Author: mangakiko

Categories
Entertainment

Celeste Mountjoy: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet) | comedy

Mand dad got dial-up internet in 2005 and it rocked my world. No longer would I have to spend my afternoons doing normal kid things, I could now spend quality time with my cool, very age-appropriate internet boyfriends in the dark shadows of the world wide webs. Not only that, but the era of viral videos was on the come up and I was there for the ride.

I have been shaped by the internet, I have grown beside the internet. It feels like a disgusting and very smart sibling, who I have a love/hate relationship with. I was asked to curate a list of my top 10 internet favorites and these are the first 10 that came to mind… I hope you enjoy them.

1. Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton rap together

My favorite celebrity collab! I love when two worlds collide to create something that makes you wonder, “Should this have been created?” Sweet P and the DO Double GY!

2. Fabio and the goose incident

I have a complicated relationship with birds. That’s something that Fabio and I have in common, as well as being graceful blondes with immaculate physiques. Fabio had a traumatic run-in with a goose in 1999, during a ride on a rollercoaster, surrounded by beautiful women.

Something that I love about this video is that we never see the incident itself take place, only the aftermath. Goose blood smeared across his face from him, he keeps his composure as the beautiful women ask him if he’s OK. Fabio refers to the event as “a miracle, but not a freak accident” and warns that it will happen again, even calling for the rollercoaster to be shut down. (Definitely not because he’s a little bit embarrassed.) A true man of the people.

3. Kim Cattrall scatting

I love when someone starts passionately scatting with reckless abandon to the twang of a lover’s upright bass. Kim Cattrall is the scatter in question? Say less!

4.Recess Therapy

Allow Instagram content?

This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.

Recess Therapy is an Instagram account that interviews kids in New York City about various topics. I’m not a huge fan of kids generally, but I love these kids a lot. Here’s a clip from my favorite episode. If I could birth a kid half as funny as Kiki I might think about having a kid.

5. Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom

The 2017 marriage equality plebiscite is up there with one of the most ridiculous things the Australian government ever decided was an alright idea – but out of it we got this completely unhinged clip of Bob Katter that I can quote word for word to this day. I don’t have much in common with Katter but we do share the belief that a thousand blossoms should be able to bloom.

6. Kermit sings Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads

One of my favorite songs, covered by my favorite frog.

7. Reducer

Allow Instagram content?

This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.

This is one of the funniest pages on Instagram. I almost exclusively communicate with my friends through these images. They always hit right. To call them memes would be a disservice – it’s the unwell gals’ favorite news source.

8. Nina Simone’s story about trying to kill a guy

Nina Simone is hands down one of the most powerful and unique artists of all time. This is a clip from an old interview with the BBC where she spoke about attempting to kill the owner of a record label after he stole from her. She does not have any remorse, and she wipes a tear away after laughing about it; I always laugh along with her. Imagine being that cool.

9. Schwan Attacken

Back to my relationship with birds: I went through a real rough patch when I found out swans have teeth. I was in Berlin at the time and noticed that the birds were more aggressive than others I’d met. I think that really colored my experience of Berlin – the fear of not getting let into Berghain, and the fear of a bird attack at any moment. Anyway, I came across a German Schwan Attacken channel which I would often lie in bed watching. I guess it was some kind of obsessive exposure therapy. However, I still live in fear of the beak, and I never got into Berghain.

10. Jeff Goldblum as the Big Bad Wolf

Jeff Goldblum as the Big Bad Wolf in the 1980s production Faerie Tale Theatre. The smooth jazz and the wolf prosthetics that actually just make him look like a huge rat man always do it for me. “A coward… I like that in a man.”

Categories
Sports

Inside the Game: Taylor Walker, Patrick Cripps, Cameron Zurhaar, Liam Baker — the clutch players of the AFL

An artwork with a 'Inside the Game' logo and images of two AFL players.

The most clutch moments of AFL history are among the most memorable. From “Leo Barry, you star” to Barry Breen’s match-winning behind, those who step up in the biggest moments are remembered through history.

loading

Footy is often a game of millimeters despite being played in a glorified paddock.

loading

Whether it’s the luck of the bouncing oval ball or brilliantly executed skill, the ability to pull through when the going gets tough is critical for teams with September dreams.

Just look at Collingwood this year — their 15 wins this year have been underpinned by 10 wins in their 11 games decided by less than two goals.

About a quarter of all games are decided by two straight kicks or less.

Some believe that teams do well late because of good coaching, on-field leadership and training. Others believe it’s a little more down to luck.

How do games change when they heat up late, and who has stood up the most in close games recently?

Clock is ticking

Winning possession is at the core of football. This year, for every 100 times a team wins the ball in a game they score about 71 points. That rises to 91 points from 100 won center clearances, and drops to 30 points from kick-ins.

Where a team wins the ball matters a lot as well. Teams score three times as many points from the ball won in the front half of the ground compared with the defensive half.

Time also matters. Teams generally score more heavily early in quarters — with the exception of the first 10 minutes of a game.

In the fourth quarter of games where the margin is two goals, teams score at just 67 points for every 100 times they win possession. In time-on in the last quarter, that drops to just 65 points per 100.

The potential reasons for this are many: Teams with a lead late in close games tend to try to shut up shop, and try to take time off the clock.

Late game fatigue also plays a role, along with the mental weight of late game football and the weight of the footballing world sitting on the shoulders of 44, mostly young, players.

However, some players thrive when their team needs it the most.

circle of trust

Adelaide AFL star Taylor Walker roars and punches the air in celebration after kicking a last-minute goal.
Taylor Walker’s last-minute sealer against the Bulldogs was the Crows’ spearhead’s sixth clutch-time goal in two seasons.(Getty Images: AFL Photos/Dylan Burns)

Clutch time is hard to define. Just 333 minutes of football — shy of two minutes per game — have been played this year where the margin was less than 12 and the clock had passed the 20-minute mark in the last quarter.

Given the large number of players on the field, it’s often hard to stand up late, when it counts. No player has scored more than three goals in clutch time across either of the past two seasons. Taylor Walker’s six goals over the two seasons is the most of any player.

A bit more can be gained from looking at games where the margin was less than 12 points any time in the last quarter.

One name, at a club near the bottom of their rebuilding cycle, has shouldered the biggest burden in late games in the past two years.

Cameron Zurhaar is an imposing beast of a player — not quite the height of a key forward, but with speed and power to burn. His ability to compete both in the air and on the deck makes him more dangerous as the going gets tough.

loading

North Melbourne may not be in contention right now, but if they continue to develop, Zurhaar has the potential to be a matchwinner in big games.

A North Melbourne AFL player runs away with his arms wide in celebration as Richmond players stand abandoned in the background.
Cameron Zurhaar showed against Richmond that he can be a match-winner for the Kangaroos.(Getty Images: AFL Photos/Michael Willson)

To score, you have to have the ball, and certain players rise to the occasion. More skilful users and experienced players tend to shine in late game situations as teams look to their most-dangerous players.

There appears to be a subtle shift in dynamics in most teams, such as from Jarryd Lyons to Lachie Neale, or Tom Mitchell to Jaeger O’Meara. In raw terms, Patrick Cripps steps up the most for his team late in games, signaling his importance to him for the Blues.

The player who wins more stoppages at the death, compared to the rest of the game, is a less-heralded name: Liam Baker.

A Richmond player looks inboard and handballs while a Melbourne defender tries to close in.
Liam Baker’s speed and agility make him a key asset for the Tigers.(Getty Images: Quinn Rooney)

The young Tiger isn’t an imposing player but he is quick and agile, finding momentary creases in the opposition’s defence.

loading

When games become stagnant late it is often those with the most speed and initiative who can break through them, such as Baker can.

Zurhaar and Baker, just like Barry and Breen, aren’t their clubs’ biggest stars but they are making a name late in the game, when the nailbiters are won.

scared of skill

A number of happy Collingwood AFL players have a group hug in the middle of the MCG after a game.
Collingwood’s run of wins in close games has been exciting for fans. (Getty Images: Darrian Traynor)

Collingwood’s rise up the ladder from bottom to top two in has been exhilarating to watch.

The Pies’ run is reminiscent of Port Adelaide last year. Port rode a 5-0 record in close games to second place on the ladder and snag a Preliminary Final appearance.

At the time, the club, its players and supporters put down the success down to the hard work undertaken to prepare for the year.

“We have done a lot of work across a lot of sessions — watching a lot of vision — to put ourselves in the best possible positions to win those close games,” Butters told the Port Adelaide club website last year.

A Port Adelaide player goes down on his haunches with a hand over his face after the final siren.
Port Adelaide seem to have lost the knack of winning the close games in 2022.(Getty Images: Daniel Pockett)

This year, Port have won just two of their nine close games. It is the opposite journey taken to that of Collingwood, who won just one of six close games last year.

Collingwood have also stated that they have put a lot of work into how to win in close games.

It’s likely true that all 18 teams use a disproportionate amount of time to work on late game scenarios — and with good reason: All wins are worth four points, and close games are the easiest to flip over.

There’s undoubtedly some skill and strategy to how teams approach tight games. However, when looking at how these results shake out over a long period of time, the pattern is harder to discern.

That’s not to say that the hard work put in at training doesn’t help — it could help tilt the coin slightly in favor of the team that prepares better.

.

Categories
Australia

Afghan interpreters, who worked with the Australian Defense Force, waiting on protection visas one year after Taliban seized control

A woman walking past a man with a gun.

Former Afghan interpreters who worked with the Australian military say their family members are still stuck in the region and at risk, almost one year after the Taliban seized control of the country.

More than 200,000 Afghans have sought humanitarian protection in Australia since August last year, with almost half of those still waiting for their applications to be considered.

The lengthy delay has led one Afghan interpreter, who spent two years working alongside Australian Defense Force (ADF) troops based at Tarin Kot, to express regret at working with the ADF.

“We now regret why we have even worked for the Australian government because the impact of that is [inflicted] on our family members,” said the former interpreter, who the ABC has not named to protect his family.

“They have been asked ‘why have your family members worked with the Australian Army and the previous government’ and they’ve been questioned about where we are – they are looking for us.

“I feel hopeless as no help has been given to my extended family and they have not been evacuated to get to a safer place like Australia.”

More than 6,000 Afghans have been granted humanitarian visas since the Taliban retouched control, with priority given to locally engaged staff, women and ethnic minorities.

But many of this group are still in Afghanistan or neighboring countries on temporary visas.

Fears for life of former embassy guard

Glenn Kolomeitz, a former Australian Army officer and lawyer helping Afghans with visa applications, says some have already been harmed.

“In the last 48 hours, we had one of our former embassy guards abducted and we expect that he will be killed,” Mr Kolomeitz told the ABC.

“We expect to find his remains dumped outside his house in coming days. That’s the cold hard facts.”

A portrait of a middle-aged man wearing a suit.
Former Australian Army officer and lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz says some family members of interpreters are at high risk from the Taliban.(Four Corners)

Mr Kolomeitz said the Taliban is still targeting people who assisted foreign forces in Afghanistan.

“The wife of one of our people died recently after moving from safe house to safe house and being hunted,” Mr Kolomeitz said

Mr Kolomeitz said the family of one interpreter who died while serving with Australian troops are still languishing in a Texas refugee camp, 12 months after being evacuated.

“One of their brothers was an interpreter for the Australian Army who was killed by a rogue Afghan Army soldier, alongside three Australian soldiers,” Mr Kolomeitz said.

“If anyone is owed protection by Australia, it is this interpreter’s family.

Enormous backlog of applications causing delay

The ABC contacted Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to discuss these reports, but did not receive a response.

Earlier this week, Mr Giles told SBS News that a taskforce has been established to focus on the resettlement of Afghan nationals.

“We are applying an enormous number of resources to this problem because it is an enormous priority for the government,” he said.

Settlement Council of Australia chief executive, Sandra Elhelw Wright, said visa delays were due to an enormous backlog of applications.

“This is what happens with conflict as demand for resettlement balloons and there are not enough places available for everyone who needs safety,” she told the ABC.

Ms Elhelw Wright said the 6,000 people who have been resettled in the last six months are already contributing to society.

“They are talking about how optimistic they are about their lives in Australia, but the key challenge for them is the concern they have about their family overseas.”

.

Categories
US

Most voters want a chance to support abortion on state ballots

Abortion-rights activists rally at the Indiana Statehouse on June 25, 2022.

Categories
Business

Australian chocolatiers ditch cocoa’s murky colonial history in favor of new trade routes

chocolate aisle

When you stand in the confectionery isolate, how do you choose a block of chocolate? Is it decided by your taste buds? Or maybe your wallet?

The reality is that few of us consider the farm the cocoa was grown on.

If you do, your mind might reach for hazy images of western Africa’s Ivory Coast.

Yan Diczbalis, chief horticulturalist of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, says the region supplies more than half of the global cocoa commodity market.

It is a market that feeds the likes of Nestle, Hershey and Mondelez International, which produces the Cadbury brand.

But it is an old market, one long muddied by allegations of child labour, slavery and underpayment of the farmers who grow the beans.

“A lot of the pre-existing chocolate trading houses are out of Europe and have been around for 100, 200 years, which have grown out of this colonial commodity trade,” Dejan Borisavljevic, owner of Indonesian-based trading company Biji Kakao Trading, said.

“It’s an incredibly old trade route, and of course it’s had lots of issues with transparency.”

Almost all the chocolate on supermarket shelves is sourced in bulk from this commodity market — and when you are talking about the trade of over 4.5 million tonnes of cocoa, it can be difficult to trace a bean’s origin any further than the continent it was grown on .

For consumers, this makes it almost impossible to guarantee that any of your dollars make it to the farmer.

“I suppose [payments for cocoa are] beyond the remit of ours — all we know is we can’t influence the commodity market at all,” Mr Diczbalis said.

Cocoa farmers growing for the commodity market rely on corporate morality and schemes like Fairtrade to ensure growers are being justly paid for their product.

Mr Diczbalis says it is a system that lacks accountability.

Mulch around the cocoa beans
The cocoa beans grow inside a “mulch”, which is removed before roasting.(Courtesy: Igor Van Gerwen)

A modern take on the historic cocoa trade

While container upon container of cocoa beans is unloaded onto the ports of Amsterdam and Hamburg another, albeit smaller, market is emerging.

Between the tall, corrugated iron sheds that line Toowoomba’s industrial area sits a small, unimposing building — one that you are likely to smell before you see.

That aroma comes from a factory owned by a pair of Swedish chocolatiers who make Australian chocolate using cocoa beans sourced from the Solomon Islands and Indonesia.

Trevor Smith
Trevor Smith at his Toowoomba chocolate factory only sources cocoa from farms in the Solomon Islands and Indonesia.(Rural ABC: Alys Marshall)

When Magda and Trevor Smith moved from Sweden to Australia, they wanted to continue their chocolate-making, but quickly realized that they would prefer a new trade route.

“Europe has an established cocoa industry, that spice trade has been going on for many hundreds of years,” Mr Smith, co-owner of Metiisto Chocolate, said.

“It makes sourcing cocoa [from Europe] really easy, but what it does is distance you from the actual farms.”

“You can’t check where your cocoa is coming from; you’ve got too many people in between you and the cocoa farmers.”

Instead of buying from the global commodity market, the Smiths buy their chocolate direct from Pacific farmers.

Those farmers include the likes of Robert Waisu, who has been growing cocoa in the Solomon Islands for the past 35 years.

Robert Waisu
Robert Waisu harvesting cocoa pods in the Solomon Islands.(Supplied: Robert Waisu)

An opportunity for Pacific cocoa growers

Mr Waisu sells his cocoa direct to “bean to bar” chocolatiers like the Smiths of Toowoomba.

“I’m selling my cocoa as premium cocoa that’s sun-dried at an attractive premium price,” Mr Waisu said.

“The domestic market pays us here 12 [Solomon Islands] dollars per kilogram of dry beans; they [the specialty buyers] pay us more like 50 per cent on top of this.”

He and other Solomon Islands cocoa farmers are proud of their cocoa’s quality, something he says the rest of the world is yet to recognize.

“Other people, globally, they don’t really know what’s going on here. But myself, I am really proud; we are really proud,” he said.

cocoa bean
Cocoa bean samples displaying the farm’s origins.(Rural ABC: Alys Marshall)

Chocolatiers like the Smiths are working to provide this recognition, labeling each of their bars with the name of the locality the cocoa was grown in.

Heather Smyth, a flavor chemist at the University of Queensland, describes it as something of an emerging market.

“For big companies in the likes of Cadbury, they’re really looking for a very consistent cocoa flavor that matches the flavor that they had before and the year before that and the year before that,” Dr Smyth said.

“SW [major corporations] will actually source cocoa from a whole lot of different regions to come up with a flavor profile which is recognizable to their customers.”

Heather Smyth
Heather Smyth believes there are growing opportunities to market cocoa by region. (Supplied: University of Queensland)

“But just as we recognize that wine and coffee have diverse flavor types, we need to recognize that with cocoa as well.”

“Within different regions there can be spicy notes, there’s often fruity notes that are present, even citrus notes, then of course your typical chocolate and coffee flavours.”

“It allows the community to receive payment for their specialty beans and for the quality of cocoa that they produce.”

legitimate transparency

While work is being done to reform the traditional cocoa trade system, Mr Diczbalis says that these emerging “bean to bar” trade routes are a good alternative for consumers looking for a transparent supply chain.

“All that sort of plantation cropping — for want of a better term — was sort of instigated during the colonial era,” Mr Diczbalis said.

“We can’t go back and change the way that it was. But what we can do is work with producers currently to improve their outlook.”

.

Categories
Technology

The Hacking of Starlink Terminals Has Begun

The Hacking of Starlink Terminals Has Begun

“From a high-level view, there are two obvious things that you could try to attack: the signature verification or the hash verification,” Wouters says. The glitch works against the signature verification process. “Normally you want to avoid shorts,” he says. “In this case we do it on purpose.”

Initially, Wouters attempted to glitch the chip at the end of its boot cycle—when the Linux operating system has fully loaded—but ultimately found it easier to cause the glitch at the start of the boot. This way was more reliable, Wouters says. To get the glitch to work, he says, he had to stop decoupling capacitors, which are used to smooth out the power supply, from operating. Essentially, the attack disables the decoupling capacitors, runs the glitch to bypass the security protections, and then enables the decoupling capacitors.

This process allows the researcher to run a patched version of Starlink’s firmware during the boot cycle and ultimately allows access to its underlying systems. In response to the research, Wouters says, Starlink offered him researcher-level access to the device’s software, although he says he declined as he had gone too deep with the work and wanted to build the modchip. (During testing, I hung the modified dish out of this research lab’s window and used a plastic bag as a makeshift waterproofing system.)

Starlink also issued a firmware update, Wouters says, that makes the attack harder, but not impossible, to execute. Anyone wanting to break into the dish in this way would have to put a lot of time and effort into doing so. While the attack isn’t as devastating as being able to take down satellite systems or connectivity, Wouters says it can be used to learn more about how the Starlink network operates.

“What I am working on now is communicating with the backend servers,” Wouters explains. Despite making the details of the modchip available for download on Github, Wouters does not have any plans to sell finished modchips, nor is he providing people with patched user terminal firmware or the exact details of the glitch he used.

As an increasing amount of satellites are launched—Amazon, OneWeb, Boeing, Telesat, and SpaceX are creating their own constellations—their security will come under greater scrutiny. In addition to providing homes with internet connections, the systems can also help to get ships online, and play a role in critical infrastructure. Malicious hackers have already shown that satellite internet systems are a target. As Russian troops invaded Ukraine, alleged Russian military hackers targeted the Via-Sat satellite system, deploying wiper malware that bricked people’s routers and knocked them offline. Around 30,000 internet connections in Europe were disrupted, including more than 5,000 wind turbines.

“I think it’s important to assess how secure these systems are because they are critical infrastructure,” Wouters says. “I don’t think it’s very far-fetched that certain people would try to do this type of attack because it is quite easy to get access to a dish like this.”

Update 5 pm ET August 10, 2022: After Wouters’ conference talk, Starlink published a six-page PDF explaining how it secures its systems. “We find the attack to be technically impressive, and it is the first attack of its kind that we are aware of in our system,” the paper says. “We expect attackers with invasive physical access to be able to take malicious actions on behalf of a single Starlink kit using its identity, so we rely on the design principle of ‘least privilege’ to constrain the effects in the broader system.”

Starlink reiterates that the attack needs physical access to a user terminal and emphasizes its secure boot system, which was compromised by the glitching process, is only impacted on that one device. Wider parts of the overall Starlink system are not impacted. “Normal Starlink users do not need to be worried about this attack affecting them, or take any action in response,” Starlink says.

.

Categories
Entertainment

Armie Hammer: Alleged victims come forward in House of Hammer trailer

Armie Hammer: Alleged victims come forward in House of Hammer trailer

Armie Hammer’s alleged victims have come forward in the first trailer for a new documentary series.

Following a series of scandals, the film star is reportedly “totally broke” and selling timeshare properties from an office cubicle in the Cayman Islands.

The first trailer of House of Hammer, released on Wednesday by the US network Discovery, includes footage of two of Hammer’s exes, Courtney Vucekovich and Julia Morrison, coming forward to detail their claimed harrowing experiences and include screenshots of messages and voice notes the Social network star allegedly sent them, reported the new york post.

“I have a fantasy about having someone prove their love and devotion and tying them up in a public place at night and making their body free use,” one alleged message from Hammer says.

Another voice memo, purportedly sent by Hammer, employs more violent imagery.

“My bet was going to involve showing up at your place and completely tying you up and incapacitating you and being able to do whatever I wanted to every single hole in your body until I was done with you,” the memo says.

The three-part series also features Hammer’s aunt Casey Hammer, who is the granddaughter of Armand Hammer, the businessman who made the family fortune in the oil business.

“I’m about to reveal the dark, twisted secrets of the Hammer family,” Casey says in the trailer.

the Call Me By Your Name star, 35, has called all of the allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse “bulls – t,” while his lawyer, Andrew Brettler, has denied any wrongdoing.

“From day one, Mr Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with” every sexual partner “have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory,” Brettler told the new york post‘s Page Six in a statement.

Armie, who has been living in the Cayman Islands near estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers and their two children, spent six months in a Florida rehab center, which was paid for by Robert Downey Jr.

House of Hammer premieres in September in the US. It’s not clear when it will be available in Australia.

This story appeared in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.

.

Categories
Sports

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch slammed for comments on Ken Hinkley coaching future

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch slammed for comments on Ken Hinkley coaching future

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has been slammed by AFL journalist Caroline Wilson and former coach Ross Lyon for bending to the will of the club’s fan base.

The Power have had a shocker of a season, the worst under Ken Hinkley’s tenure, leading to calls for the coach’s head.

Watch every blockbuster AFL match this weekend Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Certain supporters even plastered a “sack Hinkley” poster over a sign near the club’s headquarters last week.

Port Adelaide has just eight wins from 20 matches and sits 12th on the AFL ladder with two rounds remaining.

But while many footy pundits expect Hinkley to still be in charge at Port in 2023, Koch sparked a furore when he appeared to deliver a warning for his coach.

“Obviously this year will be the worst finish that we’ve had in the last 10 years and something’s got to change. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to make some hard decisions,” Koch told FIVEaa on Monday.

“It’s not just about one individual person, it’s the whole program. Turn it around or watch out.

“Every single person’s role will be assessed at the end of the year, as we do each year.”

Speaking on Channel 9’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night, Wilson said Koch’s comments didn’t sit well with everyone at the Power and he will address them this week.

“I gather there will be some comments made regarding what he said on Monday night, comments that really inflamed the football club and really put Ken Hinkley under enormous pressure,” she said.

“I don’t think I know of another footy club in the AFL who is so beholden to their supporters as Port Adelaide.

“What this has done is forced some pretty robust conversations with the chairman and some of his senior people. I think hopefully, for Ken Hinkley’s sake, his job will be guaranteed tomorrow (Thursday) night.

“Until that happens, I’m still not convinced GWS, if they miss out on Alastair Clarkson, they won’t make a late play for Ken Hinkley.

“I should also mention Chris Davies, who is the head of footy at Port Adelaide, and a big Ken Hinkley supporter and has put this program together, North (Melbourne) have had a crack at him. They’re not the only club.

“I don’t think Chris Davies will go anywhere as long as Ken Hinkley stays at Port Adelaide. But what an environment to be going into next year.”

Ex-Fremantle and St Kilda coach Lyon said Koch’s comments threatened to divide the club in an attempt to appease outspoken fans.

“I think everyone in the AFL now talks about connection, harmony, environment,” Lyon told Footy Classified. “And David, for the sake of a sugar hit for his supporter base, to make them feel better that we’re ruthless and we’ll turn them over, the damage to the people that work there, grind their way through an AFL season , it’s disappointing.

“It comes from the top. It’s symbolic of how you feel about the people working for you.”

Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd said although it was not the ideal way to share the message, he agreed with Koch’s sentiment.

“He may not have said that publicly, but I agree with everything he said,” Lloyd said.

“Even if Ken Hinkley stays, what he (Koch) said there, it may have to look at the support staff, recruiting.”

But Lyon argued: “That should be a given you do that every year.

“You don’t need to sugar hit the door publicly and insult your people. He’s injured staff that have committed and for a long period of time have gone close. Not necessary.”

Koch was also slammed earlier in the week by Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes.

“Either make a call or back him (Hinkley) in … ‘turn it around or watch out’, what a ridiculous thing to say,” Cornes told SEN on Tuesday.

“The thing that David Koch needs to do is make a call, is he your coach or is he not your coach?

“And if he’s not your coach, you have to tell him now so that he has the opportunity and you give him the respect to go and find another job.

“There are two vacant coaching jobs right now that Ken Hinkley would absolutely be in the mix for it, but he can’t be in the mix for it if he thinks he’s going to be coaching Port Adelaide next year.

“Conversely, if he is your guy and you’ve contracted him for next year, which they have, back him in now. There’s nothing to be learned in the next two weeks that you don’t already know and you haven’t already discovered in the last 10 weeks.

“It was a stupid thing to say, it sent the media into a spin and it now has everyone questioning if Ken Hinkley will be there next year.”

Read related topics:Adelaide

.

Categories
Australia

The most revealing moments of Xiao Qian’s Press Club address make clear why Australia’s relationship with China is so strained

A close up on Xiao Qian.

It’s 18 years since a Chinese ambassador last took up an invitation to appear at the National Press Club in Canberra. That was five ambassadors ago.

Two years ago, the deputy head of mission, Wang Xining, turned up to spar with Australian journalists. He was combative but could also make his point from him by quoting Shakespeare, and rarely went beyond the official party line. After all, he wasn’t Beijing’s top diplomat in town.

It’s a long time since China’s most authoritative voice in Canberra had agreed to front the press. Until yesterday.

Ambassador Xiao Qian didn’t come with poetic quotes or clever lines that could be interpreted one way or another. This was raw and revealing.

In his prepared remarks, Xiao made a token effort to encourage further progress in repairing ties.

loading

There were references to how “friendly” relations had been over the past 50 years. There were reminders of how much trade has grown (and how relevant Australia has become on China economically).

Once the questions began, however, it became very clear just how uncompromising China would be on the core issues causing such difficulty in the relationship, particularly the big one — Taiwan.

Hope for change… and a reality check

The change of government in Australia raised some hope of a relationship reset. The two countries’ defense ministers met, followed by the foreign ministers. This was more dialogue than had occurred in years.

Then came Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and a reality check.

China’s extraordinary military reaction, involving ballistic missiles, fighter jets and warships, prompted condemnation from the United States, Japan, Australia and others. This, in turn, prompted condemnation from Beijing, urging everyone to butt out of its “internal” affairs.

Taiwanese Pelosi
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during a trip to the island last week.(Taiwan Presidential Office)

At the Press Club podium in Canberra, Xiao defended the show of military might, saying Pelosi’s visit had “compelled” China to respond.

He suggested the people of Taiwan wanted reunification with China, ignoring numerous opinion polls which he said were “misleading”. Fake news, as Donald Trump might say.

China would use “all necessary means” to bring Taiwan back to the fold and “you can use your imagination” as to what that might involve. Of course, no-one really needs to use their imagination, after the military display of the past week.

.

Categories
US

Sesame Place announces diversity initiatives after accusations of racial bias

Sesame Place announces diversity initiatives after accusations of racial bias

Last month, a Black family accused Sesame Place Philadelphia character performers of racial discrimination and filed a lawsuit against parent company SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in federal court in Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Quinton Burns and his child, says that during their visit to Sesame Place in June, employees dressed as “Sesame Street” characters only interacted with White visitors during a meet and greet event.

By the end of September, all employees will undergo training and education programs led by national experts, Sesame Place said in a statement Tuesday. The programs are designed to address bias, promote inclusion, prevent discrimination and ensure guests and employees feel welcome, it added.

“Initiatives include a comprehensive racial equity assessment, the development and implementation of an anti-bias training and education program, and enhancements to ensure a best-in-class diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) program,” it said.

“The racial equity assessment will include a review of policies, processes, and practices that impact guests, employees, suppliers and the community to identify opportunities for improvement.”

The training will become a regular part of workforce development, and will extend to all new employees.

“We have already begun engaging with employees, guests, civil rights groups as well as community leaders, and instituted some interim measures at the park while the review proceeds. The actions we are taking will help us deliver on our promise to provide an equitable and inclusive experience for all our guests every day,” said Cathy Valeriano, president of Sesame Place Philadelphia. “We are committed to making sure our guests feel welcome, included and enriched by their visits to our park.”

The lawsuit alleges that employees dressed as “Sesame Street” characters Elmo, Ernie, Telly Monster and Abby Cadabby refused to engage with the Burns family and ignored other Black guests in attendance.

The lawsuit did not specify the race of the employees or describe the interaction in detail. It came on the heels of a public apology from amusement park officials to another Black family after a video went viral on social media showing two Black children seemingly snubbed by the Rosita character.

In addition to monetary demands, the lawsuit asked the court to compel the defendants to issue a formal apology to Black Americans.

It also asked the company to conduct psychological screenings to avoid hiring racially mustachioed people, provide existing employees with mandatory cultural sensitivity training and hire a national expert to educate them on the history of discrimination against Black people in America.

CNN’s Lauren del Valle contributed to this report.

.