Headlines Sunday 4th January 2009

BUMBLECAR BUBBLE BURSTS
Tim Blair
That didn’t take long:
Americans’ appetite for hybrid cars is evaporating as tumbling fuel prices and tighter household budgets trump environmental concerns.

The sudden reversal in what was, until a few months ago, one of the hottest segments of the world’s biggest car market creates a new area of uncertainty for carmakers, such as Toyota, General Motors, Ford Motor and Honda, that are investing heavily in hybrids and other fuel-efficient technologies.
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PLAN B FROM OUTER SPACE
Tim Blair
“The collective international failure to curb the growing emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has meant that an alternative to merely curbing emissions may become necessary,” reports the Independent, in an appropriately Soviet style. So the paper rounded up a panel of “recognized authorities” (including a Nobel Laureate!) to devise a “Plan B” that will “save the world”.
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WII CAN’T SPELL
Tim Blair
Andrew Bolt hasn’t written a word since December 24, yet still manages to enrage the tolerant left:
I’d like top see an Andrew Bolt game using Wii Fit, where you stomp on the big Dutch bastard’s fat head untill evacuates his bowls and pleads for mercy while promising to sever his multi-media committments and shut the f**k up.
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UNDETECTED
Tim Blair
This might explain a few things:
Researchers at the University of New South Wales found that patients under the age of 65 suffering from frontotemporal dementia, the second most common form of dementia, cannot detect when someone is being sarcastic ...
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COLDING AVERTED
Tim Blair
Among 2008’s finest study results:
A study in the journal Current Anthropology found that, and we quote, “The use of clothing among Australian Aborigines in relation to their thermal environment indicates that clothing was a behavioral adaptation to cold exposure.” This is a fancy way of saying people with chilly toes are more likely to wear socks.
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Israel and Hamas clash as ground war begins in Gaza - Obama has no plan.
Israeli troops have crossed the border into Gaza, clashing with Hamas militants as they attempt to put a stop to rocket and mortar attacks on the Jewish state.
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MP spending should be tightened more: opposition
A crackdown on any improper spending by NSW MPs won't work unless access to government funds is more stringently restricted, the NSW opposition says.
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Virtual weapons practice for nervous cops
A high-tech virtual shooting range will soon provide experience for new police recruits scared to use their weapons because of a lack of practice.