Monday 23rd of December 2024

fighting media crap...

media crap

THE Gillard government is understood to be considering a media inquiry with narrow terms of reference focused on the print media, despite a strong push from the Greens for a much broader probe.

The Greens leader, Bob Brown, will move to set up an inquiry on Wednesday, with draft terms of reference seen by the Herald proposing it consider whether technological change is hurting quality journalism and whether the government can do anything to encourage investment in quality journalism.

the value of special friends .....

the value of special friends .....

Tony Karon in Time.com shows what happens when you brutally occupy another people for decades; the world gets sick of it:

when tyrants are loosed .....

when tyrants are loosed .....

Airspace was still closed to civil flights. British intelligence chiefs had flown by military aircraft to Washington to confer with their American counterparts. After their discussions had been concluded, they repaired to the British embassy and there talked late into the night. One of those present was Eliza Manningham-Buller, then deputy head of the British Security Service and responsible for its intelligence operations and subsequently its chief.

humanitarian missions .....

humanitarian missions .....

On 13 September, one of the world's biggest arms fairs opens in London, backed by the British government. On 8 September, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry will hold a preview entitled "Middle East: A vast market for UK defence and security companies". The host was the Royal Bank of Scotland, a major investor in cluster bombs.

the real "rattus" legacy .....

the real "rattus" legacy .....

Legislation brought in since September 11 has hurt social cohesion and civil liberties.

The failed prosecution of Jack Thomas and at least four men from the Benbrika group who were acquitted of being members of a home-grown jihadist organisation in 2008 has not only eroded public confidence in counterterrorism agencies but also hurt our relationship with large sections of the Muslim community.

Engagement and dialogue became a distant secondary consideration during those prosecutions.

highly offensive indeed .....

highly offensive indeed .....

A forecast by the immigration department head, Andrew Metcalfe, that London and Paris-style social unrest would break out in Australian cities if 600 boat people arrived a month has caused outrage, and calls for his sacking.

The words have threatened Labor's multicultural credentials, with groups including the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils labelling them ''inflammatory'' and ''devastating''.

twisting the facts...

perryleo
Historian Says Perry Misses Point on Galileo and Climate Change


the great productivity lie .....

the great productivity lie .....

from Crikey .....

GDP figures out this morning were stronger than expected. The Australian economy grew by 1.2% in the June quarter, real gross domestic income grew 6.5% in the 2010-11 financial year -- the largest growth since 1987-88.

Nice maths for Treasurer Wayne Swan. If only President Obama could boast a better set of figures. Obama will take the nation through the numbers of his jobs package plan Thursday night (US time) in his address to Congress.

"aussie tony" & the importance of media relationships .....

"aussie tony" & the importance of media relationships .....

from Crikey .....

Buried in the glossy pages of the October edition of UK Vogue is the revelation, midway through an interview with Wendi Deng (who wasn't sleeping due to the stress of the phone-hacking scandal, thanks for asking), that former British PM Tony Blair is godfather to Rupert's and Wendi's daughter Grace.

trust who .....

trust who .....

from Crikey .....

We trust Laurie Oakes and George Negus to bring us the news. But not Alan Jones and Andrew Bolt.

And the news is worse for Bolt, the nation's pre-eminent conservative crusader, with more than half of respondents to an Essential Research survey not knowing who he is.

Essential put a number of journalists and commentators to its weekly online panel to ask who they most trusted. The results perhaps aren't surprising, and skewed with state-based stars, but show among the trustworthy and reviled that some of the nation's hot-headed megaphones aren't as famous as they might think.

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