Headlines Saturday 10th January 2009

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Revealed: China pressured Rudd to reject Bush's terror suspect request
The Rudd government has rejected a formal request from the Bush administration to resettle a group of Chinese detained in Guantanamo Bay military prison to Australia. - China's involvement in domestic politics must be of concern to some who care about democratic process. - ed.
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UN rights chief speaks of 'war crimes' in Gaza
The UN human rights chief warned a special session of the Human Rights Council on Friday that human rights violations in Gaza and some reported incidents there might warrant prosecutions for war crimes. - I wonder if they are considering the last eight years of rocket attacks, a legacy of Clinton's intervention? - ed.
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Gangland murderer Carl Williams out over christmas
Gangland killer Carl Williams and his father George were allegedly secretly taken from jail for eight days to be quizzed about currently serving corrupt police.
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Driver with 37 guns, ammo arrested at LA airport
A motorist with 30 handguns, seven rifles and fully loaded ammunition magazines in his pickup truck has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport. - hot date? party? struggling actor? looking for Obama? - ed.
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Man rips out own eye, and eats it
A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it. - I bet they didn't see that coming. - ed.
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Tip-off leads police to big marijuana bust
A tip-off has led to the arrest of a Melbourne man following the discovery of a $100,000 marijuana crop. - one can only imagine how the detectives got this tip off - ed.
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Is Tintin gay? Cartoon birthday boy dogged by rumours
As Belgian comic-book icon Tintin celebrates his 80th birthday, an age-old question has resurfaced: is the boy reporter gay? One British commentator says the signs are unmistakable.

"Billions of blue blistering barnacles, isn't it staring us in the face?," wrote The Times journalist Matthew Parris under the headline "Of course Tintin's gay. Ask Snowy," ahead of Saturday's anniversary.

"What debate can there be when the evidence is so overwhelmingly one-way? A callow, androgynous blonde-quiffed youth in funny trousers and a scarf moving into the country mansion of his best friend, a middle-aged sailor?" he wrote.

Tintin, the creation of Belgian Georges Remi - whose pen name Herge comes from his initials, inverted and pronounced in French - first appeared in 1929 along with his faithful companions Captain Haddock and trusty dog Snowy.

Translated into 60 languages, the cartoon books still sell upwards of two million copies per year.

Parris, a former British MP who is openly gay, said Tintin's sexuality was obvious to anyone who reads the cartoon books closely. - I feel much the same way for the straight readers of such articles - ed.
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Historic birth of cancer-immune baby
A MOTHER who is the first woman in Britain to have a baby selected free of a gene which causes breast cancer has given birth successfully, doctors say.
"The mother and her little girl are doing very well,'' said University College London (UCL) today.

The baby grew from an embryo screened to ensure it did not contain the faulty BRCA 1 gene.

The baby's 27-year-old mother, who wants to remain anonymous, decided to take the step because several of her husband's close female relatives suffered from breast cancer.

Any daughter born with the BRCA 1 gene has an 80 per cent risk of developing breast cancer and a 60 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer - as well as a 50 per cent risk of passing on the anomaly to their own children.

Doctors said the parents were relieved to have a guarantee that the faulty gene would not be passed to their daughter.

"This little girl will not face the spectre of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life,'' said Paul Serhal, head of the Assisted Conception Unit at UCL Hospital. - the article falls far short of the headline promise. - ed.
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KITTENS OF THE SEA
Tim Blair
So long as the sea kittens are dolphin safe, what’s the problem:
Radical international animal rights group PETA has launched its most bizarre campaign yet, demanding fish be renamed “sea kittens”.

PETA – People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals – believes calling fish sea kittens will make sea food less appealing.
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PEACE LOVERS LOVE HATE
Tim Blair
The Denver Post‘s David Harsanyi:
In our nation, even twisted extremists are welcome to express their opinions.

Take, for instance, the young Muslim woman in Florida who used her constitutional right to tell Jews to “go back to the oven!” last week. Or the more befuddled protester in New York who brandished a sign that read, “Death to all Juice.” (And I thought we Jews ran the country. Clearly, someone is sleeping on the job.)

These rare but revolting displays of hate do offer the “Juice” a valuable reminder that a secure Jewish state in Israel is a historic imperative.

Nevertheless, it is distressing to hear the large number of supposedly peace-loving critics of Israel in essence defend Hamas, one of the most virulently un-intellectual, illiberal, bellicose, misogynistic, hateful and violent brands of religious fanaticism on Earth.
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McNEIL BOGAN REPORT
Tim Blair
Sky TV newsreader Tracey Spicer – an excellent addition to the Daily Telegraph‘s opinion roster – defends bogans following a bogan ban by Queensland’s Logan council:
The council has lined up local celebs, like pop star Darren Hayes and Olympian Steven Bradbury, to star in a $300,000 advertising blitz.

But the mayor doesn’t want to include supermodel Catherine McNeil, who once called herself the “Bogan from Logan”.
Makes sense. Can’t have someone like McNeil dragging down the local image:

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SUBTERRANEAN HOMESICK GOAT
Tim Blair
In the tunnels below Gaza – the defensive tunnels – new alliances are formed: