1. LETTERS written by Prince Charles to the former British prime minister Tony Blair have been made public.
The 27 letters cover a staggering number of topics, from the Iraq war to the badger population in England’s countryside.
The Guardian newspaper has been working through the courts for 10 years to access the letters, on public interest grounds.
The letters were written between September 2004 and April 2005.
Buckingham Palace opposed their release, in part because the Prince will one day be King, but the UK courts agreed that they should be made public.
The letters reveal the Prince’s interest in sustainable fishing, the albatross, and “most pressing and urgent problem” of badger over-population.
“I do urge you to look again at introducing a proper cull of badgers where it is necessary,” His Royal Highness writes.
The prince also expressed concern for British soldiers in Iraq, saying: “I fear that this is just one more example of where our Armed Forces are being asked to do an extremely challenging job (particularly in Iraq) without the necessary resources.”
The Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger said the public can read the letters on the newspaper’s website.
“We fought this case because we believed – and the most senior judges in the country agreed – that the Royal family should operate to the same degrees of transparency as anyone else,’ he said.
“Now, after 10 years, we are pleased to be able to share the contents of his correspondence and let people draw their own conclusions.”
Clarence House has released a statement about The Guardian‘s decision to publish the letters.
“The Prince of Wales cares deeply about this country, and tries to use his unique position to help others. He has devoted most of his working life to helping individuals and organisations, to make a difference for the better of this country and the world.”
The statement continues:
“The Prince of Wales believes, as have successive Governments, that he should have a right to communicate privately. The publication of private letters can only inhibit his ability to express the concerns and suggestions which have been put to him in the course of his travels and meetings.”
In other news you may have missed…
2. IT’s Christmas!
Okay, it’s maybe not Christmas but if you own a small business, or have an ABN – well, it’s time to go on a spending spree.
With all the moaning about the end of double-dipping, what got missed in the Budget was the $20,000 tax break for small business.
Essentially, from today, you can buy anything you need for your new business, be it a new Apple Mac, a new iPad, a new phone, a new laser printer, a new coffee machine, a new sofa for clients to sit on, some art to hang on the walls, new tools, a new CAR .. and, provided it’s under $20,000, you can claim the whole amount as a tax deduction.
If that makes you feel like you want to get out there and spend, great! Because that’s the idea.
The tax break is designed to stimulate the economy.
So, that Apple Watch you’ve been lusting after? Which is of course to help you keep track of appointments? Go get one. It’s on Joe.
3. THE idea that a woman might have both male and female lovers over the course of her life is hardly surprising, yet Cate Blanchett still seems to have stunned many by saying she has had ‘many’ relationships with women.
Cate’s comments came in an interview with Variety magazine, ahead of the release of her new film, Carol, in which she plays a bisexual woman embarking on an affair.
Cate’s admission has been described as a “bombshell.”
The text of the interview shows that Cate was asked whether this role was her “first turn as a lesbian.” “On film, or in real life?” she replied.
The reporter then asked Cate if she’d had relationships with women.
“Yes, many times,” she replied.
Cate stars opposite Rooney Mara in the film, which premieres at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17.
To prepare for the role, Cate says she “read a lot of girl-on-girl books from the period.”
Variety says: “One of the most memorable scenes in the novel takes place in a hotel room, when the women consummate their love for the first time.”
Cate also told the magazine that she never Googles herself, but “finds out she’s made headlines when she walks her kids to school and the crossing guard tells her, “What they said about you — that was terrible!”
4. WITH drug abuse, it’s always important to remember that recovery is possible.
That was certainly Mad Max: Fury Road star Tom Hardy’s message, as he took to promoting his new film.
In an interview with New Zealand press Hardy grimly admits that he is “lucky to be here.”
His addiction to drugs nearly claimed his life, and was so bad at one point that he “would have done anything” to get hold of the illegal substances.
“I would have sold my mother for a rock of crack,” Hardy said, but he’s clean now, and determined to stay clean.
Despite fears that it might never get made, let alone released, Mad Max is shaping up to one the biggest films of the year, with Charlize Theron as a one-armed bad-ass stealing the show.
5. POLICE have shot a man who had been hitting people with a hammer on the streets of New York City.
NBC reports that two officers saw the man near the corner of 37th and Eighth, and recognized him as a suspect in a series of hammer attacks.
Four people have been hit with a hammer in separate incidents in Midtown Manhattan this week.
Police approached. The man is said to have turned, and drawn a hammer, at which point he was shot. He is in a critical condition.
6. THREE aircraft were grounded yesterday after threats made by one of Australia’s ISIS fighters.
[The Australian reports]( http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/aussie-jihadist-neil-prakashs-tweet-grounds-three-planes/story-fnizu68q-1227354207795
) that Etihad, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines turned back or diverted flights yesterday, after receiving bomb threats on Twitter.
The tweets were said to come from a former Melbourne man Neil Prakash.
7. FORMER US president Bill Clinton is willing to move back into the White House – but he’s going to wait to be asked.
In a fun moment on the Letterman show last night, Clinton praised wife, Hillary for having a go at the top job, saying: “And if she wins the election, the chances are 100 percent I’ll move back … if I’m asked.”
He added: “It’d be a good thing for America if she won. I hope she does.’
In the meantime, he’s loving being Grandpa to Chelsea’s baby Charlotte, saying: “We only had one child, so it’s been a very long time since we’ve seen a baby wake up to the world. Thankfully our daughter and son-in-law have invited us into her life [and] I just love it. It’s utterly fascinating and I hope to get to do more of it.”
Letterman is in his final week of his Late Show, which has been on air for more than 30 years.
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