A new bill that has received little attention will dramatically expand ASIO’s powers to spy overseas, including on organisations like WikiLeaks.
May, 2011
‘Incompetence’ at peak doctors’ body split by climate change
A furore has erupted within the Royal Australasian College of Physicians over how it investigates the effects of climate change on public health, amid claims of management incompetence within the peak body.
The Brocial Network proves just why we need Slutwalk
A new Facebook group called the Brocial Network are posting photos of partially-dressed women without their consent. Just because women post scantily clad pictures of themselves on Facebook does not mean they consent to being sexually objectified or harassed.
Maley: why Europe fears a China-led IMF
Economic power may be shifting rapidly from the West to the East, but Europe is far from willing to cede the leadership of the International Monetary Fund, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator
Australia needs more doctors — but does it need more medical schools?
Australia has a shortage of doctors. There has been a shortage in the bush for years, and now it is hard for many patients even in metro areas to find a GP to take them on, writes a Perth-based doctor and medical academic.
Keynesian trap of spending: what of construction post-BER?
On Wayne Swan’s economic recovery legacy, the BER wasn’t all good news. Its short-term job-creating impact throws the economy out of whack in the longer term.
Budget breakdown: the disease that ate the budget
It is concerning that the plan to return the budget to surplus in 2012-13 is dependent on rising commodity prices and the ongoing expansion of the resource sector, write James Arvanitakis and Alex Surace, fellows at the Centre for Policy Development.
France’s parties face a world without DSK
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund and leading light of the French Socialist Party, remains in jail and leaves the French political world in turmoil.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Off tap on bottled water
Crikey readers have their say.
Morning Market Report: Disappointing data pushes US markets down
Disappointing economic data and a 7% fall in Hewlett Packard renewed doubt over the US economic recovery.
Media briefs: Age‘s protest picnic … Fairfax sells radio …
Former Labor premier John Cain and Father Bob Maguire will descend on the “Grassy Knoll” outside The Age’s building tomorrow to protest the company’s decision to sack 300 staff. Plus other media news of the day.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Dude, where’s my PM?
Latest polls seem to indicate that Tony Abbott clearly won the Budget battle, but most commentators put it down to a total switch off by the electorate to anything this Government has to say, good, bad or indifferent. Many were predicting it would be almost impossible for Julia Gillard to turn this around even with […]
Political snippets: RBA shouldn’t panic at modest wages growth
There was nothing that should cause panic at the Reserve Bank in Australian Bureau of Statistics wage price index figures released this morning
Video of the Day: Time lapse from the world’s highest hotel
Located 480 metres in the air in Hong Kong’s newest skyscraper, The Ritz-Carlton is the highest hotel in the world. This time-lapse video from AOL Travel presents some of the hotel’s gob-smacking views, which look like screenshots from Sim City.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Conroy’s pot shot at Big Harto. Ministers usually stick to the bland government talking points, which makes this comment from Communications Minister Stephen Conroy on AM this morning a real warning shot across the bows: “Mike Quigley is no more responsible for the corruption at Alcatel than John Hartigan was for the corruption at the […]
Crikey Says: Crikey says: a conservative climate-change target
Meanwhile, in the Motherland, The Guardian reports of massive cuts to greenhouse gas emissions proposed by a conservative British government …
AFL 
Where Fairfax and footy collide: save Aussie Rules reporting; save the subs!
Fairfax Media’s decision to outsource its subediting work threatens to damage our enjoyment of Australian Rules football, writes Jamie Johnstone.
Google Chromebook: always online, always in the clouds
Google’s upcoming Chromebook laptop will use a browser-based workplace, be permanently connected to the net and store information using ‘the cloud.’ The Conversation’s Srikumar Venugopal explains.
How the killing of bin Laden very nearly didn’t happen
The US military knew they only had one chance to illegally enter Pakistan and attack Osama bin Laden’s hideout. But the SEAL mission very nearly failed thanks to a weather issue affecting the helicopter and therefore the whole plan.
The bulletproof bin Laden hunting war dogs
US military dogs are a crucial part of overseas operations, but these aren’t no suburban Fidos. They wear bullet-proof body armour fitted with cameras, with their fitouts totally more than $30,000.
Introducing the al Qaeda caretaker leader
Following the death of Osama bin Laden, Egyptian ex-Special Forces officer Saif al-Adel has reportedly been chosen as the caretaker leader of al Qaeda, reports Peter Bergen.
First impressions of An Idiot Abroad
Part comedy show and part travel documentary, An Idiot Abroad puts British comedian Karl Pilkington in unfamiliar situations in exotic locations, writes Matt Smith.
