It’s a full-time job keeping up with Keith Windschuttle — or the several people writing under that name, and offering completely contradictory accounts of history.
December, 2009
Guy Rundle: Rundle: dancing the Windschuttle chorus
Queensland prepares for a Dick-led government
Ailing Queensland Premier Anna Bligh will be knifed before state parliament resumes in February and replaced with Attorney-General Cameron Dick, says senior QLD ALP sources.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Turnbull to be an independent?
Rampant rumours on Twitter about the possibility of Malcolm Turnbull soon leaving the Liberal Party and becoming an independent. Any truth to the rumour? Plus, how was The Age Christmas party?
On the nature of things
…with your host Angus Sharpe. The latest from the First Dog on the Moon bespoke line.
Crikey Says: Once more with Fielding, find him a scientist
If you’re reading this, and you’re based in Copenhagen right now, the Australian taxpayer would be greatly obliged if you could point Senator Fielding in the direction of a qualified scientist.
How chefs stay thin
Your Ian Hewitsons and Two Fat Ladies aside, many chefs manage to maintain model-like physiques, despite being surrounded by their own fatty, sugary, delicious creations all day long. How do they do it? The Daily Beast gets their inside secrets.
Imagining India
As Scott Bridges prepares to head overseas on a year long adventure (to be chronicled at Crikey’s new ‘Back in a Bit’ blog), he wonders if his preconceptions of India — the seething mass of humans, the insane noise — will live up to the reality. Can you share your experience?
10 good reasons to avoid the Boxing Day sales
Think you’ll score a bargain by braving the Boxing Day crowds? Think again. Holiday sales are full of false hope, dodgy deals and secret scams — not to mention the brutal bargain-hunter crowds.
Facebook goes fascist
Facebook’s widely derided new privacy policy isn’t just a case of poor judgment, says Valleywag: it’s a very calculated move to control your privacy — and a massive betrayal of users’ trust. Facebook has turned evil.
The Islamic veil: prayer, prison, protection
The Islamic veil is perhaps the most powerful piece of cloth in history, dividing opinions and provoking strong emotions of both fear and faith all over the world. CSM meets the women behind the veil: who wears it — and why?
Who’s to blame for Dubai’s collapse?
How did Dubai turn so quickly from the city of gold to a financial pile of dust? Or was the Dubai Dream always just that — a glittering facade built on a shaky foundation of debt and dubious labour?
PHOTO GALLERY: The 30 best mug shots of 2009
Former child stars, rednecks with no teeth, drawn-on eyebrows, men with half-a-beard and the ShamWow guy all feature in this hilarious round-up of memorable police mugshots.
Fast food gets even faster: would you like wifi with that?
McDonald’s has just announced it’s rolling out free wifi across its US stores (even though it’s been available in Australia for months). Will wifi help Maccas take a gulp from the Starbucks cup, or does the dollar menu not make it worth the cost?
Will net censorship filter through to the ballot box?
What are the electoral consequences of net censorship? Next to none, says Possum Comitatus. The seats of Melbourne and Sydney are the only places it even stands a chance of becoming an issue.
Video of the Day: Eugene Mirman in Copenhagen
Comedian Eugene Mirman represents the US at Copenhagen.
Calling bull on the banks
Many of the big US banks — Citigroup and Wells Fargo — are withdrawing from the government stimulus package, so as to limit government control. Little has changed on Wall St, says John Gapper, so can we call the GFC bailout a success?
The Age: Filtering out our freedom
Rudd’s plans to censor Australia’s internet will do nothing to protect us against so-called “net nasties”, but everything to put the country at odds with our liberal-democratic values, says The Age.
#nocleanfeed: ditch the hashtag or we’re doomed
The anti-filter movement has been built around the Twitter hashtag “#nocleanfeed”. It’s fine for geeks, says David Olsen, but that kind of language is never going to engage your average Australian. The campaign desperately needs a make-over if it’s ever going to go mainstream.
Welcome to the new Gitmo. It’s rather like the old one
Guantanamo Bay prison is closing, but inmates are simply being transferred to a ‘supermax’ facility in Illinois, won’t receive a trial and some won’t be charged with a crime at all. Why close Gitmo just to open a new one? asks Glenn Greenwald.
Big-name lay-offs at the NYT
Twenty-six heads must roll at the New York Times, and NY Mag has the inside word on just which will get the chop, including culture writer Eric Konigsberg and investigative journo Allen Salkin.
The year of calling “bullshit”: 2009 in media errors
Fact checking is fast becoming one of the internet’s favourite pastimes, says Craig Silverman, wrapping-up of the worst lies and cock-ups published, broadcast and tweeted in 2009. The Apology of the Year is an absolute corker.
Battle in Bennelong: the tennis player vs. the journo
John Howard’s old seat of Bennelong will become a high profile war at the next election, with John Alexander — former tennis pro — standing as a Lib candidate against the current MP Maxine McKew. Whose profile will get them over the line?
Copenhagen: where are all the scientists?
Lost in all the talk of arrests and walkouts and stolen emails at Copenhagen have been the voices of those whose work brought the whole crazy circus about: climate change scientists. Matthew Knott looks at how science got lost in the white noise.
