Squiz Today – Tuesday, 17 July

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“Here, we are all united. We mix. There is no religion, there is nothing, and that’s what feels good.”

One thrilled Frenchman reflected that the World Cup win means a lot after France’s terror troubles and last year's divisive election campaign. Sport – the great unifier.

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MY HEALTH RECORD: ARE YOU IN OR OUT?

THE SQUIZ
Aussies have until 15 October to opt out of My Health Record – the government’s digital health records database. Information on things like your medical history and conditions, prescriptions, test results, vaccinations and allergies will be held in one place online. And you can allow GPs, hospitals and other medical practitioners to access that data. Or if you’re not into it, you have three months to cancel your record.

BACK IT UP A BIT…
This isn’t new. My Health Record been up and running for six years and has almost six million people signed up via a staggered rollout. What’s happening this week is a national rollout and opening the process for people to bow out of the system. The government is hoping people stick with it because it believes having a system that facilitates easy access to our health information will help avoid unnecessary hospital admissions, reduce adverse drug events and duplication of tests, and better coordinate the care of people seeing heaps of doctors. But critics say it's a massive government database that could be hacked.

DO I NEED TO DO ANYTHING?
Well, it doesn’t hurt to know a bit about it so you can make an informed decision on how you want your health data handled. As the My Health Record website says: "You can control who has access, what they have access to and indeed whether or not you have a record at all.” Reports yesterday said the system was a bit slow, but you can check it out here.

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SQUIZ THE REST

WHEN DONALD MET VLADIMIR
After a two-hour meeting alone (with their interpreters), the key headline is that US President Donald Trump offered no pushback against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “strong and powerful” assertion that his government had nothing to do with attempts to influence the 2016 election. US security pundits were hoping Trump would confront Putin on this point. Trump also took the opportunity to once again rule out collusion between his campaign and Russia. The leaders also discussed the security of Israel and “getting along in Syria,” Trump said.

PERTH VICTIMS AND ACCUSED KILLER WERE FAMILY
Reports say the 19yo man accused of killing his mother and two siblings on Sunday morning is Teancum Petersen-Crofts. The victims were mother-of-five Michelle Petersen (48yo), Bella (15yo) and Rua (8yo). Petersen-Crofts was sent to a secure psychiatric facility for a week after a rambling appearance in court yesterday. Neighbours said police were regularly called to the home. It’s understood the family had relatives in New Zealand. An appeal has been launched by friends to help pay for the funerals.

POPULATING VIEWS ON IMMIGRATION
Mamma Mia… It’s the Lleyton Hewitt of policy debates – there are people who want more, people who want less, but it keeps on keeping on. We’re talking about the latest restart of the decades-old discussion on population policy and immigration. With reports that Oz’s population is on track to hit 25 million in August (which is much sooner than anticipated), calls have (again) gone out for an immigration program rethink. Liberal Senator Dean Smith says there should be an inquiry to canvass congestion in our cities and planning for the future. And Labor wants the focus to be on “the growing problem of people coming to Australia on temporary work rights visas” and the impact on local workers. But PM Malcolm Turnbull said current immigration levels were about right with the cap set at a maximum of 190,000 permanent migrants a year (which was undershot by almost 30,000 last financial year).

FANCY A SPOT OF ONLINE SHOPPING?
Amazon Australia is trying to tempt you with discounts of up to 80% on a range of items including tech and electronics, clothing and kitchenware. It's the global retail behemoth's first Prime Day promotion in Oz. The catch? It’s only available to Amazon Prime members. A membership costs $59 a year and gives members free delivery on many local and international items, access to its entertainment streaming service and other benefits. Some local retailers have responded with deals of their own. The sale is on until midnight tonight and there should be a lot of stock with reports saying it got off to a quiet start yesterday.

DON’T FORGET THE CRACKLING
Confession time: We’ve never really got celebrity roasts. You know, those TV events where a notable figure is hauled up on stage and their so-called friends and loved ones say nasty things about them. It’s as weird as sprint king Usain Bolt joining a NSW Central Coast soccer team. Well, it happened to Die Hard institution Bruce Willis on the weekend. The surprise of the night was an appearance by former wife Demi Moore who said; “I look at our marriage like The Sixth Sense. You were dead the whole time.” Ouch. At least she wasn’t booed by the audience like this Sydney charity function MC last week…

ROYAL PHOTO CALL
Looks like Prince Louis’ christening went nicely. And the first pictures of Olivia Colman as The Crown's new QEII have been released by Netflix. Colman takes over the role from Claire Foy who played Her Maj covering the years 1947 to 1963.

SQUIZ THE DAY

Anniversary of the downing of MH17 over Ukraine. All 298 people on board were killed

World Day for International Justice

World Emoji Day

Birthdays for Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (1947) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (1954)