Access Economics thinks we have dodged the recession bullet, but a recovery based on growing business and consumer confidence might well be built on mass delusion, says En Passant.
July, 2009
North Korea’s capitalist heartbeat
North Korea may boast itself as a “socialist republic”, but a capitalist heart beats strongly within its borders at the Kaesong industrial complex, a manufacturing plant providing dirt cheap production for over 100 South Korean companies.
Targeting the terrorist teachers
As part of its terrorism law review, the Rudd government wants to include the offence of inciting violence on the basis of race, religion or nationality, focusing in particular on those who encourage others.
Welcome to Festac Town, email scam capital of Nigeria
“Dear Sir, I am a Nigerian prince…” you know the tune. And if you’ve received one (or, say, five billion) of these emails, chances are it came from a single town in Lagos, Nigeria.
Public losing trust in Obama
The number of Americans who say they trust President Barack Obama has fallen from 66% to 54% in a new Public Strategies/Politico poll, with trust in the Democratic Party falling to 42%, with hot-button issues like health care and the economy taking their toll.
VIDEO: If today’s news outlets covered the moon landing
How would Fox, CNN et al. cover man’s first walk on the moon if it happened today? SlateV make an educated guess: with Twitter, holograms and inane vox pops.
How to sack people and stay sane
They may be seen as the baddies, but small business owners are often traumatised by the need to sack staff in a downturn. Fortune provides 5 tips, complete with wacky stock business photos.
Closing the gap: tertiary education
Students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds struggle to convert academic potential evident at year 9 to year 12 results. We need to close this gap to help get them to uni, says Glyn Davis, VC at the University of Melbourne.
Warren Truss: If only journos treated Labor as badly as the Nats
Journalists can deal in wish fulfilment all they like in their private lives, but it’s a different story when it comes to their responsibilities as journalists, writes Warren Truss, leader of the National Party.
The space race — over before it began
The American space program, the greatest, grandest, most Promethean — O.K. if I add “godlike”? — quest in the history of the world, died in infancy at 10:56 p.m. New York time on July 20, 1969, writes Tom Wolfe.
From the desk of Ben Bernanke…
Currently in DC testifying before Congress, US Fed chief Ben Bernanke took some time out to pen an overview of his thoughts for the WSJ, outlining his plan for an exit strategy from the stimulus package.
Obama kills F-22 fighter jet production
Bad news for those in Australia’s defence world who have been coveting an F-22 fighter plane to call their very own: the US government just scrapped the $1.75 billion program
The economy, Hu and Uluru
Essential Report’s latest poll focused on the economy, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, China and Uluru. Possum Comitatus crunches the numbers.
James Murdoch agreed to phone-hacking pay-off
James Murdoch personally agreed to a £700,000 out-of-court settlement for a victim of the News of the World’s phone-tapping exploits, according to the paper’s editor Colin Myler.
More coverage
- GUARDIAN: Beyond the page-7 lead
- POLITICS.CO.UK: Hacking away
FIRST POST: Coulson lives to spin another day
Digital radio democracy jammed by commercial stations
Geelong residents could be permanently denied access to Melbourne commercial radio with operators pushing for the installation of state-of-the-art jamming technology to limit digital signals, writes Andrew Crook.
Drunk people in yoga positions
Photos of drunk people who have inadvertently passed out in correct yoga positions. Yup.
Schizophrenia and creativity: it’s in the genes
A gene mutation that leads to increased risk of schizophrenia is now showing a relationship with increased creativity according to new research. Perhaps that explains the artistic temperament.
Googling Marissa Mayer
Vogue meets Marissa Mayer — the 34-year-old, computer-programming, millionaire Google executive whiz — and finds out what makes her click.
Grumpy old git gives Turnbull what for
In an email to all Liberal MPs, Wilson Tuckey has described his leader, Malcolm Turnbull, as inexperienced and arrogant.
Lehman Brothers’ downfall: the inside story
A new book recounts the spectacular rise and fall of Lehman Brothers, whose demise ended in the largest bankruptcy filing in US history.
A grave look at climate change
May sound spooky but cemeteries — gravestones in particular — are a useful measure of the effects of pollution, like acid rain. The GlobeTrek project will map the wear and tear around the world.
Superhero supplies
Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company is your go to brand for all of your crime fighting essentials: gravity, antimatter, etc. Sales of these whimsical products help support young writers.
Consuming a balanced media diet
Wired’s serving suggestion for your daily media diet, including only one hour of gaming a day, which is sure to alienate the vast majority of their readers. But it’s a lovely graphic.
Backseat drivers: News Ltd and Utegate
How did News Ltd’s editors, senior correspondents and commentators become parties to such an inept, misguided and ludicrous scam to ambush the Prime Minister and Treasurer and try to force them out of office? asks Alex Mitchell.
