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silvio berlusconi 1 22 11 7 Tuesday news bites (Sep 20)

Fuhgeddaboutit.

 

 

 

 

1. Asylum seeker plans … still not sorted out

The back-and-forth between the Government and the Opposition over asylum seeker policy continues with no end in site. Yesterday Tony Abbott met with the Prime Minister Julia Gillard for 15 minutes in her office to discuss amendments to the Migration Act but left saying they had been ‘cobbled together in a panic’ and stripped away some basic protections. At this stage neither is willing to acknowledge the other’s policy and neither has offered to support it. This makes Malaysia a virtual no-go but it also means Nauru (the Opposition’s preferred option) won’t work either because the Greens will not support it. Asylum seekers may end up being processed on shore in detention centres after all. Watch this space.

2. Aussie sex survey: we want it 3-6 times a week

A survey of Aussie sex habits carried out by pollster Nielsen (and commissioned by dating website RSVP) has found more than one third of Aussies prefer to have sex three to six times a week as their ‘ideal’. That figure was much higher during the first month of a relationship where almost half (47 per cent) said they wanted to have sex three times a day. 5300 people were surveyed. How often do you have sex?

3. Italian PM Berlusconi boasts of ’8 women’ in one night

He’s the billionaire playboy media mogul and leader of Italy whose penchant for women has landed him in hot water numerous times. Now Italy’s opposition is demanding an inquiry to see whether state-owned aircraft were used to fly escorts to Silvio Berlusconi’s ‘many’ private sex parties. In leaked tapes, recorded by investigators, he is heard boasting of ‘only getting through eight’ women in one night when he ‘had a queue of 11′ outside his bedroom door.

4. Guy Pearce wins Emmy for ‘Best Supporting Actor’

guy pearce 2011 emmy awards 09192011 17 430x575 380x508 7 Tuesday news bites (Sep 20)

Happy Emmy! Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce

He was the only Aussie nominated for the 2011 Emmy Awards and he walked away with the gong for his role in Mildred Pierce. Pearce starred next to Kate Winslet, who was also given a gong. During his speech he said he got to have sex with Winslet ‘many many times’ before apologising, to applause, to his wife Kate who was in the audience. “This was really a delightful experience making ‘Mildred Pierce’ I got to have sex with Kate Winslet many, many times. And I didn’t realise it was going to result in this, so Kate I share this with you because you’re an extraordinary woman, thank you, for allowing me to insert myself into your world of Mildred,” he said. If you missed our gallery from yesterday, we’ve included it again because we’re nice like that.

5. Man flu … might be real after all.

Beware of reading too much into scientific studies before they advance very far but this one is at least interesting. Scientists in the United Kingdom, doing tests on lab mice, have noticed females have more (and more proactive) white blood cells which form the immune system. Queen Mary University London researchers said the white blood cells in female mice were more efficient, which resulted in the release of fewer chemicals, the ones that make you feel bad when you’re fighting a cold for instance. Well, how about that.

6. Redheads rejected from world’s biggest sperm bank

“There are too many redheads in relation to demand.” That’s the message from Cryos in Denmark – the biggest sperm bank in the world which is currently at full stock with 70 litres of semen – because no one’s asking for a ginger baby. The only country that appeared to actively select redhead children (based on requests received) is Ireland. The more you know.

7. Eva Mendes has a new perfume commercial. It’s kind of … different.

And here’s that Emmy gallery in case you missed it!

[News brought to you by Rick].

Christina Hendricks at the Governor's Ball in a dress by Australian designer Johanna Johnson

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85 Comments so far

  1. dkmum

    Hmm… I just wrote a comment to Mia’s article ‘Dressing for Work…’ which debates cleavage among other things and the tendency to walk around naked. Then I saw the picture of Kate Winslet and Guy Pierce above… which has a fair bit of cleavage. And I was reminded by the difference in comments regarding the two topics. Most commenters have agreed that Kate is absolutely stunning (and I agree), but the concensus is also that we would prefer women to cover up more.

    Interesting I thought…

    As for the news, please don’t show my husband the story about the man-flu. He doesn’t need any more encouragement. And of course women handle pain and sickness better, hello – childbirth!! Enough said!

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  2. Noelle

    Did anyone vomit a little bit when they read ‘seven litres of semen’?

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  3. erinsing

    Wow, the girls from the new Charlie’s Angles show look so skinny!

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    • erinsing

      .. I can’t seem to edit.
      Terrible typo – Angel’s not Angles… haha.

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  4. Kate in TO

    Angel… that commercial stinks as much as Angel Perfume does!

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  5. roserusso

    I think I am in love with Kate Winslet. She makes me feel more confident about my curves. You go girl! :D

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  6. MissT

    The redhead story links to the MM story about assault.

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  7. alyssakt

    I think Mia summed it up best in the Open Post on 7 September;

    “I’ve been a bit sad this week thinking about how the shit fight over asylum seekers has dominated political discussion for what seems like years. Oh wait, because it is years. As we mark the 10th anniversary of September 11th, it’s around the same length of time since refugees became political footballs.

    How did this happen? 99.9% of Australians will never meet a refugee in their lifetime. Their lives will be completely unaffected by this most traumatised, desperate and disadvantaged group of people. Unlike, say, healthcare. Or the education system. Transport. The economy. Because those issues? They will all affect 100% of Australians.

    And yet….

    And yet they are not on the front pages of newspapers every day. Those issues do not lead news bulletins nor are they the subject of daily soundbites from our political leaders. WTF.

    How did this subject that should be purely be a bipartisan and humanitarian issue, become a total shitfight with the major players (apart from the Greens) REALLY concerned about the fate of the asylum seekers but purely about scoring political points and winning votes from an electorate who have been whipped into a frenzy of hate, distrust and fear of refugees.

    How did we get here? And how do we go back to a point of compassion and morality?”

    Why is it so obvious to some of us, yet so hard to comprehend for others?

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  8. Bradley

    Redheads rejected by a sperm bank ?

    I love redheads. Too many is barely enough. Add freckles and you have perfection !

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    • Beatrice

      I agree and am completely in awe of redheads and their skin.

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    • MissT

      Just for you, Bradley. No freckles though.

      PS: Where were you yesterday when I needed your backup?!

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      • Bradley

        (Very heavy sigh) Oh, my goodness !

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  9. lauren91

    Congrats to Guy and Kate! It was a good show. I particularly enjoyed the announcement of best comedy actress when all the nominees went up on stage, funny.

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  10. Anonymous

    Rachael Taylor looks stunning. Excellent choice of frock and hair. Love it..

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  11. sometimeskaren

    This asylum seeker dance is doing my head in.

    Having said that, it seems the old adage about ‘enough rope’ may come true. I wonder if the rope will be long enough to force the Govt into community processing for boat arrivals?

    Prolly not, but one can hope ;)

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    • bowerbird

      My husband is convinced this is a deliberate ploy on Gillard’s part to get to onshore processing but be able to ‘blame’ Abbott instead of being seen to back down. Plausible theory – and says so much about the state of politics/policy atm……

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      • Flotsam

        Maybe, but I do think that TA isn’t going to pass the legislation as then he can use it to his advantage at the next election by pointing out how the government didn’t ‘stop the boats’.

        He’s got to be loving holding the power at the moment. The way he swaggered into JG’s office yesterday was a site to behold.

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      • rainbow

        oh god bowerbird i truly hope you are right..

        then onto the national conference to bring in same-sex marriage!

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    • Lu

      My 9yo daughter asked me, why cant they just come here?

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      • No e in Tracy

        Lu, I think we should have your daughter running the country. To me this issue highlights everything that is wrong in Australia at the moment. We are so very lucky and will never have to experience even a slither of what many refugees have experienced. It is disgraceful that they’ve become a political football. We all need to ask ourselves what we would do if we were in there shoes and start showing some compassion and respect.

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  12. katehunter

    If that place in Denmark is short on swarthy Italian sperm, it seems Mr Bernasconi has an abundance!

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    • Anonymous

      Ewww, gross!

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  13. kerrisackville

    You forgot to put in news bits that my dear friend Michael Spiller (who I just visited in LA) won BEST DIRECTOR FOR A COMEDY SERIES for Modern Family. I have never been so excited in my life. I was texting his wife Mel as they sat in the audience!
    Mia, now I know how you felt when your cousin Emile won an Oscar. Best high ever!

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  14. Simone

    How sexy is Sea?! Hubba bubba!

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  15. Melissa

    I really don’t understand the redhead hate. I have a very large soft spot for redheads. My grandad was a redhead though, so it’s probably in my genes.

    When Rick tweeted about litres of sperm yesterday I didn’t think twice about it but seeing it this morning… EW!

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    • Rick Morton

      My work here is done.

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    • Bradley

      I used to work in pubs. We always kept plenty of the bottled stuff in case we ran out of draught.

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  16. donnamurphy

    I didn’t mind the ad, song was cute, catchy.

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    • ladybird73

      Yeah I am not sure what was different about it, I didn’t think it was very interesting? Just an ad.

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  17. katehunter

    Would we say Robert Redford was a redhead? Dear god he was dreamy, I watched ‘The Way We Were’ a little while ago (sneakily, while Jim was away). Few would have said no to RR’s sperm.

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  18. Beka

    Cant see gallery on iPhone anymore?? There was a brief moment where it looked like all was well there.

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  19. Flotsam

    I had only heard of about 5 of those people in the Emmy gallery. I think it says a lot about my viewing habits that I immediately recognised the lady from Touched By An Angel, though.

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  20. Margaret

    As an Irish woman I am finding that little fact about Ireland being the only country to actively select ginger sperm hilarious! Is it really true? What a crack up! As it turns out my son is a ginger, which was a huge surprise as neither me nor my hubby have any in our families. Sneaky ginger genes :-)

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    • Katy

      I have been very disappointed that neither of my two kids are gingers. My brother has carrot orange red hair, and none of his three kids are red either. It’s very sad…

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      • Margaret

        I am imagine one of his children will produce a redhead!

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    • Lulu

      “Sneaky ginger genes”

      Yeah, I keep hearing that brunette/dark genes are dominant, & red/blonde are recessive. Like hell! Tell that to my Scots/Irish grandparents who had 3 out of 4 ginger kids, despite not being gingers themselves.

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      • eternally

        Two non-redheads having red-headed babies does suggest a recessive gene! If it was a dominant gene, they would need to be redheads to have the gene.
        I think hair colour is actually polygenic, but I’m not sure and can’t be bothered wikipeadia-ing it.

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        • Margaret

          I forgot I have an aunt with red hair on my mums side! Sorry Aunty Joan. But that’s it. Nothing at all on my husbands side. And my Aunt was one of 7 kids and she the only one red. I am going to have to google polygenic, is that bad?

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      • LaurenHC

        It’s true… the fact that the genes are recessive does not mean that it’s impossible for two non-redheads to produce three redheads. Without going into too much genetic detail, as a basic principle genes such as hair colour carry two alleles, which can be either dominant-dominant, dominant-recessive and recessive-recessive. For a child to be redheaded, he/she must have two recessive alleles. Your grandparents would have both carried the recessive redheaded allele however since it would have been paired with a dominant allele it would not have been expressed (ie they would have been brown/dark haired) Statistically for each child there would have been a 25% chance that it would have been a redhead. It’s definitely within the realms of possibility, especially since your grandparents are Scots/Irish- there is a huge amount of redhead alleles floating around in the gene pool there! Now if three redheads had been born to, for example, two Kenyan parents- that would be more of an indication of genetic mutation, but it’s definitely not in the case of Scots/Irish :)

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    • alyssakt

      My ginger aunt married a Greek man with black hair and the ginger genes still won and produced a ginger son – with long dark eyelashes and olive skin. He’s really beautiful. Strong ginger genes!

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    • Melanie

      Same here – one little ranga son to two brunettes! He’s adorable :-)

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  21. Suze

    Well yay for the gorgeous Guy Pearce!! Glad he has gotten some recognition of the award type at last. What can I say? I adore him – always have since Neighbours *sigh* *swoon*

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    • alyssakt

      Me too – I had a huge crush on “Mike”!

      He even turned me on playing a transvestite in Priscilla!

      I’m pleased to see he’s looking healthier these days too – there were a few years when he was super skinny and pale and drawn and I worried about his health/lifestyle.

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  22. Flotsam

    Looks like Berlsuconi must have filled in all 5300 responses for that sex survey. ;-) Or at least half of them to push the numbers up.

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    • Rick Morton

      I hadn’t thought of that!

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    • donnamurphy

      I don’t know if i’m just becoming a prude in my old (30 something) age but I found his comment of “only 8 women when 11 were lining up” comment to be not only utterly disgusting but so degrading to women that anyone would want to line up to sleep with that!

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      • Flotsam

        I made the exact same comment to my husband about 10 minutes ago. He replied that some blokes are all talk and no trousers.

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  23. I almost didn’t recognise Don Draper dressed like a modern man without his hair slicked to the side!

    Ian Somerhaulder is so hot. Smoldering!

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  24. Mary Christmas

    When I fall asleep on the train, I dribble a lot and dream about being on a train where people can see me dribbling in my sleep.

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  25. Margie

    I wish Steve Carrell won an Emmy. The Office won’t be the same without him.
    70 litres of sperm.. Just so much.

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    • Rick Morton

      Yes I was rather alarmed when I read the ‘litres’ bit. It was not a unit of measurement one would normally associate with sperm…

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  26. LJ

    Mmm – seems like Julia’s plummeting popularity is even effecting people choosing redhead sperm……

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    • Mother of a redhead

      Am so over the derisory comments re redheads. Its the last allowable discrimination. Not ok to call Andrew Symes a “monkey” (quite rightly) but still ok for my 5 yo to be called a “ranga”.

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      • Dee of Adelaide

        Really? I call my own daughter a ranga! I don’t see it as a problem. And if anyone’s comments about my flame haired, ringleted nearly 4 year old have had a derogatory undertone, I have never noticed.

        Red heads are pretty rare, it’s hard not to notice them.

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        • Rick Morton

          Many of my best friends are redheads…

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        • LJ

          So true Dee – ranga is not insulting nor “discriminating”.

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          • Anonymous

            It is if you are a redhead and you find it insulting

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            • Bradley

              Maybe, but some people have very thin skin regardless of their hair colour. I’d rather be called a ranga than have someone point out that I was thin skinned.

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            • J

              I agree, it is very insulting.

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        • Anonymous

          Really? You don’t find likening a person to a PRIMATE insulting??

          Let’s start calling brunettes Gorillas.

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          • eternally

            I didn’t know that’s where the term ranga came from!
            Feel naive now.
            I do like orangutans, but I can understand why you might not like to be called one!
            I think like many things, it depends on the context.
            Some people might not mind, others do, so best to be careful.

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            • ladybird73

              Not having a go, just wondering where you thought the term ‘ranga’ did come from?

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          • Bradley

            Yes ! Let’s start calling brunettes gorillas !

            While we are at it, let’s start calling blondes polar bears !

            How silly are you ?

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            • Cordeline

              Why is that silly Bradley? Seriously, why? It’s no different to calling a redhead a ranga.

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            • Bradley

              I was pointing out the silliness of tit-for-tatting. I will go even further and point out the silliness of being a sook.

              Seriously, if the worst that anyone hears today is a jibe about the colour of their hair, then they are extremely lucky.

              I get fed up at hearing adults going all sooky about the most trivial things. No wonder we have so many problems with our youth, raised to be sooks by so many adults who are bigger sooks.

              I’ve had my say, but I’m going to tell my Mummy on you !

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            • Cordeline

              Signing out Bradley. You don’t get what I’m saying. Totally missing the point. And besides, you’re being patronising. Can’t be bothered.

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          • Maggie

            Aren’t gorilla’s predominantly black though? I dont think I have seen a “brunette” gorilla.

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            • Cordeline

              Ok, people with black hair then – picky!

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            • Bradley

              You don’t drink at the right bar !

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      • LJ

        I am a redhead too…….there are some comments that are truly hurtful and some that are humourous – and I hope we do not lose our sense of humour.

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      • Anonymous

        My son is a redhead and I have no problem with ranga. It is used as a term of affection but with all names it can be used as an insult.
        As a blonde, I could also get annoyed with constantly being labeled as dumb but you have to take these comments lightly or they will eat you up.

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        • Cordeline

          Yes, but YOU are not a redhead and there is the difference. Your son might hate it when if finds out what it means (presuming he is young at the moment).

          I think there is quite a difference between ‘dumb blonde’ jokes and comparing a person to an animal because of hair colour.

          I despise the term ‘ranga’. Find it really offensive. Also hate ginger, carrot top and all the other names that redheads get called, won’t even bother adding them. Why doesn’t everyone else get called names because of their hair colour? That’s what it boils down to – name calling. Not cool. At all.

          And I’m a blonde.

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          • Anonymous

            If he wanted me to stop I would but I don’t see it as offensive. However I realise that some people do so I would never use it to anyone else. My nephew has bright red hair. My brother hates the word ranga so I don’t use it around him. He gets called ‘rednut’ instead which I find worse.

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            • Cordeline

              Yeah but it’s not about what YOU find offensive, because you are not the one being called that name. Don’t you get that?

              Sure, call your son whatever you like if he is OK with it, but just remember if you are the one doing the name-calling is not about what you personally find offensive, you need to think of the person the comments are being directed to.

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        • LJ

          OK – to be called “dumb” is definitely insulting. However I now understand why schools are putting in “resiliance” classes for their children. If we do not teach our children there are some comments you should be offended or upset about and there are some comments you should just shrug off we are going to have a generation who simply cannot stand up for themselves and survive in the big bad world.

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          • Bradley

            Exactly right ! They’ll all be running home, crying to Mummy, if someone looks at them the wrong way or criticises their work.

            I’m a fed up with Sooky-Dooks !

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      • Eternal Caterpillar

        Surely the definitive commentary on redheads goes to Mr Tim Minchin….

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVN_0qvuhhw

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        • Susan As Well

          Thanks for the link – Tim Minchin is just too good :)

          I was completely fascinated when all my children were born with red hair – I’m blonde and their dad is brunette. Their hair changed colour to brunette around school age though.

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  27. The butler did it

    Everyday- my husband is gorgeous. How bad is that ad haha it’s so funny.
    And imagine if the Pollies put as much thought and time into our education or health care systems… Instead of focusing on a minor issue in the whole scheme of things. And why do Pollies think the Australian public despise refugees so much we think they don’t deserve basic human rights??!!!

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    • Margaret

      I agree. Australians are a decent lot who are quite welcoming. I dont honestly think that the vast majority of Australians are that racist or cruel
      yet it’s the road the Govt seems to
      want to go down. They really don’t represent most Aussies on this issue, in my experience anyhow and I bring up the Asylum seeker issue a lot with people just to see where people stand on it. The Govt policies just don’t match up with public opinion. Unless everyone is lying to me :-)

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    • kiungaman

      Butler, thats easy to answer. Most Australians are Pixxxed of about the amount of money that is spent on these so called refugees. They some how manage to come down through half a dozen countries, then have up to 10 grand each to pay for their boat trip down from Indonesia, then when they do get accepted, they are looked after better than my poor old 81 year old pensioner mum. If they have this much money to blow, let then come in the legal way, by appling for a visa. If all the bleeding hearts want them here so much, let them let them live in their house, they can feed them, cloth them, buy them the gameboys that the government are currently giving them , all paid for out of my tax dollar.I’m yet to see anybody do a survey asking the question , “should we let the illegal boat people in “, i’m sure the answer would be a resounding NO.

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