The new “marriage” between David Cameron and Nick Clegg is already getting relationship advice. A fixed five year term is bold. It may well also be unconstitutional, but that discussion is still playing out.
May, 2010
Crikey Says: The China problem
The story of how Australia’s economic fortunes are tied to China is not new. But the extent and nature of that leverage is now even more significant.
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Unravelling Facebook’s privacy tangle
The NYT charts Facebook’s “bewildering” array of privacy controls — 50 settings with over 170 different options. And you slack off on Facebook to avoid work…
Do you really need Office 2010?
Microsoft is about to launch its latest iteration of Office, Office 2010 — and it’s going free and online to counter the rise of Google Docs. Of course, Google says “don’t bother”. But should you? Lifehacker weighs it up.
Blowing out Rudd’s approval
For the first time, party vote breakdowns on smokers and non-smokers are available, helping explain the latest decline in the Labor vote: smokers are ALP voters. Possum Comitatus has the figures.
Ruddquake: That’s not a meltdown. THIS is a meltdown.
Apparently Kevin Rudd had a meltdown on telly last night. Or at least the transcript has been fitted up to suggest so.
revealed 
The secret to winning at pool
A mathematician has developed equations for scoring the best shots in pool. And no, it’s doesn’t involve the amount of beers drunk increasing shot accuracy.
Reality check: BP makes enough in four days to cover oil clean-up costs
BP may have spent $350 million cleaning up its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but the company makes $93 million a day. Get out your tiny violins…
Fee gouging: banks may take it up the class (action)
It has taken more than a decade but finally, a serious Australian legal action has been launched against 12 of Australia’s largest financial institutions for alleged fee gouging.
World Cup: Why Australia can’t win its World Cup bid
Australia is banking on its proximity to Asia to win the right to host football’s World Cup. But that could in fact be held against it, writes Matthew Hall from the United States.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The pros and cons of Rudd
Crikey readers continue to debate the ups and downs of Kevin Rudd. Has Rudd broken promises or are voters forgetting to mention all of Rudd’s achievements as well?
Obama the feminist
One day it will not be a big deal when a woman, a homosexual, a black person, whatever, becomes a US Supreme Court justice. But that day hasn’t arrived yet, so applaud Barack Obama’s family for his feminist upbringing.
Video of the Day: Australia’s sperm shortage
Stephen Colbert takes on Australia’s sperm shortage: “You call that a sperm sample? This is a sperm sample!” The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Australian Sperm Shortage www.colbertnation.com
Glenn Dyer's TV Ratings: Perth and Adelaide turn off Hey Hey
Hey Hey it’s Saturday was unwanted and almost unwatched in Perth and Adelaide last night. Viewers there have the program just about right.
Media briefs: Tweeting the twits … no news at Nine …
One Twitter account reveals in “pearls of wisdom” from Herald Sun readers, some old news at Nine, WSJ in trouble for softball photo and other media news from around the globe.
Budget 2010: why the health funding was such a ‘surreal’ experience
Policy announcements don’t mean a lot until you see the actual money committed in the Budget, and this time the health sector was pleasantly surprised, writes Carol Bennett.
What business leaders can learn from London cabbies
The decision making and conflict management skills London cab drivers need to learn to pass The Knowledge could be far more useful to CEOs than an MBA, says risk manager Stephen Adshead.
PHOTO GALLERY: The men who pretend to be Mao
Chairman Mao may be long dead, but his likeliness and distinctive hair live on in a group of impersonators who recreate Mao for films and official events.
Le Monde: Australia is a small fish in a big pond
Australia may be a heavy hitter in the South Pacific region, but on the global playing field, it’s a 12-pound weakling — dwarfed by China and little more than a pawn of the US, writes Olivier Zajec.
How rich are you?
Subtract what you owe from what you own and you’ve got your net worth, a far more concrete way of comparing wealth than just looking at incomes. Is making that info public the best way to shame yourself into saving?
What happened to Henry?
Poor Ken Henry. Yes, Wayne Swan did announce another two measly recommendations from the Henry Review in the Budget, but cherry picking makes for terrible policy, writes Judith Sloan
What chimps tell us about the new UK government
Chimps often form strategic alliances to seize and keep control of their colonies, but it all turns wild if they don’t actually like each other. Will Cameron and Clegg’s primal differences be too much to overcome?
Digging through the “Dead Presidents” corpses
An investigation is being launched into whether Morgan Stanley deliberately designed and then bet against mortgage deals, nicknamed the “Dead Presidents” deals. Did Morgan Stanley pull a Goldman Sachs?
Are the Big Banks cheating?
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Bank of America have all scored “perfect quarters” — making money on all 61 trading days this year. Are they really that good — or is the system rigged?
