Peter Greste’s cruel imprisonment in Egypt
“
Our son is an award-winning journalist. He is not a criminal. He is not a criminal.
”Peter Greste has become an innocent pawn in Egypt’s propaganda war, his parents collateral damage.
News
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Murdoch and the IPA work together for Big Tobacco
A campaign of false data, planted in the Australian press, is being used to weaken tobacco laws abroad.
Read
“If Australia’s climate change policy were a big ship, Palmer is steering it straight towards the hull-splitting iceberg, but he’s making an effort to save the deckchairs.”
An inconvenient alliance has added fuel to Clive Palmer’s mysterious machinations regarding climate change legislation.
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Malaysia detains Sydney environmental protester indefinitely
A Sydney woman is being detained without charge in Malaysia after protesting that an Australian mining company there is failing to safely dispose of radioactive waste.
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How Murdoch hypocrisy killed Gonski
If Rupert Murdoch had put politics aside to support the education reforms he deemed urgent, Julia Gillard’s Gonski funding model might now be in place. Instead, Abbott and Pyne are restoring privilege.
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Holding Iraq together is taxing Obama’s skills
Julie Bishop to visit Myanmar; climate weighing on US business.
Opinion
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David Marr
The centenary of Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination
“The rule of history remains the same: what matters is not the terrorist outrage but the response. ”
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Robert Manne
The Iraq War’s coalition of the shilling
“Even if all these facts were true, they did not provide an even remotely adequate cause for war.”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
John Michael McDonagh on his new film ’Calvary’
Writer-director John Michael McDonagh revisits his Celtic roots with the tale of a persecuted priest.
Jack White’s ’Lazaretto’ a bluesy stomp and holler
Jack White, the musical magpie and avowed Dylan obsessive, has at last made his own Blood On the Tracks.
Reg Mombassa’s unassuming world
His pictures are colourful. His songs are bright. But in person, or on stage, Reg Mombassa is strikingly monochrome.
Food
Life
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Teller wins copyright lawsuit over magic trick ’Shadows’
A US federal court has ruled that magician Teller can maintain his silence on his most famous trick.
Read
Knowing the score: Chelsea Roffey, 32, AFL umpire
Chelsea Roffey became the second woman to umpire in the AFL. This year she celebrates 10 years as a first grade goal umpire.
Books
The Quiz
1. Who scored the opening goal of the 2014 FIFA World Cup (for Croatia)?
2. George Eastman was a pioneer in what field?
3. Stephen Harper is the prime minister of which country?
4. In Ancient Rome, a lustrum referred to what period of time?
5. The films Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda are all made by which animation company?
6. What event is held for five days each May by Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society?
7. Amaroo, basmati, arborio and jasmine are all types of…?
8. In which Australian state or territory is the headland known as Cape Catastrophe?
9. How many millilitres are in an Australian standard cup measure? (Bonus points for answering how many millilitres in a teaspoon and tablespoon.)
10. Which writer uses the pseudonym Robert Galbraith?
Quotes
LAW
“Great day for red tops.”
The Murdoch headline celebrates news Rebekah Brooks was cleared in her phone-hacking trial, although Andy Coulson was not so lucky. Her crimes against consonants went similarly unpunished.
PROVOCATION
“Neither Mr Badar, the St James Ethics Centre, nor Sydney Opera House in any way advocates honour killings or condones any form of violence against women.”
The Sydney Opera House clarifies its position after cancelling Uthman Badar’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas speech, “Honour Killings Are Morally Justified”.
OPERA
“I was quite proud of the fact how Georgian society spat at the parade.”
The Georgian soprano condemns a gay rights parade, describing homosexuals as the “West’s fecal masses”. She was to play Desdemona in Opera Australia’s Otello but was sacked over her hatred of the beast with one back.
SCIENCE
“Air moves around the world.”
The dinosaur collector explains, with the puzzling assistance of Al Gore, why global action is needed on climate change.
CELEBRITY
“Also, in 10 years you’ll deeply regret your affiliation and support of Sea World ... To hazard a guess.”
The former Neighbours star and Twitter intellectual castigates Bindi Irwin in a feud over modesty and the clothes young women might regret a decade hence.
DEATHS
“Eli: 98 years old. WWII vet. Married 66 years. 3 kids. 50+ movies. Danced with Marilyn. Raised hell with Clint Eastwood. That’s how it’s done.”
The New York Times film critic and nephew to Eli Wallach mourns the passing of the Ugly to Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef’s Good and Bad.
