Crikey is offering two ways to test your political skills with Queensland election contests. For the really keen among you there is the long test - predict the result in every one of the 89 seats. And the less keen can try our short version where all that’s required is nominating the total number of [...] Comments (0)
With the finishing line in sight: • Reader DavidWH relates in comments that the latest ReachTel automated phone poll targets Mount Coot-tha, the seat of Deputy Premier and Treasurer Andrew Fraser, and suggests his 5.2 per cent margin will be swept away by a swing of 9 per cent. Full results will presumably be available [...] Comments (3)
Australian federal polling trends and election simulations Comments (45)
For those who have been alarmed by recent headlines about the dangers of sleeping pills and red meat, below are links to some further analyses that are worth reading, courtesy of Media Doctor Australia and the NHS Behind the Headlines service. (Perhaps every GP, hospital and other health service waiting room should advertise these websites [...] Comments (0)
The opening shot of director Bruce Robinson’s The Rum Diary — his first film in almost two decades — depicts a small plane flying into a beautiful coastal city hugged by deep blue water and cooked in sunshine. It’s a slickly veneered brochure-ready picture of San Juan, but it’s not long before we see the [...] Comments (0)
This is the final post that I will be making on the White Noise blog. For almost two years, Crikey have been gracious enough to provide me with some webspace and bandwidth to natter on about television. I’ve made some good friends during this time (both at Crikey and with a handful of people who [...] Comments (0)
Jon Robin Baitz is the writer of TV’s Brothers And Sisters, I’m led to believe. I’ve never seen it, but I understand it’s pretty solid. Certainly, The Paris Letter exemplifies very good writing. The structure of the play, however, leaves something to be desired (at least when one has a small number of actors playing [...] Comments (0)
Kakadu in the wet. It was a great trip - no less so because of the trip home to Darwin through one of the wildest rain and thunder storms I've seen in many a year. Here is what i saw through my windscreen for much of that drive. But what impressed most were the contrasts between the ugly glory of the Ranger uranium mine - smack in the middle of Kakadu - and the landscape that surrounds it. Comments (1)
Because the Vietnamese pretty much drive out of the birth canal on two wheels, they miss out on a formative experience we take for granted: adapting to four-wheeled transport. Comments (0)
You may seen these posters advertising an ice cream bar. I’ve quizzed friends, none of whom have managed either a convincing rationale or a straight face. Can anyone explain this slogan?What is the ice-cream-consumer appeal in the idea of Licking Cold Man Nuts? Is it being deployed in Bob Katter‘s electorate? You might as well [...] Comments (1)
Stephen Fry's newest documentary series has agitated some linguists and attracted harsh reviews, but does that mean we shouldn't still watch and enjoy it? Aidan Wilson doesn't think so. Comments (3)
There are references to bi-partisan pressure being brought on the O’Farrell government in NSW to change its opposition to a new Sydney Airport, in Sydney, in this answer to a question in Federal Parliament by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese. JOHN MURPHY (Member for Reid) – My question is to the Minister [...] Comments (9)
Australia's getting hotter -- particularly at night, rainfall is erratic and our sea levels are increasing at two to three times the global average. That's the latest bunch of climate change facts to emerge from the State of the Climate 2012 report, which observes Australia's climate and analyses the factors that influence it. Comments (4)
I wonder if Miranda Devine is aware of the fact that not everyone in Sydney thinks the way that she does? Angry Sydney says it’s time for rolling Clover LORD Mayor Clover Moore has worn out her welcome with Sydneysiders – even the 34,000 people who voted for her at the last election must be [...] Comments (11)
AFL fantasy football has exploded in this country since Dreamteam was introduced in 2003. Leigh Josey looks at the reasons behind its unquestionable popularity. Comments (5)
Oh my goodness! Here is your handy spoken word guided tour of my exhibition The Universe According to First Dog on the Moon in the form of a Podcast! My first one ever! I am quite excited. If you download it on to your mp3 player, and then go and walk through the exhibition whilst listening [...] Comments (7)
John Richards talks to Matt Smith about his upcoming show Outland, a new comedy show coming to the ABC about a gay science fiction club. In this podcast, John enlightens us with the show’s six year development, and explains who has the bigger closet to come out of. Podcast: A Talk with John Richards. Outland [...] Comments (0)
Tindersticks: The Something Rain [Lucky Dog] Some bands arrive fully formed. Their debut albums are such a perfect distillation of their aesthetic they quickly suffer the curse of diminishing returns on subsequent releases. Such is Tindersticks’ fate. The Nottingham troubadours’ 1993 first set, Tindersticks (aka Tindersticks I), so beautifully captured their late-night smokey tales of [...] Comments (0)
Maria was found decapitated with a handwritten message linking her murder -- not to the coverage of the drug wars in her paper -- but to her postings on social networks. The cartels have moved online. Comments (0)
A brief comment on the KONY 2012 that has flooded social media over the last two days. I would suggest exercising extended critical reflection on the issue before further circulating it. The issue is not as black and white as it is painted nor will any good solution come easily. Invisible Children’s suggestion of a [...] Comments (1)
Guest Post by Sian Campbell So, it turns out that even when you’re a recently graduated creative writing student (i.e. only one unthinkably low hospitality wage away from homeless) you are not immune to the siren call of Jetstar sales, and when $400 return flights to Tokyo called earlier in the year, I answered the [...] Comments (2)
One of the key challenges to improving public transport in Australian cities is that almost everyone wants something glamorous and expensive, like a shiny new train or at least a light rail service. As Dr Mathew Burke points out, although the obvious low cost solution in many outer suburbs is to coordinate new feeder bus [...] Comments (17)
Today, a Fairfax blogger wrote an article that questioned the effect of videogames on the relationships of ‘grown men’. I won’t link to it, for reasons that will become clear in this piece. It’s easy enough to find if you’re interested. The basic thrust was this: the relationships of adult men who play videogames suffer [...] Comments (1)
My brief in writing CSG and the land: straight from the farmers’ mouths was to look at the impact of CSG mining on agriculture/land use on the land surface, leaving the vexed issue of underground aquifers to a separate article. The underlying question was whether CSG activity detracts from agricultural productivity. Clearly it does, and [...] Comments (0)