Theatre review: When the Rain Stops Falling — gnarled but complexLantana playwright Andrew Bovell has perfectly and affectingly conveyed a gnarled and complex portrait of humanity in a new show coming to Brisbane, Canberra and Alice Springs.
October, 2010
Morgan Freeman on Morgan Freeman
Ever the portrait of quiet dignity, actor, director and silky voiced narrator Morgan Freeman at age 73 reflects on love, fame, lost and found dreams and being “easily tickled” in this quaint interview with…himself.
More of Crikey’s Rethinking Afghanistan seriesMorning Market Report: Markets down as Bernanke forecasts quantitative easing
A Bernanke speech made it pretty obvious that another round of quantitative easing is on the cards.
Afghanistan: OK to be partisan
Watch closely in the parliamentary debate on Afghanistan this week for how often the speaking MPs remind you of their support for the troops. But there’s nothing wrong with being partisan on military policy, writes Special Forces Afghanistan veteran and Lowy Institute associate James Brown.
Merkel and multiculturalism … whatever you want it to mean
German chancellor Angela Merkel is pro-immigration and pro-integration, but she heads a centre-right party with its fair share of scaremongers on the issue. So did she actually mean to say that multicultural policies have “utterly failed”? asks Charles Richardson.
Essential: parties locked up, but Abbott gets a belting
The Coalition is maintaining its vote despite Tony Abbott returning to the popularity levels that have characterised much of his leadership.
Rupert and me: 48 hours of travel for a 12-minute exchange
The News Corp AGM was an interesting affair but it remains a mystery why so few shareholders, ginger groups or critics turn up, writes Stephen Mayne from Los Angeles.
Fairfax local pay dispute ignites tension company-wide
Fairfax Media is bracing for a wave of industrial action down the eastern seaboard, with a pay-parity dispute threatening to pull mastheads from letterboxes and engulf The Age and the Australian Financial Review.
There’s something about Mary, but what about the other holy five?
It took just one minute and 100 words to crown Saint Mary of the Cross, but everywhere you turn this morning the nation has gone mad with Mary MacKillop fever. Forget the Commonwealth Games, the media have found a new ‘golden girl’ to applaud. But what about the other holy five?
The Oz, Yuendumu and ‘tribal punishment’ — dangerous myths about customary law
Rather predictably the notion that people may have a system of laws different to that of the dominant culture got some of the media rabbits running — and it was sadly predictable that The Australian would lead the charge with its editorial.
So… just why do we need IR reform again?
We’re told time and again that we need more IR reform. But no one ever says why.
Winners hard to find in DJ’s harrassment case
It’s hard to find too many winners from the Kristy Fraser-Kirk/Mark McInnes imbroglio — certainly not the parties themselves, nor the David Jones shareholders.
Mungo MacCallum: Two virility symbols and a saint … lucky country indeed
Judging from the shambling swagger he affects these days (part-Western gunslinger, part-silverback gorilla) Tony Abbott is brimming with confidence.
The ‘severe erosion’ of rights of mentally ill patients
The mentally ill are among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in society, and past scandals have led to provisions for routine external review of detention decisions, writes Sydney psychiatrist Dr Tad Tietze.
Biodiversity: as big as climate change, but not as sexy
It is interesting then, that while climate change was a pivotal issue in our last election here in Australia, that the issue of biodiversity appears to be so under represented by media and in politics, writes Vjekoslav Matic, a PhD student in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Melbourne
MasterChef, Iron Chef and the hungry Murdoch
Following the success of her MasterChef franchise, Rupert Murdoch’s second-eldest daughter, Elisabeth, is sharpening her knives to carve out a chunk of the Australian TV market, writes Supratim Adhikari in Business Spectator.
Australia needs real competition and Asia can provide it
It’s time for the Australian Olympic Committee to seriously consider the idea of joining the Asian Games, writes freelance journalist Ben Oliver
Cairns abortion decision effectively decriminalises RU486 in Queensland
The decision in this case has in fact decriminalised the use by doctors of mifepristone and misoprostol for the purpose of medical abortion in Queensland, writes Caroline de Costa, James Cook University School of Medicine, Cairns
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The Murray-Darling conundrum
Crikey readers have their say.
Daily Proposition: See a Ben Affleck film that doesn’t suck
With his new film The Town Ben Affleck disproves F Scott Fitzgerald’s oft-quoted declaration: “There are no second acts in American lives.” Affleck is back, with a film that proves a worthy addition to the crime thriller sub-genre, says Andrew Rankin.
Media briefs: Howard’s return … Man bites Bolt …
Prepare yourself, former PM John Howard has returned from the metaphorical dead to appear on a special Q&A. Plus, the former editor of most of Melbourne’s major newspapers, Bruce Guthrie, has embraced Twitter.
