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NEWS BRIEFLETS

* From 2001, one of Helen Caldicott’s greatest performances.

* My first fatwa! I share it with Jules Crittenden.

* What is it with Germans and gas canisters?

* The Wiggles continue their subversion of the US.

* Great opening line from Peter Hoysted: “The best thing about being the father of two girls is that they don’t eat much.”

* Fidel Castro receives a visit from the Angel of History.

* Lots of useful posts at Ed Driscoll’s place.

* Currency Lad has a My Israel Question question.

* The NYT discovers dissent in Nashville.

* The term “Islamofascism” was coined in 1978. By a French communist.

* Barry Cohen is not impressed by the amounts served in upscale Sydney restaurants, nor by the prices charged.

UPDATE. Sing along with this country and anti-Zionist classic from Cowboy Dan Lewis!

Posted by Tim B. on 08/20/2006 at 11:06 PM
  1. “The best thing about being the father of two girls is that they don’t eat much.”

    I ate constantly and was thin as a drainpipe when I was a teenager. I drove my parents crazy with my need for a constant supply of Coca-Cola and Doritos.

    Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2006 08 20 at 11:18 PM • permalink

  2. Was that a fatwa they put on us, Tim?  Christ, I didn’t make it past the steamy Kidman shot Gateway put up to confuse our adversaries. I’m going to hell, and it ain’t just because I’m an infidel.

    Posted by crittenden on 2006 08 20 at 11:36 PM • permalink

  3. Congratulations on the fatwa guys, it shows you have hit the big time.  Er, this Awad guy is a big time immam, right?

    I got past the hot babe photo, but I kept going back to it for some reason.  It was like a magnetic pull on me.

    Back when the Islamic Revolution was young, and the Doonesberry comic strip was still funny, Gary Trudeau did a series on the college radio station interviewing an alum who was now a judge on an Islamic court.  He tells the interviewer that the immorality of Western culture will not be tolerated in the New Iran.  “Aalready examples have been made.”

    “What, you’ve seen this?”

    “Seen it?  I personally condemned two joggers.”

    When the interviewer ends the show he tells the alum “Good luck with your experiment in Holy Fascism.”

    “Thank you.”

    Posted by Michael Lonie on 2006 08 20 at 11:58 PM • permalink

  4. Congratulations on the fatwa! You are in good company

    Posted by WeekByWeek on 2006 08 20 at 11:58 PM • permalink

  5. On Barry Cohen’s problem, you know you are in trouble when you sit down and a waiter immediately drapes you with a heavy, starched napkin.

    We went out from work and lobbed into one of these places by mistake and a colleague, call him A, ordered a steak (with a fancy name) which came with vegetables.

    The plate was quite large (and thick) with a small cluster of vegetables in the middle. A was a picture of worry - he tentatively asked the waiter about the steak.

    You guessed it, the steak was about 1.5 inches square and it was underneath the vegetables.

    We could have had a pie and chips for about $4 over the road, and I hate to recall what we paid for our modest repast.

    Posted by Rafe C on 2006 08 21 at 12:13 AM • permalink

  6. That Helen Caldicott transcript would be bloody hilarious if the woman wasn’t so serious.

    I would love to see the actual interview - if anyone recalls seeing it can you confirm whether the good doctor was wearing a foil hat.

    You know you are looking at a moonbat of the highest order when even Tony Jones questions the sanity of the speaker.

    What a fucking weirdo.

    Posted by The Prez on 2006 08 21 at 12:38 AM • permalink

  7. The NYT discovers dissent in Nashville.

    That sentence conjured up images of Loewenstein singing Country and Western…

    (With profound apologies to Tammie Wynette)

    Sometimes its hard to be an anti-Zionist…
    Giving all your angst to just one reader…
    You’ll have some bad times
    Tim Blair’ll have good times
    Saying things that Zionists don’t understand

    (twang twang twang)

    Stand by your man-bag
    Give it two arms to cling to
    And something warm to come to
    When nights are cold and lonely
    Stand by your man-bag
    And tell the Jews you hate them
    Keep giving all the hate you can
    Stand by your man-bag
    Stand by your man-baaaaaag…

    Posted by Dan Lewis on 2006 08 21 at 12:59 AM • permalink

  8. Barry Cohen’s review is hilarious.
    Too bad he didn’t name the restaurant (or his guest, who I suspect some of us listened to last week).

    Posted by Dan Lewis on 2006 08 21 at 01:06 AM • permalink

  9. OT
    But I thought they were happy to die.
    Gutless cowards.

    Posted by Skeptic on 2006 08 21 at 01:14 AM • permalink

  10. Apropos of Peter Hoysted’s comment, when one of my pals had a daughter, he expressed hope that she would grow up to be a Lesbian working at the local Jiffy Lube.

    When I asked him why, he replied, “Because then I don’t have to pay for a wedding, I don’t have to pay for college, and my car’ll get a free oil change every 3,000 miles.”

    Posted by JDB on 2006 08 21 at 01:33 AM • permalink

  11. Thanks Tim for posting that priceless Caldicott interview: otherwise I would never have known about the Norwegian weather satellite launch that nearly dragged us into nuclear armageddon.  Come to think of it, I didn’t even realize Norway had a space program.  The things you learn…

    Posted by cuckoo on 2006 08 21 at 01:43 AM • permalink

  12. Re #11 - Thanks Tim for posting that priceless Caldicott interview: otherwise I would never have known about the Norwegian weather satellite launch that nearly dragged us into nuclear armageddon.  Come to think of it, I didn’t even realize Norway had a space program.  The things you learn.
    sorry everyone, but i googled this episode and Helen Caldicott is correct about it. :-(
    Getting more current about Helen, she is a speaker at the The Age (of course)Melbourne Writers’ Festival this Sat 6.30pm Merlyn Theatre, in a program titled, “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.” There is a fantastically controversial panel of speakers, who are bound to disagree phenomenally: Iraq ex-spy tragic Andrew Wilkie, Helen Caldicott and moderator (wait for it) David Marr. The blurb reads:
    “Despite Australia’s self-image as subverters of authority, we really don’t like people who tell us unpleasant truths. Two messengers who have been shot, though not fatally, Andrew Wilkie & Helen Caldicott, compare their experiences with David Marr.”

    Posted by percypup on 2006 08 21 at 01:57 AM • permalink

  13. On the subject of first-class moonbattery Madonna & Guy take the cake:

    Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, have been lobbying the British Government and nuclear industry over a magic cleaning solution.

    The couple, both followers of the Jewish spiritual movement Kabbalah, approached Downing Street, Whitehall and British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) promoting a scheme to clean up radioactive waste using a “mystical” liquid tested in a Russian lake.

    “It was like a crank call…the scientific mechanisms and principles were just bollocks, basically”, one official said.

    But public servants at the Department of Trade and Industry and scientists at BNFL were obliged to take the celebrity couple seriously.

    It is understood that the couple, who live in London and Wiltshire, were promoting a water-based solution that had allegedly proved successful in neutralising dangerous nuclear waste in Russia.

    The Kabbalah Centre…believes water is a uniquely important substance that can be given magic healing powers through “meditations and the consciousness of sharing”.

    It just gets better and better. Don’t read this with a mouthful of coffee.

    Here.

    Posted by walterplinge on 2006 08 21 at 02:05 AM • permalink

  14. Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, have been lobbying the British Government and nuclear industry over a magic cleaning solution.

    Can I buy this stuff from my Amway lady or it a supermarket line?

    Posted by Bonmot on 2006 08 21 at 02:18 AM • permalink

  15. #5 Headline: Barry Cohen starves to death in swish restaurant.

    Judging from the description of the view etc it sounds like Machiave….aw, shucks, I better not.

    Stomach and wallet both empty. I took a client there once and had to pop into McDonald’s on the way to the ferry.

    Posted by Bonmot on 2006 08 21 at 02:28 AM • permalink

  16. #7 Dan Lewis,
    “Stand by your man-bag”, BRAVO!.

    Posted by Daniel San on 2006 08 21 at 02:36 AM • permalink

  17. Bonmot - Machiavel… doesn’t have harbour views and you can get a decent feed there; can’t explain your experience.

    Anyone who goes to a restaurant on the Harbour deserves all they (don’t) get.

    Rule 1 of eating out - avoid places with great views; if you want to impress someone from out of town, take ‘em to Harry’s Cafe de Wheels.  Its right on the Harbour (snigger).

    Posted by Stop Continental Drift! on 2006 08 21 at 03:57 AM • permalink

  18. The Caldicott woman is hilarious. Imagine if she and current Australian blogging sensation Antony Loewenstein somehow joined forces.

    Posted by Hanyu on 2006 08 21 at 04:16 AM • permalink

  19. Hoysted’s problem is a common one; many young girls go through the “equestrian stage” of development.

    It is the time of life when women learn to control a stupid animal by holding it between their legs.

    Posted by unkraut on 2006 08 21 at 04:24 AM • permalink

  20. Classic line from the Caldicott woman’s interview:

    GERARD HENDERSON: This is all a moat of twaddle.

    Posted by Hanyu on 2006 08 21 at 04:24 AM • permalink

  21. Hanyu @ 18:
    The Caldicott woman is hilarious. Imagine if she and current Australian blogging sensation Antony Loewenstein somehow joined forces.

    We’ve sort of had a preview - its called Web Diary.

    Posted by Stop Continental Drift! on 2006 08 21 at 04:31 AM • permalink

  22. The Caldicott interview is pure gold.

    Posted by C.L. on 2006 08 21 at 04:44 AM • permalink

  23. Barry Cohen’s experience isn’t unique to Sydney, though The Harbour, The Bridge and The Opera House are.

    Posted by kae on 2006 08 21 at 04:48 AM • permalink

  24. #17 You’re right Machiav….is pretty good Italian and not extortionate dear - used to be more upmarket than it is now. The hot breath of competition…..

    I mean of course a restaurant that is kinda operatic - bit like an Aria actually - they all roll together…..

    Posted by Bonmot on 2006 08 21 at 05:12 AM • permalink

  25. From the article, Madonna says:  I can write the greatest songs and make the most fabulous films and be a fashion icon and conquer the world, but if there isn’t a world to conquer, what’s the point?

    What?  What?  When the HELL did this woman make even ONE most fabulous film???  Crazy bitch.

    Posted by ushie on 2006 08 21 at 06:01 AM • permalink

  26. GERARD HENDERSON: So they put the secret military plans on the web?

    DR HELEN CALDICOTT: They’re not secret.

    They want anti-satellite warfare, cyberspace warfare, orbiting laser beam technologies, orbiting nuclear reactors to power the laser beam technology and probably orbiting nuclear weapons and they said, officially, they want to fight war within space and fight war from space down to earth so they want to take nuclear war up into space and annihilate cities from space.

    Aiyyyyyeeee.  Someone has been talking.  Karl will not like this.

    Posted by wronwright on 2006 08 21 at 06:21 AM • permalink

  27. The only view I ever saw at Machiavelli was portraits of washed up old politicians.

    I wonder if Latham is still on the wall.

    Posted by Dan Lewis on 2006 08 21 at 06:50 AM • permalink

  28. > one of Helen Caldicott’s greatest performances.

    Personally, I think one of her greatest performances was this:

    Helen Caldicott in nudie protest

    Posted by Blithering Bunny on 2006 08 21 at 07:54 AM • permalink

  29. #7 Dan: Pure. Hilarious. Genius.

    Posted by paco on 2006 08 21 at 08:47 AM • permalink

  30. Congrats on the fatwa. Proud aya, son.

    Posted by Racing on 2006 08 21 at 08:59 AM • permalink

  31. a “mystical” liquid tested in a Russian lake

    Russian lake?

    *narrows eyes*

    WRONWRIGHT!  Just what have you been up to now?

    Posted by Achillea on 2006 08 21 at 02:13 PM • permalink

  32. They want anti-satellite warfare, cyberspace warfare, orbiting laser beam technologies, orbiting nuclear reactors to power the laser beam technology and probably orbiting nuclear weapons and they said, officially, they want to fight war within space and fight war from space down to earth so they want to take nuclear war up into space and annihilate cities from space.

    She says that like it’s a bad thing.

    Posted by Achillea on 2006 08 21 at 02:14 PM • permalink

  33. Isn’t nuclear power used almost exclusively to fuel run-on sentences?

    Posted by andycanuck on 2006 08 21 at 02:30 PM • permalink

  34. Caldicott says Australia is the 51st state of the US?  I thought that was Western Canada.

    Posted by RebeccaH on 2006 08 21 at 02:31 PM • permalink

  35. I forgot the [/sarc] tag in case anybody is wondering.

    Posted by RebeccaH on 2006 08 21 at 02:32 PM • permalink

  36. Our host, a delightful fellow, had chosen this venue to enable our guest of honour, a distinguished international columnist, to see our ‘arbour, our bridge and our Opera House at their finest. Our guest was able to feast his eyes but little else.

    You don’t suppose…. If so, poor Mark. He’s accustomed to eating in American restaurants where you have not only a substantial meal, but enough left over for the next day’s meal (at least I do). Do you have doggy bags in OZ? In my experience, that’s pretty much an American thing (a Parisian once described the US to me thusly: Big cars, big hotel rooms, big food).

    When the HELL did this woman make even ONE most fabulous film??? 

    When did she ever write a great song? Never mind conquer the world. Madonna: the most overrated rock act ever. There’s an upside though—if we’re going to be dead in 50 years from nuclear waste, I guess we don’t have to worry about that global warming thingy anymore, do we.

    But public servants at the Department of Trade and Industry and scientists at BNFL were obliged to take the celebrity couple seriously.

    Why???

    Thanks, Walter, that was great.

    Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2006 08 21 at 02:49 PM • permalink

  37. #31:

    ya think the “mystical liquid” in that Russian lake has anything to do with wron’s penchant for Sumerian mead?

    Posted by PW on 2006 08 21 at 03:20 PM • permalink

  38. #37 -

    His orders only covered stealing the lake.  What to do with it after that was left to his (shudder) imagination.

    Posted by Achillea on 2006 08 21 at 03:57 PM • permalink

  39. #12: “Andrew Wilkie & Helen Caldicott, compare their experiences with David Marr.”

    Didn’t know Marr was bisexual!!!

    Posted by Consuela Potez on 2006 08 21 at 05:44 PM • permalink

  40. There was a reason the Rabbis disapproved of Kabbalah and Madonna shows us what it is.  The stuff is too outre for weak minds.

    Water is certainly a unique substance.  It had its own chapter in my First Year Chemistry textbook.  But its uniqueness does not lie in any mystical qualities, unless you want to call the hydrogen bond mystical.

    Why in the world are celebrity endorsements influential?  Do people really decide what to buy on the basis of the advice of airheaded bimbos?

    Posted by Michael Lonie on 2006 08 21 at 11:39 PM • permalink

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