Gas deal puts the fire under GarrettPetroChina and Exxon have made a deal over what may be the biggest resources project in Australian history, the Gorgon liquefied natural gas project. But Peter Garrett is yet to make a decision over whether the project cuts Australia’s environmental mustard, says Matthew Stevens.
August, 2009
China defiant but dependent
On the same day it was confirmed that a visit by a senior Chinese official to Australia had been canceled over a visa being granted to exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, the simultaneous announcement of a $50b gas deal between the two countries highlights the paradox of our relationship with the Middle Kingdom.
Gas deal warms China-Australia ties
The $50 billion gas deal between PetroChina and Exxon is a sign that relations are once again warming between Australia and China after the recent bout of frosty diplomacy, says David Stanway
UK economy gets pounded
The UK is in a mad rush to stem their bleeding economy, with an increase in borrowing, deficit spending and money printing. But will it increase growth? asks Bloomberg.
Time to shut off the stimulus tap?
Know-it-alls Malcolm Turnbull, Joe Hockey and Barnaby Joyce reckon we should shut off the stimulus tap and start cutting back — but the debate is far from over. Perhaps they should do a bit of reading from the minutes of the latest RBA meeting.
GFC puts a hole in the bottled water industry
The once-booming market for bottled water has taken a hit in the economic downturn, as consumers remember that it actually comes free from the tap. Imagine that.
Bolted: to personally attack rather than engage
What’s it like to be personally attacked by Andrew Bolt? Jason Wilson explains his Bolting and asks why the ABC — and therefore taxpayers — are still paying him.
The grand illusion of David Copperfield’s appeal
Erdem Koc watched $300 magically disappear when he went to see the world’s most famous magician, David Copperfield, perform live in Melbourne, and found the illusionist has nothing of interest up his sleeve.
How should Obama reform health care?
America will never find a perfect system of health care, says writer and surgeon Atul Gawande, but the country can do a lot better than the “routine cruelty” of the current system — and there are already models in place around the country from which to build upon.
America: batshit crazy for over 200 years
Birthers, tea-parties, town-hall hecklers and death squads: is America getting crazier? No, says Rick Perlstein, Americans have always been nuts — only now the media are fanning the flames of insanity further.
Reader’s Digest goes bankrupt
The Reader’s Digest Association, publishers of Reader’s Digest, which claims to be “the world’s largest paid-circulation magazine”, is filing for bankruptcy, to help ward off mounting debts.
Attention ladies: I don’t want to be your gay boyfriend
The rise of the ‘fag hag’ meant that gay men were suddenly the straight woman’s must-have item for shopping and discussing boy problems. But is the fag hag (finally) dying out? asks Thomas Rogers.
Reading by Kindle light
Will Amazon’s Kindle — and other e-readers of its ilk — spell the death of books and newspapers? WH Chong weighs in.
Woodstock: 3 days of peace and music; 40 years of annoying conservatives
Sure it was a marketing exercise, but that conservatives are still moaning about Woodstock 40 years later, still defining themselves against what they imagine was going on, speaks eloquently of music festival’s power, says Tim Dunlop.
Bolt and 9.58 seconds: the graph
How world’s fastest race unfolded.
Can Andrew Flintoff bow out with a fairytale finish at The Oval?
The stage is all set for Andrew Flintoff to bow out of Test cricket as an Ashes hero in the fifth and final test
The nation’s press goes into patriotic mourning overdrive
While it’s admirable that the nine Australians who died in the PNG plane crash recently wanted to walk the Kokoda Track as a tribute to their countrymen, we shouldn’t get carried away, says Scott Bridges. But carried away the media got, playing the story for all it was worth.
Sunday Tele‘s Ros Reines rehashes one month old gossip
On Sunday, the Sunday Tele’s Ros Reines “exclusively” revealed… a month old rehash.
The Kyle and Jackie O Code of Contrition
In commercial radio, if you grossly offend the nation’s sensibilities, you simply suspend yourself for two weeks and move on, writes Andrew Dodd.
Nuclear weapons still a hot issue
What’s the biggest issue facing scientists dealing with social issues today? Perhaps, climate change, infectious disease or war? No, it’s nuclear weapons. And the threat of another Cold War is real, writes Nick Matzke.
Guy Rundle: Stay tuned for the Argonauts
The Liberal preselection process is really fielding the A-team, with Senator Bill Heffernan making an appearance on Lateline.
Crikey Says: The Coalition does Opposition very, very badly
The Coalition is at odds with itself, unable to get its act together even when its leaders have committed to passing legislation of which it professes to be supportive.
Afghanistan votes: a Crikey wrap
On Thursday, Afghanis will — hopefully — head to the polls to vote for a new leader, in in what US President Barack Obama has called “the most important event of the year in Afghanistan”. We take a look at what the world is saying.
