How to con your way into HarvardLike a real-life Talented Mr Ripley, 23-year-old Adam Wheeler bluffed his way into Harvard, picking up tens thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships. And he would’ve got away with it, too, but he got greedy. Read the fascinating full story.
May, 2010
Dousing petrol on Abbott’s pants
Daily media wrap: Is “phoney Tony” really Parliament’s resident Pinocchio? Or the only one actually telling the truth?
Do you have the “I’ve done my bit” feeling?
So while K-Rudd et al. are busy ensuring that Australia doesn’t act on climate change, what can the average Australian do to reduce their own carbon footprint? asks Matt de Neef.
White families are five times richer than black families
The gap between rich and poor is also a black and white issue in the States, where a quarter of black families have no assets at all and economic policies favour those better off.
Jim Henson’s funeral, 20 years on
It’s 20 years since the world’s most famous puppeteer, Jim Henson, passed away. Watch his moving memorial service, featuring tributes and performances by his fellow puppeteers and the saddest song you’ll ever hear by an 8ft bird puppet.
English Premier League: where even losers can be winners
Each English Premier League team earned nearly £25 million pounds from TV appearances alone last year. With that sort of money, there should be no need for clubs to face financial hardship.
It’s all over for Iran
Government repression works. For months after Iran’s elections, Green Movement protests continued in the streets. But now, the streets are quiet as all the protesters are either locked up or shutting up, reports Stephen Kinzer from Iran.
Down the highway to the Mississippi Delta
Bob Gosford is on a roadtrip across the US, spotting the “fatality accident” markers, election signs and some local Louisiana and Alabama churches.
200 moments that have transformed journalism since 2000
The Poynter Institute’s interactive timeline identifying the 200 key moments in journalism from 2000-2009 that have shaped the current media landscape.
Qantas and Jetstar 787 time warp persists
Qantas today confirmed that it expects to gets its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in mid-2013, but it looks like a very difficult commitment for Boeing to uphold, writes Ben Sandilands.
The most popular graduation speakers
It’s a rich tradition in the US that celebrities from world leaders to movie stars deliver the graduation speech at universities. Listen to the speakers — Bill Cosby is most popular! — inspire the youngsters.
The future is neither the iPad nor 3D
2010 will be defined by two big narratives about the media: that the iPad will revolutionise print, and 3D will revolutionise TV. Both miss the point, says Dan Barrett.
Leadership polling: a comprehensive rundown
Galaxy, Newspoll and Morgan have all recently released new polls pitting Rudd and Gillard head-to-head, showing Gillard is closing in. But underneath the headline figures, something else is going on, explains Possum Comitatus.
Goldman’s secret army
Goldman Sachs may be publicly cheering for tighter financial regulations, but behind the scenes, it has spent $6 million in the last year alone, running an army of DC lobbyists, employing the services of 14 separate lobbying firms.
Tony Abbott’s struggle with the truth
Tony Abbott’s extraordinary admission last night that he is prone to stretch the truth says as much about his fragility under pressure as it does about his attitude to the truth.
ALP branch-stacking allegations the tip of an iceberg
Revelations that high-profile western Melbourne numbers man Costas Socratous has decided to rat on his former bosses came as no surprise to anyone familiar with the recent internal wranglings of the Victorian ALP.
Get set for another surplus: this time in housing
Combined with increasing interest rates (as the cost of money returns to a more reasonable level), it appears that the market will be belatedly doing its job, proving the adage, the solution to high prices is … high prices.
RBA gives itself room for a yes or no on rate rise … or cut
The Reserve Bank board has given itself enough wriggle room to lift interest rates next month … and it has also given itself enough wriggle room not to increase them.
What’s to come: US strength in volatile times
Share market volumes are dominated by trading rather than long-term position taking, which means that we must get used to a roller-coaster ride, writes Robert Gottliebsen.
How Rudd blew it: finding ways to upset everyone at the same time
Kevin Rudd’s appeal lay in voters projecting what they wanted on to him. Now that trick isn’t working any more. He has to start sending his own signals about his Prime Ministership.
The fragile state of footy — what if Brian Waldron was right?
NRL management is smacking a hornets nest with a very big stick — and there are a lot more hornets in there than they think, writes Steve Mascord.
That’s not a Great Big New Tax — THIS is a Great Big New Tax
You want a big new tax? The RSPT is just mucking around. The Tories have gone large in their tax increase plans — with plenty of help from their Lib-Dem partners
Live from Thailand: polarised political drama is a bloody tragedy
As Bangkok’s streets grow more violent by the day, something dramatic and decisive is needed to avert more bloodshed, writes Simon Roughneen from Bangkok.
Making the best of ‘deeply disappointing’ health reforms
The deal brokered with Victoria not only leaves the states with substantial financial responsibilities, but with exclusive responsibility for managing the funding and oversight of the hospitals, writes Andrew Podger.
Business As Usual: UK tax! Now that’s a real tax … China wants America’s bonds … Going broke the only growth sector …
General Motors is back in the black … China is still doing its bit to prop up the US deficit … Countries defaulting? Poll says it’s a chance … Going broke it just about the only growth industry in the US …
