E D I T O R I A L

Shut It Down!
The CFMEU’s legal bid to have the Cole Royal Commission closed down seeks to prove legally what any dispassionate observer has worked out for themselves: the whole show is biased.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Australian Worker
AWU national secretary Bill Shorten gives his take on the relationship between the wings of the movement

Unions: Morning Ambush
Rowan Cahill joined the Dayson workers as they took their fourteen week dispute to the doors of an American corproate giant

Cole-Watch: Grumpy Old Men
When the Cole Commission declared closed its second innings in Sydney last night, lasting memories centred around the hands played by two grumpy old men, Jim Marr reports.

International: Arrested (Sustainable) Development
Unions fronting up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development are making clear their views that development can never be considered sustainable unless social justice is made a top priority, reports Tara de Boehmler.

History: Illegal Alien
As we remember the shameful way we turned away a group of people escaping the horrors of a dictatorial regime, the treatment of Egon Kisch by the UAP Government in 1935 highlights yet another.

Economics: The Trouble With PPPs
The Uni of NSW's Christopher Shiel explains why the state's current flirtation with Public Private Partnerships is an ongoing joke

Poetry: Is This 'My Country'?
On the anniversary of the Tampa, and with the help of Dorothea Mackellar and Peter Dodds McCormick, Worker's Online travels back a year to contemplate those moments when eyes were closed to the nature of the Taliban regime.

Review: Garage Days
Mark Hebblewhite reviews a new Aussie flick that brings the indie music scene to the big screen

N E W S

Bias Case Clears First Hurdle

Eight Weeks Only for Bomb Survivors

Justice At Last for Woodlawn Miners

Labor for Refugees Put Acid on Crean

Canberra Cash Linked to Hall of Fame Stoush

Osama Poster Sparks Controversy

Underwear Obsession Prompts Rehab List

Community Workers Win Lifeline

Mad Monk Staff in 'Mad Hatter' Protest

Qld Health Win Pay Rise

Education Forum To Spark Public Debate

Activist Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Is Simon the Likeable?
The United Firefighter's Daryl Snow is back to give the ALP and political leaders in general an almighty hosing down

The Locker Room
A Modest Proposal
This NRL salary cap has come in for some debate recently, with many following the lead set by the Murdoch Media and calling for administrators of the game to throw the baby out with the bathwater, writes Phil Doyle.

Week in Review
World Domination
They’re right funny critters those Yanks who get their hands on the levers of power and we’re not talking, funny ha ha, here, Jim Marr writes…

Bosswatch
The Costello Two-Step
Treasurer Peter Costello's two faces were on display this week - ducking and weaving from enforcing corporate accounting standards while upping the push to cut corporate tax

Indigenous
Always Listen To The Wind
Bernadette Moloney & John Hartley report from a conference aimed at getting reconciliation right

L E T T E R S

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Tony Moore is a Four Letter Word

Dear Editor,

I'm a 19-year-old student (which is probably enough explanation for the patronising Mr. Moore) and I am writing in response to an article that he has probably forgotten that he ever wrote.

The article in question is his "Satire: Shit is a Four Letter Word, article that was published in July last year. I am hoping that I can perhaps provide Mr. Moore with an insight into the young adult mind seeing as he is obviously too fuddy-duddy (yes that is a technical term) over the hill, and well and truly out of the loop that is youth. This isn't something that I normally do, reply to vicious, hastily constructed and ill thought articles, but Love Is was such an amazing piece of Australian television, or even just television that I feel compelled to defend those involved with the project and those who thoroughly enjoyed the viewing experience. Perhaps Mr. Moore is hanging around with the wrong crowd, ie old duffers, because I know plenty of people who enjoyed the series as much as I did. I'd also like to commend Ruth Ritchie on her review, which I read last year. It is obvious that even with a slightly older perspective she can still appreciate "hip" television.

I am one of the first people to admit that there is very little of substance on the box, but for me Love Is really got into my veins. For the several months of the series I almost lived that show. And before anyone suggests that I get out more, let me explain that at the time I was going through the hsc (something that no one should have to go through) and to enter into the Disneyland as Mr. Moore so inanely called it, (that whole paragraph was contrived codswallop to me) was a break from my reality. The characters were so real, so interesting that it was at times hard not to think of them as real people. Love Is had great acting, great music, great styling and some brilliant script writing. Mr. More longed for a good plot, well you don't get a much more complex, exciting, twisted intricate plot than the one the script writers conjured up. Some may not consider it plausible, however, it was a lot more plausible than any Home and Away or Neighbour's storyline, AND a lot more !

entertaining. I get the feeling it has been a long time since Mr. Moore has been around a young, hip "Newtown" crowd because sometimes things really can get as twisted as a Love Is storyline.

It was refreshing to watch a show that was genuinely concerned with the "human" experience, rather than dealing with the same old clichés of "class" or "ethnicity" that are so often dragged out in a patronizing manner. I can't watch The Bill without falling asleep. In fact, I can't watch The Bill full stop. The mere fact the Mr. Moore feels the need to label certain groups in society, e.g. "Wogs" or "blue collar workers" suggests that he is the one with issues, not the show. And while I'm looking at the particular paragraph of his article, can I mention that there are more important things in TV show, and in life for that matter, than talking about the type of movies or TV shows that we enjoy. Conversations about favourite movies or TV shows doesn't exactly make great viewing, although I suppose that Mr. Moore wouldn't really know much about that topic now would he? I also think that actually having bands play in the pub went one step further than the characters just talking about their favourite types of music.

In fact, I think that there is a good chance that Mr. Moore missed the whole point of the series, after all, it was aimed at a youthful audience. The nitty-gritty act of love that he perversely complained was missing is hardly a reason to say it sucked (excuse the pun). Does Mr. Moore know the difference between sex and love? I was personally impressed that the writers didn't succumb to cheap ratings tactics and have the characters "boof" in every episode in an attempt to make entertainment. I'd hardly say it was prudish, but if it is full on sex and women with "their gear off" that Mr. Moore wants, then perhaps he should direct himself to the adult section of his local video store. Love Is wasn't about infidelity as Mr. Moore suggests, but the way that love isn't always soft and mushy, but can hurt and be an obscenity, hence the title. Love Is wasn't meant to be a comedy, strangely enough South Park is, and the fact that he has placed, or tried to shove the two shows in the!

one category shows that Mr. Moore has no bloody idea.

Personally I would love to rant and rave for another couple of pages, but I have work of my own to do. You see, the reason for this belated response is not that I have been bottling up my anger for over a year, but that I only just found the article found while doing some research. At the moment I am in the drafting stages of creating my own TV series, and I was looking to Love Is for inspiration. It had some of the best scriptwriting that I had ever seen and I challenge Mr. Moore to write something better. I suggest that if he wants to watch a show with history he watch a documentary, or if he wants a story written by a novelist he read a novel. Better still, if he thinks it is so easy, why doesn't the old grump make his own TV series if he finds it so easy to insult the ones that are around now. It was a tragedy that Love Is failed to make it to a second series, I would have happily given a donation rather than have them "waste" Mr. Moore's precious tax dollars.

It is a shame that one viewing of the series wasn't enough for Mr. Moore, however if he would like to watch it a second time for a better understanding, I am more than happy to lend him a copy. I have the whole series on tape. I look forward to reading Mr. Moore's review of my own series if it ever makes it to air, perhaps I will post him a very simple press release so he can at least understand it before he insults it.

Yours in television, Peta

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005