Monday, 18 December - Squiz Today

Good morning, it’s Monday, 18 December. In your Squiz Today…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Microsoft of Sydney's Andrew 'The Annihilator' Ngai's third consecutive win of the tech giant's Excel World Championship in Las Vegas. The actuary uses the spreadsheet program in his daily work, but says the competition was "pretty intense" - which is exactly how we feel when using the program… 

A freedom fight in Hong Kong

The Squiz 

A landmark trial begins in Hong Kong today, with pro-democracy activist and publisher Jimmy Lai facing court over national security charges. The millionaire publisher of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily (until it was forced to shut in 2021) is a British citizen, and pundits say it’s likely he will be convicted and will spend the rest of his life in prison. The case has been widely condemned by human rights organisations around the world, and the UK’s Foreign Office says that Lai is “being deliberately targeted to silence criticism under the guise of national security.” But China’s having none of it - a spokesperson says that Lai “committed various sinful deeds” as a “major plotter and instigator of the anti-China riots in Hong Kong”.

Back it up a bit… 

Good shout because it’s been a while since we’ve talked about what’s happened in Hong Kong. The potted history is that it was a British territory up until 1997, when control was handed back to China on the condition that the individual rights Hong Kongers enjoyed under the Brits' democratic regime were maintained for the next 50 years. But that wasn't to be… As China asserted itself over the territory, there were big pro-democracy protests, including in 2019 when Lai was loud in his condemnation of China’s actions. That saw the now 76yo charged in August 2020 under the controversial national security law and accused of sedition and colluding with foreign forces.

What’s happened with China’s crackdown? 

Well, let’s just say it hasn’t eased up… Since the passing of that 2020 law, Hong Kong’s made a practice of placing bounties on pro-democracy activists who live overseas, including in Australia. And a recent election that was for “patriots only” saw a record-low 27.5% of eligible voters turn out to pick from candidates vetted by pro-China committees. As for Lai’s trial, Hong Kong passed a law earlier this year to ensure he couldn't be represented by his preferred British lawyer. The case will be heard in open court, which Hong Kong's security secretary Chris Tang said would allow the world to see how "bad" Lai's conduct was. Human rights activists expect a guilty verdict to be handed down next year, with Tang previously praising the 100% conviction rate under the new national security law.

Day 12:  Unwrapping your wrapping game…

Cheers to the very efficient 6% of Squizers who opt for scribbling the recipient’s name with a texta on the shopping bag… Following closely are the 9% embracing Furoshiki-style wrapping. But taking the crown is the majority of Squizers (65%) who revel in the joy and pride of well-wrapped gifts. Whether you're opting for a quick checkout grab or sweating the details, Woolworths has the little things that make Christmas special. 

Squiz the Rest

That’s a lot of rain…

Far North Queensland is absolutely copping it with ongoing rain and massive flooding thanks to the remnants of Cyclone Jasper. Rivers and creeks across the Barron River catchment are overflowing their banks, with the region receiving a drenching of over 1500mm of rain over 5 days. The wild weather has led to road closures cutting off the city of Cairns, and the airport was also closed overnight. Cairns Mayor Terry James said the emergency has been intense because Jasper is "not going anywhere… It's just moving very, very slowly." As the storm continues to dawdle, authorities have told residents to head for higher ground and wait it out with the rain set to ease today. As for Jasper, there's a chance it could redevelop into a cyclone, potentially impacting that part of the world again later this week. 

Another terrible twist in the Gaza war

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is feeling the heat following the accidental killing of 3 Israeli hostages by their own military forces. It’s unknown if the 3 men escaped or were abandoned, but they emerged from a building near the Gaza border - one had a white flag on a stick when they were shot and killed by an Israeli soldier who thought they were terrorists. Despite the criticism over his handling of the war, Netanyahu said they must continue with the military action because it’s keeping the pressure on Hamas - “without which we have nothing," he said on Saturday. Reports say Israel has reentered talks to cut a new hostage deal with a meeting between senior officials from Israel and Qatar - the first since the collapse of a 7-day ceasefire in late November.

Prince Harry has a win

He’s been awarded £140,600 (that's $266,358.92 to be exact…) by London's High Court, which found he was a victim of phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). Diving into 33 published articles that the Duke of Sussex said resulted from phone hacking, the court found that was the case for 15 of them, leading him to call for a criminal investigation against MGN. Former Mirror editor Piers Morgan (who has accused Harry of wanting to destroy the monarchy…) denied any involvement, saying, "I've never hacked a phone or told anyone else to hack a phone". But the court found "compelling evidence" that senior MGN execs and in-house lawyers knew about the illegal practice. Harry hailed the ruling as a "great day for truth", and his victory could set a precedent for his ongoing lawsuits against other UK media outlets over alleged phone hacking and privacy breaches.

Spinning a remarkable record

Aussie spin bowler Nathan Lyon says he’s “pretty proud” of becoming the eighth bowler in Test cricket history to take 500 wickets, and the third Aussie after Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. He achieved that late yesterday against Pakistan in Perth, which we won by 360 runs with a day to spare. "For a young kid growing up in country New South Wales, 500 wickets is a bloody long way away so, a lot of hard work but something I'm very proud about," he said. Lyon is an off-spin bowler - he explains it here, but if you're a right-handed batter, he serves up balls that bounce in front of you and then spins left to your bad side. Lyon is a bit of a character… Since 2013, he's held the role of song master, leading the team's victory song, Under the Southern Cross. And last night, Lyon said he was going to celebrate his record “in Warnie fashion” - which we think means making a cup of tea and getting an early night… 

Softening ‘em up… 

Goffin's cockatoos are showing off their culinary skills by dunking their food in water before tucking in. These clever birds have been spotted dipping dry toast - a rusk, in fact - in water before chowing down. Alice Auersperg heads up the Goffin Lab in Austria - she reckons it's impressive that they go to all this effort to change the texture of their food, making it easier to consume. If you’re a bikkie-with-a-cuppa type of person, you know the drill well…. Earlier this year, these smarty-pants cockatoos were found to be capable of picking and sequencing tools to undertake a task. That made them the only other non-human species known to use tools in the wild other than chimpanzees. Oh, and a wily breed of crow in New Caledonia - but as Moira Rose knows, crows are going to rule the world one day…

Apropos of Nothing

Entrepreneur/author/style leader Zoë Foster Blake has bought back her Go-To Skincare brand. She sold just over half the company for $89 million in 2021, but the acquirers went bust earlier this year - and she’s now got it back for $8.5 million. That warrants a spa day… 

Famous docu-journo Louis Theroux has shaved off his eyebrows. It’s not a prank gone wrong, he has alopecia and says “no eyebrows is better than patchy eyebrows.” Next stop - microblading/cosmetic tattooing…

Oh Christmas tree… If you’re basking in the joy of a fulsome fake tree this year, you’ll be amused by this specimen that’s sold for almost $6,500. Called ‘the humblest Christmas tree in the world’, it’s got 25 thin branches and some berries. In its defence, it is more than 100 years old…

Squiz the Day

SA, WA and NT Year 12 students get their ATAR results

6.45pm (AEDT) - AFLW National Draft - Melbourne

Qatar’s National Day

Republic Day in Niger

International Migrants Day

World Arabic Language Day 

A birthday for Keith Richards (1943), Steven Spielberg (1946), Brad Pitt (1963) and Billie Eilish (2001)

Anniversary of:

• the premiere of Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite in St Petersburg, Russia (1892)

• the premiere of Avatar (2009)

• the US House of Representatives voting to impeach President Donald Trump (2019)

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