Squiz Today / 19 June 2020
Squiz Today – Friday, 19 June
SQUIZ SAYINGS
“The analysts confirmed a positive swab to the prohibited substances methamphetamine and amphetamine taken from Pretty in Pink on 1 June 2019.”
Said Queensland racing officials of the racehorse they believe was on... ice? The trainer has been charged for what officials think is a case of inadvertent contamination. As for Pretty in Pink - she’s retired. Which we think is a nice way of saying she’s in rehab...
JOBS LOST, AND IT’S A LONG HAUL BACK
THE SQUIZ
More than 835,000 jobs have been lost since the start of March, according to official figures released yesterday by the Bureau of Stats. That includes 227,700 jobs that vanished in May when unemployment rose from 6.2% in April to 7.1% - the highest rate since late 2001. It’s the biggest shedding of jobs over two months since 1978. And the total number of hours worked across the economy were 10.2% lower in May than in March when coronavirus restrictions threw a spanner in the works.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN A WHOPPING BIG SPANNER…
Yep. The coronavirus crisis delivered a result that was more than twice as bad as analysts were expecting with women and young people the hardest hit. And that 7.1% number would have been worse had there not been a big fall in people looking for work - because these figures only count you as 'unemployed' if you're actively job hunting. For those who are, the Bureau reckons there are about 2.3 million people who have been "affected by either job loss between April and May or had fewer hours than usual for economic reasons in May," labour stats boss Bjorn Jarvis said. "These are not just numbers. These are our friends, family members, workmates and neighbours,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
SO WHAT’S BEING DONE ABOUT IT?
PM Scott Morrison said the government’s job now is a singular one, no matter “all the other noise about whatever else is going on… And that is we must get Australians back into work." That’s not something that will happen quickly. "It will take us, we estimate, around two years to get back to where we were before it happened, and we think over five years we can seek to catch up to where we were planning to be." And so the government continues to adjust the policy settings, including today’s announcement that the cost of a humanities degree is set to double while ‘job-relevant’ course fees will be cut. Cue prominent people talking about their arts degree set them up for life... Labor's Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has a bunch of questions about how Morrison and Co will navigate the winding up of the JobKeeper program as businesses and workers struggle to wriggle out from under the sopping wet blanket that's been coronavirus restrictions.
SQUIZ THE REST
FORMER OFFICER CHARGED IN ATLANTA
The former police officer who shot and killed 27yo black man Rayshard Brooks last week has been charged with murder and aggravated assault. As tensions eased after days of unrest over race and policing, there was renewed national outrage when a video was released of officer Garrett Rolfe shooting Brooks twice in the back after he grabbed Rolfe’s taser and ran. Police had been called after Brooks fell asleep in his car in the drive-thru of a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant. Rolfe is facing 11 charges, and his fellow officer Devin Brosnan has been charged with aggravated assault and failure to give aid. If convicted, Rolfe could face life in prison or the death penalty.
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN A GO-GO
A lot of fun activities you've been looking forward to this year have been suspended - including the US presidential campaign… But never fear - despite coronavirus infection and death rates continuing to climb in the US, campaigning IRL is back on with President Donald Trump is heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma for his first rah-rah rally since early March. Plenty of people have said it shouldn’t go ahead on Saturday night local time because of the coronavirus risk. Plenty of people… But the Trump campaign says that even though more than a million tickets were requested to attend, the stadium will be filled to its 19,000 capacity, which still makes it a social distancing-free event. It’s fair to expect a mask-free spray from Trump about the Supreme Court ruling against his bid to end a program that protects hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation...
CHROME SPYWARE WARNING
Google has removed more than 70 malicious browser extensions from the official Chrome Web Store after it was discovered that they’d been used as spyware. Browser extensions are small programs that you ‘add on’ to customise the way you use your internet browser. But with a malicious extension installed, information pulled up while you’re surfing the net is siphoned off to other websites. Which is a problem because we’re all using browser-based programs for data-sensitive things like email. These 70 bad extensions are thought to have been downloaded more than 32 million times, making it the most far-reaching malicious Chrome store campaign to date. Google says they’ve learned from the experience. It’s not yet known who is behind the malware. If you use Chrome to get online, experts recommend you go to chrome://extensions to regularly to review what you have installed.
US OPEN RETURN RAISES CONCERNS
The US Tennis Association has announced sweeping changes to the US Open, which was given the go-ahead earlier this week to start in 25 August despite ongoing coronavirus restrictions. The popular singles events remain mostly unchanged, but there will be no fans or qualifying rounds, and the men's and women's doubles will be reduced from 64 teams to 32. In all but the two largest courts, line judges will be replaced by electronic line-calling, and there will be three ball-kids instead of six. Plenty of top players have concerns about going, including our world #1 Ash Barty. But Serena Williams confirmed she’ll be there, as has Aussie Daria Gavrilova, who says she has to play “to make a living”. Meanwhile, Aussie super champion Dylan Alcott accused the organisation of “disgusting discrimination” for its decision to cut the wheelchair tournament. Other matches that didn't make the cut include the mixed doubles and junior championships.
DIANA RETURNS TO THE SCREEN
Undeterred by the weight of expectations to get the depiction of the world’s most famous woman right, filmmakers are set to have another go at a biopic of the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame will star in the film titled Spencer, and the story will follow the People’s Princess over one weekend when she decided her marriage to Prince Charles wasn’t working. The ambitious project will be directed by Pablo Larraín, the Chilean director of Jackie. The last effort was spearheaded by our own Naomi Watts in 2013 with one critic remarking that “Wesley Snipes in a blonde wig would be more convincing”. Ouch...
FRIDAY LITES - THREE THINGS WE LIKED THIS WEEK
Less TED Talk, more comedy routine - this is what happens when you engage with the dark side of the interweb.
Bald heads - never knew you could still get dandruff. So this guide to caring for a shiny dome was fascinating.
Porridge - we dig it. And on a Saturday night we sometimes prep this beauty to go into the oven on Sunday morning (written version here). Baked and mildly spicy oats with a good dose of nuts and dried fruit - yum.
SQUIZ THE DAY
Friday
12.30pm (AEST) - Dan Tehan, Minister for Education, to address the National Press Club - Canberra
Red Apple Day supporting Bowel Cancer Australia
UN World Sickle Cell Day
International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict
Birthdays for Aung San Suu Kyi (1945), Salman Rushdie (1947) and Boris Johnson (1964)
Anniversary of:
• the first celebration of Father's Day, in Washington state (1910)
• the British Royal Family renouncing its German names and titles and adopting the name of Windsor (1917)
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show musical debuting in London (1973)
• Garfield, created by Jim Davis, first appearing as a comic strip (1978)
Saturday
World Refugee Day
Birthdays for Brian Wilson (1942), Lionel Richie (1949) and Nicole Kidman (1967)
Anniversary of
Queen Victoria ascending the British throne at age 18 following the death of her uncle King William IV (1837)
Samuel Morse patenting his telegraph (1840)
the premiere of Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975)
Sunday
World Music Day
Birthdays for Ian McEwan (1948), Joko Widodo (1961), Prince William (1982), Edward Snowden (1983) and Lana Del Rey (1985)
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