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Painting a picture of politics

At first blush Grant Wood's painting American Gothic simply depicts a stoic mid-western farming couple.

Looking more closely you see the painting is suggesting something far more disturbing.

Australian politics can be like Wood's painting; you have to stare awhile to see it but, once you do, many political arguments boil down to competence and conviction. More

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Tags: government-and-politics, federal-government, rudd-kevin, abbott-tony

Tony Abbott sparked furious debate when he confessed to finding homosexuality "threatening". Weekly wrap

This week, we all got in touch with our feminine sides, and discovered what a bad idea it was. More

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The NSW education budget must be a concern for teachers, parents and politicians. Education devolution

The NSW education budget must be a concern for teachers, parents and politicians. More

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E-readers vs the ye olde book - here's what I think. Well-readhead

E-readers vs the ye olde book - here's what I think. More

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ABC Columnists

  1. Senate talk

    The Government needs to get over its frustrations and try harder in the Senate. More

  2. Mark their words

    The battle begins over Australia's new media landscape. More

  3. Failure of leadership

    Did Australia hava a better relationship with Indonesia when it was a dictatorship? More

  4. Family or work?

    Michael Clarke has come under fire for leaving the NZ tour to be with his fiancee. More

  5. Listen and learn

    Tony Abbott still has a lot to learn from his colleagues. More

  6. More war movies?

    Are we going to see a flood of war movies on the big screen? More

  7. Striking a chord

    Kevin Rudd's comments as a father, on bullying, have struck a chord with voters. More

  8. Having it all

    When a mother works she does have it all ... all the burdens of home that is. More

  9. Cranky creatives

    Who decided all of a sudden that our creative people had to be nice anyway? More

  10. Old world struggles

    Two of the world's oldest civilisations are facing serious financial troubles. More

Business Analysis

Unemployment - what's in a number?

Unemployment. It is one of the most watched, and perhaps least understood, economic figures. More

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Demolishing the entire superannuation system

Is it worth having workers' retirement savings put at risk, and traded at the mercy of the market? More

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Financial struggles in the 'old world'

Two of the world's oldest civilisations are facing serious financial troubles. More

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You Said It

In ten years i can return to my bookcase and reread favourite books. Think about the technology you were using ten years ago and whether you could still use it today?

mik, on Well-readhead: e-reader vs the good old book (via story comment)

Education is one of the strongest correlates of population health. Putting money into hospitals doesn't improve population health - all it does is apply bandaids to largely preventable health problems.

Trevor, on The education devolution (via story comment)

If Rudd has the numbers, then he can force his policy through. If he doesn't have the numbers, then he can change his policy to gain support. Or he can go to the next election, and try to explain to the public why he didn't do either of the above.

Anon, on All roads lead to the Senate (via story comment)

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Watch

  1. Friday 12 Mar 2010

    A political investment

    Abbott's new tax isn't a tax, it is an "investment in human capital".

  2. Friday 12 Mar 2010

    Evolution trumps Creationism

    Richard Dawkins hammers home what he sees as his key argument against the existence of God.

  3. Thursday 11 Mar 2010

    In memoriam

    Introducing Hungry Beast's very own Oscars in Memoriam.

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Your Photos

Cattle make their way through floodwaters

Cattle make their way through floodwaters near St George in southern Queensland on March 11, 2010. (Tim Perrottet)

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Provoking comment on the web

The 10 commandments of footy tipping

With the NRL and AFL seasons almost upon us, Anthony Sharwood shares some divine tips on, well, tipping.
"Never tip against thine own team...If your team’s going down, do the decent thing and go down with them."

The battle for the Left

The Greens seem like Labor's allies, but they are rivals, says Nick Dyrenfurth in The Australian.
"Labor needs to convince progressive voters that it is the party of practical environmentalism and the Greens are pantomime politicians intent upon moral grandstanding rather than addressing an existential threat to humanity..."

Smokescreen

Blaming speculators for sovereign-debt woes is misguided. The Economist says banning them would be worse.
"The sovereign-CDS debate is a smokescreen to obscure an unpalatable truth."

Biden's disastrous Israel trip

Reihan Salam, in The Daily Beast, on Biden, Israel and America's waning influence abroad.
"...President Obama is presiding over an era of diminished American influence, in which allies and rivals alike feel comfortable thumbing their noses at a White House focused above all else on its domestic priorities."

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