Moor and more
In 1824 an ambitious teenage actor fled to England from his native New York where he had been beaten up…
When fake is fine
The failing Fairfax newspapers are obsessed by evil, wicked, right-wing, racist, Trump-loving “fake news” — obsessed to RUOK? levels. Unless,…
But it’s all about equality, right?
We are in the middle of a storm of misinformation as the plebiscite on same-sex marriage draws near. Who do…
Whale beats kale
I love whales. They are beautiful, majestic – and delicious. And they – or rather this post – will lose…
The Greens don’t let a tragedy go to waste
It seems the Greens in NSW have taken a breather from taking pot shots at one another to go back…
Since when were sharks more valuable than human life?
The day before Tadashi Nakahara was killed by a shark, I was surfing at the same location. It was late…
The libertarian case against marriage equality
On 27 November 2007, the legal hammer fell on Massachusetts’ resident David Parker as he lost his court battle to…
The real Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie. The name of New South Wales fifth governor is now the subject of controversy, its owner branded a symbol…
Fairfax follies on environment leave us green about the gills
Attempts by government to push power prices down is nothing but a “distraction”, according to the genius analysis of Mark Kenny…
Our leftie lingo around domestic violence is awry
Welcome to gendered violence groundhog day. Yet again today it’s reported more funding is being dedicated to “women and families fleeing domestic violence.” …
Teachers as activists
Earlier this month, parents at Forestville Public School in the Northern beaches were invited to watch their children perform in…
Australia: trapped by cheap credit
The Reserve Bank of Australia has all but conceded that Australia is trapped in a debt and asset price bubble…
The demon of the absolute
BOSTON – UNITED STATES The word of the week over here was ‘iconoclasm’. Estimable journals have been dropping it, from…
Immigration? Once again, SHY hasn’t a clue
Remember when Sarah Hanson-Young was stripped of her immigration portfolio last August? Here is the reason why. SHY appears to believe…
The same-sex marriage brigade need to be humbled
The LGBTI liberation movement needs to be humbled, and the best way to do it is to vote ‘No’ to…
What are doctors really saying about assisted suicide and euthanasia
In the modern era, the role of the doctor has moved away from a paternalistic one and more towards an…
Getting Indigenous history right
Before we start tearing down statues of Captain Cook and Governor Macquarie in a misguided attempt to atone for Australia’s…
Mistaken identity
This year’s Lucerne Festival is given its identity by having as its theme ‘Identity’. Since the word doesn’t mean anything,…
Twin peaks
Schoenberg began Gurrelieder in 1900, but he didn’t hear it until 1913. By then, he’d moved on, and he ostentatiously…
Arcade Fire: Everything Now
Grade: D+ Well, this is truly awful. Perhaps the worst album by a major band since Mardi Gras by Creedence…
Sicilian diary
‘Muslims will not blow anyone up here,’ the proprietor of my Siracusa local assures me, ‘we have our own people…
Reprogramming
In Competition No. 3012 you were invited to change a letter in the title of a well-known play and submit…
Dear Mary
Q. I am in my seventies and my husband is in his nineties. The other night we had two couples…
Sixteen-hundreds
I was puzzled by the caption to a picture in the Times Literary Supplement. The picture showed a model of…
Wild life
Indian Ocean coast Like most men I wonder if I have been much good as a father, but one thing…
