December, 2011
Crikey Says: The good, the bad, and the sexy
It’s the winners of the Crikey Readers’ Choice awards! Lyn White of Animals Australia wins the Crikey Readers’ Choice Person of the Year for 2011. Plus the sexiest pollies.
Rundle: goodbye 2011, and Knut who died from coke and hookers
Giffords, Zsa Zsa, Giddings, Merkel, ******, Moran, Osama, Obama, Mladic, Joyce, Winehouse, Rupert, Bolt, Hitchens, Kim … and Knut. Your handy reminder of the year that was.
On the campaign bus with Mitt Romney
Republican candidate hopeful Mitt Romney sits down for a chat about his views on Obama, empathy for people who’ve lost their jobs and pursuing immigration reform.
Kim Jong-il and Vaclav Havel: a study in contrasts
They died within hours of each other, but North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il and Czech playwright Vaclav Havel were opposites. The key difference: “Kim stood for power without principle; Havel for principle over power,” writes Joe Schlesinger.
Europe doesn’t like the new iPhone
Sales of Apple’s iPhones are dropping in Europe due to the economic crisis and the lower prices of rival smart phones. The new iPhone 4S helped sales in the US and Britain, but failed to excite the rest of Europe.
Remembering the lives of ordinary people
This American Life and The New York Times have banded together for a special look at the lives of ordinary people who passed away in 2011: from aspiring rappers, to grandfathers and poets.
Dictator Watch: the ten you need to know about
It’s been a bad year for dictators, especially in the Middle East. There they were, cruising along comfortably for 30 or 40 years, terrorising their subjects and stashing billions in Switzerland, and suddenly it all fell apart, writes Paul Barry.
Christmas without the tradition and religion? Welcome to Vietnam
As a Christmas hater, Tabitha Carvan thought Vietnam would be a perfect place to skip it. Except, every year, come December 1, the whole of Hanoi is instantly festooned with fairy lights, fake snow, and electric Santas playing saxophones.
The year in cinema: the top five female performances of 2011
It’s time to acknowledge cinema’s top five female performances (plus five honorable mentions) of 2011. Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia makes the list, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Why we need healthy housing policy
Housing stress is in the headlines as a result of a new report from The National Housing Supply Council. It coincides with further new research about the need to link health and housing policy, writes Caroline Chen.
Newspoll: 52-48 to Liberal in South Australia
The final quarterly Newspoll of South Australian state voting intention concurs with last month’s Advertiser poll in showing a honeymoon bounce for Labor under new leader Jay Weatherill, writes William Bowe.
Air Australia customers need certainty now
Travel agents are said to be asking potential buyers of Air Australia fares to sign product disclosure statements acknowledging that they know that the retailer’s insolvency insurance cover for the airline has been withdrawn or doesn’t apply, writes Ben Sandilands.
Murray Murmurings: no jobs on a dead river
Last week in Griffith irrigators tried to replicate their stunt of burning copies of the Murray Darling Basin plan. But, the MDBA waxed the report to a high sheen — neatly rendering the pages flame retardant. It’s a good metaphor for the response of irrigators, says Simon O’Connor.
Media briefs: Strewth, old news … sub’s silent protest … sponsored FB posts …
If you wrote a story about ugly Christmas sweaters, you’d demand a correct byline too. Plus Stephanie Rice’s Twitter romance shock and other media news of the day.
The year in cinema: top five male performances of 2011
Yes, it’s that time of the year again — time to kick off Cinetology’s annual awards ‘ceremony’. There were plenty of tremendous male performances in cinema this year, writes Luke Buckmaster, and here are five of the very best.
Crikey Says: Playing our part in a global dilemma
While Julia Gillard achieved her “year of decision and delivery” in relation to carbon pricing, health reform and the mining tax, her self-appointed task of resolving the issue of asylum seekers remains unfinished at year’s end.
Truce in Melbourne property ad wars: Fairfax, Catalano deal
A truce has been declared in Melbourne’s real estate advertising wars, with Antony Catalano’s Weekly Review set to merge with Fairfax in a pioneering 50-50 joint venture.
Electric finish to top year of partisan journalism from The Tele
More propaganda from The Daily Telegraph — this time on electricity efficiency. Let’s dissect a particularly blatant example.
Guy Rundle: Refugee debate dominated by compromise, not core promises
The anti-mandatory detention campaign, which came from the Left, has a simple demand — that the country live up to its freely taken-on treaty obligations. Why have commentators like Robert Manne lost sight of that?
Ragging on the boss on Facebook ‘like a chat at the pub’
A truck driver has got away with using Facebook to dump on managers in a case that has left Linfox exposed for failing to educate on social media. Other businesses beware, writes Brad Gardner of Australasian Transport News.
The blind eyes of Tahrir Square
When Tahrir Square was violently evacuated last weekend following the December 16 clash between protestors and the army journalist and academicAntonio Castillo went back to the iconic plaza to find a semi-blinded man who days earlier had told him of Egypt’s uncertain future.
The year in elections: the 10 polls that mattered in 2011
It hasn’t been a big year for elections in Australia, but worldwide it’s been quite interesting. Crikey counts down the 10 elections that mattered in 2011.
