Costello Mounts Leadership Challenge | newmatilda.com

Seeded on Sun Jun 21, 2009 7:37 AM EDT (newmatilda.com)

an understanding of any great figure man is dependent on an understanding of their background. In Costello's case, his ideology was shaped by his devout Christian parents, who instilled in him a strong belief in Jesus's desire for a deregulated labour market.

politics

Opposing cultures | theage.com.au

Seeded on Mon Jun 1, 2009 9:17 AM EDT (theage.com.au)

Today's sampling culture is nothing new. Artists have been quoting each other for as long as there has been storytelling. We are just the first generation to criminalise it.

arts

How Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan Manages to Be Equal Parts Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses -- New York Magazine

Seeded on Wed May 27, 2009 8:40 AM EDT (New York Magazine)

You'd think that closing Broadway to traffic would be seen as a grand egalitarian gesture. Returning a public amenity like the street to the perambulating masses should be a source of democratic harmony. And yet it's not. Plans like these never are.

community, transportation, urban, planning

Idiot Aussies: Grow up and take responsibility - Alexander Downer vents, 10 years late

Seeded on Wed May 27, 2009 8:09 AM EDT (Australian News Network)

Remember two things when you travel. First, there are no special laws for Australians overseas. Foreigners make the laws over there, not us. And secondly, foreigners do things differently and they're entitled to.

travel

The dark side of Dubai

Seeded on Wed May 13, 2009 9:01 PM EDT (Independent.co.uk)

the secrets of Dubai are slowly seeping out. This is a city built from nothing in just a few wild decades on credit and ecocide, suppression and slavery. Dubai is a living metal metaphor for the neo-liberal globalised world that may be crashing – at last – into history.

world-news, slavery, ecocide

Internet Users in Developing Countries Drag on Sites Profits - NYTimes.com

Seeded on Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:44 PM EDT (The New York Times)

Last year, Veoh, a video-sharing site operated from San Diego, decided to block its service from users in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, citing the dim prospects of making money and the high cost of delivering video there.

technology, discrimination

Status of World Nuclear Forces

Seeded on Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:43 PM EDT (fas.org)

Russia, the nuclear timebomb. More nuclear than any other country. I hope they have a good maintenance program... oops

Lawyer jailed after taking Berlusconi's bribe - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Seeded on Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:20 PM EDT (abc.net.au)

Mr Berlusconi was also facing the same court proceedings but after he won last year's election he changed the country's laws to grant himself immunity from prosecution while he is Prime Minister.

world-news, bribery

Officials Say U.S. Wiretaps Exceeded Law - NYTimes.com

Seeded on Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:37 PM EDT (The New York Times)

the N.S.A. had been engaged in "overcollection" of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic

us-news, privacy

Sam Leith: Why not let the security services spy on Twitter? | Comment is free | The Guardian

Seeded on Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:13 AM EDT (Guardian Unlimited)

anyone who regards social networking sites as private spaces needs their head read.

technology, internet, privacy

Telling the truth about the Armenian genocide. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

Seeded on Tue Apr 7, 2009 8:10 AM EDT (Slate)

April is the month in which the Armenian diaspora commemorates the bloody initiation, in 1915, of the Ottoman Empire's campaign to erase its Armenian population.

world-news

Australia Is One Ungrateful Child | newmatilda.com

Seeded on Tue Apr 7, 2009 8:07 AM EDT (newmatilda.com)

China — one of the greatest nations ever to emerge upon this earth — wishes to acquire Australia in order to capitalise on its vast reserves of coal and iron ore and provide storage space for its surplus female babies.

politics, satire

Marina Hyde asks why entertainers no longer know their place | Life and style | The Guardian

Seeded on Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:17 PM EDT (Guardian Unlimited)

Once upon a time, the entertainment industry was an industry that made entertainment. Its workforce was required to do quaint things such as show up to movie sets, or make music, or go to wild parties. Today, that brief has expanded slightly.

entertainment