Squiz Today – Wednesday, 19 June

THREE MINUTE SQUIZ

“John Peter Farnham. He and I in matching acid wash Driza-bone jackets with flowing blonde mullets singing Two Strong Hearts into each other’s eyes (with the accompanying actions of course)."

Is comedian, writer, singer, television and radio presenter Em Rusciano’s dream duet. About to embark on a tour, and with a new baby to attend to, we have no idea how she found time for a Farnsy fantasy, let alone take on this week’s Three Minute Squiz…

---

VICTORIA VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING LAWS START TODAY

THE SQUIZ
Victoria today becomes the first state in Australia to allow terminally ill people to legally end their own lives. The voluntary assisted dying law will become active after many years of campaigning by advocates and critics, lengthy debate in the Victorian Parliament, and an 18-month phase-in period. Premier Daniel Andrews has said the government expects about a dozen people will use it in the next year, increasing to about 150 people a year after that.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Supporters say the law, which contains 68 safeguards, is the most conservative of its kind. All the ins-and-outs are here, but in short:

• Applicants must be aged 18 and older and have been Victorian residents for at least a year. Two doctors will have to assess them as having an incurable terminal illness with intolerable pain that will likely cause death within six months, or no more than 12 months for those with neurodegenerative conditions like motor neurone disease.

• There are safeguards in place to ensure the applicant is capable of making the decision and that they aren't being pressured into it.

• Authorities will not reveal the exact make-up of the drugs that will be prescribed. Administered by pharmacists at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, the mixture is a liquid that is to be self-administered.

WHAT HAVE PEOPLE SAID?
Jenny Mikakos, Victorian Health Minister - “We are presenting more options for patients, and ultimately it will be a choice that they and they alone will make."

Dr Mark Yates, former Australian Medical Association Victoria president and critic - “Lots of patients express the wish to die at the very end of their life, which is symptomatic of the fact that their needs aren’t being met … expert palliative care can almost always remedy that.”

Andrew Denton, euthanasia campaigner - “The question now is not if, but when other states will follow Victoria's compassionate lead.”

Note: if this story raises concerns, there is help available.

---

SQUIZ THE REST

---

‘DEPRESSED’ MH370 PILOT BLAMED IN NEW REPORT

MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a loner who had recently split with his wife, was prone to depression and spent hours on Facebook flirting with women who did not return his affections, according to a new report on the flight’s disappearance in The Atlantic. Respected journalist (and qualified pilot) William Langwiesche has added weight to the theory the Malaysian Airlines tragedy in 2014, and the deaths of 238 people on board, was not due to mechanical failure or pilot error, but instead, it was an elaborate murder-suicide. Not all pundits are happy with Langwiesche's article, however, with one critic opining; “there are few things more monstrous than blaming the pilot on the basis of what amounts to little more than hearsay.”

---

FOUR MORE YEARS… FOUR MORE YEARS…

That’s the chant you’ll hear if you see US President Donald Trump on the telly today. He and Vice President Mike Pence will launch their bid for reelection at a rally in Orlando, Florida this morning. Orlando is also home to Disneyworld. Just sayin’. Leaked Republican polling (since decried by Trump as fake - and mistakenly dragging Oz’s ABC into it...) puts Democrats’ contender Joe Biden ahead in key states for an election which won’t happen until November 2020. Strap yourself in... Meanwhile, the brinkmanship in the Gulf of Oman stepped up a notch yesterday with the Pentagon announcing it was deploying 1,000 extra troops to the Middle East “to address air, naval, and ground-based threats" there. And Iran says it’s upping its stockpile of enriched uranium, which is basically a threat to get nuclear weapon ready. It says it will back off if the US eases up on its economic sanctions.

---

FACEBOOK’S NEXT BIG MOVE

"I believe it should be as easy to send money to someone as it is to send a photo," is what social media bigwig Mark Zuckerberg has said about launching Facebook into the cryptocurrency world. And in plans outlined overnight, an organisation to be known as Libra will create a virtual cointhat it hopes will trade among Facebook's two billion users around the world and with 28 partner companies that include retailers (like eBay and Farfetch), service providers (like Spotify and Uber) and financial organisations (like Visa and PayPal). Facebook says one of the aims of the project is to help the 1.7 billion people around the world who don't have bank accounts or access a stable currency. Critics say Facebook already has too much power over our lives. The venture is slated to roll out in the first half of 2020 (which is next year - eek…).

---

DROUGHT, DROUGHT GO AWAY

A new report on the devastating economic impact the drought is having on our farmers and rural communities makes for grim reading. We're not growing as much wheat and other grains, our cattle herd is at a 25-year low, and our agricultural export income has taken a real hit. Coming up? More dry weather, but our farmers' fingers are firmly crossed for rain. Do them a favour and cross yours too…

---

WHAT’S NEW, PUSSYCAT?

Are you in politics and want to stand out from the crowd? Then give your cat ears/whiskers smartphone filter a workout. That’s what Shaukat Yousafzai, a pollie from north-west Pakistan inadvertently did last Friday, turning his live-streamed press conference into an instant internet classic. Not that he was bothered, later describing it as a “mistake” that should not be taken “so seriously”. In a crowded media market where it’s hard for politicians to cut through, perhaps all publicity’s good publicity?

---

AND PUPPY DOG EYES

Manipulative little so and so's… That wide-eyed, sad look that pooches wield to get inside/fed/walked/attention is something they have worked on to hold power over their people. They have even gone as far as developing a muscle specifically for the task. The LAOM muscle (or if you’re a pupper, it's probably known as a LMAO muscle…) in their forehead is deployed to raise the inner eyebrow which enlarges the eyes and creates that cute baby face. Coming to a cosmetic enhancement clinic near you…

SQUIZ THE DAY

10.00am (AEST) - US President Donald Trump expected to announce his intention to run as a candidate in the 2020 election

ABS Data Release - Employee Earnings and Hours, May

Red Apple Day supporting Bowel Cancer Australia

UN World Sickle Cell Day