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02 Jun 2010 10:52

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U.S.: How much cancer can your smokes cause? Depends on the country

  • Americans have more; the U.K., Canada and Australia have less. Ah, nothing like a story about cigarettes to make you feel more alive. Researchers did a test of cigarette butts to see what sort of chemicals and toxins the cigarettes have. Apparently, different countries use different formulas and as a result, different countries have more dangerous smokes. And by different countries, we really mean “the U.S.” (Scary, right?) source

12 Mar 2010 10:14

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Politics: Obama says “screw deadlines,” reworks his trip around health care

  • 03/18 the deadline Obama gave Congress to get health care passed, so he could go to Indonesia and Australia
  • 03/21 Obama’s new deadline, as a result of Congress deciding not to pass it on his personal schedule source

17 Feb 2010 10:40

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Biz, World: In case you were wondering, a ton of coal costs $2,000 dollars

  • $60
    billion
    size of the deal Australia has to supply lots of dirty, environmentally unfriendly coal to China for the next two decades
  • 30
    million
    number of tons of coal that deal will buy China; environmentalists are up in arms, saying the deal doesn’t square with Copenhagen source

06 Jan 2010 11:56

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Culture: KFC’s Aussie branch treads fine line between chicken and racism

  • Bad advertising idea No. 1: “Stuck in a situation where you’re surrounded by black/West Indian people? Just offer them chicken and everything will be OK!” KFC, as you might guess, is getting a firestorm of controversy for this Australian ad. Ouch. source

31 Dec 2009 15:45

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World: Tasmanian Devils spin around, get cancer, can’t catch Bugs Bunny

  • Apparently, the supremely Australian animals were suffering awful bouts of facial cancer. It was threatening the species. However, they discovered the source of cancer, and it’s a lesson that can be taken directly to humans. source

30 Dec 2009 09:42

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Offbeat: “Best job in the world” = Being stung by deadly Irukandji jellyfish

  • Sure doesn’t sound like an awesome job. A while back, Ben Southall won a job as caretaker of a gorgeous Australian island. It was marketed as the “best job in the world,” and applications were accepted via YouTube. Well, one thing they didn’t tell you in the job description was that you could get stung by deadly Irukandji jellyfish and nearly die, as Southall did. This, friends, is why you shouldn’t have ambition. It stings you back sometimes. source

15 Nov 2009 20:44

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World: Australia’s prime minister is very sorry about neglected orphans

  • We are sorry. Sorry for the tragedy – the absolute tragedy – of childhoods lost. Sorry that as children you were taken from your families and placed in institutions where so often you were abused. Sorry for the physical suffering, the emotional starvation and the cold absence of love, of tenderness, of care.
  • Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd • Speaking to a group of 1,000 “forgotten Australians” who were neglected and abused in orphanages between 1930 and 1970. He couldn’t sugarcoat this apology, no matter how he wanted to. “The truth is, this is an ugly story,” he continued. “The truth is great evil has been done.” • source
 

17 Oct 2009 18:26

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Offbeat: Pimps up, hos down: An alcohol-maker sullies Snow White

Ho White and the Seven Dwarves
Don't mess with Disney. Ever. Let's say you're an Australian alcohol company. And you want to get some attention. Maybe co-opting an image might work. How about one from an iconic kid-friendly storybook. Actually, the popular film version. And now, you know why Jamieson's Raspberry Ale is facing legal attention from the big, evil mouse. SOURCE

07 Oct 2009 20:37

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World: The Vanuatu quake: Very good news, but still lots of bad news

  • The Vanuatu earthquake looked like it might hit a bunch of nearby South Pacific islands as far away as Australia. Those warnings have been canceled. source
  • There is a tsunami, however, and it will hit Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, causing destruction. Fingers crossed for our South Pacific friends. source

02 Oct 2009 15:43

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Offbeat: Kraft’s Vegemite renaming plan, iSnack 2.0, fails like an old iPod

  • The name came from a land down under. Kraft Foods learned an interesting lesson recently: You probably shouldn’t name iconic Australian food after trendy tech products, because it makes you look not “with it.” So, iSnack 2.0, a Vegemite-plus-cheese plan which sounded like a good idea for about half a minute, will get renamed yet again. Vote here, because we know you care that much. source