News: Chrissie Swan quits The Circle.

Chrissie Swan returning to radio, quits The Circle

Well, we didn’t see this coming.  Logie-winner, Chrissie Swan is walking away from her hosting role on The Circle to spend more time with her kids. She released a statement: “I’m a mum of two little boys under 3 and i don’t want to miss a moment of them. The Circle is the most fun I’ve ever had at work and I will miss it like crazy but at this time of my life, with 2 kids not even old enough for kindergarten, I had to make the tough decision of family time over work. I feel VERY fortunate that I’ve been able to switch from a new love (TV) to an old love (radio) and address the gaping hole in my work/life balance.

And just because we can, here’s a gallery of the gorgeous Chrissie:

Time Magazine names its ‘Person of the Year’

Last year it was Mark Zuckerberg but this year it was ‘The Protestor’, in honour of all the individuals who have someway or somehow made a difference or spoken out in 2011. “From the Arab Spring to Athens, from Occupy Wall Street to Moscow…,” says the cover. Managing Editor of the magazine Richard Stengel said: “For capturing and highlighting a global sense of restless promise, for upending governments and conventional wisdom, for combining the oldest of techniques with the newest of technologies to shine a light on human dignity and, finally, for steering the planet on a more democratic though sometimes more dangerous path for the 21st century, the Protester is Time’s 2011 Person of the Year.”

Memorial service on Christmas Island to mark tragedy

Today marks a year since a boat carrying asylum seekers was smashed to pieces on rocks off Christmas Island, killing up to 50 people. Authorities are still not sure exactly how many perished. 45 people were rescued that day and 35, including three orphans, have been granted permanent residency. One of those is Sayed-Hussain Hussaini whose wife and three month old son Saam both drowned in the disaster. Last month he tried to commit suicide because of the grief but has been receiving therapy and will today to place flowers in the sea where he lost his family. “I did not come to Australia to lose my family. I am always thinking about them when I am asleep, when I wake up, when I shower, when I am eating,” he said. “I wish I was in Iran living with my wife and my baby and that I never came to Australia.” Authorities said today’s service would also help locals who were affected by the tragedy, especially those who did their best to rescue survivors from the shipwreck.

Mamamia ran this video once before, but it’s a haunting reminder of that grief:

Labor MP Craig Thomson cut and pastes travel report

It wasn’t a school assignment, but Labor MP Craig Thomson still used Wikipedia to finish the bulk of a travel report which he handed in four months late to justify a $24,000 overseas trip. Reporting deadlines are usually 30 days. The SMH reported:

“The Labor MP for the NSW electorate of Dobell spent at least $23,899 of his overseas travel entitlement on a 42-day tour, from March 26 to May 8, visiting Britain, Ireland, France, Spain and the US. Mr Thomson subsequently sent Mr Gray a travel report titled The Global Financial Crisis – The European and US Experience – Lessons learnt and future expectations. More than two-thirds of the report’s 33 pages, including most of its analysis and commentary, has been cut and pasted from internet sources.”

He also passed off, word-for-word, the text of speeches from officials at the International Monetary Fund as his own work.

The most complained about ads of the year…

Were those that dealt with same sex relationships, race and religion. So nothing too unpredictable there. “The most complained about ad in 2011 was a poster promoting safe sex in the gay community, from the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities and resulted in the Advertising Standards Bureau receiving 222 complaints,” ASB chief executive officer Fiona Jolly said. We wrote about that here featuring a version of the ad. “The Advertising Standards Board dismissed complaints about the ad as it was strongly in favour of the important health message the advertisement portrays.” Another ad featuring Jesus spruiking free Korans was dismissed while General Pants Co were rapped for an ad which featured a topless woman with her nipples taped and a man unzipping her pants. Interesting.

$50,000 reward posted for missing man Daniel O’Keefe

Remember Dan’s story on Mamamia? His family have announced a huge reward for anyone with any information that may lead to his location. The 24-year-old went missing on July 15. He left his wallet, medication and ID and hasn’t accessed his bank accounts or answered his mobile phone since. People should call the family directly on 0478 661 092 to report sightings.

Anything else in the news, on your mind?