American avant-garde choreographer Merce Cunningham has died, age 90. The NYT looks back on an extraordinary career.
July, 2009
Women getting prettier with age: science says so
According to a recent study, because beautiful women have up to 16% more children than their plainer sisters, beauty is being perpetuated genetically, creating a so-called “beauty race”.
Rudd says health reform won’t be cheap
Kevin Rudd says that health reform “won’t come inexpensively” and there will be at least six months of consultations before any changes to the health system are made.
Tony Abbott: lift pension age to 70
Spruiking for Tony Abbott’s book (out today!) continues. Papers note his idea to push up the pension age to 70. Labor was suggesting an increase to 67 in 2032 at the time of the May Budget.
What does this mean in dollar terms? Revisit Crikey’s pension v dole guide.
Voters hold power in health reform
The buck on health reform doesn’t stop with Kevin Rudd - it stops with the voter, writes Dennis Atkins.
Cresswell: Ageing population needs significant health reform
Australia’s ageing population adds further woes to health reform, but right now the major issues are money and changing priorities writes Adam Cresswell.
Big promises little change in health report
The health report fails to take into account the “relentless turf wars” occuring inside medical centres between health professionals about responsibility writes Paul Cogan.
Crabb: buck on hospitals to stop with Rudd
Kevin07 spoke of ending the passing of the buck of health care between states and the federal government, but the buck hasn’t stopped with Kevin Rudd yet writes Annabel Crabb.
Grattan: Rudd sensible to delay hospital takeover
Kevin Rudd’s decision to wait to take over the hospital system is a sensible one, but his credibility might become an issue writes Michelle Grattan.
Video of the Day: Will Arnett reads Judy Blume
Will Arnett — you may know him from such sitcoms as Arrested Development and 30 Rock — lends his chain-smoke-and-whiskey voice to Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.
Newspoll: Rudd’s perpetual
honeymoon
This fortnight’s Newspoll Oz comes in with a two party preferred of 57/43 — a two-point increase to the ALP — while Rudd’s satisfaction level continues to rise and Turnbull’s popularity sinks to new lows.
Resurrecting the album on iTunes
Apple is working with four record company heavyweights — Sony, Universal, EMI and Warner — to encourage full album digital sales. Albums will be bundled with an interactive booklet, sleeve notes and more.
Justin Timberlake cries himself a new golf course
Justin Timberlake is bringing eco-golf courses back, after spending $16 million renovating a golf course he bought off his dad. Because having your own perfume is passe.
Southern Ocean: everything but the carbon sink
The rate of carbon dioxide absorption by the Southern Ocean has flattened, due to the hole in the Ozone layer and a complex cause and effect. This is making the ocean more acidic, not good news for coral and jumbo squid!
It’s a man’s world, but the ladies are running it
Hands down women are better managers. So argues Carole Smith, senior VP at the Elle Group. So it’s a generalisation, but she does have some interesting points about men and women in the corner office.
“No end in sight” for The Simpsons
Television’s longest-running show is set to run even longer, with creator Matt Groening saying there’s “no end in sight” for the cartoon that has already racked up 20 seasons and 441 episodes.
Time to treat Big Food like Big Tobacco?
Just as Big Tobacco swore that smoking doesn’t cause cancer, the food industry may never admit that its calorie-laden wares are making us fat; but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be held to account: it’s time to recast the industry as “obesity dealers”, says Ellen Goodman.
Pollies v doctors in hospital battle
Today’s national health report stops short of recommending that hospitals be completely 100% federally funded. Opposition leader Turnbull says it represents “one broken promise after another” from PM Kevin Rudd.
Channel 10 and their leaky YouTube PR
Has Channel Ten been leaking videos of The 7pm Project on YouTube in a PR stunt? Too bad that they sent a media release directing journalists to the video channel. mUmBRELLA investigates.
Anthill Magazine ends print edition
Australia’s Anthill Magazine is ending its print edition to focus instead on their online content and occasional one-off print specials, due to “economic factors” and an “adjustment of our priorities”, writes editor James Tuckerman in a letter to subscribers.
What the media can learn from I Can Has Cheezburger
Co-creator of monumentally successful site I Can Has Cheezburger, where cat pictures are given funny captions (no, really), Scott Porad reckons he can teach the media a thing or two about online news journalism.
Hey Hey, it’s a comeback
In good news for lovers of bad puppetry and weak one-liners everywhere, Hey Hey It’s Saturday looks set to return to Australian screens.
Twitter explains itself to businesses
Twitter has taken an active approach to targeting businesses with the launch of Twitter 101, a site going step-by-step through what they do and how the service can help businesses with marketing and connecting to customers.
