From breadbasket to basket case
The biggest concerns for my veggies are snails and ACT water
restrictions, but for my friends in Zimbabwe it's cholera, writes
Cynthia Banham.
Being 'tough on crime' does not pay
Nick Greiner and Barry Unsworth would agree on one thing: in NSW "law 'n' order" wins elections and unseats governments. As Bob Carr's "13 ways to get out of jail" campaign demonstrated, it is a language of fear, distortion and half-truths, writes Mark Findlay.
What's cooking in a chef's mind
Got into the office early; I had to head up to the new Spice Temple
site, to try to get the staff in and the builders out. Who in their
right mind would choose to open a restaurant?, writes Neil Perry.
Radical changes needed to regain glory
What Really Happened: AUSTRALIANS demand greatness in only two things - cricket and fireworks.
Young drinkers, don't get dragged into pubs' fight
Hic. You'll have to excuse me. It's 2.30am, I've just queued for 20
minutes at the bar and they've told me I can't have a drink for
another 10 minutes because they're having a "time-out" imposed by
the State Government, writes Joel Gibson.
This homeowner loves your card
Heckler: DEAR Real Estate Agent, Just a short note to let you know how much I and my "and family" enjoyed receiving your Christmas greeting this year.
Choking to death in the suburbs
'Fog!" the kids shout excitedly as we round the bend above Bronte.
"Look at the fog!" "That's not fog," the adult voice lobs from the
front seat like the wrath of God. "See the dirty brown of it?
That's pollution", writes Elizabeth Farrelly.
Sacrificial lambs on the altar of fashionable eating
IT'S the feeling that returns when eating out in Sydney. The longing, the indignity, the stomach rumbling from looking too long at diners - crumbs tumbling from their lips, the curve of their arm as it stretches to the bread basket, writes Jordan Baker.
A legitimate right to self-defence
Imagine if an offshore terrorist organisation starts firing rockets
at towns in northern Australia, aimed at killing and terrorising as
many civilians as possible. How long would we expect our Government
to wait before using force to defend its citizens, asks Vic
Alhadeff.
Shocking cynicism of a poisoned homeland
It has taken me days to begin writing this, so horrified have I
been by Israel's latest actions. My sense of justice, however - as
a mother, a Jew, and above all as a human being - impels me to try,
writes Sara Dowse.
Hurts so good: Robbie rules the roost
At the End of the Day: So far in his kamikaze sporting
career, Robbie Maddison, the most crazy sporting export Australia
has produced, has endured a broken neck, collar bones (both, twice)
and leg (twice), writes Paul Sheehan.
Talk about exceeding the limit!
Heckler: Last weekend my girlfriend and I went out to an Italian restaurant for dinner. After a nice meal we ventured across the road to a well-known eastern suburbs pub, writes Tom McIntyre.
Eat your Weeties and earn more
Tis the season for gratuitous investment advice on maximising your
money in 2009. So here's mine, writes Jessica Irvine.
Act closed wounds but not the gap
In 1994, phone numbers had seven digits, we listened to Crowded
House, and it was legal to own a semi-automatic rifle. Mother And
Son and A Country Practice disappeared from television screens, and
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and Muriel's
Wedding showed off our magnificent country, writes Tom Calma.
North Shore gumbo just the beginning
The Big Bluff: Sydney's mooted transport makeover is great
news for anyone who loves commuting. Essentially, the new "metro"
will operate along three line, writes Aaron Timms.
Reports of US decline could be premature
Near the end of the presidential campaign, the conservative scholar Robert Kagan pointedly asked: "Is Barack Obama the candidate of American decline?" The answer is: no. In fact, Obama will more likely be the president of American resurgence, writes Michael Fullilove.
SCG cricket is almost Kafkaesque
Am I the only person who left the Sydney Cricket Ground this week
feeling I'd just spent eight hours in a parallel universe? It
wasn't the Mardi Gras-like fiesta of pink celebrating the life and
legacy of Jane McGrath but the bizarre suspension of common sense
so evident throughout the day, writes Steve Meacham.
Let he who is without sin …
Heckler: OOPS, he's done it again. The Reverend Fred Nile has caused another stir, this time with a proposal that topless bathing be banned on beaches in NSW. Nile appears to be concerned that the sight of a woman's bare breasts may offend, writes Claire Chaffey.
If Guantanamo inmates are resettled here …
It's an unusual unity ticket, to be sure. The Greens and the
Coalition are united in opposing any proposal that Australia should
settle Guantanamo Bay detainees, writes Gerard Henderson.
Perthlings, please take us to your railway system
Most Australian cities now have serious rail projects; for me, it is an exciting time, writes Peter Newman.
Pandora pulled off a 'youthquake' long before Barack Obama
"Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness," wrote Tom Stoppard. "After that, you know too much", writes Erik Jensen.
Peacock's argument holds for the Kevin 747 express
In the recently released cabinet documents for 1978, Andrew Peacock
sets out the case why ministers should travel overseas. The then
foreign affairs minister argued it was vital to build relationships
with the influential people on the world stage, writes Phillip
Hudson.
'Tis the silly season to be jolly
Heckler: The silly season around Christmas and new year is well named. Maybe it is the sun or the festive spirit, but we do things over the summer break that we wouldn't dream of doing during the rest of the year, writes Matthew Gibbs.
The corruption of money
A year ago, on New Year's Eve, my wife and I were sitting with the
Governor-General and his vivacious wife watching the celebrations
from the front lawn of Admiralty House, sipping Veuve Clicquot
borrowed from the Prime Minister's festivity next door, writes Paul
Sheehan.
America didn't jump off the cliff - it was Bushed
We like our failed presidents to be Shakespearean, or at least large enough to inspire Oscar-worthy performances from magnificent tragedians. So here, too, George Bush has let us down, writes Frank Rich.
