In the news

In the news today were three items of interest to me.

First was the announcement by Russell Crowe that in his football club (Souths - who my husband has supported through all the lean years) there will be no gambling poker machines when it reopens next year.

Kudos to Crowe and his business partner. The reason I generally avoid clubs is because of its heavy reliance on gambling income to prop up its business.

Some figures I heard today (and I cannot verify their correctness):
70-80% of club income comes from gambling
50% of that gambling money comes from people who have gambling addictions.

Also in the news, the terrible story of the young Chinese mother who was living in New Zealand with her husband. Her body was found today in her husband's car outside her home. She was most likely murdered by her husband, who then fled to Los Angeles via Melbourne, where he abandoned their three year old daughter 'Pumpkin' at a train station.

Domestic violence is real, horrible and tragic. It's not limited to one group of people or culture or socio-economic level. It is everywhere. We must expose it and condemn it.

Finally, I heard this story. A woman who is suing her doctor over a twin birth after more IVF embryos were implanted than she wanted. They want the doctor to pay the $400,000 or so it will cost to bring up the 'extra' child. I wonder if she has worked out which is the baby she wanted, and which is the one she doesn't want!

IVF and in fact, all reproduction, is not an exact science. You can't just 'make babies' on demand. They come, and they don't come, and sometimes you just don't know what you're getting, or when you're getting it. Assuming we have control over conceptions and births is kind of sad.