EACH week, about midday Friday, the wire service turns out a collective of quotes from major news makers across the nation and the globe.
Their words are littered with witty fact, fiction and fantasy. The eight second grabs can be incredibly sad, funny, ironic or visionary, and sometimes all of the above.
This week’s window into the week that was is dominated by the cycle of fear and greed that is the stock market.
The Prime Minister appeared statesman-like on Tuesday when he said he would not stand idly by while Australian banks were disadvantaged in international credit marketplaces because of the actions taken by foreign governments in support of them.
The $10.4 billion assistance package was warmly received, especially by first-home buyers, pensioners and families who would in turn make home builders, retailers - especially those of electrical goods, and maybe even bingo halls - very happy when the cheques start rolling in just before Christmas.
Having talked up inflation and painted a dim view of the economy for much of the past 10 months, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the sooner governments acted to protect their people, the better.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull threw his considerable support behind the government’s plan, but perhaps maverick National Party Senator Barnaby Joyce had the best line of them all.
“I’m worried about when big chunks of money turn up in one fell swoop just before Christmas, because a couple of weeks later you see a lot of Australia’s $10 billion scattered around the floor with ‘Made in China’ on the back,’’ Senator Joyce said.
Short and to the point - much like the senator himself.
Having unveiled the weapons of choice in the fight against the credit crunch/stockmarket meltdown, the PM turned his focus to the fat cats who live off the money and misery of others.
“Fear is the first of these demons we must see off. Dealing with the greed which has caused the fear will come after that,’’ he said.
The tragic story of backpacker Britt Lapthorne went from bad to worse for the blonde university student’s family and friends, when an autopsy confirmed the badly decomposed body pulled from the waters off Dubrovnik was in fact Britt.
The agonising twists and turns of this story have been laid brutally bare for all the world in a way that cannot fail to move even the hardest of the media scrum.
“The body is in such a poor state that nothing can be determined from it without scientific testing or forensic evidence - and that hasn’t been undertaken at all,’’ said a heartbroken Dale Lapthorne upon receiving confirmation his daughter had been identified.
Dale and his son Darren will accompany Britt’s body on the long journey home for a memorial service that will close another chapter on a life lost far too early.
Liberal backbencher and hard man, Wilson Ironbar Tuckey, re-wrote the history books this week with his colourful description of the Murray River as anything but a natural river.
“Now that’s what the river was, in its natural state . . . it was Australia’s largest storm water drain,’’ said the West Australian. Another West Australian, Premier Colin Barnett, won praise for his forthright environmental views on whales after announcing a prominent whale migration area as the likely location for a major gas infrastructure project.
Asked whether a ship travelling through the zone could avoid a whale that might also be in the area, the Premier said: “I suggest that the whale could avoid the ship.’’
Swimming star Stephanie Rice showed signs of celebrity fatigue when she complained about being photographed partying at a Thai nightclub.
“I just thought that it was really out of line. I just find it really strange that people care,’’ the most famous female swimmer in the world said of the media stardom with which she is struggling to come to terms.
And then there was the soccer (or is that football?) fans who breathed a sign of relief when the Australian team flogged Qatar 4-0 on a rain soaked pitch in Brisbane.
“I’m not running around with a bottle of champagne in my hand because we have six points. I will do that when we’ve qualified for the World Cup,’’
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek said after the win, another step on the path towards the next World Cup.
Locally, the Addy website was running hot with your comments about everything from stolen chooks to hoons, hospital funding, staffing levels at D24 and the proposal for a combined Bendigo-Ballarat footy league.
Readers noted the apparent incongruity that saw a woman sentenced to jail for stealing half a roast chook, while a week earlier a hoon who sped at up to 215kmh through the streets of Golden Square and Kangaroo Flat did not.
After a week that broke all records for web hits, due largely to The Advertiser’s coverage of the BMX brawl, it’s worth noting that three times as many people hit on the story about the speeding hoon than the story on record numbers of patients being treated at the hospital and how this underscores the case for a new and bigger hospital.
And speaking of soccer/football, my 15-year-old son, and his mates, are often quick to remind me of a Kevin Rudd pre-election commitment to bring soccer/football back to free-to-air television. That a teenager listens to or remembers anything a politician says is one thing, but the chances are they won’t forget it either. It’s an absolute disgrace that any national sporting team which receives generous taxpayer assistance is not available to those who pay to support the sport in the first instance.
The round ball game is incredibly popular among their generation, who one day will vote and clearly, this is something that means a lot to them.
Over to you Mr Rudd.
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