Turd blossom is so well known as a fly hunter among his White House staff, says Snow, that somebody "made him White House fly swatters."

Pacific Highway a priority, PM tells Vic

Victoria will not miss out on funding in any pre-election road-funding blitz, Prime Minister John Howard said.

Responding to a News Ltd report that his government would next week announce a $5 billion roads package that snubs Victoria, Mr Howard said Victoria would be "fairly treated".

But he refused to commit to any new roads funding for the state, instead nominating the Pacific Highway, linking Sydney and Brisbane, as being a priority.

Lomborg is at it again...

actually he never stopped.

Dirt files 'having little impact'

So-called dirt files have shown no indication of doing damage to political parties in the lead up to this year's federal election, Newspoll chief executive
Martin O'Shannessy said today.

To date most people were very much listening to which party had the best plan for the future, hesaid.

Mr O'Shannessy was speaking as another poll showed a slight strengthening of the coalition vote, but still leaving it well behind Labor.

Israel, US Shared Data On Suspected Nuclear Site

Bush Was Told of North Korean Presence in Syria, Sources Say

Israel's decision to attack Syria on Sept. 6, bombing a suspected nuclear site set up in apparent collaboration with North Korea, came after Israel shared intelligence with President Bush this summer indicating that North Korean nuclear personnel were in Syria, U.S. government sources said.

Nullarbor set to have world's biggest golf course

The Federal Government has agreed to fund what is set to become the world's biggest golf course.

The 18 hole course stretches 1,300 kilometres across the Nullarbor Plain between Kalgoorlie and Ceduna in South Australia.

It will also provide historical information at each hole.

Pope 'refused audience for Rice'

Pope Benedict XVI refused a recent request by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the Middle East and Iraq, Vatican sources say.

The Pope refused a request for an audience during the August holidays.

Senior Vatican sources told the BBC the Pope does not normally receive politicians on his annual holiday at the Castelgandolfo residence near Rome.

from Crikey

The Fed bails out the fat and the dodgy. And Wall Street

Glenn Dyer writes …..

Excuse me for being cynical, but the US Fed's 0.50% cut on the button overnight was nothing but a bail out of Wall Street urgers, dodgy London and European financiers and fat, complacent Australian banks.

Rice returns to Middle East talks

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way to Jerusalem in another attempt to restart the stalled Middle East peace process.

Ms Rice is due to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The US is also giving financial assistance to build up the Palestinian Authority president's security forces.

The Iraqi government Monday ordered Blackwater USA, the security firm that protects U.S. diplomats, to stop work and leave the country after the fatal shooting of eight Iraqi civilians following a car bomb attack against a State Department convoy.

The order by the Interior Ministry, if carried out, would deal a severe blow to U.S. government operations in Iraq by stripping diplomats, engineers, reconstruction officials and others of their security protection.

Rudd brushes off Qld Cabinet misconduct allegations

Labor leader Kevin Rudd says if the Federal Government has concerns about his actions when he was a public servant in Queensland it should approach the police.

Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce wants to table a nine-volume report into allegations against the Queensland Cabinet when Mr Rudd was chief of staff to then-premier Wayne Goss.