There's something especially cruel about the New Zealand earthquake, which has flattened much of central Christchurch and looks increasingly certain to be the worst in the country's history. To have been struck a mortal blow not once but twice in the space of six months must make the stricken residents of the city named for its churches feel more … [Read more...] about #6 WE ARE ALL KIWIS IN THIS TRAGEDY
#5 THE MADNESS BLOCKING THE PUGILIST’S KNOCKOUT PUNCH
Someone we know who taught Tony Abbott at Sydney's Saint Ignatius College has a wonderful story that tells us much about the man who thinks he was robbed of the chance to lead Australia at the last election and certainly intends to do so after the next. The year was 1975 and Tony Abbott was in Year 12, a confident all-rounder and the cherished … [Read more...] about #5 THE MADNESS BLOCKING THE PUGILIST’S KNOCKOUT PUNCH
#4 POSTCARD BUENOS AIRES: TANGO HEAVEN, LLAMA HELL
Grubsheet has always regarded llamas and their alpaca cousins as gentle creatures to be shorn occasionally for their silky wool and otherwise patted and pampered. So it's somewhat disconcerting at first to find some unfortunate llama turned into wafer thin slivers on the plate in front of us, drizzled with oil and vinegar. Yes, folks, it's llama … [Read more...] about #4 POSTCARD BUENOS AIRES: TANGO HEAVEN, LLAMA HELL
#3 CONTORTIONS OF THE TRUE BELIEVERS IN CLIMATE CHANGE
Grubsheet no longer gets invited to most Sydney dinner parties because we're always getting into fights with other people's guests about climate change. Insults are hurled, woman cry and their male escorts lunge for our throats. And all because we have the temerity to point out some of the glaring inconsistencies in the arguments of the true … [Read more...] about #3 CONTORTIONS OF THE TRUE BELIEVERS IN CLIMATE CHANGE
# 2. THE REAL STENCH AROUND JULIAN ASSANGE
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange may well be someone totally unconcerned with personal hygiene, as some of those who've been in close proximity to him maintain. It's neither here nor there for those of us keen to keep our distance from this strangely unsettling character, with his Mogadon manner and haughty self-righteousness. Yet there's something … [Read more...] about # 2. THE REAL STENCH AROUND JULIAN ASSANGE
# 1. A TROGLODYTE’S LAST STAND
Paul Howes is one of the self-confessed faceless men who made Julia Gillard Prime Minister yet is now doing everything he can to unmake her with a crude attack on mining giant Rio Tinto that has astonished much of the labour movement. In a fiery speech to his members, the 29-year old national secretary of the Australian Workers' Union declared … [Read more...] about # 1. A TROGLODYTE’S LAST STAND