Michmutters – Page 704 – My WordPress Blog
Categories
Entertainment

Beyoncé removes Kelis interpolation from song after Milkshake singer complains | Beyonce

Beyoncé has removed an interpolation of Kelis’ song Milkshake from her new song Energy, days after removing an ableist slur from another song on her latest album Renaissance.

At the end of the original version of Energy, Beyoncé sang a series of “las” to the tune sung by Kelis in the 2003 hit song Milkshake. Even before Beyoncé’s highly anticipated album was officially released on 29 July, Kelis has been outspoken about her displeasure that she was n’t consulted about the decision, calling it an act of “thievery.”

But late on Tuesday, the version found on streaming platforms Tidal and Apple Music had been updated to remove the interpolation. Interpolation involves altering an existing sound, while sampling directly takes part of a song without changing it.

Kelis was not a writer or producer on Milkshake, with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, also known as the Neptunes, officially credited as the song’s writers.

Both Williams and Hugo were previously listed as composers on Beyoncé’s song Energy, but appeared to have been removed from the song’s listing on her website early on Wednesday once the track was updated.

In a Guardian interview from 2020, Kelis claimed she was “blatantly lied to and tricked” by the Neptunes and, as a result, “made nothing from sales of her first two albums”. In a Vulture interview earlier this year, Hugo brushed off her comments: “I heard about her sentiment from her toward that from her. I mean, I don’t handle that. I usually hire business folks to help out with that kind of stuff.”

Using Milkshake was a “trigger” for her, Kelis wrote on Instagram after Energy was released, and her comments were reflective of her wider dispute with Williams and Hugo. “It’s beyond this song at this point,” she wrote, adding, “it’s not about me being mad about Beyoncé.”

The Guardian has reached out to Beyoncé’s spokesperson for comment.

This is the second change made to Renaissance after its release on 29 July, with Beyoncé also changing a line in her song Heated to remove a word that is considered ableist.

“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” a representative for the musician said in a statement.

On Tuesday, after the lyrics of Heated were changed, Monica Lewinsky, the activist and former White House intern who had an affair with US president Bill Clinton, tweeted “uhmm, while we’re at it… #partition”. The hashtag referred to Beyoncé’s 2013 song that includes the lyric, “He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown.”

Musician Lizzo removed the same ableist slur from her song Grrrls last month.

Categories
Sports

Darren Lockyer Bunker comments, encouraging players to dive to draw penalty

Queensland great Darren Lockyer says interference from the Bunker is encouraging players to milk penalties during incidents of foul play.

Speaking in response to Kurt Capewell’s alleged dive during the Broncos’ 32-18 win over the Tigers on Saturday – where the second rower lingered on the ground after copping a high shot – Lockyer told Wide World of Sports’ QLDER the only reason players remain down is if the on-field referee has failed to see an incident, giving the Bunker time to intervene.

“I don’t like this (diving) being in our game but players are incentivized to do it because of the Bunker,” Lockyer said.

READMORE: Manly star blasts teammates for creating ‘rift’

READMORE: Pop star Cody Simpson’s message after impressive swim

READMORE: Oscar Piastri rejects F1 promotion in stunning move

“If the on-field referee misses it then let it go and then you won’t see guys being incentivized to lay down and milk a penalty.

“There’s no doubt that’s what Kurt was looking to get, was a penalty, and he did get hit high but it was missed by the referee at the time and if it was bad enough the judiciary should look after it after the game.”

To stop players from flopping, Lockyer suggested stripping back the powers of the Bunker to just point scoring plays.

“I think we maybe need to go back a step and just let the Bunker officiate on tries because if you allow the Bunker to step in on these foul play issues, then unfortunately the players are incentivized to do it.

“If the on-field referee misses it or touch judge misses it, then the Bunker can’t come in on it.”

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!

The incredible stories behind State of Origin’s one-game wonders

Categories
Australia

Anthony Albanese defends Labor’s housing policy as Greens accuses government of increasing waitlist to public homes

Anthony Albanese defends Labor's housing policy as Greens accuses government of increasing waitlist to public homes

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected claims his government’s flagship social housing policy was denying accommodation for thousands of Australians as he hit back at the Greens for blocking developments across the country.

Labor took a slate of housing policies to the election in a bid to bolster public accommodation for vulnerable families.

The platform is a key priority for the Prime Minister who has often spoken of his own experience living in social housing.

But newly elected Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather asked Mr Albanese if the government’s plan to establish 4,000 new dwellings a year for five years would see the “waitlist grow” and deny thousands of families the “same chance”.

“I indeed do understand the importance of having a secure roof over your head, and what that can do for the opportunity to advance in life. I know it because I have lived it,” Mr Albanese said.

Stream more on politics with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends October 31, 2022

“I know that the member’s political party has substantial representation in local government and what I’d encourage him to do is to actually encourage the Greens political party to back affordable housing rather than just oppose it.

“Because in my local area, when there’s been programs in Marrickville, they have been opposed.”

Demand for public housing is significantly outstripping supply with the waiting list increasing by more than 8,000 households in 2021 while less than 4,000 new dwellings came online in the same period.

The waiting list currently sits at 163,508, according to new data published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The Albanese Government’s $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will build up to 30,000 new properties for vulnerable Australians over the next five years.

Up to 10,000 of those dwellings will be provided to frontline workers, with the remaining 20,000 to be allocated for vulnerable families.

Mr Chandler-Mather said the waitlist would continue to grow if only 4,000 houses were made available a year when the list has grown by an average of 7,662 a year since 2018.

The Prime Minister said the Commonwealth was committed to the issue and would continue to work with state and local governments to bolster the supply of social housing.

“We also established a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council that will work with state and local government importantly to deliver increased housing, be it social housing or affordable housing, particularly through community housing organisations,” he said.

The government has also pledged $200 million for maintenance of existing housing in indigenous communities, $100 million for crisis accommodation for women and children and $30 million for veterans at risk of homelessness.

.

Categories
US

Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan amid US-China tensions: Live Updates

Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan amid US-China tensions: Live Updates

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center left, and Taiwanese President President Tsai Ing-wen arrive for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, August 3.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center left, and Taiwanese President President Tsai Ing-wen arrive for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, August 3. (Taiwan Presidential Office/AP)

Whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s risky trip to Taiwan was a valuable statement of US resolve or provoked China for no strategic gain depends on when, or if, Beijing’s consequent fury and military posturing abate.

Pelosi visited legislators and President Tsai Ing-Wen on the democratic self-governing island on Wednesday, giving her hosts the trappings of a nation-state visit sure to enrage the Chinese.

Her trip has already caused uproar in tense US-China relations, with the communist giant sending jets to the edge of Taiwanese air space and launching military exercises that sent an unsubtle message that Taiwan is surrounded.

However, if these eruptions stop short of a full-scale crisis in the Taiwan Strait, a vital strategic waterway, and avoid the possibility of miscalculations between Chinese and Taiwanese forces, or even Chinese and US assets in the region, the storm over Pelosi’s mission could be temporary. The imagery of the US House speaker bolstering a democracy under China’s giant shadow could become one of the signature moments in US Asia-Pacific foreign policy.

US-China tensions: The geopolitical relationship between Washington and Beijing is the most important nation-to-nation clash on the globe. It is unfolding as a generational tussle between two civilizations keen to imprint their values, economic systems and strategic hegemony on the rest of the world.

While the Biden administration has followed the Trump White House in treating China as an adversary rather than as a competitor, the prime goal of US policy is still to avoid what could be a disastrous future war between the two nations.

So if Pelosi’s visit — a personal rebuke to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has made the takeover of Taiwan an existential quest — permanently worsens already poor US-China relations and brings forward what some see as an inevitable superpower confrontation, it might turn out to be a massive miscalculation.

The same will be true if her trip prompts Beijing to take steps that rock the peace and prosperity enjoyed by the Taiwanese in their dynamic island home, a factor often ignored by China hawks taking tough stands to bolster their political position in the US.

Read the full analysis here.

.

Categories
Entertainment

Constance Hall debuts new cropped haircut

Constance Hall debuts new cropped haircut

Mummy blogger and fashion designer Constance Hall has debuted a new look that has left her feeling more “feminine” than ever.

Hall, who is based in Western Australia, has sported her iconic long black locks for many years but recently decided on the spur of the moment it was time for them to go.

Taking to Facebook, she announced her decision before she debuted her new look, revealing her husband and children were against the decision.

“However I am superstitious and I believe that a woman who changes her hair changes her life,” she wrote.

“I’m also the divine feminine and long hair is about as essential to the divine feminine as perky t*ts.

“I have come to accept that I will always regret cutting my hair off but always feel compelled to do it as the years pass and my desire to let go of old energy increases, the hair gets lopped off, the relief comes and sooner or later the regret kicks in with the long road of hair growth ahead and around and around we go.”

Fans nervously waited before Hall showed a photo of her new jawline-length haircut, revealing she felt sexy and fresh again.

Hall’s followers were quick to compliment her on the new look.

One person said: “I have to say when you announced your hair cut yesterday I was a bit invested in how I thought you should look. But wow! The most amazing part of your new style is your smile. Fricken awesome.”

Another said: “Hair weighs you down mentally and emotionally sometimes – it’s good to feel light again.”

A third added: “WOW, your hair looks great on you, you must feel so free, I wish I had the spirit to do this.”

The day after debuting her new look, Hall shared she hadn’t had numbers on her photos like the reveal in a long time.

She added the comments were a far cry from people telling her she “was her hair” and she felt extremely “feminine”.

She also took advantage of the high traffic on her post to encourage people to have a conversation about organ donation.

“Unless someone you love has waited for that life saving call or you have heard someone talk about what they would do with the miracle of life if it happened or you have seen the look on a mother’s face whose last chance for her son has just ran out of time, you probably haven’t ever really considered what lives your organs could go on to save long once you are no longer here,” she said.

“I’m not trying to convince anyone to donate their organs if it goes against their wishes, I’m trying to minimize the amount of wasted organs, buried with a body who could have and would have saved another life if only someone knew their wishes.”

.

Categories
Sports

AFL: Mabior Chol makes most of opportunity given to him by Gold Coast Suns

AFL: Mabior Chol makes most of opportunity given to him by Gold Coast Suns

Mabior Chol continues to make the most of the chance given to him by a Gold Coast Suns side whose slim AFL finals hopes could rest on the boot of the former Richmond forward.

With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the Suns remain a mathematical chance of playing finals football for the first time in the club’s history.

It’s a tall order and the Suns will need other results to go their way, but with Chol in stellar form, it’s not yet impossible.

Having joined the Suns this year from the Tigers, where the regular top-flight football was craved wasn’t forthcoming, Chol has rewarded Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew for believing in him.

The 25-year-old, 200cm giant has kicked 43 goals this season, including a career-best single-game haul of five in the Suns’ three-point weekend win over the West Coast Eagles.

“I’ve been seeking an opportunity for a very long time to show what I can do at the highest level,” Chol said ahead of the Suns’ trip to Tasmania for Saturday’s clash against Hawthorn in Launceston.

“I knew coming up here I wasn’t just going to walk straight in. I knew I was going to have to work hard and earn my position.

“There’s been a lot of hard work since the start of the pre-season and it’s just been an exciting season … I knew what I was capable of doing.”

As did Dew, who said Chol was a “real leader” who gave the Suns “great energy”.

“He’s a real thinker of the game,” the Gold Coast mentor said.

“He sees the game really well, he can understand what’s happening, patterns of play, so when he comes to the bench, he’s really aware of how the game’s going.

“The more he gets confidence to voice that to the greater group he’s going to improve his leadership.
“We’re excited by not only what he’s done, but what’s to eat.”

Chol said the Suns weren’t looking ahead to the finals but instead on the immediate task of beating the Hawks for a second time this season after disposing of them by 67 points in Darwin in May.

“We’re just focusing on each game, each week – we’re not trying to look too far ahead. It’s been exciting,” he said.

The Suns are hopeful another former Tiger, Brandon Ellis, overcomes a shoulder problem to play this weekend after he was a late withdrawal from the team that beat the Eagles.

Dew said of Ellis: “We anticipate he’ll be on the plane to Tassie.”

.

Categories
Australia

Stuart Ayres resigns; Amy Brown to appear as New York trade role investigation continues

Stuart Ayres resigns; Amy Brown to appear as New York trade role investigation continues

Labor is now questioning Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown about the recruitment process for the trade commissioner role based in London.

While it does not relate directly to former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment to the New York position, the opposition is focusing on whether candidates for other trade roles were given special treatment, and whether that involved any government ministers.

Brown has told the inquiry that the London process was run out of NSW Treasury in 2020 and 2021. She said the successful London candidate had been added to the process “late” and, when he was negotiating his contract, felt he had an “elevated status”.

“When negotiations got particularly difficult he said, ‘I’ll just escalate this to the deputy premier or the premier,’” Brown said.

This has been the dialogue:

Work: Has there been a situation in which a person has been appointed to a [trade commissioner position] who wasn’t a shortlisted candidate?

Brown: I don’t have visibility of the process that occurred inside NSW Treasury for the first two appointments … My understanding is that they had a first go at the shortlisting and interview process [for the London position]. There was a front-running candidate and the view was taken that that person was not acceptable.

Work: The view was taken by whom?

Brown: I’m not sure precisely. [Former treasury secretary Mike] Pratt was running the process.

Work: The first process wraps up and there is no suitable candidate found. Is that fair?

Brown: I’m not able to give very much detail because I wasn’t involved… The process was transferred to me once [successful candidate Stephen Cartwright] had been identified as the preferred candidate and reference checks were under way in contract negotiations.

Amy Brown during the inquiry into the appointment of John Barilaro as senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas, at NSW Parliament.

Amy Brown during the inquiry into the appointment of John Barilaro as senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas, at NSW Parliament.Credit:Kate Geraghty

Work: How was Mr Cartwright identified, because I can’t see any repeat of the process?

Brown: I’m not entirely sure of the process, I just know that he was recommended into the process by [former] Secretary Pratt and considered late, and then was the preferred candidate.

Work: Do you believe Mr Pratt would have had conversations with [then-treasurer Dominic Perrottet and then-trade minister John Barilaro] in relation to this appointment?

Brown: I can’t provide any knowledge or understanding on that… In contract negotiations with Mr Cartwright, I got the impression that he felt he had some sort of an elevated status.

Work: What do you mean by elevated status?

Brown: When negotiations got particularly difficult he said, “I’ll just escalate this to the deputy premier or the premier.”

Brown said the contract negotiations took place in late October last year, meaning Dominic Perrottet was the premier being referred to at the time.

Categories
Technology

17 innocent-looking Android apps are stealing banking credentials — delete them before you’re next

Getty Images/cyano66

Your banking credentials aren’t safe, according to Trend Micro research, especially if you have one of the malware-infested apps they’ve discovered in their cybersecurity report. These Google Play Store apps appear to be harmless, but they are injected with banking trojans and behind users’ backs, they’re collecting sensitive information, including banking details, passwords, emails, texts, and more.

The Trend Micro investigators dubbed this malware campaign “DawDropper.” Fortunately, the trojan-packed apps have been removed from the Google Play Store, but that doesn’t automatically remove them from users’ phones. Check out the following 17 blacklisted apps and make sure they’re not on your device.

DawDropper

DawDropper Google Play Store apps (Image credit: Trend Micro)

Interestingly, many of the infected apps were masquerading as “cleaners,” photo and video editors, QR code and document scanners, VPNs and call recorders. The apps in the DawDropper campaign were caught installing four types of banking trojan variants, including Octo, Hydra, Ermac and TeaBot.

Categories
Sports

Supercar news 2022 | Supercars shareholder ditches ownership group

A shareholder in the group which owns Supercars, dubbed Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd (RACE), has sold its stake in the business.

The embattled RACE ownership group has endured a topsy turvy few weeks of late with internal grievances aired publicly and rumors of financial difficulties persisting.

Frustrations recently came to a head after an overseas bid by sports media entertainment company FanTech to buy the business was allegedly rejected.

READMORE: Manly star blasts teammates for creating ‘rift’

READMORE: Pop star Cody Simpson’s message after impressive swim

READMORE: Oscar Piastri rejects F1 promotion in stunning move

The Australian Racing Group (ARG) is among the Supercars ownership group that includes QMS APAC CEO Barclay Nettlefold and investment advisory firm Henslow.

ARG initially sought to buy Supercars on its own but was coaxed into joining the front led by Nettlefold, who, by and large, has been the face of RACE.

Today, motor racing outlet V8 Sleuth revealed ARG has sold part of its shareholding in RACE.

The promoter’s stake accounts for roughly 30 per cent of the ownership group.

Although not confirmed, reports indicate Henslow has bought the shares formerly held by the Australian Racing Group.

“I can confirm that ARG has sold a significant holding in RACE but not its entire holding,” Rogers told V8 Sleuth.

Asked whether Rogers was looking to sell the remaining stake, he said he was “considering that position” and will make a decision in due course.

A deadline is reportedly not far away at which point other shareholders of RACE will decide whether to purchase the remaining Australian Racing Group-owned shares.

Rogers last week told Wide World of Sports that he was upset with the other owners of Supercars.

He bemoaned a supposed lack of cohesion and reluctance to create a homogenous approach to the sport.

It had been hoped the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series and Turtle Wax Trans Am Series would have a greater presence at Supercars events.

Neither series has featured on the Supercars support card since last year’s season finale at Mount Panorama, which was effectively a merger of the Australian Racing Group-run Bathurst International and the Supercars-operated Bathurst 1000.

Tensions were heightened when Shane van Gisbergen was banned by his team Triple Eight Race Engineering from competing in Trans Am under duress from Supercars.

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!

Incredible exhausts: The worst crashes in motorsport history

Categories
Australia

Sydney apartment where Saudi sisters Asra and Amaal were found dead is listed for rent with a shocking disclaimer

Sydney apartment where Saudi sisters Asra and Amaal were found dead is listed for rent with a shocking disclaimer

The Sydney apartment where two sisters were found dead under mysterious circumstances has been listed for rent with a disturbing disclaimer included in the advertisement.

The bodies of Saudi sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were discovered inside their unit at Canterbury, in Sydney’s south-west, on June 7.

Now, the “newly renovated” two bedroom apartment is up for rent again for $520 a week, with the real estate agents issuing a confronting disclaimer at the bottom of the ad.

Stream more local news with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends October 31, 2022

“Disclaimer: This property has found two deceased persons on 06/07/2022, crime scene has been established and it is still under police investigation,” the description wrote.

“According to the police, this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community.”

Mystery continues to surround the death of the asylum seeker sisters asylum seekers who arrived to Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017.

NSW Police released the images of the two women in a press conference last week as they launched a community appeal for anyone who had any information.

Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft said there were no visible signs of forced entry or any injuries to the bodies, which had remained in the unit for “some time”.

Authorities believe they were to have been dead for up to a month before police were called by their landlord as they were behind on rent payments.

“Detectives are interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen or who may have information about the women’s movements in the days and weeks prior to their deaths – which we believe occurred in early May,” she said last Wednesday.

Det Insp Allcroft said police have been in contact with the family of the sisters, who are in Saudi Arabia, adding that there was “nothing to suggest” they were involved in the deaths.

She refused to comment on the visa status of both women and said no information suggested the sisters had fled their home country.

Post mortem examinations have been conducted, however, police are still awaiting a coroner’s report and toxicology results.

.