July 21 – 27, 2018
News
Comment
Comment
Guy Rundle
Socialism’s newfound popularity
“This simple enthusiasm for socialism – by which people mean a mixed economy with rational feedback loops, in place of the liquid nitrogen-filled Mack truck careening towards the freeway fire that is capitalism – has panicked the right into a spiral towards authoritarianism. That’s why the movement that purports to stand for free minds and free markets fantasises about compulsory purchases of coal-fired power stations too valueless to sell, charges whistleblowers for espionage without a peep, and wants to use the state to crack down on universities offering the “wrong” lessons.”
Comment
Sean Kelly
Turnbull backs in the race favourite
“Early in his prime ministership, approval numbers rocketing, he would have imagined himself breaking the mould, a new type of leader. But like most political leaders, over time Turnbull has, wisely if not admirably, accepted the narrowness of his immediate task. His job is not to outdo great leaders of yesteryear. His job is to beat Bill Shorten. If that involves making political hay out of immigration, Turnbull is prepared to do it.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Why Spike Lee’s laughing at the Ku Klux Klan
Spike Lee’s new film BlacKkKlansman tells a true story of an African–American policeman infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan. Its themes of blaxploitation, racism and oppression, says the filmmaker, perfectly reflect the political climate we live in now. “When Kevin [Willmott, the film’s co-writer] and I came on board, our No. 1 concern, as storytellers, was to connect this period piece to present day. We had to con-nect. So, we did our research.”
Music
Punch Brothers’ ‘All Ashore’
Bravura five-piece Punch Brothers deliver a modern take on roots music, and their new album All Ashore has them setting their sights on the tumult of American politics.
Portrait
Filmmaker Sara Driver
“Sara Driver is cool. I think of this as I think of her new film, Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat. You can’t bottle cool. It just happens. A bombed-out and neglected city, full of artists and students and runaways is cool. Kids reclaiming their environment by painting murals on subway trains is cool. Finding a way to flourish against the headwinds of an indifferent economy is cool.”
Food
“Talk of nettles and most folk flinch, recalling run-ins in fields with shorts. The thought of eating or even harvesting them isn’t exactly met with exuberance. Like most things involving gardening, it draws an analogy with life, as I was once taught to “grasp the nettle”. If you aren’t committed and show fear by brushing them, they will sting; but if handled with confidence, the grasp will break the needle and you won’t be affected. Now I handle nettles without gloves in the kitchen. Hardcore.”
Books
Life
Health
Stigma and early-onset menstruation
The age at which menstruation begins is getting lower, with girls as young as 10 experiencing their first period. The emotional turmoil that can result from stigmatisation and a lack of education is a mental health issue.
The Quiz
Quotes
SUBMARINES
“Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”
The inventor wipes $US2 billion off Tesla’s market value with a single angry tweet, directed at British cave rescue diver Vernon Unsworth. Musk was mostly worried that if the children were left in the cave any longer they might have a chance to unionise.
RUSSIA
“Can we deal with the jobs figures first and then we’ll – got any questions on those? No? Alright, very good.”
The prime minister tries to avoid questions on whether he had spoken to Craig Kelly about the Liberal MP’s suggestion that the United States overlook Russian atrocities. Turnbull’s own view is that we should overlook Kelly’s.
RELIGION
“Listening to the lovely bells of Winchester ... So much nicer than the aggressive-sounding ‘Allahu Akhbar’. Or is that just my cultural upbringing?”
The celebrated atheist, who misspelled Akbar in his tweet, continues his slide into racist irrelevance. The man who invented the term “meme” was always doomed to become Pepe the Frog.
HISTORY
“I don’t think that they’re intentionally getting it wrong.”
The Facebook chief executive says posts by Holocaust deniers won’t be removed from the site under new policies to combat “fake news”. Still, denying the Holocaust is basically the definition of “intentionally getting it wrong”.
CRAYON
“THERE WAS NO COLUSION.”
The American president marks up his speaking notes before his press conference in Helsinki celebrating ties with Russia. Elsewhere he noted to check he was wearing pants and also to pick up some milk.
TREATY
“I want to promise tonight that after the election, my first official meeting will be with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders from across Australia to talk Constitutional Recognition, to talk about Closing the Gap and to talk Treaty.”
The Opposition leader promises to make treaty a key focus of his prime ministership. If he wins.
