Month: August 2022

Categories
Sports

Battle ready for future at Saints

Battle ready for future at Saints

Josh Battle will call St Kilda home for at least the next two seasons, putting pen to paper on a new contract extension that will see him in Saints colors until the end of 2024.

The 23-year-old has pieced together a career-best season following a relocation to defense at the start of this year.

However despite increased time in the defensive half of the ground, Battle’s versatility has remained an important part of his game, playing a valuable pinch-hitting ruck role on a number of occasions throughout the year.

“We’re proud to have Josh sign with us for the next two seasons,” Head of List Management James Gallagher said.

“Josh is a hard-working, dedicated young man who plays his role for the team week-in week-out.

“He’s a fierce competitor on-field who is willing to put his body on the line, which has earned him a great deal of respect from his teammates.

“Since joining the club at 17-years-old, Josh’s commitment to improve as a footballer and a person has been unwavering.

“His performances are a reflection of that commitment, plus a growing maturity that we have seen in Josh and a number of his teammates.

“We look forward to seeing more of Josh in the years ahead and hope to see his development continue to have an influence on those around him.”

Battle follows recent signees Dan Butler, Cooper Sharman, Ben Paton and long-term extensions Rowan Marshall, Jack Steele and Max King in recommitting to St Kilda.

After making his debut in 2017 while still in high school, Battle has played 75 senior matches in red, white and black.

Battle is one of just seven Saints players to line up for every game this season to-date.

Categories
Australia

Lidia Thorpe’s attention-seeking swearing-in stunt is an important reminder to never trust the Greens

Lidia Thorpe's attention-seeking swearing-in stunt is an important reminder to never trust the Greens

There is now a recurring motif in Australian politics where you see a headline declaring a senator has done something idiotic, unspeakable or downright insane and then get mildly disappointed to discover it’s just Lidia Thorpe again.

This is of course the existential peril of the attention seeker – sooner or later people stop paying attention.

Whatever the latest outrageous thing Thorpe has said, it no longer merits any outrage simply because it is her saying it. She is the Pauline Hanson of the left.

And so when she did her silly swearing in stunt this week it carried all the weight of a crazed doomsayer on a sandwich board with scrawled inscriptions about the End of Days.

What Thorpe is useful as, however, is a totem pole – no, a shining beacon if you will – that serves to remind us all just how utterly crazy the Greens really are and why they should never be trusted with policymaking in this country.

And while it is obviously a national tragedy that they now have 12 senators in the upper house, it is also why Labor’s negotiation with the minor party over its climate change bill has all the hallmarks of a chainsaw negotiating with a porkchop.

As The Australian reported on its front page on Wednesday, the bill is now set to pass after the Greens supposedly secured concessions — although what those concessions were tellingly elusive.

More telling was the report’s shrewd observation that the government would only accept amendments “if they did not fundamentally change the intent, mandate or principles of the legislation”.

In other words as long as they didn’t effectively amend anything much at all.

Indeed the only thing that really matters is Labor sticking to its 43 per cent reductions target and the Greens do not have a hope in hell of changing that.

And the Greens will of course ultimately have no choice but to pass the legislation because otherwise they will again be seen as climate pariahs — victims of their wilful idiocy a decade ago.

And so despite holding the numbers, the Greens don’t actually hold the cards.

And even if they did the unthinkable and blocked it again it would be even better for Labor because it could force a double-dissolution and — based on this week’s Newspoll — get an even more thumping majority.

why?

Because far from caving in to the la-la left, Anthony Albanese has been the model of a strong, pragmatic and rationalist Labor Prime Minister.

He has been tough on China, tough on border protection, tough on the Teals and tough on the Greens.

His Treasurer Jim Chalmers is already reining in spending to drive down inflation and debt, his Defense Minister Richard Marles is strengthening the ADF, and his Government Services Minister Bill Shorten just delivered the woke brigade the sweetest smackdown in years by simply asserting that mothers give birth to children.

To invoke another piece of reproductive vernacular, Labor has finally got its balls back.

This is what good government looks like, and its color sure ain’t green.

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Categories
US

Abortion rights: Biden to sign second executive order aimed at safeguarding access and provide guidance to health care providers

Abortion rights: Biden to sign second executive order aimed at safeguarding access and provide guidance to health care providers

Biden is expected to sign the executive order during the inaugural meeting of the administration’s recently established Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access, a task force comprised of representatives from multiple departments across the federal government. Cabinet members are also expected to brief the President on steps their respective agencies have taken “to defend reproductive rights” at Wednesday’s meeting, an administration official told reporters Tuesday.

Wednesday’s executive order directs Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to consider “all appropriate actions to ensure health care providers comply with federal non-discrimination laws so that women receive medically necessary care without delay,” including steps to provide health care providers with technical and legal guidance amid the patchwork of state legal restrictions on abortion care following the Supreme Court’s decision.

Where state abortion bans stand amid legal challenges
Last month, CNN reported doctors have struggled to navigate byzantine guidance as states across the country pass increasingly strict abortion restrictions, with experts warning of “an enormous chilling effect” on doctors performing miscarriage surgeries even when doctors “are confident that what they’re doing is within the letter of the law.”
Wednesday’s order also directs HHS to consider actions guaranteeing women traveling across state lines seeking abortions have access to health care services, including through Medicaid. Last month, a bill guaranteeing women the right to travel across state lines to seek abortions failed to pass the Senate after Republicans blocked the measure.
Per the official, that would allow states to provide care for out-of-state patients seeking abortions through a Medicaid 1115 waiver, permitting states to waive certain state-based requirements in providing care and assist in covering “certain costs.”

The executive order further directs HHS to expand research efforts on maternal health data, “to accurately measure the impact that diminishing access to reproductive health care services has on women’s health,” the official said Tuesday.

Wednesday’s executive order is the second one signed by Biden in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Last month, Biden signed an order that he said would safeguard access to abortion care and contraceptives, protect patient privacy and establish an interagency task force to use “every federal tool available to protect access to reproductive health care.”

Ultimately, however, there is no action the President can take to restore the nationwide right to an abortion, and Biden has publicly acknowledged that his options to expand abortion access remain limited.

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Categories
Business

$15 For A Bloody Pint? Australian Beer Prices Surge After Tax Hike

$15 For A Bloody Pint? Australian Beer Prices Surge After Tax Hike

First they came for the property market, and I did not speak out — because there was no way in Hell I could afford anything to begin with. Then they came for the humble Bunnings snag, and I did not speak out — because I’m usually too hungover to make it out for a sizzle on time, anyway. Then they came for Australian beer prices… and now there’s really nothing left to live for. Is there?

August has kicked off in remarkably grim fashion after the Australian Tax Office (ATO) raised the excise on the good stuff by 4% during its semi-annual CPI indexation review. According to the Brewers Association of Australia, this represents the biggest increase in over 30 years.

Now, thanks to the inescapable matter of inflation, Aussie beer drinkers will be parting with a little more of their hard-earned paycheques just to enjoy a frosty sharpener.

RELATED: The Most Popular Beers In Australia (State By State)

“We have seen almost 20 increases in Australia’s beer tax over the past decade alone,” said John Preston, Brewers Association of Australia CEO.

“Sadly, we’re now seeing the impact as pub patrons will soon be faced with the prospect of regularly paying around $15 for a pint at their local.”

“For a small pub, club, or other venue, the latest tax hike will mean an increase of more than $2,700 a year in their tax bill – at a time when they are still struggling to deal with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.”

“Over the last two years, we’ve done the right thing, followed the government mandates, closed down when we had to and operated under really difficult restrictions,” Tony Fyfe, Co-Owner of Hemmingway’s Brewery in Cairns, said of the rising Australian beer prices all the way back in February.

“This is just another kick in the guts… it’s really, really tough to work with.”

australian beer prices tax hike 2022

Prior to the ATO’s decision, Australians were already shelling out $2.26 in tax per liter of pub-poured grog. While this might seem like a negligible sum, as pointed out by Perth Nowthat was almost half of what you’d pay in a typical carton of full-strength beer and 17 times more than the $0.13 you’d pay in Germany.

In 2020, a report conducted by University of Adelaide economist Kym Anderson AC determined Aussies paid the world’s fourth-highest beer tax, only behind Norway, Japan, and Finland. Given the latest development, we may very well be on track to secure the thorned crown.

Bob Hawke is rolling in his grave right now.

Categories
Sports

Aussies continue gymnastics gold rush with stunning gold, silver finish

Australia’s gymnastics gold rush continued with a stunning one-two in the women’s balance beam.

Australia’s artistic gymnasts snared five medals on the final day of competition at Arena Birmingham – one gold, two silver and two bronze.

Kate McDonald celebrated her 22nd birthday with a shock gold medal, relegating her star teammate Georgia Godwin to second on the podium.

Godwin has been the star of the team at the meet so far, with gold in the all-around and vault and silver in the team and uneven bars, and she was looking to maintain when she laid down a marker of 13,433 in the first routine of the programme. But McDonald recorded 13,466, leapfrogging her teammate with a routine that had a lower difficulty but higher execution.

“Amazing. Incredible. And even (Canadian bronze medalist) Emma Spence) I couldn’t have asked for a better podium finish,” she said.

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“Like, best podium finish ever.

“I did feel a little bit sad in that sense, but you know, she’s an amazing teammate,” McDonald said of Godwin. “But it was just great to be on the podium, both Emma (Canada’s bronze medalist Emma Spence), Georgia and myself.”

Goodwin paid tribute to her teammate.

“To come off the last three days and have the beam routine I did, I’m really happy with myself,” Goodwin said.

“But, the star of the moment, Kate. She’s just been solid the whole time.”

The Aussie gymnastics team finished second overall on the medal count behind an England outfit that dominated both the men’s and women’s competitions.

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Commonwealth Games in pictures: English swim star Adam Peaty apologises for ‘arrogant’ interview

Categories
Australia

Monster swell lashes WA’s south coast as sightseers brace wet weather for a glimpse

Monster swell lashes WA's south coast as sightseers brace wet weather for a glimpse

A swell of more than seven meters has hit Western Australia’s south coast as the third cold front in as many days swept across the region.

The seven to 10 meter swell had previously been forecast to hit the south and west coasts of WA, with authorities issuing a warning for gale force winds and dangerous surf.

The wet and wild weather did not deter people from catching a glimpse of the swell, which surpassed seven meters at 2pm.

Sightseers flocked to The Gap near Albany, a popular tourist spot with a 40-meter high platform suspended above the cliff.

A severe weather warning remains current for damaging surf from Dongara to Albany.

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A wind like more than 80 kilometers per hour was recorded at Albany airport as thunderstorms and rain moved east.

It followed a stormy few days in southern WA with winds causing damage from Geraldton to Albany.

The Bureau of Meteorology said conditions should ease late Wednesday into Thursday.

“Damaging winds are covering a larger area than we would normally see with these winter systems, [and] extending across a large part of the southern half of the state,” a spokesperson said.

People sprayed by ocean wave
The large swell draws a crowd to The Gap near Albany.(ABC Great Southern: John Dobson)

“Gusts in excess of 90kph are possible over the warning area with gusts in excess of 100kph about the west coast, south of Perth, until late Wednesday afternoon.

“Rainfall totals expected until the end of Wednesday are expected to be around 15-25 millimetres near the coast between Lancelin and Albany, with isolated higher totals to 40mm.”

People near ocean spray
A series of cold fronts brings wet and wild conditions to WA’s south coast.(ABC Great Southern: John Dobson)

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Categories
US

Senate Passes Bill To Extend Benefits To Veterans Exposed To Burn Pits; Jon Stewart Led Outcry After Republicans Blocked Previous Vote – Deadline

Senate Passes Bill To Extend Benefits To Veterans Exposed To Burn Pits; Jon Stewart Led Outcry After Republicans Blocked Previous Vote – Deadline

The Senate passed legislation to extend health and disability benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of military engagement.

The 86-11 vote came after Republicans blocked the legislation last week, with a number of the lawmakers having previously supported it when it came before the Senate in June.

Jon Stewart, a longtime advocate for the veterans, blasted the opposition, speaking at rallies on Capitol Hill multiple times over the past week and making a series of media appearances on network Sunday shows, Fox News and Newsmax. Stewart was in the chamber for the Senate vote, and hugged veterans after it passed.

The bill, the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (or the PACT ACT), is designed to address the inability of veterans to access healthcare as they reported a range of illnesses. It now goes to President Joe Biden for signing.

The military has used burn pits to incinerate waste, hazardous material and jet fuel, but troops that have breathed toxic fumes have suffered respiratory illnesses and cancers. President Joe Biden has suggested that the brain cancer that killed his son, Beau, may have been linked to his exposure to burn pits when he served in Iraq and Kosovo.

Last week, when the legislation failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, Stewart chided Republican lawmakers who voted against it. On Thursday, he appeared with one of the bill’s chief sponsors, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and other lawmakers, telling reporters, “Ain’t this a bitch? America’s heroes, who fought in our wars, outside sweating their asses off, while these mother-f-ers sit in the air conditioning, walled off from any of it.”

The legislation seemed to be on its way to receiving substantial bipartisan support until Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) urged members this week to vote against it, claiming that the bill contained a budget gimmick to open up $400 billion in spending “unrelated to veterans care.” But Stewart and other Democrats dismissed those concerns. A number of Democrats accused Republicans of blocking the legislation as retribution, given that the vote took place shortly after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced a deal on a climate, healthcare and tax reconciliation bill.

While celebrities have for years lobbied for their causes on Capitol Hill, drawing media attention to proposed legislation, Stewart has taken it to another level with his willingness to shame lawmakers into action, even if that means tangling with them on social and other media. After Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) claimed that Democrats were playing a “budgetary trick,” Stewart said on Meet the Press that Cruz’s argument was “just a word salad that he’s pewing into his coffee cup on his way to God knows where.” Cruz ended up voting for the bill on Tuesday.

But the attention that Stewart drew to the Senate’s failure to pass the legislation may have had the desired effect of getting under lawmakers’ skins. On CNN, Toomey tried to dismiss Stewart as a “pseudo-celebrity” who tried to “make up false accusations to try to get us to just swallow what shouldn’t be there.”

The latest vote on the legislation took place after an agreement was reached on holding a vote on amendments from Toomey and others. They all failed to pass. Toomey ultimately voted against the bill, along with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. James Risch (R-ID), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

Categories
Business

Five Guys Melbourne | Urban List Melbourne

Five Guys Melbourne | Urban List Melbourne

While the melbourne burger scene is known to serve up some pretty damn delicious stacks, we are finally getting the opportunity to sink our teeth into some of the world’s most hyped burgers—Five Guys.

The cult-followed burger chain has already cemented itself in the Sydney community and now it’s time for Melbourne’s time in the sun with a brand spanking 79-seat diner opening up on Southbank this coming Monday 8 August.

“We have been searching many years to find our first Victorian site, and know the location of our first store is fantastic in the bustling Southbank region,” says Robby Adronikos, Five Guys Brand Manager

If you’re not yet acquainted with this US-based burger chain, Five Guys is known for two things: burgers and fries. But these burgers are unlike anything you’ll find at a typical fast-food joint. Five Guys operate on a “no freezer” promise—their brioche buns are freshly grilled, the ground beef patties are shaped by hand and their hand-cut chips are fried on demand, skin-on and straight to your table.

The burgers are customizable from staple hamburgers to the bacon cheeseburger with over 15 free toppings including pickles, jalapenos, grilled mushrooms and more. You can also opt for their all-beef hot dogs with the added option of melted American-style cheese; and creamy, customizable shakes that you can jazz up with mix-ins like crispy bacon, real bananas, fresh strawberries, or cold-brewed coffee made daily in-store.

There’ll be plenty more details to spill once Five Guys open up, so stay tuned for more.

Want to check out the best burgers in Melbourne? right this way.

Image credit: Five Guys (supplied)

Categories
Technology

Activision Blizzard King has lost 11million monthly players since March

Activision Blizzard King has lost 11million monthly players since March

Activision Blizzard King has reported a loss of 11 million monthly active users (MAUs) since March of this year.

These player loss numbers come from the publisher’s quarterly financial results (published on August 1), with the Activision and King branches of the company seeing the biggest losses in monthly users.

March of this year saw 372million players, whilst June saw 361million. Within the company, Activision’s monthly playerbase dropped from 100 to 94million, while Blizzard’s went up from 22 to 27million and King fell from 250 to 240million.

This decline follows an overall decline in average player counts over the last 12 months. June 2021 saw an average of 408million players, meaning there’s been an overall decrease of 47million in one year.

Call Of Duty: Vanguard Shipment
Call Of Duty: Vanguard. Credit: Activision Blizzard

Blizzard is the only company branch to see stability and a rise in players, as despite some dips in the last 12 months there’s actually been a rise in MAUs, according to the document.

Activision Blizzard King says MAUs refers to the “number of individuals who accessed a particular game in a given month,” but a player who played two different games in that month would actually be counted as two users, and not one. For Activision and King a user who plays the same game on two different platforms is counted as two users, but Blizzard would count that player as one user instead.

While Activision Blizzard is set to be acquired by Microsoft next year, PlayStation competitor Sony has voiced its opinion on the buyout. Sony believes that due to the industry control and size of the Call Of Duty franchise – which is owned by Activision Blizzard – its ownership under Microsoft will lead users to change their console of choice.

In other news, FIFA 23 is set to be the first game in the franchise to let players choose a real-world manager in career mode.

Categories
Sports

NRL 2022: Patrick Carrigan, hip-drop tackle, Jackson Hastings injury, suspension, Brisbane Broncos

NRL 2022: Patrick Carrigan, hip-drop tackle, Jackson Hastings injury, suspension, Brisbane Broncos

Paul Kent has urged the NRL to “stand up and show some balls” by banishing all hip-drop tackles from the game.

It comes as Broncos star Patrick Carrigan was handed a four-game suspension for his hip-drop tackle on Jackson Hastings — who will now miss the rest of the season with a fracture in his leg and a syndesmosis injury.

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NRL 360 host Braith Anasta declared the hip-drop tackle “needs to go,” before Kent stressed it was “learned behaviour”.

Kent called on the NRL to get tough on the tackle given the trauma it’s caused Hastings.

Eels outside back Haze Dunster has also been a victim of the hip-drop tackle this year. He ruptured his ACL, PCL and MCL as a result of the tackle from Dragons forward Tyrell Fuimaono, who received a five-game ban.

“Why’s it even in the game?,” Kent asked.

“This is what gives me the sh**s. These tackles come into the game that clearly cause injuries and rather than the first coach that sees it, identifies it and says ‘you know what guys, we’re not doing this — get it out,’ they all look around the league and see other clubs doing it so say ‘we’re going to have to do it because you get an extra three seconds in the play the ball.’

“Forget about poor Jackson Hastings, who’s now got five months with his leg in a cast and now has to go through rehab. That’s the price they’re willing to pay these guys.

“The game’s got to stand up and show some balls and actually get it out of the game.

“If Carrigan gets a two-week or three-week penalty, which is what he’s going to ask for, then you just may as well throw it all away and say ‘you know what guys, do your best… take a baseball bat out’ with you next time.’

“It’s just a joke.”

Carrigan was referred straight to the judiciary for the tackle and fronted the panel on Tuesday night.

His defence, Nick Ghabar, proposed a two-game ban on Tuesday night, however the NRL counsel put forward a five-to-six game suspension.

Originally published as ‘Gives me the s***s’: TV host Paul Kent explodes over hip-drop tackles

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