http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/james-schloeffel/ James is a freelance writer from Melbourne. He has written for titles such as The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, ninemsn and the London Metro on big hitting topics such as how Parliament could be turned into a reality TV show, Barbie’s 50th Anniversary and his secret love affair with London’s transport authority. James also works as a freelance copywriter and marketer and spends a good deal of time spelling out his surname on the phone. He writes a weekly summary of politics and current events at http://www.jamesschloeffel.wordpress.com en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/junking-the-junk-in-junk-food/ There was a time when putting ‘healthy choice’ and ‘McDonalds’ in the same sentence was considered an oxymoron. Then it became a marketing campaign. Where there were once burgers, fries and soft drinks, menu boards are now filled with bagels, fruit juices and cafe lattes. What’s more, the buns no longer have sugar in them (well, not much), the cheese is supposedly made from milk and even the McNuggets are said to contain traces of chicken. And now KFC - that last bastion of dreadfully unhealthy chain-based junk food - has launched a new advertisement trumpeting its quality credentials - slow motion flour-falling-from-the-air-in-a-Master-Chef-style-kitchen and all. How disappointing. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Schloeffel) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/junking-the-junk-in-junk-food/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/junking-the-junk-in-junk-food/#item7531 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:45:10 +0000 James Schloeffel | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-definitive-summer-reading-guide-for-our-pollies/ With Parliament over for the year and Christmas just around the corner, our politicians will be looking forward to a well-earned rest. So what will they be reading over the summer break? Usually they tell us they’re tucking into long, complex works by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky or biographies about obscure and impressive sounding military strategists from ancient Rome. Of course that’s rubbish. Luckily, someone in Kevin Rudd’s office has leaked the entire list of what our leaders will really be reading this summer. Some of the highlights are reproduced below. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Schloeffel) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-definitive-summer-reading-guide-for-our-pollies/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-definitive-summer-reading-guide-for-our-pollies/#item7371 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:50:38 +0000 James Schloeffel | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kim-kardashian-no-news-would-be-good-news/ In the past week over 400 people have died in floods in Thailand, three Australian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan and the European economy teetered on the verge of collapse. But most devastating of all was the news that Kim Kardashian’s marriage was in disarray after just 72 days. Australia’s commercial networks and newspapers almost fell into the trap of misreading the break-up as a pointless, inane, staged piece of nonsense, but then came to their senses and ran blanket coverage of the story for three days. Things could’ve got much, much worse though. There was the chance the vacuous, money-hungry, talentless reality TV star could have pulled out of her promotional tour to Australia, opening up the possibility that some media outlets would have to resort to reporting serious news.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Schloeffel) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kim-kardashian-no-news-would-be-good-news/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kim-kardashian-no-news-would-be-good-news/#item7071 Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:35:38 +0000 James Schloeffel | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-a-fine-line-between-genius-and-prickdom/ Your workplace, circa 2000. Employee: “I’ve got an idea for an entertainment device that can hold an entire music collection. It is beautifully designed, fits in your shirt pocket and can retail for under $500. What do you think?” Chief: “We appreciate your input Steve, but it doesn’t quite synergise with our six-month strategic outcomes moving forward”. What would have happened if, ten years ago, someone came up with the idea for the iPod in your workplace? Would it have got up? Would it even have got past the initial pitch? And if it did get considered for development, would the original, brilliantly simple concept have ended up as the final product, or would something like this have happened … feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Schloeffel) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-a-fine-line-between-genius-and-prickdom/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-a-fine-line-between-genius-and-prickdom/#item6907 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:50:53 +0000 James Schloeffel | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/being-a-pushy-parent-is-a-tough-gig/ In a wake-up-call for pushy parents around the world, Eden Wood, the world’s most famous beauty pageant contestant, announced her retirement last month. Well, her parents did; she’s six. With 300 pageant wins under her tiara, she (her parents) reasoned that she’d got as much as she could out of the pageant scene. Time to move on to a recording career, touring and world domination. How do you compete with that? It’s tough being a pushy parent these days. There was once a time when kids just wanted to drive fire trucks or space shuttles or run Macquarie Bank when they grew up. All parents had to do was send their kids to expensive schools, force them to study while their friends were out playing marbles and hope like hell their offspring had some degree of intellectual ability. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Schloeffel) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/being-a-pushy-parent-is-a-tough-gig/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/being-a-pushy-parent-is-a-tough-gig/#item6340 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:45:47 +0000 James Schloeffel | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/uh-oh-were-gonna-need-a-new-chief-enemy-of-the-west/ Position Vacant. One (1) Villain. A unique, high-profile opportunity has arisen for the role of Chief Enemy of the West. Wide-ranging experience in terrorism, mass murder and threats of worldwide destruction essential. Applicants must look evil (long beard and walking cane preferable). Extensive travel required. The full story is still unfolding, but what is clear is that almost 10 years after the September 11 attacks, the US finally has their man. Their pursuit of Osama bin Laden has been relentless, as well it should have been: The man admitted to plotting the murder of over 2,500 people. But the victory is a double-edged sword for the American government and its allies. In killing bin Laden, they have brought a murderer to justice, but they have also lost their poster boy for the ‘war on terror’. feedback@thepunch.com.au (James Schloeffel) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/uh-oh-were-gonna-need-a-new-chief-enemy-of-the-west/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/uh-oh-were-gonna-need-a-new-chief-enemy-of-the-west/#item5770 Thu, 05 May 2011 19:55:53 +0000 James Schloeffel | Author bios | The Punch