UPDATE:
The former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has given an exclusive interview with Women’s Weekly, in which she bares her bald head and talks about her battle with cancer.
The 53-year-old spoke to Channel 9 about her decision to appear in the magazine, and said she thought it was important to highlight for women that if they felt a lump they should call a doctor and do something about it. She also wanted to show what her fight with cancer had really been like.
Back in June, the former Premier announced that she had been diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma. The diagnosis had been confirmed after a tumour was removed from a lymph node in her neck only a week earlier.
1. The Australian who was killed in a Kenyan shopping mall terrorist attack has been named. Tasmanian Ross Langdon, died alongside his partner Elif Yavuz in the horrific attack. The couple were expecting their first child in two weeks.
Thirty-three-year-old Langdon was an architect, who had designed an AIDS hospital in Kenya on a pro bono basis, and had further helped to develop evo-villages in the area. Ms Yavuz was a malaria specialist working with the Gates Foundation. Kenyan security forces are still fighting the terrorists inside the shopping centre.
2. Gold Coast Suns’ captain Gary Ablett Jr has been named as the AFL’s best and fairest player, having been awarded the Brownlow Medal at a ceremony at Melbourne’s Crown Casino last night.
Also on the agenda at last night’s Brownlow Medal was FROCKS. Check out Mamamia’s gallery of red carpet arrivals here.
3. New mothers who feel stressed and sad in the early days of parenting are being urged to seek help, after a study of 1000 women revealed that most new mothers tend to suffer in silence. The Bupa Health Foundation report found new mothers were unlikely to seek treatment, even though talking to a specialist could help them cope and to understand that feeling depressed after birth is perfectly natural.
4. Eighty-three-year-old entertainer Rolf Harris appeared in a London court overnight, charged with indecent assault and creating indecent images of children.
Harris’ lawyer said his client was likely to plead not guilty to the charges when he appears in front of a higher court early next month. In the meantime, Harris has been granted conditional bail.
5. The principal of an ACT school has come under fire from students and members of the community for sending Australian Christian Lobby campaign material in opposition to gay marriage to parents of students via email.
Andrew Clayton from the Trinity Christian School explained that, “Although this is not a usual practice for me as principal, I believe it is an appropriate response given the potential this bill has to impact the very nature of our school.”
Former and current students of the school started a Facebook page in protest, saying that, “As current and former students of Trinity Christian School, we would like to show our support for legislation introduced into the ACT Legislative Assembly to introduce same-sex marriage in the ACT.”
6. When Australian Financial Review journalist Marcus Priest put questions to billionaire Clive Palmer regarding his $6 billion Waratah coal mine (which is currently seeking Federal environment approval), the journalist probably did not expect the following response.
Clive Palmer texted the journalist: “Your just hopeless are you a murder or just mentally deranged same relevance Wake up. What party are u a member of how did u vote how much do u pay on your loan will you divorce your. Wife or sell her if u get offered enough money how much do u get paid what will u do for more money wake up dint contact me again (sic).”
Priest later clarified on Twitter that the question had been, “whether he would seek approval of project in return for support in Senate”. Clive Palmer won the seat of Fairfax this past weekend by 36 votes. Ballots cast in the seat are currently being recounted.
7. Yesterday, a four-year-old child was found in possession of a quantity of methamphetamine, while at a childcare centre in Perth. The staff found the boy playing with a bag of the illegal substance, which a police test confirmed was methamphetamine. The Department of Child Protection and Family Services has released a statement saying that they would interview the parents of the boy.
8. A group of Indian comedians have come together to create a satirical video of comments made by public figures in the wake of a series of rapes in New Delhi. The video – in which the comedians say things like “Scientific studies suggest that women who wear skirts are the leading cause of rape. Do you know why? Because men have eyes” has been viewed more the 800,000 times on YouTube since it was uploaded less than a week ago. Take a look:
Top Comments
The satirical Indian video is wonderful and truly well done.
The only problem is that many people don't "get" satire. This would of course include the very people who are the focus of this satire.
The rage expressed by many men in these sexist/misogynist cultures comes from the way their behaviour towards women is now being criticised and named for what it is. Articulate people who've been raised in an atmosphere of kindness towards women and gender equality are now speaking out in defence of the women in those cultures who've been so cruelly treated.
Nasty little secrets are being exposed.
The rape video was a bit off - don't they realise that men also get raped? I have to admit I didn't watch it all the way through so maybe they got to this in the end, please correct me if they did.
Yes men do get raped but this particular video was primarily about the rape of women which you would have to admit is more common. Sometimes campaigns can be gender specific without causing offence to others.
Firstly, men get raped in far, far fewer numbers. While it is still horrific and utterly unacceptable, I think it's okay to mention rape without specifically mentioning male rape, given the statistical gender differences. In the same way, you should be able to mention breast cancer without having to specify that men also get breast cancer, and that it is also terrible.
Secondly, how often do men get blamed when they get raped? I've never heard someone say "yeah, but he was really flirting with the priest"...yet we have clothing brands and perfumes named after that little minx (aka 10 year old who was raped by her predatory and self-confessed pedophile step father) Lolita.
Please don't think for a second that I am diminishing the seriousness or difficulties of male rape - it has its own complexities too. But rape - particularly in the recent Indian cases the video was in response to - and victim blaming overwhelming have male perpetrators and female victims. It's offensive to pretend it's a non-gendered issue.
I agree with everything you say, no buts. I would add, though, that men report rape far less often than women and are often expected to have just enjoyed it - or got off on the fact a woman wanted them. I'm not just talking about priests and boys but women attacking or drugging men. I know this video was specific to the situation in India, but it was shown here on an Australian based website - at one stage she says "no women, no rape" (about 00:56). I agree that we should be able to discuss rape without mentioning either gender, this is not what the video did. This perpetuates the idea that a fully grown man can't be raped by a woman. Society in general (and not just men) should be educated on consent and respect.
Just to clarify, I am a woman :)