It's been a big week in Canberra. The government scored a big political win getting its carbon tax legislation through the lower house and then promptly booted an own goal with its failed attempt to change the Migration Act.
Articles on the carbon tax popped up three times in the top 10. Clearly, it's a touchstone issue amongst readers, and voters. Hey there's the future of the world and the future of your back pockets to think of; we get it. The carbon tax this week knocked asylum issues off the agenda, with just the one article in the top 20 on that topic.
On to the top 10, the future of the world, and our place in messing it up. News that toxic chemicals were onboard the cargo ship stranded off the coast of New Zealand was the runaway biggest story, and it only appeared on Thursday afternoon. Let's hope the teams working on securing the load can manage to save the pristine beaches – the early signs aren't good.
Anyone who's read our Top 10s before knows that our feature on carbon taxes in different countries appears all the time. There's been a lot of misinformation in this debate, so it stands to reason that there's space to discuss what others are up to.
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It's also understandable that the government has – with limited success – been trying to convince people that they might actually be financially better off under a carbon tax. They've created a website which takes a few details from you and tells you how much assistance you'll be up for. We ran a 'Your Say' article on it which proved popular, but full marks have to go to the Chaser team who highlighted the header on one of the pages which simply asked 'How much will I get?' Makin' moolah, the greatest moral challenge of our time.
The story of the Amish men who allegeldy broke into the homes of fellow believers in Ohio has sparked interest around the world. The conservative, German-speaking Amish are known for their long beards (the men, that is), and usually peaceful manner. So the news that one group was allegedly breaking into the homes of others to forcibly cut beards off lead to a number of arrests. And clicks.
From one beard-loving society to another, and we land in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of course, not everyone in Iran loves beards and not everyone likes the men with beards telling everyone else what to think. This was the message from the Persian-Australian film co-production My Tehran for Sale - which copped the lead actress a hefty lashing sentence.
'Bali Drug Boy' is what prominent wires service AAP have been calling him, but we prefer to refer to the Australian boy arrested on Bali drugs charges as, well, just that. Claims from his lawyer that he'd been coerced into buying marijuana on Kuta Beach proved our seventh-most popular article.
But nothing excites an online news audience like sleek, sexy pieces of plastic and metal moulded into tablet form. What's interesting is that in the week after the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs, it wasn't articles on him that were still floating around, but our report on India's subsidized Akash tablet.
Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling?This is a question from a snooty character in Woody Allen's Hannah and her Sisters. Well, sir, SBS viewers also have a soft spot for the most American of theatres, and we know their minds are just fine. Reporter Manny Tsigas's mind was set to interviewing CM Punk, and we were as pleased as Mr Punk to see this piece land at number nine.
And from one form of theatre to another – we don't discriminate between high and low art, goodness no. Our article: 'Theatre-goers get the submarine experience' was picked up by several submarine enthusiast websites, we were pleased to learn. Kumi Taguchi's report on a curious play with a difference at the Sydney Opera House rounds out our Top 10.
All a little highbrow for you? Fear not, we have some very big feet in number eleven, which gets an honourable mention. Would you have a look at those great plates of meat? "I once asked a cobbler to make me some shoes and he said it would cost 3,500 Euros”, the man told AFP.
