Biggest Moments Of 2011

What happened
On May 1, 2011, with 18 purposeful steps, US president Barack Obama approached a lectern placed in the East Room of The White House. His 10 minute speech began with the statement: “Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people, and the world, that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.”

The announcement followed a raid by Navy SEALS on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden had been living, despite the widespread assumption that he was holed up in a cave or remote village in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden’s body was then taken to Afghanistan for identification, after which he was quickly buried at sea.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #1 Osama sleeps with the fishes" »

What happened
Early this year, in the middle of the wettest La Nina summer in 40 years, a vast swathe of south-east Australia went underwater. Dozens of towns and larger centres were inundated in Victoria, Queensland and to a lesser extent New South Wales. At least 35 lives were lost in Queensland.

The flooding came in several waves. Large areas of regional Qld were inundated in December 2010, from the Darling Downs to the Burnett and beyond. When the second wave came in early January, it came even harder and faster, with devastating results.

The Toowoomba flash flood was the moment this event turned from a slow inundation best viewed from choppers to an outright disaster where destruction was both brutal and swift. The floodwaters cascaded from the crest of the Great Divide into the Lockyer Valley, where the impact on towns like Grantham was beyond belief.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #2 Water, water everywhere" »

What happened
An Arab Spring first sprung late last year, when Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire to protest the humiliation heaped upon him by government officials.

Protests flared across Tunisia afterwards, toppling the local tinpot dictator and inspiring people in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and many other countries to take to the streets against their governments.

While there were several Big Moments from the Arab Spring this year - think the Egyptians occupying Tahrir Square and Hosni Mubarak finally giving in to protesters - the moment The Punch believes said the most about the promise, pitfalls and pragmatism of the Arab Spring was the ousting and killing of the “Mad Dog of the Middle East”, Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #3 Gaddafi falls, democracy rises" »

What happened
An earthquake. A tsunami. A nuclear meltdown. 

Just one would’ve been devastating. But we’ve seen few catastrophes quite like this troika in human history. 

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake. A tsunami that was more than a dozen metres tall in some areas. A huge radiation cloud. More than 15,000 people killed. A first world country crushed.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #4 A Japanese catastrophe" »

What happened
Cleanskin Australian cyclist Cadel Evans had finished runner-up in both the 2007 and ’08 versions of the Tour de France. After a disappointing 26th in 2010, his hopes of ever winning the thing looked cooked. But the 34-year-old Victorian, who was born in the NT, finally tasted champagne and glory on the Champs Elysees on July 24, 2011.

Australians have been tuning in to SBS’s Tour coverage in increasing numbers in recent years, if only to watch glimpses of the French countryside flashing by while drooling over Gabriel Gaté’s delectable dishes.

This year we watched not just as interested onlookers but as fans. As mad barrackers for a gritty little Aussie giving it his all, in an event which is truly one of the grand fromages of world sport. It was a ratings bonanza for the “Soccer, Boobs and Soccer” network, with over five million watching in total and a whopping metro share audience of 32.6 per cent on the final stage.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #5 Pedal Cadel, Pedal!" »

It is impossible as an employee of Rupert Murdoch to offer any thoughts on the phone hacking scandal in the UK without being accused of being a company patsy and probably also a sycophant, even a liar.

On a personal and professional level I have found some of the revelations which have come out of the UK to be troubling at the very least, and appalling at their absolute worst. It is also the case however that two of the biggest and most damaging allegations against the company aren’t actually true at all.

From where I sit, working for the Australian arm of this media business, the whole affair is starting to look like a psychotic and reckless fight-to-the-death by British journalists who, in that hyper-competitive media culture, have often cut corners or chanced their arms to be first with the news.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #6 Hackers and clangers" »

What happened
For at least the fourth time since the “Band Aid” famine of the 1980s , the beleaguered citizens of the Horn of Africa endured famine, as a result of ongoing drought, desertification and civil strife.

Refugee camps in northern Kenya swelled massively, the Dadaab camp bursting with half a million people. As the crisis unfolded, a British newspaper warned that if the West failed to act appropriately, it would be as complicit as the warlords exacerbating the situation in Africa.

What happened next
The West did indeed open its pockets. The UK government’s initial AID package was the equivalent of $60 million. By the first week of December, Australians had donated $12.7 million, and the government matched the donations under their dollar-for-dollar aid scheme. The crisis continues.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #7 Africa goes hungry" »

What happened
Our biggest wartime horror in a long time. Three diggers and their Afghan interpreter were killed and seven other Aussie troops wounded when an Afghan army ally turned his weapon on them.

This was not the first time that an Afghan colleague attacked Australian soldiers this year and nor was it the last. Lance Corporal Andrew Jones was killed by an Afghan soldier as he came out of his base accommodation in May. And just last month three diggers and two Afghans were wounded when an Afghan soldier opened fire from a guard tower with an automatic weapon and grenade launcher.

What happened next
A serious erosion of trust between Australian troops and their Afghan allies.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #8 Afghans turn on Aussies" »

What happened
Sheen, the son of the excellent Martin and the star of a crap blockbuster TV show, destroyed his immediate career in a drug-, women- and media-fuelled tizzy of spectacular proportions.

There were signs that Sheen’s life was starting to careen out of control in January when he went to rehab after a series of public shenanigans. Two and a Half Men was put on hiatus.

But the kerfuffle didn’t really get started until Sheen called up a US radio show to tell the world just what he thought of Two and a Half Men and its producers. He declared the TV show was: “A pukefest that everyone worships” (right on, Charlie) run by an “AA Nazi” and “blatant hypocrite”. Producers, who were sick of Sheen’s issues and his partying, ended production.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #9 The Sheen comes off Charlie" »

What happened
Activists formed a movement whose broad, and loosely defined aim, was to protest against the inequality caused by both the global and American financial systems. The protests occurred against a backdrop of failed regulation of rogue bankers in the USA, financial turmoil in Europe, and persistent high unemployment in much of the western world.

The movement first set up camp in Zuccotti Park in New York’s financial district and soon adopted the slogan “we are the 99 per cent” - a slogan which refers to the fact that one per cent of Americans possess the vast bulk of the nation’s wealth.

What happened next
As the financial turmoil skipped from European nation to nation, the Occupy Movement likewise spread to at least 70 countries, including Australia, where tents proved the garment of choice for some protestors.

Continue reading "Biggest Moments of 2011 #10 Wall St is a campground" »

What happened
On March 23 some 2000 to 3000 people gathered in Federation Mall in front of Parliament House in Canberra to protest against the Government’s carbon pricing policy. This No Carbon Tax rally was the first demonstration in the national capital of a grassroots opposition to the policy, a protest movement Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had been attempting to marshall.

The event’s aim was overwhelmed by the starkly hostile and sexist signs and placards wielded by the demonstrators. Prime Minister Julia Gillard was called “JuLIAR,” as pioneered by 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones.

She was called a “bitch’’ and a “witch” and speakers at the rally reflected the tone of the signs held by listeners. Government MPs were furious, particularly women, and the rally was condemned from Labor benches in Parliament during Question Time. Tony Abbott spoke from the protest platform and embarrassingly was photographed in front of a sign reading “JuLIAR Gillard…Bob Browns (sic) Bitch”.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #11 Carbon outrage hits Canberra" »

What happened
On September 4 last year, Christchurch was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which caused widespread damage but no fatalities. The quake that shook the city in February this year was of a lesser magnitude, at 6.3, but it had far more dire consequences.

The quake struck early afternoon local time. It was morning here in Australia and The Punch team remembers watching the scenes of horror unfold on the multiple TV monitors in our office. The quake exacerbated much of the damage done by the previous one. In total, 181 were killed.

You could tell things were bad when you saw the severe damage to Christchurch’s signature building, the 19th century cathedral in the main city square. But the real devastation happened both in the suburbs and at other buildings in the city – in particular the Canterbury Television Building, where over half the deaths occurred.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #12 Christchurch crumbles" »

What happened
Five days of crime and chaos. Beginning in London and later spreading to other parts of England.

The temperature first started to rise on August 4, when police shot dead Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old from Tottenham, one of London’s poorest areas. Then, on August 6, an at-first peaceful demonstration in Tottenham over the shooting turned violent.

The situation spun out of control. Petrol bombs were thrown at police, fires were lit, looters pillaged shop after shop, home after home. Over the following days, looting and rioting spread throughout London, and then throughout the country.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #13 Anarchy in the UK" »

What happened
On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, you wouldn’t have thought an American would be booed by their own crowd at a major sporting event in New York City. Yet Serena Williams achieved exactly this.

In normal circumstances, the story of the day would have been Sam Stosur’s straight sets US Open victory, which made her the first Ausralian woman in to win a Grand Slam event since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon way back in 1981.

But Williams changed the whole tone of the event with a foul outburst at the umpire. Among other filth she said “You’re out of control” and “You’re a hater, and you’re just unattractive inside.” We just wish the umpire had returned serve with that old schoolyard taunt “I know you are but what am I?”

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #14 Serena spats, Sam slams" »

What happened?
With the strange exception of the Walkley Award judges, many people and media organisations revised their assessment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over the past 12 months.

Assange shot to prominence last year with the explosive release of secret government documents from around the world, many of which revealed stories which were wholly in the public interest. They ranged from high level diplomatic assessments of foreign governments, to the more titillating but fascinating snippets of info which shed light on the personalities of world leaders. In the domestic setting we learned some interesting facts about our own government.

We learned that, as Prime Minister, the Mandarin-speaking Kevin Rudd was of the view that Australia and its chief ally the US should prepare for the possibility of a war against China.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #15 Publish and be damned" »

What happened
Australia’s favourite middle-aged spin bowler proposed to England’s favourite middle-aged model and actor, at a restaurant at the famous St Andrews golf course in Scotland in November. Thus was born the name “Shurley”

OK, so there were bigger, more important issues this year. But in terms of issues that set tongues wagging, both on this website and across Australia, this was a biggie.

The engagement came after just 10 months of dating, and confirmed that Shane Warne is today just about the most famous Australian in any field of public life. Women’s mags completely crapped themselves at the news, while hair replacement therapists and slimming pill suppliers booked expensive holidays in anticipation of years of revenue to come.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #16 Shurley they can’t be serious" »

What happened
In a kooky swapsie deal, Australia and Malaysia entered into a “cooperative transfer agreement” on asylum seekers, only to have the deal trounced by the High Court.

Under the Malaysia Solution the next 800 asylum seekers to arrive in Australia would be shipped off to Malaysia to join the ‘queue’ there. In return Australia would take an extra 4000 refugees from Malaysia.

Refugee advocates were chuffed that we’d take extra refugees but dismayed at the idea of sending asylum seekers to Malaysia, where they were reportedly badly treated. Critics said it was both inhumane and ineffective, and many were pre-occupied by the maths of 800 for 4000.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #17 No laksa for you!" »

What happened
The spirit of Australia was sunk for a little under two days at the end of October. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce grounded the entire Qantas fleet in a bid to end industrial action from Qantas pilots, engineers and ground staff.

Staff were up in arms over the national carrier’s plans to refocus the business on Asia, which would cost around 1000 jobs here in Australia. Staff were also up in arms about pay and job security.

What happened next
Tens of thousands of domestic and international travellers found themselves stranded in unfamiliar cities. When The Herald-Sun asked one irate Qantas passenger who was stranded in Singapore what he’d do if he ran into Alan Joyce, he said: “I’d punch him. I wouldn’t treat a dog the way he’s treated us.”

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #18 Alan Joyce chucks a wobbly" »

What happened
The event promising all class instead gave us all arse. It was meant to be the wedding of the century, the day commoner Kate Middleton finally married her prince, but it turned into the biggest upstaging of the century.

While millions of girls cried as they watched their chances of marrying Prince William sink to the bottom of the ocean, the boys were crying about a different kind of bottom. The eyes of the world weren’t on the bride, but on her sister as she serenely squatted to adjust the royal wedding dress.

What happened next
A Facebook page, Twitter account and numerous websites dedicated to Pippa’s behind popped up around the world. Men asked for a “Pippa’s Bum Appreciation Day” and women asked their plastic surgeons for “The Pip Package” on the promise of a perfect posterior. Journalists searched every crack and crevice for the most original butt puns of the rear, sorry, year. Many were left behind. Sorry again.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #19 Pippa’s arse steals the show" »

What happened
Imagine if 77 per cent of your work colleagues or your friends were dissatisfied with you, or cared too little to have an opinion. That’s what happened to Julia Gillard this year. A huge majority of Australians turned their backs on the PM. She hit rock bottom.

According to Newspoll, voter satisfaction with the Prime Minister fell to a record low of 23 per cent in September. You can’t tell us Rudd would have ever sunk that low if he hadn’t been knifed and had somehow won the last election.

Gillard’s disastrous polling came immediately after the High Court struck down the Malaysian Solution, leaving Australia’s immigration policy lost at sea. It also came around the a time of persistent rumbling about Kevin Rudd mounting a leadership challenge against the PM. And that wasn’t all the bad news from the court of public opinion.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #20 PM’s popularity flatlines" »

What happened
This all started when a bearded, talentless big mouth couldn’t handle a spot of criticism. So instead of flinging a few well-aimed barbs at his critics, he decided to shoot the messenger. What a tough guy.

Let the record show that Kyle deserved the derision. His show contained, among other mind-numbing stupidity, a segment where he felt a guest’s boobs. The ratings didn’t lie. They rarely do. An initial audience of 1.3 million shrunk to a paltry 200,000 within minutes.

Afterwards Twitter went into meltdown canning the show. Enter numerous entertainment reporters and bloggers who duly recorded the Twitter mood. One of them was news.com.au’s Alison Stephenson. Ali is capable of excellent colour writing on her day, but on this occasion, she wrote a completely straight, unremarkable account of the Twitter reaction.

Continue reading "Biggest Moments of 2011 #21 Sandilands scrapes the barrel" »

This is the second instalment in our 23-item countdown of the Biggest Moments of the Year. Each day until the Friday before Christmas, we’ll be counting down the events that marked 2011. Our list contains moments from politics, pop culture, tragedy, sport and more. This is one of the moments that had all of us talking this year.

What happened
On July 22, Andres Behring Breivik, 32, massacred 77 people and injured 151 in a pair of terrorist attacks on Norwegian officials and civilians. First, Breivik planted a car bomb in Oslo’s executive government district near the Prime Minister’s office. The bomb killed 8 and the PM escaped unharmed. Less than two hours later, Breivik arrived at the island of Utøya where a camp for Labour Party youth was being held. Posing as a police officer, he gunned down scores of people.

There was no light in the darkness of this story. The New York Times reported: “As soon as the shooting started… people panicked, running in all directions, tumbling down the island’s rocky hill in an attempt to reach the sea. Even after many made it into the water, the gunman calmly and methodically shot at those who were swimming.”

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #22 A massacre in Norway" »

Welcome to The Punch’s Biggest Moments of 2011. Each day until the Friday before Christmas, we’ll be counting the events which marked 2011. Our list contains moments from politics, popular culture, tragedy, sport and more. Some are frivolous. Others are deadly serious. These are the moments which had us talking in 2011. More to the point, they’re the moments that had YOU talking.

What happened
Fiona Byrne, the mayor of Marrickville in inner Sydney, backed a motion to support the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. This basically meant that no Israeli products would be sold within the boundaries of Marrickville Council. Tough luck, bagel-lovers. Good news for Vietnamese pork roll sellers.

What happened next
All hell broke loose. Some argued that councils should stick to local services like rubbish collection. Others pointed out that in a region which has nearly 200 ethnicities living cheek to jowl, there were plenty of evil repressive regimes much more worthy of attention than a democratic state fighting for its right to exist – even considering the ongoing claims for Palestinian statehood.

Continue reading "Biggest moments of 2011 #23 Marrickville invades Israel" »