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Opinion

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Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Harris, Trump and the fight for America’s soul

There are 100 days to go until the US election, and it’s going to get even uglier. Hell, it’s only the future of the free world.

  • by Bruce Wolpe

Latest

Optimists had hoped for a change of course at last week’s third plenum. Instead, they got another kick in the stomach.
Opinion
Trade wars

China’s trade policy is almost a declaration of economic war

Forget free trade: Beijing aims to demolish its rivals and achieve monopolistic hegemony across entire industries, seeing trade as ideological warfare against democracies.

  • by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
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A scourge on our society: We need to talk about financial abuse

Economic abuse can take many forms and, like all forms of abuse, impacts people from all socio-economic backgrounds and across many different relationships.

  • by Victoria Devine
Australian gymnast Emily Whitehead poses for a photographer as armed security personnel walk by in Paris.
Analysis
Naked City

The French are protecting the Games with fearsome firepower. Australia had two pranksters

While security in Paris will be the tightest ever, at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 things were a little more relaxed.

  • by John Silvester
On paper, the US economy is leading the world, but voters want more. Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden, who hopes she’ll take his place.

Hero to political toast: The achievement Harris should keep quiet about

Joe Biden unleashed a surge in spending that briefly slashed the childhood poverty rate in half. Even so, politicians just “can’t get no respect” for economic wins.

  • by Peter Hartcher
British Blues pioneer John Mayall performs with this band the Bluesbreakers at the Deutsche Museum in Munich in1970.

The supreme influencer: A bluesman who shaped rock legends

John Mayall ushered in a new era for the Rolling Stones and taught Eric Clapton “technique” and “the desire to play”.

  • by Warwick McFadyen
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Karl Stefanovic gets into the Olympic spirit on the streets of Paris.
Opinion
Olympics

Straaaaaaya! Humility, you’re disqualified. The Olympics boasting has well and truly begun

Brace yourself for weeks of green-and-gold wigs, Vegemite references, Akubras and opining about how we are simply just the best at everything. THE BEST.

  • by Kate Halfpenny
The CrowdStrike offices in Austin, Texas.

‘The world is in meltdown’: Inside the front lines of the CrowdStrike outage

It was at about 3.30pm on an otherwise quiet and uneventful Friday that Ashwin Pal’s phone began blowing up.

  • by David Swan
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns this week.

So Kamala is the ‘childless cat lady’? White male power plays its hateful gender card

Brace for more attacks on Kamala Harris as the hounds of misinformation, juiced on the steroids of misogyny and racism, are unleashed.

  • by Julia Baird
Effective job-hopping can further your career, but employers may have questions in your interview.
Opinion
Careers

More pay, better skills: How job-hopping can turbocharge your career

Job-hopping divides employers, but a growing number of professionals are embracing it as a strategy for career advancement.

  • by Téa Angelos
While being rostered on to work on a public holiday can feel like a tough gig, if your work has given you enough notice, there may not be much you can do.

Why is my colleague making fun of my standing desk?

Your slightly crabby teammate may think you’re participating in a frivolous fad rather than making a change for genuine health reasons. They’d be wrong.

  • by Jonathan Rivett
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto will address the State Address divided Liberals at the party’s state council this weekend

Messy power struggle gives ammunition to Pesutto’s Liberal enemies

The Coalition’s primary support is soaring ahead of Jacinta Allan’s Labor, but the conservative party has been racked by bitter divisions and disputes.

  • by Annika Smethurst
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Opinion
Scams

Banks no longer protect us from scammers. It’s time they paid the price

We now live in a world where even the savviest, best educated people cannot protect themselves. Australian banks should reimburse scam victims, as UK banks are set to do.

  • by Waleed Aly
Rupert is moving to ensure that his son Lachlan remains in charge of his television networks and newspapers.

How to ruin a family with one quick court case

As Rupert Murdoch attempts to set his legacy using his family trust, thousands of Australians are following suit. So, who gets to keep what – and why does it matter?

  • by Jenna Price
Australian swimming coach Michael Palfrey addresses South Korean media ahead of the Olympics in Paris.
Opinion
Paris 2024

Palfrey backed a rival swimmer. Now he must pack up his goggles and go

With a flipper in both camps, Australian swim coach Michael Palfrey’s position is untenable. Swimming Australia must move him on.

  • by Greg Baum
MAGA attacks on Kamala Harris have already become personal.

Harris faces the sexism directed at Clinton and the racism directed at Obama

The Democratic Party’s next test is protecting Kamala Harris from the vile onslaught coming her way. The MAGA attacks on the US vice president have already become deeply personal.

  • by Charles M. Blow
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Modern careers advice may be powered by an algorithm but it seems hopelessly out of date.
Opinion
Careers

The careers advice for my daughters is obsolete rubbish - they might as well aim for a job at Kodak

There’s an exciting future of work ahead of us - so why is the high school careers algorithm pushing unrealistic careers in spying, dog walking and podcasting?

  • by James Panichi
Rupert Murdoch appears to be aiming for the next best thing to immortality: the right to rule from the grave.

Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to rule from the grave is stranger than fiction

Through the decades, the media billionaire has been no stranger to taking risks – but this latest roll of the succession dice is next level.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Hayley Raso
Opinion
Paris 2024

No Kerr, no medal? Think again when it comes to skilled and hungry Matildas

A first-up meeting with Germany will test Australia’s women’s team, but they have proved they’re up to any challenge.

  • by Craig Foster
Work-life balance may sound like a relatively innocuous term, but I have some major gripes with it.

Why it’s time we stopped obsessing over ‘work-life balance’

It’s a message that can be difficult to deliver to a society that’s been fed hustle culture and girlbossing, but it’s a truth we all need to hear.

  • by Tim Duggan
President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office.

Biden gives the speech he never wanted to, and does it with passion and grace

Four days after withdrawing from the presidential race, Joe Biden says the time is right to “pass the torch to a new generation”.

  • by Farrah Tomazin
Risky investments have soared

$1.1 trillion wipeout: Wall Street just got hit with a reality check

Wall Street has been riding an AI wave, but it just recorded its worst day since 2022 after investors were spooked by results from two of the world’s biggest companies.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Carlton’s Harry McKay on all fours after copping a knock in the third quarter against North Melbourne.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Why the AFL should stop Harry McKay from playing this Friday night

The fact that the Blues forward has been cleared to play this week, despite such visible signs of a head injury, underscores a shocking inconsistency in the AFL’s concussion guidelines.

  • by Kane Cornes
Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and former US president Donald Trump.

Trump v Rudd: who’d win, the master of the barb or the prince of persuasion?

Kevin Rudd may have called him “nuts”, but a re-elected Donald Trump would learn the former PM is a crafty diplomat, not easily intimidated.

  • by David Livingstone
Dual threat .… Mark Nawaqanitawase
Opinion
Paris 2024

Marky Mark is the weapon Australia’s sevens team needs in Paris

A league-bound Wallaby and a French legend loom as major threats in the men’s rugby sevens tournament.

  • by Michael Hooper
Paris is ready for the Olympics.
Opinion
Paris 2024

Why Paris will shake off les Olympiques bleus

When it comes to pre-Olympics grumbling, Parisians are gold medallists, but wait until the Games themselves start on one of the world’s great sporting stages.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
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Selwyn Cobbo is tackled by Jarome Luai in the State of Origin decider.
Opinion
NRL 2024

The Origin decider was out of this world. But how much more can these players give?

I’ve taken time to watch the game three replay. It was one of the toughest and most brutal games I’ve ever seen.

  • by Andrew Johns
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A Trump victory would leave Australia handcuffed to the whims of a narcissist

America is not well, and it will take a long time before it gets better, if it ever does. If this is not the time to take a hard look at how we approach and deal with the US, when will that time come?

  • by Shaun Carney
Research had found consistent differences in the ways men’s and women’s brains operate.

Men are not from Mars. They are from another galaxy entirely

Am I generalising? Yes. Do I care? No.

  • by Kathy Lette
Andrew Dyson
LETTERS
Letters

Time for Dutton to produce the nuclear evidence

Age readers seek answers from Peter Dutton on his nuclear proposals.

Crying has historically been frowned upon, but it is often our path to healing.
Opinion
Friendship

The first time I saw crying that frightened me, it came from my father

I have been practising being better in the company of others crying. It’s a human act that scares us, but I’m learning to embrace its power.

  • by Jacinta Parsons
In a call to CNN, Donald Trump said of Joe Biden: “He goes down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country.”

Trump trades: Markets are betting against Europe, oil and humanity

How would one have “priced” global markets in 1912 or 1937, when the writing already was on the wall, but nothing was predetermined, and one could still hope? Worth pondering.

  • by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Real Madrid’s players pose with the trophy after winning the Champions League final soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at Wembley stadium in London, Saturday, June 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Analysis
FIFA

Money and power: Why Europe’s top leagues have declared war on FIFA

The game’s governing body is the subject of legal action by players and leagues who say the international calendar is at breaking point. Here’s what you need to know.

  • by Vince Rugari
Flight Centre managing director Graham “Skroo” Turner.
Opinion
Aviation

How Flight Centre’s news on falling airfares became Qantas’ problem

As international airfares continue falling from the highs reached after COVID-19, aviation profits should settle to more normal sustainable levels.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
More blue screens of death, or worse, may be on the way due to long, interconnected supply chains that have made our lives better over recent years.

You want cheap stuff? You’ll need to accept more pain like the CrowdStrike crash

The blue screen of death was just the latest in a string of crises that have afflicted the global economy. Brace yourself for more.

  • by Shane Wright
With five home-and-away rounds to go, the race for the AFL’s top eight is heating up in season 2024.
Analysis
AFL 2024

The run home: Where the contenders stand in the race for the AFL top eight

While the Swans appear to have top spot locked up, the race for the top eight is well and truly on as we head into the home stretch of the AFL season. Where will your team finish?

  • by Jon Pierik
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Elon Musk is asking shareholders to sit tight as his company is evolving.

Betting on autonomy: Investors are waiting for Tesla’s future to arrive

The electric carmaker’s latest earnings have again missed expectations. It’s time for Elon Musk to keep his promise to turn the company into more than what it is today.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Soba at last! (Also pictured: buckwheat noodles)
Opinion
Holidays

The main problem with tourist trails? The tourists

Here’s how to get off the road most travelled.

  • by Richard Glover
The means test is based on residents’ assets and income on the day they move into aged care.

Retiree, beware: New residential village model charges more the longer you live

One retirement village company has come up with a solution for residents who stay longer than the average nine years: just keep charging them.

  • by Rachel Lane
Westpac.
Analysis
Debit cards

Westpac offers debit cards to eight-year-olds in youth banking push

Children as young as eight are being offered a physical debt card in an effort by Westpac to improve their financial literacy.

  • by John Collett
It’s important to clarify strategies to save on superannuation “death tax”, as there are certain methods which will not work after death.

Can you withdraw a loved one’s super after death to save on tax?

It’s important to clarify strategies to save on superannuation “death tax”, as there are certain methods that will not work after death.

  • by Noel Whittaker

Cost-of-living crisis? Why only some of us are feeling the pinch

A fascinating study into how our standards of living have changed since before COVID helps to explain why some Australians are feeling no pain.

  • by Ross Gittins
Keeping your personal life – and finances – separate when starting a new business is key.

The financial steps that can make or break your new business

Starting a new side hustle is a serious undertaking. Here are four mistakes I see people make all the time.

  • by Paridhi Jain
If careful preparation has not been put in place, serious problems can emerge when a loved one dies.

Death and taxes are inevitable. Here’s how retirees can minimise the latter

If couples and families don’t put proper preparations in place, serious financial problems can emerge when a loved one dies.

  • by Noel Whittaker
The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates stage one of the Suburban Rail Loop will cost between $30 billion and $34.5 billion.

Can’t get a tradie? The CFMEU’s stranglehold on major projects is choking all of us

Victoria’s major road and rail projects mean we are building fewer houses, at greater expense. The construction union’s grip is affecting costs, efficiency, quality and the availability of skilled labour.

  • by Harley Dale
Financial Planning Association CEO Sarah Abood says the industry needs a “united voice” to parliament.

Consumers locked out of financial advice as fees keep rising

The incoming changes to legislation are not enough on their own to get costs down, advisers have warned.

  • by John Collett
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Letters
Letters

A middle ground is emerging between Kamala Harris and J.D. Vance

Readers react to the continuing rise of Kamala Harris, and efforts to eliminate gas hot water systems.

The cuddles are nice, but caring for small children is mostly abject drudgery.
Opinion
Childcare

I’m a grandmother, not a child carer. I did the job the first time around

I long ago made it very clear to my adult children that while being a grandmother is something I might enjoy, I would not be participating in exhausting hours of tending to toddlers.

  • by Avril Moore
CFMEU.

It’s time to straighten up our building sites with a strong regulator

Stronger fines, wider powers and a bipartisan mandate could produce a construction industry regulator with transformative possibilities.

  • by The Age's View
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s pledge to reinstate the Australian Building and Construction Commission if elected, saying the body failed to curtail CFMEU excesses when it existed.
Opinion
CFMEU

How the government’s CFMEU response plays into the Coalition’s hands

The government’s light-touch response to the allegations swirling around the CFMEU risks emboldening Labor’s critics.

  • by Elizabeth Knight