Squiz Today – Monday, 22 November

THE SQUIZ
As the national fully vaccinated rate for COVID passed 85% yesterday, the temperature is not dropping on the political front. Yesterday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews again accused PM Scott Morrison of “pandering to extremists″. And when Morrison stops doing that, “his relationship with me will be a lot better,” Andrews said.

WHAT’S THAT ABOUT?
Yeah, let’s step that through… Last week, the Victorian Government failed to get support for a bill that would shift responsibility for calling a lockdown/other restrictions from the chief health officer to the premier/health minister. Andrews said he and his family had received personal threats over the issue, and Morrison sympathised with the Premier – but said he could understand why some Victorians were frustrated with the state government. That’s what has set off a war of words. Also looking to have their say were tens of thousands of protesters who gathered in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and Adelaide on Saturday. The ‘freedom rallies’ drew those against various governments, vaccination mandates, Victoria’s pandemic legislation and COVID conspiracists. As for Morrison, he didn’t look too bothered on Saturday as he and loose finger-gesturer Jane Malysiak got their booster shots.

ARE THINGS GOING MORE SMOOTHLY ELSEWHERE?
Umm not really… COVID cases are spiking again in some parts of Europe. On Friday, Austria went into a national lockdown as it became the first European country to announce that vaccination would become a legal requirement. That led to big protests in Vienna over the weekend. Other nations, including the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia and Italy, have also announced fresh restrictions, and protests flared there too. In Rotterdam, demonstrations have turned into riots. The prospect of another winter of COVID in the northern hemisphere has the experts pointing to early lessons – vaccination rates need to be super high to head off a resurgence of the virus, and booster shots are worth getting.

House fire tragedy

Two boys aged 10yo and 3yo, and 2 girls aged 6yo and 1yo perished in a house fire in the southwestern suburb of Werribee yesterday morning. The children’s parents and an 8yo boy escaped the home and were taken to hospital with smoke-related injuries. Arson and explosives squad detectives are investigating the circumstances of the blaze. Neighbours recounted the terrible scene yesterday – many said the father tried to get back inside to save his children but was unable to due to the ferocity of the fire. “It was unsafe for our members to be able to proceed initially with an internal attack,” said Werribee Fire Brigade Lieutenant Damien Milloy. Officials said hearts went out to the family and that it was a distressing scene for emergency services personnel.

Rittenhouse acquitted

It was the case where protests against racial violence in the US last year met America’s gun rights debate. Painted by conservatives as a hero and liberals as a dangerous vigilante, 18yo Kyle Rittenhouse killed 2 men and wounded 3rd when he shot them with an assault-style rifle on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August last year. His lawyers successfully argued that the then 17yo feared for his life and was entitled to defend himself. Prosecutors said he armed himself and was looking for trouble when he went to an area where Black Lives Matter protesters were demonstrating into the night. All of the men Rittenhouse shot were white. Soon after the verdict was revealed, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said a crew followed Rittenhouse and his legal team throughout the trial – that will go to air early this week. President Joe Biden said that the “jury system works, and we have to abide by it.”

Peng takes the call

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai is safe and living at home in Beijing – that’s the assessment of the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach following a 30-minute call with her this morning. She ”thanked the IOC for its concern about her wellbeing” and “would like to have her privacy respected at this time,” a statement says. And the pair teed up dinner in January when Bach arrives ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Peng came to international attention when she posted claims that she had been sexually assaulted by a former senior Chinese political figure on 2 November. And the call follows a busy weekend for China’s state media… The Global Times shared 3 videos of Peng in an attempt to soothe international concerns about her safety. It wasn’t enough for the Women’s Tennis Association which said the videos were “insufficient”. Some of the biggest names in tennis have expressed concerns for Peng, including Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Paine pain for Aussie cricket

You’re probably caught up that Australian Test cricket captain/wicket-keeper Tim Paine tearfully stepped down on Friday after details of a sexting scandal came to light. To recap: in late 2017, Paine sent lewd messages and a graphic image to a former Cricket Tasmania staff member. He was cleared of misconduct not long after he was made captain in March 2018. Cue questions about why his dirty, umm, laundry wasn’t aired before now despite extensive legal discussions… In the reams of coverage since Friday arvo, some said perspective was needed, while others feel uncomfortable about how the woman has been treated. Last night, the Herald Sun reported (paywall) that Paine’s brother-in-law Shannon Tubb was sanctioned over lewd messages he sent to the same woman. And over the weekend, it came to light that the woman was dismissed by Cricket Tasmania and charged with theft. Looking forward, bowler Pat Cummins is the hot fave to step up – all as the Ashes series against England is set to start on 8 December…

Appeal over Philip’s secret will

Queen Elizabeth has marked her first wedding anniversary without Prince Philip in 74 years as she recovers from a sprained back. He died 7 months ago, and they hold the title of the longest-married couple in British royal history. And there’s another reason why Philip has been a talking point in recent days… In September, the High Court ruled that his will is to remain secret for at least 90 years to protect the “dignity and standing” of the Queen. No, the court doesn’t believe she will live that long, despite evidence to the contrary… There’s just no “true public interest in the public knowing this wholly private information”. The Guardian disagrees – and is taking legal action over the media’s exclusion from the court hearings on the matter, calling it “a clear threat to the principles of open justice.” We just want to know who got his BBQ tongs…

Spotify has removed the shuffle button from all album pages following a request from Adele. She says artists put a lot of time into selecting the track order, and it “should be listened to as we intended”. The music streaming service went easy on her…

A planned statue of Virginia Woolf overlooking the Thames has been called insensitive. The brilliant author took her own life by drowning in a river…

And IDK about you, but a 2nd date with someone who ate their hamburger with a knife and fork would be out of the question for us too…

Federal Parliament resumes

A judgment made on how financial adviser Melissa Caddick’s assets will be split among victims – NSW Federal Court, Sydney

Lebanon’s Independence Day

Birthdays for actors Jamie Lee Curtis (1958), Scarlett Johansson (1984), and model Hailey Bieber (1996)

Anniversary of:
• Middlemarch author George Eliot’s birthday (1819)
• the first interracial kiss on television, between Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and Uhura (1968)
• the release of Toy Story, the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery (1995)
• Angela Merkel becoming the first female Chancellor of Germany (2005)
• the deaths of authors Aldous Huxley (1963) and CS Lewis (1963), US President John F Kennedy (1963), INXS frontman Michael Hutchence (1997) and author Bryce Courtenay (2012)