February, 2011
Crikey Says: A landmark legal test case?
Christopher Pyne said that Marieke Hardy’s piece published about him last year bothered him “not in the least bit.” So why is he now threatening to sue?
Five inventions that were stolen from Donald Duck and Scrooge
Did you know Scrooge McDuck and the Beagle Boys did an Inception decades before Christopher Nolan and Leonardo DiCaprio came along? It’s true — and Cracked has conclusive evidence to prove it.
Farewell to a great artist and a great spirit, Les Kossatz
Australian artist Les Kossatz has passed away, age 68. His imaginative and unpredictable pieces of art are many and varied, including his monumental sculpture Hard Slide and the enormous ceremonial doors at Canberra’s High Court. W H Chong pays tribute.
Ivan, rapist, soon to be Swiss?: the billboards of Switzerland
The citizens of Switzerland love a referendum, with three to four held per year. With each contentious referendum comes posters from the fringes of Swiss society, packed with racism, anti-immigration and Islamophobic rhetoric, explains Troy Wilkinson.
Have we all been duped by Egypt’s “revolution?”
In Egypt the crowds never had as much power as many have claimed and the ousting of Hosni Mubarak could have been a ploy cunningly orchestrated by the military, says George Friedman.
Senior Liberal staffer: Hockey must go
Joe Hockey should be forced to leave his position as Shadow Treasurer after he undermined colleague Scott Morrison and manipulated the funerals of asylum seekers for political benefit, writes an anonymous senior Liberal Party staffer.
Are tweeting teens now privacy savvy?
The Press Complaints Commission in the UK has recently declared there is no “reasonable expectation” of privacy on Twitter. But concerned parents shouldn’t fear, says Alice Marwick and Dannah Boyd, because nowadays teens are savvy with online privacy.
aviation industry The Feds didn’t pursue alleged attempt to tamper with Jetstar pilots during safety inquiry
A Jetstar training captain has told the Senate inquiry into pilot training and airline safety about an apparent attempt to tamper with the evidence being given by Jetstar pilots to an ATSB inquiry, reports Ben Sandilands.
The Age feeds Pat Robertson a healthy whack of delirium
Last year The Age published ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims that a woman had been raised from the dead. Now their irresponsible reportage is being used by American crank Pat Robertson, writes Jeremy Sear.
Modest growth in Europe
GDP increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27 (the whole of the EUG) during the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with the previous quarter, according to estimates published by Eurostat, reports Richard Farmer.
Scott Morrison defends your taxpayer dollars from dead refugee children
I’ve been trying to avoid jumping to conclusions, but in light of Scott Morrison’s gut-turning comments about refugees I’m beginning to suspect that he might not be a particularly nice man, writes Jeremy Sear.
Nielsen: 66-34 to Coalition in NSW
The Keneally government’s re-election hopes have taken yet another blow with the latest Nielsen poll, which replicates the seemingly unbelievable 66-34 Coalition lead indicated by the last published opinion poll from Galaxy, reports William Bowe.
Video RE:VIEW with Luke Buckmaster — discussing Gnomeo & Juliet and 127 Hours
On this week’s episode of RE:VIEW Crikey film reviewer Luke Buckmaster discusses the bright and glossy Disney animation Gnomeo & Juliet and director Danny Boyle’s Oscar nominated drama 127 Hours.
Channel 7 “fast tracks” The Amazing Race
Channel 7 have announced that the US version of The Amazing Race will be “fast tracked” to Australia to air on February 27. But given it premieres in the US a full week before, how fast is that? asks Dan Barrett.
Andrew Bolt and the ol’ climate change chestnut
News Ltd columnist Andrew Bolt recently re-entered the “if global warming is real, why is it cold?” line of reasoning. But he can’t seriously believe a bunch of winter snow somehow disproves climate science, could he?
Re. Crikey’s Editorial (14 February 2011)
Jack Waterford, Editor-at-Large of The Canberra Times, takes Crikey to task over its misuse of Latin.
Sheridan and Pilger punch on in Q&A brawl
The Australian’s bearded foreign editor Greg Sheridan and leftist expat John Pilger had a predictable spat on this week’s Q&A over the question of Indonesia.
Sensis hangs up on 120 workers
Struggling Telstra subsidiary Sensis will make up to 120 staff redundant nationally following a disastrous profit result on Monday that has left the directories business reeling.
climate change Parkinson: Garnaut’s inconvenient truths
The first three instalments of Professor Ross Garnaut’s update to his Climate Change Review have been a welcome boost to the government’s ability to press its case for a carbon price, writes Giles Parkinson, of Climate Spectator.
Westpac stumbles, Kelly’s halo dims
Has the glow gone from the halo of the sainted Gail Kelly of Westpac, who according to some claims, is one of the most powerful women in the world?
Wireless obsession gets in the way on broadband
The conviction that wireless is a viable fast broadband technology is getting in the way of accurate coverage of the NBN.
Letter from … Mexico, under its smoking guns
It is true that American demand keeps the cartels in business and that American legislation keeps the business illegal, writes Matthew Clayfield, a Sydney-based writer and critic.
What’s keeping our cotton undies up?
The giant global garment industry heaved a sigh of relief overnight, as the cotton price eased back slightly from the all-time peak of $1.90 a pound it reached last Friday, writes Business Spectator’s Karen Maley.
Guy Rundle: Rundle: helping to form the resistance is the Right’s legacy in Egypt
It’s clear that no event will convince the Right that they need to look clearly at the world, without projecting their fantasies onto it.
