at the Olympics until 1904 – and they haven’t been made out of solid gold since 1912). Abbott had no idea that the golf competition was part of the Games and she died in 1955 without knowing she was America’s first female Olympic champion. | |
| There are already some good news coming out of Rio, such as the journey Ellis Hill took to see his son compete in the shot put at the Games. Hill drives for Uber in Pennsylvania, where he happened to tell a customer that his son was competing at the Games but he couldn’t afford to travel down to Brazil to support him. The passenger set up a crowdfunding page as she thought it was only right that a father could see his son become an Olympian. The money was raised in one wee and Ellis will be in Rio to cheer on his boy. Hopefully the rest of us will enjoy the show when the the Games begin. | |
| 1.47pm BST | 1.47pm BST |
| 13:47 | 13:47 |
| John Harris: my favourite article of the week | John Harris: my favourite article of the week |
| John Harris | John Harris |
| With the Olympics upon us, Jason Burke’s piece about elite Kenyan distance runners shone brilliant light on the mess of stuff that lies behind international competition: global inequality, the way athletics funds whole chunks of Kenyan society, the constant shadow of doping, and the fact that many Kenyans see athletics as “a shortcut to financial security and success.” The quotes alone were fascinating, as in the case of the marathon runner Wesley Korir, who’ll be competing in Rio. “People always ask: Why do we run so fast?” he said. “There’s a simple answer. We are running away from poverty.” | With the Olympics upon us, Jason Burke’s piece about elite Kenyan distance runners shone brilliant light on the mess of stuff that lies behind international competition: global inequality, the way athletics funds whole chunks of Kenyan society, the constant shadow of doping, and the fact that many Kenyans see athletics as “a shortcut to financial security and success.” The quotes alone were fascinating, as in the case of the marathon runner Wesley Korir, who’ll be competing in Rio. “People always ask: Why do we run so fast?” he said. “There’s a simple answer. We are running away from poverty.” |
| Related: Eldoret: the Kenyan town trying to 'run away from poverty' | Related: Eldoret: the Kenyan town trying to 'run away from poverty' |
| 1.18pm BST | 1.18pm BST |
| 13:18 | 13:18 |
| 'We’re much more worried about sex': millennials' sexual encounters | 'We’re much more worried about sex': millennials' sexual encounters |
| Sarah Marsh | Sarah Marsh |
| We also asked our readers for views on the study which said millennials are having less sex. Here are two very different responses. | We also asked our readers for views on the study which said millennials are having less sex. Here are two very different responses. |
| No, we’re not having less sex | No, we’re not having less sex |
| Hatty, 25, London: to millennials, the older generation’s obsession with sex seems really backward | Hatty, 25, London: to millennials, the older generation’s obsession with sex seems really backward |
| Millennials are not less interested in sex, we just have less to prove about it. | Millennials are not less interested in sex, we just have less to prove about it. |
| In the UK at least, 1990s “ladette” culture saw young women proving their feminist credentials by being more like the boys and having more casual sexual encounters than they might actually have wanted to. Millennials, on the other hand, have no pressure from family to remain virginal (my mum put me on the pill and bought me condoms without batting an eyelid), but also no pressure to be sexually liberated either. | In the UK at least, 1990s “ladette” culture saw young women proving their feminist credentials by being more like the boys and having more casual sexual encounters than they might actually have wanted to. Millennials, on the other hand, have no pressure from family to remain virginal (my mum put me on the pill and bought me condoms without batting an eyelid), but also no pressure to be sexually liberated either. |
| There is also less pressure on men to be macho about sex. I have a male friend who waited until his early 20s to lose his virginity, because he wanted it to be within the context of a loving relationship and he wasn’t afraid to tell people that. | There is also less pressure on men to be macho about sex. I have a male friend who waited until his early 20s to lose his virginity, because he wanted it to be within the context of a loving relationship and he wasn’t afraid to tell people that. |
| To millennials, the older generation’s obsession with sex and their highly restrictive gender-normative approach seems backward. | To millennials, the older generation’s obsession with sex and their highly restrictive gender-normative approach seems backward. |
| Yes, we have less sex for many reasons | Yes, we have less sex for many reasons |
| Jordan, 26, Essex: nowadays people prefer to stay in, rather than go out and interact | Jordan, 26, Essex: nowadays people prefer to stay in, rather than go out and interact |
| There are many reasons why millennials are less into sex, the main one being the rise in technology. Social skills are dependent on human interaction, and nowadays people do not make effort to go out and meet others, they prefer to stay in and interact online instead. This coupled with worries about contracting sexually transmitted diseases means a lot of people would rather just stay in and watch porn. | There are many reasons why millennials are less into sex, the main one being the rise in technology. Social skills are dependent on human interaction, and nowadays people do not make effort to go out and meet others, they prefer to stay in and interact online instead. This coupled with worries about contracting sexually transmitted diseases means a lot of people would rather just stay in and watch porn. |
| 1.17pm BST | 1.17pm BST |
| 13:17 | 13:17 |
| Behind the story: are millennials really having less sex? | Behind the story: are millennials really having less sex? |
| Nicola Davis | Nicola Davis |
| The sex lives of millennials came under the microscope this week. Here, Nicola Davis, who writes about science and technology for the Guardian and Observer, talks about working on this story. | The sex lives of millennials came under the microscope this week. Here, Nicola Davis, who writes about science and technology for the Guardian and Observer, talks about working on this story. |
| One of the studies I covered this week looked at the sex lives of Americans, revealing that a greater proportion of young adults today are abstinent than they were in previous generations. The study is the latest in a string of papers based on the US General Social Survey - which has asked questions about sexual behaviour almost every year since the late 1980s. And, as always, it throws up food for thought. | One of the studies I covered this week looked at the sex lives of Americans, revealing that a greater proportion of young adults today are abstinent than they were in previous generations. The study is the latest in a string of papers based on the US General Social Survey - which has asked questions about sexual behaviour almost every year since the late 1980s. And, as always, it throws up food for thought. |
| When it comes to sex, it turns out that people’s behaviour is rather different to what current social narratives would have us believe. Yes, the rise of online dating and apps such as Tinder, Happn and Bumble have changed the way people date, but the new research shows that the “youth of today” are not, in fact, more promiscuous than older generations were when they were young. | When it comes to sex, it turns out that people’s behaviour is rather different to what current social narratives would have us believe. Yes, the rise of online dating and apps such as Tinder, Happn and Bumble have changed the way people date, but the new research shows that the “youth of today” are not, in fact, more promiscuous than older generations were when they were young. |
| We don’t yet know why. Although pornography, worries about sexually transmitted infections, the rise of online TV and even changing definitions of what sex is could all play a role, the old adage of “more research needed” applies. | We don’t yet know why. Although pornography, worries about sexually transmitted infections, the rise of online TV and even changing definitions of what sex is could all play a role, the old adage of “more research needed” applies. |
| But with attitudes towards premarital sex, and sexual behaviour more broadly, becoming more tolerant, the authors also put forward a more upbeat idea regarding the rise in abstinence among young adults. “This disconnect may speak to rising individualism wherein individuals hold permissive attitudes about a variety of behaviours while also feeling less pressure to conform in their own behaviour,” they write. | But with attitudes towards premarital sex, and sexual behaviour more broadly, becoming more tolerant, the authors also put forward a more upbeat idea regarding the rise in abstinence among young adults. “This disconnect may speak to rising individualism wherein individuals hold permissive attitudes about a variety of behaviours while also feeling less pressure to conform in their own behaviour,” they write. |
| 1.10pm BST | 1.10pm BST |
| 13:10 | 13:10 |
| Matthew Holmes | Matthew Holmes |
| I asked for some opinions on last night’s Labour leadership debate (yes, really, John ... ) | I asked for some opinions on last night’s Labour leadership debate (yes, really, John ... ) |
| You are really asking for it. | You are really asking for it. |
| Do you go around poking sleeping dogs with sticks too? | Do you go around poking sleeping dogs with sticks too? |
| Anyway, some of you have been happily discussing below – and while there’s voracity to discussions elsewhere, not all of you are drawn in: | Anyway, some of you have been happily discussing below – and while there’s voracity to discussions elsewhere, not all of you are drawn in: |
| For myself I've completely lost interest in Labour's internal war because it just doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Both sides have become firmly entrenched in their beliefs and believe their Labour would romp to victory if only it weren't for the other side and their wrong-headed ideas. They don't seem to be willing to risk a split either, so we can probably expect Labour to remain a lame duck for the foreseeable future. | For myself I've completely lost interest in Labour's internal war because it just doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Both sides have become firmly entrenched in their beliefs and believe their Labour would romp to victory if only it weren't for the other side and their wrong-headed ideas. They don't seem to be willing to risk a split either, so we can probably expect Labour to remain a lame duck for the foreseeable future. |
| It doesn't matter what anyone says or does in the leadership campaign - Corbyn is bound to win by a large margin, but that's not going to make a jot of difference. Frankly I'm somewhat surprised that Smith chose to run - he seems like a bright spark and he must surely know that it's a foregone conclusion. He could have left Eagle to take the fall. | It doesn't matter what anyone says or does in the leadership campaign - Corbyn is bound to win by a large margin, but that's not going to make a jot of difference. Frankly I'm somewhat surprised that Smith chose to run - he seems like a bright spark and he must surely know that it's a foregone conclusion. He could have left Eagle to take the fall. |
| It does seem to be picking up attention as the morning goes on, but outside the guardian have been quite shocked by how little coverage it got in the news at breakfast. No matter what you think about it it is the leader of the party in place to hold the government to account so deserves more than a passing nod. | It does seem to be picking up attention as the morning goes on, but outside the guardian have been quite shocked by how little coverage it got in the news at breakfast. No matter what you think about it it is the leader of the party in place to hold the government to account so deserves more than a passing nod. |
| Almost nobody in the office knew it was going on... and I have to admit I completely forgot about it last night despite being a regular on these pages and more politically engaged than the average Joe. | Almost nobody in the office knew it was going on... and I have to admit I completely forgot about it last night despite being a regular on these pages and more politically engaged than the average Joe. |
| What do you think? Get involved in the comments by scrolling down, or click on the time stamps in the above to reply. | What do you think? Get involved in the comments by scrolling down, or click on the time stamps in the above to reply. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.11pm BST | at 1.11pm BST |
| 12.58pm BST | 12.58pm BST |
| 12:58 | 12:58 |
| Readers are sharing underwhelming holiday photos | Readers are sharing underwhelming holiday photos |
| The weather in the UK hasn’t been great lately, and readers have been telling us – and showing us – their experiences of a very British summer so far. Many of you will recognise the scenes in this gallery showcasing some of the, er, ‘best’ images – if you have shots of your own you can add them too by clicking on the blue GuardianWitness contribute buttons on this article. | The weather in the UK hasn’t been great lately, and readers have been telling us – and showing us – their experiences of a very British summer so far. Many of you will recognise the scenes in this gallery showcasing some of the, er, ‘best’ images – if you have shots of your own you can add them too by clicking on the blue GuardianWitness contribute buttons on this article. |
| Related: Your underwhelming British holiday photos | Related: Your underwhelming British holiday photos |
| 12.41pm BST | 12.41pm BST |
| 12:41 | 12:41 |
| Should this smiley volcano be 2016's profile picture? | Should this smiley volcano be 2016's profile picture? |
| Zofia Niemtus | Zofia Niemtus |
| Zofia Niemtus is commissioning editor for the Guardian’s education networks. | Zofia Niemtus is commissioning editor for the Guardian’s education networks. |
| My favourite story of the week came on Tuesday and involved a volcano that looked like a smiley face. In fact, that was the entire thing: a helicopter flew over the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii and filmed some lava that looked like two eyes and a grinning mouth. But those 20 seconds of footage became so much more. | My favourite story of the week came on Tuesday and involved a volcano that looked like a smiley face. In fact, that was the entire thing: a helicopter flew over the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii and filmed some lava that looked like two eyes and a grinning mouth. But those 20 seconds of footage became so much more. |
| In the comments, on Twitter and in the area around my desk, the molten smirk started to function as a fiery Rorschach test. Have a look and think about how it makes you feel. Done? Ok. | In the comments, on Twitter and in the area around my desk, the molten smirk started to function as a fiery Rorschach test. Have a look and think about how it makes you feel. Done? Ok. |
| Now forget about all the groups you think you belong to – humanity is divided into two camps from here on: people who thought “Awww, that volcano looks like it’s smiling!” and those who responded with “Holy shit that volcano looks like it’s smiling! We are in the End Times.” | Now forget about all the groups you think you belong to – humanity is divided into two camps from here on: people who thought “Awww, that volcano looks like it’s smiling!” and those who responded with “Holy shit that volcano looks like it’s smiling! We are in the End Times.” |
| Some saw it as a message from – variously – God, Mother Nature and the devil. Others enjoyed the reminder of Fight Club, Watchmen and that Pixar short about the lonely volcano. I liked being reminded of the term pareidolia and the hypnotic @FacesInThings Twitter account. | Some saw it as a message from – variously – God, Mother Nature and the devil. Others enjoyed the reminder of Fight Club, Watchmen and that Pixar short about the lonely volcano. I liked being reminded of the term pareidolia and the hypnotic @FacesInThings Twitter account. |
| My favourite response, though, came from @garwboy, who summed it up with the phrase “I see that 2016 has finally chosen its profile picture”. Be afraid. | My favourite response, though, came from @garwboy, who summed it up with the phrase “I see that 2016 has finally chosen its profile picture”. Be afraid. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.52pm BST | at 12.52pm BST |
| 12.13pm BST | 12.13pm BST |
| 12:13 | 12:13 |
| Our most-read stories this week | Our most-read stories this week |
| Sarah Marsh | Sarah Marsh |
| Every week we will draw attention to the stories people have been reading – with the aim of prompting debate around them. | Every week we will draw attention to the stories people have been reading – with the aim of prompting debate around them. |
| Among our most-read this week was a stream of stories about a man who gets more air-time (mainly for his outrageous comments) than a plane: Donald Trump. This week the Republican candidate went for Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American soldier who died to protect his unit. Khan rebuked Trump as unpatriotic and selfish, to which Trump said: “I’d like to hear his wife say something.” Another popular comment piece asked: Trump has gone totally off the rails. Will his base finally notice? | Among our most-read this week was a stream of stories about a man who gets more air-time (mainly for his outrageous comments) than a plane: Donald Trump. This week the Republican candidate went for Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American soldier who died to protect his unit. Khan rebuked Trump as unpatriotic and selfish, to which Trump said: “I’d like to hear his wife say something.” Another popular comment piece asked: Trump has gone totally off the rails. Will his base finally notice? |
| The mural of Hillary Clinton in a bikini (and later a niqab) also got people talking. | The mural of Hillary Clinton in a bikini (and later a niqab) also got people talking. |
| Related: Hillary Clinton bikini mural covered with niqab after public decency complaints | Related: Hillary Clinton bikini mural covered with niqab after public decency complaints |
| And Pokémon Go is also still garnering people’s interest, with five tricks for pro players getting a lot of clicks. | And Pokémon Go is also still garnering people’s interest, with five tricks for pro players getting a lot of clicks. |
| Related: Pokémon Go: five tricks for pro players that are almost as good as cheats | Related: Pokémon Go: five tricks for pro players that are almost as good as cheats |
| If you’re totally bored of hearing about the game, though – even if you are a player – Samuel Gibbs has some great tips on How to stop playing Pokémon Go ... | If you’re totally bored of hearing about the game, though – even if you are a player – Samuel Gibbs has some great tips on How to stop playing Pokémon Go ... |
| 12.01pm BST | 12.01pm BST |
| 12:01 | 12:01 |
| Welcome to our social! | Welcome to our social! |
| Sarah Marsh | Sarah Marsh |
| Hello and welcome to our second Guardian social. The idea is simple: every week we will open a comment thread below a live blog, creating a space for our readers to come together and discuss the week’s news and comment. It’s also a place to also share projects and ideas. | Hello and welcome to our second Guardian social. The idea is simple: every week we will open a comment thread below a live blog, creating a space for our readers to come together and discuss the week’s news and comment. It’s also a place to also share projects and ideas. |
| We will update the blog above the line with views from inside the building, including insight from our journalists on articles they’ve worked on. | We will update the blog above the line with views from inside the building, including insight from our journalists on articles they’ve worked on. |
| Last week we trialled the idea and this week we have slightly changed the format based on your suggestions. Among those of you who got in touch offering ideas into how it could work better, fripouille advised keeping comments open for longer – something we’ve taken on board. | Last week we trialled the idea and this week we have slightly changed the format based on your suggestions. Among those of you who got in touch offering ideas into how it could work better, fripouille advised keeping comments open for longer – something we’ve taken on board. |
| He added: “It was wonderful to see you and other staffers below the line ... We readers like to know we are being read and everyone appreciates receiving a response, particularly on what is designed to be a light-hearted and interactive thread.” | He added: “It was wonderful to see you and other staffers below the line ... We readers like to know we are being read and everyone appreciates receiving a response, particularly on what is designed to be a light-hearted and interactive thread.” |
| We welcome more opinions on this, so please share them in this form as well as in the comments. We want to create a community space for our readers to talk to us as well as eachother, and your involvement in how this evolves is key. | We welcome more opinions on this, so please share them in this form as well as in the comments. We want to create a community space for our readers to talk to us as well as eachother, and your involvement in how this evolves is key. |
| Join us today from 12pm-4pm for round two of our social feature. | Join us today from 12pm-4pm for round two of our social feature. |