The crazy blog blaming Rudd for the floods. Are the Queensland floods the result of Kevin Rudd speaking against Israel? It’s certainly a compelling argument you make, Daniel Nalliah, on the Catch the Fire Ministries blog:

Around 8pm on Friday night the 7th of January we had a strong prompting by the Holy Spirit to repent on behalf of Australia. As we started doing so, I was reminded that every time America went against Israel, there was disaster in the land and this has been documented over the years.

Then at once I was reminded of Kevin Rudd speaking against Israel in Israel on 14th December 2010. It is very interesting that Kevin Rudd is from QLD. Is God trying to get our attention? Yes, I believe so.

The evidence is irrefutable …

After 179 years, a woman will edit the Herald

“The Herald has been published since April 1831, through depressions and wars into the internet age, but until yesterday afternoon never has a woman been its editor. Amanda Wilson is now the first.” — Business Day

Blogging in Saudi Arabia? Don’t forget your government licence

“Saudi Arabia, which has the largest number of bloggers in the Arab World has made licence mandatory for starting any e-publishing site, including blogs and online newspapers.” — The Economic Times

Eat, pray, tweet: how Indonesia fell in love with social media

“What does the most populous Muslim nation do in its spare time? Increasingly, it swaps gossip online. Indonesia is now the world’s second-largest market for Facebook and the third-largest for Twitter, according to several web research firms.” — The Economist

In war-torn Afghanistan, local journalists emerge

“For Afghan journalists, the methodological similarity between reporting and intelligence work is problematic. Journalism has little institutional standing in Afghanistan, and many Afghan reporters told me that ordinary people suspect journalists of spying.” — Columbia Journalism Review

Fox News boss: we have to be smart with our arguments

“I told all of our guys, shut up, tone it down, make your argument intellectually. You don’t have to do it with bombast. I hope the other side does that.” — GlobalGrind

Subscription model for Guardian phone app

“An updated app, which flips from its previous one-off £2.39 ($3.7) charge to a recurring subscription model, is expected to be approved this week, costing £2.99 ($4.63) for six months, or £3.99 ($6.19) for 12 months.” — paidContent.org

YouTube talks back: a chat show for the web

“If most television networks can have talk shows featuring celebrities, why not YouTube? The ‘Partners Project’, which started last month, is being positioned as the talk show of YouTube, featuring contributors who have drawn online audiences of millions.” — The New York Times

Ahead of a slowdown, strong revenue for commercial radio

“The commercial radio industry posted solid revenue growth in metropolitan areas last year. But analysts are tipping this year will be slower for the likes of Austereo and DMG Australia.” — The Australian