This year the UK has witnessed a Christmas miracle. A miracle in the form of an organic, grass-roots movement to topple the multi-million-pound star-making machine that is the X Factor with an anti-establishment anthem that declares ‘Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me’. For four consecutive years Simon Cowell’s progeny have taken...
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Alice Springs residents say time is running out to stop a uranium mine being built inside the town’s water catchment, Daniel Clarke reports. A typically dusty drive 25km south of Australia’s central capital brings you to an unlocked gate beside the old Ghan railway line. Behind the fence, among the rolling red desert hills,...
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Britain’s drugs classifications and penalties are arbitrary and unlawful, according to a forthcoming High Court challenge. A London man has been granted leave to appeal to the High Court for permission to judicially review the decision to try him for the production of cannabis. Medical-marijuana user Edwin Stratton claims the Government’s criminalisation of cannabis...
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Red gum forests on Victoria’s side of the Murray River are now protected. Should New South Wales stop logging on the other? Daniel Clarke reports. In a curiously-timed announcement in the shadow of New Years Eve, the Victorian Government revealed what has been labelled northern Victoria’s biggest environmental outcome and an historic step forward...
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British artist Damien Hirst is most famous for his shark preserved in formaldehyde, and in “another bold move” in June 2007, he created a £50m diamond-encrusted skull, entitled For The Love of God. The 18-the Century human skull was completely covered in £12m worth of “ethically sourced” diamonds and sold in August 2007 for...
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The British Government has branded anyone with a camera a possible terrorist with a new law introduced this week. The law – marked with a protest by hundreds of photographers outside Scotland Yard – means that anyone taking a photograph that contains a member of the police, military or certain government personnel, will essentially...
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Black Saturday – February 2009, by Daniel Clarke: The Australian state of Victoria has fallen victim to what can only be described as hell’s fury – a series of raging firestorms that serve as the gravest warning of the frightening threat climate change presents our world. The authorities knew it was coming and the...
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The use of police sniffer dogs in public places is on the rise across Australia. Is the strategy an effective war on drugs or a dose of public relations? Daniel Clarke reports. A packed train carriage of animated music lovers on route to last week’s Melbourne Big Day Out momentarily falls quiet as the...
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Tensions are again on the rise in Tasmania’s old growth forests and the latest battle is leaving protesters assaulted, contractors out of pocket and an industry frustrated. The constant rain clatters against the burnt-out shell of a recently vandalised car, tiny tents flap violently in the biting wind and a piercing early morning whistle...
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We’ve all been fed that sinister corporate anecdote that money makes the world go round but now we’re actually starting to witness the mainstream media convincing itself that it does. Whether it’s because the world is somehow devoid of meaningful news, the past month has seen all forms of media become almost totally saturated...
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