OBESITY EXPERTS KNOW HOW TO PARTY

Those attending the 14th European Congress on Obesity were invited to a pre-planned social event on Friday night:

Alternative Gala Night Event

On Friday night of June 3rd 2005, be ready to set your clock three decades back!

The best ever era of the ’70s is going to revive through a wonderful “hippies’ party”!

Music and dance shall rule the “Blue Water”, which will host us in a colourful setting, meeting our expectations for a beach party to remember, and feel again what it means to be young and a dreamer!

To get into the mood, a make up artist shall be there for those willing to adopt the make up style of those days, while a whole dressing room will provide you with a series of hippy accessories, like belts, clothes, longhaired wigs, sun glasses etc. And please remember to bring your bathing suit with you. You are certainly going to need it!

A group of animators, seating on the floor singing old tunes with their guitars, making circles and dancing will welcome you to the party, which won’t come to its end before we award the winners of the shake contest amongst all participants, who are expected to show their dancing skills accompanied by Greek and International ’70s top hits!

Make a big splash in past!

I don't know about the 70s being the best ever era. No matter, the come dressed as a hippy, circle dance, 70s Greek hits, swim party sounds like great fun. Do those Europeans know how to party or what?

JOSCHKA FISCHER ON THE FUTURE OF THE EU

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer clears up a few things about the future of the EU:

"When the Wall came down, it created a new social and economic landscape in Europe. We are faced with the contradiction that very conservative and rich societies, built over decades, have created a beautiful house called the European Union. But the back of the house was the Wall. When the Mediterraneans knocked at the door ... we built some very beautiful new additions to this family house. And suddenly the Wall came down and this very conservative EU Europe -- and I don't mean politically conservative -- saw the poorer part of the family waiting on the other side. We witnessed a very silent revolution that had to be integrated into the very conservative structures and realities of Western Europe....

"We are talking about 1,000 years of European history. We are talking about different languages, different cultures. We are talking about over 500 million people. We are talking about very successful nation states and nation states with terrible histories like my own country. We are talking about the old European state system with its prejudices, fears, concerns, and very different traditions. To bring that together, you have to deal with the resistance of centuries....

"This is the first time in German history that we are embedded in a peaceful Europe without any threat from outside and without threats from us to our neighbors. It's the first time that we are in a sustainable and structurally peaceful situation and this offers new opportunities. 60 years of peace also means 60 years of wealth accumulation and we are in a situation where we can, and must, reduce the role of the state. But on the other hand, we have a tradition where the state guarantees much more than it does in the Anglo-Saxon tradition.... It's about very deeply rooted traditions. And to break up these traditions in a peaceful way is the new challenge we are facing."

Huh?

NEED FOR SPEED

By far the world's most dangerous motorcyle race is about to be run. The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is a six lap race over a 37.73 mile street circuit. Over 200 riders have been killed since 1907. This year's first casualty was Swede Joakim Karlsson, killed in practice. Successful riders have a special mindset:

In 2003... Dave Jefferies, a highly experienced nine-time winner of the TT collided with a telegraph pole in Crosby Village. He had previously said to a journalist: "To succeed on the island you have to be totally at ease with yourself, know what you are doing and accept that you might be going home in a box."

It's probably the same mindset required for successful combat soldiers.

The official Isle of Man TT homepage is here.

THE KING OF EMAIL ACCOUNTS

MyBudweiser.com

POWER CABLES LINKED TO CANCER

That's the Guardian scare headline. In fact, there is no link:

But Gerald Draper, leader of the study team from the Oxford childhood cancer research group, said the research had not found any scientifically valid causal link.

Dr Draper said: "It may not be the effect of power lines at all. It may be something to do with the kind of areas where power lines are located, or the sort of people who live in these areas."

But, of course, this will be spread by the MSM based on the scare value of the headline and not on the facts of the matter.

HOW THE HELL DID THIS GET ON SBS?

Hassan Janabi - an Iraqi Australian water engineer from Sydney - returned to Iraq after 25 years to help rebuild its infrastructure. Hassan put the situation in Iraq into perspective for interviewer George Negus:

GEORGE NEGUS: How bad has it been for you personally, because, for those of us observing from afar it looks worse than ever at the moment. The violence has been on the increase since the election 700 people killed in the last month alone. It looks like a hell on earth.

HASSAN JANABI: It is a little less than a hell. I think it was a hell under Saddam.

Hassan is in Australia for a brief visit before returning to Iraq. He's a brave man. You owe it to yourself to read the brief interview. (Go here, then scroll down to the interview link.)

NUCLEAR POWER TOO DANGEROUS TO DISCUSS

New South Wales Premier Bob Carr's call for a discussion of the merits of nuclear power as a possible power source has been slammed by the environmental high-grounders:

New South Wales Premier Bob Carr's call for a debate on the merits or otherwise of nuclear power has been labelled "ludicrous" by environmentalists, who say it is too risky an option to even consider.

Prominent anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Helen Caldicott says nuclear power production creates massive amounts of global warming gases and she describes it as a "cancer industry".

"It will over time produce epidemics of cancer - leukaemia and genetic disease, particularly in children," she said.

The Nature Conservation Council (NCC) has labelled it mad and dangerous and argues other safer alternatives are available.

Greens Senator Bob Brown says the tide of public opinion is against it.

"It was sealed with Chernobyl, that was really the end," Senator Brown said.

Senator Brown is suspicious of Mr Carr's motives.

"Asking for a debate about nuclear power is code for getting on with more nuclear installations," he said.

More nuclear power installations?

It would be nice if we could at least discuss the options.

AUSTRALIAN CLERIC DEMANDS WITHDRAWAL OF OCCUPATION FORCES

Sheikh Taj el-Din Al Hilaly, supposedly in Iraq to negotiate the release of hostage Douglas Wood, has dropped all pretense of neutrality:

The spokesman says the Sheikh has demanded an end to what he calls the occupation in Iraq and for the release of all female Iraqi prisoners.

The spokesman quotes Sheikh Al Hilaly as saying the withdrawal of troops is necessary for Mr Wood's release.

So far, all Hilaly has accomplished is to draw attention to himself, which was the point all along. What a maggot.

THE VAST RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY

Top Democrats refuse to accept political reality:

Thirty years ago, it was Richard Nixon who fumed at the media and compiled an enemies list. Today it is in the upper ranks of the Democratic Party that unflattering news coverage is blamed on ''conspiracies" and subversive ''fifth columns."

But there is a difference. Nixon really did a face an overwhelmingly hostile press corps. Kerry, Gore, and Clinton, by contrast, benefit from a news media that is overwhelmingly liberal, as countless surveys have shown. To cite just one: When a New York Times reporter polled journalists covering the 2004 Democratic National Convention, those from around the country favored Kerry over Bush by a ratio of 3 to 1. Among the Washington press corps, the results were even more lopsided -- 12 to 1 pro-Kerry.

It's simple really, the people refused to buy what the Democrats tried to sell. Caveat emptor.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REFUSES TO RETRACT "GULAG" CLAIM

It was a stupid comment but AI isn't about to back down:

A verbal feud between Amnesty International and Washington has escalated since Amnesty last week compared the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the brutal Soviet system of forced labor camps where millions of prisoners died.

President Bush dismissed as "absurd" the Amnesty report, which also said the United States was responsible for an upsurge in global human rights violations, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the description "reprehensible."

"The administration's response has been that our report is absurd, that our allegations have no basis, and our answer is very simple: if that is so, open up these detention centers, allow us and others to visit them," Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Zubaida Khan told a news conference.

"Transparency is the best antidote to misinformation and incorrect facts," said Khan, who is here to meet with Japanese officials.

Maybe it's just me, but AI's operations are anything but transparent: the best I can tell, the AI website doesn't provide a list of executive staff. If the list is there, it isn't easy to find. Its description of its fact gathering activities is also vague: why should anyone trust the accuracy of its contentions?

There's also this to consider when evaluating AI's position on any issue involving the Bush administration:

The top leadership of Amnesty International USA, which unleashed a blistering attack last week on the Bush administration's handling of war detainees, contributed the maximum $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign.

Federal Election Commission records show that William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty USA, contributed $2,000 to Mr. Kerry's campaign last year. Mr. Schulz also has contributed $1,000 to the 2006 campaign of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

Also, Joe W. "Chip" Pitts III, board chairman of Amnesty International USA, gave the maximum $2,000 allowed by federal law to John Kerry for President. Mr. Pitts is a lawyer and entrepreneur who advises the American Civil Liberties Union.

Of course, AI claims to be apolitical. As if.

DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

Bob Geldof, who has no real claim to fame, is determined to draw attention to himself and possibly help Africa in the process. Just in case you haven't heard, Geldof claims Africa is being exploited by the West and has called for mass protests at the upcoming Gleneagles G8 summit. Not everyone is impressed:

"There is a massive gap between the expectations created for this summit and the political reality on the ground," Tom Cargill, head of the Africa section at the Royal Institute for International Affairs think-tank, told Reuters.

"Geldof sees himself as the African Messiah. He believes that his force of personality and hectoring will get the G8 leaders to change their minds. But it won't happen," he said. "The risk is the campaign will then turn into frustration."

There is a real worry the protest will turn violent:

Some aid agencies within the Make Poverty History coalition are concerned that his impromptu demonstration lacks organisation and could attract violent troublemakers.

"There are concerns that it's not an organised event and therefore not something that the organisers are going to have any control over. And there are concerns that things could go wrong," a senior official in a leading aid agency told the Guardian.

Fears about safety were increased yesterday after Special Branch officers, who are working to ensure there will be no repeat of the riots in Genoa in 2001, said anarchists were planning to hijack the Geldof mass protest. Detectives who have been monitoring violent anti-capitalist groups say the message is already being passed between activists.

He's also copping criticism from performers:

The singer also faced anger from African bands over the predominantly white lineup of artists he has chosen for Live 8, the five-country free rock concerts to be broadcast around the world four days before world leaders meet at Gleneagles in Scotland.

Only one African act - the Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour - appears in the list of artists in London, Philadelphia, Berlin, Paris and Rome.

South African president Thabo Mbeki is taking a much more positive view of the Gleneagles summit:

"The [U.S.] president is very keen that at the end of the summit there is not just a general statement, but practical outcomes," he said.

"I must say that President Bush has responded extremely positively to all our suggestions," said Mr. Mbeki. "I am absolutely certain that President Bush is committed" to helping Africa on market access and ending agricultural subsidies, which inhibit the ability of African farmers to compete on a level playing field.

I'd suggest Geldof go back to singing but he wasn't any good at that either. Fuckwit.

NEW POLL

On the right. Vote now.

IT AIN'T EASY BEING A KID TODAY

It's not enough that evil corporations are practically force-feeding kids sugary and fatty foods, and tempting them to use the horribly addictive tobacco. No, kids are also confronted with school work marked in shocking, self-esteem shattering primary red. Kids are so fucked up they're even attempting to juggle sharp-cornered, unforgiving, eye-gouging tennis balls. Oh, the horror of it all!

FOX NEWS ADMITS BIAS!

According to Timothy Noah, writing in Slate, he's found an admission of Fox News bias by Scott Norvell, London bureau chief of Fox News, that ranks right up there with the great obvious admissions of all time:

I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to compare Norvell's op-ed to the Vatican's belated admission, after 359 years, that Galileo had it right when he said the earth revolved around the sun.

So, what did Norvell admit that Noah stumbled onto that no-one else seems to have found to be significant? Norvell in the 20 May WSJ:

Even we at Fox News manage to get some lefties on the air occasionally, and often let them finish their sentences before we club them to death and feed the scraps to Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly. And those who hate us can take solace in the fact that they aren't subsidizing Bill's bombast; we payers of the BBC license fee don't enjoy that peace of mind.

Fox News is, after all, a private channel and our presenters are quite open about where they stand on particular stories. That's our appeal. People watch us because they know what they are getting. The Beeb's institutionalized leftism would be easier to tolerate if the corporation was a little more honest about it.

Isolated from its original context the post seems oddly truncated, you know, as if something had been left out. That's because Noah has engaged in editing that rivals Tim Dunlop's recent anti-Chrenkoff effort. Here's the Norvell quote in context (WSJ paid subscription required, so you'll have to take my word on this unless you're paid up or want to buy the article):

The recent takeover of Manchester United by American sports magnate Malcolm Glazer was the perfect platform for these biases to poke through. The hostile takeover of a football team is obviously more emotional than the takeover of, say, a car manufacturer, but the Beeb has so far proven itself to be everything a public broadcaster shouldn't be on the topic.

On the evening Mr. Glazer's two-year effort to take over the club gelled, the flagship Ten O'Clock News' take on it was a two-minute ad for the anti-Glazer camp. Effigies were burned. Angry fans marched. League officials expressed dismay. The correspondent closed the report claiming the deal would be bad for shareholders, bad for fans and bad for Manchester. Bad bad bad.

The tone has persisted. The BBC's online product continues to portray the takeover as an effort by a rogue financier with a funny beard and no heart, who wants to "take Manchester away from the people and into the hands of market forces." Never mind that Man U has been a public company for 14 years and, as one of the most valuable sports brands in the world, market forces are as much part of the team as red face paint and the smell of stale lager.

The wrong here is not that the BBC is portraying Mr. Glazer and his bid as unpopular -- they are. It's that the BBC's mandate is not to pander, tabloid-style, to its audiences or use the story as a springboard for its anti-free market ideology. Its mandate explicitly calls for "impartial" coverage, and that's not what I and millions of other U.K. residents are getting for our license fee in this and many other cases.

Nor is it wrong that lefty voices are heard on the BBC. There is a place for them, but not to the exclusion of rightish ones. Even we at Fox News manage to get some lefties on the air occasionally, and often let them finish their sentences before we club them to death and feed the scraps to Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly. And those who hate us can take solace in the fact that they aren't subsidizing Bill's bombast; we payers of the BBC license fee don't enjoy that peace of mind.

Fox News is, after all, a private channel and our presenters are quite open about where they stand on particular stories. That's our appeal. People watch us because they know what they are getting. The Beeb's institutionalized leftism would be easier to tolerate if the corporation was a little more honest about it.

So, Norvell is comparing actual instances of BBC leftist bias, as he sees it, with alleged rightist bias on the part of Fox News. It also seems to have escaped Noah's notice that Norvell was trying to be funny.

Is Timothy Noah an idiot or what? (He must be an idiot, the loonies at Democratic Underground have headlined his piece on the DU homepage.)

Update: Need more proof this Norvell thing's a beat-up? The once rational Andrew Sullivan has it as THE QUOTE OF THE DAY for 31 May.

EU REJECTS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CRITICISMS

According to Amnesty International:

European counter-terrorism measures lack concrete human rights safeguards, which leads to legal confusion and breaches in human rights.

In a report presented on Tuesday (31 May), the organisation challenged the claims by Brussels that there could be no security without human rights, suggesting "in practice, the EU and the Member States are too often prepared to remain silent on breaches of rights protection within or outside the EU".

The EU disagrees:

Gijs de Vries, the EU's chief for counter-terrorism, argued that the Union does pay attention to the issue and tries to balance its approach with human rights safeguards.

However, he pointed out "we should not forget that terrorism precludes the fundamental right - right of life, as well as other rights.. Our fight against terrorism is the fight to protect those rights".

Amnesty International, the organization that cried wolf, err, human rights violations.

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT COVERED-UP BUNGLED SAS FIRE-FIGHT

Australia's ABC started reporting on this story on Tuesday night's edition of Lateline. The unedited transcript follows:

TONY JONES: The Defence Department has tonight confirmed reports that an Australian SAS soldier was disciplined after an operation in Afghanistan that killed at least 11 Afghani villagers and in which personal effects were souvenired from one of the dead. The report is contained in an article in an upcoming issue of Time magazine. Tom Iggulden reports.

TOM IGGULDEN: In May 2002, a patrol of crack Australian SAS troops were operating in eastern Afghanistan and were discovered by an armed villager who, according to the soldiers, drew a weapon. It was, in the words of one of the soldiers who fought that day, the last thing the villager ever did. He was shot, sparking a battle that lasted into the night with men from two local villages.

RORY CALLINAN, TIME MAGAZINE: We think it's at least nine that were killed in an air strike and then there was at least two who died as a result of, I think, SAS fire in an earlier engagement. It could be more than two, we're just not 100 per cent sure about those figures.

TOM IGGULDEN: Rory Callinan is the Brisbane journalist who broke the story for Time magazine.

RORY CALLINAN: Once the patrol's been compromised, you know, with the sound of shooting and the confusion, I suppose the fog of war, there's been tragic consequences.

TOM IGGULDEN: After beating a retreat from the initial engagement, one of the soldiers was forced back to the site of the fight to recover a camera he'd taken on patrol against army orders. According to the article, he then souvenired a turban from one of the dead villagers, in contravention of the rules of engagement. The leader of the patrol, who spoke to 'Time' for the story, has since left the army, citing his unease with how the matter was handled.

RORY CALLINAN: He appears to be a very professional person who has been absolutely devastated by this incident, and to this day - I mean, it's nearly three years on or just over three years since it's happened - he's still incensed about it, I guess.

TOM IGGULDEN: Tonight in Senate estimates, Defence Chief Peter Cosgrove confirmed disciplinary action had been taken as a result of actions on that day.

PETER COSGROVE: Tactical actions were reviewed after the incident and were determined by army to be in accordance with the rules of engagement. Some internal aspects of Patrol Kilo 3 were investigated fully at the time, and appropriate disciplinary action was initiated.

TOM IGGULDEN: Australian Defence Association executive director Neil James has tonight defended the Government's handling of the matter.

NEIL JAMES, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE ASSOCIATION: Look, I don't find anything strange in this at all. I mean, when the military is in combat, you expect quite confused situations, and there's really nothing in this story that would really excite anyone who takes a professional interest in either soldiering or military history.

TOM IGGULDEN: And he says it's important for the SAS to be allowed to operate without excessive public scrutiny.

NEIL JAMES: Now, people can't sit here in armchairs, years afterwards, taking an antiseptic look at things. You really have to trust the decisions of the people on the ground when you put them in that type of combat situation.

TOM IGGULDEN: Defence Minister Robert Hill has refused to comment on the issue tonight.

It is important to note that Australian forces fired after a tribesman "drew a weapon" and that a firefight ensued. The controversy at this point centres on the souveniring of personal effects from a dead tribesman.

Ths story has now evolved into a cover-up "scandal" with the ABC reporting:

The Prime Minister has rejected accusations from a former SAS officer that Australia's Defence Force was involved in a cover-up over a special forces operation in Afghanistan which ended with the deaths of 11 civilians.

The Defence Force is re-investigating the incident, which happened in 2002 and which also involved allegations of looting by one Australian soldier.

Failing to report and covering-up are two entirely different things. It's not at all clear that the govenment has covered-up anything. Whether or not the 11 locals killed were civlians is also open to question: I maintain that civilians cease to be civilians when they take up arms and engage in hostile acts. No matter what happened in this incident, the public has no pressing need to know more. There are those, however, who would like to embarrass the military and the Howard government by turning this incident into Australia's own abu Ghraib:

Cover-up

... Australian Democrats leader Lyn Allison insists the incident should have been made public at the time.

"There's a disturbing trend of governments receiving information and covering it up until somehow they're revealed in another way," she said.

"I think this is quite disturbing and problematic."

Bungled fire fight

The incident at the centre of the claims was a bungled fire fight that ended in the deaths of civilians.

A six-man SAS team was part of the US-led mission to track down Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in eastern Afghanistan.

The shooting began after a local villager reached for his gun.

The Australians shot first and that sparked the gun battle.

A nearby rival village thought it was under attack and started firing.

The Australians called for back-up and US war planes were brought in to bomb the areas. Eleven Afghan villagers died.

Looting

Another Australian soldier involved in the battle believed the whole incident had been covered up by his superiors.

Defence Force chief Peter Cosgrove has confirmed that disciplinary action has been taken against some of the soldiers and says there will be a further investigation in light of the article.

The report also claims one of the Australians souvenired a turban and gun belonging to one of the villagers.

Clearly, the ABC reporting of this incident has evolved; we now have a cover-up of a bungled fire fight with attendant looting.

It'll be interesting to see how far the left and the ABC want to run with this. It'll also be interesting to see how the public reacts.

ETHICAL LAPSES REVEALED

As it turns out approximately equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans have failed to report travel paid for by special interest groups:

Republican and Democratic House members were nearly equal rules violators in failing to disclose their personal trips within 30 days after the trip's completion. There were 23 GOP members, 19 Democrats and one independent, all of them months or years late in their reporting to the House public records office.

The tardiness record, however, goes to a Democrat who tried to divert attention to the Republicans:

Most of the previously undisclosed trips occurred in 2004, but some dated back to the late 1990s. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., recently disclosed 12 trips, the oldest dating back to 1997.

Stacey Bernards, a spokeswoman for Hoyer, said the office searched the files after the travel issue was raised initially by "Republicans doing opposition research to deflect from their own ethical issues."

It's the old if-they-hadn't-investigated-me-I-wouldn't-have-been-caught defence.

WHEN LEFTIES BREED

Lefty writer Neal Pollack describes himself:

I've always been a smart-ass. I wasn't the dorkiest guy in school, but I was the one who got picked on the most, because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I was always slagging someone, or something.

Not surprisingly, Pollack's toddler son has a few behaviour problems:

Elijah's teacher gave us a stack of injury reports an inch thick. They were all for things Elijah had done to other kids.

"These are just this month's," she said. "And they're just the ones where he drew blood. It also doesn't include the dozens of times we've caught him just before he attacked another kid. We have to pull him off kids three or four times a day." She sighed.

"I have seven new kids coming into my class next month," she continued. "And they're little."

Regina and I looked at each other. Here came the hammer.

"I just think it'll be better for everyone," teacher said, "and that Elijah might be happier, if he went somewhere else."

There's no cataloging the feeling of helplessness that washed over Regina and me then. Our child was being expelled. From preschool. What had we done wrong? I felt terribly guilty. Though I was never a biter, my own childhood was full of intermittent emotional outbursts, fights, visits to behavioral specialists when the schools made them available, and lots of muddled weeping. This continued well into adulthood, until about a year and a half ago when I started taking a pill that shall not be named here but that helped me a lot. Elijah's struggles made me especially sad because I knew that not much could be done to soothe his turbulent little mind. The fact that he has my full sympathy and understanding will provide little solace whenever that chemical stew inside his cranium goes out of balance. Why couldn't he have inherited his mother's demeanor? She's a little bossy and self-righteous, but at least she's sane.

Naturally, Pollack and the missus are upset, but not for the reasons you'd expect of normal parents:

On the drive home, Regina and I could barely keep from weeping. Our respective families were 1,000 miles away in either direction. We were terrified at the prospect of a summer without help. The irony was that we don't have the $1,500 it would have cost to warehouse Elijah through September, so we might have had to pull him out anyway. But now we've been forced into the challenge of caring for a smart, stubborn, high-strung 2-year-old. We love him very much, but that's not the kind of work either of us wants, at least not full time.

Children are just so inconvenient for self-absorbed lefty elites. The Pollacks should give up on reasoning with Elijah and paddle him the next time he bites someone. Better yet, someone should paddle the Pollacks and tell them to start acting like responsible parents.

CHRENKOFF CONTROVERSY COW RUNS DRY

In an attempt to milk a few more hits off of his recent attack on Chrenkoff, Tim Dunlop posted this follow-up:

The front page of The Washingston Post this morning has a moving photograph of a Marine presenting a folded flag to a boy whose father died in Iraq. Please don't anyone tell Arthur Chrenkoff or we'll be treated to another treatise on the evils of a biased media and another modest suggestion that they should only show kitten photos.

This is the Memorial Day Weekend. Remembering the fallen is our duty as citizens. It is a particular duty of those who cheer others off to fight in wars they have no intention of joining themselves. And bad luck if that doesn't fit with anybody's "good news" agenda.

To which James Morrow commented:

"Our duty as citizens?"

Since when are you an American citizen? Nice try, trying to leverage a photo of a family's tragedy into scoring cheap debating points against a blogger.

Oops. I'll bet that's the last we'll hear of that from Dunlop.

CHAVEZ DREAMS OF CONDI DREAMING OF HIM

Lefty Castro-wannabe Hugo Chavez unleashes his tongue:

President George W Bush is a “jerk”. His administration is a “mafia of assassins”. And, according to Hugo Chavez, the belligerent populist president of Venezuela, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, lies in bed at night dreaming of him.

Yeah Hugo, I'll bet Condi dreams of nailing you in the temple with an ice pick.

Anyway, the left has screamed bloody murder about John Bolton's loose language; how did they react to Chavez's outburst? Pretty much as you'd expect:

I'm liking this guy more all the time. That Condi line is hilarious.

It's just as well Chavez will never do anything important like be UN ambassador.

One more gem from the original article:

Chavez, 50, is rapidly becoming a US nightmare in Latin America. He aroused further American anger last week by threatening to form a nuclear alliance with Iran.

Will the US have enough nukes to cover all of the emerging threats? I certainly hope so. What with all the Global Warming, a bit of nuclear winter wouldn't go astray.

AUSTRALIANS RACIST XENOPHOBES

Reuters reports on Asia's reaction to Australia's reaction to the Corby verdict:

An editorial in Malaysia's New Straits Times expressed shock at the Australian reaction to Corby's plight.

"The public outrage has not only been astounding in its intensity but also shocking in the glimpses it has revealed of the depths of racism and xenophobia," the editorial read.

"Hurling racist slurs at the Indonesian judiciary and casting aspersions on its integrity simply because the Bali court has not endorsed the popular Australian belief ... is unacceptable."

Since Corby was sentenced, staff at the Indonesian embassy in Canberra have received threatening phone calls, some Australians have demanded the return of donations made to tsunami appeals and calls were made for Australians to boycott Bali.

Many Australians believe Corby did not receive a fair trial and are angry that the judge dismissed much of her defense.

"The impression is that Australia has collectively thrown a tantrum," Deakin University analyst Greg Barton told Reuters.

"In the last few years there has been a slide toward accepting racist outbursts and xenophobic nationalist sentiment. I think that still lingers with us and that's why I think things were so quick to blow up with the Corby case."

Australia's ties with Asia were dealt a blow a decade ago with the election of firebrand politician Pauline Hanson, who was branded xenophobic when she called for a cut in Asian immigration, striking a chord with hundreds of thousands of Australians.

Although she lost her seat after two-and-a-half years, Barton said Hanson's reign, combined with the tough immigration policies of Prime Minister John Howard's nine-year-old government, had made it acceptable for Australians to express xenophobic emotions.

"We're likely to see gossip and concern spread among the Indonesian public about what Australians think of Indonesians. It will take quite a bit of work to undo. These things do have a way of spiralling out of control," Barton said.

Hmmm, it seems to me the reaction to the reaction is an overreaction. Academic Greg Barton also overreacts because he can't pass up the opportunity to score some cheap anti-Howard points – nicely done, lumping Howard with Hanson – while confirming our northern neighbours' worst assumptions about Australians being racist Asian haters.

HUMAN IMPACT ON ANCIENT AUSTRALIA'S CLIMATE

A group of scientists has concluded that humans did not eat Australia's megafauna into extinction:

Mr Price says the research rules out humans as the culprit for the local extinction of the megafauna.

"We've done a little bit of radiocarbon dating on the deposits itself and we know that the age of the deposits pre-dates the first humans on the Darling Downs by about 30- to 35,000 years," he said.

"We know that there's no human or cultural artefacts in the deposits as well and we know that all the cut marks on the bone themselves are related to... some of the other species that lived on the Darling Downs, such as marsupial lions."

That leaves one main culprit.

"That culprit is climate," Mr Price said. "It does appear that climate change was the major factor in driving the megafauna extinct."

This is in keeping with the notion that prior to white settlement humans in Australia lived in harmony with nature.

It is possible, however, that Australia's ancient climate was changed by human activity:

Settlers who came to Australia 50,000 years ago and set fires that burned off natural flora and fauna may have triggered a cataclysmic weather change that turned the continent's interior into the dry desert it is today, United States and Australian researchers say.

Their study, reported in the latest issue of the journal, Geology, supports arguments that early settlers literally changed the landscape of the continent with fire.

As this is a politically incorrect idea, it will be a hard sell.

BRITISH DOCTORS: KNIVES DANGEROUS

Especially dangerous are the long, sharp pointy variety:

Accident and emergency doctors today call for the banning of long, sharp kitchen knives, arguing they account for at least half of all stabbings.

They say such knives slice through clothing and penetrate vital organs.

"Many assaults are impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or misuse of other drugs, and the long, pointed kitchen knife is an easily accessible, potentially lethal weapon, particularly in the domestic setting," say the doctors from the West Middlesex university hospital, London, in the British Medical Journal.

Note to self: wait until the little woman leaves the kitchen before starting that argument.