June 1 – 7, 2024
News
Comment
Comment
Todd Lane
Why turbulence isn’t making flying less safe
“Aviation weather predictions are getting better every year. Forecasting models are rapidly improving, enhancing the realism and accuracy of predictions further and further into the future. Satellites are increasingly able to identify fine-scale details of clouds and storms. Pilots also have increasing data ... to help choose the safest route.”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
Dutton’s head-hunting mission
“At the best of times, Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles can look like the proverbial rabbit caught in the spotlight. Mild-mannered, quietly spoken and very earnest, Giles was in the opposition’s crosshairs all week with increasingly strident demands that he be sacked.”
Comment
John Hewson
Labor adds value with national battery strategy
“One of Australia’s most frustrating failures as a nation has been a limited capacity to value-add. This country has the world’s third-largest population of sheep – behind China and India – but much of the Australian wool-clothing we wear is imported, such as men's suits from Italy.”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Musician Tirzah Mastin
Experimental British musician Tirzah Mastin, on her first Australian tour for the Vivid and Rising festivals, says her work comes almost directly from the subconscious.
The Influence
Sculptor John Meade on the attraction of artist Robert Irwin
John Meade is inspired by American artist Robert Irwin’s insistence that beauty is the primary experience of art.
Poetry
Three poems
“Every tree that survives this image-crumbling dry spell
is statutory, and those holding on to layers of story
on that targeted “farmland”, surviving the record-keeping
as much a record-making, weep sap for what is to come.
They sense their destruction, the modes of approval
that allow images to blur across the world so we composite
the fragments of who we are with where we have been.”
Books
Life
Puzzles
Quotes
Politics
“Say what you like about Scomo – shows the inevitability of this industry.”
The chairman of The Metals Company responds to news Scott Morrison has taken up a role in a deep-sea mining fund. Whenever you think he can’t go lower, there’s always the ocean floor.
Journalism
“This was the result of a sub-editing error. We sincerely apologise to Chris Bowen for this error.”
The editor of The Sunday Telegraph apologises to the climate change minister for a headline quoting him saying “We must protect Hamas”. It’s an interesting glimpse into the Murdoch style guide.
Faith
“The Pope has never intended to offend or express himself using homophobic expressions, and offers his apologies to those who felt offended...”
The Catholic Church responds after the Pope complained there was too much frociaggine among trainee priests. The word translates roughly as “faggotry”.
Power
“I just think it’s a no-brainer.”
The senior fellow at the Menzies Research Centre reiterates his support for nuclear power. Given the depth of his thinking, it’s probably better to avoid phrases that suggest limited neurological functioning.
Civilisation
“It’s actually an abundance of respect for all cultures other than our own that’s now the mark of most Western countries.”
The former prime minister argues that the West has undermined itself through an excess of decency. It’s about now we should be checking the lead levels in Tasmanian onions.
Parliament
“Fuck me.”
The acting speaker mutters to himself after getting confused by the paperwork in front of him. He was caught by a hot mic and the fact he looks like a man who frequently says “fuck me”.
ISRAEL–HAMAS WAR
