Squiz Today / 14 August 2020

Squiz Today – Friday, 14 August

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“1) My name is not Rachael 2) Our last name is not Wilkinson 3) Estella’s name is not Estelle 4) Joel Edgerton’s name is not Russell Crowe…”

Insta’d Nine entertainment guru Richard Wilkins after a profile on the TV stalwart and his family appeared in the new edition of the Australian Women’s Weekly. Now try calling him anything but ‘Rachael Wilkinson’…


WHEN THE WAR IS OVER

THE SQUIZ
Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allies bringing an end of World War Two. Australian cities erupted with joy on 15 August 1945 as VP Day (aka Victory in the Pacific) was declared almost 6 years after we entered the war. The day’s commemoration will be subdued because... corona, but there will be a nationally televised service tomorrow morning.

LET’S GO OVER IT...
• When France and Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, PM of the day Robert Menzies signed us up, and our troops soon found themselves fighting with the British in North Africa and Europe. But the war changed for Australia from September 1940 when Japan sided with Germany. It was the first time our modern nation was threatened by an external aggressor.

• Ambitious for dominance in the Pacific and angry that the US had imposed an oil embargo, Japan launched the surprise attack on America’s naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December 1941. That brought the US into the war.

• In 1942, Japan tallied up the victories, including the fall of British outpost Singapore. There were also attacks on Darwin and Sydney. That’s when newish PM John Curtin made the call to ‘bring the troops home’ to protect Oz, and to work with the US on operations closer to home.

• Over the next 3.5 years, Australia, the US and other allies fought Japan on land and at sea before it was broken by the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945. A week later, Japan formally surrendered.

• Nearly one million Australians were directly involved in WWII. About 500,000 Aussies served overseas, and 40,000 were killed. Thousands more were wounded and injured. And more than 22,000 Australians became prisoners of war of the Japanese in southeast Asia. More than 8,000 of them died in atrocious conditions.

WHAT DID IT CHANGE?
Umm, pretty much everything… The losses took their toll. But it heralded significant social changes, including a post-war baby and industrial boom that saw Australia’s economy surge. There were also social changes, including more women entering the workforce, and more immigration, particularly from the UK and Europe. And strategically, it marked Australia’s shift in focus from Britain to the US. But tomorrow, it’s all about what then PM Ben Chifley’s said when he declared the end of the war. "Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment and may look forward to a peace which they have won for us."


SQUIZ THE REST


UNEMPLOYMENT SHOCKER

A record one million Australians are now out of work, according to the latest official stats. While 115,000 jobs were created in July, the unemployment rate increased from 7.4% to a 22-year high of 7.5%. Over the month, underemployment rates fell from 11.7% to 11.2%. That might not seem as catastrophic as it could have been given the scale of the impact of the coronavirus crisis, but remember that’s pre-Melbourne’s stage four lockdown. Analysts expect unemployment to hit 10% by the end of the year. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the numbers showed “jobs returning back to the economy” in regions where the health crisis part is under control. But Labor’s Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers warns the government must do more to create jobs.


ISRAEL AND UAE STRIKE A DEAL

In a “historic breakthrough” that will “advance peace in the Middle East", Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to normalise relations. Announced by US President Donald Trump, the deal between Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan is a win for diplomacy and stability in the region, he says. And Israel will suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank as the pair make plans to work together on “areas of mutual benefit”. Not everyone’s happy… Senior Palestinian officials condemned the move. "May you never be sold out by your 'friends'," one official aimed at Prince Mohammed. It’s just the third Israel-Arab peace deal since Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, and the US hopes that other agreements will be brokered now “the ice has been broken,” Trump said. #SquizShortcut


HOTTEST DECADE EVER RECORDED

According to the American Meteorological Society’s latest climate report, the 2010s were sizzlin’ - and not in a good way... Since 1980, each decade has been increasingly warmer, with the last decade being 0.2°C warmer than the one before. And 2019 was one of the warmest years since records began in the mid-1800s, researchers say. The latest report comes as the Amazon goes up in flames again. Brazil’s important rainforests are experiencing the worst start to the fire season in a decade. More than 10,000 fires were spotted in the first 10 days of August - a 17% increase on last year. It’s feared 2020 could outstrip last year’s crisis, with environmental activists blaming Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro for failing to protect the ‘lungs of the Earth’.


HAMILTON LIGHTS THE WAY

The Disney+ version of Broadway hit Hamilton has done more than blow fans away. It’s created a new streaming genre... Netflix yesterday announced it has signed musical stage production Diana - before it even makes its theatrical debut. A filmed version of the show will be made without an audience in New York, and the date for its release is yet to be set. Also set to get a royal glow on for Netflix is Welsh actor Jonathan Price as Prince Philip with the next phase of The Crown’s cast being locked in. The Two Popes star (he was Pope Francis) pairs with Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth for seasons 5 and 6 of the majestic juggernaut.


FRIDAY LITES - THREE THINGS WE LIKED THIS WEEK

Confession time: we’ve only just got around to watching Normal People. If someone had said they were 30-minute episodes, it would have been devoured weeks ago. For us, it’s the show of the year so far. Anyway… For those who watched, this spoof featuring Fleabag’s Hot Priest is bang on the money. As is this take on Connell and Marianne in their older years.

Desperate Housewives actress Teri Hatcher colours her own hair. And the video she made demonstrating how she does it is strangely calming…

Hetty McKinnon penned one of our favourite cookbooks Community*. This week, she’s posted some tips on how to get more veg into your diet. Paired with Good Food’s top 10 vego recipes, there’s inspiration galore. Our pick - the Cypriot grain salad. We’ll do it with some roast lamb this weekend.

*If you buy using this link, we may get a small commission. Just sayin’...

SQUIZ THE DAY

Friday
Mid-afternoon - Kiwi PM Jacinda Ardern set to announce the government's response to the latest coronavirus outbreak

ABS Data Release - Overseas Arrivals and Departures, June

Red Nose Day

Ekka Public Holiday/People’s Long Weekend - Brisbane and parts of regional Queensland

Independence Day - Pakistan

Birthdays for musician David Crosby (1941), comedian Steve Martin (1945), author Danielle Steel (1947), cartoonist Gary Larson (1950), basketball star Magic Johnson (1959), swimmer Kieren Perkins (1973), actor Kate Richie (1978) and actor Mila Kunis (1983)

Anniversary of:
• Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh movement launching a coordinated uprising against French rule across Vietnam (1945)
• the British Army deploying on the streets of Northern Ireland marking the beginning of Operation Banner, which would become the British military's longest-ever continuous deployment (1969)
• Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt winning the 100m Olympic gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, becoming the first man to win the event 3 times (2016)

Saturday
10.00am (AEST) - Televised Commemoration Service marking the end of WWII - Canberra

India's National Day

Start of National Science Week (until 23 August)

Birthdays for Princess Anne (1950), Melinda Gates (1964), Ben Affleck (1972), Jennifer Lawrence (1990)

Anniversary of:
• the first Rugby Test Match between New Zealand's All Blacks and Australia's Wallabies (1903)
• 75 years since the end of WWII (1945)
• 70 years since Sukarno proclaimed the Republic of Indonesia and became its first President (1950)
• the opening of Woodstock Music Festival (1969)
• the release of musical atrocity, the Macarena by Los del Rio (1995)

Sunday
Birthdays for James Cameron (1954), Madonna (1958), Steve Carell (1962), and Taika Waititi (1975)

Anniversary of:
• Wikileaks founder Julian Assange being granted political asylum by Ecuador (2012)
• the deaths of Elvis (1977), Idi Amin (2003) and Aretha Franklin (2018)

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