The tragic deaths in Afghanistan of Australian servicemen keep coming and with every one of them our politicians keep talking us into the situation where there will be more of them.
June, 2011
Border ‘security’: how inconvenient is the new deterrence
I walked from Slovakia to Poland yesterday. No guards, no Customs inspection, no border formalities of any sort. It’s how all frontiers ought to be.
Video of the Day: The moonwalking bird
Michael Jackson would be proud of the Manikan Bird, which — in addition to been-there-done-that manoeuvrers such as “flying” — can also perform the moonwalk.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Turnbull demands human slaughter… Malcolm Turnbull responds to one constituents on live cattle exports, with an unfortunate typo: Like all Australians, I was shocked and deeply disturbed by the mistreatment of Australian livestock exposed during the Four Corners program on 30 May 2011. I thank you for your correspondence and I share your concerns. There can be no justification […]
Crikey Says: Crikey says: a healthy scepticism
Meanwhile … from the Hansard of the Legislative Council, NSW Parliament, dated May 30:
YouTube introduces CC licensing + mash-ups
YouTube has introduced a Creative Commons licensing option that provides uploaders the ability to offer universal permission for others to use their material. There is also a new feature allowing amateur artists to make their own video mash-ups.
carbon tax 
Coal exports boom amid carbon price talks
With the multi party climate change committee in the midst of the crucial negotiation phase for the introduction of a price on carbon, other parts of the country are rushing forward with plans that will see Australia’s contribution to global warming soar, writes John Hepburn.
Media briefs: Age blurs story … journo no-go zones … presidential speeches captured in real time …
In today’s Media Briefs: when a picture is not worth even a few words … The Department of Corrections … Age news judgement under fire and more …
Did the Pakistan army murder Saleem Shahzad?
Speculation is rising that the brutal death of star Pakistani investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad was orchestrated by intelligence agency operatives to scare off critical media, writes Ron Moreau.
film reviews Get Low — Duvall gets busy dying
In Get Low Robert Duvall plays a bitter old hermit who decides to stage his own funeral before he dies. With Bill Murray as a co-star, the film is warm and well measured, writes Luke Buckmaster.
travel An expat opinion: pleasures, perils, perplexities of Poland
Dogs in restaurants, more sausages than one could ever dream of, drinking beer with ginger syrup and being frowned upon for having tea with milk — these are just some of the strange things Jay Martin has observed while living in Poland.
Home of comedy kicks out Between the Lines
Channel 9’s latest effort to justify their ‘home of comedy’ title, the strange sports/comedy amalgamation Between the Lines, is coming to an end after just four weeks on air, writes Matt Smith.
O’Farrell’s crack-down on graffiti is a spray on stop-gap
There’s no doubt graffiti is a serious subject, but new and harsher penalties announced by Barry O’Farrell stretch the courts capacity and are unnecessarily linked to drivers licenses and demerit points, writes Mr Tiedt.
What not to do to score a date on Facebook
Facebook has connected many an online romance, but there are certain boo-boos one should avoid if they want to attract the opposite sex. All Facebook provides some pointers.
film reviews Super 8 — Spielberg and Abrams’ so-so spectacle
The mantle for the boldest and strangest blockbuster-to-be thus far in 2011 belongs to the Spielberg-produced Super 8, which is nothing to write home about, says Luke Buckmaster.
theatre reviews Bodytorque.Muses — Sydney Theatre
The cleverly-named annual event Bodytorque, at the Sydney Opera House, is determined to present the edgy and up-and-coming, billed, deftly, as “a new movement in ballet,” writes Lloyd Bradford Skye.
Mobile phones and cancer: assessing risk in a world of uncertainty
Over the past week 31 scientists from 14 countries have been meeting at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to assess whether exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields can cause cancer. Here are some of their findings.
Deputy editor quits The Age
Beleaguered The Age editor Paul Ramadge has finally announced that deputy editor Sean O’Connor will leave for greener pastures.
The sky isn’t falling: economy chugs away despite disasters
Despite the impact of the summer’s disasters, the economy is still showing signs of growth, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
For Qantas chiefs, life in the pressure cooker will get hotter
Telling Australians that Qantas needs to be less Australian to be successful is not a winning message.
Conroy’s blueprint for a digital economy … that doesn’t need an NBN
The National Digital Economy Strategy positions Australia as a “leading digital economy” by 2020. Or is it “Conroy’s Digital Economy Con”? Either way it doesn’t need a National Broadband Network.
Will government’s plain-packaging proposals make a difference?
The government is not breaking new ground with its proposal for plain packaging of cigarettes, writes Ian Hanke, of Agitate.com.au
Crikey Clarifier: What happened in the House yesterday?
So just what the hell happened in the house yesterday and were we really a bee’s you-know-what from returning to the political crisis of 1975? Crikey spoke with press gallery legend and editor of Inside Canberra Rob Chalmers, who was there in 1975.
