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The Week on Twitter | Chelsea Manning, Enda Kenny, & Avocados

By Jade Hayden

This week, Chelsea Manning was released from prison, Enda Kenny stepped down as Fine Gael leader, and Ched Evans warned young women about the dangers of alcohol. Avocados also ruined the property market, according to an Australian millionaire.

#ChelseaManning released from prison after 7 years

Earlier this week, US army solider Chelsea Manning was released from prison after serving 7 years of a 35 year sentence. Manning had leaked almost 750,000 classified and sensitive military documents to WikiLeaks, and was charged with 22 offences, one of which included aiding the enemy.

Manning was released on Wednesday due to a commutation by Barack Obama to have her sentence reduced to 7 years. Upon leaving the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the ex-military intelligence analyst stated that she had been looking forward to her release, and that whatever was ahead of her “is far more important than the past.”

Manning also posted the first picture of herself as a transgender woman this week. In the post shared on her Instagram, she hashtagged #HelloWorld and included a tongue face emoji.

https://twitter.com/xychelsea/status/864882702234923008

#Avocados are destroying the property market

When Australian millionaire Tim Gurner was saving for his first home he didn’t buy any avocados. Not one. At least that’s what he said during 60 Minutes this week, where he complained that if millennials weren’t “buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each” they’d definitely be able to afford homes in the current property market.

But Gurner isn’t the only Australian to give out about millennial’s eating habits. Back in October, columnist Bernard Salt took it upon himself to tell everyone that just over 20 quid a week being spent on coffee and avocados could actually go towards a deposit on a house. Mad.

Twitter users were quick to take the absolute piss out of Gurner’s comments, making avocados the most talked about fruit this week, probably. Some people even went about working out exactly how many avocados one would have to sacrifice to actually afford a house. It’s a lot.

#Enda stepped down, but who will step in?

This week, Enda Kenny announced that he was stepping down as Fine Gael leader. The confirmation came after months of delay and 15 years of the party running under Kenny’s leadership. Fine Gael members reported that Kenny was “very emotional” upon announcing the news.

Nominations for Kenny’s successor are due to close this weekend. Multiple Fine Gael members have already pledged their support for current social protection minister Leo Varadkar and minister for housing Simon Coveney. The Dáil will vote in the new Taoiseach at the beginning of June. Varadkar and Coveney have already started canvassing for the role.

A survey released by the Irish Times earlier this week showed that Varadkar was currently in the lead among Fine Gael members with 20% of votes over Coveney’s 14%.

https://twitter.com/NursepollyRgn/status/864936204944461825

#ChedEvans tells women how to not get raped

This week, footballer Ched Evans told women to drink less if they didn’t want to get raped by “genuine rapists out there.” The comment comes a year after Evans was acquitted for the alleged rape of a 19 year old woman in a hotel room in 2011. Evans was initially charged with the attack in 2012.

Speaking to The Times, the recently re-signed striker said that he believed the case was only pursued because of his fame, and that “the police have an agenda to find ways to charge people and the easiest one is the drunk one.”

Evans also stated that he felt that he and his fiancee were the “victims” of the case.

https://twitter.com/shonfaye/status/865116045933240320

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Jade Hayden 144 posts 0 comments

Jade Hayden has an MA in journalism, a degree in English, and a house rabbit who sleeps in her bed sometimes. You'll often find her wearing glasses, fixing her fringe, and complaining about the amount of time she spends on public transport. Jade is also the editor of HeadStuff's topical section, and she'd love if you sent your submissions over to [email protected].

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