Despite all the media madness, the markets this week were very subdued with only Betfair changing its prices for the winner of the upcoming Federal election. Possum Comitatus has the figures.
April, 2010
Brumby’s obviously a politician, not a mathematician
Ben Eltham attempts to wade through the confusing numbers of hospital beds and GST revenue and establish: do John Brumby’s health figures stack up? Actually, states are better off under Rudd’s plan.
Get out your green crayons: how to draw Bob Brown
SMH cartoonist Rocco Fazzari explains the art behind sketching Greens leader Bob Brown: keep your brush strokes left.
The 15 richest people (who don’t actually exist)
Forbes has released its annual list of the richest characters in fiction. This year, a newcomer has taken the top spot: Carlisle Cullen from the Twilight series, who is worth $34.1 billion.
Grattan: Rudd crosses his heart and hopes he won’t die
Kevin07 has learnt the hard way — through public embarrassment over hospital reform, asylum seekers and insulation — that it’s a lot easier to spin rhetoric than convert those words into action and policies, writes Michelle Grattan.
J.K. Rowling: Why this single mother won’t be supporting the Tories
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling may be rolling in cash now, but she was once a poor, single mother living off benefits. In an op-ed for the Times, she lays into the Conservative Party’s treatment of women like her, and warns they still can’t be trusted.
When will Beazley realise he isn’t a pollie now?
Why do we keep having Australian ambassadors as ex-politicians? asks Jim Molan. Kim Beazley in Washington shouldn’t be talking so candidly about the war in Afghanistan since it’s such a tense issue between the US and Australia.
#leadersdebate: see what the world is saying 
Brown and Cameron both lose the UK leaders’ debate
The UK has held its first ever televised election debate, and according to the polls, the winner wasn’t Brown or Cameron: it was Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg. Read the Guardian’s liveblog — including a worm!
exposed How predator priests were hidden around the world
An extensive investigation by the Associated Press has found 30 cases of Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse being transferred or moved overseas by the Church, evading police and often reoffending.
What’s with all the earthquakes lately?
Chile, Haiti and now China — is it just us, or is the Earth getting a lot shakier lately? Apparently it has, but Possum is always reminding us: you have to look at the long-term trends.
PHOTO GALLERY: The animals disrupting nature’s balance
Just because Mother Nature created them, doesn’t mean they aren’t destroying her. Animals including elephants, cattle, goats — along with your more expected locusts, rats and cane toads — are all destroying the environment.
The most complained about library books of 2009
The American Library Association has released its annual list of the books most requested to be removed from library shelves. Newcomers include Twilight and My Sister’s Keeper, while To Kill a Mockingbird is still offending people 40 years on.
Worst. Cover. Ever.
Tim Dunlop reminisces about the most god awful record covers of all time, from overtly sexy covers, to ones with weird masks and creepy facial hair. What would you add to the list?
PHOTO GALLERY: Creepy Pope pictures
Yes, serious scandals are unfolding down at St Peter’s Basilica, but perhaps it’s no surprise judging on this terrifying gallery of Pope Benedict XVI looking evil and battling his flying cape.
Scaredy cat Schimdt: Google’s wimpy boss
Google boss Eric Schmidt is a tech genius, but he’s also known as a wuss. Farhad Manjoo examines whether Mister Nice Guy has the sheer mercilessness and hunger to stay on top of the tech game.
47% of Americans don’t pay taxes?
A recent report found that 47% of Americans owe no federal income tax. That doesn’t mean they aren’t paying other taxes. The Atlantic Wire wraps the facts, the fiction and the fall out.
Buddhists and Christians battle for North Koreas’ soul
Religion is strictly forbidden in North Korea, but evangelical Protestants like a challenge, and aren’t letting a little dictatorship get in the way of saving the nation’s souls. Buddhists are trying too, but can’t quite match that Protestant work ethic.
Crikey Competition: There’s nothing like… a Crikey contest
A few weeks ago Tourism Australia launched it’s new campaign, further consigning Lara Bingle into the dustbins of history. Sounds like the makings for a Crikey Competition!
Fairfax in damage control over real estate exodus
Age boss Don Churchill has written a desperate letter to around 20 Melbourne real estate agents defecting to the new Weekly Review publication, demanding to know their future advertising intentions with Fairfax.
Ted Baillieu is the real winner of the health debate
John Brumby’s recalcitrance on health reform has led to some unexpected scrutiny of his own health record — and it’s not pretty. Opposition leader Ted Baillieu must be unable to believe his luck.
Flying soon? Don’t look at these photos …
Photos of the damage done to a Qantas A380 at Sydney Airport on March 31 have fallen into Crikey’s hands. They show what happens to the world’s largest passenger jet when the anti-skid braking system fails.
Is the agreement to save the Snowy now dead?
NSW’s long history of bloody-mindedness over the Snowy River looks set to wreck the intern-governmental agreement to save the river, with the NSW government revealing it will unilaterally alter the Snowy Hydro Corporation’s Snowy water licence.
Video of the Day: Finding the Afghan Girl
National Geographic journalists explain how they tracked down one of the magazine’s most iconic cover stars — the “Afghan Girl” — 15 years after she first drew the world’s attention to the plight of Afghani refugees.
