A Greens candidate expected to win a lower house seat at the NSW election claims she’s the victim of a deceptive and potentially illegal push-polling campaign aimed at smearing her reputation.
March, 2011
Julia Gillard on Q and A: the ice queen routine with a twist of humility
One could detect a certain quantity of brittleness in Julia Gillard’s performance this week on Q and A, but she also displayed an admiral refusal to rise to the bait, says W H Chong.
Jericho: the truth vs what Bolt wrote about me
In the wake of Twitter related controversy about ABC’s Insiders News Limited columnist Andrew Bolt singled out blogger Greg Jericho and sent a furphy his way. Jericho explains.
Libya 
Forget guns, Obama. Try pen and paper
The Cold War ended largely because of Gerald Ford’s Helsinki Final Act of 1975. It should remind Barack Obama that it is possible to save Libya through moral - not military - assistance, says Niall Ferguson.
Obama: We need to stop giving guns to crazies
Barack Obama pens an op-ed about gun laws in America, noting that 2,000 people have died from gun violence since the Arizona shooting two months ago and better checks are needed.
No Surrender in an age of techno-dystopia
Cheap champagne, a boiling hot spa, a mad scramble to the stereo and The Boss, track 5. Cam Hassard reminisces about Bruce Springstein’s No Surrender in a time of unprecedented techno revolution.
Around the world in 28 novels (part one)
28 books, 28 authors, 28 countries. One year. Kent McArthur has embarked on a simple but ambitious New Years resolution: to read a classic novel every time he visits a different country, making 28 in total.
Japan: another explosion as toll rises
Crikey media wrap: Another explosion occurred this morning at Japan’s troubled number 2 reactor, just hours after the plant restarted its attempts to inject seawater to cool the reactor. And the death toll could be 10,000 in just one city.
Libya 
Hitchens: the West must mobilise
Gaddafi’s recent public appearances have shown him dripping with hysterical madness, and if the situation in Libya implodes while he is still in power the result could be catastrophic, writes Christopher Hitchens.
Alarmist journalism: full of sound and fury, sans context and facts
An inherently impatient media is quick to leech onto the loudest and raciest narrative, irrespective of truth. It’s high time the media slowed down and sent some journos off to statistical analysis school, says Mr Denmore.
Dirty tricks in Marrickville campaign: illegal push-polling claims
One of the Greens candidates expected to win a lower house seat at the NSW election claims she’s the victim of a deceptive and potentially illegal push-polling campaign aimed at smearing her reputation.
Dear Insiders, it’s time we had a talk
It’s always very difficult when you find someone you care about harming themselves. It’s time we let Insiders know that it needs an intervention before the damage becomes permanent, says Dave Gaukroger.
Japan earthquake Second explosion rips through Fukushima reactor complex
There has been another major explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the No 3 reactor, writes Ben Sandilands.
No power, no trains, no work: life in quake-hit Tokyo
Power outages have come into effect. Three-hour rolling power outages will take place across Japan, town by town, affecting over a million people at a time, trying to reduce our need for power by more than 30%, writes Paul Johannessen from Tokyo.
The gluten-free NSW Greens launch, with added planning commissions
It’s always good to go to a political launch with very low expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised to find yesterday’s NSW Greens party launch not nearly as bad as I expected. Real policies were announced, Bob Brown was eloquent and passionate, and there were only a couple of the sort of cultish, quasi-religious moments that irritate the crap out of me.
Bob Brown’s rare tactical mistake
Just because it is not going to help the New S0uth Wales Labor Party on this occasion does not mean that the underdog effect should no longer be an important part of election campaigning. It is alive and well and the NSW state Greens have made a mistake by forgetting it.
Essential: Labor’s woes continue, but Abbott fails to take advantage
Labor has taken another hit in support, with a new online poll slicing another point off two-party preferred support. But while support for the Coalition grows, the opposition leader remains on the nose.
Nuclear myths erupt in Japan
It has taken less than three days for Japan’s notoriously dishonest and evasive nuclear industry to concede the seriousness of the crisis affecting its nuclear power plants, including the “fail safe” cooling process which was a risk analysis bet gone wrong.
How ABC News 24 lost pace with news from Japan
The ABC’s 24-hour news channel came in for a kicking today over its weekend coverage of what is surely the biggest breaking story of recent times, if not the decade. Some of that kicking is deserved.
US renews secret push to impose its failed copyright regime
Having failed to use the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to impose a draconian intellectual property regime, the US is using a “free trade” agreement involving Australia to do the same.
‘Arrogant’ Apple faces copyright suit over iPhone app content
Apple is back in the Federal Court tomorrow, facing a copyright infringement claim from Australian TV production company Jigsaw Entertainment. The precedent could be significant.
Repeat disasters leave the insurance industry quaking
The insurance industry is facing losses this quarter that will approach and probably surpass $US50 billion.
Like cooking pancakes, don’t judge 7.30 on the first one
Pancakes, newspapers and new television current affairs programs have one thing in common. The first one never comes out quite right, writes Margaret Simons, and that applies to 7.30 on ABC.
So long, good riddance: the dubious legacy of NSW ministers
When the moon spins into its last quarter on March 26, members of the NSW Cabinet will say goodbye to taxpayers — and to the pretty sight of their ministerial offices and parliamentary bonuses we fund.
