1. Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO, has died
Associated Press and Bloomberg’s is reporting that Steve Jobs has passed away. Apple has confirmed the death. He was 56.
2. Angelina Jolie to have bigger role with United Nations
The mega-star and one half of Brangelina is already a Goodwill Ambassador with the UN but she and the organisation are working together to find something ‘new and bigger’ which would involve dealing with refugee issues around the world. The agency said it and Ms Jolie wanted to get things ‘right’ before settling on any options. Among the possibilities under discussion are a new role as special envoy on the refugee crisis affecting Afghans fleeing for Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan and Iran host some 2.7 million Afghan refugees. Jolie told diplomats and officials with the refugee agency that her work for them has been “moving, sometimes heartbreaking, but always rewarding, and unforgettable”.
3. Major world scientists and economists write to PM
A group of some of the world’s leading scientists and economists have sent Prime Minister Julia Gillard a formal letter congratulating her on the carbon pricing legislation, set to pass through Parliament before the end of the year on fast-track. Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to British prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Sir David Hendry, head of Oxford University’s Institute for New Economic Thinking and 11 other leading academics from the US, Britain, Norway, Spain and Denmark sent the letter yesterday. They said addressing climate change was ”one of the greatest and most urgent economic challenges facing the world” and the carbon tax, moving to an emissions trading scheme, would ”help ensure emission reductions at the lowest possible cost”.
4. Same sex couples may benefit from new Passport forms
Australia changed legislation to allow transgender men and women to carry passports in their identified gender without the need for a sex change and now the application process is about to become a lot fairer for same sex couples. The Federal Government is considering the option of a ‘Parent 1’ and ‘Parent 2’ to appear alongside the ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ on application forms. It says there has been confusion from existing same sex couples with children in filling out forms for minors.
5. Should Gen Y be able to use Super to buy a home?
It’s no secret that houses are expensive. And there’s been plenty of chatter about how the heck Generation Y are ever going to afford them. Well, economist Nicholas Gruen suggested at the tax forum in Canberra that super savings should be used early on in life to purchase property, which becomes a long term investment in itself over the life of the working young person. Thoughts?
6. Mad Men’s Jon Hamm is a feminist. Who knew?
He’s not exactly the world’s biggest gentlemen while in character for Mad Men, but in real life actor Jon Hamm is a bit awesome when it comes to his understanding of women’s issues. At a recent Mad Men sponsored benefit for the Rape Treatment Centre in LA, Hamm said: “It is an important thing to instill in a younger generation about the impact of rape, the lasting impact of rape. Children from grade school to high school to college are incredibly susceptible and incredibly malleable, as we all know. To get them early, to teach them about the facts and figures and other realities of rape is key. It is an important issue to me as not only a man, but as an educator, as a human being and as a person on this planet.” He particularly lamented the lack of good male role models in his life and the importance of reaching out to men and boys to show them ‘normal’ responses to everyday events.
7. Oz Sex Party called Victorian bong ban ‘racist’.
The Victorian Government is banning the sale of bongs – used to inhale marijuana smoke – in a move it says will finally end the ‘mixed message’ of selling equipment that is obviously used for smoking an illegal substance. But the Australian Sex Party says it is showing a racist double standard by allowing Middle Eastern used hookahs – a device for smoking tobacco – to remain on sale, even if those sales are restricted. The Sex Party also said the bong ban would have no effect on young people’s use of cannabis.
8. Audrey Hepburn: Photoshopped before Photoshop
Not sure if this should be surprising or not. You be the judge. A new book due for release shows an original promotional photo of Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s which shows the pencil mark directions from the director where her skin was to be ‘retouched’ to fix visible ‘flaws’ like blemishes and crows feet. The book is being released for the 50th anniversary of the film.
Today’s news brought to you by Rick.
Top Comments
Angelina and Brad Pitt are an interesting couple. They've been together for quite a while now.. and the work they do for charity seems to bring them closer together. Angelina Jolie isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, going in person to famine stricken parts of the world and being with those people in person. It has nothing with boosting her "CV", it's quite complete as it is, this is simply out of a good heart. Talk of transformation!.. she has a complicated history - to say the least, but in recent years, especially after meeting Brad Pitt, she's showed a selfless side in dedicating a lot of time to these good causes.
God some people really get under my skin with their below comments about Gen Y buying homes.
Firstly, keep in mind just how much easier it is to buy a home when you have a partner. So many people get on their high horses about how hard they and their partner worked to save for a house. Ok, so imagine how hard it would have been if you'd gone it alone? Almost impossible? Yeah, welcome to my "reality".
Secondly, I hear a lot of stories of people who feel they should be praised because they worked in their late teens/ early twenties to buy a house by age 23 etc. A lot of people (myself included) have spent these years studying. By the time I finish uni I would have spent three years in my undergraduate degree and another three in what is essentially a masters in Law. For me personally, the workload meant that there was NO WAY IN FIREY HELL I could've saved 30K +. I only earn about 20K a year because I simply couldn't meet my university requirements if I worked more. And I didn't just want to coast through on credits, I wanted to do well. I've heard people say "oh yeah well I did a double degree in medicine and engineering (haha) and I managed to still work 40 hours a week and save for a house". All I can say to that is good for you. You'd certainly be in the minority.
Because I will eventually practice as a lawyer, it is assumed that I'll earn good money. But in actual fact I won't start earning "decent money" until my mid 30s (I'm in my early 20s now). So I don't really see how I'll afford my own home until I'm in my late 30s.
Finally, I'd just like to say that I don't mind renting. My mum rents and I don't see it as a problem. I think renters face so much disdain but we need to accept that not everyone is willing to live in woop woop. I don't care if it sounds snobby, but there are a lot of suburbs that I simply wouldn't want to live it. I don't see the point in commuting 40 mins a day from my shitty house in a dodgy suburb that I'm struggling to pay off when I could be renting a cute little house or apartment in a nice suburb or the CBD. Thats my choice, other people might prefer to own their own home further away.
We need to accept that we all have different wants, needs and priorities. And just because you have managed to buy a home, does not mean that others can.
Yes, not to mention what all that commuting is doing to the environment and their wallets - 2 cars driving to respective workplaces. Then kids arrive and of course they just can't walk or ride to the local school, they simply MUST go to the school an hour away. Even better, two or three different schools to suit each child.
I'm 31 and single. I live in a beautiful apartment central to everything I need and not too far from work. I'm considering buying a house with a good friend of mine when the market drops lower. But I would have to move farther away from everything. It's a tough one to negotiate in my own mind (with myself)