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    Letters to the Sunday Age
    Letters to the Sunday Age
    Letters to the Sunday Age
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Letters to the Sunday Age

    By David Francis Jeffery

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    About this ebook

    Letters to the editor of the Sunday Age that I have written over the period 2007 - 2015. Covering a wide range of interests, it gives a snap shot of Australia and, sometimes, the wider world over the past eight years.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDavid Francis Jeffery
    Release dateJan 4, 2016
    ISBN9781310147296
    Letters to the Sunday Age
    Author

    David Francis Jeffery

    David Francis Jeffery is a writer living in Australia with his wife and daughter. He has a had a few things published here and there and has self-published two chapbooks and a literary magazine in the early '00's. He writes everyday but not everyday does he write something worthwhile.

    Read more from David Francis Jeffery

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      Book preview

      Letters to the Sunday Age - David Francis Jeffery

      LETTERS TO THE SUNDAY AGE

      David Francis Jeffery

      Copyright David Francis Jeffery 2007-2015

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords Edition: License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      A Short Introduction

      This book was originally called 'Letters to the Age,' until I realised that I don't actually write letters to the Age; I only write them to the Sunday Age. Not that I haven't written letters to the Age but, the Sunday Age is the main one I read and so, the main one I write letters to.

      I'd been writing letters to this paper for quite a while, when my wife suggested I start keeping them and turning them into a book. Many of my letters previous to the ones you will read here, were actual hand written things that I didn't keep a copy of. I'd had a few of those published before I even thought to make a book out of it.

      So, why a book? Well, I like books of letters. I became a more serious writer because of a book of letters. I read the first volume of Jack Kerouac's letters and saw how determined he was to become a writer and how he developed his style and I thought, 'I really need to commit.' So, despite having to publish myself, I have committed. Also, books of letters are soon going to be no more. As has been said by better humans than me: who writes letters anymore? Certainly that correspondence between equals seems to have gone the way of the internet. I certainly don't have any letters in my possession from any other writers in my circle and I haven't written a hand written letter since I don't know when. So these are the next best thing. They're short, concise and give a pretty good picture of the time they were written in. They're of the now.

      I've included all the letters I wrote, not just the ones I've had published, as that would be an extremely short book - even for me. But, as you'll see, I've had a couple of good years with being published - 2009 and 2010 being the banner years. I haven't included any proofs of the actual letter as it came out in the paper; as you'll know, most papers will edit for clarity and length and quite a few of the letters that were published had been altered somewhat but I wanted to keep them in as I intended, rather than as they appeared. It may make an interesting comparison but I don't think anyone will really care that much.

      You'll also notice that, in some years, there's quite a gap between letters. Life gets in the way, what can I tell you? I'm trying to be a bit more consistent with writing them but, quite honestly, sometimes I don't find anything in the paper worth writing about.

      Anyway, I hope you find some of these intriguing, interesting, honest, annoying, ridiculous, appalling, insightful, funny and just plain...well, plain. I'm going to do these as an ongoing thing so you can think of this as, 'Letters to the Sunday Age, part I.' See you in another eight years.

      DFJ - 4/1/2016

      I don't know about everyone else, but I found Roger Rogerson's 'embarrassing moment' rather distasteful. 'What? We broke down your door, shot up your house, scared you and your kids and it was the house two doors down, even though you told us (...) didn't live here? How embarrassing!' No Roger, that doesn't count too high on the embarrassment scale I wouldn't have thought. Was there even an apology in there somewhere? 'Why would we do that? It's only Redfern.' Is there any wonder the police aren't trusted?

      Written 17 January 2007

      Not published

      Well, Mr. Doyle is at least heading in the right direction. Talk of big ideas is indeed, a wonderful thing but I can't help thinking, where was Mr. Doyle's 'big ideas' when he was leader of the opposition? It seemed to me that every time he was interviewed or spoke, he was only saying what Mr. Bracks was doing wrong and not presenting anything to really think about. And it also seems to me that the Labour Party was voted out in 1996 on the premise of the big idea that nobody wanted to grasp and the Liberals have been contented to maintain the status quo ever since. When was the last time anyone heard John Howard expounding on 'big ideas?' And no, I don't think nuclear power is a big idea, just an easy solution. Mr. Doyle is merely reinforcing the attitude all Oppositions have; namely, big ideas are fine when you're not in government. Therefore, you don't have to pay for them, implement them, or make sure they go the way you want them to. You also don't have to justify them if they go wrong. But, applause must go to him for actually suggesting government might like to look further than the next election. Let's see if Mr. Ballieu agrees.

      Written 17 January 2007

      Not published

      Alexander Downer is at it again. 'If we pull out now, we just give succour to the terrorists.' It seems to me that being there is giving succour to the terrorists. After all, this is exactly what they want; international attention, people eternally scared, easily acquired weapons from deceased army personnel; basically, a big, loud fight. And, let's face it, where are the terrorists based in actuality? Certainly not in Iraq if memory serves. Al Qaeda is based in Afghanistan but you don't hear much about that anymore do you? No, we're fighting a losing war in Iraq; a country that never had any capacity to be a real threat in the first place. It's a civil war over there at the moment, not a terrorist action. So, how can we possibly be giving succour to any terrorists? Come on Mr. Downer, just admit that you're following the (US) party line and let us decide what might be best for our troops. Iraq is a lost cause and the only reason it would end up a Mecca for terrorists is because we've enabled it. Let's get out while we still can.

      Written 30 January 2007

      Not published

      I was very interested to read the contrasting articles with Hugh Jackman and Tony Curtis. While every interview with Jackman unfailingly glows with his humanness, warmth and charm; Curtis comes across as no more than an egotistical misogynist. While Jackman only has eyes for his wife, no matter how many beautiful actresses he's starred beside, Curtis couldn't get enough of his leading ladies, no matter how old he became. A case of Peter Pan syndrome if ever there was one. I guess it proves once again, that being a star is no excuse for immaturity. Good on you Hugh, you deserve everything you've worked for.

      Written 31 January 2007

      Not published.

      Not to make light of what is obviously a nasty situation in Fiji but, in my experience, bullies hate being bullied back; especially if they're being ridiculed. So it is my suggestion that every newsreader, opinion writer, or journalist start referring to the Commodore as 'Commodore Barney Banana,' or the ever popular alternative, 'Bananarama;' (and how the newsreaders have managed to be able to NOT use these names is testament to their professionalism.) Now, one person doing this could make the Commodore more furious and, therefore, more extreme but EVERYONE referring to him this way may force him to see some sense. Of course, I don't really expect something like this to work but it would be a lot of fun.

      Written February 6, 2007

      Not published.

      Tom Hyland's opinion piece on David Hicks certainly drew out some salient points but fails to address the main problem; that of Hicks' borderline illegal incarceration. I have yet to read a letter of support for David that paints his as some sort of 'innocent abroad.' Almost all are calling for him to be tried and no one has said they believe him completely innocent; implied by the use of said word in the title. Yes, he may have been a rabid anti-Semite, but so are many in the Fundamentalist Christian movement that George W seems so eager to embrace. He may also have 'longed for the chance to get into action' against foes of the Taliban but, what young service man in WWII could not be said to have had the same mindset? The Germans and Japanese were as much our (hated) foes as any of the Taliban's enemies. But in our own country, they are and were no more misguided than any Taliban fighter is regarded in Afghanistan. The whole point is not, is he or is he not guilty; nor even should he, or should he not go to trial. My personal opinion is, yes he should so, perhaps, the whole truth can be revealed. But to still be stuck in a gulag for five years, without even a tangible hope of some sort of release? How does that make us any more decent than our supposed enemies?

      Written February 12, 2007

      Not published.

      The main problem with smoking and advertising is that people seem to be refusing to admit the

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