Amphlett kicked down doors for women

• Divinyls' lead singer paved the way for women in rock
• "A braver soul I have not met," says singer Suze DeMarchi
• DeMarchi and Sarah McLeod performed a musical tribute

AUSTRALIAN rockers Suze DeMarchi and Sarah McLeod have paid tribute to pioneering rock chick Chrissy Amphlett.

Amphlett died in New York after battling both breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.

DeMarchi's band the Baby Animals performed a cover of Divinyls' Boys in Town at a Sydney show last night.

DeMarchi invited McLeod, singer in The Superjesus, to share the vocal duties.

"God bless you Chrissy, you paved the way for all of us ladies in rock, a braver soul I have not met," DeMarchi said earlier this week.

Singer Chrissy Amphlett from rock band the Divinyls paved the way for women, says Baby Animals singer Suze DeMarchi.

The impromptu duet - the first time the women have sung together - happened at the Standard in Sydney for the Baby Animals' comeback album launch. The Baby Animals dedicated the night to Amphlett "and all that she meant to us as musicians."

McLeod selected Amphlett as one of her favourite Australian singers of all time for a News Limited poll earlier this year.

The Divinyls singer came in at number nine in the Top 10 of the peer-voted list.

"She has got a recognizable unique voice, she may not be technically good but she has character in her tone and loads of unique attitude within her delivery, this makes her great. Anyone can learn to sing, it's all about the tone that your mumma gave you that sets you apart."

Lead singer of legendary Aussie band Divinyls, Chrissy Amphlett, has lost her battle with breast cancer at age 53.

The Divinyls' compilation Essential remains at No.1 on the Australian iTunes chart, a position it has held since Monday night.

Boys in Town, I Touch Myself and Pleasure and Pain are all in the iTunes Top 40 singles chart, with I Touch Myself the No.2 video behind Psy's Gentleman.

The Superjesus start their first tour in ten years in Sydney in May.
 

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Do women need their own tablet?

It's pink. It comes preloaded with cooking, shopping and yoga apps. You can't download your own. Sexist? Have your say below. Source: Supplied

DO women need their own tablet?

A device dubbed "the world's first tablet for women" that comes complete with a pink background and weightloss app has been dubbed as sexist.

Other apps that come pre-loaded on the tablet include a clothing size conversion app, a "Daily Yoga", "Yoga for women" and "women's fitness" app. Also an app called "women's assistant". That's not all. It also contains a shopping list app, a number of recipe apps.

Needless to say the app is driving people crazy.

One Twitter user @fennelw wrote: "I guess their hearts in the right place but their willy is firmly shoved up their own arse (this is a saying now)."

Another twitter users @bonstewart wrote: "so, kids. 1 + 1 = 2. gender stereotypes + marketing = reinforcement of sexist stereotypes FOR PROFIT. any questions? "

Twitter user @BinkyJ45 wrote: "Really? A man must have had this idea. ePad Femme: A Tablet Computer Easy Enough for a Woman to Use! And It's Pink! "

The tablet is the brainchild of Middle Eastern company, Eurostar Group who says it is designed for womens' "diverse lifestyles".

Creator Mani Nair denied that the tablet was sexist. He told the Jerusalem Post that it "makes a perfect gadget for a woman who might find difficulties in terms of downloading these applications."

The tablet is wi-fi accessible, runs on Android 4.0 and contains 16GB of storage space. However, users are reportedly unable to download their own apps. There goes half the market that might have considered looking past the blatant sexism and embraced the tablet for its range of targeted apps.

Is the ePad Femme sexist? Have your say below?

View the original article here

Do women need their own tablet?

It's pink. It comes preloaded with cooking, shopping and yoga apps. You can't download your own. Sexist? Have your say below. Source: Supplied

DO women need their own tablet?

A device dubbed "the world's first tablet for women" that comes complete with a pink background and weightloss app has been dubbed as sexist.

Other apps that come pre-loaded on the tablet include a clothing size conversion app, a "Daily Yoga", "Yoga for women" and "women's fitness" app. Also an app called "women's assistant". That's not all. It also contains a shopping list app, a number of recipe apps.

Needless to say the app is driving people crazy.

One Twitter user @fennelw wrote: "I guess their hearts in the right place but their willy is firmly shoved up their own arse (this is a saying now)."

Another twitter users @bonstewart wrote: "so, kids. 1 + 1 = 2. gender stereotypes + marketing = reinforcement of sexist stereotypes FOR PROFIT. any questions? "

Twitter user @BinkyJ45 wrote: "Really? A man must have had this idea. ePad Femme: A Tablet Computer Easy Enough for a Woman to Use! And It's Pink! "

The tablet is the brainchild of Middle Eastern company, Eurostar Group who says it is designed for womens' "diverse lifestyles".

Creator Mani Nair denied that the tablet was sexist. He told the Jerusalem Post that it "makes a perfect gadget for a woman who might find difficulties in terms of downloading these applications."

The tablet is wi-fi accessible, runs on Android 4.0 and contains 16GB of storage space. However, users are reportedly unable to download their own apps. There goes half the market that might have considered looking past the blatant sexism and embraced the tablet for its range of targeted apps.

Is the ePad Femme sexist? Have your say below?

View the original article here

Telstra drops fee for battered women

AUSTRALIA'S largest telephone carrier has bowed to pressure to drop unlisted phone number fees for domestic violence victims, but consumer groups and the Federal Government have questioned whether its exemptions go far enough.

The issue is now the subject of a Senate review, with the Telecommunications Committee asked to investigate outlawing the fee for everyone.

Telstra announced its policy change today following pressure from social media group Destroy the Joint.

One of the Facebook group's 25,000 members, a victim of domestic violence, was asked to pay $35 per year to maintain a silent phone number, despite having an apprehended violence order against her partner.

Telstra spokesman Tim O'Leary said the company was in the process of reviewing its "policy on charging silent line fees for victims of domestic violence" and would waive the $2.93 monthly fee in some circumstances.

"We're just finalising how this will work, but we'll include anyone who has a valid protection order recognising a security threat or (who) is a client of a community organisation providing services to people who are facing a security threat," Mr O'Leary said.

Telstra currently charges the monthly fee to anyone seeking to keep their phone number out of its White Pages directories, with the fee covering the cost of "managing and maintaining" the database.

But while Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy welcomed Telstra's decision as an "important step in protecting the privacy of some of Australia's most vulnerable people," he noted there was "still significant community interest” about the fees.

As such, Senator Conroy has asked the Senate Committee on Telecommunications to examine scrapping the unlisted number fee for all users, as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission.

The ALRC, in its review of the Telecommunications Act, called the fee "a financial impediment to accessing a service that will help to protect privacy".

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network communications manager Elise Davidson said Telstra's move to axe the fee in some circumstances was "a good first step" but it needed to be extended to low-income earners, pensioners and other violence victims.

"There may well be (victims of violence) who fall outside these parameters," she said. "We're also worried about the resellers because obviously Telstra charge their resellers a fee if their customers want to have a silent line. These providers should be able to offer this exemption".

Optus currently offers unlisted phone numbers without a fee, but resellers including Internode ($4), iPrimus ($3.50), iiNet ($2.93), Spintel ($2.95) and ACN ($2.93) charge monthly fees for silent numbers.

 

View the original article here

Telstra drops fee for battered women

AUSTRALIA'S largest telephone carrier has bowed to pressure to drop unlisted phone number fees for domestic violence victims, but consumer groups and the Federal Government have questioned whether its exemptions go far enough.

The issue is now the subject of a Senate review, with the Telecommunications Committee asked to investigate outlawing the fee for everyone.

Telstra announced its policy change today following pressure from social media group Destroy the Joint.

One of the Facebook group's 25,000 members, a victim of domestic violence, was asked to pay $35 per year to maintain a silent phone number, despite having an apprehended violence order against her partner.

Telstra spokesman Tim O'Leary said the company was in the process of reviewing its "policy on charging silent line fees for victims of domestic violence" and would waive the $2.93 monthly fee in some circumstances.

"We're just finalising how this will work, but we'll include anyone who has a valid protection order recognising a security threat or (who) is a client of a community organisation providing services to people who are facing a security threat," Mr O'Leary said.

Telstra currently charges the monthly fee to anyone seeking to keep their phone number out of its White Pages directories, with the fee covering the cost of "managing and maintaining" the database.

But while Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy welcomed Telstra's decision as an "important step in protecting the privacy of some of Australia's most vulnerable people," he noted there was "still significant community interest” about the fees.

As such, Senator Conroy has asked the Senate Committee on Telecommunications to examine scrapping the unlisted number fee for all users, as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission.

The ALRC, in its review of the Telecommunications Act, called the fee "a financial impediment to accessing a service that will help to protect privacy".

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network communications manager Elise Davidson said Telstra's move to axe the fee in some circumstances was "a good first step" but it needed to be extended to low-income earners, pensioners and other violence victims.

"There may well be (victims of violence) who fall outside these parameters," she said. "We're also worried about the resellers because obviously Telstra charge their resellers a fee if their customers want to have a silent line. These providers should be able to offer this exemption".

Optus currently offers unlisted phone numbers without a fee, but resellers including Internode ($4), iPrimus ($3.50), iiNet ($2.93), Spintel ($2.95) and ACN ($2.93) charge monthly fees for silent numbers.

 

View the original article here