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Wednesday: Newsy Snacks For Busy People

Written by
January 30, 2013
Be Smart, News & Views
11 Comments

Embroidered Square by The Newton Label on Etsy : Click for details

Your guide to the best bits on the internet today, newsy and not!

Newsy:
The ABC are covering the east coast flood disaster live, here.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman warns Brisbane residents to reduce their water usage, as their water treatment facility is tainted with muddy  flood water and drinking water is running out. At the ABC.
Still on the floods: Police are investigating alleged looting in Gympie and Bundaberg. The Australian has more.
Julia Gillard’s partner Tim Mathieson will not be offered any further speaking engagements, methinks, after his stupid racist gaffe about prostate health. More at The Age. (Mr Mathieson has apologised.)
The gorgeous ‘This Is Not My Hat’ has won the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American children’s book. At NPR.
A bit more about poor Matthew Allen and his amazing survival after 9 weeks in the bush at news.com.au.
Giant US drug companies are lobbying to reduce the amount of generic drug brands available, with all kinds of negative ramifications for Americans. Generic drugs are equally effective, but much cheaper, although the big drug companies claim they are less safe. Read on at The NY Times.
Yikes. This piece about episiotomies will have you crossing your legs in a trice.
Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg notes that the more successful women are, the less they are liked and that women are not encouraged to succeed in the same way that men are. More here.
The longest stop-over ever: Rodrigo Ben-Azul has been stuck at Chile’s Santiago Airport for two months, mirroring Tom Hanks’ role in The Terminal. More here.

Podcast of the Day: By The Way : Jeff Garlin talks to Lena Dunham : (language warning! hilarious!) – Above

Instagram photos = new jewellery!

To & Fro Magazine

Around the Blogs:
How great is To And Fro Magazine? It’s the Valentine’s Day Issue. Found via Ampersand. (Above)
Make your Instagram snaps into jewellery with JewelGram. Thanks for the tip Peta Pixel! (Above)
A beautiful story about a girl and her father at Rookie. Must read.
Orla Kiely is excited about Zooey Deschanel’s blouse!
Lemon and Coconut Bars at Green Kitchen Stories. (Below)

Green Kitchen Stories : Perfect Lemon and Coconut Bars

Trashy, fluffy bits:
Gorgeous Peaches & Thomas frolicking beachside as they await the birth of their second baby in a few weeks.
Liam Gallagher goes to lunch with his niece and family, sparking rumours of a reconciliation with his brother (or maybe he just loves his niece?!)
OMG. Prince Harry has been out all night, apparently.
Elton John’s cute family portrait.

Would you like to recommend an article or podcast for inclusion Newsy Snacks? Email me at pip@justbaustralia(dot)com(dot)au with the link, if you’d like to be part of the curation of this post!

Have an ace day!

x Pip

  • http://twitter.com/tc_wren Taryn Cornell

    Hi Pip! I love these newsy snacks, have been reading them for ages!

    Just thought i would share a personal anecdote regarding generic drugs. After having a negative reaction to a generic version of a drug i’d been taking for years without issue, I asked my doctor about it and he explained that there can be a big difference between the two. Apparently there is really only one criteria the generic needs to match, which is i think is called ‘bio-absorbtion’: the quantity of the drug that is absorbed by your body (although not necessarily the same way or speed). The way my doctor explained it was that when a drug company creates a new drug, they can spend up to 20 years and hundreds of millions of dollars on R&D. In order to make back their money before the patent expires they make it the best possible drug with lots of little ‘tweaks’ so that it is successful. Once the patent expires, a generic drug company can come along and make it the cheapest possible way (without the ‘tweaks’) allowing a larger markup for both themselves and pharmacists despite the cheaper consumer price. From memory, there may even be government subsidies for generics making it an even more profitable option.

    At any rate, for me as the consumer it is worth the extra $30 a quarter. I know this might not be an option for everyone though and it concerns me that people may not understand that there can be a difference. My assumption had always been that they were exactly the same. That said, apparently it is worse with some drugs than others so I would talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      Oh this is important to know! I was under the impression that this was the BIG drug companies trying to extort money, but you have totally sorted me out. Thanks so much for doing that, and for reading. I am so glad you are liking Newsy Snacks! I have made lots of improvements this year and want to make sure that it’s jam packed with readable, interesting things! Let me know if I can make it better in any way, for you! x Pip

      • http://twitter.com/tc_wren Taryn Cornell

        I don’t really have much in the way of suggestions, just praise! I love the updated format; having the blogs and the trashy bits separated out is great (especially when i’m not actually in the mood for news and just want trash!;P ) I like the way you give a quick summary, and that don’t always pick the obvious stories but when you do it’s usually an interesting article on a much discussed news item! Keep up the great work, looking forward to more reading!

        • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

          You are ace. Thanks so much! This feedback means A LOT to me!!! x

  • http://www.facebook.com/julie.delves Julie Delves

    I really enjoyed Newsy Snacks this morning! I am so ‘off’ traditional news media, you do a good job of selecting and presenting this stuff.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      Thanks Julie! I really appreciate your feedback and I am super glad you are reading! :)

  • Reannon Hope

    As a pregnant lady I can’t click on the episiotomy story. As much as I’m curious I just can’t !!!

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      It hurts my nether regions to think about it! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1089966200 Rachel Patricia

    I do not envy the Royal Family! Poor Harry back from deployment and letting his hair down with his mates after the harshness of war and the subject of media scrutiny. I say good for him.

    I LOVE ZOOEY!! As you can see, I’m into the fluff bits today…

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      I have my fluffy days too. Harry can not win, really. I think they need to keep him away from the public eye for a while… less interviews, more life. Thanks for being on board the Newsy Snacks train, Rachel! x

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1089966200 Rachel Patricia

        Would you like to know how fluffy I am? I thought it was Wednesday until just now…