The diary of Patti SmithArtist Patti Smith speaks like the poet she is of her encounters with sixties royalty at the infamous Chelsea Hotel, such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen.
June, 2011
Qantas CEO continues to downtalk the brand
Qantas is making a dismal spectacle of itself at the IATA conference at Singapore, with CEO Alan Joyce rubbishing the premium Qantas product. Why? asks Ben Sandilands.
Open disclosure is no silver bullet
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is moving to be more transparent about how much it pays health care professionals, but GP Dr Peter Mansfield has mixed feelings about the announcement.
Means testing the private health rebate
Should the cross-benchers support means testing of the private health insurance rebate? Amanda Biggs analyses the proposal and the impact of the rebate on hospitals.
No interest rate change expected
The Crikey Interest Rate Indicator is pointing strongly to there being no increase in official rates at today’s Reserve Bank board meeting, says Richard Farmer.
It’s no game Day, it’s the way of the future
One of the things that seems to hold journalists back from innovating is the pressing need of them to feel they are taken seriously. Margaret Simons rebuts a Mark Day column that says her ideas are kooky.
Venezuela: where prison means marijuana, bikini girls and reggaton
A fascinating look into the famous San Antonio prison in Venezuela, where the prisoners can’t leave, but they can sell drugs to locals, collect guns and inmates take the authorities hostage.
Game-in-a-Box: Panthers scrape through over Titans
A second half domination of 10% and an overall domination of just short of 7%, should have been more for the Panthers. But alas, their own game let them down, writes Pat Byrne.
Curtain up, wall down at News Limited websites
June 2011 is going to be an interesting and historically significant month in media. The Mumbrella 360 conference tomorrow will serve as the venue for an announcement of News Limited’s plans to erect paywalls around online content.
Essential: is ‘cost of living’ a partisan issue?
When it comes to perceptions of “cost of living pressures”, voters see the issue differently according to how they vote.
Black is back as evangelical Republicans rally
As Barack Obama mobilises his re-election campaign, the Republican base is for the first time excited about a black man running for president — former fast food chain executive Herman Cain, that is. Crikey was at the Faith and Freedom Coalition in DC.
Parkinson: are Australian utilities smart enough?
There is no shortage of new competitors keen on grabbing a share of game-changing technologies such as smart meters, smart appliances and electric vehicles, writes Giles Parkinson, of Climate Spectator.
Rundle: crazy Katter’s cut-price, fried policy chain
Bob Katter stood up on Friday and spoke for those sidelined, excluded and marginalised from politics, the real Australians who work hard and pay their taxes, and don’t ask for more than a fair shake. Good luck to him.
The Age cries foul on OPI yarn, accuses Herald Sun of plagiarism
Rivers of bad blood continue to flow between the The Age’s Media House HQ and the Herald Sun’s Southbank bunker with The Age accusing its tabloid rival had ripped off a ball-tearing scoop last week under the cover of darkness.
Innovation in Journalism: please explain is one notion that works
These days journalists have to know how to do everything — video, audio, text. But not many people would add song-writing to the list of desirable skills — let alone suggest that the newsroom investigative team should get a lead singer and a video clip.
King-Leighton soap opera plays its last episode
Former Leighton Holdings CEO Wal King has announced that he was not offered, nor is he seeking a role on the Leighton board.
War on the internet part III: lessons from the 17th, 19th centuries
The internet isn’t the first wave of historic connectedness. We’ve been here before, and so have governments.
Global warming above 2° so far mitigated by accidental geo-engineering
According to NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Science climate reports, global warming is already committed to a rise above two degrees, writes Dr Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleoclimate science, Australian National University
Last Bets: will changing the law fix the fixes?
So Sports Minister Mark Arbib thinks nationwide 10-year jail terms for anybody involved in match fixing will solve what the Sydney Morning Herald described this morning as “the biggest threat to sport since doping”? Good luck.
World Cup: SBS can’t kick tainted World Cup habit
SBS will still show World Cup matches even if recent allegations of bribery and vote buying are proved against FIFA, writes Luke Miller, blogger at Idle Senate Speculation.
NBN and crossing the digital health divide
With 22,600,000-plus Australians, even a conservative estimate of 15% digitally deprived residents means that almost 3.4 million Australians will fall on the other side of the digital divide, writes Don Perlgut, CEO of the Rural Health Education Foundation.
Pollsters lower their colours: carbon taxing credulity
Two pollsters have lowered their colours in recent days with poorly framed questions on the carbon tax.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Educating the electorate
Crikey reads have their say.
Morning Market Report: US economic numbers disappointed again
Weak jobs numbers saw the unemployment rate up to 9.1% in May, above the 9% expected.
