Letters

Letters

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday October 2, 2008

Never again with drunks on the train

With the focus on the over-consumption of alcohol, you have to wonder why it is sold on some of CountryLink's services.

Take the experience of passengers on the 12.05pm train from Canberra to Sydney last Friday. In carriage A was a group of men intent on continuing bucks celebrations from the night before. When passengers had had enough of the group's drunken behaviour, some of us asked the conductor why beer was still being sold to them. There wasn't a problem, the conductor said, because he had moved upset passengers to carriage B.

I get the distinct feeling CountryLink sees its passengers as losers. If we had been on a plane, we wouldn't have had to put up with the drunken behaviour.

Now I know why there is only a limited three-carriage train service from Australia's capital city to its biggest city. Once you've experienced the trip (it took five hours), you would never do it again.

Erica Cervini Fitzroy (Vic)

Running rings around us

Shame on Barry O'Farrell for supporting the development application to create an eruv ("Jews seek religious freedom with a ring around St Ives", October 1). No matter how unobtrusive the proposed works, pandering to the desires of a religious group by modifying our environment is not acceptable. Religions must resolve these problems themselves, hopefully in a more intelligent way than this proposal.

Janice Perry Chatswood

Only the Ultra Orthodox Jews seek this 20-kilometre metaphorical and physical fence around St Ives. My friends in the majority secular progressive Jewish community do not, because they see it as an action that will create division.

We should all be seeking integration rather than segregation, and certainly not the creation of ghettos. Why can't the few Ultra Orthodox Jews establish a simple map of where they can push or carry on their Sabbath rather than delineating with poles and wires? There is no logic in their request.

In some parts of St Ives, residents have spent a lot of money to have all power, telephone and TV cabling put underground. It is hardly surprising that they object to the proposal to have poles and wires running past their properties.

John Watts St Ives

We should protest against a wire perimeter around St Ives because it is an absurd use of time and resources. A zone that permits you to carry car keys and push prams on a Saturday without enraging your god makes as much sense as covering your head in aluminum foil to deflect thought rays from CIA satellites.

Protesting that it will create a Jewish ghetto is equally absurd. Why deny the real problem? Religion encourages ridiculous human behaviour. Why not have the courage to say it?

Bronte Eckermann Eastwood

Choose your target carefully

Amanda Miller (Letters, October 1) assumes that Angela Budai is a finance sector fat cat who does not support foreign aid agencies. As her father, let me assure you that neither assumption is correct. Attacking the person rather then her ideas is bad form.

Ferenc Budai Castlecrag

On a roll with tickets

Sue Honeybrook is right on the money (or lack thereof) when it comes to concert tours by artists from yesteryear ("Only rock 'n' roll, but it's costly", October 1). The minimum price these days seems to be $99, which is for the seats furthest from the stage that often require giant screens so that you can vouch for the fact that the ant on the stage is indeed (insert legend).

Most of us don't want to go alone, so you need to have the cost of two or more seats available on your credit card. Look out if it's a gift. Minimum $198 plus booking fee, thanks.

David Breeze Dulwich Hill

Throwing the switch

The US is learning from the Australian federal election. Yesterday John McCain repeatedly mentioned "working families" in a speech. Just when you thought it was safe to turn on the television.

Anoushka Haas Minneapolis (US)