Issues news

A recent outbreak of equine flu has paralysed the Australian horse racing and breeding industry. While horse flu is not something to cheer about, a permanent end to horse racing would be a victory. Many racehorses endure painful, debilitating injuries and are drugged to keep them on the track when they shouldn't be racing. Most sick, old, and injured horses who absolutely cannot race are sent to slaughter. While there are concerns over huge monetary losses, (the shut down has cost the industry at least $100 million since last Saturday), and the Sydney and Melbourne spring carnivals, including the world famous Melbourne Cup, may be affected, as a New York Daily News reporter remarked, "As long as mankind demands that [horses] run at high speeds under stressful conditions, horses will die at racetracks." Go here to help.
Words by Heather Moore

'Sex(ism), Sport and stupidity' is the proud moto of the UK originated men's weekly magazine *Zoo*. The Australian arm of the publication has sunk to new lows this week announcing a competition for male readers to win their girlfriends' a round of free plastic surgery. As the cover of the magazine explains " *WIN A BOOB JOB FOR YOUR GIRL. *Want to turn those fried eggs into massive mamms? We'll give you ten grand to do it". And no, they're not kidding.

A report called *Generation whY?*,
released by the University of Canberra
last week, reveals that in 2007,
men still enjoy higher wages than
women employed in the same occupation.
The gap is largest in the clerical, sales
and service field where men earn an average $135 per week more than their
female counterparts. "There is still
extensive evidence showing that the
gender wage gap in Australia is well
and truly alive with estimates of a 15
per cent wage differential between Australian men and women" the report
says. Is it really that much of a surprise
for a generation to whom Germaine
Greer is best known for her comments
about Steve Irwin?

For the politically inclined, Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s increasingly regular YouTube announcements have become a source of unintentional comedy.
Part of the humour stems from the fact that Howard is so obviously not comfortable with the medium. If this is an attempt to appear ‘with it’ when it comes to new technology, it’s not working.
Howard's latest video, released today, is aimed squarely at young people: entreating school and uni leavers to drop backpacking in Europe or that Central American volunteering expedition in favour of a year in military. Question is, will even the ‘groovy’ SMS registration of interest option be enough to convince people to go sign up?

There's a line in one of my favourite books of recent years -Lionel Shriver's "We Need To Talk About Kevin"- that describes the protagonist Eva crossing the street to avoid walking past a rowdy group of pre-pubescent boys. To misquote her, Shriver's character comments "nobody is unnerved by a
group of little girls". I've found myself even at the age of 23 doing the same thing-surely at this age I shouldn't be batting an eyelid at a cluster of 11 year old boys. But a pack of alpha-males, however young, can be a threatening and disturbing thing. Everyone in Australia has no doubt seen footage this week of Australian soldiers binge drinking and parading around the army barracks in Ku Klux Klan outfits. Another online video showed a soldier pointing a pistol at a fellow Digger dressed in Arab headdress.'Male bonding' many have dismissed the incident as, but I think that Shriver would
disagree.

Vegetarians can now save money in addition to saving lives: The U.K.-based Animal Friends Insurance just announced that it is offering reduced life insurance rates for vegetarians because studies show that vegetarians and vegans are far less likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. On average, vegetarians and vegans are at least 10 percent leaner, and live six to 10 years longer, than meat-eaters.
In spring, those forward thinking folk in the Netherlands became the first country where vegetarianswere eligible to receive lower health insurance rates. I'm curious as to how one proves they're a veggie?
By Heather Moore