A tide of compassion washed from Bali to Bondi

I've just experienced something remarkable. I went down to Bondi Beach just before midday, breaking off a twig of bottlebrush along the way as a mark of respect to those poor folk in Bali. It was an average, sunny Sydney day.As I walked on to the sand at North Bondi the shark siren fired up and every person on the beach, man, woman and child, stood up and faced the sea. There was complete silence. After a minute the siren sounded again and people went back to doing their Sunday beach thing.

It was at once beautiful, chilling and singularly Australian. I will never forget it.

Brendan Gallagher, Bondi ( Letters SMH 21/10/02)

For Richer

It was one of those revealing moments. Responding to an e-mail message from a Canadian viewer, Robert NOVAK of 'Crossfire' delivered a little speech: 'Marg, like most Canadians, you're ill informed and wrong. The U.S. has the longest standard of living -- longest life expectancy of any country in the world, including Canada. That's the truth.’

But it was Novak who had his facts wrong. Canadians can expect to live about two years longer than Americans. In fact, life expectancy in the U.S. is well below that in Canada, Japan and every major nation in Western Europe. On average, we can expect lives a bit shorter than those of Greeks, a bit longer than those of Portuguese. Male life expectancy is lower in the U.S. than it is in Costa Rica.