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Showing posts from May, 2018

Pauline Hanson and her party give drama queens a bad name

READ MORE To say that Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is the drama queen of Australian political parties is to be unfair to drama queens. One Nation is a bodice-ripping, shirt-rending, stiletto throwing, screaming, tear-jerking hot mess of a thing. It’s in a state of permanent separation within itself, forever circling the divorce courts and misplacing members of its dysfunctional family. Pauline Hanson’s latest bout of tears on TV over her latest falling out with one of her dwindling little Senate brood, this time Brian Burston, is merely further proof of her party’s maladjusted nature. One Nation senator Pauline Hanson Photo: Alex Ellinghausen It’s always teetering on the edge of the precipice, of course, attracted to the depths where darkness lurks. Back in 1998, you might recall, One Nation shocked the nation by winning 11 seats in the Queensland Parliament. Yes, yes, it WAS Queensland, and no one ought really be shocked at anything that happens there. Cliv...

Pauline Hanson warned of 'implosion' as One Nation rebel speaks out

READ MORE Pauline Hanson is being warned of an “implosion” of One Nation amid complaints she is turning the political party into a “dictatorship” while rumours swirl over an approach to former Labor leader Mark Latham to join her team. In a deepening crisis over the party’s future, NSW Senator Brian Burston told Fairfax Media he was being wrongly accused of deserting One Nation and insisted he would stay loyal to the party and its leader. But Senator Hanson moved on Friday afternoon to force him out, telling him by letter that she had lost confidence in him and had removed him as a deputy registered officer in NSW and at a federal level. “Please consider resigning from the Senate seat and handing it back to the party,” Senator Hanson wrote. In a stand-off over the move, Senator Burston told Fairfax Media he did not want to quit the party and that any attempt to drive him out would backfire on Senator Hanson and One Nation, “If Pauline Hans...

The multi-million dollar arms race to lure students to university

READ MORE As universities face increasing competition and demand for online education grows, bricks and mortar institutions are spruiking their campus experience as a key point of difference. Architect Carey Lyon, the founding director of Lyons, the firm that oversaw the RMIT revamp, said “sticky campuses” created a community where students wanted to study and socialise. “People realise that human to human connection that you get from being on campus is a really important part of an education,” he said. According to Mr Lyon, RMIT’s campus operates as a living room for many students. “A lot of their students live in very small apartments within a short walk of RMIT…the university gives them space to work during the day and night,” he said. Article source: http://smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/bathurst-1000-scott-mclaughlin-lap-record-claims-pole-20171007-gywc8a.html Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on ...

NBA Finals: Warriors edge Cavs in overtime despite 51 from James

READ MORE But when J.R. Smith secured the rebound of the second shot, he dribbled back toward halfcourt instead of shooting, apparently thinking the Cavs had a lead. “He thought it was over. He thought we were up one,” coach Tyronn Lue said. Instead, the game went into overtime. Game 2 is Sunday night back at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have won 18 of their last 19 postseason games. In 2015, when Golden State beat the Cavs to capture the franchise’s first title in 40 years, the first two games of the series went to OT – Golden State winning the opener and Cleveland Game 2. Article source: http://smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/bathurst-1000-scott-mclaughlin-lap-record-claims-pole-20171007-gywc8a.html Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window) Best Wordpress Plugin development company in India       Best Web development compan...

Minimum wage ruling is good news for the Coalition and Labor

READ MORE The ruling says “it is not possible to ascertain what, if any, effect the tax reductions” have had on investment, productivity, employer profitability, worker wages or income and wealth inequality. That is not much help for the company tax campaign. The government, in turn, points to parts of the decision that counter Labor rhetoric. While Labor has claimed that jobs growth is not keeping up with population growth, the commission says the jobs are actually outstripping population. This is a useful finding for Turnbull as he heralds the creation of 1 million jobs over five years. While Shorten claimed in January that company profits went up 20 per cent last year, the commission said the growth was just 4.3 per cent and it was lower than usual. No doubt it all depends on which companies you choose to target. Article source: http://smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/bathurst-1000-scott-mclaughlin-lap-record-claims-pole-20171007-gywc8a.html Share this: Click to share on Twitt...

Nepalese chef jailed for 23 years over Victoria restaurant murder

READ MORE A Victorian curry restaurant chef who murdered his customer in a “totally-out-of-proportion” response to the diner’s drunken provocation has been jailed for 23 years. Nepalese chef Hari Prasad Dhakal, 50, stabbed 38-year-old Pakistani-born IT worker Abdullah Siddiqi multiple times at the Ballarat Curry House on October 25, 2016. In sentencing Dhakal on Friday, Supreme Court judge Lex Lasry said Mr Siddiqi – an infrequent drinker – had arrived at the restaurant with a bottle of Jim Beam. He was the only diner in the restaurant. After finishing his meal, he approached the counter and asked for more food – something spicy – but Dhakal told him he’d had too much to drink. The two men then scuffled, with Dhakal taking a knife and stabbing Mr Siddiqi 17 times. “It’s common ground the deceased lost his temper and became quite abusive towards you,” Justice Lasry said. Justice Lasry said Mr Siddiqi had called Dhakal a ...

At-a-glance: Countries that have banned full-face veils

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READ MORE Denmark is the latest European country to ban the Islamic full-face veil in public spaces, which has been slammed by human rights campaigners. The controversial new rule will take effect on 1 August. Amnesty International slammed the move as “neither necessary nor proportionate and violates the rights to freedom of expression and religion.” Following the ruling, SBS News looks at the countries around the globe that have totally, or partially, banned the full-face veil. National bans Austria In July 2016, Austria’s Freedom Party successfully pushed the town of Hainfield to ban the “burkini”, swimwear that covers the body. Hainfield councillor said as  quoted  by Express: “It can be ensured, that no person wearing a burkini can enter the pool. “In respect to the bathing rules, we are completely pleased with the adopted variant.  “Nothing in particular has prompted the ban, however, the bathing rules have b...

Sign washed away in Hurricane Sandy lands on French beach

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READ MORE Hurricane Sandy wrought havoc on the Jersey Shore town of Brielle when it made landfall in October 2012. Homes filled with water. Boats washed up on people’s lawns and on the Brielle Avenue bridge. Also, a real estate sign went missing. It had been planted in back of a house for sale on Cedarcrest Drive, facing a narrow inlet called Debbie’s Creek. The sign was 18 by 24 inches and about an inch thick and made of plastic composite. It disappeared along with the post it was mounted to and was never seen again. Until around May 14, 2018. On a beach in France, 3,595 miles away. A man walking along the Plage du Pin Sec, near Bordeaux, spotted it. The faded sign was missing a chunk, but he could still read the legend “Diane Turton Realtors 732-292-1400.” “It was curious,” the man, Hannes Frank, 64, a semiretired software consultant who lives in Brussels, said by phone Thursday. “I looked at it and found it quaint.” He sent an email to...

Melbourne Rebels take long view ahead of Blues clash at Eden Park

READ MORE Melbourne Rebels have their future in their own hands, even if they don’t have their best player. For so much of this week, Australian rugby has debated whether clubs should bow to the wishes of the Wallabies or fight to have their star players every game. Rebels half-back Will Genia could have been back from a knee injury and playing against Auckland Blues at a wet Eden Park on Saturday, but Wallabies coaches asked for him to sit out to be fully fit for the upcoming three-Test series with Ireland. Rebels coach Dave Wessels thinks a successful national team matters to Australian rugby so he didn’t pick Genia, while ACT Brumbies, who play at home and need a big crowd, fought such calls. Wessels admitted Genia was fit and would have likely been selected if he didn’t have Test duties although understudy Michael Ruru is playing well in his place. Article source: http://smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/bathurst-1000-scott-mclaughlin-lap-record-claims-pole-20171007-gywc...

Blueblood Brabinger making up for lost time

READ MORE Brabinger’s  rehabilitation process meant he didn’t see the track as a two-year-old, and it has taken until the end of his three-year-old year to get the colt into full training. A couple of easy wins on his home track at Newcastle, firstly in a maiden and then a class 2, have  given Lees the confidence to bring him to Rosehill for his biggest test. “We are going to find out where he stands against the city horses. He can only win like he has, but this is jumping a couple of grades,” Lees said. “He is a classy individual, but you don’t know how good they are until they get put under that extra pressure.” Brabinger has been backed from $4.20 to $3.20 since markets opened on Wednesday and is part of a strong team for the Lees stable at Rosehill. “He gets his chance to show how good he is, but we also have Chalmers, which has won three of his past five, and Princess Posh, which probably should have finish much closer last ...

Sleepy Burrows a sanctuary for our wombats as existential threat looms

READ MORE Shoes, clothes and furniture are regularly destroyed, and they even make holes in the walls. They do nip, or ‘play-bite’, and their hard heads and bottoms can cause bruising. But there’s nothing a wombat likes more than a scratch on the behind. “The way to a wombat’s heart,” Ms Stepan says, “is through their bottom.” Ms Stepan says playing with wombats helps prepare them for release into the wild, which means her family spends around seven hours a day keeping them amused and active. In the wild they can attack, but only if they’re disturbed. “They’re not hiding in the bush waiting to knee-cap you,” Ms Stepan says. Bare-nosed (formerly known as common) wombats are not classified as endangered, so Sleepy Burrows doesn’t receive any government funding. (The operation is paid for by people who sign up to be ‘Wombassadors’, donating a monthly sum. Ms Stephan also charges for tours of the sanct...

Trudeau, Macron, Europe deplore 'illegal' Trump tariff decision

READ MORE Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is furious at the Trump administration’s new tariffs to be imposed from Friday on Canadian, Mexican and European steel and aluminium. The European Union says it is ready to retaliate immediately, with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker calling the metals crackdown “protectionism, pure and simple”. While French President Emmanuel Macron labelled them a mistake. The move, announced by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a telephone briefing on Thursday, ended months of uncertainty about potential tariff exemptions and suggested a hardening of the Trump administration’s approach to trade negotiations. The reaction was swift. “Totally unacceptable”: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland hold a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. Photo: Canadian Press/AP In a long series of Twitter posts, possibly designed to...

Who me? Boom times for the blame industry in Canberra

READ MORE For anyone who has responsibilities they need to evade, politics this week has thrown up a range of possible scapegoats. Care of new father Barnaby Joyce, we have an eccentric mix of things that can be blamed for poor decision making: drones above backyards, paparazzi at the airport, and anyone who has recently mothered your child. Care of Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash, responsibility for problems can be laid at the feet of parliamentary security guards and the Labor Party. Minister for Jobs and Innovation Michaelia Cash addresses the media on Wednesday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen Shane Warne’s mum – famously blamed for her son’s ingestion of contraband diuretics before a cricket match – must be breathing a sigh of relief. Now there are many others to take the heat, and there is plenty of heat to be taken. Blame is a boom industry, growing almost at the same pace as mistrust in politicians. First, to the new father Barnaby Joyce. Most fathers to newborns a...

The problem with personality politics: Why Pauline Hanson's troubles are inevitable

READ MORE Mention these parties and you mention the founder, and that’s the point. Others may join the peloton, but are required to remain as domestiques, subsidiaries, numerical ballast. Policies, outside of one of two signature positions like immigration, are left similarly vague. In its simplicity, the eponymous party offers instant brand penetration, but little chance of enduring impact. Compared to the majors, encumbered with their rules and traditions, complex advancement mechanisms, and their pretence to govern, the political start-up is nimble and populist, readily tuned to the latest grievance. At his peak, Nick Xenophon was good for two and more quotas in upper-house races in South Australia, all on his name alone. It was only in the March 2018 state election that the limits of this appeal came crashing home when not a single lower house seat was won. His four spots won federally in 2016, could be halved after the July 28 byelection. Article source: https://www.smh.com.a...

Brisbane-based airline Jetgo enters into voluntary administration

READ MORE Brisbane-based regional carrier Jetgo Australia has grounded its passenger services after entering into voluntary administration on Friday. The airline, with its fleet of five Embraer aircraft, flew regular passenger services to and from Brisbane and Melbourne’s Essendon Airport to regional centres in the eastern states. Jetgo Australia went into voluntary administration on Friday. Photo: Robert Peet It had also announced services between Brisbane and Karratha, in Western Australia, which would have run from August. “Jetgo Australia will continue limited charter operations, however, all Regular Passenger Transport scheduled services are suspended for the duration of the administration period,” the company said in a statement. Jetgo had operated as a charter service focusing on FIFO workers in the resources sector from 2012, but expanded into regular passenger services after it received regulatory approval to run as an airline in October 2014. Article source: ...

Neil Irwin pays tribute to beloved Queanbeyan Tigers clubman

READ MORE “I was pretty good mates with Ray, he was one of my fishing buddies. It was pretty tough, his passing. It’s usually next weekend we go fishing actually, the long weekend in June,” Irwin said. “I remember one time he had looked at the forecast [before we went fishing], he’d gone out and got me a hot water bottle and got that all ready for me and I didn’t even know about it. Just little things like that. “He was just a really good bloke, always thinking about other people, loved his fishing. It was probably a bit harder for him to get out fishing when his wife came down with dementia, you could see that take a toll on him. “Even then, he still wanted to try and do everything for everyone when realistically everyone should have been trying to help him out. I suppose that describes the man. “If there were more Ray’s in the world, the world would be a far better place.” Article source: https://www.smh.com.au/world/as...

'I wish I hadn't bought it': Fitbit agrees to change warranty policy

READ MORE Gemma Merritt said she had been dying to get a Fitbit for ages when she finally bought one in 2015. “I thought, ‘I’ll splash out with my birthday money and get it’,” she said. “Looking back now I wish I hadn’t bought a Fitbit.” Gemma Merritt is one of more than 100 people who complained about Fitbit to the ACCC. Photo: Supplied After about seven months, Ms Merritt said the band snapped. The company replaced it, and then replaced a second when the same problem occurred. But when her third replacement broke after less than a year, in October 2016, she said the company would not help. “They refused to replace it, saying it’s not under warranty any more because my original one was bought in January 2015,” Ms Merritt said. “That’s when I contacted the ACCC”. Article source: https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/indonesia-seeks-death-penalty-for-jad-leader-aman-abdurrahman-20180518-p4zg5e.html?utm_m...

Why this company lets its employees choose their public holiday dates

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READ MORE Soft drink giant PepsiCo wants to give its Australian employees the option to swap out some public holidays for more culturally appropriate celebrations. The trial has been dubbed “floating cultural holidays” and PepsiCo says it reflects its diverse workforce.  Such days could include Chinese New Year and Diwali. PepsiCo Australia CEO Danny Celoni said “what we didn’t want to do is impose the Australian public holidays, or the Anglo-Saxon holidays on a diverse culture”. For Buddhist employee Larissa Thamniamjad, the move meant she would be able to celebrate the numerous Buddhist holidays on the calendar without using her annual leave. She said such celebrations “keep me grounded … [But] I still respect the culture of Australia”. “I would love to take [some] days off and go to the temple, which is quite far away. Living in Australia, we don’t have temple on every corner like in Bangk...

Trump to receive Kim letter as nuclear summit takes shape

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READ MORE US President Donald Trump was to receive a letter from his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un on Friday, a much-anticipated moment as preparations for a historic nuclear summit gain pace. Kim’s right-hand man, Kim Yong Chol, was due in the US capital a day after talks in New York with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made what the US diplomat called “real progress” towards holding the planned June 12 summit.   Meanwhile, back in Pyongyang, the North Korean leader re-committed his isolated state to “denuclearisation,” boosting hopes of what would be an extraordinary diplomatic turn-around just a week after Trump threatened to cancel preparations. Since that short-lived crisis, diplomats in both countries have conducted an intense flurry of negotiations, culminating on Thursday when Pompeo sat down in New York with Kim’s envoy. Simultaneously, Kim met Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and, according to official news agency KC...

Here’s why British companies say their boards lack women

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READ MORE A British review released the worst responses to why there aren’t more women on the boards of the largest publicly listed companies in order to shame companies into addressing workplace gender disparities. “We have one woman already on the board, so we are done — it is someone else’s turn.” “All the ‘good’ women have already been snapped up.” “Most women don’t want the hassle or pressure of sitting on a board.” Those were just a few of the worst explanations given to a British review investigating the lack of women on corporate boards in the country, the latest effort by British government officials to shame companies into addressing workplace gender disparities. The comments, released Thursday, were not attributed to any individual company. But they were part of a list of the 10 worst explanations given to a team questioning chairmen and chief executives of the 350 biggest publicly listed companies here ...

It's fugayzi as Melbourne's adopts Wolf of Wall Street mantra

READ MORE Melbourne have adopted the word ‘Fugayzi’ from the Hollywood blockbuster The Wolf of Wall Street to help them deal with the hype beginning to build around their emerging group. An upbeat Simon Goodwin even impersonated actor Matthew McConaughey’s use of the word in the film as he revealed the expression in a light-hearted manner at the end of Friday’s media conference. “Fugayzi. It’s a whazy. It’s a woozie…”Goodwin said. Matthew McConaughey. Photo: Invision Earlier he had explained how the club had adopted the word internally in a fun way to keep everyone’s feet on the ground. “There is a lot of noise out there and I think it is great for our supporters what they are starting to see but internally it’s fugayzi, which means it’s noise,” Goodwin said. Article source: https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/indonesia-seeks-death-penalty-for-jad-leader-aman-abdurrahman-20180518-p4zg5e.html?utm_medi...

Man admits murdering teen he hit with knuckledusters, dumped in bush

READ MORE A man has admitted murdering a Victorian teenager who was bashed to death and dumped in an old mineshaft. Thomas Kelson, 28, pleaded guilty on Friday to murdering Cayleb Hough, whose body was found in bushland west of Melbourne about three months after he died. Cayleb Hough was killed in December 2015. Photo: Supplied Kelson’s plea comes weeks before he was due to stand trial for murder in the Supreme Court. Cayleb’s body was found in the Lerderderg State Park near Macedon, in March 2016. Prosecutors alleged Kelson bashed the boy for hours in Collingwood, believing he had harmed Kelson’s father. Article source: https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/indonesia-seeks-death-penalty-for-jad-leader-aman-abdurrahman-20180518-p4zg5e.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_world Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window) Best Wordpress Plugin development compan...

Cat Power review: Haunting and desolate music comes from deep inside

READ MORE Vivid Live: Cat Power Opera House Concert Hall, May 31 ★★★★ When Chan Marshall – aka Cat Power – first follows her backing musicians into the Concert Hall, she’s greeted by a wash of warmth from the audience. She abruptly spins and exits, stage right. Is that it? It could be, given her reputation for onstage meltdowns and “train wreck” shows . A shuffling percussive loop repeats and a string quartet plays, biding their time before Marshall returns with a sheaf of lyrics, places them on a stand beside her, and American Flag unfurls. It’s an unsettling slow-burn of a song that sets the mood for what follows. Marshall is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her breakthrough 1998 album Moon Pix . There’s a skittishness and vulnerability about her and you can almost feel the room willing her to find her centre. By the chorus of No Sense she does, buoyed in no small part by drummer Jim White and guitarist Mick ...