Why isn’t big business backing the Tea Party?The Tea Party argue for ideas traditionally considered to be business friendly, such as smaller government and lower taxes. But corporate America isn’t lending its full weight to the movement, which begs the question: is it actually good for business?
October, 2010
It’s not just the gays who get hurt by homophobia
Straight men are also suffering in our homophobic society, because they miss out on strong, intimate friendships with other males out of fear of being perceived as gay and lacking in masculinity.
PHOTO GALLERY 
Hungary’s toxic sludge flood
Terrifying photos from Hungary where a reservoir of toxic mud broke, flooding several towns with the stinking and deadly mud, killing four people and hundreds of animals.
Why the Right and the Left need marriage counseling
American conservatives are furious about tax and spending while liberals are outraged by old fashioned views on subjects such as sex education. Both sides could learn from the sorts of lessons espoused in marriage counseling sessions, writes Shanker Vedantam.
Book review: Light Boxes — chilling cult debut novel
Light Boxes by Shane Jones is one of those books that comes with baggage. Cult status? Check. Author plucked from obscurity? Check. Endorsement by guy with cultural cache? Check. Luckily it copes with the hype, writes Elizabeth Bryer.
The Liverpool takeover
The Liverpool football club is currently fielding two different offers to buy it, despite the owners not wanting to sell. Can the chairman make the deal happen and will it end the club’s famous debt woes?
The pyramid of corruption ruining Egypt’s free pess
The editor of independent Egyptian newspaper al-Dostour got the boot yesterday. Why? Because he wanted to publish an article written by the Opposition leader in a country where government censorship rules.
VIDEO: Two very different views on the US economy
On Bloomberg TV this week economists David Rosenberg and Jim Paulsen had a feisty debate about the effectiveness of the current US economic recovery. Paulsen says attitudes are far worse than reality while Rosenberg argues a far gloomier outlook.
interactive map 
The global debt clock
Every moment of every day someone somewhere in the world gets into more debt. The Economist present their “global debt clock” - an interactive map displaying global public debt figures in real time.
It’s time for adults to grow up and embrace animation
Adult audiences flock to see live action films doused in sex and violence, but when the same material transfers to animation nobody seems to care. That’s got to change, writes filmmaker Bill Plympton.
A really-long-popping-out-for-a-beer trip
I like to pop out for a quiet beer every now and then. Sometimes I head down to my local, sometimes eight hours, a dog, a 1970s soundtrack and a sunny day at the end of a long road are required, writes Jane Vashti Ryan.
Pobjie: How not to be a rapist
For anyone confused about whether or not sex is consensual, Ben Pobjie offers up a handy guide on how not to rape people. Tip 1: when you meet a girl who doesn’t want to have sex with you, don’t have sex with her. Sound advice.
Freeview to launch EPG – but it could use a re-think
Australian digital TV service Freeview will launch a feature-rich electronic program guide later this year but it won’t be backwards compatible, meaning only a small portion of the population will be able to use it, writes Dan Barrett.
Pseudonyms and anonymity: a previously unpublished case study
Yes, its more on Grog’s Gamut. Some people are suggesting that bloggers should have a RIGHT to anonymity and/or the use of pseudonyms. But WHEN and HOW bloggers should identify themselves? Margaret Simons discusses a previous example.
Film review: Dinner for Schmucks — another rubbishy remake
Director Jay Roach’s Hollywood remake of the gloriously nasty French farce The Dinner Game, about men who compete to bring the biggest idiot to dinner, is a clumsy and shamelessly sentimental rehash, writes Luke Buckmaster.
The lonely island of centrism
There’s a game of push me-pull me being played in Canberra this week, with the ACTU trying to pull the ALP back to the Left, while Liberal MPs attempt to drag the party back to the right, says Rob Burgess.
Wright: You call those gaffes? THESE are gaffes
Abbott and Gillard’s recent gaffes on the international circuit pale in comparison to past blunders - including Malcolm Fraser’s rendition of I Like Aeroplane Jelly and Gough Whitlam’s declaration that “trade is so f — -ing boring,” says Tony Wright.
A fashion mag without a model in sight
German women’s magazine Brigette has stopped using professional models — from the cover, to its fashion shoots — and the results are refreshingly different.
Meet the Franzen glasses thief
The literary world got itself a wonderful scandal this week when author Jonathan Franzen — known for his heavy framed glasses — had his glasses nicked at his latest book launch, with the culprit leaving a ransom note demanding $100,000. GQ tracked down one of the thieves.
Can pot get the Democrats high (in the polls)?
Democrats are using California’s marijuana legalization bill Proposition 19 to test whether the issue is potent enough to drive a substantial number of voters to the polls. If so, similar ballot questions may arrive in Colorado and Nevada, writes Peter Wallsten.
Could there be an Obama-Clinton joint ticket?
To revive a government languishing in the polls and install an heir apparent for the 2016 Presidential election, the idea of Hilary Clinton replacing Joe Biden as US Vice President must appeal to some Democrats. But what is the likelihood of it actually happening?
Time for a change in climate policy
The government and climate change advocates need to stop obsessing over carbon pricing and get behind an investment-centred climate policy, like a Snowy Mountains style scheme, says Leigh Ewbank.
Hey Julia and Tony, stop acting like foreign policy douche bags
This week Abbott said he was too jet-lagged to visit Afghanistan and Gillard admitted she wasn’t crash hot in foreign affairs. These gaffes demonstrate that both leaders are struggling in foreign policy, writes Greg Sheridan.
Our bogan Howard-copy PM
PM Gillard is appearing remarkably similar to ex-PM Howard, writes Samantha Maiden, from the “foreign policy is not my passion” line to her Realpolitik approach.
