Sandy Milne

Australia

Portfolio
Are We Europe
11/27/2021
Fake News, Real Money - Are We Europe

In 2016, Craig Silverman, media editor for a major US news site, picked up on a bizarre trend. Of the year's most eye-catching, wide-reaching fake news stories-"Hillary Clinton sold weapons to Isis"; "Donald Trump slaps mayor of Mexico City"-most could be traced back to a single spot. It wasn't Moscow.

Grist
08/03/2021
Plant-based metal? The mining industry could get a sustainable makeover.

Malaysia's Kinabalu Park, which surrounds Mount Kinabalu, the 20th-largest peak in the world, is home to a nickel mine like none other. In lieu of heavy machinery, plumes of sulfur dioxide, or rivers red with runoff, you'll find four acres of a leafy-green shrub, tended to since 2015 by local villagers.

Mother Jones
08/05/2021
Wait, we can mine valuable metals using shrubbery?

Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter. This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Malaysia's Kinabalu Park, which surrounds Mount Kinabalu, the 20th-largest peak in the world, is home to a nickel mine like none other.

The Guardian
09/05/2021
Bosses turn to 'tattleware' to keep tabs on employees working from home

David, 23, admits that he felt a twinge of relief when the first wave of Covid-19 shut down his Arlington, Virginia, office. A recent college graduate, he was new to the job and struggled to click with his teammates. Maybe, he thought, this would be a nice break from "the face-to-face stuff": the office politics and small talk.

China Dialogue
06/14/2021
Indonesia's omnibus law: a red flag for investors?

The protesters who took to the streets of Jakarta, Bandung and other Indonesian cities in October 2020 were diverse to say the least. Islamic leaders, dressed in white jalabbiyah, stood with scantily clad Instagram influencers. Trade unionists, indigenous leaders and environmentalists rubbed shoulders with the National Anti-Communist Alliance.

Nikkei Asia
06/03/2021
Saudi Arabia's feminist filmmaker unveils her latest jab

LOS ANGELES -- At first glance, Saudi Arabian filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour seems just like any other L.A. soccer mom. But in an industry where guile and chicanery are as essential to the filmmaker's craft as cameras and actors, the unassuming mother of two earned her stripes in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where she made her first feature film, "Wadjda," out the back of an unmarked Toyota Hiace van.

Crikey
06/10/2021
Morrison's odd analogies hint at war ahead of the G7 summit

"The jungle is growing back. As leaders of some of the world's largest liberal democracies and advanced economies, we must tend to the gardening with renewed clarity, unity and purpose." It's an odd analogy, one used by Prime Minister Scott Morrison ahead of the Cornwall G7 "Plus" summit tomorrow.

BBC Global News
How water shortages are brewing wars

Speaking to me via Zoom from his flat in Amsterdam, Ali al-Sadr pauses to take a sip from a clear glass of water. The irony dawning on him, he lets out a laugh. "Before I left Iraq, I struggled every day to find clean drinking water."

Wired
This 'Post-Soviet Sad 3D' Game Is Not About Having Fun

"Nothing awaits you. Just a broken radio, loneliness, and endless snow." That's how Ilia Mazo, the brains behind It's Winter, introduces potential players to his game on Steam. That's pretty blunt, even for a Muscovite-but he also isn't far off the mark.