The results are all in, and Britain’s referendum to introduce optional preferential voting, or “AV”, went down to the crushing defeat.
May, 2011
The budget fact no one’s talking about: the GFC is still with us
Though Labor and Liberal loudly proclaim their differences, on the key economic issues, they’re (pardon the pun) carbon-copies, writes Steve Keen.
Twitter and the right to privacy of rich British men
Twitter has been used again to breach several superinjunctions protecting British celebrities.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Osama bin Laden’s warranted execution
Crikey reads have their say.
Morning Market Report: Commodities up overnight as local markets underperform
The S&P 500 closed higher for a 2nd day, up 0.5%. Good session overnight for commodities.
Media briefs: Behrendt complex at … Bolt’s midnight calling …
Weekend Australian editor Nick Cater took a rare trip out of the HQ to add the latest instalment to his paper’s obsessive war against Aboriginal leader Larissa Behrendt. Plus other media news of the day.
A game for political wonks
Ever wanted to redraw political boundaries in your own name? An online game allows you to do it, and teaches how gerrymandering can have such a poisonous effect on democracy, says Ben Raue.
Political snippets: Politics of the refugee deal
You could hardly call the initial reception to the refugee swap deal with Malaysia a resounding success.
Budget preview: speculation, sweeteners and ‘tough’ love
It will be a “Labor budget”, the government says, “tough” for some but with sweeteners for families, pensioners and low-paid workers. Crikey prepares the way.
Video of the Day: Time for a crackdown!
Today’s budget, with its crackdown on the long-term unemployed — aka dole bludgers — reminds us of this classic scene from ABC’s The Hollowmen.
Crikey Says: The Axeman cometh
The cuts shall be deep. The axe shall swing wide. The pain shall hit the … hip pocket.
Osama bin laden mania: top 10 bin Laden pop culture references
Now that Osama bin Laden is dead his appearances in pop culture may stop, or at least slow down. From Family Guy to Team America, Scott Henderson compiles bin Laden’s top ten pop culture references.
Bin Laden raid: security team divided, odds not great
Barack Obama has acknowledged that he rejected the advice of a number of national security advisers on the bin Laden raid and that his team were sharply divided on the issue, writes Joby Warrick and Karin Brulliard.
Dear customers shamelessly pillaging our discounted books
Jen Mueller pens a letter to the customers harassing her at the liquidation bookstore where she works, noting that, sadly, a petition will not be enough to keep this business out of the hands of administrators.
The virtues and vices of Storify
The new social media aggregation tool Storify is all the rage at the moment, but it takes a while to get used to and can be time consuming. Elana Zak lists the pros and cons.
healthcare 
What can we expect from the budget for health?
It has also said that a comprehensive dental plan will not be funded this year, although a ‘down-payment‘ will be made. Rebecca de Boer has investigated the backdrop to tonight’s budget announcements.
film reviews Source Code movie release — a near classic
If Alfred Hitchcock were alive and directed a cross between The Matrix, Groundhog Day and Murder on the Orient Express it would resemble something along the lines of Jake Gyllenhall’s new action SCI-FI Source Code, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Perceptions vs the pallette: dissecting Austrian rieslings
Eric Asimov loves Austrian rieslings, linking them with dry finishes and mineral flavours “etched with laserlike precision.” But a recent sample of 20 rieslings from various vintages didn’t quite meet his expectations.
Get ready for Swan’s deep cuts
Crikey wrap: It’s a big day for Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan, who’ll be presenting the much-anticipated first budget of the Gillard government, with a focus on returning the budget to surplus by 2012-13.
Hitchens: Chomsky’s views on 9/11 are ignorant and misguided
Noam Chomsky, the “guru of the left,” has always endorsed a “turning to the facts” mentality. It is therefore staggering that he does not acknowledge the mountain of evidence against Osama bin Laden, writes Christopher Hitchens.
Two billion people watched the royal wedding. Really?
Two billion people has been the figure trotted out by lazy journalists as the number of people who watched the royal wedding. Seems a bit suss, doesn’t it, that supposedly 2/7ths of the entire population watched, writes Jeremy Sear.
