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Saturday, 13 July 2013

Exclusive: Rudd's sister wants Putin-style homosexuality ban

Loree Rudd at home in Nambour. Picture: Megan Slade. Source: News Limited

KEVIN Rudd's sister wants Australia to introduce a Vladimir Putin-style ban on schoolchildren being taught about homosexuality.

Loree Rudd - who says she is unlikely to help her brother on election day because she opposes his support for gay marriage - believes the maverick Russian leader's hardline view on homosexuality is more enlightened than Western leaders.

"It's like he (Putin) can see the problem ahead," Ms Rudd, 62, who has just returned from a visit to Russia, said.

"I think that there should be a law (in Australia) protecting children from the propaganda of homosexuality as normal. They're trying to build their family life and structure in Russia and people in the West don't seem to understand our family life and structures are breaking down.

"I guess the bottom line, if there's one thing I can say that can't be challenged, it's that society needs to protect its children as best they can."

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Rudd wants to see gay marriage legalised

PM Kevin Rudd says the gay marriage issue causes 'unnecessary angst' amongst gay and lesbian Australians.

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Putin signs 'gay propaganda' ban

Ms Rudd, a nurse on Queensland's Sunshine Coast who once trained as a nun, revealed her brother rang her before he decided to go public about his decision to support gay marriage.

At first she figured Mr Rudd might "stick me near a church to help out" on election day but now she fears handing out flyers in his Brisbane electorate will be "hypocritical".

"I don't think I will do anything on election day," she said.

PM Kevin Rudd and his sister Loree Rudd at the donation of his Family History to the National Library at Parliament House in Canberra. He says he respects her views.

Ms Rudd said she was rarely able to catch up with the Prime Minister except for on her birthday and at family events.

She said her youngest brother was often too busy and most communication came in the form of regular text messages.

When he called her in May to say he had changed his mind on gay marriage, Ms Rudd told him she accepted his views but would not change her own.

Kevin Rudd's junior shadow

Ms Rudd rejoined the Labor Party last year after angrily and publicly tearing-up her membership when the party voted to support a conscience vote on same-sex marriage at its national conference in 2011.

She has always refused to apologise for controversially describing some homosexual lobby groups as "the gay Gestapo" at the time.

She rejects being labelled as "cruel or nasty" and says she had always "mixed with (homosexuals) happily", even "accidentally" dating a gay man when she was a student in her 20s.

"My view (on homosexuality) I can say with complete honesty has always been the same. I even dated one once, not knowing he was homosexual."

It wasn't until a decade later when she reflected on her ex-boyfriend and the male company he kept that Ms Rudd said she realised: "Oh my God, they were all practising homosexuals."

Mr Rudd has said his decision to support gay marriage was triggered by the confession of a former political staffer that he was gay and would like to get married one day.

Ms Rudd said she respected gay people but would not change her stance.

"There's nothing wrong with loving someone of the same sex. It's normally called friendship. But when sex is involved in that (relationship), that's a different thing," she said.

"I'm not walking around saying these people can't do what they want to do. Of course they can. (But) it's the calling of it marriage that bothers people."

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said he "respects the views of other people, including his sister".

Australian Marriage Equality director Rodney Croome said the lobby group would campaign in key electorates in the lead up to the election for the Coalition to allow a conscience vote on same-sex marriage.

"I urge all supporters of equality to contact their local candidates and share their story about why marriage equality is important to them," he said.

He said school students heard and read about same-sex relationships on a daily basis so it "would be absurd for teachers to pretend these relationships don't exist".

"Those who say there should be no discussion of homosexuality in school are not only living in the past, they are putting the lives of young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people at risk by robbing them of the support they need to deal with the prejudice they too often encounter."

Investigators probe fire on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Heathrow

INVESTIGATORS are searching for the cause of the fire onboard a 787 Dreamliner parked at London's Heathrow airport, which raises further questions about the safety of Boeing's next-generation jet.

A team from Britain's Air Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) was deployed following the blaze on Friday afternoon on the Ethiopian Airlines plane, which was fortunately empty at the time.

"The aircraft was moved to a secure hangar early this morning. The investigation is ongoing,'' a spokesman for the AAIB, an agency of the Department of Transport, told AFP.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had also sent an official to support the work of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Britain.

Ethiopian Airlines said smoke was detected coming from the plane after it had been parked at Heathrow for more than eight hours.

"The aircraft was empty when the incident was observed. The cause of the incident is under investigation by all concerned,'' it said in a statement.

It is a blow for Boeing, which had to temporarily withdraw the Dreamliner from service earlier this year after concerns that batteries on board could cause fires.

The US aviation giant has since rolled out modifications it said would ensure the planes were safe.

Boeing's shares closed 4.7 percent lower at $101.87 in New York trading on Friday, clawing back from a dive of more than seven percent.

The fire caused Heathrow to shut down for 90 minutes, and the world's busiest international passenger air hub was still reporting related delays on Saturday.

"The airport is fully operational but with some flight delays and cancellations,'' Heathrow said in a statement.

A spokeswoman told AFP that about 40 flights had been cancelled throughout the day, largely due to aircraft being out of place, but said delays to other flights were "minimal".

In a separate incident on Friday, Britain's Thomson Airways said one of its Dreamliners flying from Manchester to Florida was forced to turn back after experiencing a "technical issue'' after take-off.

A global grounding order on the Dreamliner was issued in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two different jets, with one of them catching fire while the aircraft was parked.

Boeing has not been able to identify the root cause of the problems - a source of major embarrassment to the company - but said its modifications would prevent the problems reoccurring.

In April, an Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner - reported to be the same plane that caught fire at Heathrow - flew from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on the first commercial flight since the grounding.

But the planes have been dogged by problems, with a string of flights worldwide cancelled or diverted due to mechanical issues.

Pamplona feasts on bull-run beasts

A reveller is pushed by a bull at the end of the fifth running of the bulls, at the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona. Picture: Alvaro Barrientos

AFTER chasing festival-goers through the cobbled streets of Pamplona, a huge black fighting bull now hangs from one leg, blood gushing out of its throat.

The half-tonne beast is being drained of blood in the patio of the bullring where it was slain by a matador following the morning chase.

Like all the bulls killed in the San Fermin festival in this northern Spanish city, it will soon head to a slaughterhouse to be prepared and then sold in butcher shops.

"It's very common here in Pamplona for a housewife to buy 10 kilos, 15 kilos and freeze it to eat at Christmas or on special occasions,'' says one local butcher, Patxi Jimenez Arellano, 44.

A former sociologist, he now stands behind the counter in the butcher's shop founded by his father in the historic heart of Pamplona.

"People experience the bull during the whole process. They look at it in the holding pen, watch it in the bull run and in the ring, and finally they eat it. It's like closing a circle,'' he says.

The most popular dish is a stew made with the choicest bits of meat from the bull, but all parts of it are eaten.

Spanish bullfighter Ivan Fandino is gored by a bull at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona. Picture: Alvaro Barrientos

The feet are cooked with peppers, the tail is chopped up and stewed with tomatoes, onions and carrots - and the testicles are breaded and fried to make a dish called "criadillas''.

It is not just the taste that locals love - many believe eating bull will give them the strength of one, said Julio Flames, the chef and owner of La Nuez, considered one of the best restaurants in Pamplona.

"I don't believe in that kind of thing. But like all things in life, if you believe something gives you strength, maybe it does,'' said the 33-year-old Venezuelan, who keeps his skateboard in his kitchen.

"There is a lot of romanticism, people love to think they are eating the bull that was killed by a matador,'' added Flames, who likes to listen to heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath while he cooks.

The bulls used to be dismembered at the bullring after they were killed in a bullfight and the animals' testicles cooked on the spot.

But health regulations introduced in 2002 due to the outbreak of mad cow disease put an end to the tradition. The bulls must now be taken to a slaughterhouse within an hour of being killed in the ring.

Participants hold red scarves as they celebrate the start of the San Fermin Festival at Castle square in Pamplona. Picture: Pedro Armestre

Before the animal is hauled away, a butcher drains it of its blood.

A team of three mules decorated with coloured ribbons and bells drag the dead bull by the horns from the arena to the patio, where a forklift hoists it in the air by one of its hind legs.

A butcher wearing dark blue pants and a red shirt to hide the blood stains then repeatedly jabs a 20-centimetre knife into the bull's throat, causing several litres of blood to pour out into a plastic container.

Another man hoses the cement floor of the patio to wash away any blood that oozes out from the wounds suffered by the animal in the bullring.

When the bull arrives at the slaughterhouse, three young men dressed in white immediately set to work with knives and electric saws to skin it, chop off its legs and head and remove its innards.

The team took just under half an hour on Wednesday to skin and dismember a 550-kilo bull called Jocundo that was killed in the ring by top matador Julian Lopez Escobar, also known as "El Juli''.

The bull's carcass will hang in a freezer at the slaughterhouse for a few days while health inspections are carried out, before it is chopped into smaller bits and sold.

The 48 bulls used in the eight bull runs of the annual San Fermin fiesta which wraps up on Sunday will produce around 14,000 kilos of meat products.

"That is enough bull for all the butcher shops in Pamplona,'' said Arellano.

He says the meat should be frozen to tenderise it."It is like game meat, it is very strong. It is great with red wine - with chocolate even,'' he added.

The Biz: Wrap of the weekly business news

WANT to hold your own during a pub conversation? We've wrapped up the weekly business news into one handy package, without the boring bits.

This week, the job market was a hot topic of conversation, with ANZ's monthly job survey confirming less companies were hiring in June, as the number of job ads dropped 2 per cent over the month.

It was backed up later in the week with the official unemployment rate, which rose to 5.7 per cent, adding nearly 24,000 people to the dole queue.

If you are looking for work, Monday morning is the most popular time, with applications spiking 17 per cent spike before 9am, according to technology company Express.

Economic confidence also took a hit, despite KRudd's blistering return to office, with the NAB business confidence survey slumping to a four-year low and the IMF downgrading global growth forecasts from 3.3 to 3.1 per cent.

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The number of new jobs advertised in Australia was down nearly 2 per cent, with unemployment rising to 5.7 per cent. Source: Supplied

The US Dow Jones and S&P 500 surged as traders continued to hang on the every word of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who said he wouldn't withdraw stimulus measures ... yet.

The Aussie dollar is hovering around 91-92 US cents, with speculation petrol prices could rise to $1.70 per litre in the coming months.

In company news, Steggles was slammed by the ACCC for claiming their chickens were "free to roam," though neglecting to mention that was only within the confines of an A4 sheet of paper.

Holden held out its hat, asking for $265 million to keep manufacturing in Australia. Luckily, Clive Palmer came up with the brilliant plan to merge the big car manufacturers. Can't wait to drive my new Toyforden.

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Are you stuck in a prestige job you hate? You might be a work snob. Source: Supplied

Overseas, Apple was slammed by a US court for price fixing their e-books despite CEO Tim Cook saying they had done nothing wrong.

Microsoft will restructure its huge workforce to be more nimble and compete with Apple and Google, while Target is being sued by three Hispanic employees for issuing a memo that no, they don't all eat tacos and wear sombreros.

Our most talked about story was UK dad Ben Hatch, who admits he may well be the stingiest man in the UK, with tricks like strapping baguettes to the legs of his children and smuggling ham in their shoes to avoid overpriced grub at Disneyland.

We also looked at whether it's better to climb the corporate ladder or do things your own way, after comments from an Ogilvy exec that those with top class degrees are often "weirdos."

The magazine cover that had everyone talking was this doozy from Businessweek. Hmmm.

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The Businessweek cover that had everyone talking. Source: Twitter. Source: Supplied

If you can't face another week stuck behind the desk, check out our day in the life of real life cowboy, as Stockman's Hall of Fame CEO Ben Magurie tells us about working from the saddle.

And if you want to do a bit of activism this weekend, try urging your local shops to join an Australian Retailers Association initiative that will urge retailers to ensure end-to-end ethics right through the supply chain. It comes following the Bangladesh factory collapse in April and a report this week that sandblasting is still being used to create distressed denim, despite major brands like Levi Strauss banning the practice.

Now that you're clued up on the week's business secrets, make sure you watch the Sharknado trailer. That's sure to come up in pub conversation too.

Gucci customer wants refund for 'fragile' $800 bag

Gucci customer Zoran Ivanovic has taken his claim to the Vic

Read more:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/national-news/victoria/gucci-customer-wants-refund-for-fragile-800-bag/story-fnii5sms-1226678986304#ixzz2Ywd1O9SV

A GUCCI customer is suing the luxury goods retailer over claims his $800 man-bag fell short of its price tag.

Richmond pilot Zoran Ivanovic, 34, alleges his bag frayed and lost shape despite light and careful use.

Mr Ivanovic is so dismayed with the canvas tote - even after repairs by a craftsman in Italy - he's launched legal action for a refund.

Documents lodged with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal allege the bag is "so fragile that any use results in significant deterioration".

The alleged imperfections include a faulty seam, fraying around the zip, and rippling in the outer fabric.

"Given the extraordinary cost of the item, which for all intents and purposes is nothing more than a small canvas bag, there is an expectation that it will maintain its appearance and finish . . . and be more durable than similar, cheaper bags," he claims.

"The quality is well below what is expected of a product that is priced as it is."

The fashion house sent the bag to Italy after complaints from Mr Ivanovic, but he says repairs were completed "somewhat amateurishly" and made things worse.

He refused to take possession of the bag, and wants a refund.

The style-conscious shopper told the Sunday Herald Sun he was a frequent Gucci customer.

The bag had been used "maybe once or twice a week, an hour or two at a time . . . to carry small things", he said. "Yes, I am particular, but I am not unreasonable. When you are paying that sort of money, you should be expecting perfection."

In emails lodged at the tribunal, Gucci declared the matter "a wear and tear issue" and said a refund or replacement wasn't warranted. A Gucci spokeswoman this week failed to respond to several requests for comment.

A paperwork hitch has delayed the tribunal case, but Mr Ivanovic hopes a hearing date will be listed soon.

His case comes as a Chanel customer takes similar tribunal action over claims her $5000 black lambskin handbag is substandard. Noble Park woman Phung Nguyen bought her bag in December 2011 from the boutique label, and has complained to VCAT of pilling and fading.

Chanel bosses told a recent tribunal hearing the bag wasn't defective, and blamed wear and tear.

That matter has been adjourned so an expert witness can prepare an independent report on the bag.