Grumpy Editor

NEW AUSTRALIAN LAW: WALK DOGS OR BE FINED

New legislation should make dogs in a section of Australia happy, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Animal Welfare Legislation Amendment Bill, which became law on Thursday, calls for strict penalties to dog owners in efforts to improve animal welfare.

Canine owners can be fined up to $2,700 (AU$4,000) if they don’t walk their pets at least once a day.

 

Owners also face fines if they fail to provide basics like shelter, food and water.

 

Those who confine dogs for 24 hours must also allow them to move freely for the next two hours or face prosecution.

 

The legislation centers on the Australian Capital Territory that contains Canberra, Australia's capital city and surrounding areas.

 

The territory is the first jurisdiction in Australia to recognize animal sentience.

 

"Modern animal welfare is about considering how an animal is coping both mentally and physically with the conditions in which it lives,” points out an official.

 

 

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SNOW SMACKS NORTHERN ROCKIES.  It is far from winter, yet heavy snow — up to three feet in some areas — hits the northern Rockies over the weekend as temperatures slide to the 20s and 30s in portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

 

MILITARY SUICIDE RATE RISES.  Suicide rate among active duty U.S. troops rises 13 percent last year, according to a Pentagon report.  Since 2013, it adds, suicides increased 34 percent among active duty troops, with the Marine Corps showing the biggest gain.

 

MISTRUST IN MEDIA.   Americans remain largely mistrustful of the mass media with 41 percent saying they have "a great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in newspapers, television and radio to report the news "fully, accurately and fairly" --- a four percentage drop since last year,  reports Gallup. 

 

VEGAS NEWSPAPER BATTLE.  A judge gave the Las Vegas Review-Journal permission to proceed with an effort to end its 30-year joint operating agreement with the Las Vegas Sun.  The Sun, as a separate section, has been included with the daily R-J.

BEAR ENTERS SCHOOL BUILDING.  A young bear shoves its way through a window of Fretz Middle School in Bradford, Penn. then roams the halls of the building.  Only custodians were in the building at the time.  No injuries or major damage.  The bear departs after being spooked by its own reflection.

EXPENSIVE DOG HOUSE.  A fancy dog ranch-style house, with a roof featuring low-pitched shingles, an outdoor deck, comfy artificial turf, indoor space with a window, and a spot for food and water bowls carries a price tag of $4,000.  It's labeled as the “Modern Dog House Mid Century Ranch.” 

WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST TAKES SHOT AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

"This sexist dictionary must change," demands a petition started by a women’s rights activist, notes Grumpy Editor.

London-based Maria Beatrice Giovanardi is referring to Oxford University Press (OUP).

 

According to the petition, posted on Change.org, the venerable publisher that produces the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), offers a series of synonyms for woman, including "bitch, besom, piece, bit, mare, baggage, wench, petticoat, frail, bird, bint, biddy, filly."

 

While the Oxford English Dictionary does not feature these definitions, they do appear in other reference books produced by the publisher, as well as online dictionary Lexico, which takes its content from OUP dictionaries.

The petition asks Oxford University Press to:

1.  Eliminate all phrases and definitions that discriminate against and patronize women and/or connote men’s ownership of women.
2. Enlarge the dictionary's entry for “woman.”
3. Include examples representative of minorities, for example, a transgender woman, a lesbian woman, etc.

The petition refers to the online abuse targeted at women and says language usage must change in order to tackle this problem, stating, "We can take a serious step towards reducing the harm this is causing our young women and girls by looking at our language -- and this starts with the dictionary." It adds: "This is completely unacceptable by a reputable source like the Oxford University Press, but it's even more worrying when you consider how much influence they have in setting norms around our language.” 

 

 

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PIGEONS BUSY IN CHINA AND CHICAGO.  China seeks to ban pigeons from flying in Beijing ahead of the country’s 70th birthday celebration on Oct. 1, citing how the birds and other flying objects could “affect flight safety” during the military parade.  Meanwhile, in Chicago’s Irving Park Blue Line station, where the Transit Authority is coping with bird waste and feathers, a pigeon did its business on the head of Democratic state Rep. Jaime Andrade as he was discussing the problem with a reporter.

WHEN CHINESE CANCEL MONTANA VISIT, STOCKS FALL.  Stocks traded in positive territory Friday until a Chinese delegation in the U. S. canceled a scheduled visit to Montana farm country, then the market headed south, closing at 26,935.07, down 159.72.

HAIRY THIEVES.  Thieves made off with $80,000 worth of wigs from a Miami Gardens, Florida, warehouse.  Owner says, "Some products are very exclusive and worth up to $800."

WILL COLUMBUS STATUE LEAVE CENTRAL PARK?  A member of a New York City commission that oversees art and architecture on city property suggests rather than adding statues of historical female figures to Central Park, the panel should yank out some of the male ones first.  A Christopher Columbus statue is one of the prominent ones in the park.

EX-MASS. GOVERNOR JOINS CBS NEWS.  Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) is joining CBS News as a political contributor.  Patrick, 63, served as governor from 2007 to 2015. 

 

HITLER'S WIFE'S UNDERPANTS SOLD.  Underpants believed to have belonged to Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's wife, sold for $4,620 at auction.  The monogrammed pink silk knickers, which came from a private European World War II collection, is bought by an anonymous phone bidder who also bought Braun's cotton nightgown.  British auction house Humbert & Ellis also sold a gold-plated bracelet bearing a swastika, which belonged to the wife of Nazi leader Hermann Goring.

 

NEXSTAR ACQUIRES TRIBUNE MEDIA.  Nexstar Media completes its $7.2 billion acquisition of Tribune Media to create the biggest broadcaster in the U.S. The combined company, with 197 full power, owned or serviced, television stations in 115 markets, will now reach 39 percent of U.S. households.

 

BIRD POPULATION FLIES SOUTH.  North American bird population has about three billion fewer birds now than a half century ago, according to a study in Science.  That marks a 29 percent drop since 1970.

ONE-THIRD OF FAMILIES EAT IN SILENCE

Overlooked by most U.S. media is a British news report that finds one third of families eat in silence during meal time, notes Grumpy Editor.

Three out of 10 respondents say they struggle to find what to talk about at dinner and many parents draw a blank on what to discuss with their offspring, according to the survey of 2,500 U.K. parents by Tex-Mex food producer Old El Paso.

 

Among other findings:

 

   Four out of 10 parents don’t eat dinner at the same time as their children on most days.

 

   One in 10 never eats dinner at the same time as their families.

 

   More than one in five respondents admits watching TV than interacting with the family.

 

   Almost half say they usually stare at their phones while eating.

 

   With families that chat around dinner tables, popular topics are weekend plans (47%), followed by school gossip (44%), the meal being eaten (43%), homework (37%) and popular TV shows (37%).

 

“To get the most out of family mealtimes, the table needs to be filled with the happy noise of conversation, chat and laughter. The more we engage, the closer and more connected we feel to each other,” comments psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos.

 

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 Navy drifter

 

 

EMPTY U.S. NAVY BOAT DRIFTS ACROSS ATLANTIC.  A small U.S. Navy boat, last seen a year ago, is discovered off the coast of Ireland.  A crew from the Doolin Ferry Co. spotted it while en route to Inis Oirr, an island in Galway Bay.  The four-year-old boat, lost during a training exercise, is a U.S. Navy High Speed Maneuverable Surface Target (HSMST) that was based about 3,300 miles away in Norfolk, Va.

 

DEFICIT TOPS $1 TRILLION PLUS.  The Treasury Department says the U.S. deficit tops more than $1 trillion in the first 11 months of the fiscal year. 

 

SAN FRANCISCO PLANS TO CHARGE DRIVERS ON FAMOUS CROOKED ROAD. San Francisco soon will charge drivers who use the famous crooked Lombard St.  Suggested cost:  $5 per car on weekdays, $10 on weekends and holidays.

 

DOW RISES EIGHT STRAIGHT TRADING DAYS.  With improving sentiment in U.S.-China trade relations, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rises on eight straight trading days, closing Friday at 27,219.52.

 

TEN MOST CENSORED COUNTRIES.  Eritrea, in east Africa, is the world's most censored country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CJR).  It is followed by North Korea, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, Irna, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus and Cuba. The list is based on CPJ's research on the use of tactics ranging from imprisonment and repressive laws to surveillance of journalists and restrictions on internet and social media access.

 

SNOW FALLS IN TAHOE BASIN.  National Weather Service says a cold front passed over the northern Sierra Nevada last week, pushing temperatures below normal and leaving an inch of snow in the Tahoe Basin and drivers  in the Mount Rose area encountering snowy conditions.

 

EDITOR & PUBLISHER GETS NEW OWNER.  Editor & Publisher, known as “the bible of the newspaper industry,” is acquired from Duncan McIntosh Co. by digital media veteran Michael Blinder, who plans to broaden the publication's mission. 

OXFORD RATED BEST UNIVERSITY IN WORLD.  Britain’s University of Oxford ranks as the best university in the world, followed by the California Institute of Technology, according to a list prepared by a London magazine, Times Higher Education.

NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN.  The Battle of Inchon, an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that ran four days at this time in 1950, resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command.  It involved 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, leading to the recapture of Seoul, the South Korean capital, two weeks later.

 

 

LARGE EXPENSES CURB VACATIONS FOR MILLENNIALS

Most millennials, struggling with bills, simply can’t afford vacations, observes Grumpy Editor after noting findings of a recent Deloitte study.

The study finds allocating more money toward vacations may not be possible for millennials when they are facing large expenses.

 

Millennials are mired in student loan debt, saving for down payments on mortgages while working to increase salaries. This combination of factors contributes to millennials’ struggle to afford vacations.

 

And millennials are not happy about it: 74% of them wish they could save more money to spend on vacations.

 

Millennials, points out Deloitte, also are the least likely generation to fund vacations by using credit cards.

 

Compare that to nearly 28% of those in the 54 to 72 age range, otherwise known as baby boomers, who are more likely to use credit cards as the primary source of vacation funding.

 

 

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BLACK BEAR VISITS LADIES ROOM.  Guests at the Buck's T-4 Lodge in Big Sky, Mont. are startled to see a young black bear hanging out on the counter in the ladies room.

BUSY ON SUNDAY MORNING TALK SHOWS.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday appears on ABC’s “This Week,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CBS’ “Face the Nation,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and Fox News Sunday.

DORIAN THREATENED ALABAMA, SAYS NOAA.  In a Sept. 6 statement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the National Weather Service, says Alabama indeed was threatened by Hurricane Dorian at the time President Donald Trump tweeted Alabama would “most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated,” reports the Washington Post.

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE DONATES PULITZER WINNINGS.  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette donates its $15,000 Pulitzer Prize winnings to the Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation, where 11 people were shot and killed last October in the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in U.S. history.

FAVORITE "CHILD" IS A PET.  In a survey of 2,000 American pet-owning adults, 34% say their pet is their favorite “child” and a fifth of those pet-owning parents admit to buying gifts for their furry companions more recently than gifts for their own kids.

MOST IN  SURVEY SAY REPORTERS DESERVE SCRUTINY.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national survey finds 61% of likely U.S. voters think reporters at major news organizations like CNN, Fox News and the New York Times are public figures who deserve the same level of scrutiny as the people they cover.

SISTERS REACH GENERAL RANK.  Maj. Gen. Maria Barrett and younger sister Brig. Gen. Paula Lodi are the first sisters to attain general’s rank in the service's 244-year history, the Army believes.

ANOTHER HURRICANE IN THE NEWS --- AN EX-U.S. SECRET SERVICE DOG

 

           Hurricane at the White House

 

Hurricane, a Belgian Malinois that worked as a U.S. Secret Service dog, will be honored next month for his heroism on White House grounds five years ago --- by the British, notes Grumpy Editor.

The dog is credited with saving former President Barack Obama from an intruder, points out Nicole Darrah of Fox News.

 

Hurricane will be awarded the Order of Merit from PDSA, a British veterinary charity that equates the honor with the "Order of the British Empire," during a special ceremony in London.

 

It will mark the first-ever foreign animal to receive the award.

 

Darrah reports that Hurricane “stopped an intruder, who in October 2014 scaled a White House fence. The intruder swung Hurricane around, and punched and kicked him --- but the dog dragged the man to the ground, allowing Secret Service agents to intercept him.”

 

Obama, who was home at the time, was not harmed.

 

Darrah says Marshall Mirarchi, the dog’s handler who worked with Hurricane for four years, describes the dog as a "legend" within the Secret Service after the attack, adding, “he loved working and his talent for the job impressed me every single day. That night, he stepped up and delivered under circumstances that no amount of training could prepare him for.  I have never witnessed such violence toward a dog before but it didn’t stop him from doing his job."

 

Mirarchi recounts Hurricane didn't have obvious signs of trauma after the attack, but did have "some cuts and significant bruising," injuries that ultimately contributed to Hurricane's retirement in September 2016 when his former handler adopted him.

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WASHINGTON STILL EYES GREENLAND.  Following the idea of buying Greenland, the Trump administration is planning to open a U.S. consulate there for the first time in decades amid increased strategic and economic interest in the Danish territory.

 

ARMY TO START TOUGHER MARKSMANSHIP TESTS.  The Army is unveiling tougher marksmanship tests — via pistols and automatic rifles — next month designed to prepare troops to shoot better while under duress.

 

TOKYO WORLD'S SAFEST CITY.  Tokyo tops the list of safest cities in the world ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Safe Cities Index.  Factors include digital security, health security, infrastructure and personal safety.  Singapore is in second place followed by Osaka.

 

GERMAN COMBAT BOOTS DELAYED.  German soldiers will have to wait until 2022 to get new combat boots, according to the German Defense Ministry.  It’s a setback that has angered politicians and raised questions about the readiness of the country's military. 

 

OBITS VITAL FOR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.  Local newspapers still heavily rely on obituaries for revenue, according to data from local obituary and advertising placement firm Adpay.  Obits, alongside public notice ads, are one of the last remaining consistent revenue streams that local newspapers rely on.

SARAH SANDERS JOINS FOX. Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders starting Friday will provide political commentary and analysis on the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and its radio and podcast division.

KROGER BANS FREE PUBLICATIONS.  Kroger, effective Oct. 15, will ban free newspapers from all of its stores.  "We are removing the publication racks from our stores because more publications continue to shift to digital formats, resulting in less customers using the products," says a spokesperson.  The move will hurt some local news outfits that depend on customers picking up their publications.