Friction between factions as disunity threatens Liberal Party
“The oldest rule in politics is that disunity is death, and the NSW branch of the Liberal Party is now looking very disunited indeed.”
A 30-year war that is once again spilling over destroys Malcolm Turnbull’s claim the Liberal Party is free from factional infighting and backroom deals.
News
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“I spoke with someone from an illegal gambling syndicate, and these guys are worth five times the value of Adidas.”
Recent allegations concerning top-level tennis highlight a growing market in corruption that goes hand in hand with a rise in online gambling.
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The mining sector rides waves of China's confidence, while the rest of the country enjoys jobs growth and affordable prices. Does it make sense to speak of an ‘Australian economy’?
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Jakarta terrorism’s roots in oppressed Aceh
“This is the blowback from a long forgotten war. The Jakarta bombers were willing to die for revenge at what they see as justified retribution for the suffering they have endured.”
January’s Jakarta terrorist attacks have their roots in the oppression and unrest of Aceh’s hidden war.
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First stop, Iowa, as primaries get started
Demographic insecurity. Australian submarine tender.
else
Opinion
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Quentin Dempster
ABC appoints Michelle Guthrie after flawed selection process
“Only two people were interviewed by the full ABC board for leadership of Australia’s “most trusted and creative media organisation” and the salary of about $1 million that goes with it.”
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Paul Bongiorno
Tony Abbott leading the conservative fight from the backbench
“Instead of merely being a lightning rod for internal dissent, Abbott intends to lead it in public as well. He knows he won’t be returning to the ministry. ”
Letters & Editorial
Culture
’Room’ author Emma Donoghue’s unflinching eye
Room author Emma Donoghue talks about family and being Oscar-nominated for her film adaptation.
John Cale rerecords ‘Music For a New Society’
The iconoclastic John Cale has rerecorded his notoriously difficult LP, Music for a New Society.
Food
Life
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The author's prognosis for a brain tumour was blunt: there was no cure. It is a fact she has been making sense of since.
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A tour of Mumbai’s Dharavi slums
Mumbai's sprawling Dharavi slums are a key manufacturing centre.
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Playing for peace: Ali Abbas, 29, soccer player
Soccer player Ali Abbas on putting religion aside and playing to make people happier.
Books
The Quiz
1. Which Stevie Wonder hit features the lyric: “Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past.”
2. The Mantiqueira Mountains lie on which continent?
3. Marmoset, macaque and mandrill are all types of what animal?
4. Born in London in 1947, David Robert Jones was better known by what stage name?
5. Alexis Tsipras is the prime minister of which country?
6. What city is home to Columbia University?
7. Valentina Tereshkova is best known for what achievement?
8. Most commercial canned baked beans are made using which variety of bean?
9. Who is the youngest Australian Open tennis singles champion? (Bonus point for naming the oldest.)
10. On the Australian Securities Exchange, which company has the ticker code WOW?
Quotes
SPORT
“I’ll fuck that dog. I don’t give a fuck. I don’t have a sexuality.”
The captain of the Sydney Roosters celebrates Australia Day by attempting to kiss a woman, simulating sex on her dog and then urinating on himself, which is an admittedly avant-garde re-enactment of the First Fleet entering Port Jackson.
HONOURS
“I felt really sad that they did not have the courage to go with an LGBTI person. I thought it was time.”
The transgender activist complains she was not made Australian of the Year. She called David Morrison “a weak and conventional choice” – like Patrick White in 1973, who was quite LGBTI.
TAX
“Google et al broke no tax laws. Now paying token amounts for PR purposes. Won’t work. Need strong new laws to pay like the rest of us.”
The billionaire complains about the few hundred million in British back taxes paid by Google, somewhat ignoring the pathetic amount of tax his own companies pay.
FORESTS
“In Tasmania these days, there are harsher penalties for saving a tree than for endangering a child.”
The former Greens leader reflects on being arrested at a peaceful protest to protect the Lapoinya forest from logging in North-West Tasmania. He faces five years in prison.
SCHOOLS
“Talk about innovation without a commitment to quality education is just talk.”
The opposition leader announces Labor would fund further rollout of the Gonski plan if elected. In fairness, though, pretty much everything said in opposition is “just talk”.
ART
“That artist of yours is no good. He’s made me look like a big, fat, greedy cunt.”
The then businessman allegedly upbraiding gallery owner Ray Hughes over a portrait by Lewis Miller. Hughes is said to have replied: “He is a realist painter, you know.”
