In an open letter to Jon Stewart, Ron Rosenbaum urges the Jewish comedian to change his surname back to ‘Leibowitz’, calling his current moniker a “faint but unnecessary relic of anti-Semitism”.
July, 2009
The end of financial globalisation
The end of footloose finance may be upon us, but the search for alternatives is yet to bear fruit. Though for many, the take home lesson of the GFC is the need for locally owned banking systems, says Floyd Norris.
Chinese cyber terrorism: what it means for Australia
The hacking of the Melbourne International Film Festival website is a form of cyber terrorism and should be of concern to the Chinese government and Australia-China relations, says Catherine A Yeung.
65 toppings, one pizza
The lovely story of how a simple mathematical question about pizza topping combinations on social news site Reddit led the site’s users to create a 24” pizza with 65 toppings.
Labor conference in danger of being boring
At Labor’s national conference later this week, for the first time in recent history, the party’s industrial wing will vote as a bloc instead of dividing along factional lines — and it could make for a seriously snoozy symposium, warns Malcolm Farr.
SA Libs ban cussing: “Sir Robert Menzies didn’t swear”
South Australia’s new Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond explains why she’s banned swearing at Liberal party meetings.
Palin’s last day: it’s all about the money
It’s Sarah Palin’s last day as the governor of Alaska, and still no-one’s entirely sure why she’s leaving. But according to the Christian Science Monitor, her departure is at least partially motivated by money.
Crikey readers’ pets: Part IV
Crikey’s resident cartoonist, First Dog on the Moon, takes readers’ pet photos and LOLs them. It’s all part of the service.
Off with their heads! Economists apologise to the Queen
“Dear Your Majesty…” A group of British economists have written to the Queen explaining why they failed to foresee the coming Global Economic Crisis and predict the length and severity of the recession.
Obama finally sounds like a black man
President Obama was right to wade into this racially charged Cambridge police imbroglio and help shape the national discourse about what some people would like to believe is simply an overblown case of mistaken identity, clashing egos and political opportunism, says Marjorie Valbrun.
Sarkozy takes a tumble
Despite being so well-known as a super-fit running fanatic he is mocked as “Nike-olas”, 54-year-old French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken to hospital after collapsing during a midday run.
Rioting Chinese steel workers beat boss to death
Thousands of workers in Chinese steel mill have rioted over fears of redundancies within the company, clashing with police and killing a company executive.
Rudd: Aim low, kids!
Kevin Rudd has urged Gen Y to get real about their job prospects in the current economic climate: “I’m not saying we should tell young people not to dream and strive and have ambition.” But…
Undercover Four Corners reporter bashed
A reporter for ABC’s Four Corners has reportedly been attacked and beaten while working undercover on a story about dodgy migration and education schemes for international students.
Morgan: half-point drop for ALP
Little change on the latest Morgan face-to-face poll, coming in at 57.5-42.5 — a half-point drop for Labor. Plus: change is afoot in WA’s lower house, Peter Dutton gets a raw deal in QLD boundary changes, and more news from William Bowe.
Does soft drink taste better in a bottle or can?
Bottles or cans — most of us have a preference for our carbonated beverage of choice and swear we can taste the difference. But can we really? Slate explains the difference — or lack thereof — between the two containers.
Breakfast Media Wrap: An Australian PM in the suburbs acting, well, totally normal
The best of Monday morning’s media
The weirdest plants on the planet
Rafflesia arnoldii emits an odor similar to rotting meat to attract insects, and the Victoria amozonica is covered in flesh-piercing spines. Meet the scariest plants on earth.
Let’s invite China to the space party
China has spaceships, scientific know-how, money and man-power. Could bringing them into orbit with the US’s space program build a base for better relations between the two countries?
How to get a song out of your head
What do you do when that earworm plays over and over again in your head until it’s about to explode? Lifehacker has the answers.
Breakfast Media Wrap: Surprise, surprise. In Darwin they have a crocodile pic
The pick of Sunday morning’s media
M is for Murder, Meth, Melbourne
Melbourne has a new logo, and the locals aren’t happy about either the price tag or the new look. Culture mulcher and graphic designer W. H. Chong weighs on the much maligned big M.
The neuroscience of McDonald’s
The most pleasurable thing about eating McDonald’s isn’t the dripping cheese, salty chips or even the discount ice-cream cone: it’s the calories. Jonah Lehrer explains why we’re just hard-wired that way.
Has the sun lost its spots?
Among some global warming sceptics, there is speculation that the Sun may be on the verge of falling into an extended slumber similar to the so-called Maunder Minimum, several sunspot-scarce decades during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Charting Amazon’s acquisitions
With news that online retail giant Amazon has bought out the slightly-less-giant online retailer Zappos for $920m, Meet the Boss have drawn up a handy chart tracking their ongoing global domination.
