Lebanon’s Hezballah-led Opposition has resigned en masse from the country’s fragile national unity government, triggering its collapse, writes freelance political writer Antoun Issa.
January, 2011
In Brisbane, water doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor
Brisbane is a hilly city, which makes the floods all the trickier. Instead of entire neighbourhoods going under (although many did) a lot of the damage is in small pockets of the suburbs, writes Barclay White from Indooroopilly.
Maley: jumping off the Asia bandwagon
Last year, the share markets in most Asian countries put in stellar performances. The Thai share market, for instance, rose by 50.8%, while the Malaysian share market climbed 32.5% and there’s little sign that inflationary pressures in the Asian economies will abate any time soon, writes Karen Maley.
Packing up our memories, and watching the waters rise
The waters were rising fast and Patty Beecham’s mother-in-law had to leave behind her house of 44 years. Beecham documents the painful process of packing up memories and leaving it all behind.
Australia’s affluenza built on a house of sand
Australia’s economic miracle and recent bout of affluenza is built on a house of sand. Local debt and what appears to be an unsustainable boom in its biggest customer.
Crikey Clarifier: Crikey Clarifier: what is a king tide?
Brisbane — along with three quarters of Queensland — is under water today after the swollen Brisbane River peaked this morning at 4.65m. The floods are not expected to recede for some time, it all depends on further rain and tidal conditions — and the arrival of the king tide, the biggest tide of the season.
Media briefs: Silencing the flood signer … yogurt war
What was with Channel Seven’s coverage of Anna Bligh’s Brisbane flood presser last night? Seven started with the Premier and a signer for the hearing impaired, only to zoom in on the Premier and completely cut the signer out of shot. Plus, other media news.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Brisbane … things are so depressing up here…
Crikey readers have their say.
Daily Proposition: Take the family to Sydney’s festival
While Snow On Mars isn’t The Wizard of Oz, it’s engaging, magical, well-played and accessible, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.
Political snippets: Pay attention to the trend
A salutary reminder to pundits like me to pay attention to the trend figures produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for things like the employment and unemployment numbers.
Video of the Day: Rudd in the thick of it in Brisbane
Here’s a sight you don’t see very often: Kevin Rudd with his pants rolled up and a suitcase on his head, wading through a flood-stricken street in knee-deep water while conducting an interview with an ABC journalist. The highlight? Rudd requesting a local shirtless old man to leave his house, to which the recalcitrant man […]
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Have floods shut the bank? The Bank of Queensland now down for 12 hours. Is this a coincidence? The Age delayed — even if you pay. My partner has a subscription to The Age — she got a “starter’s deal” six months ago. Recently she got a call telling her the price of her subscription was about to go […]
Vintage First Dog: how to draw a First Dog on the Moon Cartoon
Today’s cartoon is from 24 April 2009.
Crikey Says: A fledgling city, devastated
Accounting for its residents, recovering their lives, remains Queensland’s greatest challenge.
How to blitz a journalism job interview
Looking for a job in journalism? Want to know what you should say in the interview room and how to prepare? Mark S. Luckie has compiled a range of tips including understanding the competition and - duh - remembering to bring your resume.
Spider-Man on broadway’s #1 fan: Glenn Beck
Just when it seemed as if nobody on planet Earth enjoyed the heavily panned Spider-Man broadway production, an unlikely champion has emerged in right wing shock jock Glenn Beck, who described it as this century’s Phantom of the Opera.
Tunisia, Algeria and the disarray of the Arab world
Rife with poverty, unemployment and official corruption, the current situation in Tunisia is despairing but not uncommon in the Arab world. In fact, until recently the country was actually regarded as better and more stable than most, writes Simon Tisdall.
Arizona shooting 
Arizona Republican: “I wish there had been one more gun”
In the spirit of gung-ho gun activists Arizona Republican Trent Franks has responded to the Arizona shootings by lamenting the absence of one more gun, reports Nick Wing.
‘Rebuild of postwar proportions’: QLD floods
Crikey live blog: The flood levels may be dropping in Ipswich and Brisbane, but Goondiwindi is bracing for record levels of 10.85 metres, warned Anna Bligh.
podcast 
Pure Poison podcast: floods and firearms
In this week’s Pure Poison podcast Dave Gaukroger and Jeremy Sear discuss the two stories that have gripped the media in recent days: the Queensland floods and the Arizona shootings.
Buying time for Portugal and the Euro
The efforts of the European Central Bank in buying Portuguese bonds this week enabled a successful auction yesterday of a new issue by the Lisbon Government. Yields on the 10 year bonds sold averaged 6.716 percent down from 6.806 percent at its last auction, reports Richard Farmer.
Seven permitted multichanneling of sports and news
Stephen Conroy has announced that Channel Seven are permitted to multichannel the tennis on 7Two. With the event on the anti-siphoning list, broadcasters are restricted from scheduling sports like this away from their primary analogue channel, writes Dan Barrett.
23rd James Bond flick gets the go-ahead
The financial woes that halted the production of the next James Bond movie have finally been dodged, with the announcement that the new owners of MGM studios have given the 23rd Bond instalment a green light, reports Luke Buckmaster.
Some tips for media covering the Arizona shooting and Australian floods
In the wake of the recent shooting in Arizona, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma in the US has put together some resources for journalists and news managers covering the shooting, which may be of local interest with regards to flood reportage, reports Melissa Sweet.
