Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks was attacked last week for depicting the prophet Mohammed as a dog. Why the sensitivity? Academic and broadcaster Waleed Aly explains everything to Crikey intern Matt de Neef.
Columns / Crikey Clarifier
Dumb questions for smart people.
Apple versus Adobe
Apple’s battle with software giant Adobe — over Apple not allowing iPhone’s to use Adobe Flash — has potentially billions of dollars worth of implications on the entire mobile computing market. So what’s the fight about?
Did Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit achieve anything?
A two day talkfest on nuclear security was held in Washington this week. Does that mean we’re all safer from a nuclear attack now? Crikey intern Elizabeth Redman asked international relations expert Professor Richard Tanter.
What happens when a ship lands on a coral reef?
How did the Chinese cargo ship Shen Neng 1 run aground in a protected area of the Great Barrier Reef? And how will it be rescued? Crikey intern Elizabeth Redman spoke to Master Mariner Richard Morris.
The regulation of counselling
With the recent media and government focus on the regulation of counselling and psychotherapy, we thought it timely to learn what these terms actually mean. Psychologist Stephen Andrew and Psychotherapist Zoë Krupka explain.
DNA evidence — it’s not foolproof
A slew of recent cases has brought DNA profiling into question as criminal evidence. Crikey intern Nicole Eckersley talks to an DNA criminology Jeremy Gans about just how accurate those swabs are.
How to find a fine art fake
With Australian artists Charles Blackman and Robert Dickerson claiming forgeries of their art are being sold, Crikey intern Tom Cowie spoke with an art authentication expert about how one would go about identifying a fraudulent artwork.
What’s with Welcome to Country?
Aboriginal people have for thousands of years formally welcomed people onto their country. When other Aboriginal nations visited to trade, it was accompanied by welcoming ceremonies, explains Chris Graham.
How to make a fake passport, Mossad style
Crikey gets the lowdown on how three innocent Australians’ names were splashed across Israeli spies’ passports, and now across the nation’s newspapers. Compiled by Sophie Black.
Rudd versus Abbott on climate change: what’s the difference?
So what is on offer from the Government and the Opposition on climate change, and where does the truth lie? Andrew Macintosh explains all the troublesome acronyms.
RECs — what on earth are they all about?
Evan Beaver explains just what Renewable Energy Certificates are all about. What are they? Where do they come from? Is Nick Minchin making them?
Will a fat tax for airline passengers work?
Will airlines be forced to charge excess baggage for beer guts, love handles and other bits on the cellulite-infused porkers? There’s no “fat controllers” yet, but how do we battle the bulge and the budget carrier?
Crikey Clarifier: how the IPCC works
This week, the IPCC was thrown into controversy when it was revealed that its long-held claim that global warming will melt most of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035 was incorrect. Climate law and policy expert Andrew Macintosh explains how things could go so wrong.
All roads lead to Yemen
Yemen has been big new lately, since alleged Christmas Day bomber, Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, admitted to terrorist training in the country and put it firmly back on the map. But what do we actually know about Yemen? Crikey gets a background briefing.
El Niño — a cheeky Spanish boy causing havoc
Before global warming came along it was El Niño which meteorologists told us had the greatest impact on our changing climate. Well, El Niño is back, writes Crikey intern Tom McIlroy.
The difference between home loans and banana smoothies
So according to Westpac, mortgages and banana smoothies are very similar. But the money that banks needed to buy started to cost them a lot more, just like bananas for smoothies. You still following?
What is solar power?
As Australia attempts to plan a future powered by renewable energy, solar power is one the most talked-about possibilities. But could Australia actually be 100% solar powered? Evan Beaver takes a look.
Crikey clarifier: what is wrong with out airlines?
The sense of dread in the airports and lounges is oppressive. Seats and services are getting meaner and tighter. So why are these airlines treating us like dirt? And how are they allowed to get away with it? asks Ben Sandilands.
The JSF project … the J is for ‘joke’
The JSF or Joint Strike Fighter is a massively hyped, much-delayed defence project by which a single type of jet will supposedly defend the US and its allies from baddies. Think of a super duper X-box with wings. It has got everything. Or has it? asks Ben Sandilands.
Has Rudd really made it easier for refugees?
How has Australia’s refugee processing system changed recently? And are those changes really significant enough to have invited a “surge” of boat people to our shores?
Why do all these celebrities keep ‘dying’ in New Zealand?
Zach Braff is not the only celebrity to have been the subject of death rumours in recent times. He is also not the only one who has supposedly fallen to their death from the Kauri Cliffs. So what’s going on here? Elly Keating investigates.
Copenhagen. What’s it all about?
Apparently something pretty major is happening in Copenhagen in December. Some big climate change world meeting. Crikey intern Melanie Mahony clarifies what it’s all about.
What’s all the fuss about ‘blackface’?
In light of all the scandal following last night’s Hey Hey it’s Saturday, which featured a blackface skit, Crikey intern Melanie Mahony clarifies the history of blackface. Is it racist?
What’s with all the earthquakes lately?
A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the south of Samoa on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami. Then, 16 hours later, another occurs 30 miles off the east coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. What’s going on?
Penny Wong’s climate change ‘compromise’
As the do-or-die climate change meeting in Copenhagen looms, Penny Wong and Kevin Rudd marched to New York today with their new plan to bring developing countries to the table. But how would it work?
