LOONY LEFTY'S LINKS LAUGHABLE

My favourite journalist and soon-to-be-published author recently linked to that "great resource" Bad Corp, which reveals that – shock, horror – evil corporate empire Philip Morris has changed its name to Altira. Scrolling down the page reveals lots more scary information, including:

Tricon Global Restaurants, owners of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut is becoming Yum! Brands.

Agricultural Insecticide and Fungicide Association, a lobbying and trade association representing the nation's 78 pesticide manufacturers will hide behind the friendlier CropLife America.

Dun & Bradstreet asked to be known as D&B, although it retained the full name officially.

Monsanto Specialty Chemicals, a spin-off of Monsanto, who is destroying the entire planet, is now Solutia.

Unaware that Monsanto is destroying the planet, I thought it best to follow the link to check out the threat. One of the featured items is on the planet-destroying Monsanto product, NutraSweet (aspartame). Here's the whole scary story:

Since April 1995, the U.S. FDA has reported over 10,000 volunteered consumer complaints stemming from NutraSweet (aka Equal, Aspartame) which is owned by Monsanto. Among the symptoms listed are blindness, seizures, memory loss, loss of limb control, slurred speech, skin lesions, extremity numbness, depression, mood swings, anxiety attacks, coma and death.

Absorbed very quickly into the bloodstream, NutraSweet metabolizes into six to eight byproducts including methyl alcohol and the class A carcinogen, formaldehyde. The early research history of aspartame was plagued with deception. Although the US FDA gave the product approval, it later emerged that the results of animal experiments conducted when researching the chemical, had been manipulated to improve them.

Damn, that NutraSweet sounds like dangerous stuff. Better check it out.

Snopes debunks the aspartame adverse health effects stories and links to a July 1999 letter to The Lancet from Anthony Zehetner and Mark McLean, Department of Endocrinology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney NSW 2145, Australia. The letter pulls no punches:

Sir - Patients at our diabetes clinic have raised concerns about information on the internet about a link between the artificial sweetener aspartame and various diseases. Our research revealed over 6000 web sites that mention aspartame, with many hundreds alleging aspartame to be the cause of multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosis, Gulf War Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, brain tumours, and diabetes mellitus, among many others. Virtually all of the information offered is anecdotal, from anonymous sources and is scientifically implausible.

Aspartame, a dipeptide composed of phenylalanine and aspartic acid linked by a methyl ester bond, is not absorbed, and is completely hydrolysed in the intestine to yield the two constituent amino acids and free methanol. Opponents of aspartame suggest that the phenylalanine and methanol so released are dangerous. In particular, they assert that methanol can be converted to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, and thus cause metabolic acidosis and neurotoxicity.

Although a 330 ml can of aspartame-sweetened soft drink will yield about 20 mg methanol, an equivalent volume of fruit juice produces 40 mg methanol, and an alcoholic beverage about 60-100 mg. The yield of phenylalanine is about 100 mg for a can of diet soft drink, compared with 300 mg for an egg, 500 mg for a glass of milk, and 900 mg for a large hamburger (1). Thus, the amount of phenylalanine or methanol ingested from consumption of aspartame is trivial, compared with other dietary sources. Clinical studies have shown no evidence of toxic effects and no increase in plasma concentrations of methanol, formic acid, or phenylalanine with daily consumption of 50 mg/kg aspartame (equivalent to 17 cans of diet soft drink daily for a 70 kg adult) (1, 2).

The anti aspartame campaign purports to offer an explanation for illnesses that are prominent in the public eye. By targeting a manufactured chemical agent, and combining this with pseudo-science and selective reporting, the campaign makes complex issues deceptively simple. Sensational web site names (eg, aspartamekills.com) grab the browser's attention and this misinformation is also widely disseminated via chat groups and chain e-mail.

People consult the internet about medical issues for various reasons and many users regard online sources as being authoritative and valid. The medical profession has a role in teaching our patients to be discriminating consumers of the information offered there.

Gee, you'd reckon someone trying to sell himself as a journalist and author would be a bit more selective with the stuff he links to.

Update: There's also a link to a lefty American academic blogging from Jordan – not a Jordanian blogger, as claimed – that "debunks" the "myth" that Palestinian children are taught to hate Israel and Jews. Funny isn't it, Palestinian children are used as suicide bombers and for military support but they aren't taught to hate.

OKLAHOMA MUSLIMS FEAR REPRISALS

Rumours of a Muslim connection to Joel Henry Hinrichs III's death by explosion are causing concern:

Many Muslim students at the University of Oklahoma are laying low after rumors spread that a terrorist plot was behind a deadly explosion near a packed football stadium, Muslim leaders say.

"A lot of students are taking precautions, staying at home," said Houda Elyazgi, an officer with the Muslim Student Association. "I wear the scarf, so I fear for my security now because of all this speculation."

Maybe it's not the Muslims who should be worried:

Hinrichs' Pakistani roommate, Fazal M. Cheema, is Muslim, although not particularly religious, according to regulars at the Norman mosque.

Cheema worked at the football stadium, according to the OU student directory, and the men lived at Parkview Apartments, a university-owned property popular with Islamic students because it is adjacent to the local mosque.

Some media reported that Hinrichs spent time recently at the mosque, which was denied by the president of the mosque, who asked that his name not be used for fear of retaliation

It's also worth noting that Hinrichs had recently come to the attention of authorities:

Norman police, however, reported that an officer became suspicious when he overhead Hinrichs trying to purchase ammonium nitrate fertilizer from a local feed and seed store two days before he died.

The manager of Ellison Feed and Seed said the store no longer carried that kind of fertilizer, which was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Ominously, jihadist materials and explosives were found in Hinrichs apartment and the warrant used to execute the search has now been sealed at the request of the Justice Department. It looks like everything isn't OK in Oklahoma.

Tapscott's Copy Desk has regular updates on this developing story.

SKELETONS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL CLOSET

A former Bush administration official talks about his soured relationship with Dubya:

"The problem was with George Bush — the scandals and the rumored scandals, the incubating ones and the dying ones never ended. Whatever moral compass the president was consulting was leading him in the wrong direction. His closets were full of skeletons just waiting to burst out."

Oops, my mistake, that's Clinton FBI Director Louis Freeh talking about Bubba, whose compass had to be broken; look at the females it's led him to.

COCAINE REALITY

The painting above is Cocaine by Brisbane artist Mitchell Foley. Here's a description:

Painted in six layers, Cocaine is representative of how the drug cocaine washes over reality with its own layers and influence to create what is perceived as a new, fast paced and delicately detailed reality, often with pleasant accentuations for the individual.

Foley's cocaine reality won't be quite so pleasant:

A Brisbane artist who painted a series of works titled The Cocaine Series has been jailed for 10 years for importing the illicit drug.

Mitchell Lee Foley, 50, today pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Brisbane to nine charges of importing just over 400 grams of pure cocaine.

The court heard the drugs were concealed in religious books, which were sent from South America to post office boxes in Brisbane and Sydney where they were collected by Foley.

Justice Kenneth Mackenzie recommended parole be considered after three-and-half years in custody.

Foley can keep his skills sharp by doing jailhouse tattoos. Idiot.

BALI BOMBING ROOT CAUSE REVEALED

The other day Tony Kevin had a loony lefty rave about the sinister missile carrying helicopters supposedly menacing Canberra. Commenters showed Kevin to be, well, a raving loony lefty.

Undeterred, Kevin has now followed up with a post in which he argues Australia's Defence Forces are lickspittles who will do absolutely anything to please the Prime Minister. In attempting to make his case he disguises an allegation as a question:

Thus, to give a simple but telling current example , we are now mourning a new round of deaths of innocent Australians and Balinese Indonesians at the hands of what were most probably JI terrorists, and the consequent likely destruction of the livelihoods and hopes of the beautiful and vulnerable people of Bali, without anyone daring to ask the obvious question in public - whether this renewed terrorism might not have something to do with Australia's continuing enthusiastic participation over the past four years in the efficient US killing machine's operations against Muslim populations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Keelty will not ask it. O'Sullivan will not ask it. Varghese will not ask it. Shergold will not ask it. Most of our mainstream media will not ask it. We have all been persuaded or coerced to believe Howard's nonsense, that these terrorists "hate us because of our values", or that they are trying to harm Australian-Indonesian relations or to bring down the Indonesian government, when the truth is that they hate us because of what our military forces are doing to people in Muslim countries.

If the primary goal of the latest Bali bombing was killing Australians these JI guys are pretty damned careless about collateral damage – 14 of those killed were Indonesian.

Anyway, someone at Web Diary was bound to connect the bombings to John Howard eventually. Oh yeah, Kevin manages to work Hitler and the Wehrmacht into his latest rave. Surprise, surprise.

GUT PRESSURE MEASURED, FROGS SMELLED

Is it me or do Germans have a shit fixation or what?

...two German-based researchers won the fluid dynamics prize for calculating the pressure that builds up inside a penguin when it defecates.

Two Australians were amongst the 2005 Ig Nobel Prize winners: one for studying frog smells; the other for continuing a 76 year experiment on the viscosity of pitch.

JULIAN MCGAURAN IS A BIG MEANIE

Liberals are such ruthless pricks:

Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja has broken down in federal Parliament during a heated exchange about the Government's decision to deport the American peace activist Scott Parkin.

The Senator was supporting a bid by the Greens to set up a Senate inquiry into the intelligence ASIO used to justify its actions.

An interjection by Liberal Senator Julian McGauran about whether Senator Stott Despoja even acknowledged the "war on terror" caused her to burst into tears.

Boo hoo.

Update: Commenter Mild Colonial Boy points out that McGauran is actually a member of the National Party.

FLORIDA SNAKE GOES BOOM

A 13-foot Burmese python exploded after swallowing a six-foot alligator:

The snake apparently tried to swallow the gator whole — and then exploded. Scientists stumbled upon the gory remains last week.

While the gator may have been injured before the battle began — wounds were found on it that apparently were not caused by python bites — Mazzotti believes it was alive when the battle began. And it may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it, leading to the blow up.

The python was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Its stomach still surrounded the alligator's head, shoulders, and forelimbs.

Yep, it's always better to eat things that are already dead.

MORE INFORMATION REQUIRED

Antony "Leftard" Loewenstein reckons government and media aren't giving us the full story on terrorism:

We're told that we live in the age of terrorism. Our government and mainstream media fill our heads with an imminent threat. ASIO recently estimated that up to 800 Muslim 'extremists' are living in Australia and, in the words of The Australian, 'could be motivated to carry out a London-style attack.'

It's a petrifying thought that Australia could be vulnerable to terrorist attack. But do we know how much reliable information about terrorism we are actually receiving? In the Western media, there appear to be limits on the acceptable parameters of the debate surrounding terrorism.

If this list is even remotely close to accurate Leftard's absolutely right, we're not getting anywhere near the whole story:

This week TROP [The Religion Of Peace] documented a 3,000th Islamic terror attack committed since 9/11...

This little incident hasn't made the list yet:

An Iraqi insurgent group posted a video on the Internet on Wednesday showing the apparent beheading of two Iraqis it said had spied for the U.S. military.

The list compilers at TROP have assumed a never ending, full-time task.

Link to TROP from Clear and Present – drop in, have a good look around and leave a comment; Mike doesn't get near enough credit for the public service his blog provides.

LIZARD KING'S LEGACY NOT FOR SALE

Cadillac offered $15 million to former Doors members for the use of the song "Break On Through (to the Other Side)" in a SUV TV advert. Former Doors drummer John Densmore nixed the deal:

"People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music…. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent."

Fellow former band members are unhappy, to say the least. Gee, imagine that.

If you can be bothered, there's a poll attached to the article; at the moment over 78% of respondents have voted in favour of Densmore's position that Doors songs are sacred. I suppose that means we should worship the Lizard King:

Morrison described their mission in terms of trying to "Break On Through" to a bigger reality: "There are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between are the Doors."

Morrison "broke on through" in 1971.

Update: The poll has turned around, with only 39% now agreeing that Doors' songs are sacred.

DEATH BY PAPER CUT

Jews have found a new way to terrorize Palestinians:

Israeli planes dropped pamphlets on the Gaza Strip recently...

The pamphlets themselves, a terrifying bullying tactic aimed at innocent civilians backed up by credible threats and deadly actions, constitute an act of terrorism.

The edges of the pamphlets are rumoured to be very sharp.

BYE BYE BALI

Jailed Jemaah Islamiah spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, has called on terrorists to use nuclear weapons.

DC PEACE PROTEST HEALTH HAZARD

What's worse than a congregation of lefties? A congregation of infectious lefties, of course:

Small amounts of bacteria detected in the District during last weekend's war protests are not harmful and probably occurred naturally, say officials from the D.C. Department of Health.

D.C. Health Director Dr. Gregg Pane tells WTOP Radio that the bio-watch collectors, operated by the Department of Homeland Security, tested positive for a small amount of Tularemia [rabbit fever] last weekend during the protests on the National Mall.

Dirty hippies.

PEACE THROUGH DESTRUCTION

Mark Steyn argues that Islamofascists aim to create an Islamic super-state across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, concluding:

The reality is that there are more Muslim states than a half-century ago, many more Muslims within non-Muslim states, and many more of those Muslims are radicalised and fundamentalist. It's not hard to understand. All you have to do is take them at their word. As Bassam Tibi, a Muslim professor at Gottingen University in Germany, said in an interesting speech a few months after September 11, "Both sides should acknowledge candidly that although they might use identical terms, these mean different things to each of them. The word peace, for example, implies to a Muslim the extension of the Dar al-Islam -- or House of Islam -- to the entire world. This is completely different from the Enlightenment concept of eternal peace that dominates Western thought. Only when the entire world is a Dar al-Islam will it be a Dar a-Salam, or House of Peace."

That's why they blew up Bali in 2002, and last weekend, and why they'll keep blowing it up. It's not about Bush or Blair or Iraq or Palestine. It's about a world where everything other than Islamism lies in ruins.

Gee, there are roots causes after all.

SMILE, YOU'RE BEING RIPPED OFF

After studying Washington D.C.'s traffic accident statistics independent experts concluded that intersections monitored by red-light cameras are no safer than unmonitored intersections. So, what the point of the cameras?

The District's red-light cameras have generated more than 500,000 violations and $32 million in fines over the past six years.

As if we didn't know.

ICE ODYSSEY

Back in 1833 an American entreprenuer managed to harvest ice from a frozen lake near Boston and then ship it without refrigeration to Calcutta. There was money to be made.

In 2005 FEMA can't get ice to the victims of hurricane Katrina:

When the definitive story of the confrontation between Hurricane Katrina and the U.S. government is finally told, one long and tragicomic chapter will have to be reserved for the odyssey of the ice.

Ninety-one thousand tons of ice cubes, that is, ice cubes intended to cool food, medicine and sweltering victims of the storm. It would cost taxpayers more than $100 million, and most of it would never be delivered.

There was money to be spent.

DISSENT DELETION DELUXE

RWDB commenters are upsetting Australia's lefty academic bloggers. As noted below, Tim Lambert deleted one of my comments – without warning or notice – and now bounces my links. Soon thereafter Christopher Sheil deleted one of my comments after warning me – and most other commenters – but failed to note that a comment had been deleted. Sheil also didn't inform Larvatus Prodeo blog-daddy Mark Bahnisch that he'd deleted my comment. (Say what you like about Tim Blair's blog-mistress, Andrea Harris, if you make what's deemed an inappropriate comment, she'll let you and everyone else know all about it.)

Now John Quiggin has a bit of a deletion festival going, replacing one of Dave Ricardo's comments with:

Deleted as not conducive to civilised discussion

The comment was apparently too sarcastic. Too his credit, Quiggin doesn't try to hide his disdain for dissent:

There’s been an upsurge in hostile comments, flaming and so on lately, and I’m responding by being more active in deleting comments, some of which I would have let slide in the past. Please stick to civilised discussion of the issues: there are plenty of blogs that welcome flamewars, but this isn’t one.

It seems that some readers can view comments that are “awaiting moderation” (maybe just their own, I’m not sure about this). I’ve now deleted everything in the moderation queue. I’m sorry if people think I’m being overaggressive, but I’m going to run things the way I think best. Anyone with different ideas on how to run a blog is free to implement them.

Let's all have a group hug and a civilized lefty discussion, or else.

ADVERTISING KAMIKAZE STYLE

Left academic blogger Tim Dunlop can't quite figure the latest Bali bombings:

I don't know about you, but this attack feels particularly senseless, if you can meaningfully talk about degrees of senselessness when it comes to this sort of action. I mean, it is simply impossible to imagine that this will help with anyone's agenda.

The attacks are easy to understand if one assumes the goal is to kill non-Muslims and destroy the local tourist industry. But, commenter Chris Sheil also can't see this:

Yes Tim, I've been puzzling over this. It seems outside the frame of terrorism in general, as what hand of what government is attempting to be forced in what direction through this? Beats me. In the absence of any plausible explanation, I'm thus inclined to think it internal terrorist inc advertising - a capacity demonstration aimed at impressing the higher-ups, to gain more funding, etc.

Next thing we know the suicide bombers will be raising money by selling advertising space on their backpacks. And people say Madison Avenue is sick...

CANBERRA UNDER THREAT

One need not travel overseas to find a climate of fear: living in Canberra is scary for Web Diary contributor Tony Kevin:

Two RAAF helicopters, one about 300 metres behind the other, were flying circuits around central Canberra: north-easterly from the Fairbairn RAAF base, west over the city centre and the Black Mountain public lookout, south over Red Hill, and east back to Fairbairn over the southern suburbs. It took them around 10 minutes to fly this circuit, and they kept going round and round.

They each appeared to be mounted with two large lethal-looking missile launchers, slung beneath the cabin. As the helicopters flew maybe 100 metres above my head, I saw these four launchers clearly. I wondered if the loaded missiles were armed, and I wondered what would happen if one of these helicopters were accidentally to crash over populated central Canberra.

Why were they there, so visibly and ostentatiously guarding the perimeter of my city and its visiting premiers? Was it to protect against incoming terrorist aircraft?

Was it to guard against a possibility of ground-to-ground missiles being launched at Parliament House from a terrorist car driven up Black Mountain or Red Hill?

Or was it what I think it was - a terror threat display, government-mounted to impress the visiting premiers with the serious reality of the threat we are all supposed to be facing from terrorism nowadays in Canberra? It was certainly scary enough, under those black missile-armed military helicopters circling low overhead every ten minutes. But maybe that was the point. Maybe it was meant to scare us.

It is not difficult to create public climates of fear, with the assets and presumed credibility a government has at its disposal. All it takes is to report an alleged threat, and to mount conspicuous additional security in response. The media and the public do the rest for themselves.

Nor would it be difficult to frame innocent people in such a climate of fear.

When commenters point out to Kevin that the "missile launchers" were almost certainly fuel tanks he responds:

I agree that what I saw last Tuesday looked like image no 1, ie the two helicopters were probably carrying the auxiliary fuel tanks, which makes sense when you think of the many kilometres they were clocking up flying around Canberra for so many hours.

And yes, I took them to be missiles. My mistake. But hang on a tick - there is more to this true story. Also having a coffee on Red Hill - I don't think it was a latte - was a pleasant woman who was talking about the helicopters with me (as well as complimenting me on my dogs). She said those helicopters were armed. I asked how she knew and she replied she used to be married to an RAAF pilot. Gospel truth, Stuart. So maybe these helicopters were carrying a suite of "missiles, rockets, machine guns and 20mm cannons" as well as the auxiliary fuel tanks that I saw and mistakenly assumed to be missiles. Of course there is no reason for the helicopters not to be carrying both; and this lady seemed to know whereof she spoke.

Kevin's really starting to make a fool of himself at this point; a commenter points out to him that the RAAF doesn't operate helicopters, the Army does. Gospel truth, this guys an idiot but he's not finished yet:

I don't think I am alone in finding this militarisation of our civilian environment - militarisation of out civil society, really - unpleasant and threatening. I think we ought to be asking why it happens when it happens? Who authorises such flights? What military purposes are they meant to serve? Is this a proper use of Defence Force assets and personnel?

Personally, I'd like to see a lot more armed Army helicopters flying around.

Update: Jenny Stirling in Web Diary comments:

I don't know which suburb you live in but we had helicopters flying in formation over where I live. It was intimidating to have that happening at night time. I thought, Vietnam...

Jeez...