Coluna Flávio Ricco 05/03/2017

Com formato musical, Xuxa vai travar nova disputa com Ratinho

Xuxa Meneghel na concentração da Grande RioImagem: Júlio César Guimarães/UOL

Depois de colecionar derrotas com um modelo sem qualquer novidade, agora, fica a expectativa sobre como a Xuxa irá se comportar no comando de um formato completamente musical, frente aos concorrentes Ratinho e “Máquina da Fama”. Se, finalmente, ela terá possibilidade de virar esse jogo. Resposta a partir de 3 de abril.

No SBT, há o entendimento que o Ratinho possui um público conquistado, fiel a ele de muito tempo, e que nada irá se alterar, como nunca se alterou mesmo diante de outras diferentes situações. Até pode ser…

A mesma convicção, porém, não existe em relação ao “Máquina da Fama”, da Patrícia Abravanel, já com seu evidente desgaste. Nesse confronto, avalia-se, por se tratar de uma novidade, o “Dancing Brasil” tem o favoritismo e todas as chances de apresentar melhores resultados. Uma disputa que, como sempre, ficará restrita às duas redes, SBT e Record, e com a Globo incluída completamente fora disso.

Posição fortalecida

Já de muito tempo, a Globo tem sua liderança conquistada nas noites de segunda-feira, com o “Tela Quente”.
Não bastasse o fato consumado, ela possui ainda o acordo milionário com a gigante Warner Bros., entre filmes e seriados. O que já era difícil, portanto, ficou ainda mais complicado para os concorrentes.

Colega antiga

Está prevista uma participação de Alessandra Scatena na nova temporada do programa “Gugu” na Record.
Se isso poderá evoluir para algo maior, só o tempo dirá.

Tatá Werneck curte férias em praia do Caribe ao lado do humorista Paulo GustavoImagem: Reprodução/Instagram/TataWerneck

Longe de tudo

Tatá Werneck continua em temporada de férias, postando muito nas redes sociais, principalmente ao lado de amigos como Bruna Marquezine e Paulo Gustavo.
Nos bastidores, fala-se muito na sua provável escalação na novela do Walcyr Carrasco. Porém, com ela, ninguém falou até agora.

Nada consta

Durante o carnaval de Salvador, com meio mundo da área musical circulando por lá, houve quem tentasse saber alguma coisa sobre o “X Factor”, até pela presença do pessoal da Band.
Ninguém cravou uma segunda temporada, apesar de o artístico não ter jogado a toalha.

Anote

Elias Abrão não vai deixar a Superintendência artística da Rede TV!, após o lamentável episódio do “ânus” ocorrido no carnaval.
Pelo menos essa é a informação que corre na sua alta cúpula e deverá ser confirmada amanhã, durante evento da emissora.

De qualquer forma 

O pessoal da Rede TV! precisa tomar um choque de realidade antes de uma cobertura como essa.
Não dá mais para deixar correr solto e no piloto automático, em respeito ao público, emissoras afiliadas e anunciantes.

Velocidade

A Bandeirantes transmite a abertura da temporada 2017 da Fórmula Indy, ao vivo, no próximo 12, à uma da tarde.
Téo José e Felipe Giaffone farão a corrida, que também será mostrada no Bandsports.

Primeiro programa

Marcos Mion grava terça-feira o primeiro “Legendários” para as noites de sexta, com estreia dia 10.
Entre os convidados, Geraldo Luís e Nayara Azevedo.

Cazuza

Depois de colaborar com o INCA (Instituto Nacional do Câncer), a próxima temporada do “Desengaveta”, apresentado por Fernanda Paes Leme no GNT, agora irá apoiar a Sociedade Viva Cazuza.
Em tempo, a blogueira Camila Coutinho será uma das suas próximas convidadas.

Deixa comigo

Suzana Pires tomou a linha de frente nessa reta final da novela “Sol Nascente” na Globo.
Ela deve entregar os últimos capítulos nesta semana, comemorando o bom momento de audiência nas principais praças.

Participação especial

Conhecido dos musicais, Saula Vasconcelos vai viver um cantor sertanejo em “Carinha de Anjo”Imagem: Divulgação

Saulo Vasconcelos, nome muito conhecido dos musicais e que protagonizou diversas montagens da Broadway no Brasil, vai aparecer em “Carinha de Anjo”, no SBT.
O personagem é um famoso cantor sertanejo, Goiânio Neto.
Com seu apoio, Inácio (Eddie Coelho) dará uma guinada na carreira musical de Zeca (Jean Paulo Campos). No ar, a partir do dia 9.

Mulher

• No Dia Internacional da Mulher, 8 de março, o Multishow terá uma programação especial, a partir das 18h30.
  Entre outras atrações, o início será marcado pelo primeiro episódio de “Lugar Incomum”, no sul da França, com Didi Wagner, uma das mais antigas apresentadoras do canal. Já às 19h, Nayara Azevedo estará ao vivo no TVZ para uma seleção especial de clipes com grandes nomes femininos da música nacional e internacional.

  Bate-Rebate
  • Marcos Palmeira, Monica Waldvogel, Cao Hamburger e  Flávio Canto participam da mesa “Good mob: o conteúdo pelo social” que a Globo promove dia 8, na Rio Content Market.
  • Após concluir participação em “Rock Story”, Guilherme Gonzalez gravará a série “Conselho Tutelar” na Record.
  • Impressiona a força da Sophia Abrahão nas redes sociais…
  • … Seus seguidores fazem um barulho absurdo quando ela inicia um trabalho…
  • … Com o “Vídeo Show”, cobrindo as férias de Otaviano Costa, não é diferente…
  • Fábio Porchat pela Record e Danilo Gentili pelo SBT, voltam com programas inéditos nesta segunda-feira…
  • … O Carioca será um dos convidados do Danilo.
  • A nova temporada de gravações do “Planeta Extremo”, na Globo, começará pelos Estados Unidos.
  • As equipes de “Os Dias Eram Assim” retomaram as gravações no Rio, após rápida parada…
  • … Por causa do carnaval e a intensa movimentação na cidade, as externas foram interrompidas…
  • … Mas agora, inclusive no fim de semana, as gravações prosseguem normalmente.

Flávio Ricco com colaboração de José Carlos Nery

Security Council ‘shines spotlight’ on Lake Chad Basin

Members of the UN Security Council are visiting the Lake Chad Basin to “shine a spotlight” on the ongoing humanitarian challenges in the region, the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN has said.

Ambassador Matthew Rycroft made the remarks in Chad, one of the four West African countries affected by the security and food crises in the region.

According to UN estimates, about 17 million people are living in the most affected areas across Niger, Chad, Cameroon and north-east Nigeria.

Jocelyne Sambira reports.

The United Kingdom holds the Security Council’s rotating presidency for the month of March and is leading the visit.

It’s the Council’s first mission to the Lake Chad Basin region in West Africa.

Speaking from the Chadian capital N’Djamena, the UK Ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, explained why.

“The reason we have come here is because we don’t want this to be the world’s neglected crisis anymore. So in a small way we want to try and end that neglect and try to shine a spotlight, understand better for ourselves what is happening here and go back to New York, some point in a few days time, full of deep understanding and a clearer conviction about what needs to be done.”

On Friday, the delegation met with Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, senior government officials, refugees and people displaced by Boko Haram terrorists and the forces tracking them.

The delegation heads to Niger later on Saturday, and is scheduled to continue on to Nigeria on Sunday.

Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations.

Duration: 59”

 

Source : Cameroon On Line News

Cancún’s roscagate provokes an outcry

The city spent 4.5 million pesos to give away 16,000 Kings Day cakes

The mayor cuts some Kings Day cake.

The celebration of Three Kings Day in Cancún turned out to be the ideal opportunity for the municipal government to commit what has been called a perfect crime.

On January 6, the administration of Mayor Remberto Estrada Barba spent close to 4.5 million pesos (over US $230,000) on Roscas de Reyes, the traditional Kings Day cake, in an untraceable operation that has unleashed an outcry from political and citizens’ organizations.

Citizens for Transparency (Citra) demanded that Estrada tell the citizens of Cancún about when, where, to whom, how many and why the 16,000 cakes were handed out.

“It’s unacceptable . . . the bidding process has to be made public. You can’t spend almost 4.5 million pesos on Roscas de Reyes. It’s unacceptable,” said Citra director Cynthia Dehesa.

For Tulio Arroyo Marroquín, director of an environmental group, the purchase of the cakes from the firm Control Operativo “is the perfect crime,” there being no way to determine whether the cakes were delivered.

“The key with this administration is to be suspicious,” continued the activist, adding that “we must fight to make them accountable, and one must spend energy and time on finding out if their announcements are true and what lies behind them.”

Estrada’s administration boasted that it was the first to implement an anti-corruption plan and promote accountability, said Carlos Montalbán Colón, state leader of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). But, he charged, the only people who benefitted by roscagate, as it is being called, are members of the Green Ecologist Party, to which the mayor belongs.

Similarly, the Cancún leader of the National Action Party (PAN) said the king’s cake scandal was just one of many.

“We’re concerned by the level of spending, not only with the roscas, but in the rental of police patrol cars, among other issues,” said Eduardo Pacho Gallegos, who said the gift of cake was solely political.

 

Source : Mexico Daily News

Giant telescope in Chile captures image of galaxy NGC 1055

This colourful image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows an edge-on view of the galaxy NGC 1055 in the constellation of Cetus. (European Southern Observatory (ESO))

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) on Thursday released a colourful new image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1055, an older sister of our Milky Way, that is about 55 million light-years from Earth and is located in the constellation of Cetus (also called “the sea monster” or “the whale”).

The snapshot, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in northern Chile, shows a colourful stripe of stars, gas and dust, which is thought to be up to 15 percent larger in diameter than the Milky Way.

Spiral galaxies throughout the universe take on all manner of orientations relative to Earth. As seen from above — or “face-on” — a galaxy’s flowing arms and bright core can be viewed in beautiful detail, but that orientation makes it difficult to get any sense of a three-dimensional shape, according to a news release on the ESO’s website.

Other galaxies are seen at angles. The tilt begins to reveal the three-dimensional structure, but to fully grasp the overall shape of a spiral galaxy, it must be seen edge-on — like this new image of NGC 1055.

From this view, NGC 1055 appears to lack the whirling arms characteristic of a spiral galaxy. However, it displays odd twists in its structure that were probably caused by an interaction with a large neighbouring galaxy, the ESO said.

The ESO is an intergovernmental astronomy organization backed by 16 countries in Europe and South America and hosted in Chile.

 

Source : Santiago Times

Madeira Rodrigues fala em problemas na contagem de votos

Atraso no anúncio dos resultados pode estar relacionado com recontagem dos votos

A suspeita foi lançada pelo candidato Pedro Madeira Rodrigues em resposta a uma pergunta de um seu seguidor no Facebook. “Problemas…” Foi desta forma que o candidato da lista A respondeu quando o questionaram sobre a razão para o atraso no anúncio dos resultados. O problema pode estar relacionado com os votos por correspondência, que estarão a ser recontados.

Recorde-se que Marta Soares, presidente da Mesa da AG do Sporting, tinha referido perto das 21.00 que contava anunciar os resultados em alguns minutos.

Diário de Notícias

Warum Populismus nicht die Ursache ist

Niedergang der Demokratie

Den Erfolg von Trump und Co. auf Populismus zu reduzieren, ist zu kurz gedacht – der ist nur Symptom einer globalen Krise. Die Ursache für den autoritären Aufschwung liegt in den liberalen Demokratien selbst.

Mauern fallen, Diktatoren stürzen, in freien Wahlen triumphieren demokratische Parteien. Die Demokratie verbreitete sich in den drei Dekaden zwischen 1974 und 2007 wie ein Lauffeuer um den Globus. Das mit dem Zusammenbruch des Ostblocks in den Neunzigern von Francis Fukuyama ausgerufene “Ende der Geschichte” wirkte zum Greifen nah.

Nun hat aber die Geschichte – ähnlich wie Konjunkturzyklen – nicht die Angewohnheit, linear zu verlaufen oder gar: zu enden. Wenn man dem einflussreichen konservativen Stanford-Soziologen Larry Diamond glauben will, dann befinden wir uns mitten in einer “Demokratie-Rezession”. Seit etwa zehn Jahren zeichnet sich, so Diamond, eine globale Trendwende in Sachen Demokratie ab. Die von Diamond ausgewerteten Daten zu Bürgerrechten, Wahlprozessen, zivilgesellschaftlichem Engagement und Korruption zeigen weltweit autoritäre Tendenzen. Ob in der Türkei, in Mexiko, in Thailand, in der Ukraine, auf den Philippinen, in Polen, Ungarn und auch in den USA: Die Demokratie ist auf dem Rückzug.

Die These der globalen Demokratie-Rezession ist vor allem ein gutes Gegengewicht zur hysterischen Gefühligkeit der Populismus-Debatte. Wenn wir wirklich eine weltweite Demokratie-Rezession erleben, kann man sich küchenpsychologische Exkurse über den “Narzissmus” Trumps genau so sparen wie sozialkitschige Fotosafaris zu den Trump-Fans in den Appalachen. Dasselbe gilt für ähnlich durchsichtig pathologisierte Charakterzüge Erdogans, Kaczyskis, Orbáns und Putins sowie die demografische Struktur der sie unterstützenden Landstriche. Ein globales Problem kann nicht lokal erklärt werden. Vielmehr geht man dem Personenkult der Populisten auf den Leim, gesteht man ihnen jene Art Einzigartigkeit zu, die sich nur individualpsychologisch oder aus der Mentalität einer Nation verstehen lässt.

Für Diamond sind die Populisten selbst eher Symptom als Ursache der Krise. Ihre wahre Ursache liegt in den liberalen Demokratien. Der Übergang in Richtung Autoritarismus beruht ihm zufolge weltweit meist auf demokratischen Prozessen, auch in Entwicklungsländern nur noch selten auf einem gewaltsamen Putsch.

Meist geht das Drehbuch des neuen Autoritarismus so: Die Bevölkerung unterstützt Politiker, die als Denunzianten ihrer eigenen Klasse auftreten und es verstehen, dem Volk nach dem Mund zu reden. Sie versprechen eine direktere, effizientere Art der Machtausübung, was in Demokratien mit ihren vergleichsweise zähen Konsensfindungsprozessen immer ein gutes Argument ist.

Sind sie erst einmal an der Macht, machen sich diese Politiker Schritt für Schritt daran, institutionelle Checks and Balances auszuhöhlen, Grundrechte aufzuweichen und ihre eigene Macht, die ihrer Clique und Klientel zu erweitern. Ihre Grenze findet die Aushöhlung der Demokratie paradoxerweise in den notorisch elitären Institutionen der Jurisprudenz, die je nach Rechtskultur mehr oder weniger widerstandsfähig sind.

Der Bevölkerung geht es dabei wie dem viel zitierten Frosch im behutsam zum Siedepunkt gebrachten Wasser. Sie wacht erst auf, wenn es zu spät ist. Oder tut dies auch gar nicht, weil es nicht nötig ist. Wie das gegenwärtige China zeigt, können autoritäre Regimes wirtschaftlich erstaunlich erfolgreich sein. Das Ausmaß der von ihnen profitierenden Kreise ist dementsprechend groß.

“Demokratien”, so Diamond, “scheitern, wenn das Volk den Glauben an sie verliert und die Eliten ihre Normen für politisches Vorteilsdenken aufgeben.” Der Ursprung der Demokratie-Rezession befindet sich für ihn nirgendwo anders als beim Volk, dem Souverän. Nur ein Antidemokrat könnte annehmen, es werde gleich einer naiven Schönheit von bösen Männern “verführt” wie dies in der Populismusdebatte immer wieder gemutmaßt wird.

Es ist kein Zufall, dass die Demokratie-Rezession mit der wirtschaftlichen Rezession um die Finanzkrise von 2008 einhergeht. “Schwache Wirtschaftsperformance und steigende Ungleichheit verschärfen Probleme des Machtmissbrauchs und der Verletzung demokratischer Spielregeln”, schreibt Diamond. In den Entwicklungsländern hat die Krise die vorhandenen kleptokratischen Tendenzen verschärft. In den entwickelten Industrienationen hat sie für eine weitere Zunahme der sozialen Ungleichheit gesorgt. Vor allem aber brachte sie ans Tageslicht, was Investmentbanker schon lange wussten: Der nicht beweisbaren liberalen Behauptung, dass die Gier von Einzelnen Werte für alle erzeuge, wohnt entweder unbeschreibliche Naivität inne. Oder es handelt sich um bewusste Irreführung.

Angesichts dieser Analyse überrascht es, dass beinah nirgendwo auf der Welt die radikale Linke von der Krise der liberalen Demokratie profitieren konnte. Aber möglicherweise weiß die untere Mittelschicht ganz genau, was sie tut, wenn sie autokratisch agierende Hausherren nach der Art von Trump und Erdogan wählt.

Effizienzprobleme stecken in der DNS von Demokratien

Autokratie scheint die logische Folgerung aus der neoliberalen Ideologie zu sein, unter deren Joch die Bevölkerung sowieso leben muss – das wussten schon die Pinochet umgarnenden Chicago Boys. Wer am liebsten alles dem privaten Eigeninteresse überantwortet und der öffentlichen Hand nicht traut, für den scheint es geradezu notwendig, den Staat als letzte Konsequenz der neoliberalen Privatisierungsagenda in das Eigentum eines Einzelnen zu verwandeln. Nur so könnte, der neoliberalen Logik zufolge, ein effizientes Management des Staats erreicht werden. Und Effizienzprobleme stecken, wie auch Diamond schreibt, tatsächlich in der DNS von Demokratien. Ihre Konsensfindungsprozesse sind prinzipiell träge. Zudem produzieren sie eine Politikerkaste, die faktisch eben von der Trägheit dieser Prozesse lebt und daher perverse Anreize entwickeln könnte, effiziente Politik zu verhindern.

Andererseits haben beim Verfall demokratischer Freiheit nur die Eliten wirklich was zu verlieren, weshalb sie sich auch zumindest im Westen meist gegen den Populismus stellen. Im wirklichen Leben eines Lohnabhängigen spielt beispielsweise Meinungsfreiheit eine sehr untergeordnete Rolle.

Diamond selbst scheint die Analogie seiner These zu Konjunkturzyklen sehr ernst zu nehmen. Er hofft auf einen Demokratie-Aufschwung nach der Rezession. Dabei beruft er sich auf eine ältere Arbeit Samuel Huntingtons, der mehrere auf- und absteigende Wellen der Demokratie im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert ausgemacht hat. Schon jetzt, schreibt Diamond, sei die Zivilgesellschaft durch den neuen Populismus mobilisiert und politikinteressiert wie selten zuvor.

Ob er mit diesem optimistischen Ausblick recht hat, ist fraglich. Die USA sind, was die globale Demokratie anbelangt, kein Land wie jedes andere. Ihre momentane Schwächung wird fatale Folgen für die Verbreitung der Demokratie haben und die bereits begonnene Demokratie-Rezession noch verstärken.

Dies gilt besonders, weil sich Russland und China immer deutlicher zu Supermächten des neuen Autoritarismus entwickeln, die durch internetbasierte Medien wie RT und Entwicklungshilfe antidemokratische Bewegungen unterstützen. Dass sich das globale System eines Nebeneinanders von Autoritarismen als, wie Diamond schreibt, nur wenig stabil herausstellen wird, ist weniger ein Trost als ein Schreckensszenario. Man kann etwa nur hoffen, dass Trump besonnener mit nuklearem Zerstörungspotenzial umgeht als mit seinem Twitteraccount.

Schlechte Aussichten auf ein Ende der Demokratie-Rezession bestehen auch aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen. Die Stabilität der nicht notwendigerweise harmonischen Beziehung zwischen Demokratie und Kapitalismus wurde nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg durch großzügige, größtenteils kreditfinanzierte Geschenke an die Mittelschicht erkauft. Es ist unwahrscheinlich, dass die arg in Anspruch genommenen Kredit- und Sozialsysteme solche Geschenke in Zukunft ermöglichen.

Die Frage, wie ernst es die Demokratie mit ihrem Versprechen von Freiheit, Gleichheit und effizienter Konsensfindung auch in der Lebenswirklichkeit meint, ist angesichts weiter steigender Ungleichheit und immer komplexerer politischer Herausforderungen keine triviale mehr. Nur wenn Demokratien neue, zeitgemäße Antworten entwickeln, die ihrer großen utopischen Tradition genüge tun, wird es ihnen gelingen, wieder alle Teile des Volks langfristig für sich zu begeistern.

 

Der Spiegel

Burying the Bombshell

Dozhd TV looks at how the Russian media largely ignored new corruption allegations against Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

On Thursday, Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) published its most in-depth report yet, revealing a vast empire of crooked charities and lavish homes that make up a “secret empire” allegedly controlled by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

As with the foundation’s past investigations, like a report about the prosecutor general’s supposed mafia ties or revelations that a deputy prime minister allegedly chartered jets to taxi around a pair of dogs, Navalny’s latest bombshell made media waves around the world.

In Russia, however, FBK’s investigations aren’t generating all the headlines they used to. Not only do Russia’s national television networks continue to ignore Navalny’s work, but some other media outlets that reported his investigations in the past are paying less attention now, according to a report by the independent TV station Dozhd.

On Friday, Dozhd published data, collected partly by the media-monitoring company Medialogia, about the number of reports in the media describing or commenting on FBK’s new investigation.

As expected, the national networks Pervyi Kanal, Rossiya-1, and NTV didn’t once mention the report on Medvedev. On cable, only the RBC news channel covered the story, mentioning it in 17 different reports. On the radio, FBK’s work made it to Ekho Moskvy, where it came up 33 times, and Biznes FM, where it was mentioned four times. Kommersant FM and Vesti FM, meanwhile, said nothing about the report.

Most surprisingly, only two newspapers, Novaya Gazeta and Vedomosti, carried stories about the FBK investigation. You didn’t read anything about it, if you only subscribe to Izvestia, Argumenty i Fakty, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Komsomolskaya Pravda, and Nezavisimaya Gazeta, or even more respected papers like Kommersant and RBC.

The liberal publication Novaya Gazeta called the FBK report “weighty and uncompromising,” crediting Navalny with revealing a basic political fact that’s far from obvious, the newspaper’s chief editor wrote: “Mr. Medvedev really is the number two man in the state.”

Online, the first Russian news websites to report FBK’s investigation were Mediazona, Republic, Ekho Moskvy, RBC, Tsargrad, and Meduza. About two and a half hours after these outlets covered the story, Kommersant — which is owned by Alisher Usmanov, whom Navalny names in his report on Medvedev — ran a story with the headline “Anti-Corruption Foundation Publishes Yet Another Investigation.” Later in the day, Forbes published a story about the real estate mentioned in the FBK study, and the tabloid Life merely reported the official response to the investigation by Natalia Timakova, Medvedev’s spokesperson.

Russia’s three biggest news agencies, RIA Novosti, TASS, and Interfax, waited until Timakova’s comments before publishing anything about Navalny’s report. Of these three outlets, only Interfax provided an actual hyperlink to FBK’s report, which it described as “an investigation of the Russian and foreign real estate that allegedly belongs to Medvedev.”

 

Source : Moscow Times

Calls grow to make ACT domestic violence refuges more pet friendly

MARCH 5 2017 – 12:00AM

Andrew Brown

There are growing calls to make it easier for pet owners in the ACT to be able to flee from domestic violence.

Domestic violence advocacy groups and animal welfare organisations are calling for more animal friendly emergency refuges as well as emergency accommodation for pets while their owners are seeking new housing.

Rainbow Paws president Natarsha Lawrence with foster dog Austin. Photo: Jay Cronan

Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) reports an average of two families per month seeking emergency accommodation due to domestic violence who also have pets.

While DVCS is able to accept families with small animals into emergency accommodation, long-term refuges are unable to accept pets, with many forced in boarding kennels or RSPCA shelters.

Ms Lawrence says the number of requests for temporary accommodation for pets due to domestic violence is increasing. Photo: Jay Cronan

Alanna Davis from DVCS said a lack of pet-friendly accommodation could mean victims of domestic violence thinking of leaving abusive relationships could reconsider their actions due to them not being able to look after their pets.

“We know that pet ownership is a barrier to leaving for a variety of reasons including concern over the safety of the pet if the pet’s safety has been threatened, and concern that the pet might not be cared for if the person leaving is the primary carer,” she said.

“The refuges in Canberra are, unfortunately, not equipped to take pets. This means any woman leaving our emergency accommodation into a refuge is not able to take their pet with them.”

While programs are in place in other states that offer emergency accommodation to pets while their owners flee domestic violence, similar programs aren’t in place in the ACT.

The NSW RSPCA offers a Safe Beds for Pets program which provides temporary accommodation, while this week the Victorian government offered a $100,000 investment for the Pets in Crisis program.

RSPCA ACT chief executive Tammy Ven Dange said the organisation regularly receives requests for emergency boarding.

“As an animal is not deemed a sentient being, but rather property in the eyes of the law, it can generate problems for people fleeing violence, particularly when many human shelters cannot accommodate pets,” she said.

“We have limited space and resources but understand that there is an undeniable link between the perpetrators of domestic violence and animal abuse.”

Natarsha Lawrence is the president of Rainbow Paws, which provides temporary and subsidised accommodation for pets while their owners flee from domestic violence.

The organisation was started in August 2016, after Ms Lawrence saw similar set ups in other parts of Australia and wanted to bring the idea to Canberra.

She said the number of requests for temporary accommodation for pets was increasing rapidly.

“Sometimes people put their own safety at risk because they don’t want to leave their pets and don’t want them to be in danger,” she said.

“Pets in these situations can be used as weapons and it’s a horrible thing.

“If [pet owners] know they have somewhere to go, they are more inclined to leave. Pets are part of the family and they don’t want to leave them behind.”

Talks are underway between DVCS and local catteries and boarding kennels as well as with the RSPCA and Rainbow Paws in order to come up with a solution to the problem.

“We’re discussing the gap in emergency care with pets, and we’re trying to come up with strategies on how to deal with it,” Ms Lawrence said.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service: 1800 737 732 

 

Source : Canberra Times

Auckland’s golden quartet: The suburbs where a home can cost you $2m+

5:00 AM Sunday Mar 5, 2017

Herne Bay was the first suburb in the country to break the $2m mark. Photo / Supplied

The size of the SuperCity’s $2m suburb club has doubled in the last three months with Remuera and Stanley Point joining Herne Bay and St Mary’s Bay as the most expensive places to buy a flash new pad.

The priciest suburb continues to be Herne Bay, the first in the country to break the $2m mark. At the end of January it had a QV estimated median value of $2,468,000. The figure for nearby St Mary’s Bay was $2,271,550.

Ever since the city got its first $2m suburb two years ago, prices have continued to grow with St Mary’s Bay joining Herne Bay late last year.

This year two more have joined the exclusive club with Stanley Point – the small North Shore suburb west of Devonport – hitting $2,019,950 and Remuera $2,019,550 at the end of January.

QV national spokeswoman Andrea Rush said the suburbs were home to a number of larger, architect-designed and historic houses on sites with mature gardens and harbour views – key factors driving up prices.

“They are also in popular school zones and for all these reasons are deemed some of Auckland’s most prestigious suburbs, making them desirable locations to live.”

The next suburb expected to tick over the $2m mark was Epsom, with a median value of $1.87m – a suburb that’s in the desirable grammar zone area, has access to public transport, is near the central city and has access to Cornwall Park.

These figures in the QV quarterly Property Report published tomorrow showed despite the high price tag of houses in these suburbs, it’s not deterring growth.

Of the top ten Auckland suburbs the majority experienced a rise in value. The largest was Mission Bay which grew by $75,036 (4.4 per cent) in the last December quarter.

Of the top 10 most expensive suburbs none dipped below the $1.5m mark. The cheapest of the bunch was the waterfront suburb of Kohimaramara, which had a median value of $1.74m in December, up $71,972 in the quarter.

However the report also shows that outside of the more expensive suburbs, a majority of areas around the south, west and north experienced negative growth.

According to the figures, compiled from CoreLogic data, twenty-two suburbs have a qv.co.nz estimated median value of more than $1.5m.

First National chief executive Bob Brereton said the coastal view and the proximity to the city were key reasons prices were high.

“Everywhere you go in the country, anywhere down the east coast, west coast, where there’s good water views the price goes up.

“Auckland is no exception with that and you’ve got the added advantage that it is very accessible from the inner city.”

While Brereton said sales volumes weren’t as high at they had been, a complete correction of the market was unlikely.

“I suspect we will see an increase, a lift in sales volumes, but no real correction in cost.”

Brereton said given the way Herne Bay had grown in value in the past few months alone he didn’t expect a $3m suburb was completely out of the question.

“It’s going to come.”

Rush said if the rate of growth in the suburb continued at the rates it had last year [17.5 per cent], by 2018 it would have a median value above $3m.

Top 4 Auckland suburbs

Herne Bay: $2.47m
Saint Mary’s Bay: $2.27m
Stanley Point: $2.02m
Remuera: $2.02m

Meet the Main family – they managed to get into Remuera when property values were half what they are today.

When Emma and William Main first moved back to Auckland six years ago the plan was to move into what they believed to be the hip and trendy suburbs in the west of the city.

“At the time we’d wanted to move to Westmere, thinking it was a bit more of a young, fun kind of area,” said Emma Main, 37.

However, the couple, who’d spent the last eight years living in Sydney, found they could get more value for their money in the quieter suburb of Remuera – the latest one in the city to join the exclusive $2m-plus suburb alongside Herne Bay, St Mary’s Bay and Stanley Point.

For just over $1m, the couple bought a 4-bedroom bungalow on Mainston Road in 2011.

While Main, a mother of two young school-aged children, could see how prices in the central city suburb were now double the cost of her home, she said a $2m price tag was quite pricey.

“If you were to say that six years ago I’d have said ‘Gosh that’s expensive’.”

She was grateful they’d managed to nab their family home before the prices spiked.

“I do have friends now coming back from overseas that are like ‘Where do you go?’. It’s a very competitive market now.”

Main said the higher prices over in Australia were a key factor in having driven them back home to New Zealand.

“When we looked to find a property over in Australia it was really hard to find something. You’d have to go into the burbs there to get anything with any sort of decent size.

“We were living in an apartment and felt we had grown out of that way living.”

She said living in Remuera, where she’d also grown up in, had surpassed their expectations.

“We love it; it’s family friendly and lots of families coming through,” she said. “I guess with great public primary schools in the area, it’s a huge draw card to living here and there’s lots of great things coming into the area.”

 

Source : New Zealand Herald

Reviravolta no caso: Carioca acerta renovação com o “Pânico” até 2019

 

O que parecia distante e caminhava para novo impasse, se resolveu nas últimas horas: Carioca, Márvio Lucio, acaba de acertar a renovação do seu contrato com a PNC, empresa do Tutinha, parceira da Band na produção do “Pânico”, por mais dois anos.

Os advogados das partes acabaram de sair de uma reunião, onde tudo ficou acertado.

Já está tudo rascunhado.

Faltam apenas as respectivas assinaturas, combinadas para acontecer entre amanhã, sábado, e segunda-feira.

Ausente do programa nas últimas edições, Carioca já tem seu retorno confirmado para este próximo domingo.

Emílio Surita, parte envolvida no caso, pelo lado do “Pânico”, acaba de confirmar o acertado para a renovação.

Conversando com a coluna, Carioca admitiu que o desfecho atendeu os interesses de ambos os lados – “tenho uma forte ligação com o pessoal todo de lá. Uma coisa de sangue. Construímos uma história juntos. E eu vou voltar cheio de gás, com ideias maravilhosas para colocar em prática. Tenho uns três quadros inéditos pra lançar imediatamente e eu me dou muito bem com o Marcelo Nascimento, nosso novo diretor do programa”.

 

Flávio Ricco com colaboração de José Carlos Nery