The National Health and Hospital Reform Commission’s new proposals on Denticare and Medicare Select will lay the grounds for the eventual demise of Medicare, says John Menadue.
October, 2009
WA crime commission: a fine, not-so-fine performance
The Brian Burke scandal cost three ministers their jobs, saw two MPs kicked out of the ALP and even reached to the Howard government. So who did the CCC put away yesterday? Nobody, writes The Western Warrior.
BBC’s Question Time gets Nicked with a reborn Alf Garnett
Despite 300 police holding back protesters and calls from politicians to ban him, the leader of the UK’s far-right British National Party, Nick Griffin, had his one-hour of fame when he appeared as a guest on BBC1’s prestigious Question Time.
Canberra: sure it’s boring, but it’s also beautiful
Sure Canberra’s boring if you’re under 30, and it has no beaches and the coffee’s poor, but it has the mountains and it’s beautiful and the epitome of the great place to bring up kids.
Boat people have had the Rudd government lost for words
The Government is clearly rattled. Oddly, though, it hasn’t been rattled by the Coalition, which has its own problems on asylum seekers. It seems more scared by what might happen on the issue rather than what has happened.
Now showing on the Crikey website…
Here is just some of the stories running hot on Crikey.com.au today.
John Safran’s Race Relations pulls it off. Just.
Former ABC religion reporter Peter Kirkwood reviews John Safran’s controversial new show, Race Relations: Safran may be the ” “holy fool” of secular culture, but he gets away with it.
PHOTO GALLERY: Early 1900s Russia in full colour
Amazing images of Russia from 1909-1915 from by chemist and photographer, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, who used his skills to create color photographs well before the rest of the photographic field.
Seven’s new digital channel is a GO
The Seven network has announced its new digital channel: 7TWO, which bares a remarkable resemblance to Nine’s GO. Glenn Dyer has the scoop on all the tired programming choices.
Can Tamil Tigers be rehabilitated?
A $23m foreign-backed program in Sri Lanka is attempting to “rehabilitate” former members of the Tamil Tigers, many of whom were forcibly recruited and some as young as 12. But with anti-Tamil sentiment still raging, will Sri Lankans really accept former militants into their society?
MySpace surrenders to Facebook
MySpace has officially given up in its battle for social media supremacy with Facebook, the the company’s CEO now claiming it is far more interested in becoming “an online hub for music and entertainment.”
The internet is totally .GAY
With a whole bunch of new top-level domain names on the way (i.e. other than just .com .org and .net) a host of high-profile folk are getting behind a push to approve .gay, which will then be monetised to fund gay rights campaigns.
Video of the Day: A is for Atom
A 1950s cartoon about atomic energy, fished from the archives of Bovine University. [via BoingBoing]
Slate, The Atlantic, Wired and more may join forces for climate change coverage
In this great little Q&A, Mother Jones editor Clara Jeffery reveals she is in talks with Slate, Grist, The Atlantic, Wired, Pro Publica and others to collaborate on investigative reporting into climate change.
Grattan: How to stop the Indonesian Solution boat from sinking
It’s a delicate balance of using Indonesia to stem the flow of asylum seekers and getting them angry at being put under excessive pressure, writes Michelle Grattan.
Ackland: Shouldn’t we share our “boundless plains”?
Doesn’t anybody remember the lyrics to our national anthem — “for those who’ve come across the seas”? asks Richard Ackland. It’s time to offer an ‘Australian Solution’.
Microsoft vs. Google: who’s winning the social media search wars?
Yesterday, both Google and Microsoft announced deals with Twitter to add tweets to their search results. But which company scored the better deal? And which will do a better job? The blogosphere weighs in.
Australia’s golden age extends to 2050
Don’t hide away your tuxedo yet, because Treasury Chief Ken Henry is declaring that Australia’s economic prosperity can stretch to at least 2050, as long as we use the population boom to our advantage.
New rules for bailed-out bankers revealed
The US Treasury and Federal Reserve have announced their new rules on executive pay at big and bailed-out banks: many will have their salaries capped at $500,000, total compensation will be cut by 50%, and cash guarantees will be restructured as stock.
Video: Go inside the Microsoft store
Microsoft has opened the doors of its first retail store, and — surprise! — it’s a whole lot like Apple’s. It has also, curiously, opened a cafe in Paris, which doesn’t actually sell any software or computers.
Crabb: How Rudd’s buttocks fear the wedgie of ’01
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull are just play fighting. In essence, they agree on asylum seekers. Except, its just easier for Turnbull to talk about leaky boats than farting climate change cows, says Annabel Crabb.
Asterix turns 50
French comic star Asterix has been battling the Roman Empire for 50 years now, and despite hitting middle age, the pint-sized Gaulish warrior, his friend Obelix and dog Dogmatix are about to embark on their 43th adventure.
Shanahan: Coalition misses the boat
Kevin Rudd has his hands on the wheel of the boat people issue and he’s aptly steering it to his political power, writes Dennis Shanahan. Will immigration become the new economic management upper hand of Labor?
Watch Griffin on Question Time
The Beeb has pre-released clips of BNP leader Nick Griffin’s controversial appearance on Question Time. Watch it here.
BBC puts “neo-fascist” BNP leader to air
Leader of the UK’s extreme right-wing British National Party, Nick Griffin, is appearing on the BBC’s Question Time (think Q&A with posher accents) today, and it’s causing quite a stink. Follow the fallout as it happens on the Guardian’s liveblog.
