The nation moved into day two of the annual 10 days of national sleeping-in-front-of-Seven’s-coverage of the Australian Open Tennis titles.
January, 2010
Media briefs: Sunrise II: Return of the Rudd…Willy off Women’s Weekly radar
Kevin Rudd resurrects his Sunrise personality with a new weekly slot, Prince William fails to impress Women’s Weekly, Marian Wilkinson makes the move to Four Corners and other media tidbits.
Sydney, a giant dementia farm in the making, cans its new Metro
Yet another Sydney transport infrastructure project — $5.3 billion underground CBD Metro — is about to be snuffed. It seems one of the few growth industries in Sydney is proposing and cancelling public transport projects.
Vic government set to slash security to save live music
Security requirements for inner city Melbourne music venues are set to be slashed in an desperate government bid to save live music from the scrapheap amid spiralling liquor licensing compliance costs and a looming state election.
Crikey Clarifier: Crikey Clarifier: how the IPCC works
This week, the IPCC was thrown into controversy when it was revealed that its long-held claim that global warming will melt most of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035 was incorrect. Climate law and policy expert Andrew Macintosh explains how things could go so wrong.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Press coverage gets the royal treatment
And the very clear winner this week when it comes to media coverage is…well, the monarchy of course! Though Tony Abbott has also been successful at getting the media machine cranking.
Political snippets: Southern hemisphere: so hot right now
Figures just released show that 2009 was the warmest year on record for the southern hemisphere, troubles at the Canberra branch of the CFMEU and other politics tidbits.
Human rights: what is Rudd waiting for?
Is the government backing away from introducing a bill of rights? In the absence of any serious negatives, we should expect a human rights act within this parliamentary term, writes Susan Ryan, chair of the Australian Human Rights Group.
Has the gay community really found a new friend in Mayor Robert Doyle?
The gay and lesbian community seems to have found a new friend in Melbourne mayor Robert Doyle, but not everyone thinks his change of heart is genuine or substantive, writes Luke Williams.
Consumers shrug off RBA’s rate hikes
Get ready for a rates rise. The level of rising confidence, taken with solid retail sales for November, good car sales, still strong demand for housing finance and surging overseas travel, have increased the odds of the RBA lifting rates.
Mayne: Bowen is right on Sons of Gwalia
Despite all the bleating by class-action lawyers and the Australian Shareholders’ Association, the government’s decision to overturn the Sons of Gwalia High Court decision is no great disaster.
Don’t believe the home-birth horror headlines
If you’ve been half awake in recent days, you might have heard of a new study showing that “babies are seven times more likely to die during home births”. Shame that isn’t what the research says, explains Melissa Sweet.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Tough for new recruits in NGOs
Several NGOs are struggling with recruitment, with one major aid organisation hiring a not-so-ideal candidate out of necessity, while another watches the way staff are chewed up and spat out.
Crikey Says: Bill Gates spends some Idol time on Twitter
Bill Gates tweeted for the first time this morning. And who, of all the tweeps in the twitterverse — the world leaders, the great thinkers, the tech visionaries — did he start conversing with first?
PHOTO GALLERY: How presidents age disgracefully
Apparently having the weight of the world on your shoulders heavily increases your chances of grey hair and a deeply furrowed brow. See how quickly US presidents age in office. It’s not pretty.
VIDEO: Italy’s pasta mafia
As Mamma Spaghetti would say: itsa not nice! Italy’s top five pasta makers have been accused of forming a “pasta cartel”, fixing prices and causing the cost of spag in the country to skyrocket by 36%
Ban Ki-Moon: Help Haiti, help the world
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon tells of his experiences in Haiti in an op-ed for the Washington Post and makes his plea: helping Haiti swiftly and effectively in its hour of need will give hope to the entire world’s poor.
And Australian of the Year is… no one from the business world
Australia never gives enough credit to our business people. Sports people get lauded for their “courage” and “hard work”, while winners in business get dubbed “lucky”. Why the shame in applauding our best business brains?
“Jesus guns”: how did the US military not know?
The US military denies it had any knowledge that its rifles were being inscribed with Bible verses. According to TPM, they must have been the only gun owners in the country that didn’t know.
The Australian Open: vent your spleen
The Australian Open kicked (Hit? Volleyed?) off in Melbourne this week. Who will win? Do the Aussies stand a chance? Does anyone actually care about the mixed doubles? Have your say on Crikey Sports.
Why even Women’s Weekly readers don’t give a rats about Will
Prince Will seems nice and everything, says Helen McCabe, editor-in-chief of the Women’s Weekly, but he is far too bland and balding to get the attention of Aussie readers. If only Waitie Katie was here too!
The trouble with looking like Osama bin Laden
When the FBI created a mockup version of what Osama bin Laden looks like with short hair and cropped beard they didn’t, as you might assume, use fancy high-tech digital profiling. Instead, they just used a photo of a Spanish politician. Seriously.
Bill Gates joins Twitter
In this modern life: Bill Gates joins Twitter. We all watch as casually chats to American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. Utterly surreal.
