Welcome to Down Under Today
Down Under Today is your update of topical news and other stories from Australia. It is the continuation of Insight Down Under, which has now ceased to be published in the Sunday Star. As a service to my followers of the weekly column, I will continue to provide updates on what is happening in Down Under. Read the latest in my web blog or catch up from the achives.
Kind regards
Jeffrey Francis
Insight: Down Under Today
Latest Stories and Comments
Latest Stories and Comments
MALAYSIA WATCHING CLOSELY ON AUSSIE ARRIVALS
AUSTRALIANS visiting Malaysia will be closely watched as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
This is because they come from a country that is affected by swine flu, or officially known as A/H1N1.
Some of the Aussies will be screened only once, but others depending on their appearance such as looking ill, may have to be screened at least twice. Click Insight to read more...
CANCER VICTIM CLAIMS 'MIRACLE' CUREIT is not often we hear of miracles. Even, if we did, a miracle is a phenomenon that needs to be investigated, thoroughly examined or analysed and proven to be so.
Only then will the medical authorities or the Church accept a sudden and inexplicable cure as a miracle.
But this is not to say that a miracle does not happen. It has. Yet it is something that the authorities cannot explain how or why it happens. Click insight for more...
The importance of our nervous system
‘EVERY thought you’ve had, movement you’ve ever made and sensation you’ve ever experienced, has all been dependent on nerve messages flowing freely through your body. Your brain and spinal cord are protected by your skull and the 24 movable bones of your spine.’
So says Dr Jennifer Baham-Floreani, a chiropractic expert of more than 30 years, whose explicit description of the important yet largely misunderstood profession is one of the best I have come across in my brief study on the myths about chiropractors. Read more...
CHIROS FACE TOUGH CHALLENGE OVER MYTHSAre chiropractors "quacks, never to be trusted" or "cult healers" as most doctors would like us to believe? With some doubts and a touch of nervousness, Jeffrey Francis, who suffered severe pain in his right thigh, finally visited one of them. What he discovered is an interesting story of the long-standing myths about chiropractors and their struggle to seek proper recognition. Click Insight... DILEMMA OVER GUANTANAMO DETAINEES
DO we really need to take some of the detainees of the US Guantanamo Bay prison camp and allow them to resettle in Australia?
This is a dilemma for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd following US President Barack Obama’s request for help to close the military prison camp.
But the Chinese government wants the 17 detainees, who are Ulighur Muslims from north-western China, repatriated to Beijing for trial. The Chinese government considers them terrorists. Click Insight... Extraordinary assumptions or real growth – that’s the question
JOE HOCKEY is more an entertainer than a politician. With the blessing of a gift of the gap – as the saying goes – he can be funny at times, either inside or outside the Federal Parliament. Perhaps, more important to him is his cunning way to get out of a tight corner when he is confronted with the words he uses.
In a political sense, Hockey is the bull dog in the Liberal-National Opposition and the right man – an asset – to his leader Malcolm Turnbull. Sometimes, it is difficult to know whether he really believes in what he says or it’s just politics.
Click Insight....DAYLIGHT SAVING DEFEAT MAKES NO SENSE
WITH electricity costs escalating by $750 and other taxes rising in this year’s Federal and State Budgets, doesn’t it make sense to vote for Daylight Saving Time (DST) in Western Australia?
Personally, I think it is. Although the reason may have been emphasised before about spending the DST hour after work to enjoy quality time with families in outdoor activities (even under the shade of a tree for those who do not want to be exposed to the sun), it is worth looking at how we would save one-hour of the electricity costs in a day during the summer months. Click Insight to read more....
The dilemma of a Prime Minister
HE would be damned if he didn’t do it; he would be damned if he did it. So, what should a man do in such circumstances?
Kevin Rudd realised this and would, certainly, have given serious thought to the matter. He knew whatever action he took -- or lack of it -- was going to be engulfed in a controversy. And he damned it all and did exactly what he thought was necessary. Click on Insight. Big boost for Down Under TodayJUST over a month after its launch, Down Under Today has received the biggest boost in a Malaysian newspaper, Malay Mail, which also ran the second part of the story in its website.Published in its CyberSpot page, the story was written by journalist Sheila Rahman whose style of writing is impressive as it is refreshing.The Malay Mail, formerly part of the New Straits Times Group, is now privately owned by a group of shareholders. It has several interesting features and has shown, in a sense, what it can do in meeting the challenges of the readers for a quality newspaper in Malaysia. Click on Insight.World biggest problem in swine flu pandemicEVEN if the World Health Organisation declares a pandemic after closely examining the rapidly spreading swine flu throughout the five continents, it does not necessarily mean that the devastating disease is now under control.
In fact, it will create one of the biggest medical problems in world history on where they can get at least 6.5bil – yes, billion, not millions -- doses of vaccine to meet the demands of the global hospitals.
Not even the United States with all its advanced technology, combined with those of other countries, could produce such an amount in time to deal with the disastrous situation. Read more...
Forgotten soldiers of the Australian ArmyTHERE is no better time than this weekend to reflect the sacrifices of those who gave their lives so that we can be safe, secured and be able to enjoy freedom and happiness that are always threatened by what former US President George Bush once described “the axle of evils”.
This is the year, impacted by the worst-ever global recession, which causes the greatest job losses for thousands of families when the reflection I refer to is all the more important to declare our strong support for the unity and harmony of all the people who have made Australia their home whatever their ethnicity, cultures, traditions and religious beliefs are. Read more...DANGEROUS GAMBLE ON ‘ADVENTURE IN HELL’WHO blew up a boatful of asylum seekers, killing three people and injuring 34 others, some seriously? And why?
These are the vital questions about the mysterious and shocking explosion of a refugee boat with 47 people, mostly Afghans, and two Indonesian crew members, which was spotted off the west coast of Western Australia on Wednesday and escorted by HMAS Albany to Christmas Island.
As the wooden boat, inspected and found to be seaworthy by naval personnel, stopped near Ashmore Reef early next morning there was a sudden explosion, resulting in two people still missing. Read more...
HAS JUSTICE BEEN SEEN TO HAVE BEEN DONE?
IF the police allegations are true, then Director of Public Prosecution Robert Cock has much explanation to do in the interest of the public.
Why, for example, are the police “correctly laid” charges against offenders downgraded to a lesser degree of the crime by officers of the DPP’s office?
More importantly, are these alleged interferences on the police charges tantamount to undermining the justice system? ...Read More
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