Crude politics in blocking budgets
The day after Monday's shadow cabinet meeting, the Opposition
Deputy Leader, Julie Bishop, went to the Olympics for three days as
a guest of Channel Seven, writes Phillip Coorey.
Olympics, the un-Australian way
Heckler: I AM not a jingoistic flag-waving patriot. But after nearly five years of living in Finland, my husband and I wanted to watch the Australians power to glory. I wanted the Australian Olympic experience, Australia walking into the stadium, the swimming, the cycling, the beach volleyball, writes Therese Catanzariti.
Lost and confused - Labor and the whale
Half-truths: Scene: The Premier's office. Morris Iemma is sitting behind his desk, surrounded by advisers. They are discussing the fate of the whale calf that has been sucking yachts in Pittwater, writes Chris Henning.
How the Haneef affair became carry on coppers
More than a year ago, there was strong evidence that the terror
case against Mohamed Haneef was a farce. Yet grimly the federal
police and the top copper Mick Keelty held firm to the belief that
this Indian doctor posed a threat.
Must be love, whatever the species
The sight of that baby humpback whale nuzzling and sucking at the keel of a yacht, watched by a group of helpless adults, stirred up old deep and familiar anxieties that used to assail me when my children were babies, writes Robin Barker.
Western media shows its ugly face
The Beijing Olympics were always going to be about more than sport. They are the best opportunity for China to present its credentials as an emerging super-power and for the world to stand in judgment, writes John Garnaut.
Great attention-seeker rages on
Germaine Greer, while fun at a dinner party or on a chat show,
ultimately offers nothing. She is a true sophist - constructing
fine arguments for a specious premise.
Favourite rivals have bridged the gap
I was watching the men's triathlon, buoyed by the success of
Australian women the day before (yet again), when a young British
athlete swept by two Aussies and took the lead. My heart sank. Oh,
no, not another Pommy medal. Then I thought, "Wait a minute, I like
Britain."
Star power fades when it comes to politics
Celebrities' attention can turn the smartest political head.
Everyone likes to be liked, especially by people with holiday homes
in the Hamptons.
Third Way becomes the Empty Way
If you follow politics in the same way you follow fashion, music or
trash TV, you'll remember that back in the 1990s something called
the Third Way was hailed as "the next big thing".
F-word is about choice, not power
The very word "feminism" conjures up the cliched images of the 1970s: radicalised, bra-burning women marching and shouting through the streets.
Beware of where modern art lurks
I like art. I know what I like. Something beautiful, clever, stimulating, colourful, original and slightly mind-bending. But I don't like the Biennale.
Blame yourself for bank rip-offs
The less-than-cutthroat competition between the big banks is partly
our own fault.
Games pride is a job for the bomb squad
By anyone's reckoning these Olympics have been a disaster for
Australia, a national humiliation to rank alongside China's
experience of the Opium Wars and Japan's surrender at the end of
World War II.
Gloomy words to take a nation down
Back in January it was obvious the global credit crisis posed real
threats to our economy.
Paying the price for an athlete's love for sale
One thing the Beijing Olympics clarifies beyond doubt is the need
to recall from exile the old idea of the amateur.
Navy welcome forged strong bond
Theodore Roosevelt's historic contribution to the US-Australia relationship.
Doctors never run out of patients
Heckler: As a junior doctor, I am flabbergasted by our ability to find new and exciting ways to self-destruct.
Weird portrait by a spiteful mob
To obtain a glimpse of two different views of Australia start at
Circular Quay where the First Fleet came ashore in January 1788.
The crowd is invariably busy on weekdays and relaxed at the
weekend, writes Gerard Henderson.
Trade or warfare: tribal ways rule
In the 19th century, the French economist Frederic Bastiat expressed a principle applicable in the 21st century: "Where goods do not cross frontiers, armies will," writes Michael Sherner.
The growing shame of mondo grass
All over Sydney, large estates with their orchards, vineries, houses and gardens have been swept away, their names remembered for posterity in the eponymous suburbs that swallowed them up, writes Peter Watts.
When empires collapse, the vacuum must be filled
The crisis in Georgia has been discussed largely in terms of whether it echoes what we knew in the Cold War. Yet this is too narrow a conception, writes John McLaughlin.
Give me a break, I just want a latte
AS A mother of an 18-month-old, and one ready to burst forth onto the Government database - if we still qualify for a baby bonus - I am livid about the treatment of those of us with prams, writes Jeni Bone.
The gold rush goes on … and on
Leisel Jones did us all a favour when she talked about vomiting in
her front garden. Jones, the noble face of Qantas during these
Olympics, briefly gave us a glimpse of what it really takes to be
Olympian, writes Xie An Bo, also known as Paul Sheehan.
From campus sandpit to Canberra's bearpit
In the late 1970s Julia Gillard, the daughter of Welsh immigrants, arrived at the University of Adelaide, already highly politically committed, active and savvy. She advanced rapidly in the sandpit of student politics, becoming president of the local student body before moving to Melbourne and leadership of the national student union, writes Mark Davis.
