Sydney’s Sun Herald has followed in the footsteps of its rivals at News Limited, sacrificing its high arts and theatre coverage at the star-studded altar of Hollywood gossip.
May, 2010
Can Columbia replace nose candy with nose jobs?
The Columbian city of Medellín was once the drug capital of the world, but now it’s trying to revive its economy by tapping into the growing market for “medical tourism”, offering cheap plastic surgery to tight-arsed but image-conscious Americans.
Thailand wrap: 33 dead, a nation on the brink of outright war
As violence in Bangkok continues into its fifth day, 33 have died and another 239 have been wounded. Crikey intern Matt de Neef wraps the global coverage.
The seven most overused cliches in journalism
A former journalist has performed a study into the most over-used cliches in the media, compiling a “greatest hits” list, including classics like “at the end of the day”, “unsung heroes” and “outpouring of support”.
How memories work
Fascinating new research by neuroscientists is revealing how the brain makes and manipulates memories: the process of remembering itself could even alter the details of your memories.
revealed 
US military running private spy ring in AfPak
The NYT reveals the US is still is running a potentially illegal “rogue operation” of private spies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, employing former CIA agents and Special-Ops soldiers to gather information.
The ALP deserves deregistration
Kellie Tranter pens a letter to the Australian Electoral Commissioner on why the ALP should lose its political party registration, since its recent actions don’t align with Labor’s history and constitution.
Sarah Palin: We’re all Arizonans (sic) now
Sarah Palin has posted a message to President Obama on her Facebook page: follow Arizona’s lead on border control. Apparently 14,263 others like this.
May 31 is “Quit Facebook Day”
Amidst growing concerns about Facebook’s privacy policy, more and more users are committing “Facebook Suicide” and deleting their accounts altogether. Now the movement has its own D-day: May 31.
The smoking gun: Labor always planned to shut the Greens out of the ETS
It was always Kevin Rudd’s political strategy to do a deal on an ETS with the Opposition, and to shut the Greens out of any negotiations. And now there’s proof, says the Greens’ Tim Hollo.
New telly on the horizon
It’s an exciting week for TV nerds: we will find out US TV shows have been cancelled, renewed, and which new series will be making their debut. Dan Barrett has a guide to what we know so far — and what it means for Aussie TV.
It’s Britney, bitch: how Kutcher got crushed 
How to end homelessness
What if 0.1% of the sale of your home went towards preventing homelessness? Sarah Davies explains Homes for Homes, the novel idea that’s got the Victorian government excited.
Farr: Vote for Scrooge, he’ll give you nothing
Tony Abbott’s entire economic policy and Budget reply seem to be based on killing all the government handout goodies for voters. Will the tough approach work? asks Malcolm Farr.
The AFL closet that nobody is leaving
In April a campaign against homophobia was launched by the AFL Players Association. But don’t expect any players to actually come out, says the association’s GM of culture and leadership, Pippa Grange.
Newspoll: No frills Budget, no frills response
Newspoll comes in with the two party preferred of 50-50 — a one point gain since last fortnight. But it was the Budget questions that were the most interesting, explains Possum Comitatus.
Climate change will make the oil spill look like a drop in the ocean
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may be grabbing all the headlines and attention with images of grubby birds and dirty beaches, but neither will exist at all if we continue to drag our feet on climate change, says the LA Times.
The dreaded fake Asian politeness
Japanese has a lot of obligatory politeness built into it. But each culture has its own set of manners and one joy of cross-cultural communication is the hilarious misunderstandings that it causes, explains Aung Si.
Milne: Gloves off, this is a dirty campaign
The attacks on Peter Dutton and his BHP shares show what a grubby election campaign this is going to be, writes Glenn Milne, as he fights fire with fire and delves into Wayne Swan’s share portfolio.
How Qantaslink bent a jet
On February 7, 2008, a Qantaslink Boeing 717 was slammed onto the runway at Darwin Airport so hard it deformed and wrinkled the rear of the fuselage. Ben Sandilands has the ATSB final report.
Steve Jobs vs. Gawker: the porn email war
Gawker’s Ryan Tate picked an email fight with Apple boss CEO over the idea of the iPad as revolutionary, Adobe vs. Apple, the leaked iPhone 4 saga and whether Apple should censor porn. Surprisingly, Jobs wrote back. Again and again.
Spills, hurricanes and a nonchalant BP
The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is even worse then expected, with huge oil plumes found below the slick. Thanks to the hurricanes that plague the area — and BP’s attitude — it may be decades before the spill is fully cleaned.
What are oil plumes?
The ugly shirt that stopped a nation
Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama wore a rainbow checked shirt that was so horrendous, it’s created international ridicule. With just a 24% approval rating, is this fashion faux pas Hatoyama’s last straw?
