Squiz Today / 25 October 2019
Squiz Today – Friday, 25 October
SQUIZ SAYINGS
"Chris Hemsworth would be good. Leonardo DiCaprio… You want someone super cool.”
Said cricket’s former spin king Shane Warne about who should play him in a movie based on his time in India’s Premier League. Who can blame him? And who doesn't want to see Leo master a flipper?
AND THE WINDS OF CHANGE ARE BLOWIN’ DOWN THE LINE…
THE SQUIZ
Uluru, Australia’s most iconic natural landform, will be closed to climbers from tomorrow. A destination for hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, visitors will no longer be able to scale the 500-million-years-old rock in line with the wishes of the traditional owners, the Anangu people, who consider it a sacred site.
WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?
Shutting down access to the sandstone monolith in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has been a long time coming. The park was handed over to the Anangu people 34 years ago tomorrow. And in 2017, the park's board decided to call time on the climb with 80% of visitors coming for the 'cultural and natural experiences' on offer. That left about 20% of visitors choosing to scale Uluru despite being asked not to. And with the deadline closing in, reports say it’s been mayhem with an influx of tourists over the last few months trying to get a climb in before it closes - One Nation leader Pauline Hanson included (although she did more of a bum shuffle than a walk…).
TELL ME MORE ABOUT ULURU...
Aboriginal people have lived in the area for more than 30,000 years, and the Anangu people have stories about how their ancestors created Uluru at the beginning of time. Geologists tell a slightly different story… In 1873, explorer William Gosse became the first non-Aboriginal person to see Uluru, and he named it Ayres Rock after the administrator of South Australia. Given its remoteness, it took until the 1950s for tourism to take off. The park was made a world heritage site in 1987 for its natural values, and in 2000, the Sydney Olympics torch relay began its journey with a lap around the rock’s base. Some famous people have climbed it over the years, and we’ll be able to see a reenactment of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s climb in season four of The Crown…
SQUIZ THE REST
FACIAL ID PLAN SCUPPERED
The Federal Government has hit a snag in its plan to create a national facial recognition database. It was revealed yesterday that a committee of cross-party MPs found the proposed legislation lacked details on how citizens’ privacy would be protected, sending the government back to the drawing board. It has been 17 years since a bill has been rejected by that Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. The plan for a database that would include drivers licences pictures and information was conceived as a response to identity crime. Critics say it would lead to governments and the private sector having unprecedented access to our deets.
QUICK WORLD NEWS WRAP
TRUCK CONTAINER VICTIMS WERE CHINESE NATIONALS - But it’s not yet clear when or where the eight women and 31 men entered the container. Post mortems will start today as debate rages about how the container made it through the ports in Belgium and the UK.
BREXIT DEADLINE ABANDONED - UK PM Boris Johnson was super committed to Brexiting on 31 October, but has conceded that it ain’t gonna happen. Next stop: he will give MPs until mid-November to debate his Brexit deal, but only if they agree to a 12 December general election.
ARDERN ANNOUNCES EMISSIONS PLAN - One of New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s election promises was to include agriculture in the nation’s emissions trading scheme (which puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions that businesses have to pay). Long story short, farmers will remain mostly unaffected until 2025 when they get a 95% discount for their emissions in a deal that has angered environmentalists but was lauded by farming groups.
RAISING THE DEAD TO SOOTHE A NATION
It’s been more than 40 years since Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco died and his legacy still divides the country. In an effort to heal old wounds, his coffin has been exhumed overnight and will be reburied in a private family vault outside Madrid. His resting place since his death has been the Valley of the Fallen - a public mausoleum that commemorates those killed in the Spanish civil war. But many took issue with his remains taking pride of place in the basilica, saying it glorified the fascist ruler who held power over Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. Franco's grandson said it was a political ploy on the part of the socialist government with an election to fight next month. Others said it was time to make the “intensely symbolic” move.
LIGHTING UP THE BAD HEALTH NEWS
A big new report by the Institute of Health and Welfare on the effects of smoking dropped yesterday - and it’s more of what we all suspected. Overall, smoking is not good for you. Like, really bad. The dirty darts contributed to 21,000 deaths in 2015 and was the leading risk factor for ill health and early death. And smoking is terrible for the most disadvantaged in our community with the data showing they are more than twice as likely to develop diseases from the habit as the most wealthy. One ray of light - tobacco's rate of burden of disease fell by 24% between 2003 and 2015 with the community better understanding the negative effects.
SAD NEWS FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL FAN…
Edward Snowden, the world-famous whistleblower/traitor (depending on your view), spent a lot of time looking through America's and the world's top secrets - so, of course, he checked out whether there's evidence of aliens making contact with earth... In his newly published memoir, he says “I had ridiculous access to the networks of the NSA, the CIA, the military, all these groups. I couldn't find anything.” Don’t pretend you wouldn’t sneak a peek...
FRIDAY LITES - THREE THINGS WE LIKED THIS WEEK
Leggings have been threatening the supremacy of jeans, but denim is making a comeback. This is an interesting read about the longevity of a wardrobe staple.
The 20 defining comedy sketches of the last 20 years - from an American POV. There are a few we’ve seen (for example, whenever we see something with a bird on it we think of this clip from Portlandia). But many were new. Terrific procrastination fodder for a Friday… (Tip: head to YouTube if the links to the clips you want won’t allow Aussie viewers access.)
We’re at the start of salad season, so it’s time to get dressed…
SQUIZ THE DAY
Friday
8.00pm (AEDT) - Rugby League Test - Australia v New Zealand - Wollongong
Annual General Meetings - Qantas; IAG; carsales.com;
ABS Data Release - Australian System of National Accounts, 2018-19 (just nod…)
Birthdays for author Anne Tyler (1941), and singers Helen Reddy (1941) and Katy Perry (1984)
Saturday
Uluru climb ban comes into force
Horse Racing - Cox Plate - Mooney Valley, Melbourne
Austria’s National Day
Sunday
1.00pm (AEDT) - Constellation Cup Netball - Australia v New Zealand - Perth
General elections in Argentina and Uruguay
Dilwali - Hindu, Sikh, and Jain faiths celebrate the Festival of Lights and the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance
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