Very strange timing yesterday by Julia Gillard in making her announcement about plans for a referendum on including a reference to Aborigines into the constitution.
November, 2010
Video of the Day: Miwa Matreyek’s glorious visions
In this beautifully choreographed stage performance, artist Miwa Matreyek mixes evocative digital animation with projections of her own shadow onto the screen.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Media CEO looks for parachute. Which newspaper CEO, fearing he is about to be axed for chronic under-performance, has been consulting his lawyers on a golden parachute payout? Corruption commission in the gun. A referral is being prepared to forward to the Inspector General for the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The complaint relates […]
Crikey Says: The boys are back in town
Paranoid? Who, us? Some commentators think so. One in particular accused Crikey of being “nutjob paranoid” about the Murdoch dominance of our media.
solar panels 
Oh dear, why did I install solar panels?
In June of 2008, in a burst of altruism and eco-friendliness, Kris Coventry decided it was time to “do my bit” and bought six gleaming PV panels. The subsequent kafuffle made Kris reconsider the decision.
boat people 
Spicer: Stop knocking boat people
Everyday a new scare campaign seems to surface about boat people. The Gillard government’s here and there response, caught between Left and Right, has left the population in no man’s land, writes Tracey Spicer.
The 2010 midterms: a quintessential “realigning election”
“Realigning elections,” a term linked to game-changing elections in which alliances are shifted and one party gains substantially, may be over-used in political analysis but rarely is the term more apt than in descriptions of this year’s US midterms, writes Nate Silver.
Facebook gets the royal treatment as Queen signs up
In what has been dubbed “the final frontier” of the Queen’s movement into the digital world, the British Monarchy has finally caught up with the Facebook revolution, launching a Facebook page that reportedly generated 40,000 “likes” in one hour.
What can we learn from organic growers about health?
It would be easy to get the impression from the media that organic gardening is a modern invention. In fact it’s been around for a long time, and in Dr Rebecca Jones’ upcoming book she investigates the link between human health and the environment. Read an excerpt at Croakey.
After the Tea Party the race to Superbowl XLV gets serious
Unlike the NHL and NBA, the NFL season is relatively short and sharp. There are just 17 rounds of the regular season before playoffs.
book reviews Empty Family — rich and inviting
The Empty Family is far from ‘nice’– rather, this collection is a rich, inviting global airport lounge of a book from Colm Tóibín, a great craftsman of our age, writes Genevieve Tucker
The Simpsons animation: we like your old stuff better than your new stuff
Two short clips from the opening of The Simpsons, one used through the 90’s and the other new to high-def, highlight a valuable lesson for animators: that slick and glossy does not necessarily equal better, writes Jaime Weinman.
Rolls-Royce dodge responsibility for QF 32 incident
Rolls-Royce have finally broken cover on the Qantas QF 32 mid-air incident and issued a minimalist statement that completely avoids mentioning let alone discussing its Total Care service contracts, writes Ben Sandilands.
Conan O’Brien’s brand new bag: cable TV
The mass audience shift to niche television has been underway for a while now, with audiences receptive to content that is catered for their tastes. So here comes Conan O’Brien, who is set to return to US screens on cable TV, writes Dan Barrett.
Hudson: The last thing Labor wants is an early election
Anybody who suspects Julia Gillard will break her promise to the independents and rush to an early poll is dead wrong. For starters there’s been no post-election poll bounce and she’s got way too much stuff to do, writes Philliip Hudson.
The rise of the titan vegans
Mike Tyson may have once nibbled on somebody’s ear, but now he’s a vegan - just like other high profile members of the non-diary no-meat club including Bill Clinton and Steve Wynn. Joel Stein discusses the latest craze for the rich and powerful.
Bolt lets readers fill the canvas
The Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt yesterday discussed stats about the number of children born into single parent families in the USA. He kept mum and left the field open for his reasons to comment. The results weren’t pretty, writes Dave Gaukroger.
Rudd is back to racing in his right class
In horse racing terms, Kevin Rudd is back to racing in his right class. As Foreign Minister on The 7:30 Report he seemed so much more assured and credible than he did as Prime Minister, writes Richard Farmer.
gay marriage 
Arbib and Howes will be outflanked on gay marriage
Mark Arbib and union boss Paul Howes have announced their support for gay marriage. Both are influential voices but the Labor Right has the numbers and is very unlikely to support calls for a policy change, writes Phillip Coorey.
Let’s play bash the banks
Crikey Media Wrap: Joe Hockey and his “Hockeynomics” proposal calling for tighter banking regulation kicked off an almighty round of bash the banks, and now it seems everybody is joining in.
Terry Cutler: the dearth and decline of innovation
Countries like Norway and Chile are using returns on natural resource exports to create national funds to diversify and future proof their economic base. This is all about national leadership and vision. And when it comes to innovation, we don’t have it, writes Terry Cutler.
Essential: Coalition takes the lead
The latest Essential Report reveals the Federal Coalition have taken the lead from Labor after months of deadlock, recording a two point rise that brings the parties to 51-49, writes Bernard Keane.
Brizy News and tweet-challenged TV networks
Brisbane News is the latest program to demonstrate that TV networks have largely missed the point when it comes to Twitter. White Noise blogger Dan Barrett explains why.
