
Issue No 83		09 February 2001

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Letters to the Editor

Cavalier Attitude to Cricketers

Rod Cavalier's comments about the Australian cricket team are typical of many sport followers. They can't accept that improvements in training methods, sports medicine and nutrition have resulted in far fitter sportsmen who last a lot longer than their predecessors. They can't accept that technology allows sides to identify weaknesses in others and target them accordingly.

The 1920-21 & 1948 sides played the Poms immediately after 2 world wars when they'd lost a pile of players on the battlefield & the remainder hadn't had a decent feed in years. Such well prepared opposition compared with the malnourished types who tour these days.

What people who laud players & teams of earlier times as better than the present are really saying is that life was much better for them years ago when they were younger & felt healthier.

But don't worry folks - you're not alone. It's not just cricket fans who think things used to be better. It's the same in all walks of life. I love hearing how rugby sides from 50 years ago weighing in at an average 15kg lighter than their contemporary counterparts would have thrashed the current lineups. And of course, there's our leaders in the labour movement - they're not a patch on Curtin & Chifley are they?

I suppose it's all just part of living in a nation of knockers & whingers.

David Martin

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Issue 83 contents

Interview: Dispatch from Davos
ACTU President Shahran Burrow reports back on the trade union movement�s presence at last week�s meeting of the heavyweights of global capital.

Unions: After the Gold Rush
Recent mass sackings at high-profile e-businesses are beginning to expose the flimsiness of the �jobs for all� predictions made on behalf of the sector.

Economics: The Other Davos
While the world�s business leaders met in Davos, a very different gathering was taking place in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Pat Ranald was there.

Politics: While We Were Snoozing
As we lay in our banana chair through summer the political world kept turning with a new man in the White House. Here�s what we missed while we were off the air.

History: Federation Day, 1901
One hundred years after Australia became a nation, Ralph Sawyer relives the original Federation Day through the eyes of Billy Hughes.

International: Burma: The Struggle Continues
As the internatinal community moves to bring Burma to account, APHEDA - Union Aid Abroad is working on the ground.

Review: Inside the Journopolis
In his new book, Rob Johnson brings the infamous Cash for Comment Affair to life.

Satire: Families Demand Longer Work Hours
A new report confirms the long held suspicion that employees who reduce their workload to spend more time with their spouse and children just end up annoying their families even more.

» Union Busters Target Call Centres

» Workers Take Message to World Bank

» Korean Worker Bashed for Questioning Wages

» Steelworkers Draw The Line

» Sartor Thanks Workers for Games by Outsourcing Jobs

» Outworkers Still Waiting for Action of Sweatshops

» Workers Casualties in Wentworth Fire Sale

» Fantastic Win for Furniture Workers

» Billions Spent on Mine Takeovers

» No Guarantees on Orange Jobs

» M5 Project- Worker Pays the Price

» Forum: Organising Youth in a Hostile Workplace

» Western Sahara Marks 25 Years of Waiting

» Action as Australia Considers WTO Ties