It’s not too late. Any Labor caucus member who watched Kevin Rudd on the ABC’s 7.30 last night would surely realise what a terrible mistake they made by not re-installing him as their leader.

It was back to the calmly confident Kevin Rudd who led the party to victory in 2007. Members — it is never too late to at least try and save your seat.

An opportunity missed. A sensitive Prime Minister with her concern about the welfare of the man brutally bashed in Sydney’s Rocks at the weekend:

And reinforced yesterday:

Yet silence about the one punch can kill message after this one seen by millions on television:

Self-serving claptrap from Ben Fordham. And writing of State of Origin: a bloke can’t even go to the footy these days and make a flippant remark over a social beer without some smart alec beating up the comment. 2GB’s afternoon shock-jock Ben Fordham on Twitter yesterday morning:

There once was a time when a political person could chat privately with a journalist at a non-political event without having his words made public. Alas, it seems, no more. And to make matters worse you have to put up with self-serving claptrap like Fordham trying to justify his rotten ethics on his afternoon radio program.

Plucked from the correspondence. From: Paul Johanson; Subject: Re: Meet your first cousin

So… Was anyone else disturbed by the manic expression on the face of that 50 million year old primate? I can hear it saying “I haz a grasshopper!” or “Fear me, other genera!” or even “Derp!”

OK, I’m going to have to Lolcat it now…

News and views noted along the way.

  • Legalize it and they will analyze it — “Humboldt State has decided to embrace its distinct ability to closely observe the little-known marijuana industry. With the blessing of the California State University system, the university last year established the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research, devoted to studying — and serving as a clearinghouse for research on — the growth, sale, consumption, and regulation of cannabis.”
  • Are quinoa, chia seeds, and other “superfoods” a scam?
  • Silent war — “On the hidden battlefields of history’s first known cyber-war, the casualties are piling up. In the U.S., many banks have been hit, and the telecommunications industry seriously damaged, likely in retaliation for several major attacks on Iran. Washington and Tehran are ramping up their cyber-arsenals, built on a black-market digital arms bazaar, enmeshing such high-tech giants as Microsoft, Google, and Apple.”
  • After Thatcher — “The first lesson that Batman learns is that ‘the will is everything’. Disraeli and Schopenhauer said much the same. And in this crop of books about Margaret Thatcher, rushed out in the weeks after her death, it is the raw will that is celebrated.”
  • Americans throw out 40 percent of their food, which is terrible for the climate –“On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency announced their plan to tackle food waste in America, a problem that has grown by 50 percent since the 1970s.”