Squiz Today – Thursday, 28 November

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“First we have to find a blue whale…”

Said Stanford University marine biologist Jeremy Goldbogen about what’s involved in monitoring the heart rate of our planet’s largest animal. After making the planet’s largest heart rate monitor, scientists found a beat of just 4-8 times a minute when they are diving for food. The things you learn...

---

DEEP CUTS NEEDED TO HIT CLIMATE TARGETS, UN SAYS

THE SQUIZ
Global temperatures are on track to rise by as much as 3.9C by the end of the century, according to the United Nations’ latest report. With the world (except for the US) committed to the Paris Climate Agreement target of keeping global warming to “well below” 2C compared with pre-industrial levels, the report says the current trajectory is nearly twice where we need to be.

THAT’S NOT GREAT…
The report’s authors say their findings are “bleak”. That’s because the ‘emissions gap’ between the path we’re on and the changes that are required to meet the 2C target is growing wider. To get back on track, the report says global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by 7.6% each year for the coming decade. But global greenhouse gas emissions are increasing - not decreasing - and experts say that deep cuts are unlikely to be implemented. All in all, it’s bad news for coral reefs (with more acidic oceans), coastal dwellers (with rising sea-levels), and cool cats (due to severe heatwaves). It’s a strong conversation starter for the next big climate summit - COP 25 - which kicks off in Madrid next week.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Loved and loathed in equal measure, daylight saving time has been raised in relation to climate change. NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay has passed on a constituent’s request to shorten the period during which the state observes the changed hours “as it has a significant impact on climate change”. The resident says with more sunlight in the evening, and with last summer’s high temperatures, it was too hot for her to walk her dog at 8pm. That's a new angle...

And we have a Squiz Shortcut on both climate change and daylight savings. How handy is that?

---

SQUIZ THE REST

---

THE PM AND THE POLICE COMMISSIONER

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been accused of interfering in a police investigation into Energy Minister Angus Taylor after telephoning NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller. To back it up a step, Taylor and his office are being investigated after Labor referred his false claim about Sydney Council’s travel budget to police. Morrison said he needed to know a bit more about the investigation to decide if Taylor needed to stand down in the interim. Yesterday, Labor leader Anthony Albanese accused Morrison of trying to influence the investigation. As did former PM Malcolm Turnbull (although not in so many words…). Not true, said Morrison and Fuller. To add to all this, Fuller and Morrison used to be neighbours. In fact, Fuller has previously talked about Morrison collecting his bins when he went away. Small world, eh?

---

FIRST BODIES SENT HOME TO VIETNAM

The bodies of 16 of the 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead inside a refrigerated truck in the UK last month have been returned to their home villages for burial. It brings to a close weeks of anguish for the families of the victims, most of whom came from poor rural communities. UK authorities refused to pay the repatriation costs. The Northern Irish driver of the truck pleaded guilty earlier this week to conspiring to assist illegal immigration.

---

FOOTY CONCUSSION STUDY GETS A KICK ALONG

Rugby league’s governing body, the NRL, has created a $250,000 annual grant to fund further study into the effects of concussion on the brain. Yesterday’s announcement follows the ‘milestone moment’ earlier this year when two former professional players were diagnosed with the degenerative brain condition traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) - a condition that has wreaked havoc among former American football players and sparked a flurry of lawsuits. Class action lawyers in Australia are said to be on standby.

---

VALE CLIVE JAMES

The Australian writer, poet, critic and broadcaster has died at 80yo. He talked and wrote quite a bit about living with leukaemia, which he was diagnosed with in 2010. One of our most successful cultural exports, James had been living in the UK since the 60s where he carved out a television career with an interview show famous for its foreign TV clips. Remember, YouTube wasn’t a thing in the 80s and 90s... And then there was Margarita Pracatan… And he wrote vivid memoirs about his upbringing in Sydney as the only child of a WWII soldier who died as he was returning to Australia after the war. James died at home in Cambridge on Sunday. "With Clive's passing we lose the wisest and funniest of writers, a loyal and kind friend, and the most finely-stocked mind we will ever have the fortune to encounter," said Picador’s poetry editor Don Paterson.

---

‘AGRO THE PUPPET MAKES AN ARIAs APPEARANCE... AND THINGS GET WEIRD’

Was the headline on the ABC’s website this morning… Oh ARIAs, don’t go changing. But onto the business of the evening: Toni Watson of Tones and I fame was the biggest winner of the night taking out Best Female Artist, Breakthrough Artist, Best Pop Release (for Dance Monkey) and Best Independent Release. Dean Lewis (who sings Be Alright, amongst others) won Best Male Artist and Album of the Year. There was a Moonlight moment with Paul Kelly announced the winner for an award he wasn’t nominated for… Agro didn’t get a lot of love from co-presenters Peking Duk. And Joe Hockey would be happy - Human Nature was given a lifetime achievement award. A red carpet gallery, you ask? Sure thing.

---

APROPOS OF NOTHING - BUSINESS EDITION

Been a bit lax with your tweeting of late? Consider yourself warned. Twitter is about to undertake a cull of users who have been inactive for more than six months. The great Twitterverse reckoning is set down for December 11.

How do you reckon you’d go eating 40 pizzas in 30 days? John Schnatter, founder of US pizza chain Papa Johns, did just that to gauge the quality of his namesake’s offering. He wasn't impressed, but he would say that having been turfed from the company last year.

And forget Ford v Ferrari… Straight from the boys-and-their-toys file comes the stoush currently brewing between Tesla founder Elon Musk (and his Cybertruck) and Ford. After launching his shatter-proof-ish new vehicle last week, Musk posted a video of his pride and joy winning a tug of war with a Ford F150. Now Ford have challenged him to an independently arbitrated duel. Pass the popcorn.

SQUIZ THE DAY

ABS Data Releases - Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, September; Corrective Services, September Quarter 2019

Thanksgiving in America (and this year there seems to be an emphasis on ‘getting through it’. And then there’s this way…)

Anniversary of Margaret Thatcher stepping down as PM of the UK (1990)