Headlines Tuesday 12th January 2010

=== Todays Toon ===

=== Bible Verse ===
Be content with what you have, for God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid." - Hebrews 13:5,6
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After 60 years of near-constant war, Israel is developing an army of robotic fighting machines that offers a window onto the potential future of warfare.


Swine flu is "one of the greatest medical scandals of the century", a health expert says, with drug companies exaggerating the risk to sell more vaccines


One of the U.N.'s leading climate experts says the deep freeze striking America's south is only the beginning of a decades-long mini ice age.

Racial Double Standard?
Republicans say Reid should follow example set by Trent Lott in '02 and resign after 'Negro' Obama remark

Obama's Road Work No Bridge to Jobs
Obama wants more road money to put people to work, but stats show first stimulus failed to pave way for new jobs

Mad Killer on the Loose?
Miami cops warn residents to be vigilant as they hunt for suspects in grisly murder of model Paula Sladewski


Australian fashion label ksubi is teetering on the edge of collapse with its designers handing it over to administrators in a last-ditch attempt to save the company / File

Net blamed for violent girl fights
A MASSIVE spike in violent attacks by young girls has been blamed on internet "fight sites".

Trio charged over $630m Opes collapse
DIRECTORS of Opes Prime have been charged two years after the broking house's demise.

Rudd hands 'extremist cult' schools $70m
THE Rudd Government is handing $70m to a sect the PM described as an extremist cult.

Brain surgeon 'can't help but do cocaine'
A NEUROSURGEON awaiting trial on a drugs charge can't trust himself to stop using cocaine.

Axle Whitehead suffers serious burns
HOME and Away pin-up Axle Whitehead was rushed to hospital after suffering serious burns.

One small snack for a man

A MICHELIN star winning chef will bring fine dining to astronauts manning the International Space Station.

NSW on track for a train disaster
ALARMING new figures on rail safety have led to claims that another Waterfall disaster is "just a matter of time", with 688 red signals "passed at danger".

Code red fire alert for second day
A CODE red catastrophic fire alert has been declared for much of northern Victoria.
=== Journalists Corner ===

Guest: Rep. Jason Chaffetz
Will this congressman's plan work to cut taxes and stop spending and can he get the rest of D.C. on board?
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The Late Night Fight
As a war erupts over a Leno return to "Tonight", what could it mean for Dave, Conan & the rest of the comedic crew?
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The Constitution and Freedom
It's the Constitution and it's under attack! Judge Napolitano exposes why your personal freedoms are at stake!
=== Comments ===
Councils’ behaviour is ripe for scrutiny
Piers Akerman
IN GREAT New Year’s news, state Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell says local government will be put under the microscope if Labor is voted out next year.
The Planning Act will be explored particularly closely, O’Farrell told me, because of the disgraceful way it has been degraded under successive Labor premiers and planning ministers. - All valid and concerning examples, Piers. I also want Mr O’Farrel to assure us that the ICAC will become independent. The ICAC was a failure under Tembe, worked well under Barry O’Keefe until he was undermined by Carr. The ICAC has been a failure ever since. Regarding the death of Hamidur Rahman, the ICAC decided that it wouldn’t do anything because although there was an assertion that the boy may have died from school negligence, there was little likelihood of a prosecution taking place against any public official even though the Department of Education had clearly covered up evidence during the coronial investigation. - ed.
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El Dorado, Legendary Lost City of Gold, Found in Amazon

More than 200 massive earthworks uncovered in the upper Amazon basin near Brazil's border with Bolivia may be the legendary lost city of El Dorado.
Since the time of the conquistadors, the legend of an ancient, lost civilization deep in the Amazon forest has beguiled hundreds of explorers and led many to their deaths. Some called their dream El Dorado.

Others, most notably Colonel Percy Fawcett, the gloriously mustached British explorer (and real-life model for Indiana Jones) named it the City of Z. But no one has ever returned from the Amazon with conclusive proof that such a place existed.

Three scientists have now come close to doing just that. The journal Antiquity has published a report showing more than 200 massive earthworks in the upper Amazon basin near Brazil’s border with Bolivia.
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The O'Reilly Factor

Talking Points
Are conservatives undermining President Obama's War on Terror?
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HIDE THE DIVINE
Tim Blair
Artistic fearlessness from our creative betters:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art quietly pulled images of the Prophet Mohammed from its Islamic collection and may not include them in a renovated exhibition area slated to open in 2011, The Post has learned.

The museum said the controversial images – objected to by conservative Muslims who say their religion forbids images of their holy founder – were “under review.”

Critics say the Met has a history of dodging criticism and likely wants to escape the kind of outcry that Danish cartoons of Mohammed caused in 2006.

Wimps. In happier art news, here’s some fine Tasmanian photography, including several uncensored ghost signs. And a spider.

UPDATE. Meanwhile, artists are upset at being constrained by child porn rules. Fight the power, losers.
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GILES IS ANGRY
Tim Blair
Celebrated crankypants Giles Coren has had it up to here with global warming jokes:

Right, there is something that is going to have to stop right this second, and that is people making jokes about “If the globe is warming up then where did all this snow come from, eh? Eh? Tell me that?” Because it is driving me crazy.

That’d be a short drive. Giles continues:

And when I say “people”, I mean mostly columnists, cartoonists and comedians. I know there is nothing else to write about at the moment (God help me, I’m writing about people writing about the snow) and I grant that it was a nice little coincidence that the Copenhagen summit happened just as it started snowing, but please, people, stop making jokes about the weather in relation to climate change. Stop pretending to be surprised that you had to put a scarf and hat on this morning when the world is supposed to be warming up. The two things are not related. Nobody who understands the science is claiming that global warming (if it happens) is going to make Britain hotter in the long run.

You hear me? Nobody is saying that …

Nobody?
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HAMLET AND PEA
Tim Blair
Previously addicted to Hamlet, Peter Roebuck now reveals a tragic pea soup dependency:

July 2009: “[Mitchell Johnson] is a fine bowler but a worse starter than pea soup.”

August 2009: “Nerves have been [Michael Hussey’s] undoing – he’s a worse starter than pea soup.”

January 2010: “Marcus North is a worse starter than pea soup and will be hard-pressed to retain his place in Hobart.”

The obvious question now: Is Shane Watson as good a starter as gazpacho or Sydney rock oysters?
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THERE ONCE WAS A MIGHTY CARBON SHIP
Tim Blair
The vote is in on the issue of “Australians in danger”. Meanwhile, prepare to be physically sick …
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INFINITY JOE
Tim Blair
Barack Obama asks a question that cannot be answered:

“How many times is Biden gonna say something stupid?”

Or maybe it can be answered. Jim Treacher’s formula: “Take the number of times he says something, & divide by 1.”

UPDATE. Speaking of Treacher, his new show is about to open.