Squiz Today – Tuesday, 30 October

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“Groutier”

That’s the word that took Kiwi Scrabblemaster Nigel Richards to his fourth world championship yesterday. It means cross, sullen or sulky (ie the opposite of Nigel’s winning mood).

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FEW ANSWERS IN INDONESIAN AIR CRASH

THE SQUIZ
An early morning Lion Air flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang nosedived into the Java Sea yesterday killing almost 190 people. While international aviation authorities believed Indonesian airlines were improving on safety, yesterday’s crash has left many questions to be answered.

GIVE ME THE DETAILS
• The plane – The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was as good as brand new with just 800 flight hours on the clock.

• The pilot - Lion Air said pilot Captain Bhavye Suneja and his co-pilot were experienced with more than 11,000 flight hours between them.

• The passengers – The plane was believed to have been carrying 178 adults, one infant, two babies, two pilots and eight cabin crew (note: the number of people on board has not been consistent in the reporting). Bodies are starting to be recovered.

• The flight – Flight JT610 took off at 6.20am and was scheduled to land an hour later. Authorities say the pilot had asked to return to the airport in Jakarta, but 13 minutes into the northbound flight, authorities lost contact with the plane. They had not turned back at the time of the crash. Reports this morning say the plane had problems on a Sunday night flight.

• The crash site - Late yesterday divers had lost hope of finding any survivors but they continued the search for the plane’s black box flight recorder. It’s believed the plane is submerged in water just 30-40m deep.

DOESN’T INDONESIA HAVE A BAD SAFETY RECORD?
It's not great. Lion, Indonesia’s biggest budget airline, has had a number of problems. In 2004, 25 people were killed when a Jakarta flight crash-landed. In 2013, a Lion flight to Bali crash-landed, thankfully all survived. And in 2011 and 2012 there were cases of pilots found in possession of methamphetamines. More broadly, there have been many significant crashes in recent history. The 2007 Garuda crash that killed 21 people, including five Aussies, is one that comes to mind. A decade-plus ban on 51 Indonesian airlines flying in the European Union’s airspace was lifted just a few weeks ago with authorities believing improvements had been made. With an investigation in train, a lot of questions will need to be answered to restore the aviation industry's newfound confidence in Indonesia's airlines.

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SQUIZ THE REST

JUST NOT CRICKET
The Ethics Centre’s report into the top level of Australian cricket took out its middle stump yesterday. Our national team and the organisation behind it were condemned for their ‘win without counting the costs’ attitude. It was that attitude that led to the events in South Africa where a bit of sandpaper got captain Steve Smith, deputy David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in a whole lot of trouble, the report says. Also on the list - the “culture of bullying” in head office and how the “arrogant” and “controlling” organisation says one thing and does another. Cricket Australia chairman David Peever copped a grilling last night from 7.30’s Leigh Sales on ABC TV insisting there was no reason for him or the board to stand down. Move along. Nothing to see here…

FIT TO STAND TRIAL
James Gargasoulas, the alleged driver of a vehicle that ran into pedestrians on Melbourne’s Bourke St Mall killing six people and injuring a further 28 in January last year, has been found fit to stand trial. Evidence that his paranoid schizophrenia would prevent him from understanding the proceedings was presented. However, recorded calls from prison where he strategised his mental health defence with his parents counted against him. Gargasoulas’ trial for murder and attempted murder begins next week.

UM NOVO PRESIDENTE PARA O BRASIL
Brazil has itself a new president-elect: please welcome to the world stage Jair Bolsonaro. He's been compared to leaders like US President Donald Trump and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. The far-right congressman/former army captain beat his leftist opponent Fernando Haddad on a law and order platform in Sunday’s election. Pundits say it was a historic campaign (with even Pink Floyd's bass player campaigning against Bolsonaro) and a violent one (Bolsonaro was stabbed during a rally).

And while we have you… besieged German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will step down in 2021 (which leaves plenty of time to get a few more eye rolls in). She has been in the job since 2000.

SRI LANKAN CRISIS MORE DEADLY THAN A NETFLIX SERIES
And it’s all a bit wild:

• President Maithripala Sirisena sacked the Prime Minister and the cabinet last week over long-running policy differences. His opponents say that’s unconstitutional.

• PM Ranil Wickramasinghe refuses to leave his official residence.

• Oil Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, a former national cricket team captain, tried to enter his office yesterday and was blocked by protestors. His bodyguard then fired at the crowd killing one person.

The BBC editor covering the saga says it’s like “a Sri Lankan House of Cards”.

RED HAT BOUGHT BY IBM
Red who? They're a software company, and the move is said to be about getting the establishment tech business to the frontline of the cloud market. People who know more about their megagigabits (or whatever they’re called) than we do say IBM has been slow to move and has some way to catch up to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft. How much did they pay? A$46.6 billion. Surely that’s bought a sky full of clouds…

APROPOS OF NOTHING
Interesting fodder to up your chit-chat game…

SKASE CHASE - Nothing says Aussie business in the 80s like Christopher Skase (except maybe Alan Bond…). His widow Pixie is auctioning 197 items that are expected to fetch $100,000. Who doesn't need a retractable Hermes library ladder?

HEPBURN SURPRISE – Screen legend Audrey Hepburn helped the resistance in World War II. That’s according to a new book endorsed by her son.

UPHILL BATTLE – Centre court of Darwin’s new $16.7 million Marrara Tennis Centre might need to be dug up and redone because it’s on a slope. One player said; “It runs downhill. It’s difficult to play on because you’ve got to run up and down.” Who knows, maybe tennis hills could be the next fitness fad?

SQUIZ THE DAY

12.30pm (AEDT) - Kelly O’Shanassy, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, to address the National Press Club on 'Making the Climate Election' - Canberra

Actress Eryn Jean Norvill expected to give evidence in the Geoffrey Rush defamation case against Nationwide News

Mischief Night

80th anniversary of the frightening radio broadcast of War of the Worlds