Australia Day tomorrow and it’s time for the yearly debate in the tabloid media over the flag, national anthem, etc. Does it annoy anyone else that nothing new is added to this debate each year, they just rehash last years articles? Anyway, David Mitchell talks free speech, OK Go versus EMI versus YouTube, Apple rumours and the best email clients. Oh, and Megan Fox in the new Armani campaign.

Free speech and its uses – A small bunch of extremists in the UK wanted to protest over what they saw as injustices in the Middle East … David Mitchell has written a great, and very entertaining, piece about the PR motives of the group as well as a measure of moral superiority for western nations based on the freedom of people. Best quote from the article is, “When they allow a gay pride march through the real Mecca, Saudi Arabia may be a country worth visiting.”

OK Go, YouTube & EMI – I came across this great posting from the guys at OK Go (best known for this treadmill music video). Basically EMI have put their foot down and stopped their videos from being embeddable because YouTube’s technology doesn’t allow them to earn ad royalties if the video is embedded. OK Go loaded their new video onto Vimeo in the hope that kids would spread it for them. The post explains the situation in the music industry clearly and with an even hand plus it has great quotes like, “So we’ve got this ridiculous situation where the machinery of the old system is frantically trying to contort and reshape and rewire itself to run without actually selling music. It’s like a car trying to figure out how to run without gas, or a fish trying to learn to breath air.” Worth a read.

Wednesday’s Apple Announcement – By the time I’ve written this sentence there will be a whole new round of rumors but everyone seems set on the fact that we’re going to be seeing an Apple tablet being unveiled. If you’re interested in the details, this link will give you all the rumours and the likelihood that each one will come off.

Alternative Email Clients – I know many people get stuck using Outloook because it is the worlds default email client but there are other options out there. Personally, I’m a  big fan of Mac Mail and Rick is right into Thunderbird. Here’s a list of the ‘top 5’ email clients – see if there’s something that catches your eye.

And Finally – Megan Fox in the new Armani campaign. Thank you Giorgio! Have a great week!