Christian
Kerr writes:

Strike
force. Funny. The aircraft Philip Ruddock and Alexander Downer used yesterday to
sink the Pong Su for their $4.8 million media stunt,
the F-111, is the aircraft they and their Cabinet colleagues want to ditch in
favour of the troubled Joint Strike Fighter.
It will be interesting to see what comes up on the matter when the Parliament’s
Joint Standing Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into Australian Defence
Force Regional Air Superiority holds hearings next Friday.

Let the wind blow. It was a good guess, but
John Quiggin, not Clive Hamilton, appears to have become the first pundit to blame
Cyclone Larry on global warming.
So what about the Bureau of Meteorology statement that since 1878, tropical
cyclones have caused an impact in eastern Australia
at least 173 times?

North Shore follies. Still more NSW Liberal wannabes to watch in preselection –
former Hornsby councillor Steve Russell from the Right, who may move against Judy
Hopwood in Hornsby. Meanwhile, the money in Epping is forming behind youngsters
Tony Chappell and Ben Franklin.

Equal time plugs. We mustn’t overlook Fairfax’s new
Freedom of Information efforts, launched last weekend.
But just a word for their FOI Editor, Matthew Moore. Don’t name
FOI officers. Not only does it not make for bad relations, but these people are
nothing but clerks with overblown titles. Real FOI decisions are made further
up the food chain.

Recipe of the Day. Pretty please King Cole (Slaw Salad) get those all-important ingredients out of the Cabinet and put them through the ringer, just like the cabbage.

Send your snippets to
christian@crikey.com.au