The Anti-Carbon Tax rally gathered in Canberra yesterday was hardly a great success – for them or the politicians they meant to support but actually damaged, writes Jeremy Sear .
March, 2011
Japan earthquake 
Iodinine-131 in Tokyo’s water above the safe level for infants
The Tokyo Metropolitan Water Office says that levels of iodine-131 in tap water at a purification plant were found to be above the limits for drinking water for infants, writes Richard Farmer.
A hitchhiker’s guide to the New Zealand galaxy
Australians don’t deal well with hitchhikers. It’s generally accepted wisdom that hitchhiking is for people who are either a) missing a few screws or b) keen to wind up in someone else’s car boot. Luckily New Zealand doesn’t agree, writes Tom Cowie.
Tony Abbott in The Age and The Australian — an amusing contrast
Tony Abbott’s presence at yesterday’s Anti-Carbon Tax rally has generated very different portrayals in The Age and The Australian. So which outlet is biased? asks Margaret Simons.
Andrew Bolt is right — and wrong — about the school kid bully debate
Media writer Margaret Simons believes the TV networks’ handling of the YouTube bullying video amounts to child abuse. She agrees with Andrew Bolt’s commentary for the Herald Sun — but only to a point.
Bob Brown’s bitch is not a good look for Tony Abbott
If you really dislike Julia Gillard you will see nothing wrong with Tony Abbott standing next to a poster saying “Juliar: Bob Brown’s Bitch”. But if you’re a swinging voter than it’s likely you’ll be pretty turned off by it, notes Richard Farmer.
Newspoll: 52-48 to Labor in Queensland
The latest Newspoll reveals Anna Bligh is enjoying a record 49 point reversal on her net approval rating. Labor is currently ahead in Queensland 52-48 on two-party preferred, writes William Bowe.
PHOTO GALLERY 
Back to school despite the tsunami
This might be the most heart-wrenching collection of photos we’ve encountered from the disaster in Japan. It’s of a group of school children, bravely holding their high school graduation in an evacuation centre.
interactive 
Domino Effect tumbles the Middle East
There’s been much discussion of the recent unrest in the Middle East, but this animated map by Slate clearly explains what’s happened on a daily basis — and where — from the first protests in Tunisia in December to yesterday in Yemen.
Essential: NSW getting worse for Labor, is Robertson gone?
NSW voters are waiting for Labor with something a lot bigger than a baseball bat, according to Essential’s final poll. The party is set for a truly shocking performance in Sydney, where it is on just 20% primary vote.
Graham Kraehe’s definition of consultation
Our biggest carbon polluters are small employers who wildly overstate the impact of a carbon price.
Virgin’s bottom line in for a rough landing
Virgin Blue this morning announced a huge profit downgrade.
Hitting the footpaths for the No Carbon Tax rally
First-time protesters in their fifties gathered alongside Young Liberals in their twenties for a show of strength for the Melbourne leg of the No Carbon Tax rally. Tom Cowie and Andrew Crook were there.
Big and small, Woolies victims come in all shapes and sizes
Is there anyone Australia’s notoriously brutal supermarket giants won’t do over?
Rupert Murdoch, time lord
Psst, can someone tell The Australian it’s March 2011, not March 2010, please.
Labor’s return to protectionism on carbon
Labor is taking the moral high ground in parliament, boasting of its love of free markets, and pillorying the opposition for backing a carbon-reduction scheme that relies on a bureaucratic tendering process, writes Rob Burgess.
How social media pulled the pin on Bahrain’s social grenade
The biggest difference between Bahrain’s protests now and in 1994 is social media, on two counts, writes Arran Dall, managing editor of FACT Bahrain Magazine
Simons: TV ratings war … just who is bullying whom?
So two TV channels seriously pretend that they have some kind of moral standing in this bullying debate. In fact, it’s child abuse.
No denying it — there’s denial
everywhere
Tony Abbott — denialist or weathervane? It’s hard to tell which one’s worse.
Video of the Day: How Gaddafi built a cult following
This short news story for Time spotlights some of the techniques Muammar Gaddafi employed to build a loyal following in Libya, including publishing a “green book” students read every morning and reinforcing the idea of a “national trinity” consisting of God, Gaddafi and Libya.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Ever hear anyone talking about the Gillard-Swan Government?
Historically governments have usually had a very high profile second in command/Treasurer — this one undoubtedly doesn’t
