The Owl is an old footy writer for Tassie Truth - hence the choice of The Mercury's editorial at the top of his daily review of opinion from around the world

AFL should show it cares - The Mercury, Hobart

WE have said it before, and we will say it again and again: every time an AFL game is played in Tasmania it is a reminder that as a state we should never rest until we have our own team in the “national” competition.
The State Government’s estimated $7 million annual investment in North Melbourne and Hawthorn is a worthwhile one, in that it ensures a good number of elite-level footy games are being played in Tasmania each year.
But that cash should be considered as nothing more than a down payment on a team that actually calls Tasmania home. ... 

 

Tonight at UTAS Stadium in Launceston, Tasmanians will again turn out in big numbers to demonstrate their love for footy. It really is time the AFL responded in kind, and demonstrated in a meaningful way its love for Tassie.

The US President trumps his critics - The Daily Telegraph, London

Asked to account for the detente that led to yesterday’s meeting of Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s foreign minister said: “Credit goes to President Trump.” That will infuriate his critics. To them he is a blustering fool, and some Britons intend to protest when he visits the UK in July. They should stay at home and watch Wimbledon instead. Whatever one thinks of Donald Trump personally – and there is much to object to – Britain needs the friendship of the most powerful man in the world. Especially given the sense of possibility he is bringing to the global order.

Reforms on rape - San Francisco Chronicle

Victim after victim is sounding a harsh note that San Francisco’s leaders should hear. Rape cases aren’t getting the handling they demand, allowing assailants to escape justice and leaving victims unheeded and alone. It’s a situation that demands serious attention.
A Chronicle investigation and searing testimony at City Hall are illuminating the difficulties women face in getting medical and legal help. The response too often is an official shrug, with evidence uncollected, skeptical police questioning or prosecutions slow walked to nothingness.
The personal experiences of victims willing to speak publicly are painful to hear. In response, the city is promising results in the form of new policies and better training. Those pledges must be watched for genuine results.

A Reckoning for Cosby — Now for Others? - New York Times

... Over the past six months or so, in what has come to be called the #MeToo movement, women — and some men — have come forward with long-repressed and long-ignored accusations that powerful men abused and harassed them with impunity. Some of the most famous men in entertainment, journalism and other fields have been defenestrated, often after years of predatory behavior.
Some people might see cause for hope in the Cosby verdict, since he was the first celebrity convicted in the #MeToo era.
But since it happened only after scores of women suffered in silence for decades, and only in the midst of a global reckoning with sexual violence, even a “victory” like this verdict suggests that the abused still face a desperately uphill battle. ...
Ms. Constand fought for years to get to this day. While she won a $3.38 million settlement from Mr. Cosby in 2006, that came only after prosecutors in Pennsylvania declined to charge him earlier. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. The conviction was won this time after those five women were allowed to bolster Ms. Constand’s testimony, demonstrating his signature pattern of abuse.
In a sense, this exception both proves the rule — power provides protection — and shows that that shield is not impenetrable. The verdict and the prosecution should make clear that women need to be listened to and their accusations need to be taken seriously.

China flexes its maritime military muscle - The Japan Times

China’s leadership has decided that the country’s status, interests and assets demand advanced armed forces that can protect and defend them. It is up to Japan, working with allies and partners, to make it clear to decision-makers in Beijing that the use of that military for anything but defense of the Chinese homeland is a mistake.