It’s the last week of ratings and everyone is tying up loose ends.
November, 2011
Media briefs: NZ’s storm in a tea cup … Levison latest … Milly Dowler’s parents to testify
In today’s Media Briefs: TVNZ issued search warrant for ‘cup of tea’ … News Magazines rebrands …. Gold Coast mayor unhappy with 60 Minutes, The Department of Corrections and more …
Political snippets: A Labor in-fight will do Gillard the world of good
Good news for the Prime Minister that the Labor left agreed at the weekend to oppose her at the National Conference on several headline issues.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Launching a book for ‘Spaghetti Brains’. “A former Rudd insider finds it curious that the foreign minister has agreed to launch a book by Troy Bramston, a former speechwriter who Rudd used to routinely refer to as “Spaghetti Brains”, and who was shifted out of his office to the Siberia of Tony Burke’s then-agriculture portfolio as […]
Crikey Says: One issue that unites across party lines
Today in parliament, in what will kick off the final parliamentary sitting week of the year, Julia Gillard will deliver a statement on the war in Afghanistan.
Video of the Day: Bedlam in Tahrir Square
Over the weekend thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where outnumbered police set fire to tents and attacked protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets.
Why more black men should call themselves feminists
Black men in the United States are usually more concerned with race issues than sex and gender debates, but feminism is the best way to help move these communities forward, says proud feminist and African-American man Byron Hurt.
Good Weekend‘s must-read Andrew Bolt profile
Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt has few friends, but Opposition leader Tony Abbott begged him to keep fighting the good conservative fight. John van Tiggelen eats dinner with Australia’s most powerful megaphone.
podcast 
Interview with The Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris
Ian Morris is one half of the team behind The Inbetweeners, one of TV’s funniest and brutally honest programs. Morris talks to Dan Barrett in the latest episode of Televised Revolution.
The 12 most bizarre stock photos explained
Why does a photo of a glass of milk have to include it being poured from a great height? Why do students always study while sitting on the floor? Cracked explains the 12 most baffling — and quite common — stock images.
By 2027, China could be #1
Updating his 2001 BRIC paper on the emerging economies of Brazil, India, Russia and China, Jim O’Neill has predicted that China could surpass the US economy by 2027 or even earlier, reports Kamal Ahmed.
Bob Gosford’s Bird of the Week: the Buff-banded Rail
One of the perks of Bob Gosford’s new abode was the presence of an unexpected new flatmate: Buffy, the Buff-banded Rail. Sadly, though, things didn’t work out all that well for Buffy.
Pike, the pepper-spraying policeman
Footage of a police officer, John Pike, covering peaceful seated student Occupy protesters in pepper spray has gone viral in the United States. But blame the police system rather than the man himself, says Alexis Madrigal.
The lobbyist list begins: Ian Smith at #10
If you want to know about the dark arts of spin and lobbying, you’ve got to know about Ian Smith, or Smithy as he’s universally known. Matthew Knott profiles the spin master.
The NT News, fishos and marine reserves
Last week the NT News fired its latest shot in its remarkable media campaign against what fishing columnist and commercial tour guide Alex Julius described as a “recreational fishing no-go,” writes Bob Gosford.
aviation industry Airport security measures: inadequate and designed by morons
The announcement of the end of the ban on liquids, aerosols and gels at international airports in Australia by 2013 leaves a number of difficult questions unanswered. Our airport security processes were designed by morons, writes Ben Sandilands.
film reviews We Need to Talk About Kevin — not for the watercooler
Tilda Swinton gives an outstandingly haunted performance in director Lynne Ramsay’s disturbing suburban thriller We Need to Talk About Kevin, told using a swirly non-linear structure. But don’t get too excited, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Galaxy: no revival for Labor in Queensland
The latest Galaxy poll on federal voting intention in Queensland should put to rest overheated talk of a Labor revival resulting from divisions within Queensland conservatism. The poll gives the LNP a crushing 62-38 lead, writes William Bowe.
Last week of parliament for 2011
Crikey media wrap: The mining tax, a tax that helped bring down the Rudd government, is likely to pass the House of Representatives this week, capping off a busy year of legislation for Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
theatre reviews The Importance Of Being Earnest — Sumner Theatre, Melbourne
AFI/BAFTA/SAG/Emmy/Tony/Globe/Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush radiates as Lady Bracknell in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s new production of The Importance of Being Earnest, writes Jason Whittaker.
If Australia sells uranium to India, will Pakistan be next?
Like India, Pakistan is a nuclear armed state that refuses to sign the NPT. There is no doubt the Islamabad will be keeping a close eye Canberra and on Darling Harbour come Labor’s National Conference in December, says Dave Sweeney.
How will Andrew Bolt respond to his GW profile?
After quite a delay, the Good Weekend cover story on Andrew Bolt will finally be distributed in more than 500,000 Fairfax broadsheet papers. How will he respond?
Sideshow Alley: Bottoms to that
This week’s Sideshow Alley winner earns the prize for using the word “bottoms’ in a story about the President of the United States.
