John Menadue

Bob Sorby died last week. In tribute I repost an article that Bob wrote for Pearls and Irritation on 7 November 2017 concerning Rex Connor’s  plans for Australia.

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I’m writing to apologise for any inconvenience some subscribers  may have experienced in the transition from production being handled by myself to production being outsourced. Change often has some unintended consequences.

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It’s a family heirloom, but never has it had such significance. In a room in our house, that is a delight on a winter’s day as it fills with the rays of the waning sun, there is a piano. (more…)

It didn’t take long, did it? Yes; it’s off and running – the Covid-19 freight train of conspiracy theories. (more…)

Getting in early to stop the spread of the virus would have been good for the community, and from Crown’s perspective good for the company’s floundering reputation, as it faces multiple official inquiries. It would also have demonstrated that even ‘special’ companies have to play by the rules. (more…)

Imagine stopping the boats the centrepiece of your entire political platform for 10 years, and then failing to stop the one boat that actually fucking mattered.
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On Sunday, February the 23rd my Australian husband and I was in Florence Italy, where we regularly enjoy an alternative residence, and lifestyle, to that of Basel Switzerland. We had tickets for a coveted opera performance of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, that afternoon when we heard the news.

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This is an edited transcript of an interview I conducted with the ABC for a podcast series The Eleventh.  (more…)

 I am being challenged to consider and discern why I remain a Catholic in a Church whose membership is declining and ageing;whose clergy are decreasing in numbers and ageing,where many Catholics, particularly our children, are no longer attending Mass and accessing the Sacraments.Where do we go from here? (more…)

I laughed so hard I could hard stop myself from crying. There’s no limit to the wonderful capacity of human beings to produce clowns to make us laugh our way through every crisis. (more…)

Bjorn Lomborg presents an ambiguous type of anti-climate action rhetoric. He argues that the recent bushfires were insignificant, and that we should not research renewable energies because of cost, while also recommending costly research. (more…)

Greta Thunberg said ‘Before I started school striking I had no energy, no friends and I didn’t speak to anyone. I just sat alone at home, with an eating disorder’ ..‘All of that is gone now, since I have found a meaning, in a world that sometimes seems shallow and meaningless to so many people’. (more…)

As the current pandemic takes hold, we would do well to remember that the Coronavirus is a mere stumble in comparison to the Climate Change crisis. (more…)