Dear Reader: Today I bring you news of the most chilling and awful purport. Don't worry, it doesn't affect you — at least I hope it doesn't. It is yours truly who is getting the short end of the chopstick on this one. I tell you, I feel as if I've been reborn with a greasy spoon in my mouth — but if you've an appetite for true horror, then read on.
It all started a couple of weeks ago. On June 15, Deborah Cameron, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, reported on a case before the High Court of Australia. Apparently, a restaurant review in that newspaper in 2003 rubbished a fancy Sydney eatery. The critic wrote that more than half the dishes at the restaurant were "unpalatable."
What's so horrifying about a restaurant review, you may ask. Well, the High Court ruled that the critique was defamatory. A decision regarding damages is to be made in the new future.