House of Lords 100% elected … in a decadeUK justice secretary Jack Straw will announce plans for the House of Lords chamber to become at least 80% elected. But it will take some time — which will make Tories happy.
August, 2009
Fiji no longer the ‘bula-bula-happy-clappy land’
Post Fiji’s 2006 military coup, the economy is collapsing, morale is low and leadership is a mess. “Fiji is on the same path that Burma and Zimbabwe and Nigeria went down”, writes discombobulated.
Getting more buck for your byline
The New York Times has found a new revenue stream: putting its big-name journos to work teaching online university classes. For a few hundred bucks, budding hacks can take a wine class from Eric Asimov, or learn about third world exploitation from Nicholas Kristof.
Online content worth paying for
If Rupert Murdoch is going to start charging for online news content, he could start by putting up a gallery of old New York Post front pages, says Glynnis MacNicol: that is worth paying for.
New indigenous advisory body, just don’t call it ATSIC
A new independent indigenous body will elect it’s own representatives, with a 50:50 gender split, from Aboriginal organisations. But unlike it’s predecessor ATSIC, its primary focus will be advocacy.
Video of the Day: Taking flight over New York
A paper plane is tossed from a building in New York’s financial district. See how it flies.
Essential Report redux and the perils of push polling
Possum Comitatus crunches all the data from the latest Essential Report and explains the problems with “push polls” and why good pollsters don’t use them.
Film review: Inglorious Basterds — gimmicky bastardry
Luke Buckmaster reviews Quentin Tarantino’s much-hyped new flick, Inglorious Basterds, but is not as impressed as many other critics. The film has its compelling moments, he says, but is a strange and inconsistent beast.
Economist death match: Krugman vs. Ferguson
Economists Paul Krugman and Niall Ferguson are apparently “at war” over how to save the world’s economy, but their spat has descended into petty name-calling and an unnecessarily lengthy debate over the ethnicity of a cartoon cat.
Andrew Bolt: what I’ve learned in 50 years
Warning: this isn’t your typical Bolt diatribe. Andrew Bolt reflects on 50 years of life, conceding that there are many things he knows nothing about and that love and family mark as deeper than we’d like to admit.
The man who freed the Lockerbie bomber
Meet Saif al Islam al Gaddafi, the millionaire playboy son of Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi, whose social circle includes models, actresses, investment bankers… and Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi — the Lockerbie bomber.
Wikipedia to start plugging celebrity leaks
Gone are the days of adding hilarious bogus information to politician’s Wikipedia entries: the site will now require that edits made by new contributors be checked before they go live, in an effort to stem the tide of bogus information about celebrities.
Pollies: please just answer the question
Politicians are experts at ignoring questions and spinning answers to their own agenda. It irritates journalists, and more importantly, frustrates voters, writes Leigh Sales.
Costello: it’s not my ABC
The ABC is “hostile territory” for conservatives, with predictable interviewers always coming from a Labor/Green perspective and little change anticipated by ABC management, writes Liberal MP Peter Costello.
Wright: Good blokes don’t make strong generals
Brendan Nelson was a good bloke, says Tony Wright — perhaps too good a bloke for the harsh reality of federal politics.
Possible carbon dioxide leaks at Gorgon
Environmental concerns are being raised at the A$50b Gorgon gas project in Western Australia, with news that carbon dioxide may leak from underneath Barrow Island, where the greenhouse gas emissions are to be buried.
The cost of Brendan’s by-election
By leaving the seat of Bradfield early, Brendan Nelson will make taxpayers spend an unnecessary $500,000, writes David Penberthy. But the cost to Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberals will be much higher.
Call that a deficit? THIS is a deficit
The Obama administration has estimated that US government deficit will reach $9 trillion over the next decade, while the Congressional Budget Office is only predicting $7 trillion. So what’s in a couple of trillion? asks the Christian Science Monitor.
Salusinszky: Nelson stays loyal until the end
Brendan Nelson may not see eye-to-eye with Malcolm Turnbull, but he has remained a loyal, tight-lipped party member until the very end, says Imre Salusinszky.
Shanahan: Another headache for Turnbull
Brendan Nelson’s decision to leave parliament couldn’t have come at a worse time for Malcolm Turnbull, says Dennis Shanahan. With poll numbers so low, the last thing he needs is a test of popularity.
Crabb: Keeping Bradfield afloat
Who’s next in line for Bradfield? asks Annabelle Crabb. Please let it be Tom Switzer, who previously worked for a company called “Studs Afloat”.
Breakfast Media Wrap: Brendan’s out but so is Buddy and he’s devastated
The best of this morning’s media.
Crunching the numbers on nuclear energy versus renewables
The ignorance, either wilful or ideological, around nuclear energy that has reared its head in the media again this week does no one any good, writes Michael R James.
Monocle: a magazine for the “Lufthansa audience”
A look at Monocle magazine — a globe-trotters’ guide that walks a fine line between editorial and advertising — and its eccentric editor Tyler Brûlé.
White-collar Holden workers face the axe
General Motors Holden have announced plans to lay off swathes of white collar workers.
