UN sends Nicolas Cage to fight Somali piratesClearly the most qualified candidate for the roll, actor Nicolas has gone to Africa to meet with jailed Somali pirates in his capacity as a “Goodwill Ambassador on Drugs and Crime” for the UN.
Politics
How will the CPRS Carnival end?
In the next week or so, the carnival of climate carpetbaggers is about to fold its tents on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. How it will all end up is still anyone’s guess, writes John Connor.
A compromise on Crawford: change the KPIs
The Crawford report has succeeded, at the very least, in opening up for debate whether the government gets “value” out of the money spent on sports programs, writes John Orchard.
Mike Kaiser sails away with $450k as Bligh’s office implodes
Anna Bligh remains keen to recruit an outsider to replace Mike Kaiser as her chief-of-staff, in an effort to halt the destabilisation campaign that has seen nearly every member of her inner circle linked to a mutiny attempt.
Turkey debates a deal with terrorists
Turkey’s government is showing that an “Islamist” party can become a force for democracy and progress, challenging so many of our usual assumptions about Muslims, terrorism and the Middle East.
How Obama’s China trip killed Copenhagen
Despite all the fanfare around Obama’s trip to China, he failed to make any headway with the country in securing support for serious emissions targets, says Steve Clemons. As a result, Copenhagen is now dead.
Nate Silver: Why Palin could still be the Republicans’ next presidential candidate
Despite many believing Sarah Palin’s days as a politician are over, Nate Silver reckons she’s still in with a chance to be nominated as the Republicans’ 2012 Presidential candidate. He gives 10 good reasons why.
Sinodinos: The environment is too important to be left to The Greens
The environment is no longer a niche issue that should remain solely in the hands of socialist Greens, says Arthur Sinodinos. Major parties can advocate for the environment without giving up on capitalism.
Coates: Australia should not strive for mediocrity
AOC President John Coates argues against the findings of the Crawford Review in today’s Oz: Australians won’t settle for second (or tenth) best: we need and want our elite athletes.
The new EU President: meet the contenders
The European Union will announce its new President this week, following a rather sketchy closed-door process. HuffPo introduces the candidates and the bookies’ odds on their chances.
Joyce: Why I’m still voting no on the CPRS
The Nationals’ Barnaby Joyce outlines the reasons he won’t be won over on emissions trading: “the CPRS will change the air we breathe by 0.0000000978 of 1%.”
The world’s most corrupt governments
Watchdog Transparency International has released its annual list ranking the world’s most — and least — corrupt countries. Heading the list is Somalia, while Australia is the eighth least corrupt.
The Velvet Revolution: 20 years on
On the 20th anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s “Velvet Revolution”, Timothy Garton Ash looks at the other nonviolent uprisings it helped inspire over the proceeding two decades.
How the Nazis stole Christmas
A new exhibition of Nazi paraphernalia in Cologne shows how the Nazi Party tried to take Christ out of Christmas with swastika cookies and hand grenade tree decorations. Many of their “paganised” Christmas carols are still unwittingly sung today.
The case for a nuclear Iran
Gasp! Iran could be building “The Bomb”. Yep: just like Pakistan has bombs, Israel has bombs and North Korea has bombs. Does another one really matter? asks Aetius Romulous
Either way, Turnbull’s on eggshells
Malcolm Turnbull is caught in a pincer movement between Liberal conservatives and Kevin Rudd — and both appear determined to destroy him.
Xenophon didn’t go far enough: no religion should be tax free
Nick Xenophon’s attack on the tax free status Church of Scientology last night was laudable, and long overdue, but did not go nearly far enough, writes Jane Shaw.
Any sport in a storm: Coates and Co cop a reality check
At a moment when we’ve just emerged from recession, when childhood obesity in Australia is at an all-time high and when some state schools have little or no sporting equipment — let alone PE teachers — David Crawford’s report into Olympic funding couldn’t have come at a better time.
Olympic establishment mobilises to shout down Crawford Report
It didn’t take long for the Olympic establishment to respond to the clear and present threat posed by yesterday’s Crawford Report. Behold the fury of a parasitic industry facing the threat that taxpayers might stop handing them money.
Meet the Repulicans’ Next Big Thing
Meet the Republican Party’s great hope for 2012: South Dakota Senator John Thune — a fundraising heavyweight with a crack team of advisers who many are predicting could reinvigorate the embattled party.
49 million Americans go hungry
A new report from the US Department of Agriculture has found that one in six Americans went hungry last year — the highest number on record — as the country’s recession took its toll.
Australia grows sceptical about global warming
A new Morgan poll has found a growing level of scepticism towards global warming by Australians over the past 12 months, says Possum Comitatus — especially amongst regional and rural voters.
Crabb: Combet turns comedian while the Coalition clowns around
Greg Combet isn’t usually Parliament’s resident comedian, says Annabel Crabb, but he had them rolling in the aisles yesterday. Punchlines are a-dime-a-dozen with the Coalition’s climate sceptics around.
Costello: Publishing protectionism is bad — just as Farnsie
The Howard government’s decision to lift parallel import restrictions on CDs didn’t kill the Australian music industry, says Peter Costello, and the local public industry could survive just as well without protectionism.
Automatic enrollment: Sneaky plot or common sense?
Crikey pundits have been duking it out over the NSW government’s plan to introduce automatic electoral enrollment. Is it really a “shameful encroachment on basic rights”, or just good bureaucratic process? William Bowe wraps the debate.
