"I hope that I'm an example to other young people." - Paris Hilton, prior to 1st her incarceration.

I think that sums up the present state of the universe, perverse and not more than a little bit twisted, its all so anthropomorphic.

Its an election year and Howard fresh from his "we are doomed" speeches to the party faithful, has leapt around like the cartwheeling, say anything, do any backflip, spin merchant that he is. today he is obviously on the happy pills as some polls are starting to show the Libs gaining on labor.

“The union issue resonates strongly,” Mr Howard told Coalition MPs, according to a party room spokesman.

And so look forward to lots more of what we have recieved so far, at least one derogatory comment on unions with each passing minister who can get his or her presence in front of the media. Julie Bishop, she of the blazing, manaical stare and spokesperson for private education funding, in a short sharp spot on the ABC this morning managed to get her shot off while talking up the issue of performance pay for teachers

"the state governments taking orders from their union bosses"

was her little focus group tested vignette. The substance of what she was saying was long on how little substance there is in her proposal, promising a study, to be released, like all liberal policies, after the election. Her only problem is that her push for extra dollars for teachers is faced by her own admission that the commonwealth will not put one extra dollar into education to fund it, therefor the logical conclusion is that for evry teacher deemed worthy on her scale of receiving extra pay for performance, will of course mean that another teacher will have his or her pay cut by the same amount.

But what the fuck its an election year, there will be bucket loads of promises backed up by "studys", "reports" and eminent panels looking into everything and nothing, all making their findings well after the electorate has passed its judgement through the ballot box. Right now we are living in the time of focus group speak, anything which registers well in a focus group will find its way into the speeches and occasional mime act of both parties. Its more important to be telling the people you are doing, than in any way doing.

Newspapers are having their fun too, especially the Murdoch dailies, they've taken to the greens like rottweilers on a newborn, you cant have a headline or story about the Greens without the obligatory headline "extreme greens". The H-Sun had my favourite over the long weekend, "Extreme Greens Cannabis Shame", one of the greens policy advisors admitted that she had helped organise a festival in Nimbin. Oh the shame, the ignominy, oh the friggin hippys are about the rule the world. The platform of the greens calls for an overhaul of the nations drug laws, the obscene and counter productive Zero Tolerance approach, the greens also call for the eminently sensible end to the 35 year old War on Drugs, replacing it with more harm minimisation, rehab and education, hardly world shattering and backed by the AMA and any number of other medical, law enforcement and legal groups.

Mothers of overdose victims are calling for Ms Leonard to resign and say the revelation raises major questions over Mr Barber's judgment. Jillian Parker, whose daughter Janelle died of a drug overdose at 15, said: "This woman should be dismissed. They must have known her background. It really raises questions about the Green Party."

I have yet to meet one mother, father, child or lab rat who has ever died of cannabis poisoning, so who ever the H-Sun spoke to was clearly talking through their arse, not that it would worry the Sun, most of their regular columnists make an artform of rectal speak. The main thing was to get someone to utter a doubt about those "extreme greens". Look forward to many ads in the H-Sun from extreme christian cults braying at the bob brown and his party, who only want to take it to the max, and sort out the utter shit from the truly extreme shit that the libs and conservatives love to foist on the population. Personal responsibility is fine and the pursuit of happiness is wonderful, as long as it only involves your boss taking away your penalty rates and has nothing unionistic or bolshi about it. Personal freedom is a right, just not your right, remember, we decide, you choose to obey the decision, that is freedom.

Meanwhile, as Bush gets mobbed (and his watch stolen, hahaha) in Kosovo for fronting up to Clinton's legacy, the good people of Kosovo have forgotten that part of Bush's stump speeches from the good old days of 2000 had a distinctly different tone, he used the intervention of the US in the region as an example of what he would not do, not as he now claims, a shining example of the power of the people and US policy. How quickly a semi-liberated people forget, maybe they just didnt get to see any Fox news in 1999-2000. Still with the US death toll in Iraq passing the 3,500 mark, approval ratings very near to surpassing Nixon, a swag of scandles in each and every corner of his administration and the complete inability to get a sigle bill passed in either congress or the house of reps, taking credit for a previous presidents success's is such a small thing. I think the guy needs a hug before he is rightfully impeached.

H-Sun news flash "Paris Finds God in Jail", so God is a woman after all, (why else would she be in a womens prison). Those americans, I suppose they have her in there on either terrorism charges or for war crimes, she did wipe out several civilisations without regards to due process or even much of a reason. As Mr Dawkins says, God is one of the most loathsome mass murderers ever to grace the pages of fiction. So god really does bless america.