Acai bowls are a fresh, sweet and delicious Brazilian frozen dish made from acai berry pulp and topped with fresh banana and granola. Boasting lots of colour, flavour and a similar texture to ice cream, it's no wonder acai bowls boomed a few years ago -- and why they are still popular today.
While the acai bowls we have popularised are different to traditional Brazilian acai bowls, we've adopted the dish and made them our own using various frozen fruits and toppings.
Making your own acai bowls at home is surprisingly easy. To make the acai bowl base, all you need is a high-powered blender, frozen acai pulp (available at health food stores), other frozen fruit of your fancy and liquid (coconut water, fruit juice or plant milk all work great).
You will need:
- 1-2 packets of frozen acai pulp
- 1 frozen banana or mango pieces
- ½-1 cup frozen berries
- ½-1 cup liquid (coconut water, plant-based milk, fruit juice)
- Touch of maple syrup or honey (optional)
To top your acai bowl, get creative and choose a variety of ingredients -- try crunchy granola, fresh seasonal fruit, nut butter, dried coconut, nuts and seeds.
Here are three acai bowl recipes to get you started.
1. Classic acai bowl
With its trademark dark purple colour, this acai bowl has a rich ice-creamy texture and is sweet, refreshing and filling. Garnish with coconut flakes, chia seeds, mango and chopped nuts.
Here's the recipe by Hurry The Food Up.
2. Peanut butter and jam acai bowls
If you're ready to take your acai bowl up a notch, try Minimalist Baker's recipe for acai with peanut butter and mixed berries for that 'jam' flavour. It's quick, healthy and even contains some sneaky greens.
3. Acai bowls with sliced figs, pomegranate and cashew butter
For those who really love their toppings, these acai bowls garnished with sliced figs, pomegranate arils, toasted coconut and cashew butter are calling your name.
Here's the recipe by How Sweet Eats.
WASHINGTON ― Daryush Valizadeh, a blogger known as “Roosh V” who calls himself a “neomasculinist and professional pickup artist,” doesn’t believe sexual harassment exists. He told me so in an email, after I sent questions about the wave of women coming forward to accuse high-profile men of misconduct.
“Either a sex crime was committed or not,” he wrote. “If you are too sensitive to work in an environment with men, maybe you should become a housewife instead of attempting to change an environment to suit your extreme fragility.”
Pickup artists aim to help men attract women, sometimes by manipulating women into having sex. They overlap with men’s rights activists — Roosh says he isn’t one — who often spread vile misogynist lies and pseudoscience about women. Mass shooter Elliot Rodger, who was enraged women rejected him, used language common in men’s rights forums, like “who’s the alpha male now, bitches?” Many in both groups strongly oppose feminism because they say women already have too much power.
For people in these groups, the Harvey Weinstein moment — in which powerful men are paying a price for public allegations of sexual harassment and abuse — isn’t surprising. It’s simply another perilous step down the slippery slope they have long warned about, one that leads to a world in which men are equal— if not greater — victims of gender-based discrimination.
Some anti-feminists seem to agree that Weinstein is a bad guy, and at least some of the allegations against him are true. “He’s a disgusting pig who preached feminism while treating women like dogs,” Valizadeh said. But they also fear that “good cases make bad laws,” as Warren Farrell, who is called the father of the men’s rights movement, put it.
Others, like Paul Elam, a prominent men’s rights activist and the founder of the for-profit A Voice For Men, are worried about false accusations. High-profile accusations that turned out to be wrong have damaged the lives of “many innocent men,” he said, and made real victims less likely to be believed. (Yes, Elam’s last name is “male” spelled backwards. He says it’s not a pseudonym.)
Women have used the post-Weinstein climate to draw attention to how common sexual harassment and abuse is, in some cases using the hashtag #MeToo. But some men’s rights activists see themselves as being unfairly lumped in with the Weinsteins of the world.
“Every-time a famous guy is accused of sexual harassment it means every man must be painted with the same brush,” a user complained last month on Reddit’s Red Pill subreddit. Red Pill is a popular place for men’s rights activists to congregate. Its name is a reference to the movie “The Matrix” and describes waking up to an anti-feminist worldview. “Just amazes me you can’t say anything about women, but if one man gets accused of sexual harassment then the internet will blow up,” the person added.
Some also think women are incentivized to make accusations for money. “Two men telling dirty jokes to each other is seen as a Payday for fat lazy spoiled Western women,” another Red Pill user wrote. “They know they’re too incompetent to rise to the top via meritocracy which is why they are trying to do it via lawsuit.”
For many women, coming forward is a tremendous personal sacrifice, one that comes without any promise of being taken seriously ― let alone making money. Some come forward in spite of potential non-disclosure paydays. Ellen Pao says she turned down “millions” in a non-disparagement contract to tell her story. And incredibly wealthy women like Gwyneth Paltrow have accused Weinstein of harassment when they seem to have no financial incentive to do so.
Men’s rights activists have some ideas about how to deal with the current crisis. One “fundamental problem” is when “people don’t stand up for themselves,” and “when they don’t take action on the spot,” Elam explained. He brought up a personal story. When he was in the Army, he told HuffPost, his commanding officer sexually harassed him. (HuffPost did not verify this anecdote.) “My response to him was ‘fuck you.’ Nobody is going to make me violate my values, and if I pay a price for that, that’s the way it is.”
“I am sure it might be construed that my behavior then mirrors what we seem to be seeing from the women making allegations today,” he elaborated in an email. But “I think that would be a mistake. If the officer in question had persisted, or had tried to punish me for rebuffing his advances, I would have most certainly reported him.”
But combatting harassment is not always as simple as confronting a superior. Many victims fear they won’t be believed, or worry they’ll face professional repercussions. An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission study from 2016, for example, cited a 2003 study of 1,167 public-sector employees that found 75 percent of those who spoke out against workplace mistreatment faced some form of retaliation.
Elam and other men’s rights activists also argue that women share at least some responsibility. “For us to clutch pearls and virtue signal over that kind of misbehavior, without also calling women to task on using their bodies and sexuality to get ahead, it leaves us with an incomplete discussion,” Elam said. He claimed that a woman once propositioned him for sex in a job interview in the 1980s. On his website, he described the issue less tastefully: “Women in Hollywood don’t just dive onto the casting couch, they pick the fabric and the color that will make them their sexy best.”
Sexual harassment and abuse are about power, not sex. The allegations that Louis C.K. masturbated in front of multiple women, for example, are about humiliation. As Liz Meriwether wrote in The Cut, “What happened wasn’t actually sex at all; it was one person finding pleasure in another person’s humiliation and fear. What happened was an attack.”
But in the world of men’s rights activists, if the accused looked like actor Brad Pitt, women would never complain about a colleague exposing himself. “If Harvey Weinstein asks a beautiful actress if she wants to get a massage, she might consider that sexual harassment. If Brad Pitt asks the same woman if she wants a massage, she might say, ‘Gee that’s wonderful,’ said Farrell. (Multiple women alleged that Weinstein sexually assaulted them; he didn’t just ask for a massage.)
Some men’s rights activists also see workplace and dating relations as treacherously fraught, when plenty of women argue they’re not. Farrell believes “body language cannot be legislated,” and “we are beginning to destroy women’s opportunities in the workplace” as “men will increasingly fear hiring women because of not knowing when they’re overstepping.” He later added, “Women speaking up is a good step one, but if it becomes just that, then the workplace will become more and more fearful of women, when we all want the workplace to become more and more positively [integrated.]”
Hiring women is good business sense, not some kind of ticking time-bomb for a sexual harassment lawsuit. As Wharton professor Adam Grant and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg pointed out, “Start-ups led by women are more likely to succeed; innovative firms with more women in top management are more profitable; and companies with more gender diversity have more revenue, customers, market share and profits.”
Karen Straughan, an anti-feminist and men’s rights activist based in Edmonton, Alberta, said she has complicated views on the Weinstein fallout. “There are women who are genuinely victims of men’s sexual misconduct,” she said. And “there are reasons I support a presumption of innocence and a high burden of proof.”
Straughan was sexually harassed at a workplace when she was 21, she told HuffPost in an email. When she quit and applied for unemployment insurance, the employer contested the claim. On the bright side, she added, when her now-22-year-old daughter raised complaints of unwanted sexual advances by a colleague at a different workplace, “they took her concerns seriously, and they also took her requests seriously.”
Straughan said she would also like to see change, but she wouldn’t go about it in the same way as some feminists. “The cultural shift I would like to see is one where such allegations are taken seriously when they are made. By seriously, I don’t mean ‘believe the victim’ and start the lynching. What I would like to see is less emotionality and more due process.”
Straughan acknowledged the same possibility that feminists have: backlash. “All that needs to happen is for a handful of bandwagoning women to level accusations that turn out to be demonstrably false, and the entire edifice will collapse. If such a thing happens, you might even see a popular toxic femininity narrative born out of it,” she said.
“I wouldn’t object to such a thing.”
Cosplaying has made its way into the mainstream. But unless you’re a diehard Disney fan, chances are you haven’t heard of “Disneybounding.”
For the uninitiated, Disney ]]>
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“Disneybounding is a way to express your love for Disney through fashion,” blogger Leslie Kay, who runs the Tumblr ]]> , told HuffPost. “It uses clothes to recreate the outfits of your favorite Disney characters without being costume-y. You could go to school or the mall in a Disneybound and not get pegged for being in costume.”
![Leslie Kay, the woman behind the DisneyBou
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Leslie coined the term somewhat accidentally back in 2011. Her blog DisneyBound started as a ]]> where she wrote about her excitement about an upcoming trip to Walt Disney World ― her first visit since she was a kid. She was, quite literally, Disney-bound.
Then, one weekend, Leslie began putting together contemporary outfits based on some of ]]>
“For me, it was definitely just a way to express myself,” Leslie told HuffPost. “I needed a creative outlet. I started to create Polyvore sets based off of my favorite Disney characters and within days, my following grew from a couple hundred to a couple thousand. Three weeks later I was on national television talking about Disneybounding and the rest was history.”
One big misconception, according to Leslie, is that a Disneybound is a costume. Disneybounders think of a character’s clothes and style as more of a jumping off point, rather than something to replicate exactly.
“Instead of using actual props and character wigs, you can use accessories like jewelry and purses to complete the look,” Leslie explained. “For instance, instead of carrying a sword, wear a necklace with a sword charm.”
Though it wasn’t Leslie’s original intention, Disneybounding has also become a way for adult Disney fans to express themselves at the theme parks without violating park rules, which prohibit guests above the age of 14 from wearing costumes. That rule is in place as not to interfere with the official characters who work there (there are, however, exceptions for special events such as Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party).
Others, like Sara Katz-Scher ― @ThatPrincessGirl on Instagram ― just enjoy Disneybounding in their everyday lives.
“I wear Disneybounds nearly everywhere, including job interviews,” she told HuffPost. “Often people are completely unaware that I’m doing it because it just looks like I’m wearing a nice outfit.”
When it comes to putting together a great ’bound, Disney devotees recommend first taking stock of what’s in your closet and then hitting up affordable retailers such as Forever 21 or ordering pieces off Amazon.
“The beauty of Disneybounding is that you don’t need to break the bank,” Keshia Sih-Tseng of the Instagram account @keshiadreamsofdisney told HuffPost. “You can use what you already own in your closet and showcase your personal style. I always start with color-blocking, so I look for pieces that fit to my personal style and try to pick those items in the specific colors of the character I’m trying to bound as.”
Fans can Disneybound solo, as a twosome with a friend or significant other or even as a bigger group. Those who ’bound on the regular sometimes prefer to do it with another person because it allows them to experiment with less recognizable characters that might require additional context.
“If I want to go for a more obscure character, it’s easier to get across if I have a buddy with me,” YouTuber Sarah Sterling, who often Disneybounds with her boyfriend, Leo Camacho, told HuffPost. “For example, Lady from ‘Lady and the Tramp’ is a lot of brown tones and doesn’t really stand out on her own, but if I have Leo with me doing Tramp, the entire picture comes across a lot more clearly when we are together.”
Curious to see how Disneybounders execute their looks? Get inspired by some of the creative combinations below:
Also on HuffPost
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will reverse an Obama-era ban on the importation of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia after determining that sport hunting in those countries will help conserve the species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed Wednesday.
The decision was made public not by the federal agency but via a celebratory news release early Tuesday from Safari Club International, a trophy hunting advocacy group that, along with the National Rifle Association, sued to block the 2014 ban.
Greg Sheehan, principal deputy director of the FWS, broke the news to the hunting organization during the African Wildlife Consultative Forum (AWCF) in Tanzania, an agency spokesperson told HuffPost. The forum, which runs through Friday, is being hosted by the Safari Club International Foundation and the United Republic of Tanzania.
African elephants have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1978. A provision of the law, however, allows for sport-hunted trophies to be imported if the government determines that hunting will help safeguard the population.
An FWS spokesperson provided HuffPost with a pair of nearly identical statements regarding the agency's findings for elephants in each country.
"Legal, well-regulated sport hunting as part of a sound management program can benefit the conservation of certain species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation," the spokesperson wrote. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the hunting and management programs for African elephants in [Zimbabwe and Zambia] will enhance the survival of the species in the wild."
A notice — shared with HuffPost — regarding the agency's decision on elephants in Zimbabwe will be published Friday in the Federal Register, the spokesperson said.
"There now appears to be a greater effort on the part of [Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority] to work with NGOs, landowners, and safari area concessionaires to improve elephant management and anti-poaching efforts," the notice reads.
It is unclear when the agency's decision to allow imports of trophies from Zambia will be posted.
The findings allow for anyone who legally kills an elephant in Zimbabwe from Jan. 21, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2018, or in Zambia in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to obtain a permit to import their trophy into the United States, according to FWS.
Paul Babaz, president of Safari Club International, applauded the announcement, saying it demonstrates FWS "recognizes that hunting is beneficial to wildlife and that these range countries know how to manage their elephant populations."
But the number of Savanna elephants continues to dwindle. From 2007 to 2014, the population dropped by 30 percent, or about 144,000 animals, across 18 African countries, according to the 2016 Great Elephant Census. In Zimbabwe, it fell 6 percent. And "substantial declines" have been recorded along the Zambezi River in Zambia, although the population elsewhere in the country remained stable.
In a blog post Wednesday, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, called the decision "jarring."
"For decades, Zimbabwe has been run by a dictator who has targeted and killed his political opponents, and operated the country's wildlife management program as something of a live auction," he wrote. (Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, appears to be under house arrest now, though, after the military took charge of the country late Tuesday.)
Pacelle added that the announcement coming from the Safari Club "suggests an uncomfortably cozy and even improper relationship between trophy hunting interests and the Department of the Interior."
The Interior Department is led by Secretary Ryan Zinke, an avid hunter who has moved to increase opportunities for hunting and fishing. Earlier this month, Zinke announced the creation of a so-called International Wildlife Conservation Council to advise him on "the benefits that international recreational hunting has on foreign wildlife and habitat conservation, anti-poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking programs."
President Donald Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are also avid big game hunters. In a photo that surfaced in 2012, Trump Jr. can be seen holding the tail of an elephant he shot and killed in Africa.
CANBERRA -- Thursday morning, Australia's upper house of parliament was a place of equality, love and removing discrimination. Hours later it descended into confusing and occasionally shouty mayhem over abortions.
Not long after the debate over the Dean Smith same-sex marriage bill had paused and respectful applause had faded, former liberal and Australian Conservatives leader Cory Bernardi had managed to cause trouble for the government by trying to pass a serious of contentious motions relating to abortion, "radical theories about gender", Get Up! and "victims of communism".
It also took place not long after the senator had a little fun at the expense of cabinet minister Christopher Pyne, calling for an official investigation into how a hardcore porn video was liked by the minister's Twitter account.
Cory causes notice of motion mayhem-coalition members cross floor-cross back again and then finally abstain @GuardianAus@knausc@murpharoopic.twitter.com/VsfNiZXMew
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) November 16, 2017
On the senate floor, only the communism motion passed, but Bernardi's deliberate test of allegiances quickly found a target with several failed motions on abortion managing to expose conservative divisions within the government.
You know, the sort of resolved division that has been plaguing the Turnbull Government ever since Tony Abbott was toppled from the top job in September 2015. The sort of division on social issues that necessitated the postal survey on same-sex marriage.
A motion of the "use of Medicare funding for abortions on gender grounds" was voted down 36 to 10, but government senators Eric Abetz and Barry O'Sullivan together with Turnbull Government ministers Anne Ruston, Zed Seselja and Matt Canavan voted against the rest of the government with Bernardi.
Things are getting tense in the Senate just now. Five Libs and Nats have crossed the floor to support the below motion on abortion. Sarah Hanson-Young tells out: "You bunch of misogynistic...!" @politicsabcpic.twitter.com/8QRB3thV6l
— Henry Belot (@Henry_Belot) November 16, 2017
Another Bernardi motion, praising the New South Wales Government for abandoning its 'Crossroads' " due to its radical theories about gender and sexuality," had to be rerun after government senators refused guidance from the government whip to vote against it. They ended up siding with Bernardi.
Ministers were seen arguing with colleagues and failing to get them to fall into line.
It failed 26-to-30, but Bernardi was not yet done.
Yet another of his motions linked White Ribbon Day to later term abortion. In particular, it asked the Senate to note that White Ribbon "advocates for 'nationally consistent access to safe and legal abortion, including late-term abortion in all states and territories', and urges senators with a concern to "take it up with White Ribbon Australia".
The motion failed 31-to-21.
The day of love in the Senate hasn't lasted long.
— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) November 16, 2017
Greens @sarahinthesen8 has lashed out at conservatives who voted in favour of a motion to withdraw Medicare funding for some forms of abortion.
The motion failed. #auspolpic.twitter.com/NWqfeDeW2P
Greens senator Sarah-Hanson Young sought to make a statement based on the attempt, but was denied and managed to say "you bunch of misogynistic...", before being cut off.
In turn, it all got a bit shouty with government members including Ian Macdonald.
And she managed a bit more, "This is about rape victims having access to safe and legal abortion! That is what you just voted against!"
In turn, she was called a "dill" by Macdonald. The President stated that was unparliamentary, but Macdonald -- a rival for the position of president -- flatly disagreed with the ruling.
Cory Bernardi's motion to stop medicare funding for abortions was defeated in Senate 36-10.
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) November 16, 2017
One Nation + Eric Abetz, Barry O'Sullivan, Zed Seselja, Matt Canavan & Anne Ruston all voted in favour with Bernardi. pic.twitter.com/uX1ONsnnwR
But Bernardi was still not done.
Yet another motion stated the political activitist group GetUp! was seed-funded by international socialists, has actively campaigned like a political party and is deserving of greater electoral regulation or scrutiny. Government members sided with Bernardi and Hanson, but it went down 27-to-31.
The senate is sitting by itself this week and is not used to all this attention it is getting.
Debate on the Dean Smith marriage amendment bill resumes later on Thursday, with the hope that equality, love and removing discrimination will return.
]]>I'm not just relieved as it cools me down, but because this is only the second time I've held a golf club and I'm certain that wind will help carry the ball -- and help me avoid embarrassment.
Preceding this golf lesson, James explains the satisfaction you feel in the moment your club hits the ball and everything comes off perfectly. A moment that rewards the patient and the practiced.
These skills, James says, he learnt in the past decade since breaking his back falling off a stool while travelling solo through Africa. By definition a freak accident, after all, only the day before he had been swinging off canyons in a somewhat precarious setup.
Leaving his job as an investment banker, this trip through Africa was meant to be the beginning of a round-the-world trip that should have lasted a couple of years, not weeks. James was only 29 and was making his way back to Australia after a few years of living in London. Yet in a matter of moments this plan was halted; that break of the back meant he was quadriplegic.
Throughout his recovery and rehabilitation James would visualise himself moving through a game of golf. He was determined he'd play again despite being told he may only ever be able to perhaps feed himself.
Patience, resilience and poise, are the three lessons he has learnt since this accident, James tells me. And I suspect all very helpful attributes if you wish to excel in a game like golf. Not that I would really know.
Now, just about ten years on, James is most certainly back on the golf course and he's helping hundreds of other disabled people do so too. He founded Empower Golf, with the sole aim of facilitating and promoting golf for people of all abilities and to ensure the 1500 + golf courses around Australia cater for the disabled.
James is the definition of kindness. The participants and the coaches all tell me how highly they think of him and how much Empower Golf means to them. He's also driven and eternally positive.
Two important attributes which help when coaching a novice how to swing.
"Feet slightly apart, bend gently at the knees, lean slightly forward," James instructs me kindly and with certainty that I'll be able to do it.
"Now always have a practice swing before hand. And keep your eye on the ball."
And with the twist of my right shoulder and hip, I swing the club up and follow through to the ball, feeling that connection James so beautifully described, and for just a moment I understand, even just a little, what keeps him coming back.
If you would like to find out more about Empower Golf, head over here. You can get involved by donating, volunteering, hosting a clinic, running a fundraiser or through bequests, find out more here.
]]>We are entering the time of year when university graduates are completing their degrees and getting ready to wear the gown and mortarboard.
But the next stage is to find employment -- which may be daunting for some graduates.
Job websites are tempting for new graduates, they have an inviting, empowering aura about them that presents a somewhat false world of opportunity.
Even though they show a large scope of employment possibilities, graduates should avoid them. Here's why.
There's no way to stand out.
All applications received on job sites look exactly the same. There will be a cover letter and CV but not much else. This means it's hard to differentiate between applicants. People have been to school, earned a degree and that's usually all employers will see.
Qualifications alone are not enough to get a job, especially for graduate positions. Job sites won't allow for a dialogue of any sort to be developed around what an individual can actually do.
It's easy, but ineffective.
Sending a CV and cover letter in response to a job advertisement is far too easy. For graduates to think that they can get a job from something like this is a bit naïve.
This type of system seems to be efficient and work well. It makes people feel that applying for jobs is a straight-forward process and plays right into the hands of desperate graduates, usually giving them a sense of false hope.
Reality, however, is much bleaker.
I had a recruitment agency for 14 years and when I advertised a graduate role, I would get 200+ applications on the first day and the exact same thing would happen the following day.
Statistically, an individual hardly has a chance at finding a job.
No one considers the opportunity cost.
While applying for a single job won't take up too much time, applying for many will add up.
This is assuming that cover letters aren't copied and pasted but that thought goes into tailoring them for each specific job -- something which should definitely be done.
Given the low statistical chance of getting one of these jobs, there is an incredibly high opportunity cost in spending such a long amount of time on applications. When deciding to do this, the time can't be spent on something more meaningful and valuable, such as building a network.
Networks are much more likely to be the source of a job. A recent survey showed that up to 85 percent of people in managerial roles find their jobs through networking -- a figure that really cannot be ignored.
So what should job-seeking graduates do?
Rather than impede their own ability to find a job any further, getting into the hidden job market is the next step any graduate should take.
This involves getting out there, meeting people and making connections.
Industry meetups are a good way to do this with sites like Meetup and Eventbrite proving useful. You can also find out about other meetups and events through industry bodies.
By the time students finish their studies, they should have 200+ connections on LinkedIn, a lot of these should be 'significant' connections such as employers.
Having any internship experience will prove useful, but for those that don't, learning things that university doesn't teach you will prove vital. An excellent example is gaining an understanding of the current software used in certain industries and jobs.
I certainly don't want to discourage people from seeking out jobs. But I want this to be a reminder about the competitive job landscape in Australia and the need to go beyond the obvious channels for employment.
]]>NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Christ "Salvator Mundi" sold for a record-smashing $450.3 million on Wednesday at Christie's in New York -- more than double the old mark for any work of art at auction.
The painting, only recently rediscovered and the last da Vinci left in private hands, fetched more than four times over the Christie's pre-sale estimate of about $100 million. It was more than twice the old auction record set by Picasso's "Les Femmes D'Alger," which sold for $179.4 million in May 2015.
"Salvator Mundi" was purchased by an unidentified buyer bidding via telephone after a protracted bidding war that stretched to nearly 20 minutes at the New York auction house. (Reporting by Chris Michaud Editing by Sandra Maler)
]]>A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... or, well in August of 2016 to be precise Prince Harry and Prince William stopped by the sets of 'The Force Awakens' and 'Rogue One'.
The pair got a few photos and got to meet Luke Skywalker and play with lightsabers, it was a very, very cute photo op.
Time for a lightsaber battle! @starwars@PinewoodStudiospic.twitter.com/9hHxPxfTti
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 19, 2016
Then, about a year later one of the stars of 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi', John Boyega, revealed that while visiting Pinewood Studios, the royal pair actually shot a cameo for the film which heads to cinemas this December.
If that wasn't big enough news already it turns out the Princes were joined in their brief movie appearance by Take That singer Gary Barlow and actor Tom Hardy all in the same scene.
Unfortunately they might be a little difficult to spot since they'll be all decked out in their Stormtrooper best.
Boyega revealed during one of 'The Hollywood Reporter's Actor Roundtable that the awesome foursome looked like a "strange contrast of a weird family," adding "It's the best of both worlds for me".
This isn't the first time the Star Wars universe has included a famous cameo, with Simon Pegg revealing James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, briefly appeared in 'The Force Awakens'.
While the four fellas may not have much to do decked up in their Stormtrooper outfits, Craig's role was a little more robust as he starred alongside Daisey Ridley's character Rey when she first learns to use her Jedi mind trick.
Perhaps the princes were able to use a Jedi mind trick of their own to get a speaking part. Unfortunately we'll have to wait until the film is released on December 15 to find out.
]]>CANBERRA -- The moment and the raw emotion of finally presenting his same-sex marriage bill and speaking about his life, his beloved Liberal Party, his Christian beliefs and Australia returning a 61.6 percent 'yes!' result was almost too much for Dean Smith. Almost, but no.
The openly gay senator, as he neared the end of his parliamentary speech on his bill on Thursday, was proudly detailing the barriers he'd broken in his party and with Liberal voters as a gay man and then stopped suddenly mid-sentence, before resuming with a waver.
"I never believed the day would come ... when my relationship would be judged by my country to be as meaningful and valued as any other," Smith said.
"The Australian people have proven me wrong."
Dean Smith's speech to the Senate well received #auspol#SSM 📷by @CooperJedpic.twitter.com/YFn1acHK2t
— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) November 15, 2017
His speech, which started the senate debate on his private senators bill, ended with a warning -- in light of the emphatic people's vote on Wednesday -- to both change-markers and opponents not to underestimate Australia and the Australian people.
"Don't underestimate our country's sense of fairness, its sense of decency -- and its willingness to be a country 'for all of us'," he told parliament.
"Not only does our country live these values, it votes for them as well."
He finished and received a standing ovation and then got what is turning into a signature parliamentary move during the same-sex marriage debate; a series of hugs and congratulations from colleagues across the political spectrum.
He was supported in the chamber by lower house pro-marriage equality Liberals Trevor Evans, Trent Zimmerman and Tim Wilson. During the speech he paid tribute to Liberal equality trailblazer, Warren Entsch, who is overseas.
But Dean Smith's main message was that his bill -- the result of a cross-party parliamentary committee and co-sponsored by eight senators -- was the right bill to see same-sex marriages legalised in Australia.
He said it is fair.
"This Bill advances the civic right of all Australians and provides protection for religious institutions to continue to be guided by the tenets of their faith," he told parliament.
"Nothing in this Bill takes away an existing right, nor does any of it diminish an existing civil freedom."
"The change proposed in this Bill is not revolutionary, it is evolutionary."
.@DeanSmithWA says his SSM bill reflects the best of liberal and conservative ideals. MORE: https://t.co/E8FsNjlhGMpic.twitter.com/RcTTjovz9V
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 15, 2017
He insisted the bill -- which is supported by Labor and the Greens -- should not be serious amended.
"Let me be clear -- amendments that seek to address other issues, or which seek to deny gay and lesbian Australians with the full rights, responsibilities and privileges that they already have, will be strenuously opposed," Smith warned.
"Australians did not vote for equality before the law so that equality before the law that has already been gained is stripped away."
But he reached out to conservative colleagues who are concerned his bill may not adequately cover religious freedoms and conscientious objections.
"One of the reasons this Bill is so vital is that it reflects the deepest of liberal and conservative ideals," he said.
"Liberal because it advances the sum of freedoms, and conservative because it nurtures our families, affirms a vital institution, and strengthens the social fabric which is but the sum of all of our human relationships."
Dean Smith: "Let me be clear: Amendments that seek to address other issues or which seek to deny gay and lesbian Australians with the full rights, responsibilities and privileges that they already have will be strenuously opposed" #auspol#yeswins
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) November 15, 2017
While Smith is a marriage equality proponent, he is still very much a conservative Coalition member who is a passionate monarchist with deep Christian beliefs.
"My faith is not a platform, it's a refuge," he said. "It's why on my office desk there stands a crucifix -- it gives me strength when there appear to be difficulties ahead."
"I want to acknowledge the very genuine concerns of some Christians and religious people around Australia have expressed during this postal survey -- and give voice to them."
He said he understood, especially as "they are reflections of the fears that LGBTI citizens have felt through our country's history".
"Fears about acceptance, fears about jobs, fears about hiding part of you, and yes, fears about violence.
"This vote is not about -- and must not be about -- replacing one persecuted minority with another. Or giving one group hope, while inflicting another with fear. It must be about advancing the hopes and dreams of all citizens no matter their sexuality, ethnicity or religion."
]]>A hardcore porn video was liked by Christopher Pyne's Twitter account early this morning, and former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi wants a full investigation and report on national security grounds.
Pyne, the Minister for Defence Industry and the Government's leader in the House of Representatives, claimed his Twitter had been hacked after people spotted that his account had liked a video from an account named 'XxxPornGay'.
It's just past 2am in Australia and the leader of the government in the House of Representatives has liked some pretty explicit porn. pic.twitter.com/m7dsknonjP
— Mark Di Stefano 🤙🏻 (@MarkDiStef) November 15, 2017
The like was also registered by Auspolwatch, an account which keeps track of how Australia's politicians interact with other Twitter users.
cpyne liked this tweet: https://t.co/GGk5iIBGPP
— Auspolwatch (@auspolwatch) November 15, 2017
The video, from a studio called CockyBoys, was finally unliked by Pyne's account around 5.30am. Some compared it to the infamous incident involving U.S. senator Ted Cruz, whose account was found to have liked another hardcore porn video in September. Cruz blamed a staff member who had "inadvertently hit the like button" on the video.
At 6am, Pyne tweeted his defence, blaming a hacker "making mischief over the plebiscite".
I was hacked overnight! I was 😴 at 2am. Someone tried to hack my social media yesterday. Maybe they are making mischief over the plebiscite?
— Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) November 15, 2017
Pyne's former Liberal colleague Cory Bernardi, also from the state of South Australia, quickly jumped on the Minister's excuse and is demanding Attorney-General George Brandis take action. Bernardi said he was concerned about the national security implications of a Government minister's social media account being hacked, and wants a full investigation.
Deeply concerned about national security implications of hacking of Pyne's social media account. Need full investigation and report in case is foreign agent trying to influence elections. #auspolpic.twitter.com/JT447lqygK
— Cory Bernardi (@corybernardi) November 15, 2017
The Australian Conservatives senator will soon move a motion that Brandis investigate the incident, and report back to the Senate on whether the country was placed in a "compromising position" by the alleged hack.
]]>A light-hearted mural d ]]>
The mural, by popular street artist Scott Marsh, was painted on the Botany View Hotel in Newtown, ]]>
It's not Marsh's first mural of the Member for Warringah, with the artist famously daubing a pair of Abbotts getting married -- one in a suit, the other in a wedding dress.
His previous work has included a mural of two Kanye Wests kissing, which later went viral online.
Marsh finished his latest mural on Wednesday, but by later that evening, it had already allegedly been vandalised. Marsh shared another photo on Wednesday night, just five hours after first posting a picture of the completed mural, showing Pell's face had been covered over with a huge splatter of paint.
A spokesman for the Botany View Hotel was reluctant to talk about the incident, only confirming to HuffPost Australia that it had happened sometime Wednesday night and that they had not reported the incident to police.
"I came in this morning and it was like that," he said.
"I don't think anyone saw anything."
HuffPost Australia has contacted Marsh for comment, but he told Broadsheet that the mural and pub had been attracting criticism since yesterday.
"The manager called me and said he had taken the pub's phone off the hook because of the religious folk calling the pub non-stop all night," he told Broadsheet.
As Broadsheet also noted, the Botany View Hotel's Facebook page had been inundated with one-star reviews from those opposed to the mural, but by Thursday morning, an equal number of five-star reviews had been registered in response from supporters.
"I think the picture you put up on your wall of Abbott and Pell is disgraceful," wrote one critic.
"No one says you should not celebrate your win but to demean others in this way is vile beyond words."
Another wrote: "I think that the Yes mural is in extremely poor taste. There are so many other ways to depict a celebration."
Others defended the artwork.
"In regards to the mural - if you're upset about this, just remember that it is only a piece of art on a wall," one supporter wrote.
"You fools don't even realise you are giving this fabulous business free publicity and that delicious mural should be a contender to replace the queen on all our currency," said another.
]]>Drake has been on his Australian l ]]>
Not everyone in the crowd seemed to be there for the tunes though, as Drake stopped mid-performance to yell at a man who was apparently harassing and groping women in the audience.
Captured on Instagram, Drake can be heard shouting, "If you don't stop touching girls I'm gonna come out there and f**k you up".
The audience absolutely exploded with support as Drizzy doubled down on his threat to end the man's inappropriate actions himself.
"If you don't stop putting your hands on girls, I'm gonna come out there and f**k your ass up."
As he continued to shout across the screaming crowd sans microphone, security can be seen combing the audience.
Drake just isn't here for you if you're on your 'Worst Behaviour'.
]]>Yesterday, Australia decisively voted to provide legal equality to same-sex couples who wish to marry. However, significant opposition to same-sex marriage remains within the parliament. Having lost, the 'no' campaign has shifted its political agenda from stopping all change to Australia's marriage laws, to limiting its scope.
The scramble to limit the impact of the 'yes' outcome started earlier this week, when conservative Liberal Senator James Paterson published a draft bill that he said would protect freedom of conscience, religion and belief in "traditional marriage". While his bill was rushed and confusing, it basically created protections and exceptions for those who want to discriminate against same-sex marriage on the basis of their beliefs.
Soon after the survey result, Paterson seemed to step back from his bill, admitting that a majority of parliamentarians preferred Senator Dean Smith's marriage equality bill -- a bill which Paterson had previously criticised as "not going far enough".
However, this is unlikely to be the last we see of Paterson's bill or the ideas behind it. In fact, Paterson and his supporters have only accepted that the Smith bill is "where we should start". In a statement on his Senatorial Facebook page Paterson reasserted that he would push for the "strongest possible protections for the freedoms" in any amendments to marriage laws.
This was echoed by strong 'no' campaigners like Tony Abbott. Given the political state of play, it is unlikely Paterson ever thought his bill would win over a majority of parliamentarians. Instead his intention, as he explained to Alan Jones in anticipation of the 'yes' vote, was that "those protections in my bill find their way into the law".
With pressure to legislate before Christmas, the approach of Paterson and his supporters is likely to be to use his draft as a source of amendments that can be inserted into Smith's bill. The campaign to achieve genuine marriage equality is not over, and Paterson's draft provisions and ideas are likely to persist.
Here are five reasons why Paterson and his supporter's distortion of religious freedom should be resisted.
Freedom of religion is not a freedom to discriminate.
Paterson's proposal would allow people to put signs on their websites or shops to say they don't serve 'gays' or 'people celebrating same-sex marriages'. It would allow a baker to refuse to sell a cake to someone just because they are participating in a ceremony that all of us will be equally entitled to.
The whole notion evokes memories of historic racial segregation and discrimination. We no longer accept such segregation as legally or ethically permissible. Human rights law focuses on the impact of such actions rather than the excuses for them. Here the impact is to discriminate, pure and simple. This is not about religious freedom, it is about discriminating against others in the delivery of goods and services.
Freedom of belief is not unlimited.
Paterson's proposals make a false claim that freedom of religion permits you to do whatever you 'strongly' believe in. Human rights law does not allow this, and never has.
Individual rights are not unlimited, they must be balanced and measured against the duty to respect the rights and dignity of others. You can't injure or kill someone just because you're exercising your right to political expression. Nor can you improperly discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation.
For instance, the courts have rejected the notion that a commercial campsite could refuse accommodation simply because the potential clients were gay and the owner's belief was that they were not equal to other campers.
The late (and conservative) United States Supreme Court Justice Scalia was clear about this: If people are permitted to claim exemptions from the general law on the basis of their beliefs, everyone becomes a law onto themselves.
You can't believe your way out of taxes.
Religious conservatives, like Paterson, seek to guarantee that religious groups who discriminate against same-sex couples won't lose their tax-free status or public funding. This is another attempt to place freedom of religion above other rights and duties. Such assertions are legally flawed.
For example, it is clear that pacifists can't refuse to pay tax just because part of it will be used for national defence. Nor can homeowners refuse to pay rates because they believe that the 'land belongs to the heavenly father'. Nor can you refuse to lodge your tax form electronically because you believe the internet is evil.
Individuals cannot opt-out of the content of state education.
Paterson and his supporter want an exception for education too, proposing that parents should have the 'right' to withdraw their children from classes which contain any material they believe is 'objectionable'. Again, this is based on a false claim to parental rights.
In other jurisdictions, it has been rejected as being unworkable -- if every parent could stipulate what was taught at school the whole system would collapse. It has also been found to be discriminatory. Children have a right to learn important lessons about diversity, respect and human rights.
This is an exercise in political correctness.
In 2013, the High Court made it very clear that there is no fixed constitutional definition of marriage because its elements have changed so much over time -- that it's 'for life', how many people can be married, who can marry at what age and so on. The Court confirmed that these changes are driven by social and political views, and the law has always changed to respond to those. Our contemporary acceptance of same-sex marriage is just another political change.
In fact, vocal 'no' campaigners such as Tony Abbott confirmed the political nature of marriage when he argued that 'sport and politics shouldn't mix' after the ARL publicly supported marriage equality. Ironically, he then argued that a 'no' vote was "the best way of stopping political correctness in its tracks".
The postal survey has shown that Abbott's, Paterson's and other opponent's views are now in the minority. Those views are political in nature. Trying to create laws to insulate them is an attempt to legally enforce a minority view of what is 'politically correct' on the rest of us.
That is what should be stopped in its tracks.
]]>Angelina Jolie believes there are three myths as to why sexual violence — which the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network defines as a "non-legal term that refers to crimes like sexual a ]]> — still occurs in conflict zones and elsewhere, despite the advancements made around the world.
The 42-year-old actor, mother and Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is giving a keynote speech in Vancouver Wednesday at th ]]> read the full speech here).
![Defence Minister
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The mom-of-six thanks Canada for hosting the event, and for its "leadership on women, peace and security." She then goes on to urge politicians, defence ministers and military leaders to help UN peacekeepers better respond to sexual violence around the world, and outlines the myths she believes are at the heart why these crimes persist, and which "we have to overcome together."
"The first myth is that this behaviour is sexual," Jolie's speech explains. "All too often these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offense by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need,"
"But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive."
Jolie cites UN claims that almost every female Rohingya refugee in the camps in Bangladesh is a survivor of, or witness to, sexual violence, sexual assault, rape, or gang-rape.
A man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive.
"This is rape and assault designed to torture, to terrorise, to force people to flee, and to humiliate them. It has nothing to do with sex. It has everything to do with the abuse of power."
Jolie says the second myth is that sexual violence isn't seen as "serious" enough of a crime to warrant significant action. It isn't treated as "a central issue for peace negotiations or agreements. Not grave enough to mount prosecutions and imprison those responsible."
According to the UN, around 120 million girls worldwide have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives. And although there are some statistics on how many women are raped and experience other forms of sexual violence during conflict, Human Rights Watch notes that sexual violence in conflict areas are under-reported because of "stigma, the risk of retaliation, lack of access for monitors, inadequate means for safe reporting, and weak government response."
Even though millions of families are under threat of sexual violence in conflict areas, Jolie notes that, "It is on our television screens and in our newspapers. Why then, does nothing change?"
The third myth is that we can't do anything to stop sexual violence, at home or abroad, according to Jolie. Even if the first two myths are dispelled, many still think the problem is too big to solve. But Jolie says it's not impossible, and that countries have the "laws, the institutions, and the expertise in gathering evidence. What is missing is the political will."
[Sexual violence is] happening day in and day out, and more often than not, we know about it. It is on our television screens and in our newspapers. Why then, does nothing change?
Jolie says that, despite being prohibited by law, sexual violence continues to be employed as a tactic of war in 19 countries. She cites a trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 46 alleged cases of child rape by militia fighters, with some victims just 18 months old.
As the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and co-founder of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, she is well-versed on the topic.
In June, the humanitarian and film director visited Nairobi, Kenya, to meet with refugee girls who were living in a safe house after fleeing sexual and gender-based violence. Speaking at the International Peace Support Training Centre, Jolie said, "The reality is that women and girls, as well as men and boys, can still be raped with near-total impunity in conflict zones around the world."
She also hasn't shied away from speaking out on her own experiences with sexual violence, noting in her speech today that sexual violence can happen anywhere, even where you work.
Although she didn't specify details, the "First They Killed My Father" director told the New York Times in October that she "had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did. This behaviour towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable."
Last month, the New York Times and the New Yorker detailed several women's accounts of the sexual assault and harassment they allegedly experienced from the disgraced Hollywood mogul. Since then, many more women, including prominent actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Lupita Nyong'o, have come forward to share their stories of rape, abuse and harassment they allegedly experienced at the hands of Weinstein.
Also on HuffPost:
To the casual observer, this seems an odd time for the Commonwealth governmen ]]>
Nevertheless, the government has picked this moment to advance not one but five pieces of legislation -- broad in scope, but consistent in target. All would further constrain the actions, and undermine the social legitimacy, of trade unions.
One bill would tighten government control over welfare and training funds which unions have negotiated with employers for decades. Another gives government power to block union mergers and even veto certain individuals from holding elected union positions.
The others would limit unions' role in funding and managing industry superannuation funds, while enhancing freedom and opportunities for bank-managed super funds. All would add to a pervasive web of union restrictions that are already among the most intrusive of any industrial country.
The transformation of work from permanent jobs to insecure "gigs" further undermines the ability of workers to demand, and receive, higher pay.
On second thought, perhaps the timing does make sense -- at least from the perspective of a government desperate to change the channel. Never mind that we don't know who in Parliament can even vote on forthcoming legislation. Never mind the self-inflicted wounds still festering from Employment Minister Michaelia Cash's office involvement in police raids of union offices that brought to mind a banana republic not an advanced democracy. If invoking the spectre of unionists gone wild helps a beleaguered government turn the page, they will give it a go.
This theme in the Coalition's politics is long-standing, but has not been especially successful. After all, Malcolm Turnbull sent the country to a double-dissolution election purportedly motivated by commitment to new restrictions on unions (including a reincarnated ABCC and a new Registered Organisations Commission). That move delivered the current chaotic Parliament. Nevertheless, the government is trying it again.
Yet the more aggressive its attacks on the union movement become, the further the government sinks in the polls. And the failure of its scapegoating strategy does not solely reflect errors in political judgment. There are also hard economics at the core of the exhaustion of the Coalition's anti-union rhetoric. The sheer dissonance between government claims that unions are too powerful and the grim economic reality faced by Australia's battlers (whether union members or not) is simply too gaping for this narrative to win public acceptance.
For example, Australian wages are inching along at the slowest pace of any non-recession period in postwar history. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed annual hourly wage growth is stuck at 2 percent (and even slower in the private sector), belying predictions of Treasurer Scott Morrison and RBA Governor Phillip Lowe that better "supply and demand" conditions will light a fire under wages. They ignore the structural and institutional factors behind stagnant wages, and the increasingly irrelevance of the official unemployment rate in a labour market dominated by casual jobs, part-time work, and gigs.
In fact, hourly wage trends understate the true weakness in labour incomes, precisely because they miss the wage-suppressing effects of insecure and casual jobs, as well as the fact that many workers can't get enough hours of work (on top of low hourly pay). Broader wage measures paint a bleaker picture. Data on labour compensation per hour of work (from the GDP accounts) suggest nominal wages actually fell 0.5 percent over the past year -- the worst showing since World War II.
Many other indicators confirm workers need more power, not less, and hence that the government's anti-union crusade is fundamentally misplaced. The share of GDP paid to workers fell to its lowest point since the ABS began collecting the data.
Minimum wages are one-quarter lower than 30 years ago, relative to overall wages. Union membership is down to 13 percent of total employment, in large part because of decades of unremitting legislative hostility. Enterprise agreement coverage is collapsing in the private sector, down 25 percent since 2013. The transformation of work from permanent jobs to insecure "gigs" further undermines the ability of workers to demand, and receive, higher pay.
In this lopsided contest between workers and employers, workers need all the help they can get. The power of collective representation is one of the most important tools in their toolbox. It's no accident that unions and collective bargaining have been the primary target of business-friendly labour law changes over the last generation. But the legacy of that crusade is the stagnation and growing inequality of wages. Most Australians are suffering because of it. And that's why they're turning a blind eye to the Coalition's effort to rouse yet another anti-union witch-hunt.
]]>After years of public debate and a divisive postal survey, Australia is finally on the cusp of joining two dozen other countries in recognising marriage equality. Voter ]]> said YES to equal rights and, by extension, NO to the scare campaign mounted by opponents.
Now is a time to celebrate, but it is also a time for vigilance. Opponents have been studying the overseas experience and strategising for this outcome. They are poised to import an American culture war into Australia with the goal of stripping as much 'equality' out of 'marriage equality' as possible.
We cannot let that happen.
To understand the danger Australia now faces, we must look to recent American history. Over a period of almost two decades, the United States gradually legalised same-sex marriage state by state until the Supreme Court settled the issue nationwide. In 2015, the Court ruled that the denial of equal marriage rights violated the federal constitution.
American opponents had lost the battle, but they quickly seized an opportunity to continue the war. Out from the woodwork came a parade of objectors -- florists, bakers, photographers, adoption agencies, funeral homes and other business owners -- all claiming that their religious beliefs precluded them from serving same-sex couples. Judges and public servants joined in for good measure.
The American experience shows that once you crack open the door to commercial faith-based discrimination, it swings wide open.
The issue has become so toxic and politicised that the Supreme Court will soon weigh in. On December 5, the Court will hear a case involving a cake shop owner from Colorado, who claims that being forced to serve same-sex couples on equal terms infringes his freedom of artistic expression.
Now the usual suspects are lining up to support a similar freedom to discriminate in Australia.
The right to refuse service may seem like a strange cause to adopt, but is in fact a logical next step for vanquished opponents. Despite their non sequiturs about 'radical gay sex education' and the 'rights of children', opponents were always mainly concerned about the social meaning conveyed by marriage equality. They rightly feared that admitting same-sex couples to one of society's oldest and most revered institutions would stamp a seal of approval on relationships of which they disapprove.
Allowing businesses to exempt themselves from the law is the perfect way to maintain the stigma and exclusion that marriage equality was intended to address. Same-sex couples would have the technical right to marry, but face the risk of humiliation as they seek to exercise that right. The exemption would send an unequivocal signal that same-sex relationships are still second class in the eyes of the law.
Although the strategy is clear, Australian conservatives face two challenges in attempting to import an American culture war. The first is the religiosity gap. Half of American adults regularly attend religious services, compared to 15 percent of Australians. There is no groundswell of religious vendors begging for the right to discriminate.
The other challenge is that Australian law already prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, while only 22 out of 50 American states currently do so. Protecting the 'religious freedom' of business owners would not create a carve-out from a newly granted right to marry. It would repeal existing law.
More importantly, when Australians voted yes in the postal survey, we voted for equality. Full stop. The question on the survey form was simple: "Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?"
If opponents wanted to gut anti-discrimination laws, they should have laid out their plans beforehand and incorporated the issue into the survey question: "Should the law also be changed to allow commercial enterprises to discriminate against same-sex couples?"
Opponents did not take that path, because they knew they would lose on that question too. They deliberately kept their plans vague so that they could leave the door open for another campaign of obstruction if they got a result they did not like. Australians should not tolerate this cynical game-playing.
The American experience shows that once you crack open the door to commercial faith-based discrimination, it swings wide open: no business is off-limits, no reason too flimsy, and no service too attenuated from the marriage ceremony to justify discriminatory treatment.
Australians have waited long enough for marriage equality. It is time to take a stand against this attempt to Americanise our politics. It is time for the Parliament, finally, to get on with the job of swiftly legislating the will of the people.
]]>CANBERRA -- The Australian people have spoken and have weddings to plan. After all, these things don't organise themselves.
But we know it's not that simple ]]> 61.6 percent "yes" result i ]]> .
While he wants it to happen, and he told Sydney radio on Thursday that legalising same-sex marriage "absolutely can" be sorted by Christmas, Turnbull just can't guarantee it will actually happen this year.
PM Turnbull says legalising same-sex marriage "absolutely can" be sorted by Christmas @JonesyandAmanda
— Karen Barlow (@KJBar) November 15, 2017
The process has started. A private bill from Liberal senator Dean Smith to legalise same-sex marrage is in play in the senate and debate leading to a free, or conscience, vote is underway.
Leading "no" campaigners in Parliament, such as former prime minster Tony Abbott, have indicated they won't frustrate the passage of the bill.
But no-one want to get people's hopes up unnecessarily; time is rapidly running out in 2017.
Here is what we know about the path ahead to putting a ring on it.
Great illustration today by Matt Davidson. pic.twitter.com/j5grqWZnKu
— The Age (@theage) November 15, 2017
There is still a debate that a significant number of parliamentarians want to have about religious freedoms and conscientious objections. Many MPs and senators from all political persuasions will want to have a say.
After all, this is free vote.
Scores of amendments are expected to be put up and will likely be voted on, although not all. Whether any, some or all amendments are accepted is a another question entirely.
Debate on the bill in the Senate is now underway.
But according to the Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, who led the successful postal survey, debate on amendments will only start in the week of November 27.
He's promised that the Senate won't be done for 2017 until the marriage amendment bill is done.
.@MathiasCormann says he will vote #Yes for the #SSM bill even if the amendments he's seeking don't get through. #abc730#auspolpic.twitter.com/GWmm3qdAaD
— abc730 (@abc730) November 15, 2017
"That whole week, that whole sitting, that whole first sitting week of the final sitting fortnight, has been earmarked for debate in the Senate," Cormann told 730 on Wednesday.
"Extended sitting hours on the Tuesday. And if the consideration of the legislation hasn't been finalised by the end of Thursday the 30th of November then we will continue to sit until it is finally dealt with."
The bill then has to go to the House where senior Government members are not expected to have patience for serious delays.
The Dean Smith bill also crucially has Labor's support and Opposition leader Bill Shorten is not keen on significant changes.
"The Smith bill was the result of a cross-party parliamentary committee," Shorten told 730 on Wednesday.
"In other words, this bill is already a compromise bill to amend the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriage.
"I don't see the case is made for massive amendments. There might be one or two technical matters which, if people make the point well, then we need to clarify."
.@AlexGreenwich: We are seeing road blocks that have always been put in front of us are slowly disintegrate.MORE https://t.co/E8FsNjlhGMpic.twitter.com/tDBMhVuZy0
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 15, 2017
And here's the Government's view of the path ahead.
"I believe it will be passed by the House of Representatives not later than the 7th of December, perhaps a few days sooner than that and then commencement of the bill will not be delayed," Attorney-General George Brandis told the ABC on Thursday.
He's talking here about the technical process for a bill, passed in the Lower House of Parliament, becoming law. It is often not immediate.
"I think the beginning of the year is what we are looking at," the Attorney-General said.
So it's likely the legislation will pass before Christmas, but weddings? Perhaps not Christmas nor New Years Eve. Likely soon after, but it is all in the hands of our representatives in Canberra.
]]>Rice is a staple ingredient in many of our kitchens and meals. While rice is a versatile and delicious grain, there are types of rice which are (way) more healthy than others.
If you're confused about the difference between brown rice, white rice, red rice and black rice, here i ]]>
Is rice good for you?
"Yes it is, but it depends on portion size and how frequently it's being consumed," accredited practising dietitian and sports dietitian Chloe McLeod told HuffPost Australia.
"As a source of carbohydrate, it's one of those foods that is unfairly demonised somewhat. It's just about figuring out how much you require as an individual based on how much you're exercising and matching it accordingly."
According to McLeod the best time to eat rice is around physical activity -- when your body needs carbs to fuel and recover.
"For everybody, the best time to be consuming rice is around your physical activity, as this is when your body is going to be using up and requiring carbohydrates for performance and recovery," McLeod said.
"I wouldn't recommend eating a giant bowl of rice and sitting on the couch. This is probably going to end up being converted into fat. Whereas if you're having rice and doing your training session a few hours later, this would be a great way to incorporate rice into your diet."
What nutrition does rice provide?
The main nutrient all types of rice provides is carbohydrate, with the exact amount changing depending on the variety.
"There are varying different reports on how many carbs there is in rice. In 100 grams of uncooked brown rice it's 77 percent carbohydrate, in 100 grams of uncooked white rice it's about 79 percent carbohydrate, in 100 grams of black rice it's 72 percent carbohydrate, and red rice is 68 percent," McLeod said.
"In general, rice contains iron, magnesium, B vitamins and fibre, but the quantities of these do vary depending on the type of rice."
Why is brown rice better than white rice?
We know brown rice is more nutritious than white rice, but why is this exactly? It comes down to how quickly your body digests rice (and how full it will keep you over time).
"The main reason [brown rice is healthier] is around the glycemic index. GI refers to how quickly the body will digest a carbohydrate. We want that number to be as close to one as possible," McLeod said.
"If you're looking at quick-cooking basmati rice which is usually white, the GI is around 63. Whereas the GI of brown rice is about 50."
Let's take a closer look at the various types of rice and their nutritional profile.
What's the difference between white rice, brown rice, red rice and black rice?
White rice
"White rice has the outer layers -- the husk, bran and germ -- removed. As a result, this removes quite a lot of the vitamins and minerals, so it does have less nutrients when you compare it to some of the other varieties," McLeod said.
As mentioned above, white rice has a higher glycemic index which means your body breaks down white rice more quickly. White rice is also lower in fibre -- fibre is important for gut health and keeping you feeling full for longer.
"White rice is not something I would say is a 'bad' choice, but for most individuals white rice isn't the 'best' choice," McLeod said. "White rice tends to contain less vitamins and minerals."
White rice has different varieties, including basmati and jasmine, and they also have differing nutritional profiles. Tip: if you're going with white rice, avoid jasmine.
"With jasmine rice, it has a much higher glycemic index than even a standard white rice, so white jasmine rice is not the best choice," McLeod said.
"If you're choosing white rice, go for basmati rice which is a better option."
Brown rice
"Brown rice has the outer hull removed but it still has the bran layer and the germ. What this means is there is a lot more nutrients which are still left in the rice," McLeod said.
"Brown rice, similar to white, has different grain lengths -- short, medium and long. Brown rice is a good source of magnesium, iron and can be a good source of zinc. It also contains more fibre compared to white rice.
"When looking at the fibre content, brown rice has 3.1 grams of fibre per 100 grams, versus white basmati rice which has around one gram of fibre per 100 grams, versus standard white rice has around 2.1 grams of fibre."
Red rice
Red rice has become more popular and available over the last few years, and with good reason. It's arguably the most nutritious rice variety to eat.
"Red rice is different just because it's contains compounds called anthocyanins. We often think of anthocyanins in blueberries and other red-purple fruits and vegetables. The fact that red rice contains anthocyanins is a big positive as you're getting more nutrients," McLeod explained.
"You can buy red rice with the hull removed or with the hull still present. Red rice has pretty similar calorie content to the other rices -- for 100 grams of uncooked red rice there's 360 calories. Fibre content is much higher at 6.2 grams per 100 grams."
While red and brown rice are both healthy options, McLeod agreed red rice is a better choice.
"They are similar but I'd say red rice is better as it is a higher fibre choice and contains anthocyanins."
Black rice
Black rice has a nuttier and stronger flavour compared to white rice, and in terms of nutrition, black rice sits in between brown rice and red rice, McLeod said.
"With black rice, it's got about 4.5 grams of fibre per 100 grams, so it's higher than brown rice but not as high as red rice," McLeod told HuffPost Australia.
"Black rice tends to have a lower glycemic index, so it is more slow releasing and takes longer to digest. It's really nice in salads as it's not as sticky as some of the other rices."
What is a serve of rice?
When it comes to portioning out rice in meals, half a cup of cooked rice would be one serve.
"Often people have rice with stir fry and curries, and you can also mix it into salads, make rice porridge and even add cooked rice to smoothies for a nutty flavour and carbohydrate source," McLeod said.
Australian U.N. diplomat Julian Simpson, 30, has fallen to his death in a tragic incident following a night out with his wife and frie ]]>
Reports suggested Simpson slipped off a rail on the balcony of at his Lower East Side apartment.
According to Fairfax Media, the tragic accident happened around 1:40am after a group of ten people gathered at the Simpson's Cooper St apartment for drinks after a night out at a local restaurant.
An Australian diplomat has died after falling from a balcony in New York. #9Newspic.twitter.com/nFVyePpCQ7
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) November 15, 2017
An NYPD spokesman told Fairfax Media the friends have been interviewed extensively throughout the night.
"Upon investigation, it was determined that... he sat on the balcony railing and lost his balance and fell off," the spokesman said. "No criminality is suspected at this time and the investigation is ongoing," the NYPD spokesman said.
Breaking: An Australian diplomat has plunged to his death celebrating the SSM result in New York. @mikeamor7#JulianSimpson#7Newspic.twitter.com/FuVWvVmlEG
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) November 15, 2017
He has disputed a story that the friends had been playing a 'trust game' before the accident. However, The New York Post has reported that the game had been played just before Simpson's fall from the seventh floor apartment.
Simpson and his friends apparently went to the rooftop of their apartment block to enjoy the view of the Empire State Building, which had been lit up in rainbow colours to celebrate Australia's vote for same-sex marriage.
According the the Post, Simpson climbed to a higher roof landing where he picked up and swung a female friend around.
When he put her down, the group went back inside where the husband of the woman confronted Simpson over the appropriateness of his behaviour.
Look what the Empire State Building in NYC did for #MarriageEquality Australia today 🇦🇺🏳️🌈❤️ Beautiful! Thankyou ❣️ pic.twitter.com/VMKX3BFs0U
— Chloe 🌈 (@StrayaCamilizer) November 15, 2017
The Post reports that the men stepped out onto the balcony, where Simpson assured the man he meant no harm to his wife.
It was then that Simpson, according to the Post, allegedly played a 'trust game' where he would lean back on the ledge, trusting that the man would catch him before he fell.
The man told police he put his arm out to catch Simpson, but he slipped and fell to his death. Police have ruled out foul play.
Simpson began his career in foreign affairs following a media career. He was working as the second secretary to the U.N. for Australia.
He often represented Australia at the U.N. and recently travelled to a sustainable urban development conference in Ecuador.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has released a statement about the tragic incident.
"I extend my condolences to the family and loved ones of Julian Simpson, a young Australian diplomat who has died in tragic circumstances in New York. Julian was a diligent, professional and highly skilled diplomat, whose support I valued, particularly during UN Leaders' Week," Bishop said.
"He will be remembered as someone dedicated to the service of our nation as a member of Australia's foreign service. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will continue to provide support to Julian's family, and to other Australian diplomats in New York who have lost a valued colleague."
"I ask that the media and others respect the privacy of Julian's family at this difficult time."
]]>A new exoplanet has been discovered that is roughly the same size as Earth and could have a surface temperature similar to our own.
The exoplanet Ross 128 b is located just 11 light-years away from our own Solar System and has become a new candidate in the searc ]]>
It was discovered by a team of researchers who are using the European Space Agency's High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.
While Ross 128 b shares two very important characteristics with Earth, little else about it is familiar to us.
The planet has been able to achieve its temperate climate because it orbits an inactive red dwarf star.
Red dwarf stars are some of the coolest, faintest and more common stars in the universe which makes them prime candidates for finding planets which could potentially support life.
They're not perfect though as they can intermittently give off vast solar flares that will bathe everything in its path in deadly radiation.
Ross 128 however appears to be far quieter than most red dwarfs suggesting that it could have remained inactive for long enough for the planet to become habitable.
The planet also orbits some 20 times closer to its star compared to Earth and our Sun. Not only that, but this planet travels at an incredible speed, taking just 9.9 days to complete a full orbit.
Ross 128 is now the second-closest planet that could be a potential candidate for life with Proxima B topping the list.
Unveiled last year, Proxima B is just 4.8 light-years from Earth and like Ross 128 it too orbits a red dwarf star.
Remarkably this list will change. You see Ross 128 is actually moving towards our solar system at tremendous speed which means that in around 79,000 years it will actually overtake Proxima B to become our closest exoplanet with an Earth-like temperature.
Alongside the ESA, NASA's Kepler space telescope has also been hunting for exoplanets and since 2009 has found some 30 planets that fall within their host star's habitable zone.
Its most recent discovery came in early 2017 and featured an impressive 10 new planets all of which fall within the 'goldilocks zone'.
Since it first started hunting the skies, Kepler has found a staggering 4,034 new planets, of which 2,335 have been verified as exoplanets.
Sometimes the anecdotes are as fun as the sing-alongs.
In a "Carpool Karaoke" episode with Pink on Tuesday, "The Late Late Show" host James Corden asked the singer about her childhood crush on Jon Bon Jovi. That segued into a very adult story.
Pink confessed her infatuation when she met Bon Jovi on a radio show when she was in her 20s. He later sent her a large flower arrangement with leather pants and a note that read: "Now you can finally get into my pants."
Pink said her husband, Carey Hart, threw them out.
"It wasn't weird," she said. "It was a joke. Like I thought it was really funny."
Watch below for more fun confessions and some nice duets on old Pink favorites like "Get The Party Started," and new ones like "Beautiful Trauma," the title track from her album released in October atop the Billboard chart.
Also on HuffPost
Many adoptive parents find that people sometimes ask if their children are "real" siblings. The answer is, of course, ye ]]>
In honor of National Adoption Month, we asked the HuffPost Parents Facebook community to share photos of their adopted children that show the sibling bond is about love, n ]]>
Here are 43 beautiful, love-filled photos.
- "My kids don't need a prefix, they are not my 'adopted' children, they are my children. The siblings are not a random happenstance, they are handpicked and pre-destined by God. How awesome is this privilege! That's the beauty of an adoptive family. Hope to do our bit for Adoption A ]]>
Also on HuffPost
Q_MHy3 23278679 Wed, 15 Nov 2017 20:35:00 +0000 1510778399292532000 2017-11-15T20:39:55+00:00 <![CDATA[ Kim Kardashian Accidentally Blurts Out Sex Of Her Baby On 'Ellen' ]]> Kim Kardashian let slip that ]]>
Not a huge surprise, given the reality star's elaborate pink baby shower over the weekend. But to hear it from her at least gives fans something else to obsess on.
And it was kinda cute the way it happened.
Host Ellen DeGeneres asked Kardashian, who's having the baby via a surrogate, what her two children think of the impending arrival. Kardashian said she threw the shower so her 4-year-old daughter North would "feel that something's coming."
"People brought toys and gifts and she was opening them all up the next day," Kardashian explained. "And she said, 'Mom, since baby sister's not here, I think I need all of her toys in my room and I'll play with them and just make sure they're all OK for baby sister.' "
To which DeGeneres responded: "She's a toy tester and you just told us it's a girl!"
Kardashian confirmed it.
Back in September, TMZ reported it was a girl, citing an unnamed source. Now it's official.
Kardashian and husband Kanye West also have a son, Saint, who turns 2 in December.
As for a name for baby on the way, Kardashian said they haven't picked one. And it won't be Lip-Kit or Star.
Watch above to see what we mean.
Also on HuffPost
Q_MHy3 23278668 Wed, 15 Nov 2017 20:23:00 +0000 1510777474458706000 2017-11-15T20:29:02+00:00 <![CDATA[ Terry Crews Speaks Out About Sexual Assault, Names Alleged Attacker ]]>
Actor Terry Crews has publicly called out the Hollywood executive he says sexually assaulted him at a party while courageously recalling the harrowing experience on "Good Morning America" in hopes it will encourage other victims to come forward.
"I was assaulted by Adam Venit, who is the head of the motion picture department at Williams Morris Endeavor, one of the biggest [talent] agencies in the world, period," Crews said on Wednesday's program.
The "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" cast member filed a police report last week on the incident and first disclosed it on Twitter last month, but did not name his alleged assailant at that time.
In his Wednesday comments, he said he was with his wife at a party in February of last year when he saw Venit, whom he said he had never met before, making crude gestures at him with his tongue.
"I'm looking and I'm like, is this a joke?" Crews said. "And he comes over to me, I stick my hand out and he literally takes his hand and puts it and squeezes my genitals. And I jump back like, 'Hey, hey,' and he's still sticking his tongue out and I'm like, 'Dude what are you doing? What are you doing?' And then he comes back again!"
Crews said he pushed Venit away, causing the agent to bump into some partygoers. He said it took great restraint not to hit him any harder, especially after the way Venit responded.
"He starts giggling and laughing. I'll tell you, I've never felt more emasculated, more objectified; I was horrified," Crews said. "When I looked at him, it was rage. And when I say rage, I felt like I could punch a hole in his head."
He said he told comedian Adam Sandler, who was also at the party, what happened and he reacted with equal shock. Crews and his wife, who he said witnessed the incident, left the party shortly thereafter. In the car, he found himself gripping the steering wheel of his car in fury.
The former NFL player credited his wife with helping him not resort to violence in responding to the incident.
"She just kept saying, 'I'm proud of you, I'm proud of you, I'm proud of you,'" he recalled of his wife's encouragement, getting a bit emotional.
"If I would have just retaliated, in defense, I would be in jail right now and that's one thing I knew, being a large black African American man in America, I would have immediately be seen as a thug, but I'm not a thug," he said.
Venit, who has been placed on leave at WME, has not publicly addressed Crews' allegations. Neither he nor WME has responded to HuffPost requests for comment.
Crews said he didn't come forward about the incident until recently because he didn't think anyone would believe him and he feared such allegations against a Hollywood powerbroker would harm his career.
His interpretation of Venit's alleged expression ― "Like, who's going to believe you?" ― reinforced that fear, he said.
He said he was spurred to first publicize the incident on Twitter by the rising sexual assault allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Hearing the stories from other victims caused his buried memory to bubble up, and inflict a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.
Also on HuffPost
Nearly all of Australia's newspapers front pages heralded the historic event. We've rounded some of them up here.
The front page of tomorrow's The West Australian. https://t.co/m2gwb6IkxG#wanews#perthnews#auspol#wapol#AUSHONpic.twitter.com/TepAy4ugsq
— The West Australian (@westaustralian) November 15, 2017
One for the ages. pic.twitter.com/6dyWMhPYRi
— Rick Morton (@SquigglyRick) November 15, 2017
YES and YES! What a memorable day it's been for Australia. Read all about it in tomorrow's @couriermail 🏳️🌈 ⚽️🏳️🌈 ⚽️🏳️🌈 ⚽️ #AUSHON#samesexmarriagepic.twitter.com/KWQElXTipL
— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) November 15, 2017
A sneak preview of our front page tomorrow! 🌈 pic.twitter.com/Rodafyzxtn
— The Courier (@ballaratcourier) November 15, 2017
TOMORROW'S FRONT PAGE PAYS TRIBUTE TO TODAY'S HISTORIC RESULT pic.twitter.com/blW0kPvF8y
— The NT News (@TheNTNews) November 15, 2017
Thursday's front page 🌈 pic.twitter.com/s5J61KqMQV
— Ben Cubby (@bencubby) November 15, 2017
Tomorrow's @BgoAddy front page, today. Bendigo says yes to #marriageequality#loveislovepic.twitter.com/jJespz5Rs4
— Nicole Ferrie (@nicoleferrie) November 15, 2017
From A Matter of Time to 'It's Time' #voteyes#marriageequality Let's get it done. Tomorrow's front today. pic.twitter.com/8XDApZTDEG
— Illawarra Mercury (@illawarramerc) November 15, 2017
Sydney's Daily Telegraph took a noticeably different tone (and look) though.
]]>Front page of The Daily Telegraph pic.twitter.com/BJjbI2r77h
— Christopher Dore (@wrongdorey) November 15, 2017
Zimbabweans who tuned into their state television channel in the early hours of Wednesday found that an army general, clad in military camouflage, had replaced their usual programming.
Meanwhile, tanks surrounded government buildings on the streets o ]]>
There is extreme uncertainty in Zimbabwe right now over what resembles a military coup, a takeover that could mark the end of Mugabe's 37-year authoritarian grip over the country.
Here's what we know so far about this developing situation.
![A man walks past a tank stationed at an intersection in Hara
]]>
<
Is there a coup happening in Zimbabwe?
Despite the army's show of force and apparent takeover of state television, military officials have so far denied they are attempting to depose Mugabe. On state television, army spokesman Maj. Gen. SB Moyo said, "We wish to make this abundantly clear: This is not a military takeover of government."
Instead, the army claims that it has temporarily seized control in order to remove "criminals" surrounding Mugabe and "pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation."
But the situation in Zimbabwe certainly seems to have most of the elements of a coup. Military vehicles are occupying key parts of the capital; the state broadcaster appears under military control; and Mugabe has spent hours detained in his home with no direct word from him or his politically powerful wife, Grace Mugabe.
South African President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement Wednesday that Zuma had talked to Mugabe, and the Zimbabwean ruler was "confined to his home but said that he was fine."
Mugabe has been the leader of Zimbabwe since 1980, when he helped the country gain independence after a long struggle against colonial rule. Throughout his presidency, 93-year-old Mugabe has held on to power through crackdowns on opposition and dissent. Even as Zimbabwe's economy collapsed in the past decade and Mugabe drew harsh international condemnation, he found ways to remain in control.
In recent years, Mugabe's advanced age and mental lapses have grown increasingly apparent. He often sleeps through public events, has been oblivious while delivering the wrong speech to Parliament and seemed unfit for even basic ceremonial duties.
How did this start?
The current crisis stems from a political shake-up earlier this month, but the roots of it go back much further.
On Nov. 6, Mugabe decided to fire Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The move caused unrest in the president's ruling ZANU-PF party and the army. Mnangagwa has support among the military and was seen as a potential successor to Mugabe when the president likely dies in office.
As Mugabe's health noticeably deteriorated in the past year, the question of who will succeed his rule has become more pressing. This has led to a heated standoff between Grace Mugabe and Mnangagwa, which even included the first lady having to publicly deny that she attempted to poison her rival after he became ill last month.
Mnangagwa's ouster seems to have been a catalyst for these longstanding tensions to boil over, as it appeared that Grace Mugabe ― whose political capital has grown in the past few years ― had won out and positioned herself as a top contender for the presidency after her husband's death.
But amid the ouster of Mnangagwa and the subsequent purge of his allies from government offices, the military decided this week that it would assert its power. On Monday, a military general issued a statement threatening to step in if the purges didn't stop. The army then took action on Tuesday night, and now appears to be in control.
What happens next?
It's unclear. There's still a ton of uncertainty about the military's intentions. Even the locations of key players in the crisis aren't known for sure, as unconfirmed reports place Grace Mugabe in Namibia.
There has been no sign of violence so far in the military action, and there have not been public demonstrations either in favor of it or against it. Foreign officials and regional leaders have called for calm and the country to avoid conflict, saying they are closely monitoring the situation.
Embassies in Zimbabwe, including the United Kingdom and United States, have issued statements instructing their citizens in the country to shelter in place and monitor the news for updates.
Although the situation is still unfolding, there is a strong possibility that this is the beginning of the end for Mugabe's rule and his status as the world's oldest serving president.
Cards Against Humanity is celebrating the holidays with a six-part promotion that the company claims will help save America.
Part one? Stop President Donald Trump from building a wall by purchasing a plot of vacant land along the U.S.-Mexico border:
Donald Trump is a preposterous golem who is afraid of Mexicans. He is so afraid that he wants to build a twenty-billion dollar wall that everyone knows will accomplish nothing. So we’ve purchased a plot of vacant land on the border and retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain to make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for the wall to get built.
On Day 1, all Cards Against Humanity Saves America recipients will get an illustrated map of the land, a certificate of our promise to fight the wall, some new cards, and a few other surprises.
The sold-out promotion, which cost $15, included a total of six America-saving surprises. Participants will receive the surprises in their mailboxes throughout the month of December.
The irreverent card game company is known for its absurd and hilarious holiday pranks. Last year, the company celebrated Black Friday by throwing $100,000 into a giant hole. The year before, the firm sold nothing for $5 and still managed to raise $70,000.
Some customers may wonder why the company has gone political with its latest promotion. The site’s FAQ page offered a succinct explanation:
I DON’T LIKE THAT YOU’RE GETTING POLITICAL. WHY DON’T YOU JUST STICK TO CARD GAMES?
Why don’t you stick to seeing how many Hot Wheels cars you can fit up your asshole?
For more details, check out the video below.
Also on HuffPost
Not good. Not good at all.
Australia ranks fourth last out of 57 countries on the Climate Change Performance Index -- a ranking that charts the efforts which vari ]]>
The CPPI is compiled by three independent groups which monitor climate change and renewable energy policies -- the Climate Action Network, GermanWatch and the NewClimate Institute. The index has been going for 13 years and ranks countries according to four main criteria:
- emissions (this category has double weighting)
- climate policy
- energy efficiency (which includes things like building standards and appliance standards)
- renewable energies
This is an unusual "list". Positions 1, 2 and 3 remain vacant as they have in previous years, because the authors of the Index feel no country has yet done enough to prevent the dangerous impacts of climate change to earn a podium spot.
But otherwise, there are no holes on the list, which places Saudi Arabia on the bottom. Above it is Iran, then Korea, then Australia, then the U.S.
So why is our record on tackling climate change so woeful?
"Australia being judged so poorly lines up with the fact we haven't had good climate policy," Australian Conservation Foundation climate change and clean energy campaigner Suzanne Harter told HuffPost Australia.
"We have a national energy crisis, our renewable energy target is low compared with most other countries, fossil fuels are still generating a lot of energy and there's no policy to unwind that, and we don't have a carbon price or anything that puts a penalty on pollution."
The Australian Conservation Foundation produced two really interesting graphs to go along with the report. In the first, you can see how emissions in Australia started going back up around the time of the Coalition government being elected in 2013.
The second is a close-up snapshot of the right hand side of the first graph.
"The big question mark is what in the world is this government going to do around energy and climate?" the ACF's Suzanne Harter said.
"They've put out a National Energy Guarantee with very little detail around it. We're just not doing enough, and this global comparison is calling this out with data."
]]>Couples across Australia have celebrated with h ]]> majority of people voted ‘yes’ to legalise same-sex marriage.
Results of a three-month-long postal survey rev ]]>
When the vote results were announced, some took the opportunity to get engaged. Michael Lucas was one of them. He proposed to his boyfriend in the arrivals hall at the airport shortly after hearing the news.
“We are elated and giddy and in strong need of a drink,” he tweeted.
Dave Harrison (pictured below, left) officially proposed to his partner of 18 years, Darren Dubberley, after the vote results were revealed. He told HuffPost UK: “Today was the day that we came a step closer to becoming equal to the rest of society.
“We are so happy.”
Peter and Steve were also in the crowd celebrating the moment that Australia said ‘yes’. According to journalist Tom Cowie, the pair - who have been in love for 10 years - celebrated by getting engaged in a Melbourne laneway.
Meanwhile James Brechney proposed to his partner Stuart Hensall in Sydney’s Prince Alfred Park. The couple have been together for two-and-a-half years.
James, who wore a bright pink suit for the special occasion, told ABC News: “As terrible as this postal survey has been, the by-product has been this beautiful moment.”
Here are some of the other couples who celebrated the momentous result.
Did you get engaged following the result in Australia? We’d love to hear from you! Email uklifestyle@huffpost.com with your story and photos.
As the world waits to see whether the military coup in Harare marks the downfall of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, attention has turned to his wife and Fir ]]>
Neither of the Mugabes have been seen since the country’s military seized control in the early hours of Wednesday.
Until then, Grace, 52, had been seen as contender for her 93-year-old husband’s mantle.
Humble Beginnings
Born Grace Ntombizodwa in South Africa in 1965, she had taken a job in a typing pool in the state office when she began an affair with the President, who is four decades her senior.
Robert’s first wife Sally was terminally ill with cancer at the time, but he was not deterred, explaining in a rare interview: “It was necessary for me to look for someone else and, even as Sally was still going through her last few days, although it might have appeared to some as cruel, I decided to make love to Grace.” Sally died in 1992.
Grace, a divorcee with one son, tied the knot with the president in 1996 in a lavish wedding attended by 40,000 people, including Nelson Mandela. The couple have two sons and a daughter.
Meteoric Rise
She was named head of the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) women’s league in 2014 and after the purge a week ago of Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, became the front-runner to succeed her husband.
It is the First Lady’s G40 Political Faction which was the target of the overnight coup by the Zimbabwean military.
The whereabouts of key figures in the party – including Jonathan Moyo and Ignatius Chombo are unknown, although sources in Harare have said some are in detention.
Allegations of violence
In September Grace was accused of assaulting South African model Gabriella Engels with an electric cable in a Johannesburg hotel suite.
The First Lady responded to the allegations by countering an “intoxicated and unhinged” Engels had attacked her with a knife.
South Africa granted Grace diplomatic immunity, allowing her to evade immediate prosecution for assault, a move some argued was a misuse of such laws given she was not in the country on official business.
She is alleged to have run into trouble with the law on several other occasions.
Aka ‘Gucci Grace’ or ‘DisGrace’
Critics accuse “Gucci Grace” of lavish spending while the country grapples with poverty.
The First Lady reportedly spent £75,000 during a spree in Paris in 2003 and is known to own a multimillion pound property portfolio, as a well as a fleet of luxury cars.
Earlier this year Grace went to court in an attempt to seize the assets of a Lebanese businessman who allegedly failed to deliver her a diamond ring worth more than $1.35m. She said in court papers that in 2015 she had paid in advance for the delivery of an “at least 100 carat” diamond ring for her wedding anniversary, but was instead offered an inferior item worth $30,000
The Mugabe children are also known to enjoy expensive tastes.
Ben Affleck has come under fire over an interview he gave in which he appeared to make light of the sexual harassment allegations that have dominated the entert ]]>
The actor is currently starring as Batman in ‘Justice League’, and was promoting the film alongside his co-stars on MTV when they were asked whether he&rsq ]]>
Ben got things going by saying they needed “more women”, naming Black Canary as his choice, while Henry Cavill said he&rsqu ]]>
< ]]> Cyborg actor Ray Fisher then chose comic book magician Zatanna as his dream addition, to which Ben suggested this was due to her “fishnets”, after which the interviewer asked: “What would you get up to if you had, like, Supergirl… joining the t ]]>
Interrupting his co-stars, Ben joked: “Are you following the news at all?”
And yeah, the rest of the cast’s faces pretty much say it all:
Ben has since been heavily criticised on so ]]> Harvey Weinstein first came to light.
HuffPost UK has reached out to Ben Affleck’s representative for further comment.
Since the allegations against Weinstein were first published in the New York Times, actress Rose McGowan criticised Ben Affleck over his response, suggesting he was “lying” when he said he’d been unfamiliar with the accusations made against Weinstein.
She went on to claim she’d told him herself of the producer’s unacceptable behaviour.
The Batman actor was also forced to apologise when footage of him groping an MTV presenter on ‘TRL’ resurfaced.
Given the deluge of sexual misconduct allegations in Hollywood, pretty much every famous type is being questioned about their stance on the issue. Sometimes, like in actor Bryan Cranston’s case, it might just be better to read the room and move on to the next topic.
The “Breaking Bad” star was asked if there might be a “way back” for men like Harvey Weinstein, who’s said to have raped multiple women, and Kevin Spacey, who’s facing a handful of allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
While Cranston strongly condemned the men’s actions, he did leave some room for their possible redemption one day.
“It would take time,” he told the BBC. “It would take a society to forgive them. And it would take tremendous contrition on their part. And a knowingness that they have a deeply rooted, psychological, emotional problem that takes years to mend. If they were to show us that they put the work in and are truly sorry and making amends — and not defending their actions, but asking for forgiveness, then maybe down the road, there is room for that.”
The actor said that we’d have to determine whether the person in question deserves a second chance on a “case-by-case” basis, instead of adopting a hardline stance against the alleged abusers.
“We shouldn’t close it off and say, ’To hell with him, rot and go away for the rest of your life,’” Cranston said.” Let’s be bigger than that. Let’s leave it open for the few who can make it through the gauntlet of trouble and who have reclaimed their life and dignity and respect for others.”
Cranston’s comments did not go over well on social media, with many slamming the star for giving Weinstein and Spacey, who could possibly face criminal charges for their alleged actions, too much leeway.
CORRECTION: In a previous version of this story, a quote Bryan Cranston gave in an interview last month in reference to President Donald Trump was mistakenly included with his comments from Tuesday’s interview.
Also on HuffPost
The Socceroos' win over Honduras on Wednesday night was everything that a FIFA ]]>
It's time for the @Socceroos to take on the world. pi ]]>
— Caltex Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 15, 2017
And even thoug ]]>
It took Australia 884 days and 22 matches to officiall ]]>
A draw against Thailand away from home and a win by the smallest of margins against Syria were the low points of the campaign. That left the team under serious scrutiny that only intensifies now we're finally headed to Russia.
Here are the three biggest things facing the Socceroos.
The Coach
The future of Ange Postecoglou as coach of the Socceroos was thrown into major doubt partway through Australia's World Cup qualifying campaign after rumours came to light that he would not be leading the team to the tournament in Russia next year.
Postecoglou, who was named as the Socceroos' head coach in 2013, has previously refused to comment on speculation about his future as a manager and said that his time with the team contractually ends when Australia's "World Cup journey ends".
Also, just because the Socceroos made it to the World Cup in the end doesn't mean the criticisms of Ange Postecoglou weren't without merit. This team should've automatically qualified. #AUSvHON#GoSocceroos
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottliebFOX) November 15, 2017
It's important to note that, judging by the coaching history of the Socceroos in past World Cups -- former coach Holger Oseick was sacked in the lead up to the 2014 Brazil World Cup and replaced by Postecoglou -- a change in coach is not the end of the world.
In fact, Postecoglou's leadership ultimately saw the Australian team make fundamental changes to its playing style and progress its way to an impressive Asian Cup victory in 2015.
So that leaves the question -- if Ange does leave the team before the World Cup, who will take up the coaching role for Australia heading into the tournament?
The Players
Without a doubt, the Socceroos remain a team in transition.
Veteran players like Tim Cahill, Mark Milligan and captain Mile Jedinak have been around for multiple World Cup campaigns and always assert their presence on the pitch for Australia -- whether it be through the goals they score or the support they offer to the players around them.
The issue now lies in whether the Socceroos' younger stars like Massimo Luongo, Tomi Juric and Aaron Mooy can step up.
So far they're doing alright, but many of the moments Australia looked like a threatening side during this World Cup qualifying period came as a result of Cahill and Jedinak -- and that probably needs to change if they won't be around for selection in future tournaments, given their ages of 37 and 33 respectively.
Where that leaves Australia when it comes to team selection in 2018 and beyond remains to be seen.
The Playing Style
Lastly, here's the interesting thing -- in 2015, the Socceroos capitalised on Postecoglou's change in playing style on the football pitch to become Asian Cup victors. That change meant that Australia played with just three defenders in an attempt to create a more attacking team that played more on the edges.
In 2015, it worked extremely well and Australia had a run of form that got them to the 2016 Confederations Cup in Brazil. Things were looking great for the World Cup qualifiers. Then, all of a sudden, they weren't.
Overall, Australia won just five of its 10 qualifying matches and drew four in the final phase of Asian qualification (before the Syria and Honduras playoffs). The positive is that the Socceroos only lost once, but it wasn't enough to see us progress directly from the group stage like we had for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
Plain and simply, teams had figured Postecoglou's tactics out and on too many occasions Australia was caught off-guard by an opposing team's counter-attack, or the Socceroos were just unable to put goals into the back of the net.
With that said, the final question remains: Will this change heading into a World Cup where Australia will likely face teams ranked much higher by FIFA? And if not, why not? That also remains to be answered.
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