The lockdowns of varying degrees currently being experienced in Melbourne and Sydney highlight the deep fissures and inequalities prevalent in large cities. Rather than a tale of two cities, it’s a tale of two halves within each city. While these generalisations are very broad, they are indicative of a number of factors that start with the socioeconomic status (SES) variation across different suburbs within the city. This is not a simple case of rich vs…
Management guru Peter Drucker gave us “what gets measured gets managed” (for better or worse). Governments bombard us daily with COVID-related statistics, but many of them are measuring the wrong things. The most common statistic is “new cases per day”, but that has serious deficiencies. Firstly, it’s quoted as an absolute number, rather than as a proportion of the population. So in the early days of COVID, the US had huge daily numbers, but as a country…
(Disclaimers: I’m politically aligned to the right, live in Melbourne, and the current outbreaks are far from over) COVID has become highly politicised; we might more accurately say it has brought out the worst of our political partisanship. The national cabinet is a fractured mix of a Liberal Prime Minister and mostly Labor State Premiers. The state response has followed a pattern along political lines, with Labor Premiers favouring lockdowns, and Gladys in NSW playing…
What’s the best thing about Australia? It’s far from everywhere.What’s the worst thing about Australia? It’s far from everywhere.Isolated & strong borders, reversed seasons. In the world of COVID, these would appear to be a blessing. When COVID first emerged, the cold winter in the northern hemisphere contributed to its rapid spread. In Australia, the warmer climate helped reduce the spread, and together with border control and quarantine, we were largely able to get things…
You might describe the Superbowl matchup as the standout team of the season (and current title-holder) versus the team that currently has Tom Brady at QB. Showing no signs of hangover, the Chiefs have put together a near-flawless season. On offence, Mahomes keeps getting better and has a array of powerful weapons, including his own mobility and legs. His speedsters can run deep routes, but are equally able to get the ball with a screen,…
“I am, you are, we are Australian”, wrote The Seekers in a beautiful expression of national identity that spans our very diverse origins. While through COVID-10 we ought to feel especially blessed to live on this remote, island nation, the experience has highlighted the structural essence of our nation like nothing else could. As most Australians know, our country is a federation of states that were originally separate self-governing colonies, and chose to come together…
Why is this state different from all other states? There are no simple answers. We are still in the “fog of war” (albeit slightly less foggy than a few months ago), and we won’t get to the bottom of this for a while yet. We don’t know if the second wave has peaked. We don’t know if there won’t be further waves (here or in other states). The judicial inquiry is barely getting started. We…
In Australia, we would say this year’s match up of two teams who haven’t made a Superbowl for a while is “good for football”, and indeed the entire post-season thus far has been one of the better ones in recent years. Yes, I enjoyed seeing the Pats bundled out early. Maybe I’m indulging in schadenfreude, and maybe I just think it’s time for some other teams to shine (probably both). I really enjoyed the Titans…
With the global media. online or otherwise buzzing about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit (dubbed Megxit) from the British Royal senior family, David writes on LinkedIn, about the communication and methods of doing the same crucial for a family to function well. He puts this through the perspective of famous families and the tier Royal families hold even among these families constantly in limelight.
Starting off a new healthier lifestyle is always more difficult than making the resolution to do so. In this article for The Times of Israel, David talks about the Jewish-specific challenges of dieting – the social aspects of eating at Shabbat and Jewish Holidays, the mixed messages we get from Jewish parents, and how difficult it is to give up foods that you love and are bad for you.
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