Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi’s stories of sex, scandal and beautiful women make him a more entertaining, and popular, politician than most. Is Berlusconi’s burlesque the political future?
September, 2009
Video of the Day: Hotdog diplomacy
Oscar Meyer wieners come 10 to a pack. Wonder Bread hot dog buns come eight to a pack. Can the two companies ever agree on a common number for each package?
Twitter raises $100 million, without earning a cent
It’s not quite $1 billion but it’s still a whole mess of money for a company that still has no revenue stream: investors are set to sink about $100 million into social media phenom Twitter. As Media Alley puts it: that’s $7.14 million per character.
Putting the safety of children first
Despite the media frenzy over Dennis Ferguson, there’s much to suggest that perhaps our society doesn’t give as much priority to protecting children as we like to think we do, says Andrew Bartlett.
Arrington: The embargo is dead, chaos rules
When Michael Arrington, founder of tech gossip blog TechCrunch, announced he would no longer be honoring press embargoes, critics predicted it kill the site. But a year on, he says, embargoes are virtually extinct in the tech world, and his readers couldn’t be happier.
graph pr0n Geelong vs. St Kilda supporters: who does more yoga?
St Kilda supporters are more likely to participate in dancing and yoga than Geelong supporters while Cats supporters are more likely to be petrol heads. Possum Comitatus does some timely number crunching.
whimsy 
Sleep easy? Pah! In your dreams.
Sleep should be relaxing, right? Except when you add in kids, mosquitoes, clanking pipes and the cold side of the bed. Christoph Niemann draws the real sleep nightmare.
Kohler: Fairfax’s biggest battle isn’t in the boardroom
Fairfax is reliant on newspapers which are given a low-growth price earnings multiple by investors, and new media isn’t a gold mine, says Alan Kohler. Whoever wins the current board stoush needs a good plan.
Coming out: how young is too young?
They’re here, they’re queer… they’re still in primary school. Kids are coming out of the closet at younger and younger ages. Is it a sign society is becoming more open to homosexuality, or too much to deal with at such a young age?
Australia’s biggest sporting losers
In the lead-up to the NRL and AFL finals, no-one’s focusing much on the potential of losing. Except for the The Punch team. They wrap Australia’s biggest sporting letdowns from Collingwood to Mark Philippoussis.
Shanahan: Can we cope til Copenhagen?
PM Kevin Rudd wants to be a world leader on climate change, not a pleb following the global pack. Malcolm Turnbull wants the exact opposite, writes Dennis Shanahan.
Telstra split paves way for better competition
The government’s plan for Telstra appears to require a form of divestiture, says Andrew Bartlett. It would be great to have better laws — forcing asset sales — wherever anti-competitive behaviour exists.
Bums vs. the planet: the battle against fluffy toilet paper
Everyone’s a greenie these days — except when it comes to wiping our rear ends. We know we should be using the brown, recycled sandpaper stuff, so why won’t we sacrifice softness to save the environment?
Grattan: The ETS boxing match of Turnbull vs. Rudd
The double dissolution ghost is still haunting Malcolm Turnbull, writes Michelle Grattan, even though an early election would mean a shortened second term for Kevin Rudd.
Pollies pimp their pay
Kevin Rudd should earn $1 million a year in order to keep the “lords, ladies and lunatics” out of Federal Parliament, says Barnaby Joyce. No lunatics in parliament?
PODCAST: Political speed dating in Bradfield
The race for Bradfield preselection has become a mini election campaign, says Alison Carabine, with no expenses spared by Liberal hopefuls. Former Davis Cup player John Alexander even offered tennis games with his mate Ken Rosewall.
A long time between drinks for Saints supporters
St Kilda FC has won just one glittering prize from five starts: 1913, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1997. I was at the last four, says Kevin Rennie. He’s still looking for a ticket to Saturday’s Grand Final against Geelong.
Face-to-face with Ahmadinejad
The world has walked out on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after his hate-filled, anti-Semitic speech to the UN. In an exclusive interview, Newsweek grills the embattled leader over his continued Holocaust denial and nuclear ambitions.
Why disarmament is a waste of time
Obama should not look to the “toothless” UN to address the threat of nuclear weapons, says Brett Schaefer. History tells us he’s wasting his time.
Bradfield candidates bring in big guns
17 candidates are lining up for tomorrow’s preselection battle over NSW’s safest Liberal seat. Apparent frontrunner Paul Fletcher has more than 40 high-profile endorsements; rival David Coleman is backed by James Packer.
Rebuilding the world without nukes
The UN’s resolution to rid the world of nuclear weapons is nothing short of remarkable, says Joe Cirincione. It has brought the world together to rebuild a global society with a strong and enduring foundation.
Obama drops a bomb
Barack Obama’s leadership on ridding the world of nuclear weapons echoes John F. Kennedy’s efforts from decades earlier. It’s the kind of action necessary to prevent a second nuclear age.
Towards a nuclear-free world
The UN Security Council has unanimously backed a resolution to rid the world of nuclear weapons. It’s an historic move, but is it enough to head off a nuclear showdown with Iran?
The cupcake craze hits the Middle East
Cupcakes have conquered the West, and now they’re taking the Arab world by storm, with additions like dates, pistachios, tahini and pomegranate adding a regional flavour.
