A week in wildlifeThe Guardian’s top picks for the last “week in wildlife” include photographs of trees reflected in raindrops, squabbling golden monkeys and one of the world’s rarest snakes.
November, 2010
The strange case of the boa constrictor’s virgin birth
A team of American scientists and snake experts have discovered what they believe is the first recorded instance of a boa constrictor having a virgin birth, producing 22 fatherless baby snakes.
Deep-pan debacle: the US govt’s cheesy contradictions
Last year American organisation Dairy Management came to Domino’s rescue and developed pizzas with 40 percent more cheese. The strategy worked well - but Dairy Management is a creation of the US Department of Agriculture, which campaigns against fatty foods.
What does it take to make high speed rail a reality?
Constructing an Australian high speed rail network has been floated for over a quarter of a century but every time the idea surfaces it gets muddied by the same issues — particularly airline opposition and geological and environmental concerns, writes John Thompson.
Got a Big Idea? Crikey wants to hear it…
Over the next month, Crikey is rolling out a series of essays under the umbrella theme of Big Ideas. We’d also like to hear from you.
Backing gay marriage won’t fix Labor’s identity crisis — but it’s a start
Drifting to the Left on social issues won’t help Labor solve its fundamental problems. But it might jog the party’s corporate memory about what it should do with power.
Joye: we have an information exchange for equities — why not debt?
This is an extract of a speech presented by Rismark’s Christopher Joye at last week’s LIXI Industry Forum: One of the problems with managing the Byzantine nexus between extreme asset price and credit cycles, and the ordinarily adverse ramifications of these events for our real-economy, is that policymakers have historically had very poor credit data. […]
ARIAs, schmarias: ‘trainwreck TV’ first, industry awards second
After the canning dished out by viewers last night, only the most hungover of music execs would be confident this morning of the continuing relevance of the annual industry knees-up.
Burma rebrands: a dictatorship, without the uniforms
Saturday’s Burmese election was, in reality, just the junta’s mechanism for shifting away from an overt military dictatorship to a slightly more covert form — dictatorship without so many uniforms.
Mungo MacCallum: For Gillard, banks a perfect opportunity to get on with it
Julia Gillard is there to govern and must be seen to be doing so. To be — how should one put it? — moving forward. Banks may be providing her a perfect opportunity to do so.
The Brumby Dump: Medicare dental scheme under-funding hurts
The Medicare Dental Scheme has caused a huge increase in the number of dental care complaints in Victoria in the last year, write Swinburne journalism students Jessica Adams and Sophie Lishman.
Richardson: Liberals enjoying Labor’s Green predicament
Every day that Labor spends worrying about the Greens is a day that it’s not trying to beat its actual opponents.
Gene patenting … who are the rent seekers?
There is a debate that reflects a major public policy battle currently being played out in parliament, the bureaucracy and in a Senate Inquiry into the patenting of gene sequences, writes Anna George, former diplomat and mulilateral negotiator/
BHP 3rd most valuable company as Liberal bank holdings hit $28m
With the federal government warning of revenue shortfalls on its new mineral resources rent tax courtesy of the surging dollar, it is clear BHP-Billiton could comfortably afford to pay billions more in tax if the MRRT variables were tweaked.
Top-value CEOs — here’s five of the very best
While we often focus on executive excess and the all-too common scenario of shareholders not getting value for money from their well-paid CEOs, today, we list Australia’s five best-value chief executives.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The banks have become the robber barons
Crikey readers have their say.
Mungo MacCallum: Markets continue recent good form
The S&P 500 was up for the fifth straight day and up 3.6% in the week for its fifth straight weekly gain.
Daily Proposition: Drink a glass of history
Age is no barrier to occasionally enjoying the good things life has to offer. Michael Vaughan uncorks some history with a 1977 Taltarni cabernet sauvignon.
Media briefs: ABC rural jobs … Marr loves drugs! … Coulson grilled on phone taps …
In today’s Media Briefs the ABC pool together resources for the bush, David Marr discusses his use of narcotics, Russian journo left for dead after doorstep beating and more…
Political snippets: Always intrested by Australia’s place in the world
I admit to being a bit of a sucker for lists — the best of this, the worst of that. I’m just intrigued to see how, for example, other people rate Australia in the hierarchy of the world’s nations.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Film success no blockbuster. Ben Eltham is spot on with his analysis (in Crikey Friday) of the New Zealand government subsidising The Hobbit. Hollywood Studios ruthlessly mine governments for subsidy and the benefits are short term and ephemeral. The notion that workers on a film are not employees but independent contractors is an absolute nonsense and fails […]
