At least one member of the federal government stands opposed to mandatory internet censorship — and she’s prepared to fight for it.
January, 2010
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: New changes to the criminal justice world
So apparently there is a new charge sheet to be used for all people being charged by the Victorian Police. Too bad no one remembered to tell anyone about it.
Crikey Says: Family feuds at Fox
The riveting story of the ageing mogul, the liberal kids, the recalcitrant son-in-law, and the Teabaggers pin up girl. Why, it must be Fox News!
An Inconvenient Typeface: Gore, the font warrior
While James Cameron used boring old Papyrus for his Avatar, former US VP Al Gore was so concerned with typefaces that he personally asked for the font in his latest book to be altered to fit his requirements. Typotheque has the fascinating story.
The Flight 253 bomb plot: what did Obama know?
In the run-up to the attempted attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, US intelligence knew al-Qaeda was planning to deploy a new, dangerous type of bomb, and that a radical Nigerian in Yemen might be planning some kind of jihad against the US. Did anyone tell the President?
Green guilt: the new sins of the 21st century
Environmentalism is the new Christianity in the West, says Stephen Asma: instead of sloth, greed and lust plaguing our conscience, it’s watering the garden, plastic bags and driving a car.
The top 10 jobs of 2010
2010 should be a boom year for Australian businesses across the board, with job opportunities for uni graduates set to grow. Smart Company names the industries that will lead the charge and the courses that will put you in ahead of the pack.
Google: No more censorship in China
Following a massive cyber attack on Google in China — part of a broader attempt to access the personal details of Chinese human rights activists — the search giant says it will no longer censor search results on Google.cn — and may pull out of the country altogether.
Read Avatar‘s deleted sex scene
20th Century Fox has posted James Cameron’s entire original script [pdf] of Avatar online — including a sex scene between the lead characters that was deleted from the final product. Go on, you know you want to read it.
Irvine: NSW economy like an aging mistress whose lost her looks
NSW missed the mining boom, got flattened by the GFC, then managed to pick themselves up again. But the return of the resources boom will be detrimental and the federal government needs to help a brother out, warns Jessica Irvine.
Are the Greens just greedy capitalists, too?
The leader of the Greens in the ACT Legislative Assembly, Meredith Hunter, wants a salary increase of $50,000 to “cover new Assembly workload”. Isn’t it a little hypocritical after all the party’s noise about executive salaries and corporate greed? asks Samuel J.
Girl power: Julia and Hillary hit the town
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed down under, and plans are under way for a girls’ day out in Melbourne with deputy PM Julia Gillard. From the Australian Open to AUSMIN, Misha Schubert has all the details on Clinton’s visit.
Austin: Isn’t ten years long enough to fix it?
Labor has run Victoria for a decade now, yet with Myki mayhem and transport woes whenever the mercury rises, the heat is on John Brumby to prove his worth, writes Paul Austin.
Kerr: Abbott ducks, weaves and then hits where it hurts
Penny Wong loves to rile the Opposition about not yet having a clear climate change policy. But as much as she’d like that to be the issue, Tony Abbott is right to point out that only the government’s actions count, says Christian Kerr.
Henderson: Different leaders, same ideas
Although Kevin Rudd and Barack Obama lead supposedly more progressive governments than their predecessors, national security and terrorism policies have remained essentially the same, writes Gerard Henderson.
Blair’s secret Iraq notes to Bush
Tony Blair sent secret letters to George Bush in 2002 promising British support for military action in Iraq, former Downing St spin doctor Alastair Campbell has told the Chilcot Inquiry.
Is deforestation really that bad?
The UN claims that deforestation accounts for more than 20% of man-made C02 emissions, but NASA scientists now believe it may only be half as much. Should greenies be focussing their attention elsewhere?
The Oz splits and grows
The Oz will no longer be grouped under the Nationwide News with The Tele, but instead is now a standalone division within News Corp. It’s all part of a plan to make the national broadsheet bigger and more powerful.
Why the future isn’t as exciting as we thought
Video phones are the one gadget The Future actually promised and delivered, but realistically the last thing anyone wants to do when having a phone conversation is look at someone, says Joel Stein.
In defence of chequebook journalism
Paying off people for information and interviews is traditionally looked down upon in the media — but why shouldn’t we reward people for sticking their necks out and providing a scoop? asks journalism professor Edward Wasserman.
Criticising the Clintons
Hillary and Bill Clinton usually come out guns ablazing in a counterattack to any vicious political rumours floating around the traps. So why aren’t they this time in response to the gossipy new political book Game Change? Because, it was Clinton’s staffers that leaked all the info.
Scoop pix! The 789 ‘dream machine’ revealed
Here I am, worried about being scooped by spotters who have apparently sprung a V Australia 777-200LR under assembly in Everett when my email sends me a set of pix under the heading, the true 789, explains Ben Sanilands.
