Last week, Kevin Rudd singled out “Malcolm, Barnaby, Andrew and Janet” as the villainous Gang of Four of the climate change battle. A “despicable lie”, says Andrew Bolt.
November, 2009
#PwnedNudieRun: How Jonathan Holmes got the internet to take its clothes off
Media Watch watchers may have had a giggle when host Jonathan Holmes said “pwned” on Monday night’s show — but they’d have ROFLed uproariously if they knew it was all a Twitter-led dare that would see bloggers forced to go on a nudie run in return.
Watch the now-classic 4 Corners report: Malcolm and the malcontents
Watch the ABC’s 4 Corners report that exposed the Coalition’s deep divisions over the issue of climate change and caused further rifts within the party.
Maiden: “Fruit Loop” Minchin and the Coalition’s climate sceptics
Nick Minchin and the rest of the Coalition’s climate-sceptic cabal didn’t just open up to the ABC’s 4 Corners to stick it to Rudd: they genuinely believe climate change is a left-wing conspiracy, writes Samantha Maiden.
Is the US Fed about to get neutered?
US Democrat senators are looking to overhaul the country’s financial system, stripping the Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers and creating three new agencies to protect consumers and police banks. You can read the whole proposed Bill here.
Newspoll: ??-??
After last week’s rogue Newspoll result, The Oz sent its pollster out into the field again over the weekend for an eagerly anticipated follow-up survey. Too bad they haven’t shared the results with the rest of Australia. Gary Morgan is unimpressed.
The Tea Partiers’ next target: the climate
After kicking up a stink about health-care reform and just in time for Copenhagen, members of America’s Tea Party Movement have zoned in on a new target: Obama’s climate bill.
Cuban blogger tells: beaten black and blue by government agents
Cuba’s most famous blogger, Yoani Sanchez of Generation Y blogs about her beating and attempted kidnapping by Cuban state security officials while on her way to a peace march in Havana.
Leslie Kemeny a nuclear crusader in his own write
Other than paid columnists, who has had the most opinion pieces published in Australian newspapers in the past 40 years? Retired academic and strident nuclear advocate Professor Leslie Kemeny wins by a country mile, writes Jim Green.
“What goes on in Paul’s stays in Paul’s”
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Carbon emissions: which countries are cleaning up their acts?
GOOD charts the five biggest carbon dioxide emitters in each region of the world, and whether they’ve reduced or increased emissions over the past few years. Spoiler: Australia doesn’t fare well.
So where did the rape culture at St Paul’s come from?
The Head Warden of Sydney Uni’s St Paul’s College has attempted to defend the institution’s reputation over allegations it harbours a culture of rape. So what, it just sprung up organically then?
How university colleges foster a culture of rape
News that students living at Sydney Uni’s all-male St Paul’s College set up a “pro-rape” Facebook page doesn’t come as a shock to former college residents like Mary Gardiner — “rape culture” is endemic within the hallowed institutions.
The short-sighted epidemic
In some countries around the world, 80% of young adults are myopic, compared to only 25% a few decades ago. What’s driving this epidemic of short-sightedness? And can it be turned around before the world becomes a blur for entire generations?
Iran: stay and fight or leave and live?
With the protests surrounding the Iranian elections, it raises a difficult question for young Iranians, writes Gabby Haynes, fight or flee? With an estimated 150,000 Iranians leaving every year, how can change come about if no one fights for it?
Vaccinating against the power of The Google
These days consumers have access to a wealth of health information. So why would they listen to a journalist? Well, The Google doesn’t know everything, writes Nick Miller. Factual analysis is worthy too.
Great Gatsby! The inside story on F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s finances
Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald didn’t just write about the lives of the rich, he lived it. From the age of 23, he was in the top 1% earning percentile of taxpayers, earning today’s equivalent of $US500,000.
A right return to the centre
There’s a surprising global political trend occurring, even in traditionally liberal countries: a rise of the right. But it’s a right lean on economics — not social issues — that’s popular. Pollies are balancing the centre, says Fareed Zakaria.
Crikey wrap: remembering the fall of the Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall, 20 years ago today, reunited Germany and marked the official end of the 40-year Cold War. Crikey intern Michelle Loh does a wrap of what the pundits are saying.
Keane: The ETS Chainsaw Massacre
What a difference a few years makes. Ian “Chainsaw” Macfarlane has moved from a climate change denier in the Howard government to a CPRS loving greenie, writes Bernard Keane.
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Deadly drugs: users vs. deaths vs. media coverage
Is Dr David Nutt correct that cannabis is no more harmful than alcohol? Does the drug just suffer from bad press? Data journalist David McCandless mashes up the government’s own data on drug death, users and press coverage to find out.
Possum: What if you were a pollster and produced an outlier?
What would you do if you ran a polling organisation that produced a result that was almost certainly an outlier? Would you publish? asks Possum. In some cases *cough*, pollsters are damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
The science of screams: why we love horror films
Horror films — at least the good ones — terrify, shock and repulse us. So why do we keep going back for more? Scientists explain why humans love to have our pants scared off.
Antony Green on the battle for Brisbane: the Bartlett effect
Brisbane will be a key contest in the 2010 Federal election. Former Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett’s running for the Greens, former MP Teresa Gambaro will stand for the Libs, while Arch Bevis will defend his seat of 20 years. How will it play out? asks Antony Green.
