Arab spring yields to Muslim winter
PAUL SHEEHAN In France, more than 1000 cars were torched across the country on New Year's Eve. It has become a tradition. As usual, the French media omitted to say most of the damage is done by young disaffected Muslim men and has become a form of protest.
Target violence the way we won road safety
Rod McClure There is widespread concern about the recent deaths from alcohol-fuelled violence.
Reading fiction is good for the soul
Mark O'Connell Does reading fiction make you a better, less self-absorbed person?
SMH
Bill Shorten must live up to his vow
As Bill Shorten pondered his position from Moonee Ponds, where he has been on a staycation, the Opposition Leader would be forgiven for pinching himself.
6 January
Letters to the Editor
The rising number of unprovoked physical attacks and their dreadful consequences won't be reduced by playing with the liquor laws and imposing harsher penalties for assaults.
Column 8
''Regarding the poor design of forms what I find more irksome is having to print out a form or receipt that has white lettering embedded inside a big block of colour."
Learn from losers if you really want to succeed
John Birmingham Let's face it: the Ashes are won, there's only the mopping up left, and it's a fair bet the selectors won't be calling me to open the bowling any time soon.
Dehydration crisis a scary wake-up call
Josie Banens I recently found myself stuck in traffic in Sydney's M5 tunnel in stifling 39-degree heat with no water, in a car with no air-conditioning.
Time for some selfie-discipline
CHARLES WATERSTREET One of the many agonies of growing older is that New Year's Eves become like birthdays, far less important, and sometimes to be avoided at all costs.
Time to remodel fashion's outdated norms
Anita Sethi The foundation of the fashion industry needs to change. That's not only ''foundation'', as in the thin smear of liquid substance applied to the skin, but the very building blocks of the monocultural industry.
Scandal is that there are no jobs for the girls
KIRSTY NEEDHAM Allegations of ''jobs for the boys'' dogged the O'Farrell government in 2013, as a scandal-hungry media over the appointment of former business mates to lucrative government boards.
Hardliners work to give war a chance
PAUL MCGEOUGH Who still wants to bomb Iran? The conflict in Syria is the latest to prove how difficult it is to stop a war once the shooting has begun.
Cut booze hours
It is with great concern that lives are being needlessly lost as a result of alcohol-related street violence.
More dwellings need to be considered
There are simply not enough places to live in NSW, especially Sydney, where the jobs and the activity are.
It's a new year but not as we know it
John Birmingham This year will be unlike any other, except the one that came before it and possibly the one that will come after.
Diagnosing the dollars
JACQUELINE MALEY Opinion As Amanda Vanstone once famously asked: What can can five bucks buy you anyway?
A tale of two cities is retold in New York
JULIA BAIRD Oscar de la Renta, Prada, Roger Vivier, Chanel. On New Year's Eve the women of New York's elite sparkled in their extraordinary, extravagant couture.
Chaos on coast sign of tide towards changes
Ian Hoskins The newness of our beach embrace is reflected in its architecture.
Nuclear ruin beckons, if not for good luck
Bruce Anderson The Western world has lost control of the ship and it all started in 1888.
January 4
Letters to the Editor
I have, of course, full sympathy for the families and friends of the recent victims of unprovoked attacks on the streets of Sydney
SMH
Sharks are entitled to their domain
How vain do we want to be as a culture? How disconnected with our natural environment?
Brandis' clean-up leaves out messy questions
RICHARD ACKLAND Loose ends tend to clutter our lives and, supposedly, a new year is a good time to tidy them up or burn them to cinders.
No country for young men
Catharine Lumby Parenting a teenage son is like standing on the deck of a ship and watching an unfamiliar land slowly come into view.
New stands host old SCG magic
ANDREW WEBSTER Glorious new stands will be unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the first day of the fifth Ashes Test, but as far as Perry Brown is concerned nothing changes.
Despite attacks, idea of a republic lives on
GEOFF GALLOP The British Crown came to Australia in 1788 and has been with us ever since. It personified our links to a tradition that privileged some ideas without destroying others.
January 3
Letters to the Editor
When will the courts finally be forced to throw the book at repeat offenders (''New year, same mayhem'', January 2)?
SMH
Editorial
The tragic assault of Sydney teenager Daniel Christie on NYE refocuses attention on what more could be done to ensure the people can move around the streets of Sydney in safety.
Column 8
''With the resurgence of Australian cricket,'' writes Ruth Turner, of Grays Point, ''I was reminded of the old record The Gospel According to Cricket.
Urban legend occurring right before our eyes
ELIZABETH FARRELLY If it is true that we mould our cities from the clay of shared values, what does the trend to re-urbanisation tell us of the shape of the human future? Is the five-minute-village ideal the built form of our epoch-changing social-media addiction?
One wedding, three stories and fish porn
PAUL SHEEHAN Last Sunday, outside a pretty little church in Hunters Hill - St Peter Chanel, named after the only Catholic martyr in Polynesia - a wedding party and guests assembled. And assembled. And assembled.
Young men, alcohol and hot summer nights
Don Weatherburn If news broadcasts are anything to go by, it seems hardly a day goes by without someone being seriously assaulted in Sydney's CBD.
Bats required when language gets hit for six
Lawrence Money Only in cricket is it acceptable to speak with pride about bowling a maiden over.
Centuries-old dispute haunts Sochi Olympics
James Barry North Caucasians have long railed against Russia's rubbery notions of people and place.
We must redouble our efforts against violence
In December 2005, the Cronulla riots took place and the story went around the world. What we have now in Sydney is more serious.
JANUARY 2
Letters to the Editor
Surely it is about time we had a competition to bring New Year's Eve into the 21st century and give us something better than fireworks (''Full house party'', January 1)?
Column 8
While 99.9 per cent of Sydney revellers had a wonderful New Year's celebration, the stories of mindless boozy violence throw their inevitable wet blanket over proceedings.
In the Herald, January 2, 1961
Jacqui Martinez In the news from Hobart, "fire hoses were turned on an angry mob of teenagers during New Year celebrations outside Hobart GPO in the early hours of the morning."
Sugar: How sweet it is ... and how bad it is
PETER MARTIN Let me guess. You're going to lose weight. Let me guess again. You won't succeed for long. The standard approach, the one that almost always fails, is to treat weight as an exercise in accounting.
Terrorism threat at Sochi nagging at Russia
Graeme Gill The Olympic Games is no stranger to political controversy. The 1972 Munich Games will forever be remembered for the massacre of Israeli athletes, while the 1980 Moscow Games saw significant Western boycotts.
Voices already speaking for NSW's children
Chris Gardiner Have children in NSW suffered as the result of the lack of a Commissioner for Children and Young People? Have key programs delivering services to disadvantaged young people faltered?
With respect ... Meh, here's a few pet hates
Adam Zwar My hopes for this year are nothing special - play more golf, lose weight and never again hear the word ''sweet'' in response to something I've said. Not everything is ''sweet''. And nothing is ''sweet as''.
Resolution: to fund an equitable future for all
Sally Young The government is promising a tough budget to balance the books, but there are many tax loopholes it will likely ignore.
Be thankful a free press exposes corruption
Jonathan Holmes A Moroccan visit reminded this tourist of how media clamps and baksheesh shackle people.
The side effects of GP co-payments
Jennifer Doggett We should contribute to our healthcare costs. But this is not the best way.
JANUARY 1
Letters to the Editor
The proposed $6 co-payment for a GP visit would deliver an immediate budget saving of less than $200 million a year, amounting to barely 0.01 per cent of gross domestic product and just 0.04 per cent of public spending.
Abbott's team could take lesson from Keating
The release of the cabinet papers each year by the National Archives typically provides an unvarnished insight into the workings of government, and a lesson or two for the present generation of politicians.
Column 8
Welcome to 2014. To set the tone for the new year, we may as well jump in the deep end and review progress in our quest for dodgy chemistry/fruit humour (Avogadro/avocado jokes please!, Column 8, since Saturday).
Banana Lounge quiz: This sporting life
STEPHEN SAMUELSON 1. Cricketer not mentioned in the film Slumdog Millionaire?
In the Herald: January 1, 1929
Jacqui Martinez "There is no need to worry about traffic congestion in Sydney," said Inspector Bennett of the Sydney Traffic Department.
We live in the best of times, don't buy gloom
Tom Switzer Unfashionable though it is to say so, we are living in a golden age. For never has there been less hunger and disease and more security and prosperity around the world.
Drinking culture and children a toxic cocktail
Anne Hollonds During this transitional time between Christmas and new year celebrations, a new advertisement for a liquor store has been getting an airing on daytime TV.
Resolutions a testament to our self-delusion
GEORGIA WATERS Making resolutions to better ourselves come January 1 is a stirring testament to the human capacity for hope and optimism - and self-delusion.
Anti-terrorism laws will be a test for Brandis
GEORGE WILLIAMS Federal Attorney-General George Brandis has embarked on a surprising mission. Rather than following the antagonistic path of his Coalition predecessors, he is seeking to champion the cause of human rights.
Forget the shame in twerking half nude, sister
Emma Young Feminism is not exactly a catch-cry of modern music but don't blame Beyonce.
Enough to make you tear your hair out
Timothy Egan Bring the year to a close by literally throwing out those hoary old chestnuts.
US scientific dominance may be waning
Thomas Barlow America has been the dominant force in global innovation for half a century, but Asia, especially China, could change the world as we know it.
GP co-payment leaves patients out in the cold
JENNA PRICE Opinion Co-payments may just be five or six bucks to some of us, but they can also be a reason not to seek medical advice.
DECEMBER 31
Letters to the Editor
The proposed curtailment of the fringe benefit tax on novated leased vehicles by Labor was projected to reap $1.8 billion over four years, while having no impact on taxpayers who genuinely used a vehicle for work or business purposes.
An eventful year to look back on
Some years become lost in our collective amnesia. These are the years that fade from our timelines because they lack sufficient milestones. But 2013 has not been such a year. It will be remembered.
Column 8
''The guest completing a crossword puzzle in Saturday's Column 8 reminded me of a Services Club in London in the 1950s,'' recalls Keith Ridler-Dutton, of Killara.
In the Herald: December 31, 1954
Jacqui Martinez "I was refreshed by hearing the Queen pay due respect to verbs during her Christmas broadcast," wrote "Veritas".
Tony Burke likely to be next Labor PM
PAUL SHEEHAN Tony Burke will be the next Labor prime minister. He is authentic, a crucial advantage in politics, and pragmatic, intelligent and decent.
Feminist has suddenly become a dirty word
Jemimah Cooper Generally we like to think that gender roles don't really matter. But sometimes things happen that can completely throw you.
Developing countries undermined by greed
Clark Gascoigne,Tom Cardamone When you hear the words ''global development'' what comes to mind? Foreign aid? Malaria prevention? Humanitarian assistance?
Snowden revelations only the beginning
Ryan Gallagher The governments of the US, Australia, Britain and beyond should be on notice: He's not done yet.
US's secrecy means Asia must oppose deal
William Pesek Self-awareness often eludes US officials who push American interests on Asia.
Media reforms must provide framework for all
It may not be to everyone's taste but if you want an indication of how Australia's media landscape is changing consider the Ten Network's modest hit, The Bachelor.
DECEMBER 30
Letters to the Editor
While there is no doubt that Peter Cosgrove has ''long been a frontrunner'' for the role of governor-general, claims that he remains ''controversy free'' may be harder to sustain.
Column 8
''Could someone please tell me why all the sails on the maxi yachts in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race were black?'' asks Randa Loupis, of Turramurra. ''Is black the new fashion? Is there a scientific reason?
In the Herald: December 30, 1918
Stephanie Bull Mr J.O. Fairfax was welcomed home from patriotic work overseas by staff of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Great news for boomers who have not saved
John Elder Age-reversal science is excellent news for baby boomers who haven't saved enough super.
Travelling to a simpler, better Australia
CLEM BASTOW It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment I realised that late capitalism had begun to swallow me whole, but it definitely happened in America.
Politics hampers bid to win over pretty face
Sam de Brito I find it deeply confusing when I'm physically attracted to a politically conservative woman.
Women treated with shameful disregard
Melinda Tankard Reist When pictures of the female players were splashed everywhere following Legends (aka Lingerie) Football League games this month, it underscored what has been a losing year for women.
Havens for flawed travellers
CHARLES WATERSTREET After 15 years of sitting in Starbucks coffee shops in Australia and America, I have only just noticed that the company's logo is a long-haired woman with a mermaid bottom half and party hat.
Letters to the Editor
It is a sad sense of irony that your editorial appeared the day after the death of a former State Coroner, Kevin Waller.
We must sober up and tackle street violence
Sickening images of alcohol-related violence have featured in the news this month with monotonous regularity.
Highlights
Why feminist has suddenly become a dirty word
Generally we like to think that gender roles don't really matter. But sometimes things happen that can completely throw you.
Social media leads us to a new level of hyperbole
In the age of social media, a new currency is emerging. It is the currency of outrage. It erodes our ability to listen to one another.
Meet Australia's future Prime Minister
He has a formidable resume, is a former national debating champion, and is extremely funny. It's a rare gift in politics.
The meltdown: How Labor self-destructed
Together, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard had the support of the nation and the party. Divided, their feud would be the undoing of a government. An investigation by Peter Hartcher.
Dear grandchildren, I can only say sorry
I don't have grandchildren but I'm hoping for some, someday, so this column is for them.
How Michael Kirby saved my life
I never thought I would write this column, but I am because of Michael Kirby.
What women don't want
The time is now to change the way women are portrayed in the media. And it is up to us to do it.
Some baby steps vital in role of fathers
While discussing the imminent birth of my daughter with my friends, conversation turned to new roles for dads as they try to play a larger part in raising children.
A note from the Letters editors
Why a Letter to the Editor that says, "there is no sign humans have caused climate change" would not make the grade for our page.
Now, the good news: poverty in retreat worldwide
Imagine having to pick just one of your children to save, while leaving the others to face death.
