15 May, 2016

Thinking of linking

This week I have been mostly reading...

Australia:
Australians crave change. But this election won't deliver it

Q&A recap: Audience member delivers an early campaign reminder to all politicians

‘Jobs and growth’ and deja vu: reprising a failed American experiment

Malcolm Turnbull named in Panama Papers

How Bunnings turns the screws on customers

Dutton calls medical evacuation a 'racket.'

Vengeful micro parties go after Barnaby Joyce's scalp

Farmer was deeply depressed when he killed environmental officer, court hears

George Christensen tries to put pressure on Labor over Syrian refugee settlement

The reason why Malcolm Turnbull opted for such a long campaign is because he has to build his campaign team from scratch

Coalition corruption: They are not even embarrassed about it

Why the amount of tax Duncan Storrar pays doesn't actually matter

How negative gearing replaced the great Australian dream and distorted the economy

Preference deals are driven by pure politics

US:
Donald Trump Announces Debt Plan That Would Collapse Entire Global Economy

A Hacker Put Marco Rubio Porn Memes on Two Billboards in Alabama

Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private

Why does New Orleans have more murders than similar cities? Experts search for answers

'70s High School Art Project Mistakenly Valued At $50K On 'Antiques Roadshow'

World:
Reconciling with president-elect Duterte

Roger Waters on why his fellow musicians are terrified to speak out against Israel 

Turkey could cut off Islamic State’s supply lines. So why doesn’t it?

Media:
Online threats are not free speech

Literary magazine Meanjin may close after losing Australia Council funding

Literary magazine Meanjin to have funding cut

The ‘Australian’ Tried To Go After Duncan From #QandA And It’s Backfiring Spectacularly

Malcolm Turnbull and the Panama Papers. It just doesn't seem fair
 
It’s Not About Duncan

Is everybody happy now?

Why Movie Stars Still Exist Despite Their Lack of Box Office Appeal

Facebook's news saga reminds us humans are biased by design - Preferencing credible sources is not political bias, mmmkay?

Society:
Millennials have allies in the emerging grey vote

Six Divisive Regional Slang Terms Likely To Result In An Australian Civil War

Conversations in contrast

Music:
Remo Belli, Who Developed Synthetic Drumhead and Changed Music, Dies at 88

The poignant story of Jimmie Nicol: The guy who replaced Ringo Star and lived as a Beatle for two weeks

Bowie in Melbourne, 1987

Why I Deleted Your Band's Promo Email

Science:
Global sea-level expert John Church made to walk the plank by CSIRO - The barbarians are at the gate, and they're not waving ISIS flags. 

Animals:
From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Tuyu the buffalo, the future of protein is not meat

History:
A generation of artists were wiped out by Aids and we barely talk about it

Culture:
Winona Ryder's turning point

Humour and satire:
Which idiot?

Clickbait of the week:
6 Signs You’re An Outgoing Introvert, Because Yes, Those Exist - closest thing to me I've found

I got stupid on me and I need to wipe if off on you:
Cash can’t beat genetics in class - starts off by comparing Labor tax policy to Hitler (seriously!) and finishes by suggesting academic achievement is decided by genetics. 

The least boring photo on my camera roll:

13 May, 2016

How to sell newspapers


In case you needed further evidence that The Hun is more a political propaganda outlet than a news organisation, today’s new low should leave you in no doubt.

The News Ltd stable has launched a crusade this week against the suburban father who dared to question the government’s tax policy on live television. What made it even worse was that it was on the ABC, which News Corp considers unfair competition.

The Murdoch media has been the loudest to complain about how hard it is for them to make a dollar in the digital age. It’s a fair point, which is why it’s so odd that they would turn again someone like Duncan Storrar.

I am no businessman, and I’m not much of a demographer either, but it seems to me that a lot more people like Mr Storrar would buy and read the Herald Sun than people like Innes Willox, Kelly O’Dwyer or Rupert Murdoch. That’s simple law-of-averages stuff really. There are more Duncans out there than Ruperts.

So why denigrate your main market? Well, the wealthy know there are more poor people than rich people, so they need to convince enough of the poor that the rich are on their side and it’s the really poor who are holding them back. Sounds nonsensical? Yes it does. But why else would the most powerful media outlet in the country, which is already overtly campaigning for the sitting government, sic their editors onto a disabled father?

You know what else people who buy newspapers like? Intellectual and moral consistency. So if you’re going to dedicate the front page to being all sanctimonious about one man’s criminal record, don’t plug an interview with a notorious gangland figure, referred to by his son’s first name, on the same damn page! That just makes you look stupid.
That would be notorious gangland murderer Carl Williams, whose drug trafficking father George died recently.

  

10 May, 2016

Thinking of linking

What I've been reading lately...

Australia:
It's on us: The real world consequences of our politics

Writers and publishers voice opposition to new copyright proposals

Australia Post's $9 pick-up service enough to make me go postal

Refugee fighting for life in Nauru hospital after setting herself alight

Infographic: the size of Australia’s government

Peter Dutton hit a low today

Budget 2016: Winners and losers

Budget 2016: Tony Abbott's 'zombies' add billions to Malcolm Turnbull's first budget

Federal budget 2016: The more you look at it, the better it gets

Why The Government’s New Internship Program For Young People Is A Terrible Idea

Don't be cynical: Malcolm Turnbull defends new 'slave trade' internships

Scott Morrison's budget is unusual – but not for the reason he thinks it is

Abbott (still) says the darndest things!

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has been saved, but George Brandis can still refuse to give up his metadata - Hypocrisy, thy IP address is...

Cuts force online archive Trove to stop adding to collection - Philistines! 

Windsor: ‘I have never owned or sold a coalmine to anyone’

Bronwyn Bishop gives final speech as MP, blaming Tony Abbott for downfall

Dutton risked safety of asylum seeker sent to PNG for abortion, court finds

Liberal Rising Star Copied His Tough Family History From A Fake US Congressman

Q&A recap: questions about trickle-down economics open the floodgates

An alternative to offshore detention

Australia’s Oldest Man, Who Knitted Jumpers For Penguins, Has Died At 110

Ormond College woodman kept the fires burning

US:
The single best joke told by every president, from Obama to Washington

Trickle-Down Economics Has Ruined the Kansas Economy

Republicans in uncharted territory

Republicans Burn Their Voter Registration Cards After Trump Becomes Likely Nominee

City provides sinkhole driving map for motorists; translation requested

Sinkhole de Mayo party on Canal St: When life hands you sinkholes, make margaritas

Watch Republicans Come To Grips With Accepting Donald Trump

President Obama: The TPP would let America, not China, lead the way on global trade

Hillary Clinton turns her attention to Donald Trump

Few stand in Trump’s way as he piles up the Four-Pinocchio whoppers

Trump's New Finance Chair Led a Bank That Made Millions Off Taxpayer Bailouts

UK:
Tory child abuse whistleblower: 'Margaret Thatcher knew all about underage sex ring among ministers'

Imam accused of being an ‘Isis supporter’ demands apology from David Cameron

World:
Italian court rules food theft 'not a crime' if hungry - This is the difference between law and justice

Millennials for Martial Law - Those who don't learn from history...

Save The Children video shows what life would be like if British refugees were fleeing a UK civil war

Music:
Paul McCartney Meets Women Who Inspired Beatles' 'Blackbird' - I'm not sure about this. It's only recently that he's begun describing Blackbird this way.

Pink Floyd to reissue catalogue on vinyl

Media:
Everything wrong with the new Ghostbusters trailer that justifies the hate for it

ABC Radio staff told to put people with 'difficult' accents on air

'Priceless' Mamamia internship sold at a charity auction for $10,000

Logies 2016: Waleed Aly and Noni Hazlehurst ride a glacier into the 21st century

Society:
The Subtle Design Features That Make Cities Feel More Hostile - this is just wrong

Study reveals ‘global sleep crisis’ is threat to our health

Culture:
Hanging With Al Jaffee, MAD Magazine's 95-Year-Old Journeyman Cartoonist

Science:
Why wind turbines have three blades

The train goes up, the train goes down: a simple new way to store energy

Flying boats or flying dreams: Could futuristic seaplanes revolutionise air travel?

Perception is its own reality when you’re eating

Tech:
A 10-Year-Old Hacked Instagram - And Facebook paid him a bounty for it.

Windows 10 free upgrade offer ends on July 29th

Apple Stole My Music. No, Seriously. 

No, Apple Music is not deleting tracks off your hard drive — unless you tell it to

Feinstein-Burr: The Bill That Bans Your Browser

Faith:
Bono Called Out Christian Musicians For a Lack of Honesty. He Didn’t Go Far Enough.

Animals:
Mother duck and ducklings waddle through school halls in Michigan

Language:
Why is ‘w’ pronounced ‘double u’ rather than ‘double v’?

The least boring photo on my camera roll:






01 May, 2016

Thinking of linking

This week, I have been mostly reading....

Australia:
Public service's lolly underground protests against treatment of Gillian Triggs

Budget 2016: Tim Pallas rides high while Scott Morrison dithers

Punitive, immoral and now illegal: the verdict on Manus Island

Turnbull’s negative gearing circus rolls on

Far from being silenced, the conservative voice is amplified and disproportionately powerful - "There’s a vast difference between being a victim of discrimination and the reality of fewer people agreeing with you than you’re used to."

The Project's Waleed Aly is in no mood to attend Malcolm Turnbull's negative gearing party

Penetrating insight into John Howard's sex life - you're welcome!

What are the submarines really protecting: Australia or federal seats?

Nauru refugee sets himself on fire in protest, man in critical condition, Peter Dutton says

Nauru refugee who set himself on fire dies in Brisbane hospital

An open letter from Jackie French (AM) in response to the Productivity Commission’s Report on Australia’s intellectual property arrangements

13 Times Australia Was Able To “Live Within Our Means” (Buzzfeed warning)

US:
Goldman Sachs Admits It Defrauded Investors, Receives $5 Billion Fine — But Will Pay Much Less Than That

Spreading hate has backfired on right-wing media: How Fox News unwittingly destroyed the Republican Party

Andrew Bacevich and America’s Long Misguided War to Control the Greater Middle East

Garry Kasparov: Donald Trump And His Enablers Are Killing Democracy

9/11 report: Obama administration 'set to release' secret 28 pages 

Guy's Po-Boys open again after getting clobbered by truck

Pseudoscience in the Witness Box, The FBI faked an entire field of forensic science.

The West Wing's Allison Janney gives White House press briefing ahead of Correspondents Dinner

UK:
Government 'phenomenally complacent' over VW scandal, say MPs

How the Sun's 'truth' about Hillsborough unravelled

London without old people is just a factory floor, with no past and no future - The capital is a cruel city for the elderly if they are not in the moneyed 1%.

Patrick Stewart sketch: what has the ECHR ever done for us?

Hillsborough inquests: Jury reaches decision on unlawful killing question

Sir Bernard Ingham: The disgraceful letter Margaret Thatcher's aide sent to Hillsborough campaigners

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry respond to Obamas' Invictus Games challenge

10 High Street stores of 1976 that have disappeared

World:
An Israeli Brewery Recreated a 2,000-Year-Old Beer

How being banned can be a blessing

Music:
Prince Recognized That ‘if There Ain’t No Justice, Then There Ain’t No Peace’

RECORD COLLECTOR: David Bowie’s Never Let Me Down album from 1987

Miles Ahead and the Wilful Explosion of the Biopic

Media:
How 'ugly' comments remind women of the beauty tax we owe to be in public

60 Minutes’ Beirut saga is unlikely to inspire would-be journalists
You know you're stuffed when even the Oz can't defend your ethics. But Planet Janet is wrong - it's not the final severance of 60 Minutes from what it once was. That happened years ago. This just made it impossible to ignore.

The irrelevant face of CNN: What’s behind the empty gravitas of Wolf Blitzer?

Why the Original Darth Vader Is Now ‘Persona Non Grata’ at Star Wars Events

60 Minutes wanted reporter Tara Brown to be ‘involved at critical moments’ of child snatch

When men talk about feminism on television - Nobody books Latham hoping for reason and perspective. The book him hoping for a shitstorm that people will talk about later.

Tech:
Screen overlay malware on the rise as bot scum battle for dominance

Society:
Bodyhackers are all around you, they’re called women

T-shirts with Myra Hindley on them? Modern art has forgotten how to care

A no-strings basic income? If it works for the royal family, it can work for us all

Faith:
On Forgiveness

Epicure:
Doomie's

Clickbait of the week:
Only in Louisiana! The doughnut po-boy

I got stupid on me and now I'm wiping it off on you:
18 Reasons You Should Ditch Your Bra For A Bralette - Is it part of Buzzfeed's style guide to write about yourself in the second person?

The least boring photo on my camera roll: