Squiz Today / 16 October 2017

Squiz Today – Monday, 16 October

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“Ingenious survival tactics”

That’s what authorities say Michelle Small and her 9yo son Dylan deployed to keep themselves alive while lost in the bush near Singleton, NSW for 10 days. Inspired by extreme-adventurer Bear Grylls, they licked the moisture off plants and dug for water in dried creeks. See? Watching telly can save your life.

DEALING WITH THE ROGUES

THE SQUIZ
For a man who vowed ‘America first’, US President Donald Trump is spending a lot of time on the foreign affairs round. Since we last spoke, there are three things of note:

1. Reports say North Korea has renewed its threat to strike the US territory of Guam. It kicks off what will likely be a bumpy week as the US and South Korea begin joint naval exercises today.

2. North Korea also levelled threats at Australia saying that as we’ve joined the "frenzied political and military provocations of the US" we’ll “not be able to avoid disaster”.

3. Trump announced he won’t recertify the Iran nuclear deal. The agreement is between Iran and the US, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, Germany and the European Union, and it’s about Iran backing off parts of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions.

ARE YOU SURE NORTH KOREA DIDN’T MEAN AUSTRIA?
It’s us. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was sanguine about it yesterday. While North Korea's behaviour was "provocative, illegal and threatening," she said; "Australia is not a primary target, and North Korea has made threats against Australia before." The interesting thing this week will be how North Korea responds to the US/South Korean military exercises. The threat from the rogue nation is real, said Trump’s chief-of-staff (and former military man) John Kelly in his first White House briefing. “Let's hope that diplomacy works," he said.

AND WHAT’S THAT ABOUT IRAN?
Trump has been opposed to the deal for ages. You might remember (just nod…) that he said a fair bit about it in his speech to the UN General Assembly a few weeks ago. In short, Trump wants Iran to stop producing all nuclear weapons or intercontinental missiles, and he's concerned Iran is too close to terrorists in the region. His decision not to recertify Iran (despite the other nations moving to do so) does not remove the US from the deal. In fact, the team were out and about on Sunday saying the US would likely stay in. Time will tell...

SQUIZ THE REST

QUICK WORLD NEWS WRAP
SOMALIAN TERROR ATTACK KILLS 230 - Extremist Islamic group al-Shabab are thought to be responsible for detonating a truckload of explosives at the entrance of the Safari Hotel in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday. Hundreds were injured, and the death toll is expected to rise. If al-Shabab is behind the bombings, it will be their deadliest attack since their inception in 2007.

AUSTRIA VOTES FOR THE RIGHT - Speaking of Austria earlier, it looks set to elect 31yo conservative candidate Sebastian Kurz as its next chancellor. His People Party won't get enough seats to govern in its own right, but it seems on course to lead a coalition government. Kurz campaigned heavily on cracking down on immigration.

RETURNED TERROR HOSTAGE TELLS OF HORROR - This is such an intriguing story. A couple and their three children returned to Canada on the weekend after being held for five years by terrorists in Afghanistan. Caitlin Coleman was seven months pregnant when she and husband Joshua Boyle went backpacking outside Kabul. They were kidnapped and had four children while in captivity, including a daughter Boyle said was killed by the Taliban. Unsurprisingly, reports say Coleman’s father isn’t happy with his son-in-law for putting his daughter in harm’s way.

NEWSPOLL SAYS WE DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR CLEAN ELECTRICITY
Newspoll this morning has no change in the two-party preferred numbers – Labor leads the Coalition 46:54. But PM Malcolm Turnbull slipped a point in the better PM stakes although still leads Bill Shorten 41:33. And on renewable energy, 58% said they weren't prepared to pay more for electricity to implement a Clean Energy Target.

COULD CARMICHAEL BE THE NEXT FRANKLIN DAM?
Things are heating up in central Queensland over plans to build the Carmichael coal mine. On Friday, Indian company Adani confirmed it would start construction of the rail link in a matter of days. Greens leader Richard Di Natale said yesterday he would be happy to join the front line to stop its progress. Not satisfied with copying his hero by becoming a GP, Di Natale would emulate Bob Brown’s stand against the Franklin Dam in the 80’s. The Queensland government said environmental protections were in place.

HOLLYWOOD’S ACADEMY EXPELS WEINSTEIN
Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (think the Oscars) has voted to oust Harvey Weinstein as a member. "We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues, but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behaviour and workplace harassment in our industry is over,” it said. Throughout his career, Weinstein received 341 nominations and won 81 Academy Awards. Observers said the move was unprecedented given past inaction over members like Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski and Mel Gibson. And they point out it could be the start of turbulent times now it’s taken a stand against one of its members.

HURRICANE OPHELIA IS HEADING TOWARDS IRELAND
Yes, you read right, and no, that’s not the start of a joke… Authorities met over the weekend to discuss preparations for Hurricane Ophelia which is currently a Category 3 storm but is expected to be downgraded to a rip-roaring tropical storm by the time it hits the south-west of Ireland on Monday morning local time. Ophelia is expected to cause havoc across the British Isles for a few days. If Ireland wanted to embrace the tropics, we're sure they would have preferred a pina colada…

THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE’S WORKPLACE REVIEW
Tidmouth Sheds has been fast-tracked for change. Henry and Edward have been made redundant. And in a win for diversity, Nia (who is immigrating from Africa) and Rebecca will join Emily and the blokes Thomas, Percy, James and Gordon. Also, the Fat Controller will be more upbeat, and even the theme song will change. As for Thomas: he will finally leave the confines of Sodor in support of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Sounds like the team were lucky to avoid activity-based working arrangements…