Hospital administrators who push the purchasing system to its limits have little to gain personally. They are merely trying to keep their hospitals afloat, says Tom Keating.
June, 2009
Tips and rumours: Another refugee boat intercepted?
Rumours are surfacing that Immigration chiefs are worried stiff this morning about overcrowding on Christmas Island on the back of Unannounced Boat Number 14 (UBN14*)…
Political snippets: Turnbull in serious trouble — even The Oz withdraws support
When a Liberal leader loses Dennis Shanahan as a supporter we can safely assume he really is doing badly.
To whom it may concern: How do I break the cycle of violence and retribution?
J. M. of Brunswick asks: how do I learn to resist my anger and my impulse to lash out?
politicians behaving badly Guy Rundle: The Deliverance of Mark Sanford
South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, missing for five days, has just confessed that he has spent the whole time with a mistress. No no stay here, it gets better. Much better.
Superannuation, not quite scrapping commissions
How fair dinkum is the retail superannuation industry about unhooking itself from commissions? asks Bernard Keane.
The Nixon Tapes revealed: Vietnam, abortion and more
It’s the latest installment of Nixonalia — 150 hours of secretly recorded tapes shedding light on the period of January to February 1973.
Dannatt! We should’ve gone earlier
The military chief of general staff in Britain, Sir Richard Dannatt, reckons coalition forces failed epically on Iraq policy.
Triple M? More like Triple Meh
Triple M once boasted a larrikinish format of rock, sport and comedy that is still arguably found nowhere else on the FM dial, says Mel Campbell. But the quality — and ratings — have plunged.
ouch! 
“A horrible experience of unbearable length”: Transformers reviewed
“If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell…” writes the film critic of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Journalist’s lament: why does the public hate us?
Matt Pressman (apt name) analyses the public’s reasons for disliking the media — they’re too liberal, they’re narcissists, etc — and assesses whether they’re right.
Video of the Day: Pre-election chat: young Iranians’ mood for change
An interesting pre-election interview with Hooman Majd, author of The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, about young Iranians’ growing desire for political change.
PODCAST: the paid content problem
To charge for online content or not to charge? This is the question facing major news organisations the planet over. The Guardian’s Media Talk USA podcast looks at the issues.
Die-hard protestors repelled with “overwhelming force”
On Wednesday only a few hundred die-hard protesters converged on Baharestan Square, opposite the Iranian parliament, and they were brutally repulsed. But, says Martin Fletcher, no-one can confirm how many were killed and injured.
Eyewitness in Tehran: “this was a massacre”
An eyewitness has told CNN of a massacre in Baharestan Square, Tehran, on Wednesday: “they beat a woman so savagely she was drenched in blood … you should help us.”
Mousavi’s family feels the threat
Fears are growing that the opposition leader’s outspoken wife is among the hundreds of protesters who have been detained, after she called for detained protestors to be released.
Iranian government makes up ground
With the Iranian government stepping up the security presence on streets, Wednesday appears to have had the least protests of any day since the result was announced, says John Leyne. That doesn’t mean it’s over.
15 things you didn’t know about bestselling authors
Mental Floss dishes the dirt on some of the literary world’s biggest names.
Why won’t Wong look at bigger emissions cuts?
Why does the Government consistently refuse to even model what 40% emissions cuts would mean, something the Greens have asked for repeatedly over many months? asks Tim Hollo.
Get a mortgage, buy someone else a home
By taking out an ING mortgage, Dutch borrowers can choose to help families in Bangladesh and India build homes of their own. If they stump up 300 euros for a microloan, ING adds another 300.
Globe and Times Co reach tentative agreement
After months of negotiation, the Boston Newspaper Guild has agreed to a contract settlement to keep the paper running. But not without compromises and significant wage cuts.
Obama pulls plug on Iran hot-dog fest
President Obama had reached out to Iran with a classically American invitation: celebrate July 4 with hot dogs US embassies worldwide, says Mark Landler. The offer’s been withdrawn.
The lessons of Iran’s revolutions past
The Tobacco Protest (1891-92), the Constitutional Revolution (1906-11), the Islamic Revolution (1978-79). And now a fourth such movement. What links these uprisings? asks Nathan Gonzalez.
Cattle trader’s beef with Amazon deforestation
The world’s fourth largest cattle beef trader, Mafrig, have put a moratorium on buying cattle raised in newly deforested areas in the Amazon.
