Issue 2013 May 11
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UNITED STATES: The Boston Marathon bombing in perspective
The two perpetrators of the recent Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three Americans and injured many more, appear to have been retaliating against the US involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the wake of the bombing, a number of US commentators have noted that what is striking is the apparent rarity of such attacks following those of 9/11 on New York’s Twin Towers…
PRIMARY INDUSTRY: Fruit-canning industry laid waste by cheap imports
The famed SPC Ardmona cannery has slashed its fruit intake, cancelled contracts with farmers and called for an emergency tax on imported canned fruit to save the industry. In the Goulburn Valley around Shepparton in north-east Victoria, 114 farmers have either had their quotas for next season cancelled or slashed. The cannery has announced that it will halve the pear and peach intake…
LETTERS
Syrian rebels Sir, It is clear that the rebels in the civil war in Syria have made an enormous mistake. Suppose they eventually triumph: what will they have achieved? The deaths of 70,000 of their people, the injury of another 200,000 — nearly 300,000 Syrians. A million or two will have to be repatriated. Many thousands of homes and businesses will have been…
CINEMA: Compelling story of a tormented superhero
Iron Man 3 (rated M), a 3D film, is reviewed by Symeon Thompson, a member of the Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA). “I am Iron Man.” “I am Tony Stark.” Iron Man 3 is a rip-roaring yarn that manages to be both a stylish thrill-ride and a thought-provoking commentary on the nature of identity and images. Since the final battle with aliens…
BOOK REVIEW The economist who became a Christian
ECONOMICS FOR LIFE: An Economist Reflects on the Meaning of Life, Money and What Really Matters by Ian Harper (Melbourne: Acorn Press) Paperback: 184 pages ISBN: 9780908284955 RRP: $29.95 Reviewed by John Ballantyne Australian left-wing commentators routinely demonise any public figure whose views differ from theirs. In 2005, Professor Ian Harper was fiercely attacked in the media when he was appointed…
BOOK REVIEW Out of shadows and illusions into reality
C.S. LEWIS: A LIFE: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Alister McGrath (London: Hodder & Stoughton) Hardcover: 448 pages ISBN: 9781444745528 RRP: AUD$39.95 Reviewed by Bill James This year marks the 50th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’s death (he died on the same day as President Kennedy and Aldous Huxley), so Alister McGrath’s book will almost certainly be one of many publications in…
