AFL 360 co-hosts Gerard Whateley and Mark Robinson have defended Greater Western Sydney caretaker coach Mark McVeigh’s passionate post-match press conference.
McVeigh drew criticism from some within the AFL world for his withering take on many players’ performance during the 73-point Sydney derby loss, which he labeled “embarrassing” and accused players of “checking out”.
The interim coach interviewed for the position on Tuesday, but Whateley was puzzled by those who took issue with McVeigh’s post-match comments.
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“I’ve been really surprised by the reaction to his condemnation of a pitiful performance by a team in a big game,” he said.
“If you’re going to be the coach, if you’re going to live the role of the coach, you have to impose these standards and be prepared to tell these home truths.
“As I understand it, this was all said behind closed doors before it was said publicly and the real feedback was player-to-player; they drilled each other. Then he gave public voice to that.”
Robinson was of the view that, if anything, McVeigh’s honesty publicly could help him in his bid to become the side’s permanent senior coach, saying “I would’ve put that in my offering of ‘I want to coach, here it is, what have you got? I’ve got that.’”
McVeigh, 41, has been an assistant coach at the Giants since 2015.
His longevity at the club, Whateley said, meant his comments were within reason.
“He’s got long-term relationships with these players, I don’t think any of that would’ve been damaged,” he said.
“If he’d gone ‘Do you know what? This is the end of the season, I’m the interim coach, lets just leave that’, I’d be going ‘mate, you can’t be a coach’.”
A parliamentary inquiry recommended redeveloping The Block under Aboriginal ownership and control.
In 2006, the ILSC – set up to help Indigenous people acquire land after the Mabo judgment – bought the old Redfern Public School from NSW for $16 million. A few years later it opened the NCIE to create a place where “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples can access opportunities to achieve excellence”.
As Redfern gentrified, the center has become a hub for the local Indigenous community.
It’s home to Redfern Youth Connect, Tribal Warrior and the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy, to name just a few. Elders use the pool and gym alongside kids learning to swim. Teens are given tutoring and taught hospitality skills. Parents rely upon it for out-of-hours care.
One estimate found that, for every dollar spent on the centre, it created three times as much value for local Aboriginal people.
Shane Phillips, the chief executive of Tribal Warrior, which empowers the community through connection to culture and family, said the hub had changed lives. He has watched it help young men, who were at risk of a life of crime, embrace work and sport.
“This has given us a place to come to,” he said. “And what happened was, organically, other stuff grew. Kids became employed. Kids became invested in it. There are so many other spinoffs. Ace [Redfern] gentrified, the footprint of our people has been diluted out.
“This is the last bastion. We don’t want to be diluted out of here, too.”
Local children rely upon the National Center for Indigenous Excellence for after-hours careCredit:Rhett Wyman
But the corporation, which has struggled with its own internal turmoil in recent years, must divest the land it buys to Indigenous communities. The NSW Aboriginal Land Council approached it, unsolicited, about the Redfern site a few years ago.
An agreement was made to divest the land to the council. That has angered members of the local Redfern community such as Margaret Haumono, the co-founder of Redfern Youth Connect, who said local organizations should have been allowed to make a pitch, too.
But the chief executive of the land council, Yuseph Deen, told the rally that the council had only intended to take on the property, not the business, which makes a loss of more than $2 million a year. From April, however, it was clear the ILSC wanted to divest both.
Deen said the council could not afford to cover the losses. It pushed for a three-year period in which the corporation would subsidize the business until the council could work out a better business model.
“Unfortunately after the last meeting we had here last week, the negotiations with the ILSC broke down over what an adequate envelope of funding would keep the doors open,” Deen said.
He wanted to keep the center open and would call for expressions of interest for “a reputable and capable delivery partners to take over the running of the fitness and aquatic center… we’ll move heaven and earth to keep this space open for community ”.
A former chief executive of the National Center for Indigenous Excellence, Clare Ingrey, described what the center meant to the community. “A big beautiful space where Aboriginal people… could come and see and feel Black excellence around them”.
“You did not need to achieve Blak excellence at the NCIE because you were already Blak and deadly when you walked through those gates.”
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However, Ingrey was critical of the corporation’s management. “It became apparent that despite every effort by the NCIE, the parent company that gave it life was intent on winding it down and handing over the site to NSWALC as an empty space void of the soul that is the NCIE,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
“As sad as I am to learn of the fate of the NCIE I am not shocked. The ILSC’s handling of the divestment of NCIE is deserving of an independent inquiry so that the lessons learned are never repeated.”
Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, described the center as the beating heart of Redfern’s Aboriginal community. “I strongly encourage the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to work together to find a solution,” she said on Twitter.
A wealthy dentist accused of fatally shooting his wife in the heart with a shotgun at the end of an African safari was found guilty of murder and mail fraud on Monday. A jury of six men and six women reached the verdict for Lawrence “Larry” Rudolph following a three week trial and a day and a half of deliberations. Rudolph, 67, was charged with foreign murder in the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph in Zambia as well as mail fraud for cashing in $4.8 million in life insurance claims in what prosecutors describe as a premeditated crime. Some of the money was paid out of Colorado so he was tried in Denver federal court. He faces a maximum term of life in prison or the death penalty when he is sentenced in February. Rudolph maintained his innocence and the two adult children he had with his wife sat in court to support him during the trial. One of Rudolph’s defense attorneys, David Markus, said they would appeal his conviction of him. We believe in his family,” he said outside court. The defense suggested Rudolph’s wife of 34 years, a nervous traveler, shot herself while trying to pack a shotgun in a hurry as they prepared to return from Zambia to the United States in 2016. But prosecutors countered that evidence showed that it was impossible because the wound to her heart came from a shot fired from 2 to 3.5 feet (60 centimeters to 1 meter) away. The couple’s longtime hunting guide, Mark Swanepoel, told investigators that Rudolph had unloaded the shotgun the day before the fatal shooting, but Rudolph testified that he could not remember if he had or not. When he returned home to Phoenix days later, Rudolph said he put the shotgun in his garage, not wanting to look at it. Then sometime in 2018, as he was preparing to sell his house and before he found out the FBI was investigating his wife’s death, he said he took the gun apart, put it into two cardboard boxes and paid a man cash to haul it away with along with other trash. Prosecutors also Rudolph’s girlfriend and the manager of his Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, Lori Milliron, of lying to a federal grand jury and being an accessory. She was accused guilty by the same jury Monday of being an accessory after the fact to murder, obstruction of a grand jury and two counts of perjury before a grand jury. She was found not guilty on three other counts of perjury. Rudolph waved to Milliron as he was led out of court and back to jail after not having any interaction with her in the courtroom in previous days. Milliron will remain free with an ankle monitor until she is sentenced. Prosecutors alleged that Rudolph decided to kill his wife to regain control over his life de ella after Bianca Rudolph asked for more say in the couple’s finances and demanded that Milliron be fired. Rudolph said his wife de él agreed to have an open marriage and the defense argued there was no financial incentive for Rudolph, who was worth about $15 million at the time, to kill his wife de ella. Investigators in Zambia and for the insurers concluded her death of her was an accident. Prosecutors noted that Rudolph hung up on an insurance investigator who tried to speak with him and declined to participate in a voluntary interview with an FBI agent. Colorado’s US Attorney Cole Finegan thanked the FBI for traveling around the world to collect evidence and interview witnesses in the case and said he hoped the verdict brings some peace to Bianca Rudolph’s family. “Bianca Rudolph deserved justice,” he said.
DENVER (AP) —
A wealthy dentist accused of fatally shooting his wife in the heart with a shotgun at the end of an African safari was found guilty of murder and mail fraud on Monday.
A jury of six men and six women reached the verdict for Lawrence “Larry” Rudolph following a three week trial and a day and a half of deliberations.
Rudolph, 67, was charged with foreign murder in the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph in Zambia as well as mail fraud for cashing in $4.8 million in life insurance claims in what prosecutors describe as a premeditated crime. Some of the money was paid out of Colorado so he was tried in Denver federal court.
He faces a maximum term of life in prison or the death penalty when he is sentenced in February.
Rudolph maintained his innocence and the two adult children he had with his wife sat in court to support him during the trial. One of Rudolph’s defense attorneys, David Markus, said they would appeal his conviction of him.
“We believe in Larry. We believe in his family of him, ”he said outside court.
The defense suggested Rudolph’s wife of 34 years, a nervous traveler, shot herself while trying to pack a shotgun in a hurry as they prepared to return from Zambia to the United States in 2016.
But prosecutors countered that evidence showed that it was impossible because the wound to her heart came from a shot fired from 2 to 3.5 feet (60 centimeters to 1 meter) away.
The couple’s longtime hunting guide, Mark Swanepoel, told investigators that Rudolph had unloaded the shotgun the day before the fatal shooting, but Rudolph testified that he could not remember if he had or not.
When he returned home to Phoenix days later, Rudolph said he put the shotgun in his garage not wanting to look at it. Then sometime in 2018, as he was preparing to sell his house and before he found out the FBI was investigating his wife’s death, he said he took the gun apart, put it into two cardboard boxes and paid a man cash to haul it away with along with other trash.
Prosecutors also accused Rudolph’s girlfriend and the manager of his Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, Lori Milliron, of lying to a federal grand jury and being an accessory.
She was found guilty by the same jury Monday of being an accessory after the fact to murder, obstruction of a grand jury and two counts of perjury before a grand jury. She was found not guilty on three other counts of perjury.
Rudolph waved to Milliron as he was led out of court and back to jail after not having any interaction with her in the courtroom in previous days. Milliron will remain free with an ankle monitor until she is sentenced.
Prosecutors alleged that Rudolph decided to kill his wife to regain control over his life after Bianca Rudolph asked for more say in the couple’s finances and demanded that Milliron be fired. Rudolph said his wife agreed to have an open marriage and the defense argued there was no financial incentive for Rudolph, who was worth about $15 million at the time, to kill his wife.
Investigators in Zambia and for the insurers concluded her death was an accident. Prosecutors noted that Rudolph hung up on an insurance investigator who tried to speak with him and declined to participate in a voluntary interview with an FBI agent.
Colorado’s US Attorney Cole Finegan thanked the FBI for traveling around the world to collect evidence and interview witnesses in the case and said he hoped the verdict brings some peace to Bianca Rudolph’s family.
The reality of energy bills is that most of us pay quarterly, which means that the first much larger bill will not likely come until spring. It will include the usual big annual winter heating bill, so look out for a double-shock.
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The cost of paying your mortgage has been rising for months, but those on fixed rates are heading towards a cliff.
Most banks have passed on Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) official interest rate increases to their variable-rate mortgage borrowers, who are now paying about an extra $7000 in annual interest on an average loan. And more rate rises are still on the way.
However, the RBA states that the share of borrowers on fixed-rate mortgages increased from 20 per cent at the start of 2020 to a peak of almost 40 per cent in early 2022. So, their mortgage increases – about an extra $20,000 a year on an average loan – will come all at once when their fixed-terms expire.
For the majority, that will be next year, however, for about 10 per cent, it will come in the next few months.
Then there is the price rise many of us may have forgotten – health insurance. Premiums normally rise in April of each year but, this year, they have been deferred by many funds as a pandemic relief measure.
As recently as last week, Bupa deferred its increase again until November, bringing it in line with the rest of the big four providers – HCF, NIB and Medibank/AHM.
However, in September and October, deferred premium increases will kick in at AIA Health, GMHBA, Frank, TUH, Teachers Health, UniHealth and Nurses & Midwives Health, and Peoplecare. So, that is about 10 million people who will see a health insurance price rise averaging 2.7 per cent, or about $126 a year for a family.
Grocery prices are rising fast, too, especially fruit and vegetables – up 5.8 per cent in just three months, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, due to the second round of east-coast floods.
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For a typical household exposed to all of the above price increases, by the time spring blooms, their costs will have climbed as much as $12,000 a year, based on the following estimates:
Mortgage: up $10,000
Fuel: up $1040
Groceries: up $750
Energy: up $300
Health insurance: up $126
Many of us are already changing our spending habits to cut out non-essentials, to prepare for all the cost of living increases still to come. If you are not, now might be a good time to start.
Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
The team’s representative crab-eye-camera dipped halfway in the water for amphibious imaging. Credit: Lee et al.
To efficiently navigate real-world environments, robots typically analyze images collected by imaging devices that are integrated within their body. To enhance the performance of robots, engineers have thus been trying to develop different types of highly performing cameras, sensors and artificial vision systems.
Many artificial vision systems developed so far draw inspiration from the eyes of humans, animals, insects and fish. These systems have different features and characteristics, depending on the environment in which they are designed to operate in.
Most existing sensors and cameras are designed to work either on the ground (ie, in terrestrial environments) or in water (ie, in aquatic environments). Bio-inspired artificial vision systems that can operate in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, on the other hand, remain scarce.
Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul National University, Gwangju Institute of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Technology and the University of Texas at Austin have recently created a new vision system inspired by crabs, which can work both on the ground and in water. This amphibious system, presented in a paper published in Nature Electronicsallows robots to gain a panoramic 360° view of their surroundings, so that they can detect obstacles and navigate environments more effectively.
“Previous works (including our group’s research) on wide field of view (FoV) cameras were always at fewer than 180°, which is not enough for the ‘full’ panoramic vision, and they were not suitable for changing external environments,” Young Min Song, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Tech Xplore. “We wanted to develop a 360° FoV camera that can image both in air and water.”
Imaging setup for the crab-eye-camera. Credit: Lee et al.
The artificial vision system developed by this team of researchers draws inspiration from the eyes of fiddler crabs. This unique species, also known as calling crabs, can gain a full panoramic view of their surroundings without having to move their eyes and body. To artificially reproduce the fiddler crab’s eyes, Min and his colleagues used a flat camera lens.
“If you use a conventional lens with curvature for imaging, its focal point changes when you dip the lens into the water,” Song explained. “On the other hand, if you use a lens with a flat surface, you can see a clear image regardless of ambient conditions. The fiddler crab living in the intertidal region has this kind of flat surface of its lens and we just imitated this crab -eye-lens.”
To create their sophisticated vision system, the researchers integrated an array of flat microlenses with a graded refractive index and an array of flexible comb-shaped silicon photodiodes on a spherical structure. The microlenses they used can retain their focal length irrespective of changes in the external refractive index between air and water.
“To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time to demonstrate amphibious and panoramic vision systems worldwide,” Song said. “Our vision system could pave the way for 360° omnidirectional cameras with applications in virtual or augmented reality or an all-weather vision for autonomous vehicles.”
Song and his colleagues tested their system in a series of optical simulations and imaging demonstrations, considering the characteristics of both terrestrial and water environments. So far, they found that it achieved highly promising results, thus it could soon be tested and implemented on several different hybrid and amphibious robots.
“In our next studies we will conduct further engineering to achieve higher resolution and superior imaging performance,” Song added. “In addition, we are still interested in developing a new type of camera with unique imaging features inspired by other animal eyes.”
More information:
Mincheol Lee et al, An amphibious artificial vision system with a panoramic visual field, Nature Electronics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-022-00789-9
citation: A crab-inspired artificial vision system for both terrestrial and aquatic environments (2022, August 2) retrieved 2 August 2022 from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-crab-inspired-artificial-vision-terrestrial-aquatic .html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Australia have wrapped up the Commonwealth Rugby Sevens gold medal in a 22-12 win over Fiji in a dominant display.
It’s redemption for the Aussies after a heartbreaking loss at the previous Commonwealth Games in Australia.
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Australia lost an epic final in 2018 on the Gold Coast, down 17-12 in extra-time to New Zealand.
But after edging past the Kiwis in a dramatic semi-final and losing a pool game to Fiji, Australia made no mistake in the final.
Faith Nathan scored a first half double as well as a try to Madison Ashby opened up a massive 17-0 lead at halftime.
The Aussies then scored immediately after the half through Maddison Levi, making it a 22-0 lead.
Although the Fijians finally got a pass to stick and scored a try as well as a consolation two minutes after full-time, it was nowhere near enough as the Aussies claimed the gold medal.
It had been the one medal Australia had been missing, having won in Rio in 2016, and coming into the tournament as the reigning Rugby Sevens women’s world champions after winning four of the six tournaments in the 2021-22 World Series.
Aussie star Charlotte Caslick said it was nearly a perfect performance from gold medalists.
“I think in those physical contests, we dominated nearly every single one of those and that’s what we had to do,” Caslick said after the match.
“I wouldn’t say it was perfect (performance) but it was close to.
“We’ve had an amazing World Series and been dominant year so to be rewarded in front of an awesome crowd is pretty special.”
And it was more redemption after Australia was bundled out of the Tokyo Olympics in a 19-0 quarterfinal thrashing by Fiji.
While the women’s side will bring home the extra baggage of the gold medals, the men couldn’t follow suit.
After a semi-final loss to South Africa earlier in the day, the Aussies fell 26-12 to New Zealand in the bronze medal match to miss the podium.
It was a tough break for Australia who are second on the World Series ladder behind South Africa with one tournament left in Los Angeles in late August.
South Africa broke to the men’s title in a 31-7 obliteration of Fiji.
The political stench emanating from Macquarie Street over the past several weeks has reached a stage where the glue that binds governments together – trust – has all but disappeared. It is symptomatic of a government that has reached its use-by date, run out of ideas and is festering in its own arrogance. Time for the other mob to have a go. Grahame Riethmuller, Redbank
Senator has every right to shun oath to Queen
Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate, Senator Lidia Thorpe, approaches the table to be sworn-in, in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra.Credit:alex ellinghausen
The absurdity of requiring citizens of this sovereign country to swear allegiance to Britain’s monarch was never more apparent than during the swearing in of Lidia Thorpe as a senator of the federal parliament (“Thorpe stirs debate with ‘coloniser’ Queen”, August 2). As a person of Aboriginal heritage, she took exception to that requirement, and rightly so. But whether of Aboriginal heritage or not, we should all take exception to such a requirement. For goodness sake, let’s get on with it and sever our constitutional links with Britain, not so much by becoming a republic but by simply cutting those legal ties, remaining the Commonwealth of Australia and keeping our de facto head of state, the governor-general , in much the same fashion as we have today. BrianRoach, Westleigh
I’m with Thorpe. What next, swearing allegiance to King Charles, that bastion of fidelity and faithfulness? This country was invaded, and it is well beyond the time we get behind the prime minister and the government to reaffirm this fact and give the original inhabitants of this wonderful land their rightful place and heed their Voice. Al Clark, Belrose
Thorpe has convinced me that, whether new or old elected representatives, they need to take a deep breath before diving into controversy. Grandstanding will not win votes from a cynical population of voters. This stunt does not help our Indigenous friends. John Dear, Mt Kuring Gai
The expression for reconciliation of Indigenous people is commendable (Letters, August 2). However, we need to be careful. Inserting a Voice into the Constitution is a step too far. If it fails it may be extremely difficult to remove it and the Constitution is binding. Parliament should implement a Voice by legislation. Barry O’Connell, Old Toongabbie
The opponents to the proposed Voice to parliament amendment to the Constitution are mainly those who voted no in the republic referendum of 1999. These people seem to regard the Constitution as a sacred document. The reality is that it is a century-old set of words arrived at by a bunch of white male politicians. It was written at a time when Britannia ruled the waves, women couldn’t vote and Aboriginal people weren’t counted in the census. While the Constitution has served us well for 121 years, there are bits of it that are no longer fit for purpose. Just as Australians since 1901 have accepted plans, computers, open-heart surgery, and an Aboriginal Australian of the Year, they need to accept that the proposed amendment to the Constitution will make it more reflective of contemporary Australia and the attitudes of most Australians. Mike Reddy, Vincentia
Dutton doesn’t cut it on fuel excise
Peter Dutton is playing politics again in “holding the government to account”, aka taking a fighter’s approach rather than a sensitive collegial one, regarding the ending of fuel excise cuts that the Coalition only now decides they want to continue (“Dutton braces for fight to keep fuel excise cut”, August 8). Isn’t that the sort of political politics his side played that sent government debt on its downward spiral even before the pandemic hit? Have Dutton and co also failed to note that their embarrassing result in May was the electorate holding them to account for just this sort of destructive politics? Charmain Brinks, newcastle
How quickly the Coalition has reverted into opposition mode. While voters question what the Liberals stand for or believe in, they oppose the climate change bill that Australians clearly want and gear up for a fight on continuing fuel excise cuts, despite voting only recently for them to end on September 28. Any hope that they might act in the best interests of the country seems to be fading away, as they slip back into opposing anything and everything that the government proposes. Alan Marell, North Curl Curl
Turn off the gas
The negotiations over securing gas supply seem to be ignoring the climate-driven renewable solution to the whole issue; we need to use less gas and this is a prime time for massive government investment to do so (“Gloves are off: Government versus the gas giants”, August 2). Negotiations between politicians and corporations around the edges of gas pricing will not reduce the use of this dangerous fossil fuel that is causing global warming. We are less than six months past the terrible signal of the Lismore floods, that climate change must drive economics; there is no other option. The focus of the negotiations has to be the big picture of preventing the climate catastrophe by shifting to renewables or we will get deeper into troubles much greater than gas bills. Barry Laing, Castle Cove
China winning economic war
You’ve got to love analysis such as Senator Jim Molan’s second Pearl Harbor (“Preparing for the wrong war?”, August 2). And the best part is that it could always happen tomorrow, so you can never be wrong. But my simple question is: do you really believe that President Xi and his entire backing group of him are complete psychopathic megalomaniacs to carry out such destruction? In addition, what would be the point? Surely one of the economic lessons of World War II is that what Germany and Japan could not achieve by military means, they did by economic means after 1945. China doesn’t have to use its military to achieve hegemony in its own “sphere of influence”. ”, it has and it will inevitably continue by economic power. Tony Mitchell, Hillsdale
Ignore at your peril
Good luck to Ernie Merrick in his wide-ranging job (“Merrick to work as Australian football’s key disruptor”, August 2). He would be aware it is not a soccer-friendly world out there in Australia. The recent 2022 European women’s football championship, the gripping final of which was played to a packed Wembley Stadium and a huge global TV audience, was a superb tournament though largely ignored by mainstream media in Australia. Women’s sport in general, and soccer in particular are, of course, used to this domestic tunnel vision. Hundreds of thousands of girls are registered to play despite scarce funding for grounds, change rooms and coaching. The World Cup’s next year… go Ernie. David Payne, Hurlstone Park
Liberal MP Alex Hawke and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrive for Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.Credit:alex ellinghausen
do the maths
Scott Morrison has finally been sworn in to the 47th parliament, having failed to attend the first sitting week. His excuse from him was that he accepted an invitation to attend a conference in Japan, before he knew the sitting dates of the new parliament. Section 5 of the constitution states that parliament must be agreed no later than 30 days after the last date appointed for the return of the election writs. For the 2022 federal election that date was June 28. New parliaments invariably open on a Tuesday, so to meet the 30-day constitutional deadline, it was clear that the opening of parliament would be on July 26. Morrison only had to do the arithmetic to know he would be absent from the opening ceremony if he accepted the invitation. Norman Monshall, Allambie Heights
Class dismissed
When did the minister last teach a class, if ever (Letters, August 8)? I have been teaching for more than 45 years and it is not possible to repeat lessons like a formula that fits all. Teachers not only teach content but they need to take into account the individuality of students and vary their lessons according to their needs, cognitive levels and classroom dynamics. Stop finding inane fixes for teacher shortages. Identify the problems and consult teachers across all sectors and socio-economic areas to arrive at solutions that are best for our children, our future. Rita Zammit, Concord
Bingo! Swap three hours a week for a complete NAPLAN-driven system, start to finish. Who needs the dedication of those inspired teachers, leaving in droves, and those who would have been teachers but have seen the writing on the wall? Kate O’Rourke, Elizabeth Bay
Too old to be saved
Yes, you can be screened for various life-threatening diseases and, if seen, treatment can start and your life is saved (“Lung cancer screen can save lives”, August 2). But it seems that health departments only value your life to age 74. Older than that, you must ask for, and pay for, those screenings. Is this a form of ageism? Yes, it is. Marjie WilliamsonBlaxland
No polite term
I am no lawyer, but the misuse of public money to benefit the least-worthy recipients has to be called something stronger than “could be corrupt” (“Pork barreling could be crime, declares ICAC”, August 2). Greg Thompson, Bega
sunburnt country
Your correspondent is right to commend the current prime minister for wearing a broad-brimmed hat (Letters, August 2). Given the rate of skin cancer and the vulnerability of exposed faces and ears, I am surprised that former PM Scott Morrison was not called out years ago for setting a bad example by wearing a baseball cap, particularly in the Australian summer.Brian Kidd, Mt Waverley (Vic)
yacht snub
More than Dutch courage, the request to dismantle a decommissioned bridge to accommodate the passage of another Jeff Bezos’ vanity projects provided a bridge too far for the egalitarian Dutch – a win for a principled population (“Bezos’ yacht left stranded after bridge row” , August 2). Janet Argall, Dulwich Hill
Put up, and park the lot
Why not move all statues to a purpose-built statue museum? Then charge the people a dollar and a half to see ’em, as the song goes (Letters, August 2). Ted RichardsBatemans Bay
The digital view
Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au. I was a banker, now I’m on welfare – I had no idea how hard it would be desde be: “Agreed. I was made redundant in my 50s which gave me no amount of stress and humiliation. I was lucky enough to be able to start my own business and I am now earning more than I ever did on a salary. But not everyone can do that so I can understand how difficult it could of been for me. We as a nation need to treat all with dignity and give those on JobSeeker enough to sustain their lives.”
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A possible far-right Trump sweep in Arizona, a Midwestern referendum on the Squad and a Kansas ballot question with implications for abortion rights are some of the big decisions before voters today in closely watched primaries in 5 states.
Driving the news: Former President Trump’s last-minute endorsement of “Eric” ahead of today’s Missouri Senate primary — in a field that includes both the state’s attorney general, Eric Schmitt, and disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens — highlights how disruptive and unpredictable a force the former president remains in the GOP.
Backing Greitens, as Trump was rumored to be considering, would have risked adding a high-profile loss to Trump’s ledger. Polls have shown Schmitt leading the primary field, with Greitens falling to third place in recent weeks.
Publicly, Schmitt and Greitens each claimed Trump’s backing and said they were honored.
why it matters The success or failure of Trump-backed candidates — in both primaries and the general election — is an important barometer of his long-term grip on the party.
Arizona Republicans are poised to nominate a roster of MAGA-aligned candidates.
A Trump sweep in Arizona, one of the most important battleground states, would be an embarrassing rebuke to Gov. Doug Ducey and former Vice President Mike Pence, who spent valuable political capital against several of Trump’s candidates.
But that could actually hurt their prospects of defeating Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) or holding the governor’s office.
Details: Most public polling has shown Trump-endorsed former TV anchor Kari Lake with late momentum against Pence-endorsed businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson in the Arizona governor’s race.
Lake has been badly outspent but boasts considerable grassroots support.
Trump’s slate of downballot candidates — including Blake Masters for the Senate, Mark Finchem for secretary of state and Abe Hamadeh for state attorney general — are favored in their respective primaries. All have sowed doubt about President Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who testified to the Jan. 6 committee about Trump’s efforts to overturn the Arizona election, is expected to lose a state Senate primary to a challenger promoting Trump’s election conspiracy theories. Bowers told ABC’s Jon Karl it would take a “miracle” for him to win.
In other pivotal primaries, Trump’s favored candidates have struggled to gain political traction.
In Washington state, Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse, both of whom backed Trump’s impeachment, have a solid chance at defeating insurgent challengers.
Squad goals: Tuesday’s contests also include a number of key battles in an ongoing struggle between progressives and more moderate, establishment Democrats — which, as Axios reported Sunday, progressives have been mostly losing.
Three members of the Squad—Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) — are facing moderate primary challengers. All are favored to win re-nomination.
Moderate Rep. Haley Stevens is facing progressive Rep. Andy Levin in a primary that has become a proxy battle among Democrats over support for Israel. Stevens, who’s supported by pro-Israel groups, has emerged ahead in independent polling.
Kansas voters will vote in on an amendment to the state constitution on abortion restrictions — the first in a series of ballot measures on abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Kansas, despite its conservative politics, currently protects abortion rights in the state Constitution, allowing the procedure up to 22 weeks into pregnancy.
If the amendment passes, however, it would allow state legislators to restrict or ban abortions.
Mr Archibald alleged that Mr Castle was referencing emails between Mercedes-Benz Germany and Mercedes-Benz Australia, a type of document the parties might have agreed was confidential.
“I can’t for the life of me see any reason I should protect this document for your benefit – just because something is about Mercedes-Benz’s strategy doesn’t make it confidential,” Justice Beach responded.
“And I won’t have you standing up and interrupting every time a document of this nature is referred to. In fact, I can’t for the life of me work out how this document, which has no financial data and no forecasts included, is confidential.”
Local dealers ‘bullied’
Justice Beach said the Mercedes-Benz strategy was at the heart of the $650 million lawsuit brought by Australian dealers over the carmaker’s decision to move to a fixed-price agency model.
Local dealers say they were bullied into signing new contracts that stripped them of the goodwill they had built up over years, violating the Australian Franchising Code and engaging in unconscionable conduct in violation of the Australian Consumer Law.
Under the new model, which came into effect on January 1, Mercedes-Benz retains ownership of its cars while dealers act as agents and must sell cars at a fixed price for a set commission. Previously, the dealers purchased cars directly and had the flexibility to choose the sale price.
At the suggestion that he might like to close the court to preserve confidentiality, Justice Beach responded: “I’m not going to do that, you’re in the Federal Court of Australia, not the Supreme Court of Victoria,” he said.
Mr Archibald is not to be confused with Robert Craig, SC, who is representing Mercedes-Benz Australia.
Mr Castle stressed that a large part of the Mercedes-Benz dealers’ case lay in whether the German parent company genuinely intended to include dealers in its deliberations over a shift in business model.
He presented internal company presentations that detailed the planned shift to an agency model, which excluded compensation for dealers, from as far back as 2016.
Discussions between Mercedes-Benz executives in Stuttgart showed the thinking that “brand competition could be eliminated and pricing optimized” if the company shifted towards an agency model, Mr Castle said.
Changes in the delivery of vehicles would also repatriate large swaths of customer data that Mr Castle said Mercedes-Benz planned to underpin a new pricing regime.
“This flies in the face of the idea that Mercedes-Benz was shifting models because it wanted to reduce costs for customers,” Mr Castle told the court.
England won a major women’s tournament for the first time as Chloe Kelly’s extra-time goal secured a 2-1 victory over Germany at a sold out Wembley on Sunday.
In front of a record crowd of 87,192 for any match in the history of the European Championships, Kelly prodded home a loose ball from close range to end English football’s 56-year wait for a World Cup or Euro victory.
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England looked set for victory in the 90 minutes when substitute Ella Toone’s sublime chip over Merle Frohms put the hosts in front.
Germany showed remarkable resilience to bounce back as Lina Magull leveled 11 minutes from time.
But for once, England were not to be denied a major tournament success. Kelly fought back from an anterior cruciate ligament tear to be fit in time for the tournament and made herself a national hero by being in the right place to pounce when Germany failed to clear a corner in the 110th minute.
The Manchester City winger tore her shirt off in celebration in scenes reminiscent of Mia Hamm’s famous reaction to scoring the winning penalty for the USA at the 1999 World Cup.
Fortune did not favor Germany, who lost captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp to a muscle injury in the warm-up.
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But England will feel their time for some luck was due as 12 months on from the Three Lions’ defeat on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 men’s final, the nation’s women went one better.
While England enjoy the celebrations, Germany manager Martin Voss-Tecklenburg was left aggrieved by the decision not to award a penalty to her side in the first half of Sunday’s Euro 2022 final defeat to England.
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson escaped after the ball hit her hand in a goalmouth scramble with the score still at 0-0.
After a VAR check, Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul was not told to review her initial decision not to give a penalty.
“On this level at the end of the European Championships this shouldn’t happen,” said Voss-Tecklenburg.
“I’d like to have a discussion why did not one look at it? This is something I would really like to ask. It happened to us today, but if it had happened to them I would feel the same. It really bothers me.”
Football’s home. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Germany suffered a major blow even before kick-off when captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp was forced to pull out in the warm-up due to a muscle injury.
Voss-Tecklenburg said the Wolfsburg striker, who had scored six goals in five games in the tournament, had suffered the injury in training on Saturday.
“We tried everything. Yesterday at the end of final training there were some problems, which we didn’t expect,” she added.
“This morning it looked a bit better but it was clear the decision had to be hers. I trusted her 1000 percent and today she said she couldn’t run or shoot properly.
“I have even higher respect to her to say that after such a special tournament, she won’t play a final. She is a great personality.”
German newspaper Bild called the final “another Wembley fraud”. England’s only previous major tournament win in either the men’s or women’s game came in the 1966 World Cup with a 4-2 win over West Germany that is still remembered for the Three Lions’ controversial third goal that may not have crossed the line.
