“My name is Kevin, I’m from Queensland and I’m here to help.’’

Continue reading 'Mr Rudd goes to Washington'

So much for the best thing since sliced bread - what about the worst?

In the 80 years since sliced bread first came on the market, Australians can be justly proud of innovations like the Hills Hoist and the bionic ear.

But can we be forgiven for unleashing something like Neighbours or Home and Away on the world?

And then there’s the combo deal in Jason Donovan who not only starred in the popular soap but also sported what must be a prime contender for worst hairstyle - the 80s Australian mullet.

Continue reading 'Worst thing since sliced bread?'

TO mark the 80th anniversary of the invention of sliced bread NEWS.com.au and Times Online in the UK are launching a global search to find the best thing since.

So far, NEWS.com.au readers reckon the internet, the microchip and penicillin deserve the title of the “best thing since sliced bread”.

Canned beers, AKA “tinnies”, has also proved popular with Aussie readers. Richmond star Matthew Richardson has even scored himself a nomination.

But of course, with inventions like the dual flush dunny, the ute and latex gloves it’s bound to be an Aussie gadget that wins.

Really, who’s going to vote (British innovation) the zebra crossing above the half-flush button?

Sliced bread first went on sale on July 7, 1928, in a small US town - so your nominations must have been invented in the 80 years since.

We’ll keep you updated with how it’s going and put the best of them to a poll later in the week.

See what readers of Times Online are saying here.

Make sure you come back to during the week as we aim to answer, once and for all, the crucial question: What IS the best thing since sliced bread?

Over to you ...

At 12.30pm (AEST) economist Ross Garnaut released a report which will map out how Australia should tackle climate change.  It gave us an idea of how much climate change will cost Australia and how the fight against it will slug you personally.

Continue reading 'Garnaut review - live blog'

Learn what an emissions trading scheme is and how it will affect you with our FAQ that gives you the lowdown on what you need to know.

Continue reading 'Emissions trading scheme, Garnaut review – FAQ'

Stick a fork in Hillary Clinton. She’s done. At the time of writing Barack Obama is just a few delegates away from securing the leadership of the Democratic party and becoming the first black candidate for the US presidency.

So what next? Well, barring an act of a God with a twisted sense of political humour, Americans will choose beteween Barack Obama and John McCain in November. There’s a long campaign ahead and some of the key issues are summarised below as starting points for - have a look at each, and discuss below, adding any other issues you think will really matter.

Age v experience
A key theme will be Obama’s youth and relative inexperience next to the 71-year-old war hero and veteran Senator McCain.

Turnout
Americans are not compelled to vote. Obama will turn out a different vote than the traditional blue-collar white workers that traditionally carry states like Ohio and Pennsylvania for the Democrats (if they win there). He will also be counting heavily on a youth vote, although youngsters are known for being keen to take part in campaigns in rallies and then suddenly disappear or forget to vote on election day. As always, getting out the right vote will be crucial for both sides, but Obama changes the game by attracting new types of voters.

Race
Yes, it will be an issue. McCain is strong with Hispanics and will have the support of Arnold Schwarzenegger, potentially putting California - almost always a gimme for the Democrats - in play. But other states will follow. Then there’s the southern states with large black populations such as Georgia, where the Democrats will have a renewed strengths. And we are almost guaranteed racial slurs from players in the margins over the coming months which could dramatically alter the course of the campaign - if one side is seen to be playing the race card strongly, it could drastically affect voting patterns.

Iraq
The war is costing US$12 billion a month. Over 4000 US troops have been killed. Americans are tired of the war. Obama has a quick exit strategy; McCain leans towards staying and securing Iraq’s future. This will be a core issue - who will have the strongest, clearest, most reassuring message on America’s role in Iraq?

The economy
America is struggling. Houses are being repossessed. People are losing their jobs. Obama has not been strong on the economy (in fact his policies are unclear in many areas); but then voters are angry at the Republican administration for presiding over the current malaise - this in itself might be enough to force a change at the White House.

And the polls say ...
Realclearpolitics currently has Obama leading John McCain.

Over to you: what will be the deciding factors?

UPDATE: Here’s the best interactive electoral college map we’ve come across from NPR online. It highlights the states in play and you can allocate them to Obama or McCain.

Matt Drudge called the race weeks ago when he published a photo of Barack Obama captioned “The Nominee...” - but here’s how America’s most influential news editor is covering this:

The Huffington Post calls it “HISTORIC”, and Nancy Cohen has a Clinton post-mortem. “Clintonism,” she writes, “is dead”.

Our friends at Fox News have been playing it straight bat but expect strong viewpoints to emerge at their election coverage over the coming hours. (There’s a nice story in there about Gina Gershon being furious at rumous she had an affair with Bill Clinton.)

BBC - Justin Webb’s America (blog)
I have just come off the phone with Ed Rendell, the Governor of Pennsylvania and Hillary cheerleader: he thinks it’s over BUT not in the next few hours

The Washington Post - live coverage
After a grueling, 17 month battle involving a dozen Democratic presidential aspirants, Obama is on the verge of becoming the first African American in U.S. history to garner the presidential nominaton of a major political party.

The New York Times - live coverage
Mrs. Clinton might take a page from Al Gore’s speech when he conceded the presidential race in 2000 after the Florida recount

Slate simply titles its piece: “It’s Obama”, a nice wrap-up of what bloggers are saying on the web. Slate also has a piece titled “The end of Clintonism”.

Wonkette
Hillary Clinton can’t call it quits until she has figured out how to get her campaign out of tens of millions of dollars of debt.

UPDATE: Obama has claimed the nomination in a speech, but he announced he had secured the nomination beforehand on Twitter.

At long last, victory is his.  After months of official campaigning and many months before that of lobbying and behind-the-scenes positioning, the marathon Democratic presidential nomination race is over with Barack Obama proclaiming himself as the winner.  But far from storming to the finish line, Obama has limped his way home with a string of primary defeats punctuated by the occasional win.  Campaign stumbles have hurt as well, as Hillary Clinton’s dogged determination kept her in the hunt despite almost universal criticism that she was a spoiler, killing his candidacy to massage her own bruised ego.

With his victory complete, let’s look back at a campaign that has surprised most - and angered some.

Continue reading 'Obama’s highs and lows'

Are you over the Hill?  Barack Obama certainly is.  Obama has now claimed the Democratic nomination over Hillary Clinton in their Democratic presidential race, confirming Clinton’s fall from inevitable nominee to frustrated also-ran in a five-month debacle that might end up ranking among the great political implosions of our time.

So where did it all go wrong?  Let’s look back on the top 10 key moments of the Clinton campaign - the highs and the lows - and try to work it out.

Continue reading 'Hillary’s highs and lows'

Highlights of the Federal Budget comment and analysis from around the web:

The Australian
Paul Kelly: THE first Rudd Government Budget is a great gamble that inflation can be conquered while working families are rewarded with a $55 billion package to cushion their pain.

John Durie: BASED on last night’s budget, the best news for business from this Government is still to come, with the $20billion infrastructure fund and the commitment to get out of the way by cutting regulation being steps in the right direction.

Alan Wood: IT was Kevin Rudd who declared war on inflation as his Government’s primary economic policy objective - and the federal budget surplus as its weapon of choice - so it can hardly object if its first budget is judged against this benchmark.

Matthew Franklin: WAYNE Swan’s first budget will create longer waiting lists in public hospitals, at least in the short term.

Patrick Walters: FOLLOWING a long spending binge under the Howard government, this year’s defence budget is suffering from a hangover.

Matthew Warren: CLIMATE change and the environment was a trump card for Kevin Rudd at the election.

Herald Sun
Michael Harvey: WAYNE Swan’s debut Budget is ever so delicately cast with one eye on the nation’s long-term economic future and the other cocked to lessons of political history.

Chris Wallace: LAST night’s inflation-anchored, tough-love pitch to the Labor heartland by Treasurer Wayne Swan was smart politics, sound policy and startlingly honest.

Terry McCrann: WAYNE Swan has delivered Peter Costello’s 13th Budget - so far as the key big numbers are concerned.

The Daily Telegraph
Malcolm Farr: KEVIN Rudd’s personal pledge to deliver on all election promises looked patchy last night as details of his Government’s first Budget became clear.

Tim Blair: IT began amid low expectations and ended in one of the closest, most thrilling finishes in speeching history.

AdelaideNow
Melvin Mansell: TREASURER Wayne Swan came into this Budget cycle portraying himself as a middle-of-the-road financial manager.

ABC
Alan Kohler: WHEN the former Treasurer Peter Costello said at a remarkable doorstop press conference that Wayne Swan was the luckiest new Treasurer in history, he was absolutely right - but not for the reason he meant.

The Age
Shaun Carney: The Rudd Labor story about Australia - told in the 2008-09 budget - is that its new national Government is unsure about the course of the domestic and international economies.

The Sydney Morning Herald
Phillip Coorey: THE Rudd Government will put more than $40 billion in reserve for long-term spending on health, education and infrastructure while ending the open era of hand-outs it inherited by cutting off benefits to families earning more than $150,000 in salaries and fringe benefits.

Last night Lincoln Archer’s live blog of all the Federal Budget action managed to include drinking games, Ladette to Lady and the Fonze.

Now that it’s the morning after and the giddy excitement of Wayne Swan’s first Budget as Treasurer has passed, here’s a wrap up of the best of the web.

Continue reading 'Federal Budget 2008: Analysis and comment from around the web.'

JOIN us here for live coverage as Wayne Swan tries to impress the judges on Budget night. 

Continue reading 'Federal Budget 2008 - LIVE blog'

There are still four months to go until the bamboo curtain is lifted on the Beijing Olympics, but the powers that be in China are already showing themselves to be world beaters.  Recent figures have shown them to be number one for executions and now it would seem they lead the planet in the race to see who can pollute it the most.  And as the Olympic torch relay and Tibetan crackdown have proven, China is no slouch when it comes to long marches to silence dissent. 

Continue reading 'Death, pollution, violence: it’s GOLD for China'

AT NEWS.com.au we’re always searching for ways to make the site easier for you to use. You can let us know what you think we should do next on the site through the comment box below, but before that, some info on a simple new way to post your favourite stories from the site to the world’s biggest social network, MySpace.

The MySpace button is at the foot of each news article and will eventually be on articles across the whole site. Clicking on it automagically posts the story to your MySpace profile.

And here it is with a quick ‘n’ dirty Photoshop:

If you haven’t already seen it, the NEWS.com.au MySpace page allows you to add the site as a friend, take feeds of our top news and entertainment stories for your profile page, as well as watch the latest videos from the site.

Not on MySpace? The other article tools on our story pages allow you to post stories to Facebook, Digg, Kwoff, Newsvine, and http://del.icio.us/.

You can come talk to us and meet other readers of the site at the NEWS.com.au Facebook group.

But as I mentioned at the start, we’re always looking for ways to improve the site and make it easier to use. Any suggestions for what NEWS.com.au should do next?

In the US presidential election we’re down to two serious Democratic candidates, Obama and Clinton, and two-and-a-half Republican contenders - McCain and Romney, plus half-a-hope Huckabee.

It’ll be “Super Wednesday” for us in Australia because of the time difference. So there’s still time to do some homework and make some predictions. I’ll post mine below later today. What are yours? Can Romney head off McCain? Has Obama really got what it takes? And has Bill mortally wounded Hillary’s campaign? Discuss below.

Confused? See our interactive guide to how the presidential election works, with guest appearances from Will Smith and George Clooney.

Meanwhile here’s a bunch of stuff that’s worth a read if you want to get a handle on what’s happening tomorrow, and some other stuff just for fun.

Continue reading 'Super Tuesday homework, and your predictions'