Wars, rebels and child soldiers: why Africa is a continent of conflictAfrica’s brutal wars seem to never end. And they don’t, and won’t, because there is nothing specific that they are fighting for. Heavily armed banditry has taken over the continent, writes Jeffrey Gettleman.
March, 2010
Screw the sceptics: let’s get positive
On the eve of the second Australian Climate Action Summit, it’s time for environmentalists to stop the screaming matches with climate sceptics and start getting positive and productive about saving the planet again, says Tim Hollo.
The sex scandals destroying the Vatican
New sex scandals involving priests, abuse, cover-ups and gay prostitutions rings has struck the Catholic Church in Europe, and the culture of silence and suppression is causing the Church to crumble, writes James Carroll.
Crikey‘s Next Top NRL Blogger
The 2010 NRL season is about to kick off, and Crikey needs someone to lay the boot in. Have you got what it takes (an internet connection and too much time on your hands, for a start) to be our guy or gal on the ground?
Pilger: How Rupert runs Australia
Australia is a “Murdochracy”, says John Pilger, where the media baron and his army of pundits control the national narrative and agenda.
How to cook dinner in a dishwasher
OC Weekly’s food bloggers test what foods will and won’t cook in a dishwasher. Catfish, Brussels sprouts, corn? Yep. Strawberry cobbler? Not so much.
Read Reuters’ new social media guidelines
News agency Reuters has released a new set of social media guidelines for its staffers: don’t break news on Twitter, don’t reveal your political preferences, and no hacking. Read the full “handbook” here.
must read 
I accidentally killed my child: is it a crime?
A heartbreaking investigation on parents who forget and accidentally leave their children to die in the backs of cars. It may be a devastating and horrific mistake, but is it a crime worthy of prosecution? asks Gene Weingarten.
The cogs of Germany turn Europe’s engine
Germany’s strong economy — its exports are booming and savings are high — is partly due to profiting of its European neighbours. But Germany’s needs some structural reforms to help itself and the rest of Europe.
Time for Defence to come clean on the JSF debacle
A new report on the JSF Joint Strike Fighter project was released in US Congress today, and it is a shocker: the cost has shot up 60-90% per jet, and they are running at least two-and-a-half years late. Time for our own government to admit it’s a flop, says Ben Sandilands.
revealed 
Apple’s secret iPhone Developer Agreement
The previously secret agreement all Apple app developers are required to sign has been made public through a very clever legal loophole (the NASA app meant it was FOI-able). Read it in all its super-strict glory.
Get a FREE Smart Health Choices e-book
Croakey is offering a free download of Smart Health Choices: Making Sense of Health Advice — a great tool for getting your head around health advice and learning how to take an active role in your own health care.
Betting Market Friday: Bookies go to sleep, Sportsbet goes berko
There was no change to the Federal Election betting odds for either party from Centerbet, IASbet or Sportingbet this week — but Sportsbet’s odds on a Coalition victory suddenly jumped from $3.80 to a whopping $4.70, reports Possum Comitatus.
Why the ABC’s charter needs a shot in the arm
The BBC’s policy of giving “equal coverage” to opinions on an issue helped fuel panic over a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in Britain in the ’90s. Now the same dangerous scenario is playing out on our shores with the ABC and climate change, says David Bonnici.
Undercover in Yemen’s radical mosques
For four years, American writer Theo Padnos went deep undercover into the world of radical Islam in Yemen. But his cover was blown last year, and now he’s speaking out about his experiences.
Drawing Abbott is an artist’s dream
From his pointy nose, big ears and lips that contort themselves around his latest ridiculous policy, it’s so satisfying draw Tony Abbott. He’s become a caricature of himself, says SMH artist Rocco Fazzari.
How J.P. Morgan rescued the US dollar and bailed out a nation
Oh, the irony: over a century before his namesake company was bailed out by taxpayers to the tune of $25b, banker J.P. Morgan devised an enacted a risky strategy to pull America’s economy out of the Depression. John Steele Gordon explains how he pulled it off.
Louis Nowra’s wife: Yep, my husband is a misogynist jerk
In a bizarre piece, Mandy Sayer — wife of Louis Nowra, author of the controversial Germaine Greer piece in The Monthly — fights the criticism of her husband in the media. Yes, he’s a woman-hating jerk who does all the cooking, cleaning and shopping at home. Ahem.
Sparrow: Why Tony’s sixpack is a TV star
From quad bikes, to budgie smugglers, Abbott’s worked the media to portray him as ‘real’ guy. But with many of his social policies indistinguishable from Rudd’s, why is Abbott ‘authentic’ and Rudd not? asks Jeff Sparrow.
Grattan: Abbott performs a double backflip
Tony Abbott’s paid parental leave plan popped up without the knowledge of his colleagues or business. Now he’s juggling his credibility with his contradictions, writes Michelle Grattan.
Meet Kim Jong Il’s personal shopper
A former North Korean Army Colonel spills the story of his years travelling the world with suitcases full of cash to buy up guns, airplanes, Ferraris, Belgian chocolate and vintage Bordeaux wine for Kim Jong Il and his sons.
Who’s behind the candid camera in the chamber?
Queensland Liberal MP Peter Slipper was caught out sleeping through Indonesian President Yudhoyono’s speech via a sneaky mobile phone photo from his own side of the House. So who is the sneaky snapper?
See the slumbering Slipper snap No love lost between Labor and Greens
For years the Greens have been regarded by the ALP as the “harmless fairies at the bottom of the garden”. But the Greens’ power is growing and the ALP — particularly the Labor Left — need to be on alert, writes Nick Dyrenfurth.
Wired / Friday, 12 March 2010
Wired profiles conservative commentator and online media mogul Andrew Breitbart, the man behind Breitbart.com, the Big Government/Hollywood/Journalism sites and formerly “Matt Drudge’s bitch”.