The world’s leaders may have given up on a climate change treaty at Copenhagen, but brokering a climate deal at home will still give Kevin Rudd considerable clout at the conference, says Michelle Grattan
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A Forgotten Australian tells of a childhood without love
An extract of a submission by Caroline Carroll, chairwoman of Forgotten Australians, to the Senate inquiry into the treatment of wards of the state.
AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Forgotten Australians share their stories
Members of the Forgotten Generation tell their stories of abuse and mistreatment while orphans and wards of the state.
An apology is just the first step
Today’s apology to the Forgotten Generation is meaningless if it is not a sincere plea from the government for forgiveness, says Hugh Mackay.
“Hello, Rupert? This is Gordon…”
British PM Gordon Brown personally phoned Rupert Murdoch over his paper the Sun’s increasingly hostile criticism of his government.
Allard: Humane, but definitely not tough
So much for “tough but humane”: the Government’s offer to resettle refugees aboard the Oceanic Viking has turned the whole saga into a farcical political pantomime, says Tom Allard. It will do nothing to deter people smugglers.
Rudd’s “secret plan” to increase Sri Lankan migration
The Government is looking to allow more Sri Lankans to emigrate legally to Australia in an effort to reduce the incentive for them to come via people smugglers.
NYP editor Col Allan accused of sexual harrassment
Fired New York Post editor Sandra Guzman claims the paper’s Aussie editor Col Allan likes to rub his penis up against his female employees and has offered them promotions in exchange for blowjobs.
A victory for special interests over evidence and common sense
The Government has completely ignored the calculations and sound evidence produced by the Productivity Commission by deciding to retain the parallel import restrictions on books, says Joshua Gans.
Watch the 4 Corners report: Malcolm and the malcontents
Watch the ABC’s 4 Corners report that exposed the Coalition’s deep divisions over the issue of climate change and caused further rifts within the party.
So where did the rape culture at St Paul’s come from?
The Head Warden of Sydney Uni’s St Paul’s College has attempted to defend the institution’s reputation over allegations it harbours a culture of rape. So what, it just sprung up organically then?
Possum: What if you were a pollster and produced an outlier?
What would you do if you ran a polling organisation that produced a result that was almost certainly an outlier? Would you publish? asks Possum. In some cases *cough*, pollsters are damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
Doctorow: It’s all a bluff to cut a deal with Bing or Ask.com
Crikey’s Copenhagen Crib Notes – download them now!
Copenhagen is about to become the centre of the world because it’s where the world will meet to decide the collective path forward on climate change. Read some of the best Crikey writing on the issue here.
A Muslim soldier’s view from Fort Hood
An anonymous Muslim soldier stationed at Fort Hood shares his experiences working and praying with Nidal Malik Hasan and his belief that the shooter was motivated by “religious radicalism”.
This was an act of jihad
Even if Nidal Malik Hasan may be crazy, but make no bones about it, says Marty Peretz: the Fort Hood massacre was an act of jihad.
TIMELINE: A history of US health reform failure
An interactive timeline of America’s ongoing attempts (and subsequent failures) to enact health-care reform to provide universal health benefits to Americans. Will this all finally just be consigned to ancient history?
Palin: But what about the “death panels”?!
Sarah Palin has pulled out her favourite broken record following the House of Reps’ historical vote for health-care reform, claiming the bill may still result in “death panels” making end-of-life decisions for the elderly.
Meet the lone Republican who voted for health reform
Little-known Republican Rep Joseph Cao is the only member of the GOP to vote in favour of the US healthcare reform bill. Why did he do it? And just how much flack is he going to cop as a result?
Milne: Rudd stays one step ahead of the pollsters
Kevin Rudd may have been on a media offensive last week after a poor Newspoll result, but the ALP hasn’t been panicking too much: its finger is firmly on the pulse of voter sentiment, and the party knows it’s outgunning the Opposition on almost every critical issue, writes Glenn Milne.
Rudd down (slightly), but far from out
The monthly Nielsen poll further proves reports of the ALP’s death in the polls have been slightly exaggerated: Labor’s two-party lead down just slightly to 56-44, while Kevin Rudd’s approval rating is down three points and his disapproval is up five.
New Morgan poll adds weight to Newspoll outlier theory
The latest Morgan poll has come in with a two party preferred vote of 61-39 — a half-point increase to Labor — making it even more plausible that the apparent drop in the ALP’s vote from the latest Newspoll is just an outlier.
