Kohler: The disaster of a strong Aussie dollarThe rising Aussie dollar may be catastrophic for the manufacturing industry, writes Alan Kohler, and will seriously impact engineering and construction work. How will we cope?
October, 2009
Clive James: In praise of climate change scepticism
Climate sceptics are often likened to Holocaust deniers — but the two aren’t really analogous, says Clive James: the Holocaust actually happened, while the Earth still hasn’t been destroyed by global warming. A bit of scepticism is healthy for science and society.
Time for Tiger Airways to stop pussy-footing around compensation
There is no justification for Tiger Airways taking up to two months to compensate hundreds of passengers for the expenses they had to meet after being stranded in Hobart for three days last week, says Ben Sandilands
Kevin Andrews: How many more people does Australia need?
Liberal MP and former Minister for Immigration, Kevin Andrews, writes about the need for clear population policy in Australia, in light of our inadequate water supply, congested roads and overcrowded public transport.
Video of the Day: Breakfast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
A great time-lapse video of 6000 lucky picnickers descending on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to eat breakfast.
In search of a new global currency
The dollar may be on the decline as the world’s standard currency, but replacing it is harder than it sounds: China’s renminbi, often touted as the natural successor, is out of contention so long as it’s pegged to the dollar. Could this be the euro’s moment to shine?
Anna Bligh: Why I’ve sold off QLD’s assets
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh explains her decision to sell off five government owned commercial businesses, major state assets. The GFC blew QLD’s budget and it was either selling assets or raising your taxes, she says.
Roubini: The next big crash is already underway
The global economy may appear to be in recovery, but people are borrowing at negative interest rates and investing in risky assets like commodities, equities and credit. We’re creating an even bigger bubble than before, says Nouriel Roubini.
How an Aussie billionaire got entangled in Berlusconi’s tax fraud
It’s a big year for Bruce Gordon of WIN Corporation. His magic touch helped WIN survive the GFC intact, but his business associations with Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi may see him embroiled in legal issues. How will the year pan out?
The new battlefront in the Middle East: hummus and tabbouleh
Lebanon and Israel are engaged in a heated battle; not over territory, religion or politics, but over which country invented hummus and tabbouleh. Lebanon has struck the latest blow, breaking world records by cooking a 2056kg bowl of hummus and 3557kg plate of tabbouleh.
newspaper death watch 
Newspapers enter their death spiral
The circulation figures for the top 25 newspapers in the US have just been released, and they’re horrifying, says Megan McArdle. This isn’t just the end of the newspaper as we know it — it’s the end of the newspaper full stop.
Henderson: Labor has always been tough on refugees
Kevin Rudd’s Indonesia Solution may turn out to be even tougher than John Howard’s Pacific Solution, writes Gerard Henderson. Rudd is just continuing the Labor tradition of being tough on immigration.
Crabb: Rudd the unapologetic supporter of puppies
Kevin Rudd has become known as an unapologetic supporter of nearly everything, writes Annabel Crabb. But confusingly, his last two unapologetic stands — tough but humane — are completely contradictory.
The problem with crime ficiton: dead, brutalised women sell books
Author and book critic Jessica Mann is refusing to review any new crime fiction novels, as the genre becomes too violent and sadistically misogynistic. As one publisher allegedly told her: “Dead, brutalised women sell books, dead men don’t.”
Atkins: Salesman Rudd sells “tough but fair”
Kevin Rudd knows that repetition is the way into the minds of voters, which is why he is reaffirming his “hardline but humane” line as often as possible, writes Dennis Atkins.
Poll Bludger: Labor’s mega-lead remains impenetrable
The latest Essential Research poll shows Labor’s mega-lead remaining imprevious to anything domestic or international push or pull factors might throw at it, says William Bowe.
Poll: ETS too soft on big-business
This week’s Essential Report comes in with a two party preferred vote of 59-41 — a 1-point gain to the ALP — and also finds one-third of Australians think the government’s emissions trading scheme goes too far in favouring big business.
leaked 
Turnbull digs dirt for headlines
The Oz has its hands on a leaked email from Malcolm Turnbull’s office, urging press secretaries to attack “fat cat public servants not caring about taxpayers, pollies with snouts in the trough, special interest groups getting undeserved handouts” to garner more attention in the press.
How Uncle Sam blew the trillion-dollar trade of century
Sure, the White House had no choice but to step in to save banks in the wake of the financial crisis, says Mark Fisher, but it failed to see the opportunity to make the trade of the century for the American taxpayer.
rumour 
Which high-profile war correspondent is also a spy?
Three anonymous military sources have separately claimed that a high-profile journalist currently working in a war zone is also a secret agent, according to Gawker.
The Pentagon’s secret Afghan war games
The US military has been testing new strategies for combat in Afghanistan in secret war games, an inside source reveals, including the possibility of adding 44,000 more troops for a full-scale counterinsurgency, or 15,000 more to target Taliban commanders.
Vanity Fair‘s new Cuba correspondent: Sean Penn?
TMZ reckons that, despite laying off a bunch of writers last week, Vanity Fair has paid actor Sean Penn to fly to Cuba to pen a story on how the Obama administration has affected the country — and possibly to meet Fidel Castro.
Why doctors can’t decline an abortion
Last years abortion law changes in Victoria raise some interesting ethical issues for doctors. Even doctors that are morally anti-abortion must now legally participate in it, explains Julian McGauran.
The sex diaries of the city that never sleeps
Thanks to Craigslist, GPS enabled social-networking iPhone apps and a host of other technological developments, sex has gone digital and nowhere more so than in NYC. NY Mag examine their anxiety filled Sex Diaries series to find what Sex in the City really means.
