March, 2011
The merry band of Libyan revolutionaries
Over in Libya, Jon Lee Anderson writes about the ragtag gang of young trigger-happy men leading the revolution against Muammar Gaddafi, where graphic scenes of death and violence have become the everday norm.
Queens of the internet
“Mommy bloggers” might be semi-insulting term, but Heather Armstrong of Dooce explains how bitching about household appliances and sharing tales of post-natal depression earned her millions.
Coorey: A shock(jock)ing lack of respect
Shock jocks aren’t journalists, but they should have the decency to treat the political leaders of this country with a little bit of respect, because the recent rudeness just lowers the — already low — standard of public debate, declares Phillip Coorey.
From murderer to giver of life
A prisoner on death row, Christian Longo, wants to donate his organs but prison authorities have banned it. Throwing the organs away would be a waste for the thousands who need them, but does a prisoner have the right to choose what happens to their body?
film reviews 
The Adjustment Bureau movie review — nothing much to report
Loosely adapted from a short story by Philip K. Dick, The Adjustment Bureau is a kooky SCI-FI romance starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt as forbidden lovers. The film treats itself seriously even though it’s very silly stuff, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Pardon my French
Over the seven years of elementary school, 40 hours of French instruction per year add up to 280 hours. Yet, unfortunately these lessons are a waste, with the children gaining very little knowledge of another language. Ingrid Piller explains why
The biggest naked Virgin has landed
The first of two former Emirates A330-200s for Virgin Australia arrived at Melbourne’s main airport at Tullamarine on the weekend, a completely white jet, still awaiting its branding, writes Ben Sandilands.
Breaking promises: it’s the same the whole world over
So post-election, the first step is to negotiate a coalition agreement and the next is to tell the people who voted for you why you will be breaking your principal promise. Irish politics is following the well worn democratic path, notes Richard Farmer.
Losing your money with Rupert
There is no wonder that the News Limited papers are so quick to spot wasteful spending by governments, the company is a specialist on the subject, with shareholders down $US25 billion since the purchase of the Wall Street Journal, reports Richard Farmer.
The NSW election guide
The latest polls point to an Illawarra-wide swing against Labor of 21% from a margin of error of about 2.2%. William Bowe introduces his New South Wales election guide, covering five electorates, from Heathcote to Kiama.
healthcare A wrap of recent public health related developments in journalism
In this collection of stories circulated via Twitter Melissa Sweet summarises recent developments in journalism that have a bearing on public health.
Spielberg set to helm WikiLeaks movie
Veteran blockbuster director Steven Spielberg this week bought the rights to Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding’s book WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy, reports Luke Buckmaster.
Journo shield law covers bloggers, independent media
New shield laws protecting Australian journalists’ confidential sources now also cover independent media and even bloggers and “citizen journalists”, thanks to minor but critical amendments by The Greens.
NSW Labor bags NSW Labor
A NSW Labor MP locked in one of the state election’s closest contests has bagged his party’s record on planning, privatisation, climate change, and law and order.
Guy Rundle: Rundle: What a surprise, Rupert winning again
Well, stone me, Rupert Murdoch got what he wanted. There’s a turn-up for the books, what a suprise.
Steel yourself for another round of rentseeking
Here we go again — trade-exposed industries have begun the ambit claims about the impact of a carbon price.
Simons: Murdoch’s Sky deal not ruffling feathers here
Rupert Murdoch is set to increase his ownership of the Australian Sky News pay television channel as a result of British regulators’ go ahead for him to take full control of the British Sky Broadcasting Group.
The Oz’s gay marriage trojan horse
Progressive Labor forces are wondering whether The Australian has been anointed as the 105th member of federal caucus after an extraordinary front-page salvo this week left Julia Gillard and Simon Crean looking like dills.
Memo to Ridout: big biz can look after themselves on carbon
Despite all the noise, the proposed carbon price will have only the smallest effect on all but a literal handful of companies, writes Josh Dowse, an independent consultant on sustainable business and investment.
NSW election: free money to be made from the bookies
The bookies are offering $1.03 on a Coalition win. If you have a lazy ten grand lying around, think of it as $300 of free money.
Anonymous versus the arms dealers of the cyber war
Corporate America has an array of weapons to deploy against those who want to subject it to greater accountability.
Cox: major parties show their limits on women’s issues
It seems neither major party leader put a sufficient priority on the WEL NSW event to give them something new to announce.
ASIO confirms resources
pressure
Questions are still being asked about the length of time taken by ASIO to complete security assessments of asylum seekers.
