Hotel staff worked to the bone. Which big US-owned hotel chain is showing us the reality of what improving productivity is all about? The hotel’s Australian operations last week received its new budgets for the 2012 financial year — we’re told head office in the US wants more profits, so that will mean more job cuts, if […]
September, 2011
Crikey Says: Crikey says: nothing to see here
Buried in the glossy pages of the October edition of UK Vogue is the revelation, mid way through an interview with Wendi Deng, that former British PM Tony Blair is godfather to Rupert and Wendi’s daughter Grace.
Google to shut down programs, focus on money makers
As part of an ongoing effort to concentrate its resources on fewer projects, Google has began shutting down a number of programs including Aardvark, which it bought last year for around US$50 million, reports Patrick Stafford.
Poetry Week, Day One: Lufthansa
In celebration of National Poetry Week, W H Chong presents a five-poem sandwich, one for each day of the working week. Day one is John Tranter’s Lufthansa.
infographic 
Envisioning the future (according to cinema)
In 2015, Jaws 19 will hit cinemas. In 2027, humans become infertile and in 2054 mutated investigators will predict murders. At least, that’s how mankind pans out according to popular movies.
1997: the watershed nightmare year that never was
For some unknown reason SCI/FI movies — from Terminator to 2001: A Space Odyssey — widely predicted that 1997 would be a horrible year for mankind. Cracked.com presents six famous films that prophesied disaster.
The agenda and ascendancy of Justice Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas, who views reflect and inspire the Tea Party, is one the most conservative Supreme Court Justices since the 1930’s. Can Thomas and his wife succeed in blocking Obamacare? asks Jeffrey Toobin.
newspaper death watch 
Is journalism an endangered profession?
Much has been said of the newspaper industry’s steady decline and broken business model. But is the craft of journalism going down the gurgler with it? asks Matthew Ingram.
Assange could face arrest for identifying an ASIO officer
Attorney General Robert McCelland confirmed last Friday that a new cable published by WikiLeaks identified an intelligence officer and could subsequently lead to Assange’s prosecution in Australia, reports James Ball.
A first-hand account of HSR Shanghai-Bejing
Traveller Peter Geran took the new high speed rail service from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South last Monday August 29 and thought Plane Talking might be interested in his photos and trip notes. Not interested. Fascinated, writes Ben Sandilands.
Onshore or offshore? That is the question
Crikey media wrap: Thanks to the High Court, Julia Gillard essentially has only two asylum seeker policy options: reinstate a Pacific Solution 2.0 with Tony Abbott’s help or abandon offshore processing altogether.
Miranda Devine: the columnist those on the left love to hate
The Devine Miss M is a provocateur par excellence. She stirs emotions, sets tongues wagging and pisses off people. Even Mark Latham – the man she bagged mercilessly as Labor leader – rates her as a must-read columnist, writes Matthew Knott.
comedy Review: Martin Short Live 2011
Some moments in Martin Short’s new comedy show suggested that the funniest bits would be 30 year old video clips. But Short is a consummate entertainer and many of his antics were hilarious, writes Josh Kinal.
Bizarre Parisian love for table tennis, Parkour and roller blading
For all the talk of uptight Parisians, they are quite at ease with using their streets for sport and play. Some parks indulge ping pong enthusiasts; others are swarmed by gymnasts and Parkour artists, writes traveller Emma Koehn.
Labor’s leadership quandary
Re-election is now looking quite doubtful for many in the Labor caucus so it is only natural that thoughts turn to changing the leader. But that does not mean that a leadership change is likely, writes Richard Farmer.
It’s the vibe: interpreting s198A of the 1958 Migration Act
Ironically, a government whose members have in the past described the Pacific Solution as inhumane relied on and failed using the same legislation because it could not guarantee basic human rights protections, says freelance writer Luke Williams.
High Court skewers Howard, but Labor takes the blame
What the High Court has invalidated is fundamentally the Coalition’s policy: the obsession with offshore processing was entirely a creation of the Howard government … to Labor’s eternal shame, has allowed itself to be dragged along with it.
Gillard’s ‘lashing’ of the High Court
Criticism of the prime minister for attacking the High Court is rather precious, for a number of reasons. For a country that allegedly likes its politics “rough and tumble”, we’re suddenly all very precious.
Global markets face a testing week
Next week has several trip points that could affect global markets, with one, next Wednesday night in Germany, capable of sending the global economy and markets into a swoon.
Financial planners and the irony of ‘free riders’
The Financial Planning Assocation is targeting what it calls “free riders” in the wealth management industry. Funny that …
Why jumps racing keeps hitting hurdle after hurdle
When horses die, members of the team are sometimes physically sick. Most often they just cry, writes Bill King, a Melbourne writer and public health researcher.
Bartholomeusz: Optus’ NBN collateral damage
On the same day that Telstra and NBN co-signed their deal, NBN Co announced it would pay Optus $800 million to shut down its cable network.
The Power Index: meet the megaphones, Chris Smith at #6
You may find it hard to believe that a man who has admitted to forgery, groping female colleagues and exposing his genitals in a boardroom meeting has kept his job as a morals-crusading radio star.
