Hey there everyone! It’s Tuesday and there is plenty happening out there. But it’s early and the sun has only just popped up and, well, who has the time or luxury to be reading all the papers this morning? Didn’t think so.
Here’s our handy guide to the news of the day, in case you’re given a pop quiz today.
Comment below, what’s grabbed your attention?
1. More Australian flight cancellations due to ash cloud.
Qantas, Tiger, Virgin and Jetstar have all cancelled services out of Adelaide, Port Lincoln and Mildura today as the ash from a rumbling Chilean volcano sweeps back into Australian airspace. Last week the column of ash disrupted about 700 flights and 100,000 people.
2. Bristol Palin calls ex Levi ‘the Gnat’.
It was bound to happen. Bristol Palin, daughter of American Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin, has her own book now ‘Not Afraid of Life: My Journey so Far’ and details the first night her and Levi had sex, in a tent. She said she did not remember and woke up with him talking about it outside to mates. They later slept together again and she fell pregnant with Tripp. She claims Levi was a self-obsesses slacker who constantly cheated. Young love is, er, never easy.
3. Beautiful people website dumps 30,000 ‘uglies’.
Beautifulpeople.com is one of those websites that trades on exclusivity…a hook up site for people who are, apparently, beautiful. Clue’s in the title. But the so-called ‘Shrek’ virus hit the site and allowed 30,000 ‘uglies’ to join, which management have now banned as a matter of housekeeping. Umm. Probably not the kind of site you’d want to be a member of anyway. Probably be more fun joining wheelbarrowsareinteresting.com or something.
4. Homeless man tracked down and told he is ‘rich’.
A private investigator in the United States tracked down homeless man Max Melitzer and informed him he had been left a ‘significant amount of money’ from his brother, who died of cancer. One of those true rags to riches story, although it doesn’t really mention that Mr Melitzer is likely mentally ill, which is the number one cause of being homeless in the first place. Still, perhaps changes are a-brewin’.
5. Animals Australia releases footage of sheep cruelty in Kuwait.
The footage was captured in November 2010 as part of a separate live export investigation and shown to the Federal Government at the time. Animals Australia says it was the inaction relating to this footage on behalf of the Federal Government that prompted the direct-to-media expose with Four Corners regarding the live export of cattle to Indonesia. What do you think?
6. 9-year-old Pakistani girl found with suicide bomb.
Police in Pakistan have detained a 9-year-old girl who is said to have escaped from Islamic extremists who fitted her with a bomb vest and told her to ‘press the button’ near police. Police believe this is the youngest girl to be found with such a vest. She is said to have been abducted several days beforehand. One word: cowards.
7. 29 the best age to have a baby – apparently.
Polling of Aussie women shows they reckon 29 is the best age to have a baby – when they are feeling secure in wealth and romance. That’s, on average, four years later than women were having kids in 1985. Interesting research, sure, but does it change the fact most couples will have kids when they are ready?
8. A woman avoids jail as identity can not be proven.
A Muslim woman who lied about a policeman forcing her to remove her religious veil after being pulled over for a P-Plate offence has escaped jail time because the Judge said her identity could not be proven. Was it really her who made the false claims? The incident was captured on a police patrol car but the Judge said he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it was the lady in question.
Discuss.
As a brief aside, no matter your views on the asylum seeker debate, SBS will begin airing a three part documentary tonight called ‘Go Back to Where You Came From‘ and it is compulsive, terrifying and fascinating viewing. I watched the rough cut preview copies sent last week and trust me, it’s worth it. It starts tonight at 8.30pm and runs until Thursday.
Top Comments
The story about the 9 year old suicide bomber has opened my eyes to the fact that some of these so called "suicide bombers" are in fact victims of murder- they are being forced to press the button by a bunch of sick cowards. Looking at the image of that 9 year old girl brought tears to my eyes. So sad. Thanks for the weekly update Rick!
If you have feminist tendencies, three of these stories stand out:
1) Briston Palin: your life choices and your choices to remain within your family's moral framework are yours alone, and previously, I would have defended your right not to be questioned on those choices.
But now, you have turned your very personal choices into public, political polemic, conveniently timed to coincide with your mother's run for presidency.
You are still a child in many ways - a naive, uneducated woman who seeks to lecture other women like you in a set of choices that will likely prevent them climbing up the socio-economic ladder.
You were born lucky - to a well off family that supports you. You cannot extrapolate your experience to the rest of American womanhood.
2) You don't need to choose a side on the burqa/niqab debate. In the case above, it's not even a feminism vs anything else debate.
It's simply a case of providing the police with concrete powers to demand access to a person's visual identity.
We don't allow slavery, multiple wives, or female genital mutilation, though all our major religions allow for some or all of these.
It's a very simple concept: the rule of law must always trump religious interpretation.
3) What was perpetrated against the little Pakistani girl... there are no words.