March 14 - 20, 2015

News

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in the house of representatives.

News

Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks to troops at the Joint Operations Command Centre in Carwoola,  near Canberra, last week.
Catherine Gang, whose husband was onboard flight MH370, at a gathering outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.
Chinese hostesses pose in front of Beijing’s Great Hall of the People during the 2015 National People’s Congress.

Comment

Letters, Cartoon & Editorial

Cartoon

ReadCartoon image, links to full cartoon page

Editorial
Difficult things

Letters

Start with war on tobacco

If the Indonesian government wants to demonstrate its toughness on drugs (Hamish McDonald, “Foreigners fall guys as Jokowi stands firm”, March 7-13), it might start with the country’s …

Morrison’s next stage

Is there a genuine Scott Morrison or merely a version to suit the occasion? (Mike Seccombe, “The making of ‘Fluffy Morrison’ ”, March 7-13). How depressing that this MP, though …

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Food

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Image for article: Tomato and plum sauces

Food

Tomato and plum sauces

An end-of-season fruit surplus means sauce is ripe for the making.

Books

Image for article: One of Us

Åsne Seierstad
One of Us

Image for article: She Will Build Him a City

Raj Kamal Jha
She Will Build Him a City

Image for article: The Mirror World of Melody Black

Gavin Extence
The Mirror World of Melody Black

Life

Image for article: Dion Lee's positive bias for Autumn

Fashion

Dion Lee’s positive bias for Autumn

Australian Dion Lee's crafted simplicity thrills New York Fashion Week with his Autumn/Winter collection.

Image for article: The Genius of explaining the meaning of any text

Technology

The Genius of explaining the meaning of any text

The open source website Genius has expanded to take in annotations on any text, from poetry to presidential addresses.

Image for article: Making waves: Felicity Palmateer, 22, surfer

Sport

Making waves: Felicity Palmateer, 22, surfer

A love of the ocean led Felicity Palmateer to both surfing and creating art.

The Quiz

1. Which theoretical physicist was born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879?
2. Name the latest film in the Divergent series, starring Kate Winslet.
3. The Italian musical instruction subito means what in English?
4. What is the currency of Brazil?
5. What is the term for the clear covering of the front of the eye?
6. Which is the largest of the Great Lakes? (Bonus points for naming the other four.)
7. What name is given to a triangle where none of the sides is equal in length to another.
8. Øresund Bridge links which two countries?
9. Titan is the largest of which planet's moons?
10. Name the winner of last year's Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

Click through for answers.

Quotes

POLITICS

“In any campaign you’ll see people express themselves in all types of ways and we welcome it.”

– Mike BairdThe NSW premier addresses public opinion. The casual observer might not even notice he was talking about someone having spray-painted enormous penises onto the side of his campaign bus.

ART

“That is where she belongs, above Lake Burley Griffin. That is where she was commissioned, she was born there, that is where she belongs.”

– Patricia PiccininiThe artist responds to news her pendulous boob turtle, Skywhale, will not be included in Canberra’s Balloon Spectacular. Criminally, funding was instead allocated to balloons representing Yoda and a character from Angry Birds.

MEDIA

“Fracas with a BBC producer.”

– Statement

The BBC explains why it finally suspended Jeremy Clarkson, host of Top Gear. Because homophobia is okay, and a bit of racism, especially directed at Mexicans, and the odd bit of sexism even, but you just can’t go around hitting people.

MUSIC

“This affects the creativity of young musicians who hope to stand on the shoulders of other musicians. Let my clients go forth and continue to do their magic.”

– Howard KingThe lawyer representing musicians Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke defends the fact all but two bars of their song "Blurred Lines" were lifted from Marvin Gaye’s "Got To Give It Up". It’s obviously hard to write your own melodies when you’re busy riffing humorously on date rape.

WORLD

“People can change.”

– Myuran SukumaranThe Australian death-row prisoner inscribes a portrait he painted of Indonesian President Joko Widodo after learning his bid for clemency had been rejected. His final appeal, alongside Andrew Chan, has been set over for next week.

INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

“It is not the job of the taxpayer to subsidise lifestyle choices.”

– Tony AbbottThe PM explains why he supports the closing of remote Aboriginal communities. Of course living in the community where you were born and where your family has thousands of years of connection is a lifestyle choice, like literacy rates and life expectancy and deaths in custody. Oh, and being a bigot.