Australia's first Indigenous ophthalmologist enjoys intricate nature of 'elegant' eye surgery



Indigenous my foot!  There's nothing to distinguish him from a Caucasian. Any Aboriginal ancestry is obviously remote and tells us nothing about full-blood Aborigines

There are few areas of medicine more specialised than eye surgery, but it is in that field — which is also highly competitive — that Kristopher Rallah-Baker has made history.

Dr Rallah-Baker has become Australia's first Aboriginal ophthalmologist after completing his training with a stint in outback Western Australia.

Every year, barely more than 15 Australian doctors complete the five-year vocational training program to become an ophthalmologist.

"I think there's a lot of humility that comes with being the first in the field," he said.

"I guess some people would suggest that I'm a trailblazer.

"I see myself as doing a job and being a role model for other people to follow a similar path both Indigenous and non-Indigenous."

Dr Rallah-Baker completed his last six months with Outback Vision, an outreach service of the Lions Eye Institute.

He said he found he seemed to have a deeper connection with Indigenous patients.

"There is a slight difference in the level of interaction. I think a big part of that is an instant understanding that there's a common history and there's a common story there," Dr Rallah-Baker said.

"And that's not to say non-Indigenous people don't have that understanding, there's some fantastic, fantastic non-Indigenous ophthalmologists out there who just understand it.

SOURCE 





Fatty loses her exorbitant payout

The original judge bent all the rules to give her such a big payout

Actress Rebel Wilson has been ordered to repay $4.1 million she received from Bauer Media in a defamation payout that was later reduced on appeal to $600,000.

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday ordered Wilson pay Bauer Media $4,183,071.45 – including $60,316.45 in interest – after the original judgment awarding her $4.7 million was set aside on appeal earlier in June.

Wilson was awarded the landmark payout in September 2017 following a defamation trial over a series of articles that made her out to be a liar, but an appeal later found she was not entitled to $3.9 million in economic damages relating to a loss of income.

SOURCE 






Oxfam investigates allegation fundraisers threatened to rape a woman

Charity collectors have become very aggressive now that they are paid by results

Oxfam says it is investigating allegations that fundraisers knocking doors on its behalf have been accused of threatening to rape a woman after she turned them away from her home.

Police in a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, say they have received reports about the conduct of “legitimate representatives” fundraising on behalf of Oxfam in Byford on Monday.

CCTV footage from the group’s visit to the woman’s home – as well as commentary about their actions – has been circulating on social media.

In a statement, Oxfam said the two fundraisers had denied the specific allegations, but that the organisation was taking the allegations very seriously.

Police in Western Australia have confirmed they have received complaints over the behaviour of door-knockers employed by Global Interactive and collecting for Oxfam, who have visited a number of properties around Byford and Mundijong.

Residents have reported the door-knockers have became aggressive when they’ve been refused donations and, in one instance, have allegedly threatened to rape a female homeowner who declined to give money.

Residents, concerned over the behaviour, have posted accounts of their experiences and CCTV footage from their homes on social media, warning others.

Oxfam confirmed that while the door-knockers were not directly linked to Oxfam, the group was employed by Global Interactive to fundraise on the charity’s behalf.

Global Interactive is an “outsourced sales solution” company contracted by Oxfam to assist in its fundraising campaign.

Both Oxfam and Global Interactive are assisting WA police in their investigations. The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, of which Oxfam and Global Interactive are both members, has also been notified.

“The people in the footage published on social media are engaged by Global Interactive to fundraise for Oxfam. The two fundraisers have denied any inappropriate behaviour, but in accordance with standard practice have been stood down pending inquiries into the matter,” Oxfam’s statement said.

“Global Interactive has removed all of their fundraisers from the Byford area, given community concerns about this matter.

“Oxfam expects people fundraising on our behalf to adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards to ensure our donors, supporters and members of the public are treated respectfully.”

The Mundijong police have confirmed they are investigating the allegations.

“We have a number of legitimate representatives in our area conducting charity work on behalf of Oxfam. A video has emerged on social media regarding conduct of some of the individuals involved and the company responsible have addressed the issues identified.”

Oxfam has weathered scandals already this year, when it emerged that in 2011, several Oxfam staff were accused of sexual exploitation and abuse in Haiti during the organisation’s response to an earthquake there. As well, allegations emerged from 2006 of Oxfam staff using sex workers in Chad.

In February, the deputy chief executive Penny Lawrence resigned over what she described as the British charity’s failure to adequately respond to the allegations of sexual misconduct by some staff.

SOURCE 





'He's the one with the silver spoon in his mouth': One Nation's Pauline Hanson claims Bill Shorten has 'no connection with grassroots Australians'

Senator Pauline Hanson has accused Labor leader Bill Shorten of having a 'silver spoon in his mouth'.

The outspoken One Nation Senator, who revealed this week that she does not trust the Opposition leader, has accused Mr Shorten of having no connection to grassroots Australia and advised people to 'keep away' from him, according to The Courier Mail.

The rift between Ms Hanson and the Labor Party escalated last week when she supported Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's personal income tax cuts in the Senate.

Ms Hanson has taken aim at Mr Shorten's private school education, according to the publication.

'I don't trust him,' she said. 'It's women's intuition. I don't feel warm to him. I don't feel like I connect with him. 

'He's the one with the silver spoon in his mouth. Everything he calls Malcolm Turnbull, he needs to look at himself in the mirror.'

Mr Shorten attended the prestigious Xavier College and St Mary's Catholic Primary School, both located in Melbourne.

Ms Hanson was public-school educated at Buranda Girl's School and Coorparoo State School in Queensland. She left school at 15, and worked at her parents Fish and Chip Shop with her siblings from a young age.  

 Her comments come after Shorten's colleague Anthony Albanese was accused by the Coalition of firing the starter gun on the Labor Party leadership.

Mr Albanese set out his agenda for the Labor Party in his Whitlam Oration speech at Shellharbour, on the New South Wales Coast, on Friday night. But Labor denied any rift between the pair.

Ms Hanson told 2SM Mr Albanese would make a better Opposition leader, describing him as a 'lovely guy'.  'I think he would be better leader than what Bill Shorten is,' she told the radio network on Tuesday. 

SOURCE 





'It's less efficient than regular unleaded': Motorists are being forced to use E10 fuel despite growing doubts about cost savings and environmental benefits

Motorists are being forced to use ethanol petrol despite industry doubts about its environmental benefits and cost savings.

Service stations in New South Wales and Queensland are being required to stock E10 petrol, which contains up to 10 per cent ethanol, and are hit with hefty fines if they fail to convert their tanks.

This lower octane unleaded blend, containing fermented sugarcane or grain, typically sells for $1.50 a litre in Sydney, compared with $1.75 a litre for premium unleaded.

Over a year, this equates to an extra $663 a year to fill up a small Mazda3 hatchback if motorists want to buy the superior premium unleaded petrol as lower octane, regular unleaded is replaced with E10 at service stations.

E10 is also three per cent less efficient per kilometre than regular unleaded petrol, with industry experts questioning its touted environmental benefits.

Independent petrol monitoring group Fueltrac said lobbying from ethanol producer Manildra and Queensland's sugarcane growers was forcing motorists in two states to pay significantly more for petrol if they didn't want to fill up with E10.

'There would be zero benefit in terms of environmental benefit and you've got the higher cost of the fuel,' the group's manager director Geoff Trotter told Daily Mail Australia today.

'The stuff only has 70 per cent thermal efficiency of a standard unleaded so you've got to use three per cent more to go the same distance.'

Mr Trotter, a former Shell executive, said the NSW government was threatening service stations with $500,000 fines if they didn't stock E10.

'When the motorists didn't respond to the mandate in the first tranche, they then threatened retailers with these huge fines,' he said.

'Unfortunately, what that's done is it's forced people to have to buy premium unleaded fuel which is between 15 and 20 cents a litre more than the previous standard unleaded. 'They haven't delivered any savings benefits for the poor old motorist.'

SOURCE 

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).    For a daily critique of Leftist activities,  see DISSECTING LEFTISM.  To keep up with attacks on free speech see Tongue Tied. Also, don't forget your daily roundup  of pro-environment but anti-Greenie  news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH .  Email me  here