The truckloads of goodwill in the wake of Black Saturday appear to have produced a logistical nightmare.
April, 2009
Morning Market Report: Market drops 100
All sectors bar telecom stocks were down, and the Dow dropped 289.
Piracy on the high seas, not on your computer
Just as piracy is returning to our consciousness with the events off the coast of Somalia, quite different groups of people are being tagged with the same label.
Under Rudd’s ETS, it will pay to drive your car
The Australian Conservation Foundation has worked out that motorists will actually receive a subsidy from the proposed fuel tax arrangements under the ETS.
RBA rate cuts recede further from view
The Reserve Bank has confirmed that it has lowered its economic forecasts confirming earlier signals.
Police officer’s Facebook frolics dredged up in court
Note to members of Facebook’s “I secretly want to punch slow-walking people in the back of the head” group: it can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Indigenous groups hold global climate summit
Indigenous groups from around the around the world are coming together for a conference on climate change this week.
Gruen Transfer panelist caught in ‘conflict of interest’ storm
TV pin-up Todd Sampson rubbished a child abuse ad on the show but failed to disclose that his agency worked for the charity until an acrimonious split five years ago.
Australia must maintain a triple-A rating
Our AAA rating is the key to maintaining access to international capital markets. Keeping it must be the focus of the next budget, argues Michael Stutchbury.
Humphrey for sale; pants not included
The company behind Humphrey B. Bear, Banksia Productions, is going bust, and the mute bear’s trademark is up for grabs.
A degree of despair
Imagine if you studied for four years and then your profession ceased to exist. It’s not quite <em>that</em> dire, but journalism traineeships in the UK have all but dried up.
Spirit: the little Mars rover that could
NASA’s Mars rover, Spirit, is ailing. But he’s already done much more than expected, all with a broken sixth wheel (which actually helped dig below Mars’ surface).
Milan Report: What’s the Future For Design?
The 48th Milan Furniture Fair opens on Wednesday. But the giddy fascination with design that fueled the fair for so many years may be dissipating, sped up by the GFC.
A tale of two internets: French v US online culture
What’s the European blogger mindset?
Twitter 
The Oprah Effect: 1.2 million new tweeters
Former <em>Engadget</em> editor-in-chief Ryan Block has done some research to attempt to quantify the “Oprah Effect” — that is, the number of users who signed up for Twitter after Oprah featured the service on her show on Friday.
A five-day delay doesn’t equal a cover-up
Taking time to gather information about the asylum seeker boat that exploded at Ashmore Reef doesn’t necessarily indicate a cover-up, writes Scott Bridges.
Film review: Fast & Furious
Relatively fast, reasonably furious, but the plot is stuck in neutral.
BMW sponsors entire editions of AFR and Oz
The Australian Financial Review has pulled off what may be a local media first — a complete advertising takeover of an edition by BMW. The BMW logo appears on all but 14 of the edition’s 64 pages.
Turd Blossom’s tweets aren’t even that interesting
We need to take Twitter back from the creepy people. Like Karl Rove, writes <strong>Meghan McCain</strong>.
graph pr0n Video of the Day: I like charts
PBS kids gets into graph fetishism. Apparently charts rule because “charts are a handy dandy scientific tool”.
weird 
Indian voters hurl abuse, and dinner, at their pollies
Inspired by the Iraqi shoethrower, this election Indians are registering their dissatisfaction by throwing dinner at their politicians.
China’s green priorities overshadowed by GFC
Less than a year ago, officials were pressing the mines and factories of northern China to shut down or move away to clear the air of dust and smog for the Beijing Olympics. But environmental concerns in China have flagged.
whimsy 
One good thing about winter: pencil scarves
It’s a scarf and a pencil with a face. What more do you need to know?
