Squiz Today – Friday, 26 November

THE SQUIZ
At least 20 Federal Police officers are on their way to the Solomon Islands as the security situation worsens. Another 50 officers and 43 troops from Army units in Townsville will be sent today as the Pacific Island nation grapples with days of rioting and violence. PM Scott Morrison received a request for help from Solomon Islands’ PM Manasseh Sogavare, and the deployment is expected to last “a matter of weeks”. The AFP will help local forces with riot control. Prime Minister Morrison says Australia’s presence will seek to “calm tensions” in the country.

WHAT’S THAT ABOUT?
Sogavare is being called on to resign by protesters and the opposition because of a deal he struck with China in 2019. Beijing promised US$500 million in financial aid to the Solomons, which is one of the Pacific’s poorest countries. But it meant that Taiwan – with whom the Solomons had been working with for 30 years – was out of the picture. A group of senior politicians published an open letter criticising Sogavare, warning that establishing ties with Beijing could see the rule of law compromised. They also pointed to other Pacific nations that are locked in a debt trap because they’ve “given in to China’s lures”. Fast forward to this week, and the unrest kicked off on Wednesday when large crowds gathered outside the parliament demanding Sogavare go. The protest turned violent, and a leaf hut in the Parliament complex was destroyed by fire. Rioters looted buildings and torched a police station, a school and many shops in the Chinatown area of the capital.

COULD THESE PROTESTS HAVE BEEN PREDICTED?
Well, maybe, but the violence still came as a shock. There has been a history of tension in the country, and in 2003, then PM Sir Allan Kemakeza asked Australia for help to keep the peace when ethnic violence broke out. The ADF joined the regional mission and served there for a decade until 2013, along with New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. Speaking about the deployment of Aussies last night, PM Scott Morrison said “we have always been there to help our Pacific family when they have needed us. And this is such a time.

Drama and division over a federal integrity commission

PM Scott Morrison told Federal Parliament yesterday that former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was “done over” by her state’s anti-corruption commission. Morrison’s comments came after the government blocked an attempt by independent MP Helen Haines to force a debate on her proposal for a federal version of the states’ commissions. Morrison promised to legislate for a national integrity commission in this term of government, and while a draft plan has been circulated, the government’s bill hasn’t been finalised. And time is a’tickin’ with an election due by 21 May next year. For Morrison’s part, he said he wasn’t going to be pushed into adopting a commission that had a wide-sweeping remit – like NSW’s “kangaroo court”. Adding to the excitement, Tassie Lib Bridget Archer broke ranks with her colleagues and backed Dr Haines’ motion, which was also supported by Labor. To be continued…

Migrant tragedy on the English Channel

Twenty-seven asylum seekers have drowned at sea in the freezing English Channel after their inflatable boat sank. Fishermen sounded the alarm after seeing the “extremely fragile” vessel in trouble and several people in the sea off the coast of Calais in France. The International Organisation for Migration said it was the single biggest loss of life in the Channel since it began collecting data in 2014. Five women and a girl were among the dead. UK PM Boris Johnson has agreed to step up efforts to stop the people smugglers, and French President Emmanuel Macron said France “won’t let the Channel become a graveyard.” The nationalities of the dead haven’t been confirmed, but sprawling migrant camps in France are home to people from the Middle East and Africa. Migrant groups have been critical of British authorities, who they say have adopted an increasingly harsh stance on asylum seekers and threatened to push boats back to France.

Three white men guilty of killing black jogger

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbour William Bryan have been found guilty of murdering Ahmad Arbery in 2020. Described as a modern-day lynching, the 25yo was shot after being chased by the men while out jogging in a ‘nice’ neighbourhood in the US city of Georgia in February 2020. The McMichaels said they thought Arbery had stolen something. The case drew national outrage because police didn’t arrest the men until a video of Arbery’s murder surfaced and went viral some weeks later. Arbery’s parents were flanked by civil rights leaders outside the courthouse following the verdict yesterday. Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper-Jones said her son will now “rest in peace.” The men will receive life in prison, potentially without parole. It’s been a tricky time in the US as racially-charged crimes from last year go to court. Last week, teenager Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of murder after he shot and killed 2 people at Black Lives Matter protests. The men he killed were white.

Get ya clicky fingers ready…

Nothing screams ‘it’s a month before Chrissy’ than the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Not doing it for you? Consider this: it’s now the biggest event on the Aussie shopping calendar. That happened last year when the traditional Boxing Day sales slipped into #2 place behind the American import. ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell said Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales were up 50% in 2020 on the year before. “We’re not expecting another 50% increase, but we do have the perfect storm of no one having travelled overseas this year, lots of household savings to draw upon and a resilient labour market.” That means retail analysts ​​expect we’ll put $5.4 billion worth of bras, undies, and that-yellow-shirt’s-not-in-my-colour-but-it’s-so-cheap through virtual and real checkouts over the 4 days. May the odds be ever in your favour…

Fingers crossed for the Rugby World Cup

We’ve been to this rodeo once already this year. Brisbane was named the preferred bidder to host the 2032 Olympic Games, and then we found out it was ours. And yesterday, Oz was named the preferred host of the 2027 Rugby World Cup by the sport’s governing body. We’d been in a contest with the great/renowned rugby nation, the United States. Huh? Exactly… America’s likely to do the honours in 2031, World Rugby said. The battle over carving up the spoils has already commenced, with Sydney and Melbourne hoping to host the final. Whatever happens, Pacific nations’ hands have been strengthened… A rule change announced yesterday will see players able to represent more than one country at Test level. Previously, that could only happen if they didn’t play a Test for 3 years and participated in an Olympic qualifying event. Long story short, the Wallabies could soon face off against their former teammate Israel Folau…

We don’t know about you, but we reckon if there’s a time to listen to the vocal stylings of members of the National Guard of Russia and their rendition of a Tom Jones classic, it’s now… We came for the music and stayed for the comments.

Call us shallow, but we’ve been a bit mesmerised about the stylistic transformation of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes as she rocks up to court in California for her fraud trial. This answered a lot of our questions. And if the names Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes don’t ring any bells, try here.

This weekend, we’re going in on some dumplings. These pork and cabbage ones are fab for 2 reasons. All the ingredients are at the supermarket. And if your commitment levels are high, the recipe also has the dumpling dough. We usually go with these, and we’re not fussy about how they stick together to seal the meat mixture.

12.30pm (AEDT) Defence Minister Peter Dutton addresses the National Press Club – Canberra

ABS Data Release – Retail Trade, October; Experimental Estimates of Electric Passenger Vehicle Use, 12 months ending 30 June 2020;

TEDx Sydney 2021 Forum – Sydney Opera House, Sydney

Economic Abuse Awareness Day

Black Friday

Birthdays for singer Tina Turner (1939) and comedian Dave Hughes (1970)

Anniversary of:
• the publication of Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
• English archaeologist Howard Carter opening Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt (1922)
• the premiere of Casablanca (1942)